Kedar K. Adour

GUEST REVIEW by William (Bill)  Deuell of Arnold, California:

KING LEAR @ Oregon Shakespeare Festival, June 2013

 I am not a student or fan of William Shakespeare. During my educational years, I had Shakespeare required reading which I believe was Romeo and Juliet. I found Shakespeare hard to read, difficult to understand, and I did not spend enough time to get to know how to enjoy Shakespeare’s works.

Nancy and I visited Ashland on the way home from a wonderful anniversary vacation in Gold Beach, Oregon. We had several choices of performances and chose King Lear since we had not seen it before and the reviews sounded interesting. We seemed to have overlooked the fact that the play was a “contemporary adaptation” of the original King Lear.

The theater was “in the round” and sold out. Our seats were in the second row from the front which put us as close to the action as you would want to be. Possibly, even too close as we felt almost part of the performance which at times became very violent.

Right from the start, the play held my attention, and also for the following four hours. The actors seemed to be the real characters Shakespeare had intended them to be. The sets were extraordinary, the sounds overwhelming, and the lighting truly unique. As in many Shakespeare plays, most of the characters die, and in this performance, have to be dragged from the stage. The makeup was so realistic, it actually made my stomach turn. At one point in the play, I looked at the audience in a beam of light, and one woman had the look of horror on her face.

Michael Winters played the role of King Lear. His performance was beyond my expectations. I cannot say enough regarding how he became the real King Lear and interfaced with the rest of the characters.

Daisuke Tsuji played the role of Fool. Probably because of the darkness of the play, his performance stood out as the only comedy relief. His performance was outstanding. 

Raffi Barsournian played the role of Edmund. He entered his part playing basketball which fit with the “contemporary” adaptation. He had a major role in this play, and did an exceptional job.

As for watching King Lear and others wandering around in their underwear, I cannot understand the point. Nancy says it is symbolic of dying and no need for clothes. That is good enough for me. You have to feel sorry for King Lear since he is now old and foolish.

Would I recommend attending the performance? Yes, I would recommend this play for anyone, whether the person is familiar with Shakespeare or not. There is something in this.

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL (OSF) 2013, P.O. Box158, 15 South Pioneer Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520. 541-482-2111 or www.osfashland.org

OSF Part II: Non- Shakespearean Plays:

Three of the four non-Shakespearean plays are being given excellent productions with My Fair Lady and The Heart of Robin Hood leading the pack with Streetcar Named Desire a close third. The Unfortunates is appreciated by some audiences but not by this reviewer. To recap a paragraph from the introduction in Part I of these reviews: “The Unfortunates commissioned by OSF with book, music, lyrics by 3 Blind Mice (Jon Beavers, Ian Merrigan, RamizMonsef and Casey Hurt, with additional material by Kristoffer Diaz) is an unfortunate experience. It was put together by a committee and it looks it. It is dressed in grunge, the music fluctuates between Hip-Hop, blues, jazz and Gospel without rhyme or reason and the convoluted inanely excessive story line is difficult to follow.”

Angus Bowmer Theatre:

MY FAIR LADY (2/17-11/3) Adapted from Book & Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Music by Frederick  Loewe. Director Amanda Dehnert. Choreographer   Jaclyn Miller.  Scenic   Design David Jenkins. Costume Design Devon Painter. Lighting  Design M.L. Geiger. Music/Sound Kai  Harada & Johanna Lynne Staub.

George Bernard Shaw would certainly not be thrilled with the original staging of My Fair Lady the musical based on his play Pygmalion even though much of his dialog is intact in text and lyrics. But he surely could not fault the total concept of Amanda Dehnert’s staging that is receiving raves reviews and will probably be sold out for its run scheduled for the entire season. He certainly would appreciate Jonathon Haugen’s performance as a bullying Professor Higgins who is challenged by his Pygmalion Elisa the once “squashed cabbage” whom he brought forth from her chrysalis to become a beautiful butterfly. Haugen’s solid portrayal of a ‘tough’ Professor Higgins is balanced by a fine comic timing in word and deed creating a memorable character infused with ambivalence. Shaw, the feminist, may want Eliza to ‘win the day’ but there will be no romance and Eliza don’t forget to bring the slippers.

The present production is absolutely cleverly unique and may be startling for those who have seen the show many times before but they will stand up cheering for the entire cast who hardly ever leave the stage. Hurricanes hardly ever happen in Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire but the certainly do on the Angus Bower stage.

The inventive Dehnert states in the program notes: “Life isn’t neat and theater isn’t clean,” Life is messy, so should theater be. You should see where the lights hang, see the clothes being put on and taken off, see how people transform through the power of imagination.”

To this declaration she has reduced the orchestra to two marvelous center-stage grand pianos played brilliantly by Matt Goodrich and Ron Ochs. They are occasionally accompanied by a solo violin especially for “I Could Have Danced All Night.”

Yes the actors do change their costumes on stage and they ascend and descend from stairs where they sit surrounding the action. A huge neon sign dominates the back wall proclaiming for all to know that this is “MY FAIR LADY” like no other. Would you believe that during the staging of the “Ascot Gavotte” the hats descend from the rafters to perfectly fit on the dancers heads?

Jonathan Haugen’s unstinting chauvinistic Higgins (“Why can’t a woman be more like a man?”) is matched word for word, song for song and body language by Rachel Warren’s scrappy Eliza. She has played the role many times across the U.S. and her stage presence matches her superb voice. Surprisingly Haugen, who is usually cast in a Shakespeare play, was brilliant as Brutus in Julius Caesar two years ago, has an excellent musical

comedy’s a voice to match.

