The WINTER'S TALE AT THE SKYLIGHT

William Shakespears's The Winter's Tale takes on a slightly modern bent with hip and happening characters at large on the Skylight Stage. Five acts and fifteen scenes are beautifully condensed with some music and dance.  It is the best version of this play I've ever seen. It pops! 

We are off and rumning!  The show takes no prisoners.. except. of course, for Herminone (Spencer Jamison), who is arrested and slammed in the pokey by Officer Rogero (Quest Sapp).  when King Leonetes (Daniel DeYoung) gets all bent out of shape.

Photographer: Jason Williams courtesy of Skylight Theatre Company - Victoria Hoffman, Spencer Jamison, Israel Erron Ford, Misha Osherovich, Daniel DeYoung
 

I mostly like The Winter's Tale for the Bear. But, there's more!  It's  the same old story of jealousy and .. well.. jealousy.. that drives the narrative.    This production's use of really clever double and triple diversity casting and a casual embrace of  the original language of the play works.   The issue of the nutty King Leontes  suspecting his preggers wife, Herminone   of havng an affair with his pal King Polixenes (Iman Nazemzadeh ) is a stretch, but jealousy often turns on imagined slights: doubt. 

Director Tracy Young's updated adaptation (With Lisa Volpe) of the story unfolds. 

It's Christmas in LA and the party's going along just fine with video of the good times had by all. I learned from Skylight creative director and producer of this show, Gary Grossman, that the feeling of 'ensemble' comes from a disparate band of brothers and sisters who must have worked their buns off to bring this production to life.  The beautiful set by Christopher Scott Murillo and casual cosdtues by C. Yuri Son work just fine..  

It's a wicked pace with every cast member pitching in to smoothly make scene changes with nary a stitch.   Another good thing? This cast is not bent on delivering 'typical' takes on the language of the Bard.  Over the top interpretation and broad characteriationss fill the bill.  I loved Paulina (KT Vogt ).. who shows up later as a shepherd as well.

In a nutshell..  Leontes is jealous of Hermione's affection for  Polixenes , but something just puts  Leontes's knickers in a twist. He puts his pregnante wife in jail, and sends Camillo (Shaan Dasani)   to poison Polixenes.  Leontes's son just dies! Then, Hermione gives birtrh in jail. Yadda, Yada, Yoda and Antigonus (Miguel Perez) is sent off to dump the newborn in the outback.  We meet The Bear! (Pretty scary, boy! Daniel De Young)!  Yay..

Stuff happens. Sixteen years flow by like a broken down dam (thank you John Prine)..  Lovely Perdita (scary good  Misha Osherovic) who , we learn, is the daughter of Leontes and Hermione somehow gets all giddy about Prince Florizel  (Israel Erron Ford) who is, in fact. the son of good King Polixenes (Iman Nazemzadeh ).. The culture of the times doesn't work in favor of the marriage of a commoner and a royal so it looks like curtains for the couple.. but. stuff happens and the true identity of Perdita is revealed and everyone assembles and pairs up and Magic happens. (Really!!).. and the audience explodes and there's a party.. 

Recommended .. This is diversity in theatre at its best. Tell a friend. See this show.

“The Winter's Tale”
by William Shakespeare
In modern verse translation by Tracy Young
Adapted by Lisa Volpe and Tracy Young
Directed by Tracy Young

Produced by Gary Grossman and Armando Huipe for Skylight Theatre Company
Associate Producer for Skylight, Logan Ellis
Recommended for age 13 +

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Cast:

Daniel DeYoung - Leontes/Mariner/Bear
Iman Nazemzadeh - Polixenes
Miguel Perez - Antigonus/Valentine
Misha Osherovich - Perdita/Dion
Israel Erron Ford - Florizel/Cleomenes
Shaan Dasani - Camillo
KT Vogt - Paulina/Old Shepherd
Victoria Hoffman - Emilia/Dorcas
Audrey Cirzan - Clown/Servant
Quest Sapp - Officer Rogero
Spencer Jamison - Hermione/Mopsa

Designers:

Scenic Design: Christopher Scott Murillo

Lighting Design: Brandon Baruch

Sound Design: Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski

Costume Design: C. Yuri Son

Costume Associate: Jill Landback

Prop Design: Nicole Bernadini

Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Celina Lee Surniak

Choreographer: John Paul Batista

PRODUCTION STAFF

Stage Manager: Kaz Osborne

Assistant Stage Manager: Izzy Donenberg

Technical Director: Benjamin Rawls

Dramaturge: Benjamin Pryor

Associate Producer: Logan Ellis

Publicist: Kelly Hargraves & Lynn Tejada

Casting Director Victoria Hoffman

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Where:
Skylight Theatre
1816 ½ North Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90027

