BOSTON COURT / NGHT OF THE IGUANA

 The Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena is a delightful space that caters to excellent choices for production.   

Tesshi Nakagawa's  lush tropical set features the verandah of the Casa Verde Hotel. A huge tree upstage ominously looming. The silhouette changes as time goes by. Spectacular.

Maxine Faulk's (Julanne Chidi Hill) husband has died leaving Mrs. Faulk to run the Hotel. At rise, she is, evidently, a  very Merry Widow   trystijng enthusiastically with one of the Mexican guys who do chores at the hotel. Pedro and Pancho (Juan De La Cruz and  Michael G.Martinez)   Erupting from her tryst, Mrs. Faulk explodes with a shout down the hill, hailing her old friend: The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon: (basso Riley Shanahan). 

Shannon is exhausted with  fever and drink. He is a tour guide who has gotten himself in trouble with a sixteen year old honey bunny in his tour group.

Jessica Kubzansky's direction  has the actors at full voice from the start. Shannon is up against it with fever and things are going south way faster than he would like.. Faced with rebuke from tour sponsor Miss Fellows (delightfully  doing double duty Ann Noble also as Frau Fahrenkopf) there's a lot of shouting  going on.

It's 1940 and the Germans romping at the hotel may be Nazis, but this is vacationland and the only politics on hand is  Shannon's struggle to save his rearend.. and his job.

 What fate lies ahead for Shannon turns on dealing with his demon, The Spook of his imagination and opportunities with Maxine,  the one note  widow who loves  Shannon and needs a partner.

With the problems brewing with Miss Fellows and the tour falling to pieces,we meet Hannah Jelkes (Jully Lee)  and her 97 year old poet / grandfatther, Nono (Jonnathan Coffin). Penniless and tired.

A trend in shows I've seen over recent years has swung to 'diversty casting' which gives audiences the challenge of accepting characters that may once have been  signular ethnicity characters because we had not yet become woke.. Now the choice to cast other ethnicities works if you can re-tune your  initial understanding of characters who once were probably caucasian to another channel.

As Miss Jelkes, Ms Lee is smooth as silk.  Shepherding her 97 year old grandfather who is   hard at work on his ultimate poem.  Ms Lee's portrayal is seamless. It works if you can buy that an Asian woman/artist shows up and is dependent on the kindness of strangers.(To coin a phrase)..

The tragedy of Shannon"s issues is handled well by Ms Jelkes, but for a woman with so many pressing responsibilities, she was, at leas for me, too beautiful and too cool and hardly desperate. These are truly desperate times.. No funds. The end of the trail as Nono composes his epic and final poem.

The discomfort in this review is that this Iguana is a very well done production. The beautiful set really works. The whole business of the iguana and Shannon's issues and his attraction to Jelkes and all is still just a little off. 

 Certainly, Williams' Iguana characters are compelling. The theme of release and new beginnings symbolized by the  feed iguana is clear.  The completion of Nono's poem is poignant. 

The beauty of this Boston Court  presentation is the attention to detail. Every aspect of the production has been met, but for me, I wanted to care more about Nono and somehow sympathize with Shannon.

Chilled by air conditioning to see a steamy tropical play might have biased my take. My reviews are always about the whole experience.  Fact is that this is a production totally worth seeing and I hope audiences will attend.

It's a Tennessee Williams play and finding the stuff in it, while a bit challenging for me, it is very worthy ..  

Cast 

Pancho: Michael G. Martinez

Maxine: Julanne Chidi Hill

Pedro: Juan De La Cruz

The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon: Riley Shanahan 

Wolfgang: George Vagujhelyi

Hilda: Isabella Feliciana

Herr Fahrenkopf: Christian Haines

Frau Fahrenkopf: Ann Noble

Hank: Juan De La Cruz

Miss Fellows: Ann Noble

Charlotte: Isabella Feliciana

Hannah Jelkes: Jully Lee

Nonno (Jonathan Coffin): Dennis Dun

Jake Latta: Christian Haines

Creative Team

Director - Jessica Kubzansky

Assistant Director - Eric Swartz

Scenic Design - Tesshi Nakagawa

Costume Design - Denitsa Bliznakova

Assistant Costume Design - Linda Litchy-Cervantes

Lighting Design - Kaitlin Trimble

Sound Design/Composition - John Zalewski

Properties Design - Jenna Scordino 

Intimacy Director - Carly DW Bones

Fight Director - Edgar Landa

Dialect Coach - Matthew Floyd Miller

Casting Director - Victor Vazquez

Production Manager - Jasmine Kalra

Production Stage Manager - Jasmine Leung

Assistant Stage Manager  - Jaclyn Gehringer

 

The Night of the Iguana 

 By Tennessee Williams

Boston Court Theatre

Pasasdena, California

 Opened Saturday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m., 

Performances  on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.  through October 19.  on the same schedule. 