No one upstages Anthony Heald and his show-stopping portrayal of Alfred P. Doolittle is proof of that. David Kelly does get his share of laughs as Colonel Pickering but Ken Robinson’s Freddy Eynsford-Hill singing “On the Street Where you Live” has the cast as well the audience cheering his performance.  Suggestion: Do Not Miss This Show.

 

 

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (4/17-11/2) by Tennessee Williams. Director Christopher Liam Moore. Scenic Design Christopher Acebo. Costume Design Alex Jaeger. Lighting Design Robert Wierzel. Music/Sound Andre J. Pluess.

The Angus Bowmer Theatre has no curtain for its proscenium arch and observing the delicate see-through two-story structure set off alarms for this reviewer. Not long into the 11 scene play, being staged in three acts with two intermissions, it became apparent that director Christopher Liam Moore was emphasizing the poetic aspect of Tennessee Williams’ seminal play. In doing so the casting of the very popular Danforth Comins as the rough hewn Polish Stanley Kowlaski may have been appropriate. Comins is no stranger to Williams’ plays having been cast two years ago as Biff in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof where he gave stunning performances.

Stanley, however, is a different breed than the sexually ambivalent Biff. He is a macho working class man whose rough sexual manners are integral to the Stella’s attraction and Blanche’s revulsion of him. One should not expect the guttural speech made famous by Marlon Brando on Broadway and in the film but Comins does not grasp the viciousness of Stanley’s personality and his shift in speech accents suggests that he has not fully invested himself in the role.

This is not the case with the other three major characters. Kate Mulligan initially portrays Blance Dubois on a one-dimensional note but early on her time upon the stage is quite brilliant and mesmerizing as she gradually descends into madness. Neil Giesslinger as Stella Kowalski nails the role as a stable sister to Blanche with an animal magnetism to Stanley. You will not recognize her as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew where she is so marvelously different in comedy. Jeffery King is perfect in the role as Harold Mitchell (Mitch) the lonely man saddled with a sick mother. His performance, though unique is reminiscent of Karl Malden.

There are other perceived casting errors including the poker game players who are non-distinctive and interchangeable in their acting or possibly as how they were directed. Daniel Jose Molina’s turn upon the boards as the young newspaper collection boy that Blanche attempts to seduce is a joy to watch. That scene is one you will remember but double casting the youngster as the doctor who takes Blanche away with her unforgettable line, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers,” is a serious flaw.

If you are unfamiliar with the plot go to your computer browser and type in: “A Streetcar Named Desire” and select the web site of your choice. Suggestions: Well worth seeing despite this somewhat negative review.

 

Elizabethan Stage/Allen Pavilion

THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD (6/5-10/12) by David Farr. U.S. PREMIERE. Director Joel Sass. Scenic Design Michael Ganio. Costume Design Sonya Berlovitz. Lighting Design M.L. Geiger. Composer Paul James Prendergast.

Time to set aside filmdom’s Douglas Fairbanks (1922) and Errol Flynn’s (1938) portrayal of Robin Hood and add John Tufts in tights to the list of actors trekking around Sherwood Forest in the role of “people’s choice” who robs from the rich and gives (shares?) with the poor. But did he, Robin, really do that? David Farr’s take on that legend suggests otherwise. In doing so he has created a hilarious script The Heart of Robin Hood that even includes a rival Martin of Sherwood.

It just happens that Martin starts out as Maid Marion (Kate Hurster) and Farr stealing a directorial conceit from Shakespeare puts her in men/boys clothing to compete with misogynistic and less than altruistic Robin and his Merry Men. Although the plot is complex in structure it is a breeze to follow. In doing so you will admire Director Joel Sass’s skill at creating humor even when heads roll and bodies litter the stage. His ‘shake-down’ of a crooked Friar (Jonathon Haugen) who physically looses his head brings gasps and laughter. Being able to do that indicates great directorial ability. There are a multitude of such brilliant staging effects that also include puppets, sword fights (of course), and fine comic acting by an expert cast giving the term ensemble performance a boost.

Prince John (Michael Elich) is the leader of the bad guys and true to form he is hot to marry Marion. He also is over-taxing the populous ostensibly to finance the Crusade against the “Muslim Terror” in the Near East where some of the good guys are. Off Marion goes to the magical forest ot become Martin of Sherwood. He/she is the true altruist by sharing his/her booty taken from the rich. Her sidekick Pierre (Daniel T. Parker) who against his better judgement tags along as Big Pete. Before all this happens we get to meet “Little John” (Howie Seago) who reluctantly joins the band when he learns that women are not allowed.

Most of the major characters are in place, conflict and strife arises, good guys get caught, good guys get rescued and love triumphs. Of course, what did you expect? After all the title is The Heart of Robin Hood. Plug the Dog (Tanya Thai McBride) has a ball hopping around the stage. Tufts and Hurster play off each other with perfect timing and display a charming charisma. Another member of the ensemble that deserves an accolade is Tasso Feldman who plays a valet, Priest, Lord “Tubbington”, the Green Man and a Wild Boar.

The staging, lighting, music and sound effects are spectacular and the forest uni-set mentioned in the introduction is perfect for this play. Running time a short 2 hours and 20 minutes including the 20 minute intermission.

SUGGESTION: An absolutely must see production.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Bay Area Reviewer for www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

NOTE: TheatreWorld does not publish Festival reviews and all reviews are archived on this web site.

 

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 2013, P.O. Box158, 15 South Pioneer Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520. 541-482-2111 or www.osfashland.org

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland has been under the Artistic Directorship of Bill Rauch for the last five years and each year there seems to be larger and more appreciative audiences. Rauch’s first foray into the OSF venue was in the 2006-2007 seasons when he received accolades for his directing of Romeo & Juliet and Two Gentlemen from Verona. He seems dedicated to the idea of “concept productions” of Shakespeare’s plays and the only ‘straight’ production in the last five years was the brilliant Henry VIII. The concept idea still dominates in 2013 and all three Shakespearean plays are parading the boards in very original and thought provoking style.

