IN & OUT, IN & OUT

Juan Pope as Malcolm Jennifer May/ Reel Sessions

Writer/Director David Wally’s examination of life in these United States is at once cynical and arcane. IN & OUT The USofAlienation currently playing Tuesdays at The Whitefire challenges the audience to ride along through a morass of notions that never become completely clear in the text nor in the action. In a series of at once associated and disparate scenes we encounter the ‘alienation’ which is the foundation of Wally’s work.

A program note mentions that the only character who remains consistent in the play is Malcolm, portrayed by an effective Juan Pope. Malcolm appears and stirs the social pot with various other characters by asking intimate questions that all come back to the absence of civility in the United States today. Some scenes work better than others. Two vignettes with Gregor Manns (Bartender and Rod) work well. One scene examines the origins of ‘us vs. them.’ Later as a homeless former security guard the feeling of quiet desperation and dignity prevail. His portrayal of Rod, the former Security Guard, is touching and certainly civil. Manns is a really large guy who quips that one of the ladies in the latter scene might just take him home and turn him into a professional football player.

A mysterious Black Satchel seems to arrive and depart in each scene on its own. It draws attention to itself making us think that an actor may have missed a prop cue. In fact The Satchel belongs to Malcolm, the one consistent character in the sundry scenes. In the final scene we learn that he is, in fact, a research doctor for the CDC in Atlanta possibly bringing (in the satchel?) dark foreboding. His purpose in the piece may be designed to make the audience ask themselves difficult questions about the end of life.

Interstitial music (Don McLean’s American Pie plays as the audience enters the theater) may deliver clues as to the playwright’s intent vis a vis why our society has become so compartmentally uncivilized. Unfortunately, even with some decent performances and believable scenes, including a poignant but gratuitous lesbian tryst, the show lumbers along with only an occasional glimmer of the argument that each of us, indeed all of us must find a way to communicate and to be a little nicer to one another.

Laura Fine Hawkes’ bare bones set design leaves everything to the imagination. The stars and stripes hang above the stage: red tire treads and white handprints on a blue field. Nice. Uncredited over amped sound may have held clues as to the intent of the play, but became cacophonous in between scenes.

IN & OUT The USofAlienation
Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Runs Tuesdays only at 8PM
Closing September 14, 2010
Reservations: (866) 811-4111
$20.00 Top

Yellow at the Coast

L to R David Cowgill, Kristen McCullough, Evie Louise Thompson and Luke McClure


Del Shores has been writing plays for a long time. In 1983 "Daddy's Dyin' and Who's Got the Will?" opened to stunning reviews at Jeff Murray’s Theatre/Theater in Hollywood. Del has been prolific on the theatre scene as well as having produced and directed at least one film and worked on high stakes television shows. His ability to round out a character and at once make an audience think, laugh and weep continues to develop with time.

YELLOW, written and directed by Shores at The Coast Playhouse, examines a modern southern family, the Westmorelands, of Vicksburg, Mississippi: the father Bobby (David Cowgill), Katie, his wife (excellent Kristen McCullough), football hero Dayne (Luke McClure), and his frantic sister, Gracie (enthusiastic Evie Louise Thompson). As Dayne enters his senior year of high school, Bobby, a former NFL football player turned PE Teacher/Football coach, has high hopes for his son. The kid is a natural and both are dedicated to a great final season.

Gracie is a fifteen year old “actress” whose histrionics as a fanatical high school drama student burst like IEDs in an attempt to get her parents’ attention. Hormones raging, her sibling rivalry with big brother Dayne reaches fever pitch causing their parents to sigh and shake their heads. It’s a phase.

As the Westmorelands celebrate their wedding anniversary, a brief feeling of situation comedy permeates early in the play. We then meet Kendall (tres gai Matthew Scott Montgomery), Gracie’s gay guy pal. Kendall is an aspiring musical comedy star who can quote the plot line of any Broadway show and sing a number to document his love of the genre. Gay through and through, Kendall facilitates one issue through which Shores develops a theme of tolerance evolving into a strong polemic.

