Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

“We’re in for a bumpy ride,” the housekeeper says at the end of Act 1 of “Boeing Boeing,” Marc Camoletti’s hilarious, Tony-winning farce presented by Palo Alto Players. That’s an understatement.

It starts smoothly enough as Bernard (Michael Rhone), an American architect living in Paris, deftly juggles his engagements to three glamorous stewardesses, each working for a different airline.

The key to his success, he smugly says to the visiting Robert (Evan Michael Schumacher), is to make sure that no two or three of them are in town at the same time. It’s all in knowing the timetables, he tells his old school chum.

Then circumstances conspire against him. Between inclement weather and faster jets, schedules change. Soon Bernard, aided by his housekeeper, Berthe (Mary Moore), and Robert, is frantically trying to keep the stewardesses from discovering each other in his flat near the airport.

When Robert first arrives, he comes across as a Wisconsin rube, but as the play continues, he becomes the comic center of the action. He also finds himself attracted to the German woman, Gretchen (Robyn Winslow), and tries to fend off the attentions of Gloria (Damaris Divito), an American; and Gabriella (Nicole Martin), an Italian.

Schumacher’s expressive face and eyes carry much of the play’s comic momentum as Robert reacts to quickly changing circumstances and tries to help Bernard while trying not to succumb to his growing attraction to Gretchen.

Playing Berthe, Moore adds another dimension of comedy to the goings-on as she shifts from deadpan reactions to disbelief to resignation. Both she and Schumacher prove to be masterful comic actors.

Rhone’s Bernard is suave and self-assured until things start to unravel. Then he becomes ever more frantic as he tries to protect his deceptions.

 Divito, Martin and Winslow are all suitably attractive as the stewardesses, but Winslow’s Gretchen can be too strident.

Director Jeanie K. Smith deftly orchestrates all the madcap action with precise timing for every entrance and exit. She also keeps most of the hysteria under control, not an easy task in farce.

A farce would hardly be a farce without many doors. Patrick Klein meets this criterion with seven doors as part of the Mondrian-inspired decor of his set.

Shannon Maxham’s costumes, which feature sexy teddies for the stewardesses, are character-specific and suitable for the year, 1965. However, Robert wears his jacket and vest throughout the show, making him work up a sweat in this physically demanding role.

Running two and a half hours with one intermission, the show is lightweight but highly entertaining, just right for early summer.

“Boeing Boeing” continues at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through June 30. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org.

By Judy Richter

How much more would George Gershwin have accomplished if he hadn’t died of a brain tumor in 1937 at the age of 38?

One asks that question after seeing playwright-performer Hershey Felder’s “George Gershwin Alone” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s intimate Thrust Stage.

In this engrossing one-man show, the multi-talented Felder sings, plays piano and spins the fascinating story of one  of America’s greatest, most original composers.

Felder goes into stories behind works like 1924’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which was inspired in part by the rhythm of a train. He touches upon some aspects of composition such as the change from a minor to a major key in “Swanee,” his early hit song sung by Al Jolson.

He describes some milestones of Gershwin’s life such as his first musical job as a rehearsal pianist for the Ziegfeld Follies at the age of 19.

Dissecting songs like “I Loves You, Porgy” and “Summertime,” he spends quite a bit of time on “”Porgy and Bess,” 1935’s landmark full-length work that was such a departure from musical theater of the time yet not quite like opera. Though highly regarded today, it wasn’t well received by the major critics then.

Gershwin and his older brother, Ira, were close collaborators, with George writing the music and Ira writing the lyrics. Ironically, the last song that George wrote was “Love Is Here to Stay,” with Ira writing the lyrics after George’s death.

Directed by Joel Zwick, Felder presents all of this information in a highly entertaining fashion. He plays the Steinway grand piano well and sings in a pleasant baritone.

