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Deb Polfus

Deb Polfus
my reviews

Nov 16 2023
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San Francisco Playhouse’s Guys and Dolls Opens on November 22

By Deb Polfus

Guys and Dolls is a classic Broadway hit, full of melodies that remain popular to this day, such as Luck Be a Lady and Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat. The play is based on tales by Damon Runyon, who wrote in gangster parlance, effectively mingling violence and kitsch.

Bill English, the director, has set the play in the late 1930s, using the Great Depression to heighten the characters’ stakes, and English has drawn the characters on the realistic side rather than as caricatures. To master the Runyonesque slang, the players had a dialect coach, Kimberly Mohne Hill.

I caught up with Melissa WolfKlain, a San Francisco Playhouse veteran, who plays Adelaide in this new production. Adelaide is a demanding role. She has to express anger, then dissolve into teary sniffling and sneezing for Sue Me and Adelaide’s Lament.

WolfKlain loves Adelaide’s hilarity and finds her fervent desire to settle down with her fiance of 14 years relatable. Adelaide “shows vulnerability, heart, and sass,” the actress remarked.

Guys and Dolls will strut its stuff at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street through January 13, 2024. Tickets range from $30 to $125. The show is recommended for kids over eight years old.

Nov 08 2023
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Mame bursts into life at 42nd Street Moon

By Deb Polfus

Ah, Mame. You echo triumphantly down the years, a beacon of pure joy. You remind us to “Live, live, live!” You challenge young minds, and 42nd Street Moon has brought you to life on the Gateway Theatre stage.

Mame is based on Auntie Mame, a real person, created by Patrick Dennis. Mame, a socialite and free thinker, adopted her orphaned nephew in the Roaring Twenties, and that’s when his thrill ride began. Placed in a ‘progressive’ school that featured universal nudity, his life was anything but dull.

The lights came up on a man in a fedora entering a wild, bathtub gin-soaked party featuring the ensemble of singer/dancers. The tiny stage felt overpopulated much of the time, but when the group was narrowed down to half a dozen dancers for That’s How Young I Feel, they formed a charming stage picture.

When consummate performers are involved, the size of the theater doesn’t matter. We were lucky enough to be treated to three of these. Azzy David was a standout as young Patrick. The compulsively watchable youngster exuded exuberant innocence. Jillian A. Smith (Gloria Upson) was unapologetically cloying. And Larissa Kelloway proved a comic delight as Sally Cato.

Cindy Goldfield starred as Mame. Her performance was impeded by a puzzling array of costumes. The character Mame is a vibrant, avant-garde socialite. But Goldfield looked dowdy in most of her scenes.

Outfitted in a prim, ankle-length church dress, complete with lace collar and sensible shoes, Goldfield looked like Patrick’s grandmother instead of his aunt. Real-life Mame wouldn’t be caught dead in sensible shoes. Despite this, the actress had an affecting moment in Act 2, singing If He Walked Into My Life.

Mame is chock-full of can’t-miss standards, notably Mame and the inspiring <em>Open a New Window. In The Moon Song, loudly crooning background singers surprised the audience in a weird-but-good way. In Bosom Buddies, Goldfield and Elizabeth belted out the great lyrics effortlessly: “Who else but a bosom buddy will tell you how rotten you are?”

I polled audience members at intermission and the production earned unanimous raves. So If you’re looking for a perky musical with a homespun, “let’s put on a show in the barn!” feel, Mame is the show for you.

Mame plays at 42nd Street Moon through November 19th at the Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson Street in San Francisco. Call (415) 255-8205 for tickets.

Reported by Deb Polfus

Nov 04 2023
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November 4 test-1

By Deb Polfus

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Nov 04 2023
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Mame provides ‘A Little Christmas’ just when we need it

By Deb Polfus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Non diam phasellus vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies. Viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat. Ut enim blandit volutpat maecenas volutpat blandit aliquam. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit tellus. Leo integer malesuada nunc vel risus commodo viverra maecenas accumsan. Vel eros donec ac odio tempor. At augue eget arcu dictum varius duis at consectetur lorem. Sed sed risus pretium quam. Libero nunc consequat interdum varius sit amet mattis vulputate enim. Pharetra magna ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices.

Oct 29 2023
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test-4 29Oct2023

By Deb Polfus

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Oct 29 2023
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test-3 29Oct2023

By Deb Polfus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna. Erat nam at lectus urna. Risus feugiat in ante metus. Diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo. Tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed. Elit duis tristique sollicitudin nibh. Fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In ante metus dictum at tempor commodo. Tortor id aliquet lectus proin.

Oct 29 2023
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test-2 29Oct2023

By Deb Polfus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna. Erat nam at lectus urna. Risus feugiat in ante metus. Diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo. Tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed. Elit duis tristique sollicitudin nibh. Fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In ante metus dictum at tempor commodo. Tortor id aliquet lectus proin.

Oct 29 2023
Love0

test-1 29Oct2023

By Deb Polfus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna. Erat nam at lectus urna. Risus feugiat in ante metus. Diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo. Tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed. Elit duis tristique sollicitudin nibh. Fames ac turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi. In ante metus dictum at tempor commodo. Tortor id aliquet lectus proin.