The play takes a sharp turn to the right as Kendall’s mother, Sister Timothea Parker (the evangelical Susan Leslie) appears. Sister Timothea is a fervent fundamentalist Christian Woman who can quote both Testaments to prove any point. There’s a fine line between parody and a sincere portrayal of this type of character. Leslie treads this line with frightening perfection.

Shores’ ability to direct his own work, simply, works. From time to time his actors deliver lines directly upstage and some other choices either by the direction or that the actors have made are slightly distracting, but the play works. The message works. The actors are all on the same page at the same time.

Robert Steinberg’s contemporary set is perfect, capturing the middle class status of the Westmorelands. Kathi O’Donohue’s always excellent lighting design accentuates and isolates individual scenes flawlessly.

That YELLOW has been extended for six weeks and had a full house for a Sunday matinee speaks to the fact that good press and word of mouth have done their job. The sensitivity with which Shores intertwines familiar themes of his past work: fidelity, homosexuality and fundamentalist religion, continues to leave audiences laughing and emotionally involved. Themes in this play don’t hit us over the head, but lead us to come to our own conclusions. Redemption and forgiveness are only available when even our deepest feelings are given an opportunity to find their way to new understandings.

YELLOW written and directed by Del Shores
Coast Playhouse
8325 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood

Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM
Sundays at 2PM and 7PM
Extended through Sunday September 5, 2010
Tickets: www.yellowbydelshores.com / www.tix.com or by calling 800 595 4849
$34.99 Top

A NOISE WITHIN ... PASADENA!

Geoff Elliott (left) shares A Noise Within's Commendation from Mayor Bogaard and the City of Pasadena.






When the Mayor of Pasadena and the artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse turn out with a couple of hundred other folks on a warm July morning to a construction site, something big is going on. In 1991 Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott with three thousand dollars of their own money found their way into the old Masonic Temple on Brand Avenue in Glendale with the dream of making a theatre dedicated to the classics. Over time, the Elliotts, their resident artists and crew along with their dauntless Board of Directors of A Noise Within, currently led by Chairman Terry Kay, have moved steadily toward creating a modern and comfortable space to do their valuable work.

With ten million dollars pledged, they still need another three million to get to a finished product for the fall of 2011. With the enthusiastic gathering at the ceremony on Tuesday, it looks like their goal is well within sight. The ground is broken. Construction has begun.

The differences between Glendale’s marginal support of the arts and the way that Pasadena takes giant steps to embrace A Noise Within are like night and day. There may have been opportunities for the City of Glendale to entice the Elliotts to stay in the city, but witness the new parking regulations that prevented patrons from parking near the theater at Brand and Colorado for more than two hours. And, then observe the Glendale City Council that seems to have so little interest in any of the arts that no one made the slightest effort to find a space for the company within the city limits. Of course, art flows to where arms fly open. Apparently, arms in Glendale were folded to the company and an ideal opportunity blossomed in the City of Pasadena.

The ceremony opened with a performance by members of the Resident Company. Supporters then told stories of how the past nineteen years have been on ‘the threshold of a dream.’ The dream of A Noise Within now moves in a material way to a beautiful permanent home under way at Sierra Madre Villa and Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena. In a complex designed by Edward Durell Stone (designer of Radio City Music Hall as well as the Museum of Modern Art and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC) the new 33,000 square foot complex space will feature a sweeping thrust stage surrounded on three sided by the audience. A state of the art theater with flies and advanced technical capabilities will be an arts destination convenient to the Gold Line.

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard presented the company with a proclamation welcoming them to the city. Bogaard was praised by others for his championship of not only ANW, but the arts in general in Pasadena. Sheldon Epps, artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse, in attendance indicates the acceptance of a sister company which can only assist the embattled Playhouse by drawing more attention to Pasadena.

Glendale’s loss is certainly Pasadena’s gain. A Noise Within is on par with regional theatre anywhere in the country and with this new space opening in the autumn of 2011, we can expect even more inventive and creative productions in the future. At the risk of sounding like a fan.. the remaining three million dollars needed to make this jewel sparkle may easily be made in modest donations from each of us. Contact A Noise Within Development Department at 818 265 7959. For further information, link to www.anoisewithin.org/capitalcampaign.html

Congratulations to A Noise Within for never letting go of their dream.

