Kedar K. Adour

Beth Wilmurt (Maureen Folan) and Rod Gnapp (Pato Dooley) in Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, directed by Mark Jackson, at Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, now through June 16. Phtos by Kevin Berne

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE: Drama by Martin McDonagh and Directed by Mark Jackson. Marin Theatre Company (MTC), 97 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. (415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org. May 23 – June 16, 2013

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE needs closed-caption super titles.

Irish plays are notoriously talkative and so it is with Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane. It is the first of his multi-award-winning “Leenane Trilogy” that includes A Skull in Connemara and, The Lonesome West taking place in the imaginary village of Leenane in Connemara, County Galaway. Leenane has “been described as not as a place to live, but a place to leave.”

McDonagh in his imaginary village has created a claustrophobic setting with the action taking place in a single room kitchen where the title character Maureen (Beth Wilmurt) is living with her demanding and controlling 70 year old mother Mag (Joy Carlin). The 40 year old Maureen has become Mag’s caretaker when the two other sisters ‘escaped’ by marrying and raising families.  Middle-aged construction worker Pato Dooley (Rod Gnapp) living in London re-visits Leenane and after a night of drinking is brought home and bedded by Maureen. As the first act ends there is the spark of romance and one last hope for Maureen to a live a life of her own.

The possibility for the two lonely souls of Maureen and Pato to bond continues in act two with a bitter-sweet monolog by Pato that Gnapp nails with pathos and sincerity. He puts those words into a letter that his brother Ray Dooley (Joseph Salazar) is to deliver only to Maureen. Not to bright Ray is conned by Mag into leaving the letter with her and after she reads the letter burns it. This sets up a chain of horrendous events that have become trade marks of McDonough’s plays.

Mark Jackson is noted for his physically inventive direction but this play becomes more of a fantasy rather than a cruel slice of life written into the text. His last turn at the Aurora Theatre for The Arsonists was stunning. He totally misses the mark for Beauty Queen and may have been undone by a platform set (Nina Ball) mounted in the center of the total stage with flat panels stretching from stage  floor to the ceiling used to project atmospheric lighting (York Kennedy). The music selections (Matt Stines) also leave something to be desired.

Then we return to the dialect coaching (Lynne Soffer). Joseph Salazar’s Irish brogue and speed of delivery makes his speeches almost completely

Joy Carlin as Mag Folan

unintelligible and the production crew would be wise to use closed caption super titles while he is on stage. Beth Wilmurt in the lead role is hesitant in the early scenes but becomes very professional as the story unfolds. What make the play worth a visit are the performances of theatre Bay Area legend Joy Carlin with her multilayered performance and the control of the stage by Rod Gnapp when he makes in entrances. Running time about 2 hours including an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworlinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

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Full cast: Angela (Allison Jean White*) Tony (Patrick Kelly Jones*), Sue (Julia Brothers*) Bev (Susi Damilano), and Laurence (Remi Sandri*)
Photos by Jessica Palopoli

ABIGAIL’S PARTY: Comedy by Mike Leigh and directed by Amy Glazer. SF Playhouse, 450 Post Street, @ Powell, San Francisco, CA 94102 . 415.677.9596 or www.sfplayhouse.org.

May 21 to July 6, 2013

ABIGAIL’S PARTY a dynamic resurrection at SF Playhouse

English drama underwent a critical change in the 60s and 70s with plays being infused with social conscience depicting ordinary people. Early on in that era the noted Arnold Wesker wrote a play titled The Kitchen Sink and that was partially the origin of the term “kitchen sink realism.”  Mike Leigh a contemporary of Wesker’s, but 10 years younger, was nurtured in that milieu and Abigail’s Party, written 35 years ago in 1977, is part of that genre.

Probably a major difference is the intellectual construct of the play that became Leigh’s unique methodology. Rather than write a finished script he started with improvisation after selecting actors for specific roles and allowing them to interact spontaneously. When they had sufficiently “become” that character, Leigh produced a script. So it was with Abigail’s Party. By using this method the final product did have minor topical social significance but truly was a script for directors and actors to demonstrate their wares.

SF Playhouse, in their trademark over-the-top productions, has grasped that quality and under Amy Glazer’s tight but free form direction with brilliant actors has come up with a sparkling production unfolding on another of Bill English’s fantastic sets.  That set is symbolic of the upward mobile “wannabes” of English society reflecting wealth without artistic taste.

