Shanley.. Outside Mullingar at the Skylight

 If my reviews actually do something?, I hope that they will, at least...  encourage readers to attend local theatre.   Every live theatre performance is unique and holds some form of magic.  Just go!

Gary Grossman's Skylight has been cooking one way or another for a long time and this guest production of Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley is an excellent example of how Broadway may come to Los  Angeles.  Director/Producer Matt Leavitt put the show up at the Matrix and got great attention. Now, here we are on Vermont.  Please see this play!.

Kitty Swink!!.

A professional actor married to a professional actor Armin Shimerman.  Both with credits a mile long. A good start.

Full disclosure.. I am an unabashed fan of Kitty Swink. Our first encounter was in a shoebox in NoHo with Daikin Matthews at the helm. Ladyhouse Blues. From that time to this, I have been a fan. 

With this bias in mind, Mullingar is an acting challenge that brings to life feisty Irish farmers at odds. There may be a little too much shouting, but it's mostly appropriate as these characters have tough lives. Grief and other disappointments are abundant. 

We open on a social event after a wake for Chris Muldoon! Feisty Tony Reilly  (Armin Shimerman) is at once at odds with his slightly off kilter son, Anthony (Michael Kirby). Joined by the Widow Muldoon (Kitty Swink!) to banter and eventually get to the subject of the forty meter patch that rears its grassy head between their two farms. 

Leavitt's direction steers the story from one kitchen  to another with an elaborate and very impressive set by Mark Mendelson.  

It's a love story with bristling spines and death.  Shanley is a poet and as we wind our way to a respectable climax, the frustrations of the rebel Rosemary (Liza Seneca) boil and bubble. 

. 

Kitty Swink

 

 It's the Irish Countryside. The heavy mists of farm life permeate the scene.  Aoife Muldoon's   husband has just passed. She arrives at the Neighbor Reilly's farm where discussion of next steps for her and rebel  daughter Rosemary (Liza Seneca) are discussed as they adjust. Old folks on their last laps. 

The issue of the patch of land is on our minds throughout. It colors the connection between Anthony  and Rosemary's odd  "courtship" over the years..    Bickering is a way of life for all.

A beauty of an old folk song permeates the play, "Wild Mountain Thyme."  The subtle tune sneaks in from time to time.   Here's a random sample I found.    The bodhran  is the heart of Celtic music! The tune mirrors our story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0

Looks like the link might have to be copied and pasted?  I like this version.

Thanks to the intimate space at The Skylight, nuance and well crafted brogues for each of our characters makes this production possibly right up there with Broadway.    Is that a compliment?  Good show.

Cast

Kitty Swink:        Aoife Muldoo  

Armin Shimerna: Tony Reilly,

 Michael Kirby   Anthony  Reilly,  

Liza Seneca          Rosemary Muldoon

 

Crew

Set Design by Mark Mendelson;
Sound Design by Chris Moscatiello; Lighting Design by Justin Huen; Costume Design by Caitlin Cisek

Prop Master/Set Dressing by Megan Trapani 

Photo credit: Karianne Flaathen.

Stage Manager Zaira Paredes-Villegas.

Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley

Directed by MATTHEW LEAVITT

OUTSIDE MULLINGAR will preview on Thursday October 16th and Friday October 17th
at 8pm; will open on Saturday October 18th at 8pm (press opening); and runs through
Sunday November 9th at 

The Skylight Theatre, 1816 1/2 N Vermont Ave in Los Feliz.
Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. 

(No show on Friday October 31st).
Ticket prices are $40. For tickets please visit https://the6thact.ludus.com
For more information, photos, press interviews or for press comps, please email
the6thact@gmail.com

KAFKA.. AT OPEN FIST.. "AMERIKA or the man who disappeared.. WORLD PREMIERE!!

FANTASTIC! 

The opening scenes of "Amerika or The Man Who Disappeared" emerge with beautiful revelations of what it must be like for any first time visitor landing from Europe seeing for the First Time! The Statue  of Liberty. Three spectacular drops set the scene. 

Franz Kafka never visited the United States! This raises the question as to why he created this far out dreamlike fantasy from whole cloth? It's an adventure!!  There's a kid named Karl Rossmann (Ethan Remez-Cott). It's his story.  Down the rabbit hole,  It might be Wonderland?  Oz??  Kafka wants to make sure his audience is never on solid ground: uncomfortable.  As we  take Rossmann's journey with him, one cockeyed experience after another befalls him: even when something might look like good fortune!  .  

