BROWNSTONE AT THE OPEN FIST

O The new year  blossoms with the Open Fist doing what it does well :  another challenging production, the very interesting Los Angeles premiere of Catherine Butterfield's BROWNSTONE.   The play provides  an imaginative plot that successfully challenges the audience to sit tight andd do our best to keep up with the changes that take us from the 1930s to the Seventies to early 2000s in a believable interlacing of scenes.

On Jan Munroe's impressive set we do the Time Warp: shifting easily from one time period to the next.

As the plot unfolds, the history and secrets of "Brownstone" reveal themselves.   Ron West's fluid direction shuttles us from one situation to another revealing the lives of three pairs of occupants  of essentially the same New York City brownstone flat from  one  era to the next.

An opening montage introduces us to Deena (Rosie Byrne)  and Maureen (Amber Tiara),  a disparate pair of wanna be actresses in the 1970s. In the 1930s we meet a lovely bantering couple, soon to be lovers:  , Davia:, a artist  (Chelsea Spirito) and Stephen:    (Matthew Goodrich) a journalist. 

The third pair: a hot to trot high end stockbroker Jason and his gorgeous munchkin intended: Jessica, rising in the world of advertising. Isaac W. Jay and Jade Santana.

Howard Hawks meets Neil Simon meets Laverne and Shirley? That's more flippant than these scenes deserve, but it seems to represent the flavors of the performances in a dramatic way.

 Director West has guided, the especially feisty duo of Davia and Stephen  to take on the machine-gun patter of a 1930s movie. Excellent costumes by Mylette Nora buoy up their story beautifully.

At rise we meet a movie collage of the entire cast: a gathering of ghosts? No!!  It's a preview of twhat's to come.

When Deena and Maureen  breeze into their tiny flat, It's the Seventie. These young women have escaped The Barbizon to take the City by storm  Deena's on again off again Texas Accent and Privileged Family backing contrast big time with Maureen's modest budget. TV sitcom oveshadows a bit. Amped volume makes for high speed delivery.

Jason  and Jessica  present a somewhat dark Neil Simon aspect in the 21st Century. It bears south with very well invested performances.

We are drawn heavily to the performances, allowing pieces from each time period to cross over and intermingle. 

The Opening Night audience was on its feet and served up a well deserved Standing O.  

 Cast:

Deena:        Rosie Byrne

Maureen:    Amber Tiara.  

Stephen:     Matthew Goodrich 

Davia:        Chelsea Spirito  

Jason:        Isaac W. Jay

Jessica:      Jade Santana 

Creative team 

Scenic Designer  Jan Munroe

Lighting designer Gavan Wyrick Sound designer Kermit Frisbee Costume designer Mylette Nora Properties designers Bruce Dickenson and Ina Shumaker

Carmella Jenkins and Beth Robbins co-produce for Open Fist Theatre Company. 

Production stage manager 

John Dimitri

 

BROWSTONE by Catherine Butterfield

Directed by Ron West

Brownstone opens on Saturday, January 24 at 8 p.m., with performances thereafter set for Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 28. Tickets range from $26 to $40, including fees, except opening night (Jan. 24) for which tickets are $54.75 and include a champagne reception following the performance.

Atwater Village Theatre 

 3269 Casitas Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90039. 

 Parking is free is in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) parking lot one block south of the theater. 

Tickets and for more information call (323) 882-6912 or go to openfist.org