The occupants of the house are financially successful and hyperactive estate agent Laurence (Remi Sandri) and his trophy wife Beverly (seductive Susi Damilano).  They are giving a cocktail party, complete with Hors d’oeuvre that include toothpick skewered pineapple-cheese  bites and music that includes a Donna Summer record. Significantly, in a clever plot twist that actually defines a trait in Laurence’s character there are no olives out on the huge coffee table.

Presumably, the reason for the party is to get to know the neighbors.  Angela (Allison Jean White) a nurse and Tony a husky working class bloke (Patrick Kelly Jones) have moved into the upward mobile area two weeks ago. The other guest is Susan (Julie Brothers) divorced 2 years ago whose 15 year old daughter Abigail (who never appears but is tied into a significant plot twist) is having a party at her home down the street.

In the opening scene Laurence has returned home late and in their banter is the first suggestion that their marriage is a bit tenuous. The neighbors are virtually strangers so why were they invited? Apparently for Laurence to display his artistic/affluence showing off his leather bound set of Dickens’ work, his garish overstuffed leather furniture and his love of classical music. Beverly’s motive is not specifically identified but apparently is an attempt to seduce Tony. After the alcohol takes effect, she overtly flirts with Tony.

That is the simple storyline that unfolds in less than two hours in two acts with an intermission. It is the acting that is absolutely superb making this show a must, must see production. Susi Damilano’s in a form fitting, bodice displaying gown exudes sexual attraction as bounces around the stage and garners your attention. The non-verbal performances of Julie Brothers and Patrick Kelly Jones who have minimal dialog would rate Tony Awards. Allison Jean White who initially is a motor-mouth dingbat for most of the evening swings into a gyrating dance late in the play bringing gales of laughter.  When the crisis occurs she switches demeanor adroitly taking charge as the virtual curtain descends.

Kedar Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

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“Birds do it, bees do it- Let’s fall in love!”
L to R: Dave Levine as Roy, Luke Taylor as Tango, Elissa Beth Stebbins as Zookeeper and Christopher Morrell as Birder

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Comedy by Marc Acito and directed by Tom Bruett. New Conservatory Theatre Center, (Walker Theatre), located at 25 Van Ness Avenue near Market Street in San Francisco, 94102. (415) 861-8972 or online at www.nctcsf.org.

Through June 29, 2013

BIRDS OF A FEATHER an anthropomorphic evening of serious fun.

An excellent way to make a controversial point palatable to an audience is to give animals human traits known as anthropomorphism and allow them to convey your ideas/words. You see this every day in cartoons. Marc Acito, author of the comic novels How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex has taken actual events involving birds and humans coming up with this clever play Birds of a Feather receiving its San Francisco premiere at the New Conservatory in the intimate Walker Theatre.

One of the three major elements of the story involve a real pair of male penguins who nested together and were allowed to hatch an egg and raise the chick with both sharing the nesting duties. This story of ‘gay’ penguins inspired the children’s book And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. Alas, the book was banned from school library and it also raised the hackles of conservatives because of the homosexual nature of the penguin’s relationship.

The second part of the story involves a pair of red-tailed hawks, Pale Male and Lola, who built a nest on the upper floor of a luxury high rise building and became a viewing sensation for New York City and beyond. The nesting pair were the darlings of millions of people with the exception of those who lived in the building because of half-eaten rats and pigeons and bird s—t. The nest was taken down but the uproar of the populous was so great the condo rebuilt a platform for future nests. Pale Male and Lola never produced another chick in that nesting area.

The third element involves the humans Paula Zahn and her husband who were the darlings of the paparazzi who documented their nasty divorce proceedings in all the tabloids and on TV.

Four fine actors play multiple (25+??) roles and change swiftly in and out of costumes changing their demeanor to fit that specific character. The two penguins are Silo and Roy (Luke Taylor and David Levine) and the two hawks are the same pair playing Pale Male and Lola. Levine slips from the female caricature of Roy to the macho male image of Pale Male and vice versa for Taylor from male penguin Silo to female hawk Lola. It is all a lot of fun with serious over-tones of gender specific roles being unacceptable since each pair of birds is a ‘family’ sharing child rearing.