Tickets range from $10 to $72, including fees

Ann Noble's A BELLA INCARCERATION

 Ann Noble's 

A BELLA INCARCERATION  presents an exploration of what one person can do, may do, should do:  Must Do!

An n Noble as Bella

 

Full disclosure:  I am a fan of Ann Noble. She is one of the most protean  actors I've seen in years.  Her ability to allow a character to emerge is exquisite. This show has some surprises.  We go from discovery of her cute blonde clown, Bella, rightly incarcerated  for a misdeed and her envy of tall folks to discussions of civil disobedience. 

Bella conjurs  three prominent women from history via a tubby little mini-Bella complete with pink nose and blonde curls.

 The these three women are and were important in modern  history.  Journalist Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864 - January 27, 1922),  Anarchist Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940)  and Political Activist Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 -  November 29, 1980).  Each in her time stood for social principles that still need  attention today. 

Noble has pulled these important American activists into the future to find 'truth' in why we do what we do.  "What I did for love?"  or passion? Each has a story.

Ann Noble is committed to theatre. A Bella Incarceration is mounted simply: a cage and a few props. It's presentational, drawing the audience in.. Bella's 'cell' is surrounded on three sides by her audience. The play is intimate.   Bella tells us that her incarceration  is because of Fire!! the fire of love  or passion or maybe even compassion... as she's in the clink for love of a tree.  

I really don't like the word 'interesting.'  It's a nuisance word that we often use when we don't know exactly what to say.. We meet Bella and hear her issues with tall folks. Meet the historical women  and then 'interesting' happens. No spoiler alert except to say that the left turn transformation of the naive Bella is profound and... Interesting.   Bella's sharp awakening is dramatic with a story in mime and some cool business with a symbolic light bulb including Noble's fluid dance moves.. 

Very interesting.  We come from what is a pretty straight forward polemic that quotes these famous women to something apparently deep and personal that contrasts the other stuff.

This is a must see production, if for no other reason than to find the kernels   of truth that lie beneath the surface of what must be a very personal story.   Noble's imagined characters are crisp.. The revelations that blossom in Bella Ventricula and the 'interesting' contrast supported by an orchestral cello version of "The Sound of Silence" plays. It all comes together in a commitment to an important idea. 

 A Bella Incarceration is a Very Interesting piece, in the best sense:  inviting us to find the 'fire inside' which may be the foundation that buoys up the entire presentation.

A BELLA INCARCERATION

written and  performed by  Ann Noble

• Sundays at 7 p.m.: Sept. 21 and Sept. 28
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 22 and Sept. 29
• Tuesday at 8 p.m.: Sept. 23 ONLY

WHERE:
Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

PARKING:
FREE in the Atwater Crossing (AXT) lot one block south of the theater

TICKET PRICE:
• Individual tickets: $20

HOW:
EchoTheaterCompany.com
310-307-3753

 

 

 

AT LAST.. A RAVE FOR ANW.. ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS!

 A Noise Within is an undeniably gorgeous venue, Entering the house, the splash of Frederica Nascimento's  set for this audacious production is beautiful. It is Wonderful.. 

However....

 The lobby sign, "You can take your refreshments into the theater." rankles me for bad grammar.. and... and! even with "quiet cups.." the crunching of crunchies and the slurping of drinks and the smell of peanut breath from a really big guy who sqeezed into the seat next to me..  who was not much into applause because his big old hands were full of peanuts and Coke was a problem.. Refreshments? They distract us from the class act that Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott have masterfully mounted. Specifically, they have beautifully directed  this production in a way that rivals their major Hit: "Noises Off!"

Why does this piss me off? Because a great big guy raising his big old arm to take  regular swigs of his Coke remove me from the play. He also failed in the Quiet Cup department, too.   Not to mention peanut breath. Sorry.. had to mention it.

But!!   Thank Goodness   for the most brilliant cast and Richard Bean's over the top teach-in for Commedia del Arté! Thank goodness for an amazing set and really clever and exciting scene changes and lights and sound!   Commedia is a very specific style. The stock characters   must stick to their intentions.. As Francis, (insert superlative here) Kasey Mahaffy, looking a bit like Conan O'Brien! literally knocks himself out! Literally!! in the Lazzo of the Argument (I made that title up) .  Even with the lightning fast dialogue, handled well by all.. we 'get' the story, as convoluted as it is.