Round and Round and Round in the Circle Game

Jack Grapes (far right) and Company in a quiet moment before Circle of Will at The Macha Theatre. Photo by Alexis Fancher.


Circle of Will

Many years ago I participated in a production of “Impromptu” by Tad Mosel. It’s a one act that places four characters on a bare stage and makes them figure out who they are and what they are supposed to do. It’s a great exercise in an existential examination of who we are and what we are doing and where we are going. Of course, we’d go nuts if we spent too much time dealing with this stuff. However, a few great playwrights: Beckett, Ionesco, Pirandello... did that and basically made the audience do a lot of the work about figuring out who Godot might be, if he exists and if, ever, he might come, etc. Circle of Will is a less cumbersome play than any of the aforementioned writers' efforts, but it does bring up some issues and addresses them in a most amusing and entertaining way. Okay, an hilarious way. Way hilarious.

I loved this show.

Written by Jack Grapes & Bill Cakmis, Circle of Will features Grapes as Will and Joe Briggs as Richard “Dirk” Burbage at The Macha Theater in WeHo. Formerly, The Globe, this crusty little theater survives with its art. It’s a perfect setting for Circle of Will in that the feeling of The Globe (Shakespeare’s Globe) persists for what is … at least for a time… between 1610 and 1616. The Tempest was written in 1610.. happy 400th to Caliban (whom I saw in the persona of John Ritter in this very theater before we came to know what Ritter could really do), Miranda and all.

Notable as Eunuchs One and Two, Cuthbert (John Brocato) and Quincey (Josh Grapes), entertain and introduce the play. A rich atmosphere of 1970's Renaissance Pleasure Faire permeates their foreplay. Juggling takes practice. (Note to Eunuchs: practice juggling.)

Shakespeare struggles as he attempts to cobble together ideas he’s had brewing for a long time with what may become his last play, “Gonzago and the King” (which Burbage dubs a ‘footstool’ because it weighs a ton and looks like… well… a footstool.) Then, troubles are afoot as the argument morphs, literally into a quantum continuum exploration of the meaning of meaning, more or less.

Director Brian Herskowitz keeps his actors in the moment, which, as the play progresses becomes more and more of a challenge. Martin C. Vallejo’s set allows for some farcical shenanigans. “Shenanigans” being the best description of the entire goings on. There are lots of shenanigans, clever puns and literary references. And, as the story bounds and leaps and leaps and bounds through time, some very interesting deeper thoughts emerge. A lot of scholarly thought has gone into this script and the business that every play encounters with every audience becomes problematic. What’s real? What’s fantasy? Where are we now? When are we going to get there? And, then? What then?

Eavesdropping on any actor symposium will find us discussing ‘being in the moment’ and playing the reality of the characters. Will and Burbage go round and round (it’s a Circle of Will, after all) in the attempt to satisfy Dirk’s enormous ego and get this last endeavor of the Bard’s together in time for previews in a few days. Burbage is tired of playing women and just wants to be a leading man for a change. As Will and Burbage deconstruct (or self destruct), the question of who’s who and what’s what becomes more entangled. Simply put, it’s wonderful. At the risk of trying to be too clever, the only way find yourself breathless with laughter and at the same time questioning what Life is really all about is to go to see this show. Check into the Time Warp and then decide for yourself.

Appearances of a large ephemeral cast, feature Stephanie Nguyen doubling as some body and the stage manager, Steve Roland (Gonzago), Bob Downing as The King, Peter Funt plays Nicholas Bishop, Bert Connors is Thomas Heywood, and Michael Kzynenski as Julius Caesar. Cynthia Tyson limns Lady Macbeth, the androgynous C. J. Potter (a flawless Ophelia). Pam Bohusalv is regal as The Queen, Romona of Verona is played by Christiana Bolaslavsky (no relation to Richard with an ‘e’), Sherrod Klippel as Prospero. Lady Prospero disappears as Lucinda van de Velde, Cynthia Connors plays Miranda of Naples, Capulet (Omar Truzdale) and Grizelda of Beaujolais (Christa Marsh) round out the cast.
Lynda Goodfriend does not appear in this production.