Elissa Beth Stebbins as the Zookeeper and Paula Zane give the most professional performance without infringing on the actions of her fellow thespians. The other ‘human’ is simply called Birder and Christopher Morrell who has to play it mostly straight is a great match for Stebbins. In the play those characters are loners but Acito has a charming semi-epilog who find the first tentative stirrings of love as the story of Roy and Silo comes to an end.  They discover each other reaffirming that being love is tough but is a hell of a lot better than loneliness.

The dialog and physical action is supplemented by projections including a video of  the hawks flying under the “Everywhere of Blue” so admired by penguin Silo. Running time about 90 minutes with an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

Rebekah Brockman (Thomasina Coverly) and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Septimus Hodge) in A.C.T.’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, directed by Carey Perloff. Photo by Kevin Berne.

ARCADIA: Drama. By Tom Stoppard. Directed by Carey Perloff. American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org. Through June 9, 2013.

Stoppard’s abstruse ARCADIA is beautifully staged by A.C.T.

The love affair between artistic director Carey Perloff and Tom Stoppard continues with a stunning staging of the esoteric Arcadia that is considered Stoppard’s masterpiece. A.C.T.’s first go around with Stoppard began in 1969 with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and continued with Jumpers, Travesties, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia I(1995), Indian Ink U.S. Premiere), The Invention of Love (U.S. Premiere), and lastly Rock ‘n Roll.  With the exception of Arcadia this reviewer had seen all of the plays listed and was impressed.

It behooves those of us who have never seen nor read Arcadia to do research about the concepts discussed in the two acts, seven scene, and three hour play before going to the theatre. Even then there will be difficulty understanding the interaction of two generations one who has lived and the other living 200 years later in a very large country house in Derbyshire, England. The scenes shift from1809 to the present with the final scene a confusion as Stoppard has taken a page from Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves having the two families, although in different eras, sharing the same space. The first scene is a joy to watch with fine actors romping about and capturing the audience with its self-contained storyline wrapped in humor with marvelous tongue-and-cheek direction.

It is 1809 and the place is a room on the garden front of the mansion. Intellectually precocious 13 year old Thomasina Coverly (Rebekah Brockman) is studying mathematics with her tutor Septimus Hodge (Jack  Cutmore-Scott). She is trying to prove Fermat’s last theorem but she is

Jack Cutmore-Scott (Septimus Hodge) and Nicholas Pelczar (Ezra Chater)

more interested in having a definition of “carnal embrace” since the word has spread that Septimus was seen in the gazebo having such an embrace with Mrs. Chater married to second-rate poet Ezra Chater (Nicholas Pelczar).  Ezra, with Captain Brice (Nick Gabriel) as his second is attempting to induce Septimus into a duel.  Pelczar plays the role of Ezra with flamboyant indignation while Cutmore-Scott’s Septimus parries with brilliant delicious aplomb and flattery that wins the day. It helps that San Francisco icon Ken Ruta plays the role of Jellaby the butler.

From this point on, Stoppard indulges in his trademark intellectual banter with each major character getting his turn to emote and carry the storyline as the time frame shifts between 1809 and the present. To Stoppard’s credit and Perloff’s direction the relationship between the family characters becomes understandable and the unraveling of who did what to whom is plausible.

Lord Byron is introduced into the mystery of what happened to Ezra Chater. Did Byron have a fling with Chater’s wife and did he kill Ezra in a duel? This allows Stoppard to introduce Bernard Nightingale (dynamic Andy Murray) a present day literary critic and chronicler of Lord Byron’s life into the mix. Murray’s time upon the stage adds greatly to the humor and his parrying with Gretchen Egolf playing author Hannah Jarvis whose book has been belittled by Nightingale is first rate theatre.

Interspersed with the individual gems of acting are longwinded stretches of dialog where Stoppard is conveying to us the dictum that he is an intellectual giant. That may be so, but with almost hours of running time Arcadia is not for everyone.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

Nick Trengove as Peter in Prelude to a Kiss

PRELUDE TO A KISS: Comedy/Fantasy by Craig Lucas. Directed by Stuart Bousel. CustomMade Theatre Company, Gough Street Playhouse, 1622 Gough Street, San Francisco. 415-798-2682 or www.customMade.org. May 21- June 16, 2013

PRELUDE TO A KISS at CustomMade charming but flawed

The intimate CustomMade three sided stage is awash with blue clouds and a symbolic tree of life anchored with a full set of roots soaring to the full height of the theatre in front of a screen for projection of moving clouds. It is a perfect setting for Craig Lucas’s 1988 Pulitzer Prize finalist Prelude to a Kiss. The title is taken from a Duke Ellington torch song and is an affirmation of life for the young and old. You will leave the theatre with a warm glow.

