Judy Richter

“Miss Saigon,” a musical theater updating of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly,” moves the action from 19th centuryJapanto 20th centuryVietnam. The names and setting differ, but the plot is similar.

Palo Alto Players has undertaken this challenging, ambitious work in a mostly successful production directed by Patrick Klein.

“Miss Saigon” starts in its namesake city in April 1975, shortly before South Vietnam’s fall to the communist Viet Cong. A weary U.S. Marine, Chris (Danny Gould), meets a shy, virginal, 17-year-old Vietnamese bar girl, Kim (Katherine Dela Cruz). They fall in love during a brief affair, but Kim is left behind when U.S.personnel are hastily evacuated from the city before it’s overrun by the enemy.

Three years later, Chris and his American wife, Ellen (Lindsay Stark), return toVietnam after learning that he has fathered Kim’s son. The visit, just like Pinkerton’s in the opera, ends tragically.

Like the opera, most of this musical is sung. There’s little spoken dialogue. Moreover, it’s not always clear what’s happening if one isn’t familiar with this show or the opera. Hence, precise diction becomes vitally important, but this production sometimes falls short in that department. Compounding the problem is Jon Hayward’s sound design, which was problematic in seats on the far right close to the front.

The standout performer is Brian Palac as the Engineer, a pimp with an uncanny ability to survive and a strong desire to get to the United States. He has the show’s big production number, “The American Dream.” Stark as Chris’s wife is the most assured singer among the women. Dela Cruz is believable as Kim, who’s steadfast in her love for Chris.

Gould tries too hard as Chris and pushes himself vocally, usually singing too loud. His best friend, John, is well portrayed by Adrien Gleason.

Jennifer Gorgulho’s choreography is outstanding, especially in the militaristic “The Morning of the Dragon” and the Engineer’s “The American Dream.” The set, though not nearly as spectacular as the original Londonproduction or the touring production in San Francisco, works well, as do the costumes by Shannon Maxham and lighting by Edward Hunter. Musical director Matthew Mattei conducts four instrumentalists from the keyboard.

“Miss Saigon” was created by composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyricist Alain Boublil (with Richard Maltby Jr.), the pair behind the earlier “Les Miserables.” It became a huge hit after it premiered inLondon in 1989, when the Vietnam War was still fresh in the memories of most adults. Now it’s history to the PAP cast and to younger people in the audience.

Still, the show and this production capture some of the human costs of that war.

“Pericles, Prince of Tyre” is one of Shakespeare’s later plays and, according to most scholars, probably wasn’t written entirely by him. Director Mark Wing-Davey goes a step further by reconceiving this work, with movement consultant Jim Calder, for Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Wing-Davey cuts text and characters to clarify the story of Pericles (David Barlow). This nobleman flees Antioch in fear of his life after realizing that the king and his daughter, whose hand Pericles was pursuing, were involved in an incestuous relationship.

Pericles’ travels take him through stormy seas to far flung places such as Pentapolis. There he wins the hand of Thaïsa (Jessica Kitchens), daughter of the king (James Carpenter). On their return voyage toTyre, Thaïsa dies while giving birth to a daughter, Marina. Many more adventures separately await father and daughter, who has been given to the care of the governor of Tarsus.

Ultimately, the distraught Pericles believes that both his wife and his daughter are dead, but in true Shakespearean fashion, they’re reunited by coincidence.

All this takes place on a two-level industrial set created by Peter Ksander and Douglas Stein with lighting by Bradley King. Three musicians, including composer/music director Marc Gwinn, sit on one side of the upper level.

Except for Barlow as Pericles and Anita Carey as Gower, who serves as the chorus and a trusted lord of Tyre, everyone else in the eight-member cast plays three or more roles. Thanks to Meg Neville’s often-ingenious costumes, the characters are easy to identify.

The two-act production runs about two hours plus intermission. It starts with music director Gwinn and the cast, in street clothes, warming up the audience with a sing-along.

Wing-Davey has come up with some wildly theatrical stagings. However, some of it seems excessive and distracting. For example, during the shipwreck scene, Carey’s Gower soaks the actors with a steady stream of water from a fire hose aimed above them.

Despite fine acting, especially by Barlow, Kitchens, Carpenter and Carey, the production sometimes lags. Still, it’s a notable attempt to make one of Shakespeare’s lesser works more accessible and palatable.

“Pericles, Prince of Tyre,” will continue through May 26 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.

One minute life is perfectly happy. The next minute, everything comes crashing down. That’s what happens to Walter Wells (Liam Craig) in Julie Marie Myatt’s “The Happy Ones,” presented by Magic Theatre.

