BOSTON COURT.. OCTOPUS'S GARDEN

Puppeteers Zachary Bones, Perry Daniel, and Danielle McPhaul as Syliva

Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena.. I just learned.. may be the only local space built explicitly for intimate theatre.. at least in Pasadena.  For  Weston Gaylord's  Octopus's Garden, the intimacy of the space works.

FYI!!  Octopuses are ceophlopods.  A recent film points up that these denizens of the deep are highly intelligent and are mostly placid creatures with relatively short life spans. The Giant Pacific Octopus's cousin, the Giant Squid that terrorized Captain Nemo's Naautilus was my first up close and  personal encounter with a ceophlopod and that was scary.

 Over fifty years ago.. seems like Yesterday.. on the Abbey Road album by a British band I still remember.. Ringo Starr's  bouncy  little tune Octopus's Garden came to life.  That must be the origin of the title of this play.

When three bright factions of local theatre companies, Circle X with Otuside in and Boston Court band together to present an intriguing  production:  a world preimere, no less!..  that  turns on the lives of  two dedicated scientists Tara (Kacie Rogers) and Lars (Tim Cummings) and one talkative musician, Lucas (Vincent R. Williams ) the concept is delicious!   Three dedcated puppeteers (Zachary Bones, Perry Daniel, & Danielle McPhaul) manipulate Slyvia, the Giant Pacific Octopus. 

François-Pierre Couture's gorgeous set that includes a dedicated aquarium / tank encloses the star of the show. 

I more or less buy the basic premise: Sylvia composes a melody that is so rich and powerful that it affects the soul of anyone who hears it. Conversely, for Lucas, our composer, it sets the bar so high that any known music ever composed... essentially fails by comparison. A stretch.

Sadly, though I bought the idea that such a thing coild happen, I found the puppet presentation of Sylvia inadequte. Factor in the need to replicate the way that Sylvia created her first composition along with  intrigue that Lars may have nudged or fudged some scientific statistics in his need to keep the study of Octopuses a float, so to speak.. and the conflict of poor Luucas having lost his muse for cause.. and other pressing time issues? Try as we might, We are headed for a difficult resolution.

Karen Lawrence's lights  are subtle. 

The actors eventually settled into believable roles: the composer, the impatient scientist and the seasoned traditionalist.    These are dedicated actors.

Though Sylvia is certainly 'terrestrial', she is also about as Unworldlyy as one might imagine. There is a nice connection   between Tara and Lars with Sylvia.

For no other reason than the challenge of participating in the angst of conflicting ideolgies, one must see the play.  It's overly talky and the denouement, to me is superfluous.  The lesson?  We come and go and the relationships we care about may come and go, but the memory lingers on.

 

 CAST:

Tim Cummings as Lars

Kacie Rogers as Tara

Vincent R. Williams as Lucas

Puppeteers Zachary Bones, Perry Daniel, & Danielle McPhaul

---

CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Jessica Kubzansky

Playwright: Weston Gaylord

Puppet Designer/Puppetry Director: Emory Royston

Set Designer:  François-Pierre Couture

Lighting Designer: Karyn Lawrence

Sound Designer: Noel Nichols

Costume Designer: Wendell Carmichael

Props Designer: Nicole Bernardini

Dramaturg: Jen Kays

Stage Manager: Kat Haan

Assistant Director: Melissa Coleman-Reed

Assistant Stage Manager: Yaesol Jeong

Intimacy Consultant: Elizabeth Rainey

Sound Board Operator: Jonas Huffer

Casting Director: Victoria Hoffman

Photos by Brian Hashimoto

Octopus’s Garden

FEB 26-MAR 29, 2026

A World Premiere Co-Production with Circle X Theatre Co. and Outside In Theatre
by Weston Gaylord
directed by Jessica Kubzansky

 

 

 

ALL MY SONS / ANTAEUS GLENDALE

 There is a major challenge to write a reivew of a genuine American classic.. 

Artur Miller in each of his plays has found the voice of the times and the friction of the charactres and the situations that make for a strong production: the stuff of what a 'straight play' must be. Opening night is a trip.  Familiar faces; heavy duty talent on stage and in the audience makes it not just an evening of theatre,but an opportunity to share the energy that comes with people who know Miller and have high hopes.

Make no mistake, on entering the Antaeus space, the overwhemling presence of The Keller Home: At once industrial and elegant...  Enough to suggest the wealth and importance that Joe Keller has gained through Busienss, with intimidating lights:   dozens of scoops arranged right and left: the anthesis of the realism that the text of All MySons demands. The brilliant contrast  at first seems...  just wrong. 