The least often produced Cymbeline and the ubiquitous A Midsummer Night’s Dream are gracing the outdoor Elizabethan Stage/Allen Pavilion and King Lear in the intimate theatre-in-the round Thomas Theatre (formerly the New Theatre). This year the evening performances begin at 8 rather than 8:30 p.m. which is a wise decision since many of the shows run three hours or more with King Lear ringing in at three hours and 15 minutes with two intermissions. Cymbeline takes second honors at three hours and 10 minutes with one intermission. The third play for the outdoor Elizabethan Stage is the U.S. Premiere The Heart of Robin Hood by David Farr an import from the Royal Vic of London that stole the hearts of the opening night audience. Most of the OSF plays receive standing ovations (whether they deserve them or not) but this one was the most spontaneous and deserved. It is ingeniously directed by Joel Sass who is no stranger to the Cal Shakes and the Bay area. Another familiar director is Amanda Dehnert who staged The Verona Project at the Bruns Amphitheatre also for Cal Shakes. Dehnert gets the brass ring for her imaginative, brilliant staging of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady. These last two mentioned plays alone are worth a visit to Ashland.

Another change for this year’s Elizabethan Stage is a “uni-set” used for all three productions. There probably is a cost savings but at a press conference the explanation was that Cymbeline, Dream and Robin Hood all have sylvan settings within their plots thus the unity of the set designs was appropriate. Sounds reasonable.

The final Shakespearean play is The Taming of the Shrew receiving a riotous rendition with the action taking place on an Atlantic City type board walk with a three piece onstage band. This production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national theatre initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Its purpose is to attract younge audiences. This Taming of the Shrew will most certainly do that. It starts and ends with a hip-hop style dance with the amplified guitar, bass and drums bringing cheers.

The final two plays seen in this five day visit are Tennessee Williams’ popular A Streetcar Named Desire and the World Premiere of The Unfortunates. Whereas Desire is well worth, with a few caveats about the staging, since Kate Mulligan as Blanche gives a Tony Award type performance. The Unfortunates commissioned by OSF with book, music, lyrics by 3 Blind Mice (Jon Beavers, Ian Merrigan, RamizMonsef and Casey Hurt, with additional material by Kristoffer Diaz) is an unfortunate experience. It was put together by a committee and it looks it. It is dressed in grunge, the music fluctuates between Hip-Hop, blues, jazz and Gospel without rhyme or reason and the convoluted inanely excessive story line is difficult to follow.

SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS:

Thomas Theatre.

KING LEAR by William Shakespeare (2/21- 11/3) Directed by Bill Rauch. Scenic design by Christopher Acebo. Costume design Linda Roethke.

Lightening design by Christopher Akerlind. Music and Sound Andre J. Pluess.

The interpretations/analyses of King Lear are multitudinous. Director Bill Rauch waxed eloquent in the program notes “. . . of this masterpiece. As deep as the Mariana Trench, as high as Mt. Everest, as vast as the star-filled sky? You bet.” Taking this as his gospel one might be engulfed in the magnitude of his dark and powerful staging on the intimate theatre in the round Thomas Stage. You are part of the action yet you may withdraw with revulsion at the violence of man’s inhumanity to man and the thought that individual characters must virtually and actually be blinded in order to “see” clearly.

If you accept Rauch’s premise, and it is very reasonable, why after a precisely staged and acted first scene does he have the technical crew wheel a massive basketball backboard onto the acting area having Edmund (Raffi Barsoumian) enter dribbling a basketball and shooting hoops? After much thought Rauch may to suggesting that it is all a game to Edmund and that game will turn deadly. OK, that’s almost acceptable.

Michael Winters, who was a brilliant Prospero at CalShakes, will alternate in the role of Lear with former ACT favorite Jack Willis. Winters played the role in the production we saw. He gave a commanding and dominating performance ably supported by Vilma Silva (Goneril), Robin Goodrin Nordli (Regan), Richard Elmore (Earl of Gloucester) and Sofia Jean Gomez (Cordelia).

The technical effects, that sometime overpower the acting, are at times massive (an eight foot high metal gate and fence stretching diagonally across the floor), a staircase extending to the rafters,  appalling (Gloucester’s eyes being put out) and clever (four flashlights illuminating Lear’s face as he goes mad in the storm scene). The elevator conveniently lifting a portion of center stage with props gets extended use.   Suggestion: Reservedly recommend.

 

 

Angus Bowmer Theatre:

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (2/15-11/3) by William Shakespeare. Director  David Ivers. Scenic Design    Joe Winiarski. Costume Design Meg Neville. Lighting Design Jaymi Lee Smith. Video/Projection Kristin Eflert. Music/SoundPaul James Prendergast.

In this age of political and social correctness The Taming of the Shrew becomes a problematic play as differentiated from Shakespeare’s problem plays. It is problematic because it treats women as chattel and has a misogynistic streak.  Fear not, David Ivers’ ingenious, hilarious staging is a joyful affair that will leave you laughing and is one of the must see productions at OSF.

You all know the story of rich Master Batista (Robert Vincent Frank) with two marriageable daughters. Elder shrewish Kate (Nell Geisslinger) and younger adorable beauty Bianca (Royer Backus) is being pursued by Gremio (David Kelly) and Hortensio (Jeremy Peter Johnson).  Alas along come Lucento (Wayne T. Carr) and his servant Tranio (John Tufts). They switch costumes in a screwball plot to get close to Bianca. But alas, no one gets Bianca until Kate is married off.  From Verona improvised Petruchio (Ted Deasy) with his servant Grumio (Tasso Feldman) come to Padua (A cue from Kiss Me Kate: “I’ve come to wed in wealthy in Padua”) and the fun begins.