The Pace.. Geez, Louise.. the pace is so fast that trying to keep up is a lot.  Funny stuff, and broad action may  make an aficionado of Commedia want to see it again. 

The lazzo singular for lazzi,  is  specific to any character as an interstitial.  It's the broad physical action that has delighted audiences for centuries. Innuendo prevails. Naughty! These lazzi are delicious. 

How Francis keeps his two  bosses, Stanley (Ty Aldridge)  and Rachel (Christie Coran)  ,  from knowing that he's serving them both is wonderful.

Based on Carlo Goldoni's  "Servant of Two Masters" (which we all should read now) .. the spirit of the original is certainly on the ANW stage!  We break the forth wall. and poor C..... oh  wait.. never mind..

Silly jokes may go begging because of the break neck pace, but that's okay, really.  Garry Lennon's spot on  costumes and dance numbers by the Elliotts and dance consultant Indira Tyler are directly from the burgeoning psychedelic Sixties.. Pre-show Baby Elephant Walk is a particular fave of mine.

Standing O for the skiffle band (that Francis was fired from?) immerse us pre-show. The guys establish the mood (slightly cooled by a recorded curtain speech).

And!!!  Every actor arrives dedicated to the style, the asides, the energy of what Commedia is supposed to deliver: a little naughty, some star-crossed lovers, mistaken identity, broad broad  broad! physical stuff. Amazing timing. Slamming doors! Disappearing audience members! "In" jokes! 

LA Locals..and Pasadena folks, for sure..  and anyone who desperately needs and appreciates  what Farce is all about, ANW and the Elliotts deliver. Yes.  Yes..

Thanks to the blessing of St. Genesius for this beautiful  gift.   . 

Go for the Lazzis!

Trisha Miller, Kasey Mahaffy
Photo by Craig Schwartz

Bring along an extra sandwich.

Wear Depends.. just in case.

One Man, Two Guvnors 

By Richard Bean

Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
Songs by Grant Olding
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott

CAST
Francis Henshall - Kasey Mahaffy
Stanley Stubbers - Ty Aldridge
Rachel Crabbe - Christie Coran
Alan Dangle - Paul David Story
Dolly - Trisha Miller
Pauline Clench - Cassandra Marie Murphy
Lloyd Boateng - Luis Kelly-Duarte
Charlie Clench - Henri Lubatti
Harry Dangle - Lynn Robert Berg
Alfie - Josey Montana McCoy
Gareth -Evan Lugo
Ensemble - Adriel Camarena, Vic Crusaos, Cristian Venegas

MUSICIANS
Acoustic Guitar, Keyboard, Lead Vocals - Rod Bagheri
Electric Guitar Background Vocals - Cody Volk
Upright Bass, Electric Bass, Background Vocals - Mike Selfridge
Drums, Washboard, Background Vocals - Art Pacheco 

PRODUCTION:
Scenic Designer - Frederica Nascimento
Costume Designer - Garry Lennon
Lighting Designer - Ken Booth
Sound Designer - Jeff Gardner
Music Director - Rod Bagheri
Projections Designer - Nick Santiago
Wig Designer & Make Up - Tony Valdes 
Dialect Coach -  Andrea Odinov
Fight Choreographer - Ken Merckx
Dramaturg. .Miranda Johnson-Haddad 
Casting Director - Alison Rodriguez    1960s Dance Consultant  - Indira Tyler Choreography by the Elliotts  

Public Relations: Lucy Pollak!

One Man, Two Guvnors'

• Written by Richard Bean
• Adapted from The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
• Original songs by Gary Olding
• Directed by Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott
• Music director Rod Bagheri
• Starring Ty Aldridge, Lynn Robert Berg, Christie Coran, Luis Kelly–Duarte, Henri Lubatti, Evan Lugo, Kasey Mahaffy, Josey Montana McCoy, Trisha Miller, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Paul David Story
• Presented by A Noise Within, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, producing artistic directors
 
WHEN:
August 31 through September 28
Previews Aug. 31 – Sept. 5:
• Sunday at 2 p.m. / Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Performances Sept. 6 – Sept. 28:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no Saturday matinee on Sept. 6)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will take place prior to the matinee on Sunday, Sept. 7 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
• Post-performance conversations with the artists every Friday (except the preview) and Sunday, Sept 14.
• 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, Sept. 3 and Thursday, Sept. 4 (previews): Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning at noon the Monday prior to that performance, and at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance.)
• Discounts available for groups of 10 or more

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

  

THE FOUNTAIN PRESENTS FLY ME TO THE SUN

The Fountain Theatre presents the  West Coast Premiere of  Brian Quijada's FLY ME TO THE SUN. The full length one act  features BQ (Gerardo Navarro) providing animation for  Abeula Julia, an engaging puppet that reminded me f "Madam" of Waylon and Madam fame. Abeula Julia is not nearly so bawdy.. But, she rocks.   I love this introduction of puppets (full disclosure, I was once a pupptetter.) BQ's charming family story has its moments.