Parking information: http://skylighttheatre.org/plan-your-visit/

When:
Previews: April 18. 19 & 23, 2025
Opening: 8:00pm Thursday April 24, 2025
Schedule: 8:00 on Thursdays, 8:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 3:00pm Sundays, 8:00 pm Mondays. (Schedule changes in May)
Closing: Saturday, June 14, 2025

Reservations: (213) 761-7061 or online at https://www.skylighttheatre.org/thewinterstale

Prices:
Previews $15+
Opening night tickets: $48+
Regular: $20 - $42
Students: $20
Seniors: $35

To access a limited amount of Pay-What-You-Can tickets to any performance, use a code ACCESS. Advance sale only

INDEPENDENT SHAKSPEARE COMPANY : H A M L E T.. (SOLUS)

to be..

or 

not

to be.. in evidence

speak the speech..  mssing in action

Independent Shakespear Company has presented The Bard for many years with artistic director David Melville leading the charge ..especially the ISC's Shakespeare in the Park. a free evening under the stars.

The house fills and "Hurt" by Johnny Cash is playing in the preshow. 

"I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real"

It sets the mood.. The complications of The Prince of Denmark's mood

Hamlet (solus) is an ambitious take on probably the most diagnosed character in the canon of Will's tragic characters, Hamlet (solus)  is a sort of Cliff's Notes version of the story, most of which is familiar to certainly every student of Theatre and at least some of the lines to all educated folks. Melville brings to life not only The Dane. but. Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius and the good old Grave Digger. 

Imagine Yorick's  talking skull singing along with a nicely strummed banjolele, Hamlet's self accompanying on piano, a balladeer with guitar and some groovy theatrical effects: here. in this last week of production.. fully staged.. the essential story of the Prince of Denmark.  

Melville is a scholarly and dedicated actor bringing the essence of sundry characters and, of course, the most of the play itself.

To hold the stage and play to a full house, bouncing the narrative along , singing a song (from time to time)  .. side by side with himself as  characters in the same scene is impressive.  BinhAn Nguyens spare  scenic design that is fully engaged with Bosco Flanagan's lights and fluid direction by Cary Reynolds makes for an interesting challenge for guys like me who think we know the play.   With the essentials all on board and familiar lines (with the exception to the Advice to The Players, unless it went over my head) and the epilogue to the play with Flights of Angels gone, Melville owns the stage and the audience loves it. 

Because of scheduling, I am late to the party. The final couple of shows will go up this weekend and then.. the rest is silence until Summer in the Park.

There is a certain casual confidence and even laissez faire  in Melvill's performance. It's a confidence that  I admire and at once find a bit pretentions.  The effortless effort  and complete control  comes with  years at the helm of Los Angeles's own INDEPENDENT Shakespeare Company.  Every stroke of the brush from Melville's pallette lands with precision. Banjolele, Piano, Guitar and a Bombay Taxi Horn. meld to bring the play to a unique and creative  one hundred five minutes that must be, at once exhausting and a genuine high to share.

 Conceived by and performed by David Melville as Hamlet

Crew

Set Design: BinhAn Nguyen. 

Costume Design: Isabel Rodriguez. 

Lighting Design: Bosco Flanagan. 

Stage Managed by Lexie Secrist. 

Photos by Grettel Cortes.

 

Hamlet (solus)

Conceived and Performed 

by David Melville
Directed by Cary Reynolds 

Indepndt Shakespeare Company

3191 Casitas Ave., Ste 130

(between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Blvd.)

Atwater Crossing

Los Angeles, CA 90039. 

Free lot and street parking. 

March 6 - April 19, 2025
Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 7:30 PM; Sundays at 2 PM
The performance is 90 minutes (no intermission).

Tickets starting at $27.50 

Students: $25
All Thursdays are pay-what-you-can.