Director David Ivers has set the action on an Atlantic City type boardwalk complete with neon everywhere and plentiful projections. A huge “Batista” sign blazes above his meat emporium that appropriately sputters when certain actions occur . Did I mention the three piece rock-a-billy band underneath that sign? Yep, they are there and with amplified sound accompany the denizens of the town in a hip-hop dance to start and end the evening.

The action is non-stop, the costumes garishly glorious, the acting spot on and funnier then hell. David Kelly as Gremio in robin-egg blue shorts is a hoot-and-a-holler stealing laughs from all. Deasy and Geisslinger are a perfect match and when the two newly married go off for their life together there is no doubt that Kate will win the day. Suggestion: Not to be missed.

Elizabethan Stage/ Allen Pavillion

CYMBELINE (6/4-10/11) by William Shakespeare. Director Bill Rauch. Scenic Design Michael Ganio. Costume Design Ana Kuzmanic. Lighting Design David Weiner. Music/Sound Paul James Prendergast. Choreographer Jessica Wallenfels.

Bill Rauch’s directorial abilities are legion. His versatility and imagination are on display (again) with his mounting of Cymbeline. Consider that he has converted and made sense of Shakespeare’s convoluted plot that takes place in England, Wales and Rome. It is often played as a dark tragedy but Rauch visualizes it as a romantic comedy with eventual happiness abounding while death liters the stage. It works to perfection. All this includes a kidnapping of King Cymbeline’s (Howie Seago) two sons that took place 20 years ago by a trusted friend Belarius (Jeffery King). Then there is the King’s beautiful, beautiful daughter Imogen (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) who is in love with orphaned Posthumus (Daniel Jose Molina). Alas, a mean Queen (Robin Goodrin Nordli), step-mother to Imogen has a nasty son Clothen (Al Espinosa) that she is grooming to be King and therefore must marry Imogen. The queen puts out a contract on Posthumus who flees to Italy.

In Italy, not to bright love smitten Posthumus meets and makes a stupid bet with egocentric lothario Iachimo (Kenajuan Bentley) who travels to London to attempt a dastardly deed on Imogen. England is still under Roman rule and a sub-plot brings a Roman General (Jack Willis) to England to collect tributes that Cymbeline will not pay. That leads to Shakespeare’s obligatory fight scenes (Fight director U. Jonathan Toppo). You know that Shakespeare is fond of girls disguising themselves as boys, so Imogen gets do that as she heads off to Wales now named Fidele.

Back in Wales we meet Belarius and the rowdy/royal (but loyal) sons Guiderius (Raffi Barsoumian) and Ariviragus (Ray Fisher) and they get to ‘adopt’ Fidele as a brother. A magic potion enters into the plot, Posthumus shows up (don’t ask), confusion eventual reigns, the bad guys die off, the good guys win the day, lovers unite and peace between Rome and England is resumed. A pair of ghosts flit on and off the stage and add little to the evening, even though they are written into the script

Suggestion: A must see show.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (6/6-10/13) by William Shakespeare. Director Christopher Liam Moore. Scenic Design Michael Ganio. Costume

Design Clint Ramos.  Lighting Design David Weiner. Music/Sound Sarah Pickett. Choreographer Jessica Wallenfels.

What a difference five years makes in the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In 2008 the show was directed by Mark Rucker and it was a fiasco to this reviewer and to OSF audiences. It was a raucous, rock music infused and garishly lighted production with the woodland fairies as high-heeled drag queens straight from a San Francisco Folsom Street Fair. Happily Liam Moore who is the adoptive parent of two pre-teen boys asked them, and other youngsters, their opinions of what fairies looked like. They all agreed they should wings.

Moore has helmed a marvelous cast of youngsters and adults (with wings of course) to play the fairies and surrounded them with charming mortals but maybe “What fools these mortals be.” This is a gentle modern dress version that begins at the graduation within a Catholic Boarding School in Athens. A Catholic priest replaces Duke of Athens Theseus (Richard Howard) and Mother Superior replaces Hippolyta (Judith-Marie Bergan). They are to be married in four days.

When Egeus (Robert Vincent Frank ) complains that his daughter Hermia (Tanya Thai McBride ) is messing around with Lysander (Joe Wegner ) but is  promised to Demetrius (Wayne T. Carr ), she is offered an ‘or else’. Or else what? Or else be sent off to a nunnery and remain a virgin forever and ever. That’s not for Hermia so she runs off into the forest with Lysander. But wait, Helena (Christiana Clark ) is in love with Demetrius but he not with her. They end up in the forest in hot pursuit.

But then there are the rag-tag group of would be thespians, that includes egotistical Nick Bottom (Brent Hinkley), who are to perform the  Pyramus and Thisbe interlude at the wedding four days hence. Off to the woods they go to rehearse by moonlight. There is a charming scene of that moon rising in various increments to dominate upstage right and is reversed as the evening ends.

King of the fairies Oberon (Ted Deasy) is upset with his queen Titania (Terri McMahon) and concocts a fairy dust to make her fall in love with the first person she sees on awakening. This fairy dust will also be used on our runaway lover(s). More complications: Puck (Gina Daniels) has turned Bottom into an ass and he is the first person Titania sees. . . love blossoms. Puck also puts the dust into Lysander’s eyes and the first person he sees is Helena.

