Kedar K. Adour

Annie Smart's Blithe Spirit Set

BLITHE SPIRIT: Comedy by Noel Coward. Directed by Mark Rucker. California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes), Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way (formerly 100 Gateway Blvd), Orinda, CA 94563. 510.548.9666 or www.calshakes.org. August 8 – September 2, 2012.

BLITHE SPIRIT a brilliant resurrection

California Shakespeare Company (Cal Shakes) has raided the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) company to stock the cast for their production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. It was a brilliant move as they resurrect this 70 year old drawing room comedy just as the inimitable Madame Arcati brought to protoplasmic life Elvira who had passed over to the “other side.”

The only non A.C.T. associate Domenique Lozano plays the pivotal role of Madame Arcati. She follows a distinguished line of actors who have dominated the role. The first actors to invest Madame Arcati with theatrical life in 1941 were Margaret Rutherford in London (she was also cast in the movie), Mildred Nantwick in the New York and most recently Angela Lansbury in 2009 winning a Tony for Best Featured Actress. Lozano, as directed by Mark Rucker, adds a different spin to the character that makes Arcati less loveable and a bit harsh. That is not a criticism but an observation since her performance was well received with the audience giving her an added burst of applause at the curtain calls.

Who is this Madame Arcati that dominates the opening paragraphs of this review? She is the product of Noel Coward’s fertile satiric mind that fashioned Blithe Spirit over a period of five days while on retreat in Wales after his London quarters were bombed in 1941. It was his successful attempt to create a comedy to cheer a British populous under continual bombing attacks by the Nazis. It was a huge success running for almost 2,000 performances.

René Augesen as Ruth Condomine and Anthony Fusco as Charles Condomine in Cal Shakes production of BLITHE SPIRIT, directed by Mark Rucker; photo by Kevin Berne.

The main character is not Madame Arcati, although actors covet playing the role that is designed to steal scenes. It seems that novelist Charles Condomine (Anthony Fusco) now married to his second wife Ruth (Rene Augesen) in doing research for a new mystery book, arranges a séance to be performed by the ditzy local spiritual medium Madame Arcati whom is suspected of being a charlatan. Dr. and Mrs. Bradman (Kevin Ralston and Melissa Smith) share a pre-séance dinner served by an inept Edith (Rebekah Brockman) and stay expecting a bit of fun at Madame Arcati’s expense. Horrors, Arcati is the real thing and she accidentally conjures up the spirit of Elvira (Jessica Kitchens) the selfish and spoiled first wife of Charles.

It seems that Charles is the only one able to see Elvira. This allows Coward to write some witty bits of dialog between Charles and Elvira that are misinterpreted by Ruth who becomes hysterically distraught. Things go from bad to worse when Elvira, with murder in her heart, decides to sabotage Charles’s second marriage to Ruth. Hilarious wildness ensues with surprising plot twists and disastrous results that keep you enthralled.

Cal Shakes elected to perform the play in its original three act format lasting 2 hours and forty minutes with two 10 minute intermissions. Doing so is confirmation of Henri Bergson’s concept of relative time can be encapsulated in “who notices time when you’re having fun?” Seasoned actors Augenson and Fusco perform with authority giving equal depth to their verbal duels although Coward gives Charles the last words. Jessica Kitchens, a recent A.C.T. MFA graduate, is a vision of beauty as the ghostly Elvira and A.C.T. MFA student Rebekah Brockman as Edith is a joy to watch.

Much of that credit given to the actors must be shared by Mark Rucker’s spot on direction that matches his reign over the 2009 Cal Shakes multi award winning staging of Private Lives. Annie Smart’s set uses the full outdoor stage and although expansive has the intimate feeling needed for a drawing room comedy. What happens to that tidy set in the final scenes is shocking. The attachment of white wisteria and a flowering bush outside of the ubiquitous French doors is a nice touch. Not to be outdone by the acting, directing and sets Katherine Roth’s costume designs including the garish “spiritual” outfit worn by Madam Arcati earn equal accolades.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 Theresa (Arwen Anderson), Lauren (Marissa Keltie), Schultz (Robert Parsons), James (L. Peter Callender) and Marty (Julia Brothers) play the improvisational theater game “Circle, Mirror, Transformation” in the Bay Area Premiere of Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation, now playing at Marin Theatre Company, in co-production with Encore Theatre