One highlight of this show comes when Felder reverently displays the original annotated score for “Porgy.” On a more dissonant note, he recites a diatribe against Jewish musicians, especially Gershwin, in a publication backed by Henry Ford.

Although the show itself runs about 90 minutes without intermission, it goes on for another half-hour as Felder chats with the audience, leads singalongs and, at opening night, invites a man in the audience to imitate Ethel Merman singing “I Got Rhythm.” Also at opening night he introduced Mike Strunsky ofS an Francisco, Ira’s nephew and the trustee and executor of Ira’s musical estate.

Felder, who also has created shows about Beethoven, Chopin and Bernstein, premiered “George Gershwin Alone” in 2000. He said that this run, a scant two weeks, might be its last. It’s not to be missed.

It runs through June 23 in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or go to www.berkeleyrep.org.

By Judy  Richter

Not everyone deals with grief in the same way. Take Gil, for example.

In Colman Domingo’s “Wild With Happy” Gil is a black, gay, 40-ish actor in New York who returns to his hometown of Philadelphi aafter his mother’s death.

Short of money and somewhat paralyzed by grief, he opts for cremation rather than a traditional funeral — much to his aunt’s distress. What happens eventually is a road trip to Disney World.

What happens in the meantime is laugh after laugh as Gil, played by the playwright, deals with his maternal Aunt Glo (Sharon Washington). He also has memories of phone calls from his mother,Adelaide (also played byWashington).

He’s attracted to Terry (Richard Prioleau), the funeral director, and gets moral support of sorts from his flamboyant young friend Mo (Duane Boutté) in this West Coast premiere by TheatreWorks.

As Mo and Gil head for Disney World with Adelaide’s ashes, Terry and Glo follow them. Disney World is where Adelaide was happiest during a visit with Gil. In the end, it’s where Gil and the others find some resolution.

Washington’s performance as Adelaid eand Aunt Glo goes a long way in making the play so hilarious. Some of  Terry’s and Mo’s actions can seem a bit outrageous, too. Often Gil reacts with incredulity, as if he can’t believe or doesn’t want to accept what he’s seeing or hearing, thereby ignoring the feelings of others, especially his mother and aunt.

Director Danny Scheie stresses the play’s comedic and campy aspects, sometimes at the cost of its more serious aspects. Hence, the play and Domingo’s reactions as Gil might come across as superficial in spots.

There’s no denying how funny it is, though, especially in the motor-mouth speeches byAdelaide and Aunt Glo. Adelaide seems adept at laying guilt trips, some well deserved, on Gil, while Aunt Glo spouts some choice malapropisms and mixed metaphors.

Despite the similarities between the sisters, Washington clearly delineates between them. However, Aunt Glo frequently takes what appear to be prescription pills, which aren’t explained except once when she mentions high blood pressure. Otherwise, she seems to pop pills like candy.

Erik Flatmo designed a set with a proscenium, red velvet curtains and footlights. Some scenes take place in front of the curtains, allowing for seamless set changes in this 95-minute, intermissionless work. The lighting and media are designed by David Lee Cuthbert with costumes by Brandin Barón and sound by Brendan Aanes.

“Wild With Happy” audiences are in for a wild ride on the way to a touching conclusion.

It continues at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, through June 30. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

By Judy Richter

On the eve of his test for American citizenship, a legal Mexican immigrant has fantastical dreams in “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” by Richard Montoya.

Juan, well played by Sean San José for California Shakespeare Theater, has been studying American history. He sees portions of it in a dream, starting in the early 19th century with the Lewis and Clark expedition and continuing to the present. Thus, he meets some little-known heroes as well as more familiar figures.

San José is the only actor in the cast of six men and three women who portrays one character. Everyone else fills multiple roles, giving costume designer Martin Schnellinger and the uncredited wig designer major challenges that they meet successfully.