For tickets, please call (818) 710-6306 or reserve online at www.iscla.org

For group rates, contact us: indyshakes@iscla.org

 

 

ROGUE MACHINE PRESENTS CORKTOWN 39

 

 

 

Ann Noble & Ron Bottitta Photos by Jeff Lorch

World Premiere of  John Fazakerley's "Corktown '39" .. based on actual events and real people.. , dredges up deep feelings for the Irish:  undeniable passions and politics that .. though not exactly paralell to today's current threat to the United States, the issues of   Ireland and Self Rule and how to get there .. to get from beneath the Jack- boot  of British rule,, bubbles like a cauldron of Mutton Stew! 

Steven Robman  directs a cast of dedicated professionals,  looking back to over eightyfive years  steeped in Irish Americans' efforts  to make the Auld Sod free. Revelations of political ties between Ireland and looming  tyranny in Europe are forceful and troubling.   Was an alliance with Hitler on the horizon?

John Fazakerley's plays have been compared to O'Neill.. which I can see, but the relationships between the  members of the Keating family and the morals of zealots and a hired gun  spark an Arthur Miller tone.  Fazakerley's Keatings are soldiers..if not in the Irish Republican Army, certainly Clan na Erin, an American auxillary that held huge rallies to support the war against the British.

A story unknown to me, that at this time in world histroy, as Hitler and the Nazi party were rolling into power;  setting up camps like Dachau, the Irish were in business with Germany for arms.  World History and the soldiers who were 'in the American trneches' comes to life..

Having just been slapped silly by Ann Noble (Kate) in the recent Ghost Road production of The Unraveling  .. It's no suprise that Kate, the IRA soldier she portrays sizzles in accord with others who are doing their darndest to find ways to defeat the Brits with bombs, In Kate Bergh's perfect wardrobe, Noble and the others are costumed to perfection. 

Ron Bottitta, just back from New York with the Fountain's 'Fatherland!" (edit.. with apologies to all who embrace parenting)  brings Mike Keating to life in a complicated way .

Mike's son, Frank, the All American kid,, Kate's teen brother, has his work cut out for him with a stage full of seasoned and no nonsense actors.The kid holds his own!

The chain of command from the American Clan na Gael commander Joseph McGarrity (Peter Van Norden) reveals health issues that factor in.)  The infighting with firebrand Sean Russell (excellent and amped JD Cullum) presses hard for Martin Connor  (Jeff Lorch) an imported Irish sniper, to go against his mother's wishes and his own personal moral core.  "You should always listen to your mother!"  

As Tim,  Thomas Vincent Kelly sets a tone with a lesson in personal ethics regarding  the IRA's campaign to bomb British utilities  Tim  has been briefly a paramour with Kate.  Tim also devulges vital informaton that steers the play to a dark conclusion.

Each character is drawn in three dimensions and the production  sails along at a brisk pace .  The Matrix stage is a challenging one.. but even the audience at the far sides of the house are included intimately. 

To gush further about this production, in total it is the kind of art with a slightly boosted theatrical style, that  draws us in, especially with the issue or our own democracy at stake today. . It feels current.

It's such a pleasure to be drawn in and to care about  the Keatings and even understand, in an odd way,  Sean Russell's fervor. Russell,  I learned, may still have  a monument in Dublin that was regularly tagged with swastikas and the colors of the German flag. In 1940 Russell lost his life when being ferried back to Ireland in a German U Boat! 

Thanks to actor Ron Bottitta, this photo with Ann Noble and Jeff Lorch.  showed up on Ron's FB page. These actors are deeply dedicated.  Photo credit Jacques Lorch.

Has Broadway come to Melrose?  In a word:  "Corktown '39" has all the makings of a beautifully staged theatrical event!  Highly recommended.    

CAST:
Kaitlin ‘Kate’ Keating   ... Ann Noble
Michael ‘Mike’ Keating ... Ron  Bottitta  
Francis ‘Frank’ Keating  ..Tommy McCabe
Martin Connor  .. ............  Jeff Lorch
Tim Flynn .  ...........Thomas Vincent Kelly
Sean Russell ..  ...............  JD Cullum
Joseph McGarrity ......... Peter Van Norden

PRODUCTION TEAM: Mark Mendelson (Scenic Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Kate Bergh (Costume Design), Ned Mochel (Violence Design), Megan Trapani (Prop Design), Grant Gerrard (Technical Director), Lauren Lovett (Dialect Coach), Celina Surniak (Intimacy Coordinator), Bill Voorhees (Carpenter), Nate Fox (Master Electrician), Victoria Hoffman (Casting), John Perrin Flynn, Athena Saxon (Producers)