It’s 1975 in Garden Grove, CA. Walter has a beautiful wife and two great kids, a boy and a girl. They live in a lovely home and have good friends and neighbors. He owns a successful appliance business.

Then a phone call changes his life. His wife and children have been killed in a traffic accident caused by a wrong-way driver. He plunges into grief.

Among others, his best friend, Unitarian minister Gary Stuart (Gabriel Marin), and Gary’s new girlfriend, Mary-Ellen Hughes (Marcia Pizzo), try to cheer him up, but he just wants to be left alone.

When he goes to the hospital to confront the injured driver, Bao Ngo (Jomar Tagatac), who killed his family, Walter rejects the Vietnamese refugee’s requests to kill him.

Bao later shows up at Walter’s store begging to give Walter something or to do something for him, like cooking or cleaning. Walter reluctantly relents, unknowingly setting both himself and Bao on a path toward recovery.

Like Walter, Bao has endured the loss of his wife and two children. When Bao fled Vietnamduring the fall ofSaigon, they stayed behind, only to be killed a few days later. Bao also lost his livelihood as a pediatrician and now works nights in a bakery.

Director Jonathan Moscone skillfully leads his four well-cast actors along the emotional road that Myatt has laid out for them. Craig embodies Walter’s initial near-catatonia as he somehow gets himself to work every day.

Tagatac is sympathetic as the guilt-ridden Bao, who has his own losses to overcome. Marin and Pizzo as Gary and Mary-Ellen, both of whom are insecure but well-intentioned, are good foils to Walter and Bao.

Erik Flatmo’s set (lit by Stephen Strawbridge) and Christine Crook’s costume design recreate the time and place, aided by Cliff Caruthers’ sound design, which is highlighted by some popular music of that era.

The two-act “The Happy Ones” is a fascinating, memorable study of grief and recovery, leavened by humor. It’s well worth seeing.

It continues at Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort MasonCenter, San Francisco, through April 21. For tickets and information, call (415) 441-8822 or visit www.magictheatre.org.

“The Whipping Man” is a play that’s worth seeing again because some of the events and revealed secrets of the second act are foreshadowed in the first act.

It’s also worth seeing again because the Marin Theatre Company production, co-produced by Virginia Stage Company, is so gripping in the hands of MTC artistic director Jasson Minadakis and his three-man cast.

The play takes place between April 13 and 15, 1865, in a once-grand Richmond,Va., home that’s now in shambles. Kate Conley’s set, lit by Ben Wilhelm, reveals the devastation with its broken windows, unfurnished room and leaky roof. Sound effects by Will McCandless include gunfire and rain. Costumes are by Jacqueline Firkins.

The Civil War had ended a few days earlier, April 9, thus ending slavery. Simon (L. Peter Callender), a middle-aged house slave, has stayed behind to try to guard the house while his wife and daughter joined their master and mistress in a safer area.

The master’s son, Confederate Capt. Caleb DeLeon (Nicholas Pelczar), staggers home from the war, suffering from a gangrenous bullet wound in his leg. A younger house slave, John (Tobie Windham), arrives shortly thereafter, apparently fleeing from a pursuer.

Simon tells Caleb that if his leg isn’t amputated, he could die a horrible death, but Caleb refuses to go to a hospital. Therefore, Simon, reluctantly assisted by John, amputates the leg in a wrenching scene.

Because the three are Jewish, they decide to have an improvised Seder to celebrate Passover, which had begun a day or so earlier. Before they begin, though, Simon arrives with terrible news: President Lincoln has been assassinated. Calling him “Father Abraham who set us free,” Simon speaks eloquently and movingly about the day he metLincoln.

This speech is one of the highlights of the play. John has another when he talks about being savagely whipped by the whipping man, to whom masters would take misbehaving slaves for punishment. John apparently made several terrible trips to the whipping man. Caleb’s most moving scene comes in a flashback to the war, when he writes a letter to his beloved after more than 200 days in a putrid trench.

Each man has dreams about what he’ll do now that the war and slavery have ended. Each also has a secret that makes his future uncertain.

This gripping, provocatively human drama looks at that era in a different light and through differing viewpoints. Callender’s Simon is a wise, centered presence. Pelczar’s Caleb has suffered greatly and has come to doubt his faith. Windham’s John is perhaps the most complex character, an intelligent, angry man with dreams, a penchant for theft and, like Simon, a deep faith.

“The Whipping Man” also draws intriguing parallels between the Jews of history, who were freed from slavery in Egypt, and Southern blacks, who were freed from slavery in this country. Thus it works on many levels, meriting more than one viewing.

Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest” has amused audiences with its wit and satire on English society, romance and human foibles since 1895. Now it’s the basis for a world premiere musical, “Being Earnest,” presented by TheatreWorks.

Composers Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska have updated the setting to 1965, a time perfectly captured by Fumiko Bielefeldt’s costume designs, which are inspired byCarnaby Street denizens. Unfortunately, the costumes are more appropriate to the times than the music. While the Beatles and other such groups were dominating pop charts with bouncy, hummable tunes, Gordon and Gruska’s score seems bland and repetitious.

Thanks to a topnotch cast and Robert Kelley’s direction, however, the show still has entertainment value. It also benefits enormously from Wilde’s words, which Gordon has incorporated into his book and some of the lyrics.

The plot focuses on two young English gentlemen, Algernon Moncrieff (Euan Morton) and Jack Worthing (Hayden Tee), who resort to deception to woo the young women to which they’re attracted. Algernon pursues Cecily Cardew (Riley Krull), who is Jack’s ward, while Jack is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax (Mindy Lym), Algernon’s cousin. One of the obstacles they face is Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell (Maureen McVerry), who’s very concerned about being proper and maintaining her social status.

Completing the cast are Diana Torres Koss as Miss Prism, Cecily’s tutor; and Brian Herndon as three male characters.

All of the performers are fine singers, but Morton’s unflappable Algernon and McVerry’s Lady Bracknell are especially noteworthy. A mainstay of Bay Area theater, McVerry also may be familiar to Peninsulans because of her musical theater work with middle school students.

Another reason why she is a standout is that Bielefeldt has given her some gorgeous costumes, especially her outfit in the final scenes. Bielefeldt has also given a show-stopper outfit to Lym, who appears in a Mary Quant-inspired ensemble in the second act. Both Lym and Krull sport the go-go boots so popular at that time.

Musical director William Liberatore conducts four other musicians from the pit. The flexible set is by Joe Ragey with lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt. The sound design by Jeff Mockus is sometimes too loud. It also was plagued by some microphone pops at the reviewed performance.

Gordon successfully turned “Emma” and “Jane Eyre” into award-winning musicals, but with “Being Earnest,” the costumes are more memorable than the music.

“Being Earnest” continues at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Castro and Mercy streets, Mountain View, through April 28. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

“Cats” has been gracing musical theater stages across the nation and world ever since it premiered inLondon in 1981 and went on to Broadway, where it won a slew of awards. It first came toSan Franciscoin 1986 and has returned several times.

Now it’s at the Fox Theatre inRedwood City, where Broadway By the Bay is staging an exuberant production. The show is based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” a series of whimsical poems by T.S. Eliot. All of the characters are cats, each a distinct individual introduced through songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The best-known song is “Memory,” here poignantly sung by Heather Orth as Grizabella, a once-glamorous cat now long past her prime and shunned by the other cats. The biggest crowd-pleasers are “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” and “The Song of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball,” along with “The Old Gumbie Cat.” All three feature terrific solo and ensemble dancing by the energetic cast, while “Gumbie” adds a fun tap scene to the enjoyment.

The show is directed and choreographed by Robyn Tribuzi, who has honed the dancers into a precision ensemble. The only misstep in her direction comes from Jack Mosbacher, who sings well and struts like Mick Jagger but overdoes the pelvic thrusts in “The Rum Tum Tugger.”

Musical direction is by Sean Kana, who conducts the orchestra from the keyboards. Even with only eight musicians, including Kana, the orchestral sound is full. Likewise, the vocal ensemble is well balanced even though a few singers seem less accomplished in their solos. Diction is sometimes a problem.

The cat-like costumes and junk yard set come from FCLO Music Theatre. A few glitches were evident in Michael Ramsaur’s lighting design opening night. The sound is by Jon Hayward.

As for the show itself, the plot is thin, while Lloyd Webber’s music becomes repetitious, especially in the second act. Still, there is much to admire in both the show and this production, which runs about 135 minutes with intermission.

“Cats” continues at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City, through April 21. For tickets and information, call (650) 579-5565 or go to www.broadwaybythebay.org.

“John & Jen” (also written as “john & jen”), an intimate musical presented by Hillbarn Theatre, may be seen as an intriguing psychological study in family dynamics.

With just two characters, it covers 38 years in the life of a woman, Jen (Alicia Teeter), starting in 1952, when she’s 6 years old and welcoming her newborn brother, John (William Giammona), into the world. On Christmas Eve five years later, it’s apparent that their parents don’t get along and that their father is abusive.