Protagonist; Peter (Nick Trengove) must share that classification with his true love(s) Rita (Allison Page) and Old Man (adorable leprechaun like Richard Wensel).  Peter is working in the digital world in a dead-end job of converting microfilm to miniscule discs. Rita is a bar-tender and a political socialist who is afraid of life and has no desire to bring children into the world. The adage is “opposites attract” and so it is with Lucas’s lovers. After a three month whirlwind affair they marry. At the wedding a strange Old Man purloins a kiss from the bride and they have an ethereal exchange of their souls.

The fateful Kiss of Rita and the Old Man

Peter kisses Old Man/ who has Rita’s inner soul

On their honeymoon in the Caribbean the formerly reticent Rita has a complete change of personality and now espouses living life to the fullest “Just take things as they come and enjoy them – that’s what life is for.”  She now has a great desire to bear children. Peter wondering what has happened finally deduces that the kiss from the Old Man was responsible. When he tracks down the Old Man who now has all the inner traits of his beloved Rita, he falls in love again. It is Lucas, who is openly gay, is telling us that love can bloom no matter what the physical forms of the lovers are. He emphasizes that point with a passionate kiss between the Old Man/Rita and Peter.

In act 1 the relationship between much too voluble and one-dimensional Nick Trengove and Allison Page in the lead roles does not ignite the spark necessary to do justice to Lucas’s dialog. That being said, the quality of their acting in the second act had sufficiently improved to give a warm ending to the evening. The supporting cast of Will Leschber, Charles Lewis III, Jan Carty Marsh, Elena Ruggiero and Dave Sikula were competent with Leschber’s small part deserving accolades. Running time under two hours with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of  www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

Girls of the Fandango Ballroom

Pictured: Calia Johnson, Brittany Danielle*, Katie Pogue Jaime, Molly Bell*, Amanda Denison, Nicole Helfer, Alison Ewing*, Tielle Baker

SWEET CHARITY:Musical. Book by Neil Simon. Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. Conceived, staged and choreographed by Bob Fosse. Directed by Timothy Near. Center REPertory Company 1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek. 925.943.7469 or www.CenterREP.org. May 17 –June 22, 2013.

SWEET CHARITY at CenterRep is a dynamite MUST SEE show.

The “must see” in the headline is intentionally in capital letters to emphasize the quality of Center Rep’s stunning production. Neil Simon should put Timothy Near on his payroll to direct his plays. A year ago Timothy Near directed Simon’s comedy/farce Rumors for Center Rep and it was a total winner. Yes, Neil Simon is credited with the book for Sweet Charity but he was aided and abetted by Cy Colman and Dorothy Fields’ music and lyrics that fit like a glove into the story line.

Although the storyline was lifted from the black and white Fellini film Nights of Cabiria, Simon and cohorts cleaned it up a bit making the main character a dance-hall hostess rather than a woman of the streets. When it opened on Broadway it starred Bob Fosse’s wife Gwen Verdon as the poor put upon ever hopeful Charity. Gwen Verdon put her stamp on the role when Sweet Charity opened on Broadway in 1966 (47 years ago!!) and now the multi-talented Molly Bell can add her name to the short list of those who were great in the part.

From the simply but classily staged opening number with only a flowering tree and green park bench for props, Charity Hope Valentine sashays to footlight telling us the wonderful things her present amoretti Charlie will say to her in “You Should See Yourself” before he dumps her into the lake and takes off with all of her money.

After being sort of rescued by a park policeman she heads to her job at the Fandango Ballroom. Charity defends Charlie but Nickie (Allison Ewing) tells her “you run your heart like a hotel — you’ve always got people checking in and checking out.” Fandango boss Herman (local favorite Colin Thomson) tells them to break it up and get to work. Boy and do they go to work as they carry a railing made of two pipes to center stage dressed in garishly gorgeous costumes bringing applause from the audience with the hysterical and hysterically danced “Big Spender.” Choreographer Jennifer Perry wisely keeps the “Fosse touch” to the dancing and the ensemble responds with exuberance and precision and you will get exhausted watching them do the “Rich Man’s Frug.”