One of Margo Hall’s memorable characters is Viola Pettus, a black nurse who cared for Spanish flu victims — be they Mexican, Ku Klux Klan or otherwise — in 1918 in West Texas. Dan Hiatt is the Klansman as well as labor leader Harry Bridges and a Mormon who assists Juan in his waking hours.

Dena Martinez is seen as Juan’s wife, whom he left in Mexico with their infant son, as well as Sacagewea, Lewis and Clark’s Indian guide. She displays her musical talents as Joan Baez at Woodstock.

Others in this versatile cast, directed by Jonathan Moscone, are Sharon Lockwood, Todd Nakagawa, Brian Rivera, Richard Ruiz and Tyee Tilghman.

“American Night” premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010 as a commission in its American history series.

There’s a segment about Japanese Americans in the Manzanar internment camp during World War II. Later, a young techie brags about being a Stanford grad, only to lose his job when it’s outsourced toIndia.

As a co-founder of Culture Clash, a 30-year-old Chicano troupe known for “politically sharp sketch comedy and ‘slapstick-erudite sociology,’ ” according to CST dramaturg Philippa Kelly, Montoya liberally laces the play with those qualities.

However, some segments are too long. They include Manzanar and negotiation of the treaty that ended the Mexican American War in 1848 and ceded California and other Western lands to the United States.

Erik Flatmo’s set serves the play well, but lighting designer Tyler Micoleau directs blinding spotlights into the audience several times. Likewise, Cliff Caruthers over amplifies sounds of gunfire.

Running an hour and 45 minutes without intermission, the play holds one’s attention because of its cast and its portrayal of prejudice against immigrants and minorities through the decades. All that — and the opening night of the season was unusually warm in this beautiful outdoor venue, which can be quite chilly.

“American Night” continues at CST’s Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda, through June 23. For tickets and information, including on-site dining and the BART shuttle, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

By Judy Richter

Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop were major 20th century American poets whose 30-year professional and personal friendship was chronicled by extensive correspondence between the two.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl skillfully encapsulates this friendship in her 2012 “Dear Elizabeth,” presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre in its West Coast premiere.

The friendship started in 1947 and continued until Lowell’s death in 1977. During that time, the two lived quite different lives, but the respect and affection they had for each other surmounted all that.

Bishop, played by Mary Beth Fisher, lived with a succession of female lovers in Florida, Brazil and elsewhere for a number of years while struggling with alcoholism.

Lowell, played by Tom Nelis, spent most of his life in the Eastern United States, was married three times and was manic-depressive, resulting in several hospitalizations.

They shared many details of their lives in their letters, and they gave each other valuable feedback on their poems.

Although the idea of back-and-forth letters might sound dramatically dull, Ruhl and director Les Waters make “Dear Elizabeth” lively and engaging. The two actors personify their characters’ keen intelligence and wit as well as their emotional ups and downs. It’s an altogether captivating production.

The only misstep comes at the end of Act 1, when a torrent of water pours onto the stage. While an earlier downpour quickly drained, this one didn’t, leading to the distraction of the actors slogging through 2 or 3 inches of water before exiting.

Then the stage crew had to spend the 15-minute intermission mopping the stage and drying every inch of the floor, furniture and walls.

Otherwise, it’s a beautifully conceived and executed play, aided by Annie Smart’s set, Maria Hooper’s costumes, Russell Champa’s lighting and Bray Poor’s sound. Bray co-wrote the music with Jonathan Bell.

“Dear Elizabeth” continues in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre through July 7. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2900 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

By Judy Richter

In “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” a mother and daughter are caught in a web of dependence, distrust, manipulation and antipathy.

The Marin Theatre Company production catches most of those undertones in this 1996 drama by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. It also undermines several other aspects of what should be a riveting play.

The action takes place during the mid-1990s in a rundown cottage in the Irish village of Leenane. The mother is 70-year-old Mag (Joy Carlin), who recites a litany of physical ailments both real and imagined.