Other transitions follow until Jen is 18 and goes off to college in 1964, leaving her despairing brother behind. In subsequent years, she becomes a hippie and peacenik, moving toCanadawith her draft-dodging boyfriend, while John becomes closer to their father. In 1970, when John is 18, he enlists in the Navy and is soon killed inVietnam, much to Jen’s sorrow.

Two years later, Jen has given birth to a son, whom she names John. Sometime after that, the boy’s father leaves. In the meantime, Jen seems determined to turn her son into her brother’s reincarnation. As he grows older, he resents those efforts, which impede his ability to follow his own path. Ultimately, she sees the light as he heads off to college.

With a book by Tom Greenwald and Andrew Lippa, much of the story is told through songs with music by Lippa and lyrics by Greenwald. It takes place on an uncluttered set created by Robert Broadfoot with lighting by Aya Matsutomo and sound by Alan Chang. The actors are onstage almost the entire two acts. Transitions from one year to another are achieved through slight changes of clothing (costumes by Mae Matos).

Director Jay Manley guides the two with intelligence and sensitivity. Although Teeter may seem to have the easier role because she’s the same person in both acts, she has some of the more demanding songs — well sung — and goes on a longer emotional journey. On the other hand, Giammona has the challenge of being an adult portraying a child or teenager. Both actors succeed.

The songs are all pleasant though not particularly memorable. Sitting on the side with a cellist and percussionist, Graham Sobelman serves as musical director and keyboardist.

“John & Jen” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through April 7. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.

By Judy Richter

Ignorance and repression are a dangerous, sometimes tragic combination, as seen in “Spring Awakening,” presented by Foothill Music Theatre and the Foothill Theatre Arts Department.

Set in a provincial German town in the 1890s, this musical focuses on a group of young adolescent friends who have little understanding of the changes they’re undergoing. The adults in their lives often exacerbate the problem. The central characters are 14-year-old Wendla (Juliana Lustenader); her boyfriend, Melchior (Jason Rehklau); and his friend and schoolmate, Moritz (Ryan Mardesich). Of the three, only the scholarly Melchior knows about reproduction.

In the meantime, the boys and their friends are dealing with all sorts of sexual fantasies, and one of Wendla’s friends, Martha (Holly Smolik), suffers from her father’s beatings and sexual abuse. Tragedies ensue, but hope arises.

Based on a controversial 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, “Spring Awakening” features music by Duncan Sheik with lyrics and book by Steven Sater. After itsNew Yorkpremiere in 2006, it went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Although it’s billed as a rock musical, which could connote loud and raucous, many of its songs are calmer. Foothill’s seven-member orchestra, seated in a corner of the stage, includes a violin, viola and cello for a more refined sound. The musicians are led from the keyboard by musical director Mark Hanson.

Except for Caitlin Lawrence Papp and Justin Karr, who portray all of the adults, the cast is comprised mostly of college-age performers. Although they’re older than the characters they play, most of them still look young enough.

Director Milissa Carey, aided by choreographer Amanda Folena, has assembled an energetic, committed cast. The three principals — Lustenader as Wendla, Rehklau as Melchior and Mardesich as Moritz — are especially noteworthy. So, too, are Papp and Karr, who assume various personas as the adults. Beyond that, everyone in the cast deserves kudos for embodying adolescent angst.

Helping to set the stage are Bruce McLeod, production supervisor; Ken Kilen, sound; Rebecca Van De Vanter, lighting; Carlos Acevedo, scenery; and Julie Engelbrecht, costumes.

Although the show has obvious cachet for young people — who were the main demographic in the first Saturday performance — it’s definitely not suitable for younger children because of its sensitive, adult issues and occasional rough language. However, it can and does appeal to more mature audiences who appreciate an interesting plot, strong characters and solid production values.

“Spring Awakening” will continue at the Lohman Theater, Foothill, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, through March 10. For tickets and information, call (650) 949-7360 or go to www.foothillmusicals.com.

Three generations of women celebrate holidays at the family’s coastal cottage, watch birds, bicker and look ahead in Anthony Clarvoe’s “Our Practical Heaven,” being given its world premiere byBerkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company.

Clarvoe’s two-act play is the main stage anchor production ofAurora’s eighth annual Global Age Project, which fosters 21st century play development.

It features excellent acting thanks to such Bay Area treasures as Joy Carlin, who plays Vera, the family’s widowed matriarch; Anne Darragh, who plays Sasha, Vera’s daughter; and Julia Brothers, who plays Willa, whom Sasha considers an honorary sister.