Charity’s next encounter with screen star Vittorio Vidal (Noel Anthony) ends up as a disappointment but before that happens director Near puts her stamp on the hilarious scene that leads to a tour de force bit for Molly/Charity with “If My Friends Could See Me Now” using only a autographed photo, top hat and cane. Noel Anthony is a perfect foil for

Charity “If You could see me now!”

Molly Bell and plays his role with a straight face and gets to sing “Too Many Tomorrows” before he shoves her into his closet when his true love Ursala (Brittany Danielle) shows up. Charity’s time in the closet brings out some extremely funny stage action not to be revealed here.

Before the first act ends Charity gets stuck in an elevator with nice-guy Oscar (Kieth Pinto) who is claustrophobic and she sort of rescues him with the assurance “I’m the Bravest Individual” before the lights go out. End of Act I.

What do the writer’s have up their sleeves for a second act opening? They come up with a winner with the “Rhythm of Life” song and dance to end all hippie dances. Center rep has imported full body sized James Monroe Iglehart to play Daddy Brubeck and he is an absolute marvel in voice and dance bringing the house down with his actions. It helps that the entire cast gives him support.

You get the idea of the kind of fun you are in for when, not if, you go to see Timothy Near’s opus. The staging sets, rotating lights, orchestra and lighting are marvels. Although Anthony, Iglehart, Pinto and Colin Thompson hold their own, this show belongs to the ladies. Two standouts are Alison Ewing and Brittany Danielle who get two spots in the show to displa

Alison Ewing*, Brittany Danielle

y their talents as singers and dancers. They are ready to take on the lead roles as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly whenever the musical Chicagorolls around. Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes but it races by and be assured you will never look at your watch.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Photos by: www.kevinberne.com

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

 MOUNTAIN PLAY: The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rogers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Suggested by”The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp. Directed by Jay Manley. Musical direction by Debra Chambliss. Choreography by Dottie Lester-White. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mt. Tamalpais, Mill Valley, CA. 415-383-1100 or www.MountainPlay.org. 2013 Season Performance Dates: May 19, May 26, June 2, June 8 (Saturday)June 9 and June 16. All shows start at 2:00 pm.

Would you believe that the Mountain Play has reached its 100^th birthday? Believe it and selecting The Sound of Music for this momentous occasion was perfect since the first song after the liturgical “Preludium” sung by the nuns of the Abbey and the Brothers of the Monastery, the opening number fills the amphitheatre with lyrics including “the hills are alive with the sound of music.” Award winning director Jay Manley who is making his debut on the mountain has cleverly directed the heroine Maria to sing those lyrics as she descends the stairs from the rear of the 3500 seat amphitheater 2000 feet up on Mt. Tamalpais on a beautiful sunny day.

The always imaginative Jay Manley has taken liberties with the script adding a group of Benedictine Brothers. He also writes: “And for this production of The Sound of Music, we have inter­polated two songs written especially for the film version, and retained a couple from the original stage musical that may be unfamiliar to your ears. With these and other touches, I hope we are putting a fresh face on this musical classic.”

This Mountain Play version certainly has a fresh face with an excellent cast performing on a marvelous set with rotating sections that keep the time intervals between scenes to a minimum. This is set designer Ken Roland’s 26^th year with the Mountain Play and he has come up with another beauty.

Most of you must be familiar the musical story of vivacious Maria (Heather Buck), a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey who does not seem to be cut out for a life as a nun in 1938 Austria. The Mother Abbess (Hope Briggs) sends Maria out to experience the outside world before committing her vows. She becomes the governess to the seven von Trapp children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp (Ryan Drummond). He has regimented the children but their shenanigans have driven away previous governesses. Marie wins them over teaching them to appreciate music starting with the charming “Do-Re-Mi.” In doing so, love blooms between the Captain and Maria that eventually leads to marriage. All this happens when Nazi Germany is taking over Austria prior to WW II. The Captain politically disagrees with Nazism and is forced to abandon his homeland with his wife and children.

Heather Buck as Maria is a joy to observe and her strong yet dulcet toned singing voice is pitched perfect. Ryan Drummond conveys the stern nature of the Captain and his voice almost matches the quality of Heather Buck. Hope Brigg’s powerful operatic voice brings down the house with her rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” at the end of act one. It was W.C. Fields that warned against playing on stage opposite children. That dictum may hold true since the seven von Trapp children from sixteen year old Liesl (Emily Libresco) down to the diminutive Gretl (Elana Gnatek)hold their own (and even steal a scene or two) with the adults. In the Broadway production the entire children’s cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two children were boys. They earn a Tony in this year’s Mountain Play.