"Corktown '39"   A World Premiere
 by John Fazakerley

Opening at 8pm on Saturday, April 12, 2025

8pm Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 

2pm Sundays through May 25, 2025

(no performance on Monday April 14, 21, and May 12)

The play contains adult language. Viewer discretion is advised

 

Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

 

 

WHO PUT THE GOTH IN GOTHIC? A NOISE WITHIN' JANE EYRE

Charlotte Brontē's JANE EYRE  .. a classic in so many ways, blooms in Pasadena on the A Noise Within Stage.  Adapted by Elizabeth Williamson from the Brontē novel, we meet the spunky orphan , Jane (spot on Jeanne Syquia) who struggles to overcome more hardships than the Labors of Hercules and comes out smelling like a rose!

In the mid 2000s, A  Noise Within founders Geoff and  Julia Roderiquez-Elliott set out to invite the City of Pasadena to a huge party and here we are all these years later with a beauty of a space.. a fully functioning stage and technical operation and a collection of actors and designers and all who. with this gorgeous production put the 'goth' in Gothic. 

JANE EYRE  is the extraordinariy tale of a young woman (who narrates her own story) whose will to not only survive, but to succeed on her own  terms fills the room with excellence. Gushing is something I try not to do, but the circumstances of this production warrant a comment. Last night's production was, because of being unable to open as scheduled last week,  was the first tme the entire cast and crew played to an audience.  It all worked!

Deborah Strang, Jeanne Syquia
(seated), and Trisha Miller
Photo by Craig Schwartz

Of the many productions I've reviewed over the years, both in Glendale and at ANW in Pasadena,  this show may be right up there with Noises Off! in Dirctor Geoff Elliott's list of many credits. 

 Frederica Nascimento's ever changing set morphs wth smooth transitions taking us from one location to another. Rochester (Frederick “Freddy” Stuart) rants and bellows precisely over the top, parried blow for blow by the wonderful Jeanne Syquia as Jane.

The show is double and triple cast with my rave fave Deborah Strang as Mrs. Fairfax/Lady Ingram/Mrs. Reed 

Thanks to Angela Balogh Calin's perfect period costumes, we are transported  to the heart of mid 19th Century England.. Elliott's stage pictures and choreography .. including a terrific fire, a deluge of rain, even Jane's trip  on a carriage ride leaving her in the middle of nowhere (as it should be).  All meld to smooth as silk  story telling.  

A surprise in one scene sared the heck out of me! 

A Noise Within's gift is not only to Pasadena, but to all who  value the 'classics' and the expertise of Theatre Professionals.  Please support this excellent effort.

 CAST
Jane Eyre  . Jeanne Syquia*
Mr. Rochester    Frederick “Freddy” Stuart*
Mrs. Fairfax/Lady Ingram/Mrs. Reed  Deborah Strang*
Blanche/Bessie/Grace Poole . 

Trisha Miller*
Mason/St. John Rivers/John Reed . . 

Riley Shanahan*
Priest/John/Doctor . . Bert Emmett*
Young Jane/Adele.  . . . .Stella Bullock
Leah/Mary Ingram/Diane Rivers/Bertha . .   . Julia Manis

 Crxeative Team: 

Scenic designer Frederica Nascimento; Costume designer Angela Balogh Calin; Lighting designer Ken Booth; 

Composer sound designer Robert Oriol; 

Wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; Properties designer Stephen Taylor; Dalect coach Andrea Odinov; and Dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. Production stage manager  Cassy Sottile, assisted by Katelyn Hampton.

Jane Eyre
• Adapted by Elizabeth Williamson from the novel by Charlotte Brontë
• Directed by Geoff Elliott
• Starring Stella Bullock, Bert Emmett, Julia Manis, Trisha Miller, Riley Shanahan, Deborah Strang, Frederick Stuart, Jeanne Syquia
• Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors
 
Previews March 23 – March 28:
• Sunday at 2 p.m. / Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Performances April 3 – April 20, 2025:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. 

ADDITIONAL DATES:
• A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will take place prior to the matinee on Sunday, March 30 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
• Post-performance conversations with the artists every Friday (except the preview) and Sunday, April 6.
• Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m. Interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.

WHERE:
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

TICKETS:
• Tickets start at $51.50 (including fees)
• Student tickets start at $20
• Wednesday, March 26 and Thursday, March 27 (previews): Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning the Monday prior to that performance)
• Discounts available for groups of 10 or more

HOW:
www.anoisewithin.org
(626) 356-3100