Every review I write these days reminds me of past experience.  In one vignette BQ relates from his childhood, all watched over by his loving grannie. He takes us on a road trip from Chicago to Anaheim and the experience of Space Mountain!  For some reason, this reminded me of an old college friend, Michael Johnson. His album "That's That" features this tune, "Roller Coaster Ride"

https://www.google.com/search?q=simger+michael+Johnson+song+%22+down+too+fast%22&sca_esv=9c452930055ba69e&ei=slq-aJ7FK7Wrur8PtdLIkAY&ved=0ahUKEwie5sWbqciPAxW1le4BHTUpEmIQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=simger+michael+Johnson+song+%22+down+too+fast%22&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLHNpbWdlciBtaWNoYWVsIEpvaG5zb24gc29uZyAiIGRvd24gdG9vIGZhc3QiSABQAFgAcAB4AJABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHALIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:79d26aec,vid:pCjN2sgXpJU,st:0

 This link doesn't want to highlight.  Oh well.. It's just an old  memory  inspired by BQ's roller coaster story.

This is a tour de force for Mr. Navarro, even though big brother,  Noé Cervantes, provides beats and some well done puppetry,  the text of the show all falls to BQ.. The monumental task of remembering ninety minutes of movement and dialogue is worth the price of admission.  The BQ energy never falters, though the pace of the show. like a roller coaster, explodes with a bang and then drops to a thoughtful and heartfelt moment before rising again for another plunge. 

Live music (ukulele, a fave) and beats by   Cervantes on Michael Navarro's truly super duper technicolor set injects  life into the show. 

BQ is a kid, who produces his own TV Show!! (Applause) and in so doing 

Gerardo Navarro and Noé Cervantes
Photo by Areon Media

tells the story of his very special relationship with his grandmother, Julia.. The show moves  in a cinematic flow.   

An enthusiastic audience anticipated the "Applause" sign held up by BQ's brother  and The Fountain reaches out to include El Salvador and the current troubles of our own country to prompt us to keep in mind that we are a nation of immigrants. This story of immigration touching on the issues in El Salvador should instill empathy for our put upon brothers and sisters. We are tasked to remember our own grandmothers who may not helicopter like Abeula Julia, but are fundamentally special in each of our lives.

Excellent tech by Deja Collins supports this deeply personal story.  

FLY ME TO THE SUN is a special show.  Go.

Crew:

Scenic designer Michael Navarro; Lighting designer Alison Brummer; Sound Designer Andrea “Slim” Allmond; 

Media designer Deja Collins; 

Costume designer Jeanette Godoy 

Properties designer Jenine MacDonald.

 Production stage manager Kimberly Sanchez Garrido

Publicity:  Lucy Pollak . 

 Barbara Herman executive produces for the Fountain Theatre

 FLY ME TO THE SUN

by Brian Quijada
• Featuring beats and remixes by Marvin Quijada and Brian Quijada
• Directed by Raymond O. Caldwell
• Starring Gerardo Navarro and Noé Cervantes
• Executive Producer Barbara Herman
• Presented by The Fountain Theatre, Raymond O. Caldwell artistic director

WHEN:
Previews: Wednesday, Sept. 3; Thursday, Sept. 4; and Friday, Sept. 5, each at 8 p.m.
Performances: Sept. 6 through Oct.12
• English language performances:
Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m.; one Saturday matinee on Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. (dark Monday, Sept. 8 and Monday, Sept. 29)
• Spanish language performances:
Sundays at 7 p.m.: Sept. 14; Sept. 28; Oct. 5
Saturday at 2 p.m.: Oct. 4

WHERE:
The Fountain Theatre
5060 Fountain Ave.
Los Angeles CA 90029
(Fountain at Normandie)

TICKET PRICES:
$25 – $45:
• Premium Seating: $45
• Regular Seating: $40
• Seniors 65 or older: $35 (regular seating only)
• Students: $25 (valid ID required)
• Monday nights: Regular seating ($40) and Pay–What–You–Want (subject to availability)
• Previews: Pay–What–You–Will

PARKING:
• Secure, on-site parking: $5
• Street parking available in the neighborhood north of Fountain Ave.
• No parking after 6 p.m. on Mariposa or Alexandria Avenues south of Fountain Ave.
• Allow extra time to find street parking; make sure to read all parking signs

HOW:
FountainTheatre.com
(323) 663-1525