L to R: Elena Gnatek (Gretl von Trapp), Brigid O’Brien (Marta von Trapp), Claire Lentz (Brigitta von Trapp), August Mesarchik (Kurt von Trapp), Jenna Herz (Louisa von Trapp), Dillon DeVille (Friedrich von Trapp), Emily Libresco (Liesl von Trapp), and Heather Buck (Maria Rainer).

There are many accolades to shower on this production of The Sound of Music from the terrific score beginning with the title and continuing with “Maria”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “My Favorite Things”, “How Can Love Survive?” “So Long, Farewell”, “The Lonely Goatherd” and “Edelweiss” that has almost become the national anthem of Austria!

All that beautifully directed music (Debra Chambliss) is complimented by the multiple costumes (Patricia Polen) and energetic choreography (Dottie Lester-White). At the risk of overusing a cliché, the air on top of Mt Talamapias is filled with music. Grab the kids, pack a lunch and “climb the mountain.” Running time about 2 hours and 30 minutes including the 20 minute intermission. (Top photo by www.cynthiapepper.com. Lower photo by Robin and Chelsea McNally)

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

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ALL MY SONS: Drama by Arthur Miller, directed by Caroline Altman. Ross Valley Players (RVP)Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. For tickets, call 415-456-9555 or go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

ALL  MY SONS at Ross Valley Players strikes at the heart.

Fortunately for the theatrical world fledgling playwright Arthur Miller believed in the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”  In his case he only had to try once and seven years later after his first play The Man who Had All the Luck (1940) bombed in New York, All My Sons was a smash hit winning Tony Awards for Best Author and for Best Direction of a Play. Within the next eight years he scored with four straight winners; Death of a Salesman (1949), An Enemy of the People (1950, based on Henrik Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People), The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge (1955).

The ambitious Ross Valley Players (RVP) wisely selected Wood Lockhart as producer and he has rounded up a talented cast for the penultimate production of their 83^rd season that began hesitantly but ended with a dynamic second act doing justice to Miller’s opus. Once again Ken Rowland has designed a beautiful set and before the show began was awarded a Life-Time Achievement Award from the Ross Valley Players.

The plays construction follows the Aristotelian dictum of a being “conflict-driven” and dedicated to the action limited in time and place. It is August 1946, two years after the War and all the action happens within about 36 hours in one location, the Keller family back yard in the outskirts of American town, unnamed thus giving a sense of universality that is a trade mark of Miller’s works. Symbolism is another of Miller’s conceits and fallen tree adorns the stage representing the falling of his oldest pilot son Larry now for the past three years listed as missing in action. Mother Kate Keller (Kristine Ann Lowry) tenaciously insists that he still is alive.

Although universal in its themes the story is based on an actual incident. A WW II manufacturer who was profiteering from the war was turned in to the authorities by his daughter when he shipped defective parts to the military.  In Miller’s play, Joe Keller’s  (Craig Christiansen) plant shipped known defective airplane cylinder heads to the military resulting in the death of 21 airmen.  A subsequent trial and deceit by Joe resulted in his exoneration by blaming his partner Steve Deever (unseen but critical to the storyline) who has been imprisoned for three years.

Steve Deever’s daughter Ann (Amber Collins Crane) who was Larry’s girlfriend has been away for three years has disowned her father and now has returned at the behest of younger son Chris (Francis Serpa) and they plan to be married.  Kate’s insistence that Larry is still alive is buttressed by a neighbor and amateur astrologist Frank Lubey (Daniel Hollander) leading to a battle of wills between Kate and Ann.

Miller has taken a page from Herman Melville by endowing Chris with purity that influences those around him to be better than what they are. In the war Chris’s platoon was all killed when they devotedly followed him into battle. In his own backyard Chris’s demeanor stimulates his neighbor Dr. Jim Bayliss (Javier Alarcon) who is desirous of becoming a medical researcher but his wife Sue (Siobhan) who recognizes that the American dream needs money to reach fruition thwarts Jim’s ambition. The need for money to live the good life is imbedded in Joe Keller’s psyche as he repeats the mantra that he has done what he has done for his sons.