Author / adapter  / Director Dietrich Smith created this loopy scenario from Kafka's unfinished novel. AMERIKA Or The Man Who Disappeared.

 

Matthew Goodrich, Ethan Remez-Cott,
and Grace Soens
Photo by Amanda Weer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make no mistake.. this huge undertaking for The Open Fist will take you from an easy peasy couple of hours to another realm of time and space. Three acts.  

From the get go, young Karl Rossmann, as he sets foot on American soil, rushes back to the ship  to retrieve a missing umbrella down down down  to the steerage of the moldering German steamer.   Odd coincidences begin. 

 Amerika,  with a cast of thousands, makes no claim to make sense.  Karl is an Innocent Abroad in the best sense and is tempest tossed from the beginning. (Thank you, Emma Lazarus)..

 Frederica Nascimento's incredible set morphs from one location to another: a moving picture fantasy.. to coin a phrase.

Smith's highly stylized    presentation of the story's many characters  eschews any natural style. Over the top and loud with poor Karl  hurdled   from pillar to  post  'narrated' by truly wonderful Jay Ward style animations by  John Dilworth  that transition us from scene to scene.  Fine Art! 

A. Jeffrey  Schoenberg's costumes reflect the times beautifully. It must have been a Herculean effort! Wow!

Because of the way the ten cast members morph from one character to another, it's difficult to single out individual performances. Broad stylized presentations rule the day. Imaginative lights and sound. 

Bringing together cast and crew, also Herculean, this show will challenge your take on what Theatre can do. Make your way to Atwater!

CAST:

Ethan Remez-Cott	Karl Rossmann
Jeremy Thompson	Stoker / Mr. Pollunder / Head Porter / Staff Manager
Marc Jablon	Uncle Jacob / Head Waiter / Policeman
Jack David Sharpe	Mr. Green/ Schubal / Company Man / Best
Chima Rok	Delamarche / Ship Captain / Fergussen / Rennell
Matthew Goodrich	Robinson / Mack / Head Purser
Grace Soens	Therese / Angel
Debba Rofheart	Head Cook / Brunelda
Tambrie Allsup	Klara / Ensemble
Jade Santana	Giacomo / Student / Taxi Driver / Ensemble
Kelsey Kusinitz	German Woman /Ensemble...

With apologies to readers, this on line page has taken on a life of its own, not letting me properly credit the Crew of this fantastic show.  Please use the link below to see all of the credits for the play thanks to Lucy Pollok, the PR maven for Open Fist. 

https://www.lucypr.com/Projects/Web/Amerika_Program.pdf

 And. for some reason? This lnk must be copied and pasted instead of presenting as a direct link.  Dang.

Please page down for further information regarding tickets and location.

Open Fist Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared, adapted for the stage by Dietrich Smith from the novel by Franz Kafka. Arriving in New York City on a steamer, 17-year-old Karl Rossmann strives to make his own way, even as he encounters a series of increasingly strange and bewildering experiences that turn his world upside-down.

WHO:
• Adapted from the novel by Franz Kafka by Dietrich Smith
• Directed by Dietrich Smith
• Assistant Director: Barbara Schofield
• Starring Tambrie Allsup, Matthew Goodrich, Marc Jablon, Kelsey Kusinitz, Jeremy Reiter II, Ethan Remez–Cott, Debba Rofheart, Chima Rok, Jade Santana, Jack David Sharpe, Grace Soens, Jeremy Thompson
• Produced by Amanda Weier and Derek Manson
• Presented by Open Fist Theatre Company, Martha Demson, artistic director
 
WHEN:
Oct. 17 through Nov. 22:
• Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturdays at 7 p.m.
• Sundays at 2 p.m.
• Monday at 7:30 p.m.: Oct. 20 ONLY

WHERE:
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039
• FREE parking in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) lot one block south of the theater.

TICKETS:
$26-$45

HOW:
www.openfist.org
(323) 882-6912

 

IT'S CYMBELINE, PODNUH.. AT ANTAEUS IN GLENDALE

 William Shakespeare's  CYMBELINE heads West. 