Still the gravity of the times is undeniable. 

Antaeus is Glendale's Classic Theatre Company bringing one of Arthur Miller's most poignant and soul searching plays to the stage as Salesman and The Price also find curtain up in town  for spring.  The story of Joe Keller (Bo Foxworth) )  and his ragged road to manufacuring success  is filled with angst and passion.  How Joe's long suffering wife, Kate, (Tessa Auberjonois)  and their family deal with the loss of Kate and Joe's son, Larry in the war and how conscience and truth come along,  especially as  Kate comes to grips with the loss of her Larry  and the uncomfortable business of how their son, Chris (Matthew Grondin ) brings to the surface old hurts with his love of 'Larry's girl" Ann (Shannon Lee Clair ). moves a pace.

We are in Ohio. Post WWII . Maybe 1948? 

Men are home and regaining their lives. Chris confesses issues with his loss of soldiers and his love of Ann.  Truth be told? His personal ethic is supportive and kind. His philosophy contrasts Joe's practical / survival  outlook.

ok

Truth

Bo Foxworth and Tessa Auberjonois. Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz Photography

 Opening night  delivers high high energy. It's inevitable and as the play moves on, we find the humanity in each of these fundamentally American characters.

As Kate clings to her illusion that son, Larry, is still alive, we meet Frank (Johnny Patrick Yoder), a sincere and slightly loopy neighbor who is preparing Larry's horoscope to determine if the day he may have died was his "good day." 

Frank is ridiculed by Jim (Bryan Keith), slightly whipped by his dumpling wife , Susie,(Cherish Monique Duke). The put down is succinct. 

The beauty of Arthur Miller's characters is that the humanity of each story is absolutely clear. We have a breather now and then, right down to the brief expositoon that includes a well mannered kid, Bert (ramrod straight Brooklyn Bao) who can't say bad words and the  unhappy arrival of Ann's brother, George (Michael Yapujian... more nervous than nervous). Revelations slowly emerge  as the  mystery that everone, evidently, has known all along, come to light. A brief scene with Frank's wife, Lydia (Erin Pineda), is remarably poignant.

The looming presence of the Keller Home  stylized by Fred Kinney with the blatant intrusion of Andrew Schmedake's lights is mellowed by teriffic period costumes by Wendell Carmichael

It's  a well done peridod piece.  Diversity casting with Jim and Susie works perfectly. It's an Arthur Miller play and the expectations of deep roots for every character are each brought to life by the well tuned ensemble.The symbolism of schock and awe boosts the dramatic tension: sound and lights.

It's something that Mr. Miller might cluck a bit at  with the exposed tech, but would probably agree with me that the production is solid and as it catches its breath should enjoy full houses and discussions regarding the balance of commerce and humanity. 

And, humbling quality of Truth. 

Jeff Gardner's original music and sound are sprctacular.

And.. I realize that by not initially metioning the name of the director, Oánh Nguyễn, that their work has been invisible.. as it should be. 

Good Show.

 

 Production Team:

Director: Oánh Nguyễn
Scenic Designer: Fred Kinney
Costume Designer: Wendell Carmichael
Lighting Designer: Andrew Schmedake
Original Music & Sound Designer: Jeff Gardner
Props Designer: John McElveney
Intimacy & Fight Choreographer: Shinshin Yuder Tsai
Production Stage Manager: Talya Camras
Assistant Stage Manager: Jessica Osorio
Assistant Director: Shinshin Yuder Tsai

Cast:
KATE KELLER: Tessa Auberjonois
BERT: Brooklyn Bao
ANN DEEVER: Shannon Lee Clair
SUE BAYLISS: Cherish Monique Duke
JOE KELLER: Bo Foxworth
CHRIS KELLER: Matthew Grondin
DR. JIM BAYLISS: Bryan Keith
BERT: Aarush Mehta
LYDIA LUBEY: Erin Pineda
GEORGE DEEVER: Michael Yapujian
FRANK LUBEY: Johnny Patrick Yoder

ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller

Antaeus Theatre 

Broadway

Glendale, California 

Buy Tickets Here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35088/production/1258492

When:

Previews: February 22 – 27

Performances: February 28 – March 30, 2026
Fridays at 8pm: March 6, March 13, March 20, March 27
Saturdays at 2pm: March 7, March 14, March 21
Saturdays at 7pm: February 28 (Opening)
Saturdays at 8pm: March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28
Sundays at 2pm: March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29
Mondays at 8pm: March 9*, March 16**, March 23, March 30 (Closing)

*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