Costumes by Anasuya Engle and Sound and Lighting by Carey Dunn are all just fine.

Just go see this play.

Circle of Will
Macha Theater
1107 N. Kings Road
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Thursday through Saturday at 8PM
Sundays at 7PM
Reservations: 323 960 7822
www.Plays411.com/circleofwill
Through August 15, 2010
$30 top

THE PLAYHOUSE RISES ONE MORE TIME

This from Patty Onagan at the Pasadena Playhouse:

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE, THE STATE THEATER OF CALIFORNIA EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY.
NECESSARY ON-GOING FUNDRAISING EFFORTS BEGIN WITH AN ANONYMOUS $1 MILLION MATCHING PLEDGE CAMPAIGN

PASADENA, CA (July 8, 2010) – Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California, announced that its Plan of Reorganization was approved yesterday by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles and emerged from Chapter 11 after nearly two months.

Future plans, including a Fall 2010 production, will be announced at a later date.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Support of The Pasadena Playhouse is vital to the cultural scene of California.

Choices for productions that the Playhouse has made are not always ones that I’ve found exciting. How to provide an interesting season and keep the doors open and the curtain going up is certainly a challenge. Part of the problem, as I see it, is mounting very expensive shows when saving a few bucks might be a good idea.

Peter Brook extols the virtues of The Empty Space and many, many years ago, I recall his A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Ahmanson that carried audiences back to Shakespeare with great good humor. If “the play’s the thing,” then finding The Play might be an idea. Recently, Glendale’s A Noise Within remounted an amazing romp, Noises Off! which might easily transfer to the Playhouse. If the reception of sold out houses at ANW is any indication, the Playhouse might want to speak with them about re-opening by mounting their production. Coincidentally, the Glendale theatre company will break ground for a new modern space at 3360 Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena in a couple of weeks, which may draw more theatre goers to the area when they open there in a year or two.

Finding audience pleasing shows and still maintaining some version of a cutting edge in theatre is a challenge. Ron Sossi has kept his Odyssey Theatre going for more than thirty years, seldom settling for easy productions. Of course, he’s on the west side of town which may have something to do with his success. My observation is that The Playhouse has mostly been about getting the seats filled and that means sometimes doing less challenging work. I refer readers to the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” for insights. Available on Netfix it asks the question “Can Art and Commerce exist side by side?”

Congratulations to Playhouse director Stephen Eich and his Playhouse team for hanging in and to the anonymous donors who opened their hearts and their wallets to do the right thing. Donations to the cause are still welcome, so if you have the means to help, please contact Mr. Eich and make a contribution to our State Theatre of California.

Sheehan

This from Patti Onagan at the Pasadena Playhouse:

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE, THE STATE THEATER OF CALIFORNIA EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY.
NECESSARY ON-GOING FUNDRAISING EFFORTS BEGIN WITH AN ANONYMOUS $1 MILLION MATCHING PLEDGE CAMPAIGN

PASADENA, CA (July 8, 2010) – Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California, announced that its Plan of Reorganization was approved yesterday by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles and emerged from Chapter 11 after nearly two months.

Future plans, including a Fall 2010 production, will be announced at a later date.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Support of The Pasadena Playhouse is vital to the cultural scene of California.

Choices for productions that the Playhouse has made are not always ones that I’ve found exciting. How to provide an interesting season and keep the doors open and the curtain going up is certainly a challenge. Part of the problem, as I see it, is mounting very expensive shows when saving a few bucks might be a good idea.