Antaeus's Artistic Director Nike Doukas takes the reins to round up a bad queen, her spoiled son and the story of star-crossed lovers... again.

Bernard K. Addison, Teodora Avramovic, Eve Gordon, & Randolph Thompson

Photo by Craig Schwartz Photography

 

King  Cymbeline's (Bernard K. Addison) daughter, Imogen (Elinor Gunn) and Posthumus (Peter Mendoza) are nuts about each other and marry. He is not a royal! Imogen has a wicked stepmother (Eve Gordon who also plays Belaria). The Queen expects her son, Cloten (Randolph Thompson), to marry Imogen and secure the throne for herself when old Cymbeline dies.  Well.. we'll see about that! 

There's an exchange of love tokens, a banishment / escape and some fake poison.   Wm S may have cribbed a little from previous plays, but the drama is still solid.  R and J was written in  about 1596 and Cymbeline in about 1609.. Nothing wrong with a similar plot point a few years later? Borrowing from yourelf seems okay to me.

Ms Doukas updates about 300 years and even though this is certainly bordering on a tragedy, the clever change of venue makes the show roll right along...  Mostly.   

Slick Iachimo (Gerard Joseph) bets Posthumus that he can have his way with his ever faithful bride, Imogen, Iachimo is a scoundrel... and a cheater ..  mostly.

To see the play without knowing the plot may not be easy. Ten actors take on many sundry characters but keeping track of who's who  works, mostly.. 

JD Cullum, playing a wide variety of different guys, steps up to narrate through the fourth wall sometimes with guitar in hand. I like this device..

Ms Doukas's smoothly choreographed direction features beautiful stage pictures, pretty much sticking to the original script featureing Diverse Casting that Antaeus has often used in the past. Ethnicity and gender flip flops work.. mostly. 

The pace dips with the addition of songs, especially the over long lament for Imogen who has imbibed a not so deadly tincture.

When changing gender of some characters, it takes some effort.  at least for me, to embrace the males who have become females. Diversity.

It's an international cast .. all of whom are credible. They are all in the same play at the same time,  to everyone's credit. 

Ann Sheffield's really cool set features about a hundred boxes  that I had hoped would do something. They don't, but their texture and shadows were great. Julie Keen's costumes are spot on.  The scene in Imogen's bed chamber is terrific! 

To fully understand, please read the play or at least a synopsis to mark the plot points and bend one's imagination to fit the transformations. 

Antaeus Company's CYMBELINE   is recommended.  Kudos to Ms Doukas for stirring up the dust of the Old West.  Is it a little long? Come prepared to weather it all anyway.   

Cast:
Cymbeline: Bernard K. Addison

First Lord/Guiderius: Teodora Avramovic
Second Lord/Philario / Cornelius / Lucius: JD Cullum
Queen/Belaria: Eve Gordon
Imogen: Elinor Gunn
Iachimo: Gerard Joseph
Pisania: Desirée Mee Jung
Posthumus: Peter Mendoza
Frenchie/Arviragus: Anja Racić
Cloten: Randolph Thompson

 

Production Team:
Director: Nike Doukas
Assistant Director: Jenn O'Brien
Production Stage Manager: Claire Fogle
Assistant Stage Manager: Jessica Osorio
Scenic Designer: Ann Sheffield
Assistant Set Designer: Maya Aragon
Assistant Set Designer: Olivia Shu
Lighting Designer: Vickie J. Scott Associate Lighting Designer: Elijah Frankle
Costume Designer: Julie Keen*
Composer/Musical Director/Sound Designer: John Ballinger
Projections Designer: Nick Santiago
Props Designer: John McElveney

Photos by Craig Schwartz

CYMBELINE by William Shakespeare

Directed by Nike Doukas

Antaeus Theatre Company

Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center 

110 East Broadway 

Glendale, CA 91205

Ticket Link: https://antaeus.org/show-details/cymbeline

Previews: October 12 - 17

Performances: October 18 – November 17, 2025
Sunday at 2pm: October 12, October 19*, October 26, November 2, November 9, November 16
Monday at 8pm: October 27, November 3**, November 10, November 17 (Closing)

Thursday at 8pm: October 16, October 30
Friday at 8pm: October 17, October 24, November 14
Saturday at 2pm: October 25, November 1

Saturday at 7pm: October 18 (Opening)

Saturday at 8pm: October 25, November 1, November 8, November 15

*After Words: A casual post-show discussion with Artistic Director Nike Doukas, exploring how the show resonated, raising new questions, and continuing the conversation.