Her spinster daughter is 40-year-old Maureen (Beth Wilmurt). Mag is controlling yet dependent on Maureen, who seems to have no other options in their economically distressed town.

Her fortunes appear to brighten when she and a neighbor, Pato Dooley (Rod Gnapp), connect romantically. He affectionately calls her the beauty queen of Leenane, but her dreams are dashed when Mag intervenes, leading to a tragic ending.

Carlin effectively portrays Mag’s wiliness, neediness and approaching dementia. For the most part, Wilmurt conveys Maureen’s emotional roller coaster as well as her underlying mental instability, but some of the character’s vulnerability is missing.

Gnapp does well as Pato, the play’s most decent, likable character. His monologue that opens Act 2 captures those qualities in a letter that he writes to Maureen fromEngland, where he has gone to work in construction.

The play’s weakest link is Joseph Salazar as Pato’s younger brother, Ray, a selfish, boorish lout who taunts Mag and Maureen. As directed by Mark Jackson, however, he talks so fast in his Irish accent that he’s often unintelligible.

That’s a problem because Ray plays an important, though unwitting role in the play’s outcome. Salazar also looks too clean-cut for the character.

The cottage set by Nina Ball dilutes some of the play’s power because its back wall is open, minimizing the claustrophobic atmosphere that’s so integral in the Mag-Maureen relationship.

Bay Area theatergoers who didn’t see Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s brilliant 1999 production or San Jose Stage Company’s excellent 2002 production might underestimate the power of McDonagh’s award-winning play mainly because of some of director Jackson’s choices. That’s unfortunate.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” continues through June 16 at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., MillValley. For tickets and information, call (415) 388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

Celebrating her 20th season as artistic director of American Conservatory Theater, Carey Perloff is returning to one of her favorite playwrights, Tom Stoppard, and reviving a play, “Arcadia,” she first directed for ACT in 1995.

Back then ACT was on the road, so to speak, while its home base, the Geary Theater, was being repaired and renovated after suffering major damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Therefore, “Arcadia” was staged in the nearby Stage Door Theater, a smaller venue that’s now Ruby Skye nightclub.

In some ways, it worked better there than in the Geary because of its intimacy. Still, the present production is well done, not an easy feat in view of how intellectually challenging and complex the play is.

The action takes place in one room of a large country house in England’s Derbyshire in 1809, 1812 and the present. It opens in 1809 when 13-year-old Thomasina Coverly (Rebekah Brockman) is being tutored by Septimus Hodge (Jack Cutmore-Scott).

Though somewhat naive, Thomasina is an original thinker who, we later learn, comes up with scientific theories far ahead of her time. She couldn’t prove them because she lacked the computer resources that today’s scientists command.

We also learn that Septimus is much admired by the ladies, including one of the Coverly family’s house guests, as well as Thomasina’s mother, Lady Croom (Julia Coffey).

Present-day happenings alternate with those in the past. The home is still occupied by Coverlys, who are playing host to Hannah Jarvis (Gretchen Egolf), an author studying the history of their garden. Another visitor is Bernard Nightingale (Andy Murray), a don who wants to learn more about a minor poet, Ezra Chater (Nicholas Pelczar), who was a guest at the Coverly home in 1809. He’s also pursuing the possibility that Lord Byron was there at the same time.

Besides those already mentioned, noteworthy performances come from Adam O’Byrnes as Valentine Coverly, one of the home’s present occupants; Anthony Fusco as Richard Noakes, Lady Croom’s landscape architect; and Ken Ruta as Jellaby, a butler for the earlier occupants.

As the action switches between the centuries, we see how what happened in 1809 influences discoveries by the people in the present and how some of the latter’s suppositions are inaccurate.

The set is by Douglas W. Schmidt with lighting by Robert Wierzel, costumes by Alex Jaeger, sound by Jack Rodriguez, music by Michael Roth and choreography by Val Caniparoli.