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION: Comedy by Annie Baker. Directed by Kip Fagan.
Marin Theatre Company/ Co-production with Encore Theatre Company at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. (415) 388-5208 or  marintheatre.org. August 2 -26, 2012

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION at MTC misses the mark

Marin Theatre Company’s 45^th 2011-2012 season was a resounding success with all six of their productions receiving glowing reviews. Thus their 46^th season beginning with Circle Mirror Transformation (CMT) with a star studded cast was received with great expectations. It was not to be even though the ensemble cast of five played it straight displaying great acting. Director Kip Fagan who directed Michael Von Siebenberg Melts Through the Floorboards at this year’s Humana New American Play Festival that bombed in Louisville, may have better served the cast to play it for laughs.

There are laughs, mostly unintentional and few and far between. The decision to produce the two hour play without intermission was probably a wise decision since at the one hour mark many of the audience were looking at their watches.

This is the third play by the much praised Annie Baker to be produced in the Bay Area in the past year, each being very successful. Unfortunately this reviewer missed Body Awareness that had an extended run at the Aurora Theatre but had the pleasure giving The Aliens a rave review for the SF Playhouse production.( http://kedaradourforallevents.blogspot.com/2012/04/aliens-beautifully-staged-at-sf.html)

CMT is one of three plays set in the mythical town of Shirley, Vermont but the author insists that they are not a trilogy. The set up for CMT is based on the need for locals to express themselves by being transformed through improvisations that is the keystone of some drama schools and ridiculed by others. Examples are the “Gibber-view” where one ‘actor’ asks a question in English and another answers in gibberish and if they are good at it we can understand the gibberish. Another is ‘The Mirror’ where the two players imitate “mirror” the others’ movements exactly thus transforming him/herself. Thus the play’s title.

Yes, these techniques are used by Marty (welcome back the talented Julia Brothers) who teaches a six-week Creative Drama class in the Community Center of Shirley, Vermont. She has attracted four eclectic characters who wish to become actors or better actors. There is the vivacious Theresa (a fine Arwen Anderson) a sometimes actress who has broken up with her abusive partner in New York City and is new to the town. Next up is James (an underutilized L. Peter Callender) whose relationship with Marty becomes somewhat clear late in the play. Lauren (a charming Marissa Keltie) is an introverted 16 year old who hasn’t decided to be an actor or a veterinarian. Last but hardly least is Schultz played by the scene stealer, matching Brothers’ performance, Robert Parsons.

The ‘play’ is a series of blackouts some lasting only seconds with many, many pauses that engenders a feeling of ‘let’s get on with it’. The biggest laugh is earned by Brothers when she has asked the students to write down a secret that they would not tell anyone about. When the request is received with reticence her comment, “Trust me guys” brings down the house.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworlinternetmagazine.com

Lorenzo Pisoni with an old photo of his two-year old self. Historic photo by Terry Lorant. Production photo by Chris Bennion.

HUMOR ABUSE: Solo comedy. Written by performer Lorenzo Pisoni and director Erica Schmidt. American Conservatory Theater, 450 Geary St., S.F. (415) 749-2228. www.act-sf.org.

Augusst 3 -19, 2012

Lorenzo Pisoni begins Humor Abuse with the self-deprecating remark, “This is a show about clowning, and I’m the straight man. I’m not funny.” Do not believe him. He is absolutely superb in this gem of a solo show that is a bittersweet autobiography about growing up in a circus family. From the minute he chases an elusive spotlight that he finally staples in position on the stage floor to begin this 90 minute evening of hilarity imbedded with moments of poignancy he has the audience in his charming grasp.

That “family” is the one ring Pickle Family Circus family that was the brain child of his parents, Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snidera that became a highly praised San Francisco institution and later a national and international treasure. In between the clownish shenanigans is the story of a son’s relationship to a father he adores.

The proverbial steamer trunk takes center stage and actually sits before a gray canvas screen to emphasize that he was born and worked in a trunk. And that trunk and two others get a workout as our nimble performer dives in and out changing his personae and using balloons in many of his vignettes. The screen is used for projections of past photos as he traces growing up as the youngest member of the Pickle family beginning as a charmer at age two sporting a clown costume identical to that of his father.