From here on in the acting is an over-the-top romp with marvelous visual effects, a bit of slapstick and the little fairies (Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mustardseed and Moth) running around looking very cute. The greatest humor is provided by the acting troupe. Although Brent Bently has the most inane action and many of the laughs, Francis Flute playing Thisbe in drag and unbelievable costumes is hysterical. Not to be out done is

marvelous K. T. Vogt playing the wall in the interlude. Director Moore wisely extends the slapstick of the acting troupe since they set the audience in a fit of laughter.Suggestions: Highly recommended and bring the kids. The coupling of Bottom the ass and Titania is very discrete.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Hershey Gelder on the set for GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE on Berkeley Rep’s thrust stage playing until  June 23,2013

GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE: Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. Book by Hershey Felder, with Hershey Felder as George Gershwin.  Directed by Joel Zwick. Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org  june 8–23, 2013

GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE a pleasant evening but no brass ring at Berkeley Rep.

George and Ira Gershwin provided Broadway and Hollywood with a plethora of lyrics and music that thrilled audiences at the time they were written and are still doing so today. They wrote more than 1000 popular songs together and if asked the question of what came first, the music or the lyrics, Ira would insist that they were intrinsically created as one. This is what Hershey Felder playing George Gershwin tells us early on in his 90 minutes upon the stage as he takes on the mantle and persona of George Gershwin and occasionally lectures to us.

Felder who is an accomplished pianist and adequate singer wrote the show after doing extensive research perusing original manuscripts, personal letters, interviewing family and biographers and, of course, listening to audio recordings. The results are very apparent as we learn about the short life of George Gershwin and listen to his music played on the center stage grand piano, sung by the performer and often in recorded music.  George and Ira wrote over 1000 popular songs and George, who wished to be known as a serious composer alone created “Rhapsody in Blue”, “An American in Paris” and “Porgy and Bess.”

Felder has been playing Gershwin for over 10 years and his polished delivery never misses a beat from his narrative, singing or piano playing. His first big hit was “Swanee” that was picked up and made famous by Al Jolson. Felder’s mimicry of  Jolson’s singing and the similarity of Ethyl Merman’s singing brought the most laughter of the evening.

There is not much laughter during the evening since Gershwin’s life is not the stuff that dreams are made of since he died at age 38 of a brain tumor. Early in his career he was financially successful enough to buy a 5 story Brown Stone house in New York City where his entire family lived. This period in the story telling of the relationship between his diminutive father and large dominating Russian-Jewish mother and his fathers deep love was both funny and touching.

Where acclaim and financial success were the end result of their popular music, George’s foray into the semi-classical genre with “Rhapsody in Blue”, “American in Paris” and opera with Porgy and Bess was devastating to his ego when they were panned by the critics.  In time his genius was recognized but critical failure of Porgy and Bess also was a financial one and the brothers went off to Hollywood to write for the movies. Alas, the moguls there wanted songs that could be whistled like “those of Irving Berlin.”

Into this biographic story telling Gelder liberally introduces such memorable songs as “I Got Rhythm”, “Summertime”,“They Can’t Take That Away from Me”,  “Fascinating Rhythm”, “But Not for Me”, “S’Wonderful” and more.  To end the evening he plays the entire score of “Rhapsody in Blue” with appreciated energy. Although he received a standing ovation, for this reviewer and companion it was a pleasant evening but did not grab the brass ring.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Gil (Colman Domingo) and Mo (Duane Boutté) embark on a wild road trip in WILD WITH HAPPY,receiving its West Coast Premiere June 5 – 30 at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Photo credit: Mark Kitaoka

WILD WITH HAPPY: Comedy by Colman Domingo and directed by Danny Scheie. TheatreWorks at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View.  (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.Through June 30, 2013.

Wild with Happy at TheatreWorks a hysterical bittersweet ride.

The meaning of the title of Colman Domingo’s smash hit that is gracing TheatreWorks stage in Mountain View does not become known until the penultimate scene of his 90 minute opus. From the opening song “Get Happy” (Forget your troubles, come on get happy. Get Ready for the Judgment Day) played before the curtain rises to the final fireworks a cast of four playing multiple roles will take you on a ride to end all rides. Since the play is sort of a gay fairy tale, in more ways than one, be assured that it will have a happy ending . . . well sort of.

The play is non linear with characters breaking the fourth wall for explanations and smoothly moving from the past into the present time frame with nary missing a beat. Our hero Gil (Colman Domingo) returns from New York to Philadelphia to make arrangements for his mother’s funeral. But there are problems both emotional and financial.  He is afraid of church. Flash back: He is 10 years old and his Mother Adelaide (Sharon Washington) has dragged him into a Black Church revival ceremony to end all ceremonies and  after an unnamed singer (Duane Boutte) belts out a gospel that drives the congregation mad including Adelaide who goes into a frightening swoon.

Gil, with feelings of guilt up to his expressive eyeballs ends up at the Four Seasons Funeral home where you “always check in but never check out.” Gil meets Terry (Richard Prioleau), fourth generation owner of the establishment. Sparks fly, physical humor abounds, the unexpected happens. Gil loses a shoe after he “bonds” with Terry, and Mother Adelaide is cremated.

Enter our protagonist, Gil’s Aunt Glo (Sharon Washington) who expresses in no uncertain terms that Black people don’t do cremation and her description of what should be done and how it should be done is a lesson in class culture with humor and sincerity abounding. “You only do cremation when you’re too fat to fit into the coffin!” “We’ve got tradition going back to Lucy.” Aunt Glo may be into tradition but she is not above emptying the departed Adelaide’s clothes closet in a scene that is hilarious and reminiscent of Zorba the Greek. Later she accepts modern technology taught to her by Mexicans (really?).