Stoppard laces all of this activity with humor, sexual undertones and lots of dense intellectual discussion that can be hard for the nonscientific listener to follow. Still, as the play unfolds, more of the action becomes clear, thanks to Stoppard’s genius, Perloff’s direction and an excellent cast.

“Arcadia” will continue at the Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco, through June 9. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

The title character in “Sweet Charity” is Charity Hope Valentine, a hopeful yet hapless dance hall hostess who’s just looking for love. As played by Molly Bell for Center REPertory Company in Walnut Creek, she’s lovable and irrepressible.

She’s also a terrific singer, dancer and actress as Charity finds herself in some unusual situations. Director Timothy Near has surrounded her with a cast of triple-threat performers who deliver songs by composer Cy Coleman and lyricist Dorothy Fields with high energy and precision dancing, thanks to choreographer Jennifer Perry.

Much of Perry’s choreography reflects the influence of the late Bob Fosse, who conceived, staged and choreographed the original 1966 Broadway production starring Gwen Verdon. He also directed and choreographed the 1969 film starring Shirley MacLaine.

This stage production is more satisfying than the film in part because Bell has an air of naivete that’s more suited for the title role and in part because the final scenes are clearer about the motivation of Charity’s latest boyfriend, Oscar (Keith Pinto).

Moreover, the film feels bloated at times, whereas everything in this stage production stems logically from the characters and Neil Simon’s book.

The first act introduces Charity as a sunny but overly generous young woman who is literally dumped by a boyfriend.

Next comes the memorable “Big Spender,” performed by Charity’s jaded dance hall colleagues, including her two best friends, Helene (Brittany Danielle and Nickie (Alison Ewing).

The entire company is featured in production numbers like “Rich Man’s Frug” and “The Rhythm of Life,” the latter featuring James Monroe Iglehart as religious leader Daddy Brubeck.

Some of Bell’s more memorable moments come in “If My Friends Could See Me Now” and “Where Am I Going.”

Bell, Danielle and Ewing team up for the emphatic “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This.”

Other featured performers are Colin Thomson as Herman, the dance hall boss, and Noel Anthony as Vittorio, an Italian movie star.

Complemented by Kurt Landisman’s lighting, Annie Smart’s set design helps to keep the action flowing smoothly. Christine Crook designed the eye-catching costumes.

All elements of this show add up to a thoroughly entertaining evening that’s well worth the trip to Walnut Creek.

“Sweet Charity” continues at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, through June 22. For tickets and information, call (925) 943-7469 or visit www.CenterREP.org.

Although it has been running for 39 years and although its theater is 100 years old, “Beach Blanket Babylon” remains as fresh as today’s  headlines. It’s also very funny as it parodies pop celebrities, politicians and royalty.

It does all this through an energetic, talented cast of 10 performers who don outrageous costumes, exaggerated wigs and — the show’s trademark — hats that seem to grow bigger and more complex as the 90-minute show reaches its conclusion.

Originally created by the late Steve Silver and now produced by his widow, Jo Schuman Silver, “BBB” has followed a similar plot for the past several years: Snow White (Rena Wilson in the reviewed performance), who lives in San Francisco, is looking for love, but she’s not having any luck.  Guided by a good witch (Renée Lubin in this performance), she undertakes a wider search that takes her to Rome and Paris. Eventually she returns toSan Francisco, having met the man of her dreams. During her journey, she encounters a variety of characters who sing and dance their way through songs whose lyrics have been adapted to their situation.

The show opens with one of its longest-running characters, Mr. Peanut, but he’s become quite hip, sporting an iPhone 5. The Beatles show up next, followed by several “Hair” songs sung by hippies. Snow White meets Oprah Winfrey, the Clintons, and a leather-clad, motorcycle-riding Nancy Pelosi, among many others, including the Obamas.

When she arrives inParis, she’s met by a trio of singing, dancing poodles, Coco Chanel and King Louis XIV. Several scenes later, she’s serenaded by a trio of San Francisco Giants showing off their 2012 World Series trophy.