Yes the love of his father and of performing was paramount to becoming the extraordinary versatile actor that is recognized in the world of theatre. But as that the road to success is chronologically developed from the apparently simple act of faking a trip over an unseen object to the developing his individual routine(s) in later life was the product of constant practice. Under the critical eye of his mentor father who insisted on perfection with a constant demand “do it again.”

You know that the 15 step two story high stairway on stage left will play an integral part in his routines and he does not disappoint. The act of carrying multiple suitcases from stage right up  to the top of those stairs with many missteps and tumbles keeps the audience pushing into the backs of their seats.

Physical comedy abounds between his autobiographical tales. Beginning with his climbing out of the trunk to create a different characters, to doing double takes (especially the ones that earn him extra ice cream at dinner), to falling through the floor and down the stairs, to juggling and late in the show avoiding only by inches heavy falling metal bags without batting an eyelash will keep you clapping.

An extended routine he devised for his shows without his father who was divorced from his mother is a weaker routine but non-the-less treacherous to perform. Have you tried climbing a ladder with over-sized swimming flippers? Lorenzo Pisoni does it hysterically but also dangerously.

No clown show is complete without juggling. Lorenzo learned from his father using pieces of carrots! With a straight face he intones “Have ever gone shopping for carrots thinking how that one would juggle?” When he goes on to juggling the dumb-bells he is a pro.

The 90 minutes ends too quickly and the appreciative audience rose en-mass with thunderous applause.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

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Steve Silver’s BEACH BLANKET BABYLON: Musical Revue. Club Fugazi, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd, San Francisco. 415-421-4222 or www.beachblanketbabylon.com.

38 Years of Performances and Still Going Strong

When your editor requests a review (actually a re-review) of a show there is only one thing to do. So I grabbed my best friend and made a return trip to Club Fugazi to see the irreverent Beach Blanket Babylon (BBB) revue. Alcatraz may be the most visited venue in San Francisco but BBB cannot be far behind. On the Thursday night of our visit every seat was filled and the appreciative audience joined in the fun when cajoled from the stage by one of the actors.

BBB is a San Francisco institution that began 38 years ago and because of its success attracting visitors from all over the world, the powers that be in City Hall changed the name of the street to Blanket Babylon Blvd. There is no doubt that it will continue for another 38 or more years. Although the basic plot line has persisted for years, the skits are as topical as yesterday’s newspapers. Nothing is sacred with hysterical reference to the foibles of the famous, the peccadilloes of the politicians and even a romp with royalty.

You will not find a harder-working talented cast of 10 and marvel at their impressive quick costume changes that will keep you guessing who will come out next for their 15-30 seconds of fame (read infamy). It is a 90 minute non-stop evening of hilarity that spoofs all and everything. And the costumes are a kick-and-a-holler but are upstaged by elaborate wigs and hats along with the quality singing and acting. You will have your favorites and last night full-bodied Renee Lubin belted out memorable “Ain’t Misbehavin” and also has her stints as (alphabetically) Whoopi Goldberg, Beyonce Knowles, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Oh yes, the plot. It seems that transplanted San Franciscan Snow White is looking for her Prince Charming since she is hot to trot to the altar. But she knows that her chances in “Gay” San Francisco are limited so her big black, pink clad Fairy Godmother suggests she travel the world. Before that first stop in Rome we meet the Beatles in ‘Salt and Pepper’ headdresses, hippies romp in good old Frisco with the “Age of Aquarius”, “Let the Sun Shine In” and “Flowers in Hair” snippets with wacky (perverted?) lyrics.

Next stop is Roma and don’t ask who played whom because the program doesn’t give a clue. The costumes and headdresses you will remember: One shaped as a pizza, one filled with Chianti wine bottles and another as a full plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

Don’t’ ask how or why but Oprah Winfrey shows up and so does Bill and Hilary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barack and Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Michelle Bachman, Jerry Brown, Sarah Palin ending with a bottle of huge bottle of Viagra moving to downstage center. Are they telling us something?

No time to think because it is time to move to gay Paree. You haven’t seen ‘gay’ until you’ve seen Louie XIV in a stunning pink outfit and a pink coiffeur three feet high. Sorry, Snow White, he is not for you. The three actors dressed as black French poodles are naughty, naughty, naughty. Would you believe that Coco Channel is decked in Cocoa Chocolate hat? Yes, the humor is not subtle.