With them are three young up-and-comers: Blythe Foster as Suze and Adrienne Walters as Leez, Sasha’s daughters; and Lauren Spencer as Magz, Willa’s daughter.

Perhaps because Sasha is so uptight, her daughters don’t especially like her. While sitting next to each other, they communicate their feelings about her via text messages, which are projected onto the back of Mikiko Uesugi’s set.

Willa, who overcame lowly beginnings to become a successful businesswoman, is mostly level-headed, but she’s deeply concerned about Magz, who has an autoimmune disorder that often leaves her in severe pain.

Despite the excellent acting and Allen McKelvey’s direction, the play can feel vague at times. It needs more background to help the audience understand why some of characters are the way they are. Some details seem sketchy, as do issues like the threat of global warming. Still, there are some lovely scenes, especially the one in which Carlin’s Vera talks to Leez about the specialized functions of feathers she has collected.

The production benefits from Callie Floor’s costumes, Michael Palumbo’s lighting and Clifford Caruthers’ sound. Chris Black served as dance consultant.

The play went through much work after being given a reading as part of the 2011 Global Age Project. Some more work is needed for it to reach its full promise.

“Our Practical Heaven” will continue at Aurora Theatre Company through March 3. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

The desire and subsequent decision to change one’s gender are fraught with emotional peril, but playwright Jane Anderson handles them with great sensitivity in “Looking forNormal,” staged by Palo Alto Players.

Director Marilyn Langbehn and her cast are equal to the delicate task of developing the complexities of each character’s emotional journey.

The plot focuses on Roy (Keith C. Marshall), a 45-year-old Midwesterner who has been happily married to his wife, Irma (Shannon Warrick), for 25 years. However, he has been having problems such as severe headaches. Because no physical cause has been found, he and Irma go to their pastor, Reverend Muncie (Dave Iverson), for counseling. That’s whenRoysays out loud for the first time that he was born in the wrong body. He should have been a woman, he says.

From there the action focuses on how each person in his immediate circle responds to his revelation. Irma is dumbfounded at first, wondering if she’s somehow at fault. Their 13-year-old daughter, Patty Ann (Samantha Gorjanc), seems curious about what physical changes will occur. Some of her reaction might stem from the fact that she’s a tomboy who might be questioning her sexuality. She’s also entering adolescence.

Their 22-year-old son, Wayne (Thomas Toland), who’s on the road with a rock band, is angry and disbelieving. Likewise,Roy’s mother, Em (Jackie O’Keefe), is dismayed upon readingRoy’s letter and decides not to share it with Roy Sr. (Jack Penkethman). He’s a retired farmer who was harsh onRoywhen he was growing up, but now he’s declining physically and mentally.

Frank (Vic Prosak),Roy’s boss at the John Deere plant and a longtime family friend, is mainly supportive of Irma. Reverend Muncie searches for answers in the Bible and on the Internet.

The play’s other character is Grandmother Ruth (Billie Harris), Roy’s deceased paternal grandmother who left her family and went to Europe when Roy Sr. was 4 years old. Wearing a tuxedo, she appears at various times to talk frankly and happily about all of her adventures and lovers, both male and female, throughout her life.

The set design by Patrick Klein is relatively simple with the family kitchen on one side andRoyand Irma’s bedroom on the other. Costumes are by Lisa Claybaugh with lighting by Selina Young and sound by George Mauro. Fight choreography is by Michael Daw.

After premiering in 2001, the play was made into an HBO film, “Normal,” starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson.

Speaking to thePalo Altoaudience after a recent performance, playwright Anderson said, “The play is not about transsexualism. It’s about a marriage … a meditation on what commitment really means.”

She set the play in theMidwestbecause “No matter what happens, they just get back on the plow. … People in theMidwesthave the gift for normalcy.” They just go on, she said.

In the case of Roy and Irma, they do go on because, in the long run, they love each other no matter what. Even thoughMarshallwas quite hoarse, it didn’t seem to affect his creation of a gentle, loving man who’s pained by the reactions of those around him but who’s even more pained to remain male.

Warrick’s Irma has perhaps the most difficult emotional arc. “How do you redefine a relationship in the face of staggering pressure, or do you just end it?” Langbehn asks in a series of questions in her director’s note.

“This play is a study in soul love, or marital love,”Andersonsaid after the performance. Warrick’s Irma andMarshall’s Roy shows how powerful such love can be.

“This is an extraordinary piece of theater,” Langbehn concluded. It’s well worth seeing.

It continues at the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through Feb. 3. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or go to www.paplayers.org.