**Meet the Artists: A post-show conversation with the actors, where they share insights, behind-the-scenes stories, and answer your questions

 

 

 

"anthropology" (sic) at the Matrix

Rogue Machine Theatre presents "anthropology" by Lauren Gunderson.  It's a trip! 

Artistic Director Guillermo Cinefuegos announces in his curtain speech that this play is a Western Hemisphere  Premiere!!    Guillermo's enthusiastic pep talk is sincere.  I'm ready to see the play un-pepped.  Refreshments in the house are a distraction. 86 them, please. My whole experience colors the review.

The Matrix Main Stage is a challenge to almost any show. . It's many times wider than it is deep and for those in the far side seats, enjoying the whole play can be difficult.  What John Perrin Flynn has done with this very odd story is to keep his players moving with  alacrity. Aided by huge video screens, this story of love lost and found emerges with some questions that I may have missed, but no matter.   It's good work.

Alexandra Hellquist, Kaylee Kaneshiro

 

Alexandra Hellquist as Merril  has lost her presumed dead sister, Angie  (Kaylee Kaneshiro). Angie disappeared.  Merril in her own computer tech genius way seeks to find Angie: by  "reconstructing" her from all Angie's  e-media that is now at her disposal.  Merril seeks to find Peace.  With AI Angie's help she may determine the real fate of sister Angie.

With the recent introduction of Tilly Whatshername? an AI generated actress  and the recent Sixty Minutes  segment that introduced a computer chat bot that recognizes faces and works of art. this slightly complicated story is no longer in any imagined future. It is pretty much happening today. Scary? Well. yes.. to me.

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz's amazing set (she also did the contemporary costumes) and the truly wonderful realization of Artificial Intelligence Angie is a delight as an actual character in this play. Credits: Michelle Hanzelova-Bierbauer (Video/Projection Design), Fritz Davis (Video Engineer)

   Was AI Angie created.. as  Tilly has been, out of ones and zeroes to become a very feisty and 'real' presence on the various video screens on stage? You be the judge.

As Merril  awakens AI Angie, the snappy dialogue is fast paced and challenging. "F" bombs seem to be a thing these days and they roll like second class thunder. Why the F not?

The gay aspect of Merril and Raquel (Julia Manis) being reunited by AI Angie is a sort of adjunct story that features the women re-kindling their love affair. It takes a back seat to how the author's imagination unfolds in an elegant way. Love finds a way.

Nan McNamara as Brin, Merill's mother, might be a few years too young, but she's been a serial bride. She probably started at an early age. Her arrival leads to the business of what may have happened to Angie. .

The professional skills of all of the actors in rapid fire dialogue  Crackle!.  Each of the women own their stories and never drop a stitch.Very special props to Kaylee Kaneshiro  as Angie.

The video / computer simulations become a character that is  undeniable.  Nary a glitch.

Highly recommended. Good luck parking! Arrive early.

 

CAST:

Alexandra Hellquist as Merril

Kaylee Kaneshiro as Angie 

Julia Manis as Raquel

Nan McNamara as Brin 

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Scenic/Costume Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Michelle Hanzelova-Bierbauer (Video/Projection Design), Fritz Davis (Video Engineer), Carly D.W. Bones (Intimacy Coordinator), Grant Gerrard (Technical Director), Victoria Hoffman (Casting Director), Athena Saxon (Assistant Director/Prop Coordinator), Rich Wong (Stage Manager), Jeff Lorch (Photos) 

Chisom Okoye (Associate Producer), Guillermo Cienfuegos, Justin Okin, Lexi Sloan (Producers)

anthropology by Lauren Gunderson

directed by John Perrin Flynn

Rogue Machine Theatre

at The Matrix

7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

(street parking)

 

8pm Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 2pm Sundays 

(no performances on Monday, October 6)

Closing: November 9, 2025

 

Reservations https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/

Information 855-585-5185

 

Previews $25 (too late!)

General Seating: $45; Seniors $35; Students with ID and children under 18: $25

Show4Less on Fridays Oct. 10 ($15+), Oct. 17 ($20+), Oct. 24 ($20+), Nov. 1 ($25

.