There is more and more and more but this review must be content to stop being specific since space is limited. It will be mentioned that Queen Eliazbeth, Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and neglected Prince Harry get their turn on stage.

We finally get to the finale but not before Snow White has morphed into Madonna and been lifted over the head of the audience singing her heart out because she states “I can eat the apple and still be on my feet.” Really? You will not hear it from this reviewer whom she corrals but does and gets to wear a wedding dress and wedding cake hat three feet tall. Her hat is upstage by the enormous San Francisco Skyline hat, four feet tall with a working cable car to travel to the stars as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco’ is belted out.

Kedar K Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Pickering, Higgins and Eliza work long into the morning hours

MY FAIR LADY: Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s Play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture “PYGMALION”. Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Directed by Bill English. SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco.  415-677-9596 or www.sfplayhouse.org. July 10th to September 29th, 2012.

MY FAIR LADY at SF Playhouse must be seen to be believed.

It seemed incredulous when the word came out that SF Playhouse had scheduled My Fair Lady the musical to be performed with only nine characters even though local icon and superb actor Charles Dean was to play Alfred P. Doolittle. How could they mount a splashy musical on their miniscule stage in a theater holding 99 seats? They have done it, increasing the cast size to 11 with the help of twin pianos (Greg Mason and Dave Dobrosky), a fantastic set  and a spirited cast earning the honor of being a must see play.

After George B. Shaw’s play Arms and the Man was converted into the mediocre The Chocolate Soldier he would not allow his marvelous play Pygmalion to suffer the same fate. Permission was granted only after his death and the rest of the story is history. Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Lowe teamed up in 1956 for the Broadway production that was a runaway hit and in the intervening years played throughout the world.

What you will see at SF Playhouse is best described as Pygmalion with Music.  All the lovely music is still there: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?,” “Little Bit of Luck,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” and the major characters are in good voice. In the pivotal role of Professor Higgins Johnny Moreno gives a powerful strutting performance with his musical patter and an occasional turn at song.

Director Bill English makes the story-line the centerpiece of his interpretation eschewing saccharine sentimentality and opting for a more rugged concept of Higgins. Moreno has the personality to pull it off. He makes the role his own and is a marvel to watch and a joy to hear with a crisp voice with perfect enunciation, as one would expect from a Professor of Linguistics. His bravado is balanced by Richard Frederick as the stolid Colonel Pickering.

Monique Hafen adroitly  makes the difficult transition from a rough voiced Cockney speaking flower girl to a sophisticated Lady with hi-brow speech fit to be a “salesperson in a flower shoppe” or the consort to a king. Her petite frame stands tall when she responds to Higgins’ indifference in the infamous slipper throwing scene.

Karen Hirst doubles as Mrs. Pearce the housekeeper and Mrs. Higgins giving each the stature they deserve and slipping unobtrusively in out of the ensemble. Also slipping out of the ensemble to play a major part is handsome willowy Justin Gilmore as the love smitten Freddy Eynsford-Hill garnering audience approval with the signature song “On the Street Where you Live.”

And then there is Charles Dean as a memorable dustman Alfred P. Doolittle beginning with his first appearance to put the touch on Eliza for half a Crown, later in an  encounter with Higgins requesting only a ‘fiver’ for his daughter and lastly his rousing request with the ensemble to “get me to the church on time.”

                                                      Doolittle (Charles Dean*) and Ensemble getting to the church on time.

What is absolutely amazing is Nina Balls intricate set design that appears solid enough to withstand a San Francisco earthquake yet fluidly changes with sliding panels without missing a beat. It alone is worth the price of admission to the “Ascot Gavotte” that is cleverly staged with the audience waiting with bated breath for Eliza to exhort her mount to “move your bloody arse!”

                                                                 Eliza shocks at Ascot (Full Ensemble and Monique Hafen*)

All is not praiseworthy since the dancing is best described as clunky and Randy Nazarian unbalances the ensemble with his mugging playing his part as a combination of Marcellus Washburn from The Music Man and Nicely Nicely from Guys and Dolls (both parts he has frequently played) that rocks the boat.

G. B. S. viewing the show from his place in the Theatrical Heaven might not approve of Bill English allowing Higgins and Eliza to share a kiss but it is certain the opening night audience did. Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes including the intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Truffaldino Says No: By Ken Slattery. Directed by M. Graham Smith. Presented by Shotgun Players a Co-production with Playground. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org. July 6 – July 22, 2012.