When Ann’s brother George (Phillip Goleman) arrives conflict is compounded and in the second act all the major characters turn in great performances bringing the play to a powerful conclusion. Craig  Christiansen dominates the stage in all the early scenes and gives a great performance when Joe falls from grace. Kristine Ann Lowery plays the unsympathetic role of Kate with understatement and conveys true hostility when challenged. Francis Serpa and Amber Collins Crane do not quite convey deep emotional tie written into the script.

Phillip Goleman’s entrance in the second act is a joy to watch and in his brief time upon the stage gives the most professional performance of the evening. Siobhan O’Brien as the doctor’s wife seems unsure in her early scene but superb when she challenges Ann to leave. Miller would be proud of her defense of living the American Dream.

Running time about two hours with intermission. Highly recommended.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

(l to r) With Mephistopheles (Lyndsy Kail) as his servant, Faustus (Mark Anderson Phillips) travels the globe on a dragon in San Jose Rep’s world premiere adaptation of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.  Photo by Kevin Berne.

THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS: Drama by Christopher Marlowe. Adapted and directed as a multimedia event by Kirsten Brandt. San Jose Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose (Between South 2nd & 3rd Streets), CA.  408.367.7255 or www.SJRep.com.

May 15 – June 2, 2013

THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS a winner at San Jose Rep (World Premier)

Making Christopher Marlowe’s play about Doctor Faustus palpable to modern audiences has been a problem. The last San Francisco production of David Mamet’s 2004 adaptation at the Magic Theatre was a disaster.  Author /director Kirsten Brandt has taken a page from the book of author/director Mark Wing-Davey who mounted Shakespeare’s Pericles as a ‘theatrical event’ using eight actors to play 17 roles. Brandt uses four actors to play a minimum of 25 roles throwing in a few puppets along the way and including visible stage hands as part of the activity. Also, like Wing-Davey, what was written as a 95 minute play has been expanded to two hours and 20 minutes including the 20 minute intermission.

The intermission is needed because the total production is overwhelming and needs a break to allow the audience to refresh their attention on the non-stop visual, auditory and intellectual assault. It truly is a collaborative event of:  Kirsten Brandt (Director); David Lee Cuthbert (Scenic, Lighting, and Media Designer ); Cathleen Edwards (Costume Designer); Rick Lombardo (Sound Designer); Steve Schoenbeck (Associate Sound Designer); Gina Marie Hayes (Puppet Consultant); Deirdre Rose Holland (Stage Manager).

The technical conceits are aided and abetted by a cast that Mark Anderson Phillips (Doctor Faustus); Rachel Harker (Lucifer, the Pope, scholars, and many other roles), Lyndsy Kail (Mephistopheles, Seven Deadly Sins, Old Man) and Halsey Varady (Beelzebub, Angels, Wagner and several other roles). Phillips is a strong challenger to local icon James Carpenter as the best actor in the Bay Area. Lyndsy Kail as Faustus’s side-kick

Devilish Mephistopheles (Lyndsy Kail)

Mephistopheles almost matches Anderson’s tour-de-force performance.

There are two and possibly three versions of Marlowe’s play and Kisten Brandt’s selection of various scenes may be questioned by one familiar with the text but for those of us who are unfamiliar with the text, the brilliant staging and acting is sufficient to create a memorable evening of theatre. To begin, a bare stage morphs into semi translucent panels on which various angled fantastic projections are screened. These panels move aside for entrance and exits and even are used for back-lit puppet shows. From the opening projections of Faustus’s library and overhead views of mystical sand creations to the ending with the fires of hell consuming the soul of Faustus the assault on our visual senses are compounded by sound and music of the spheres.

It is the story of the German Doctor Faustus who sells his soul to Lucifer in exchange for the art of necromancy (Black Magic) and 24 years of intellectual fame and fortune.  He accepts Mephistopheles the right hand man of Lucifer as his devoted traveling companion and travels the world on a flying dragon (an adult tricycle puppet) getting into all sorts of mischief.  Humor does not abound about is sufficiently scattered throughout the evening to alleviate the intensity of storyline. For example there is a scene(s) where Pope’s entourage is besieged by magical pranks while Faustus and Mephistopheles are invisible and the men turned into horned animals. Later in the court of German emperor, Charles V a bit of magic ‘lightens’ the proceedings.