Along comes Mo (Duane Boutte), Gil’s best friend and former lover to take Gil and Adelaide’s ashes where she was most happy. Not only where she was most happy but ‘wild with happy.” You will have to see the show to find out where that is.

Thus begins the wild ride in beautiful cutout cars (Sets by the Eric Flatmo) with TV projections of Gil, Mo and the cremation urn in the robin-egg blue convertible Zip Car being chased by Glo and Mo in a brown sedan using the Mexican installed GPS chip in a Cinderella doll. Remember that fact and a previous fact above. They will give you hints to the climactic ending.

Sharon Washington as Aunt Glo is a whirlwind of action, actually verbal action, which is astounding as she shifts adroitly between her two roles. Coleman Domingo almost matches Washington’s performance, after all he did write the script. Director Danny Sheie splashes on some shtick giving Duane Boutte the opportunity to be overly gay and emote. This includes a scene of being chased up and down the aisles and ending up twirling a baton.  Understandably handsome Richard Prioleau as Terry is attractive to Gil. Think the Prince and Cinderella.

All is not comedy and Domingo has inserted a few scenes, including the surprising ending that adds the needed pathos. So, forget your troubles, come on get happy and head down to TheatreWorks for this 90 minute evening of fun without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

(left to right): Allison Meneley (Little Red), Kyle Stoner (Jack), David Naughton (Cinderella’s Prince) and Courtney Merrell (Cinderella)

INTO THE WOODS: Musical. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine.Ray of Light Theatre, The Eureka Theatre (Jackson @ Battery) in San Francisco. www.rayoflighttheatre.comMay 31 – June 29, 2013

Into the Woods at the Eureka where energy tops quality

After seeing four local productions of Into the Woods comparisons are inevitable. The TheatreWorks production was the most professional, the Sixth Street mounting the most charming, the Broadway by the Bay staging most hectic and this Ray of Light creation the most energetic. Energy is a trademark descriptive adjective for Ray of Light as is professionalism .Most of the dissatisfaction can be attributed to the direction of the final act where visual humor supersedes quality diction and necessary intricate timing to make it a rewarding evening.

Sondheim and Lapine’s contorted view of fairy-tales begins with a narrator, who doubles as Mysterious Man (Derek Travis Collard) saying “Once upon a time, a Baker and his Wife journey into the woods. . .” where they meet Little Red Riding Hood (Allison Meneley), Cinderella (Courtney Merrell), Jack of Beanstalk fame (Kyle Stoner), Rapunzel (Melissa Reinertson)), two Princes (Ted Zoldan and a fine David Naughton)) and a menagerie of other characters. The creators have added their own fairy tale of a Baker (Austin Ferris), and his wife (Nikki Arias) who is childless due to a curse placed on them by the neighboring Witch (Michele Jasso) because the baker’s father has stolen the greens from her garden. This is the first bit of morality that abounds in the play; the son shall be punished for his father’s sin.

The witch will remove the curse if they venture forth (into the woods) and gather ingredients for a potion to remove the curse. Searching for the ingredients the Baker and his wife meet the aforementioned characters. Each possesses one ingredient: Jack “a cow as white as milk”, Red Riding Hood “the cape as red as blood”, Rapunzel “the hair as yellow as corn” and Cinderella “a slipper as pure as gold.” All have ventured “into the woods” for their own purpose to “find what they wish for.”  By the end of the energetic, humorous, intriguing 90-minute first act all have found what they wish for singing a rousing first act curtain chorus of “Ever After” and they should “live happily ever after.”

It has been said that when the musical is performed by High School groups it ends with the rousing happy “Ever After” finale. There is the admonishment to “beware of what you wish for.” The narrator’s Act II prologue “So Happy” ends with the Baker’s house destroyed by a huge footprint.  The widow of the Giant Jack has slain is back to seek her revenge. Back into the woods they all go. This time the plot is indeed black surrounded by death and destruction and “happily ever after” is not to be. Sondheim interjects a hopeful note with the plaintive “No One Is Alone” and the finale “Children Will Listen.”

Collard as the narrator and Mysterious man does not project enough authority to keep the story going. Pity that the Giant’s widow throws him into oblivion thus predicting the characters will never know how their stories will end. Michele Jasso makes the wicked witch wicked, while singing Sondheim’s convoluted lyrics, and is gorgeous when transformed into a mere mortal with no unearthly powers but lacks the vocal demeanor for the role. Austin Ferris as the gentle but reticent Baker is the splendid foil for Nikki Arias (the wife) whose voice and acting almost steals the show. Almost, but not quite, since Kyle Stoner is charming and loveable as Jack of Beanstalk fame and David Naughton and Ted Zoldan are fun to watch as they preen and prance on and off stage.  Courtney Merrell’s over the top depiction of the gluttonous Little Red Riding Hood has her moments but could tone down the histrionics.

To mention all 18 members of the cast would make a long review. Be assured they all perform admirably with enthusiasm, zany humor, and flair while seeming to have fun. Once again, as with their previous productions, Sondheim’s delicious lyrics are not enunciated clearly and often drowned out by the orchestra. They are moving back to the Victoria Theatre for their next show where the acoustics are much better. Running time a long 2 hours and 50 minutes with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

(L to R) Dena Martinez as Sacajawea, Sharon Lockwood as William Clark, Dan Hiatt as Meriwether Lewis, and Sean San José as Juan José in Cal Shakes’ American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya, directed by Jonathan Moscone; photo by Kevin Berne.

American Night: The Ballad of Juan José: Comedy. By Richard Montoya. Directed by Jonathan Moscone.California Shakespeare Theater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda.(510) 548-9666. www.calshakes.org. June 1- June 23

AMERICAN NIGHT: THE BALLAD OFJUAN JOSE at CalShakes rocks!!