Say yes to TRUFFLADINO SAYS NO at Ashby Stage

Looking for an evening of theatrical fun? If so, get thee hence to the Ashby Stage where eight characters created by an up and coming playwright are having a merry hysterical romp with enough physical activity for a dozen plays. You will also witness the rebirth of the 500 year old Commedia dell’Arte and then be treated to its transformation as modern day TV sit-com before the figurative curtain descends and the audience erupts with a spontaneous standing ovation.

If you are not familiar with the playwriting group known as Playground you should be. It is where budding writers submit 10 minute scripts to be judged by theater professionals. The best of those submitted are given a full stage production (although limited in scope) and presented as The Best of Playground. In 2009 Ken Slattery, an Irish transplant from Dublin, had one of his short plays Truffaldino Says No selected for production.

The stimulus for the Truffaldino Says No was the noun “arlecchino” which is the Italian word for harlequin the most popular comic servant character from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. The 10 minute gem was the favorite of the 2009 plays and Slattery was given a commission to develop it into a full length play. Shotgun’s production is even more hilarious and colorful than the short version. It should be, since it is has been three years in the making and the show is a labor of love for all involved. They have brought back Michael Phillis and Brian Herndon from the original cast and filled the other six roles with superb performers.

Commedia dell’Arte involves stock characters with distinctive masks and clothing with only the Inamorata (lovers) without masks. The productions are very physical with a great deal slapstick with fixed routines as the basis for improvisation. There are no improvisations in Slattery’s version although M. Graham’s Smith’s slick direction would make you wonder if he gave his cast license to do so.

Truffaldino (William Thomas Hodgson), his father Arlecchino (Stephen Buescher) and mother Colombina(Gwen Loeb) are servants (zanni) to a greedy old miser and lecher Pantalone (Brian Herdon) and he is given a mask with an appropriate hooked nose and a garish costume to boot. His flighty daughter, beautiful Isabella (an Innamorata) is in love with the other half of the Innamorati young poet Flavio (Michael Phillis). Alas the potential lovers have never been able to be alone together. Although poor Truffaldino’s love for Isabella is not reciprocated, he agrees to help his father arrange a tryst and in the best Comedia dell’Arte twist everything goes wrong.

Tied up in all the shenanigans are other stock characters that include the intellectual bore Il Dottore (Joe Lucas), a grandiose, cowardly Il Capitano (Andy Alabran) who fears a Turkish attack on Venice that just happens to be the setting for the play. A seamy secondary plot line involves Pantalone’s pursuit of voluptuous and willing Colombina.

Truffaldino has had all he can take of being a stock character and says “I’m not going to take it anymore.” (That line is from an academy award winning movie. He simply says “No” and goes on to tell us why.) Most, or is it all, of the characters step forward to address the audience or express inner thoughts throughout the play and do so beautifully. Our hero will not be dissuaded and departs for the New World. In the play the New World is modern day Venice, California.

With some brilliant writing Slattery converts all the Old World characters into New World denizens and the actors are forced to slip in and out of New to Old and vice versa roles at the drop of a line. You will split a gut keeping up with them and wonder “how did he/she do that?”

The acting is of course very broad. In the opening sequences Buescher who is the head of Physical Theater at ACT and Hodgson are virtual pretzels of human form bouncing around the stage without missing a line. Gorgeous Ally Johnson and willowy Michael Phillis demonstrate charming contrasts in technique but Phillis (the cad) is a scene stealer. Gwen Loeb exudes sex and uses great timing in her punch lines and is a perfect sounding board for those who challenge her. Andy Alabran as the Il Capitano in act one Old World is reincarnated as Prewitt a local border guard searching for illegal immigrants giving further justification for what is new is old. Joe Lucas’s Il Dottore garners his share of laughs in the Old World and as the Wiseman in the New.

Directing such a play with diverse settings in time and place must have been a tremendous burden but M. Graham Smith’s direction is spot on with so many deft touches one would be hard pressed to find specific instances to praise. OK, I’ll tell you one: Look for the vignette when Columbina is folding a bed sheet while consoling Isabella about Flavio.

Summary of why you should go: The writing is Sublime. The acting is Superb. The costumes and masks are Sensational. The staging is Super. Finally, as alliteration is depleted let’s end with it’s a Swell evening.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinernetmagazine.com