{"id":17837,"date":"2015-04-28T14:12:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T21:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=17837"},"modified":"2015-04-28T16:47:22","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T23:47:22","slug":"the-way-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/the-way-west\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way West – an Old West Pioneer Story of Survival at MTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two daughters Meesh (a feisty <\/span>Rosie Hallett<\/span><\/strong>) and Manda (a sleek <\/span>Kathryn Zdan<\/span><\/strong>) try to help their Central Valley mom (an energetic <\/span>Anne Darragh<\/span><\/strong>), as she regales them with songs and tales of the optimism that won the West, in this West Coast premiere of <\/span>Mona Mansour\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> comic family drama at Marin Theatre Company.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Complementing this incredible cast of Bay Area actors \u2013 MTC veterans <\/span>Anne Darragh<\/span><\/strong>, <\/span>Stacy Ross<\/span><\/strong>, and <\/span>Kathryn Zdan<\/span><\/strong>, as well as newcomers <\/span>Rosie Hallett<\/span><\/strong> and <\/span>Hugo E. Carbajal<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 are the musical compositions of the country by the amazing folk duo <\/span>Misner + Smith<\/span><\/strong> who create catchy musical tunes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All of the actresses accompany themselves on guitars.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mona Mansour\u2019s cautionary tale about a true-believer in her notions of Old West pioneer values has a wonderful cast and a fine director (from the Minneapolis Playwright Center), <\/span>Hayley Finn<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Haley Finn has a nice way of including lit-up cards for each of the different scenes to keep the audience on the same track. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One could say <\/span>The Way West<\/span><\/em><\/strong> is a clash of Old West myths and modern financial reality.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well-known Bay Area actress <\/span>Stacy Ross<\/span><\/strong> has a clever cameo as Tress, mom\u2019s wonderfully funny friend to join her magic water therapy business.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hugo E. Carbajal<\/span><\/strong> appears as two different characters, first as Manda\u2019s lawyer ex-boyfriend and a secondary role as a pizza delivery man, who is quite amazing. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Geoffrey M. Curley\u2019s set, which is an open-arch living room, full of clutter, suggests a type of covered wagon. <\/span><\/p>\n

While <\/span>The Way West<\/span><\/em><\/strong> has true moments of poignancy and even a few laughs, it needs a more compelling plot and a flushed-out tone. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>If we\u2019ve learned anything from the gold rush and westward land-grabbing, it\u2019s that that true pioneer spirit lives on, and with some work so will this play.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Way West<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/em> runs April 16 through May 10, 2015, <\/span><\/span>with performances at: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tuesdays<\/span><\/strong>, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays<\/strong><\/span> at 8pm<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Wednesdays<\/span><\/strong> at 7:30 pm
\n<\/span><\/span>Sundays<\/span><\/strong> at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/span>Thursday<\/span><\/strong>, April 30 at 1:00 pm
\n<\/span><\/span>Saturday<\/span><\/strong>, May 9 at 2:00 pm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All performances take place at the Marin Theatre Company, located at 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley 94941.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>To order tickets, telephone 415-388-5208 or go online at <\/span><\/span>www.marintheatre.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Coming up next<\/strong> at the Marin Theatre Company will be <\/span>Choir Boy<\/span><\/em><\/strong> by Tarell Alvin McCraney, directed by Kent Gash, from June 4 through June 28, 2015.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Flora Lynn Isaacson<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two daughters Meesh (a feisty Rosie Hallett) and Manda (a sleek Kathryn Zdan) try to help their Central Valley mom (an energetic Anne Darragh), as she regales them with songs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"