A wise teacher once said “A lesson taught with humor is a lesson learned.” The rolling laughter in the audience at the Bruns Amphitheater on the opening of American Night: The Ballad of Juan José indicated that lessons were being learned big time scene after scene.  Written by Richard Montoya and developed by Culture Class and Jo Bonney it had its world premiere in 2010 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and was the only show in their entire history to be extended by popular demand. Because of commitments of their 2013 season CalShakes may not have that option so don’t wait to get your ticket(s).

It all begins on the eve of the day Mexican immigrant Juan Jose (Sean San Jose) will take his citizenship exam. He falls asleep and has a fantastic dream tracing mostly the history of America. His dream trek though time is full of esperanza (hope) and the characters he meets are broad caricatures, in extravagant costumes (Martin Schnellinger) backed up by jarring music to match the nonstop action and irreverent dialog. Director Jonathon Moscone has imbued them with enough slapstick to fill a couple of shows.

Who is our intrepid hero Juan José traveling through a chimerical dream? He is a former honest Mexican policeman and when he does not accept bribes to “just do nuthin” or else there will be a contract on his life. What is an honest Mexican cop to do but seek sanctuary in the marvelous country north of his border where the sign reads (in red, white and blue of course): U.S.A.  BIENVENIDOS. Time has passed and now Juan must pass the citizenship exam before he can bring his family into America.

Of the nine member cast eight actors play 80 plus roles and Sean San Jose plays only one, the lead. For example local favorite Dan Hiatt starts out as a proselytizing Mormon, ends up as labor leader Harry Bridges and in between as Abraham Lincoln, a Klu Klux Klan leader, etc, etc. Sharon Lockwood switches genders often once playing William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) to Dan Hiatt as Meriwether Lewis, She is a riot as “Who Wants to Be an American” Game Show Spokesmodel.  Dena Martinez plays the recurring role of Juan’s wife but also shows up as Joan Baez and Sacajawea. Margo Hall is a joy as she flips in an out of her characters and she even plays a living clock to mark the passage of time and is most effective as Viola Pettus the African-American nurse who treated friend and enemy alike during the Spanish flu pandemic. Two roles played by Tyee Tilghman’s are a black cowboy and Jackie Robinson. Todd Nakagawa starts out as Brother Clark, Dan Haitt’s Mormon cohort and has a serious stint upon the stage as teen-aged Mexican Ralph Lazo who joined his Japanese friends at the Manzanar Internment Camp.

All the actors are marvelous but if you must pick out one of the bunch for special praise it would be full bodied Richard Ruiz who bounces around the stage with the agility of a Billy goat playing Juan José the First, Teddy Roosevelt, a Sumo wrestler, Bob Dylan and to close  the show as Neil Diamante belting a song in a Woodstock setting. Running time 90 minutes without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theathreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Pictured left to right: Sam Cohen as Jack and Rudy Guerrero* as Sam and in “Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?” Directed by John Fisher; A Theatre Rhinoceros Production at The Costume Shop. Photo by Kent Taylor.

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?: Agitprop Drama by Caryl Churchill. Directed by John Fisher. Theatre Rhinoceros, At the Costume Shop, 117 Market Street @ 7^th, San Francisco, CA. 415-552-4100 or www.therhino.com. EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 23

Rhino Theatre’s latest work requires your attention.

Since the Rhinoceros Theater group has had to relocate from the 16^th Street digs they have performed in local venues including the Eureka Theatre and Thick Description. For their present production through the courtesy of A.C.T. they are ensconced at Costume Shop on Market Street. Word has filtered down that they have had to good fortune for their 2014 Season will be a spot in Z Space where The Traveling Jewish Theatre performed.

In the present space that is a black box affair the audience and actors are in intimate  contact. For Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? as directed by John Fisher that may be too intimate. Caryl Churchill, the noted British playwright who champions feminist movements and has a reputation for taking political establishments to the wood shed draws you into the controversy that surrounds her work. Her last foray into San Francisco was the brilliant production A Number at A.C.T. in which human genetic cloning was the topic. At the end of that play there was no doubt what her position on the subject was.

She leaves no doubt about her political feelings in Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? She bluntly suggests that Britain’s Prime Minister Blair had prostituted himself to George W. Bush. The two male characters are given the names of Sam and Jack. Sam representing the U.S. of A. . . . Uncle Sam, get it? And Jack as in Union Jack of Britain. She forcefully suggests that their alliance furthered world political devastation. It is not surprising that noted Rhino director John Fisher has elected to over emphasize the homosexual extent of the pairing since they advertise as “35th Anniversary of Queer Theatre in San Francisco.” A large comfortable bed fills most of the space and it is often used for the sexual encounters that often appropriately fit into the dialog.

Speaking of the dialog, there are no, absolutely no complete sentences even when one character interrupts but never finishes off what the other is saying. Yes, your attention is required. After the opening line as Jack asks “Am I drunk enough to say I love love you?” and is interrupted by Sam. Jack insists “Not that I don’t still love my wife and children but. .”

It is established that men are gay before the political diatribe begins with Sam being the aggressive macho leader and Jack the follower eventually a believer. There are no extraneous props since Fisher has elected to use projections effectively allowing no interference with Churchill’s dialog. Rudy Guerrero as Sam is a dynamo and Sam Cohen is the perfect foil and has the most difficult job of switching his emotional stance as the play progresses.