Octomom shows up, as do several English royals, including a drag Queen Elizabeth. A pudgy New Jersy Gov. Chris Christie sings about his weight-loss surgery during songs from “Les Miserables.” Snow White transforms into a flying Madonna singing “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” then meets none other than Elvis Presley. These are just a few examples of the inventive ways that “BBB” keeps audiences smiling and laughing.

Because the show is so demanding of its performers, the cast can change from day to day. Two of the mainstays, though, Lubin and Tammy Nelson, were featured in the reviewed performance.

Director-choreographer Kenny Mazlow, another “BBB” stalwart, keeps the show moving at a fast clip. He and Schuman Silver also write the show. Bill Keck serves as musical director and conductor.

Because it’s so hilarious and so well done, it’s a must-see for out-of-town guests. Locals can enjoy it again and again because it keeps changing as new targets for parody make news. And even though it lampoons people in the public eye and can be a touch naughty, it never descends into bad taste or crudeness. It’s just lots of clever fun.

“Beach Blanket Babylon” plays at 678 Beach Blanket Blvd.(aka Green St.), San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 421-4222 or visit www.beachblanketbabylon.com.

“Send in the Clowns,” the best known song from “A Little Night Music,” has been interpreted by many popular singers, including Judy Collins and Barbra Streisand. To truly understand its meaning, however, one needs to hear and see it in context — Stephen Sondheim’s 1973, Tony-winning musical, which is set  in Swedenin the early 20th century.

For now, there’s no better place than the Hillbarn Theatre production. Without becoming maudlin, Equity performer Lee Ann Payne as actress Desirée Armfeldt makes the song’s poignancy abundantly clear and quite touching. She sings it to the show’s co-star, Cameron Weston as Fredrik Egerman, a lawyer whom she hadn’t seen in the 14 years since their romantic interlude ended. In the meantime, she has continued her career, touring from town to town, while he has recently married 18-year-old Anne (Nicolette Norgaard). Although he loves Anne, he’s frustrated that she has not allowed their marriage to be consummated. He also has an 18-year-old son, the morose Henrik (Jack Mosbacher), who’s studying to become a minister and secretly loves Anne.

Fredrik and Desirée get together again one night, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of her hot-tempered lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (William Giammona), who’s married to Charlotte (Alicia Teeter). Everything gets sorted out in the second act, when everyone converges for a weekend at the country home of Desirée’s mother, Madame Leonora Armfeldt (Christine Macomber), who’s caring for Desirée’s young daughter, Fredrika (Leah Kalish).

Composer-lyricist Sondheim and his librettist, Hugh Wheeler, based the plot on Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s 1955 film, “Smiles of a Summer Night.” The title is a literal translation of Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” Most of the songs are written in waltz tempo, and several scenes are introduced by a chorus of three women and two men called the Liebeslieder Singers, a nod to an 1852 waltz by Johann Strauss II.

Director Dennis Lickteig has cast this production with performers who create believable characters. Not all of them are so pitch-perfect vocally, but they interpret their songs well, thanks to musical director Greg Sudmeier, who directs the fine backstage orchestra.

Besides Payne and Weston as Desirée and Fredrik, the show’s standout performers include Mosbacher as young Henrik, Giammona as the count, Teeter as his wife and Macomber as Madame Armfeldt. Noteworthy in a minor role is Sarah Griner as Petra, the Egermans’ lusty maid.

Shannon Maxham designed the elegant costumes, while Robert Broadfoot designed the simple yet flexible set. Lighting is by Don Coluzzi, who must recreate Sweden’s long summer twilights. Choreography is by Jayne Zaban, and sound is by Jon Hayward.

“A Little Night Music,” like any Sondheim show, is challenging for any company because of its complex music and lyrics, but Hillbarn meets those challenges successfully in this fine production.

 It will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through June 2. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org. illH