Peter Brook extols the virtues of The Empty Space and many, many years ago, I recall his A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Ahmanson that carried audiences back to Shakespeare with great good humor. If “the play’s the thing,” then finding The Play might be an idea. Recently, Glendale’s A Noise Within remounted an amazing romp, Noises Off! which might easily transfer to the Playhouse. If the reception of sold out houses at ANW is any indication, the Playhouse might want to speak with them about re-opening by mounting their production. Coincidentally, the Glendale theatre company will break ground for a new modern space in Pasadena in a couple of weeks, which may draw more theatre goers to the area when they open in a there in a year or two.

Finding audience pleasing shows and still maintaining some version of a cutting edge in theatre is a challenge. Ron Sossi has kept his Odyssey Theatre going for more than thirty years, seldom settling for easy productions. Of course, he’s on the west side of town which may have something to do with his success. My observation is that The Playhouse has mostly been about getting the seats filled and that means sometimes doing less challenging work. I refer readers to the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” for insights. Available on Netfix it asks the question “Can Art and Commerce exist side by side?”

Congratulations to Playhouse director Stephen Eich and the Playhouse team for hanging in and to the anonymous donors who opened their hearts and their wallets to do the right thing. I’m sure that donations to the cause are still welcome, so if you have the means to help, please contact Mr. Eich and make a contribution to our State Theatre of California.

Neverland!

Peter Pan flys again in Fullerton starting July 14th.

A dear friend, Linda Dangcil, played with Mary Martin on Broadway, making Peter Pan dear to my heart..

so... if you refuse to grow up, a trip to Fullerton may be in order.

Tickets are ten dollars. Here's the information:

Peter Pan
Presented by Fullerton Children's Repertory Theater at Little Theatre

July 14-July 25, 2010

Wed thru Sat 7:30 PM

Sat and Sun 1:30PM

800 N. State College Blvd. Fullerton, CA 92831

714 641 1084

Free Readings! Theatre West

This from Phil Sokoloff for Theatre West. Their last shows reviewed here.. are archived. I enjoyed them.
This is a sturdy little professional company. They try new things and this summer looks like some interesting stuff.


LAY READING SERIES AT THEATRE WEST IS FREE TO PUBLIC

The Theatre West Writers’ Series presents rehearsed play readings of new and developing works by the company’s resident writers, utilizing Theatre West actors and directors. The events are free and open to the public. Reservations are not necessary. Readings take place on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and on Sundays at 7 p.m. Here is the current schedule:

Tuesday, July 13 at 8 p.m.: “Teddy & Twain: Luncheon at the White House.” Written by Frank Denson and Alan Freeman. Directed by Marcia Rodd.
Tuesday, July 20 at 8 p.m.: “Aftershocks.” Written by Doug Haverty. Directed by John Gallogly. Cast: Caitlin Gallogly, Mary Garripoli and Barbara Mallory.

Sunday, July 25 at 7 p.m.: “Bard of Blood.” Written and directed by Lloyd J. Schwartz. Cast: Heather Becker, John Cygan, Yancey Dunham, Daniel Keough, Jack Kutcher, Barbara Mallory, Mary Linda Phillips, Elliot Schwartz.

Tuesday, July 27 at 8 p.m.: “Aftermath.” Written and directed by Chris DiGiovanni.
Sunday, August 1 at 7 p.m.: “A Teachable Moment.” Written by Nalsey Tinberg. Directed by Alan Freeman.
Sunday, August 8 at 7 p.m. : “The Magic String.” Written by Nicole Hoelle.
Tuesday, August 10 at 8 p.m. “Favorable Company: A Trilogy.” Written by Kent Hamilton. Cast: Yancey Dunham, Jason Galloway, David P. Johnson, Elsa Raven, Corinne Shor and Sandra Tucker.

Sunday, August 15 at 7 p.m.: “Beshert.” Written by Julie Daniels.

Tuesday, August 17 at 8 p.m. “Deli Cats.” Written and directed by David P. Johnson Cast: Elizabeth Bradshaw, Maria Kress.

The series is coordinated by Chris DiGiovanni and Doug Haverty. Theatre West executive director: John Gallogly.

Theatre West is located at 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, in Los Angeles 90068. Free parking is available in a lot across the street. Phone: (323) 851-7977. Website: www.theatrewest.org