Suggestion:  Brush up on Christopher Marlowe who is thought to be the writer of Shakespeare’s plays and read a synopsis of his most famous play being given a stunning production at San Jose Rep as the offering for the final show in their 2012-2013 season.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/

BEST OF PLAYGROUND 17, featuring a fully-produced evening-length program of the best short plays by the Bay Area’s best new playwrights. Thick House, 1695 18th street, San Francisco. For more information, visit http://playground-sf.org/bestof.shtml. May 9-26, 2013

This year’s annual celebration of short plays by San Francisco Bay Area playwrights features: The Spherical Loneliness of Beverly Onion by Katie May, directed by Rebecca Ennals; Simple and Elegant by Evelyn Jean Pine, directed by Tracy Ward; Value Over Replacement by Ruben Grijalva, directed by Katja Rivera; Significant People by Amy Sass, directed by Steven Anthony Jones; My Better Half by Jonathan Spector, directed by Michael French; Symmetrical Smack-Down by William Bivins, directed by Jim Kleinmann.

Ensemble: Will Dao, Anne Darragh*, Dodds Delzell*, Carla Pantoja*, Rebecca Pingree, Jomar Tagatac*; June Palladino*, Stage Manager.

The plays for this year’s outing is a tight 85 minute without intermission with the eight member ensemble playing all 23 roles doubling as stage hands for minimal scenery changes with nary a hitch. They begin with the bitter-sweet The Spherical Loneliness of Beverly Onion a fanciful modern version of the ancient concept that our lives are controlled by higher Beings. Beverly Onion’s ( Carla Pantoja)life as a single lonely mortician’s assistant is being debated Fate (Jomar Tagatac) Luck (Anne Darragh). The theological/philosophical debate by Fate and Luck about life as a sphere leads to Beverly being introduced to a series of males (Will Dao). As ‘luck’ would have it the consequences are not what Beverly likes and she rebels against the forces/intrusion of Fate and Luck returning to the humdrum existence of her choice.

Simple and Elegant has a mystical flair that races to a ending, but not a conclusion, in a short 7 minutes.  Fisherman (Dodds Delzell) has two daughters  Simple (Rebecca Pingre) and Elegant (Carla Pantoja). The sister’s catch a magical fish and discovery a gold coin in its innards. Greed invades the scene leading to a death. Everyone knows that wealth/greed cannot ‘buy’ happiness. Repentance prevails and our mystical fish returns to the sea.

Value Over Replacement brings us back to reality and controversy of the use of performance enhancing drugs in professional sports. It is a tightly written script that has a surprise ending with semi-justification for their use. Jomar Tagatac as “Chip” Fuller who has succumbed to the temptation of their use gives a stirring semi-justification for doing so.

Significant People is a two hander with overtones of the battle of the sexes. A male (Dodds Delzell) and female ((Anne Darragh) Docent take us on a tour of the home of a deceased ‘significant person’ that is now a tourist attraction. Bickering takes place with each insinuating the male and female interpretation into the patter. One wonders “For what purpose.”

The final two offerings allow the evening to end with a hoot and a holler. Consider the macabrely charming concept that there are organizations that specialize in resolving male vs. female partnership issues including fulfilling a contract for murder. That is the premise of My Better Half . So it is with Anne (Rebecca Pingree) who wishes to ‘do in’ her significant other Dave ((Will Dao). Charles (Jomar Tagatac)  cons her into giving more time to consoling.  That brings in counselor Marilyn (Anne Darragh) who has her own agenda and poor Anna gets shafted.  Beware of what you wish for??

Symmetrical Smack-Down wins the brass ring and is ready for a trip to the Ten-Minute play writing contest offered by the Humana New American Play Festival in Louisville. Everyone knows that professional wrestling is theatre and make-believe. What happens if it becomes real? Take that question and add a Lesbian couple who play the ‘what-if-make-believe game’ about breaking up and the women are daughters of the wrestlers. Of course the wrestlers take sides. William Bevins is extremely clever in his use of dialog and director Jim Kleinmann moves the characters around the ring adroitly. Did I mention that all the action takes place inside a wrestling ring? It does and costumes for wrestler Napalm (Jomar Tagatac) and El Chupacabro (Dodds Delzell) are hilarious.

The audience filed out of the intimate Thick House Theatre with satisfied chuckles.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetrmagazine.com

Kedar Adour

forallevents.com/reviews/