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? is less than an hour long and Rhino has filled out the evening with two 10 minute plays that are related to it. Churchill’s short play Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza was reviled for being anti- Jewish. In response to Churchill, Deborah S. Margolin wrote in rebuttal Seven Palestinian Children: A Play for the Other. They are two character plays both written in Churchill’s discursive style with no indication whether the man or the woman should speak the line. The former play takes place in Europe, America and Israel and the later in Palestine. Kim Stephenson is teamed with Sam Cohen in the first and Rudy Guerrero in the second. Again the use of projections are an integral part of Fisher’s direction and they are extremely affective.

Running time for the entire evening is one hour and 30 minutes including an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of  www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Marissa Keltie, Carl Lumbly, and Stacy Ross in the first American production of Mark O’Rowe’s “Terminus” at Magic Theatre. (Photo: Jennifer Reiley)

TERMINUS: a Dark Drama. by Mark O’Rowe. Directed by Jon Tracy. at Magic Theatre, Building D, FortMasonCenter, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA94123. 415-441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org    Through June 16, 2013

TERMINUS  at the Magic is dramatic, dark, daring and a devastating production

In 1925 Harold Ross, the editor of the New Yorker, famously declared “that it is not edited for the old lady in Dubuque.” In 2007 Irishman Mark O’Rowe wrote Terminus that is being given a dramatic, dark, daring and a devastating first American  production  that would shock that old lady in Dubuque. The opening night audience was silently spellbound until the final curtain when they erupted with a standing ovation.

O’Rowe has created a three-hander series of monologs written in non-descript rhyme without a whit of action yet filled with action in the words of three superior actors. His three characters are nameless indicated only as A, B and C. Consider them as tour guides that take us on a profane trip through the underbelly of Dublin. Before the play concludes the lives of these three disparate human beings mingle, nay collide as that meet death . . . the terminus of the title.

[DARK]: The intimate three-side theatre is shrouded in dark smoke and the stage an irregular black blob that could be a pile of slag from a coal mine or an unfinished construction site that is the place where the play reaches its climax.

[DRAMATIC]: A (Stacy Ross) is a female of 40 whom we learn was a teacher and now volunteers at a suicide crisis hotline.  She receives a call from a former student who is 8 months pregnant seeking an abortion. There has been a previous relationship with the student and A sets out to aid the girl. On her trip through the back alleys of the city she encounters lesbian gangs who perform abortions in the back of bars with improvised instruments that will appall you.

[DARING]: B (Marissa Keltie) is twenties lonely depressed female who accepts an invitation to share a pint at a local pub. This apparently simple decision leads to an “I dare you to” situation ending high up on a construction crane leading to a brush with death. Fantasy enters into O’Rowe’s dialog and there is the most beautiful passage as B ‘relives’ her past life.

[DEVASTATING]:  C (Carl Lumbly) a 30s male whose insecurity causes him to seduce women and disembowel them. He is a mass murder who has sold his soul to the Devil. Lumbly mesmerizes the audience with his sharp diction and frightening change of personality that is written into his monolog(s).

Each actor has two turns upon the stage and their paths inextricably cross leading to a contrived ending suggesting that they are all going to Hell. This is the type script that director Jon Tracy can sink his teeth in and he does not disappoint. His actors are pitch perfect in their delivery. Running time is 100 minutes without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of   www.theatreworldinternetrmagazine.com

 

Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters return to Berkeley Rep with Dear Elizabeth, which stars Mary Beth Fisher (left) and Tom Nelis as esteemed poets and lifelong friends Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.  Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

DEAR ELIZABETH BY Sarah Ruhl and directed by Les Waters. Berkeley Rep’s, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org. Through July 7, 2013

DEAR ELIZABETH is not about Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Many of the opening night audience were totally unaware of poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell even though they were prominent writers from the late 30s to the early 70s. When director Les Waters was first asked to collaborate with Sarah Ruhl who was working on a stage version of the complete correspondence between Bishop and Lowell, published in 2008 as the 900-plus “Words in Air.” He confesses that he too was unaware of their work or fame but that did not deter him.

Ruhl and Waters are close friends and their collaborative works have graced the Berkeley Rep’s stages including the superb Eurydice and In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play. They have again come up with a winner but it lacks the total qualities displayed in their previous outings. This may be due to the limitations place on Ruhl by the trustees of the poets’ estates. She could only use the words written in the letters without embellishment. The words at times soar and apparently create a true picture of two troubled souls that intellectually united even when many miles separated them.  It is Les Waters’ staging and direction that keeps the evening mostly alive.

This show is a co-production with the Yale theatre group where it received its world premiere in 2012 and Mary Beth Fisher reprises her role as Elizabeth Bishop. The talented Tom Nellis is the second half of this two-hander and creates a multifaceted Robert Lowell including bouts of manic depression (now known as bi-polar disorder), flights of fancy and touching unrequited love. Fisher is completely comfortable in her role and displays a perfect touch of reticence between her underplayed bouts of alcoholism.

They sit side by side on a desk center stage on Annie Smarts beautiful yet utilitarian set that must become multiple locations such as Yaddo an artist’s colony in Saratoga Springs, New York, Brazil, Maine, Italy, the Library of Congress and many more. Projections are used to delineate time and place.The actors leave the desk to make forays to left or right stage that become their individual domains and they only physically embrace once. This gesture may be imaginary gesture since Bishop was enamored with Lota de Macedo Soares her Brazilian partner.

To spice things up, clever Les Waters actually adds a real waterfall that floods the stage, not once but twice to emphasize Bishop’s poem:

“There are too many waterfalls here; the crowded streams

hurry too rapidly down to the seas,

and the pressure of so many clouds on the mountaintops

makes them spill over the sides in soft slow-motion,

Turning to waterfalls under our very eyes.

(Excerpt from “Questions of Travel”)

In summary: A charming evening worth a visit. Running time under two hours including intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com