A COMEDY OF ERRORS!!

(l-r) Gwenmarie White (Ensemble), Lauren Robyn (Courtesan), Christine Breihan (Ensemble) Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

Madcap!!!

That’s what my friend, Jeannie, called it: William Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors now playing at A Noise Within. It’s always nice to have company when reviewing a show. Of course, I’d have said zany or outta sight or whacko… and eventually “madcap” would probably have popped up. Heck, it doesn’t take PhD to grab the ideal word right out of the air and have it fit just perfectly. But “Madcap” is just about perfect!

“Burlesque on Brand,” the ANW tribute to Shakespeare’s nutty comedy of mistaken identity, may be a sly tip of the hat to what the City of Glendale is really interested in: The nearby Americana’s glitzy faux-Disney kitch. After a short honky tonk piano serenade by David Bickford on the upright, who also provides sound effects (the “chain” being the most fun!) we literally meet the cast. Director Michael Michetti’s wonderfully mounted burlesque (the show is presented as a play within a play), introduces the actors individually as members of the Burley Q: the cast of the play. Ostrich plume fans deftly wielded by chorine cuties set the scene. Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes rock.

Reading the synopsis of A Comedy of Errors will do its best to just confuse. So, the thing to do is to simply follow the silly romp and once you ‘get it’ that the twins Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus, both and each played effectively by Bruce Turk (sons of Egeon, the well seasoned Michael Stone Forrest) are twins separated shortly after birth as explained in a terrific silent movie. The slaves: Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus are both played by Jerry Kernion, who, for a big guy takes some major pratfalls and takes them beautifully. Egeon, the Antipholuses delinquent father, is sentenced to death by the Duke (Ever eloquent Mr. William Dennis Hunt founder of The Company Theatre of Los Angeles) for crossing the border into Ephesus illegally! Evidently, they were tougher on immigration than even the folks in Arizona are today! Egeon narrates the silent film that explains his journey and desire to find his long lost twins. He has only hours to prove himself to the Duke. The hours are marked on set designer Kurt Boetcher’s cheesey clock that hangs over the doorway of the home of Adriana and Antipholus of Ephesus. A Laugh In window above opens for some additional fun.

You can’t tell the players without a program and even then, you may find yourself referring back time after time to try to figure out who’s who. It really doesn’t matter though because the slapstick routines and The Bard’s couplets (along with a few contemporary references tossed in for good measure) round out the fast paced show. Vampy Adriana (gorgeous Abby Craden), married to the successful Antipholus of Ephesus is jealous and suspicious (rightly so!) of her spouse. Equally beautiful Luciana (Annie Abrams) plays her sister who is vamped by the other Antipholus (her brother-in-law’s twin!) After a dozen mix ups, each one funnier than the last including some missing money, a rope and a golden chain (bling!), the boys of Ephesus are given sanctuary in the Abby of Syracuse and guarded by angelic nuns (made up of some of the ensemble: Andy Stokan, Christine Breihan, Douglas Rory Milliron, Gwenmarie White and Sara-Lucy Hill?). About the middle of the first act I lost track of a couple of the characters. The actors are all are notable and mentioning the great ensemble work of the entire cast is a must. Paul D. Masterson as Balthasar and the 2nd Merchant.. (was he the ventriloquist?); P.J. Ochlan as Angelo/Doctor Pinch; Rene Ruiz as First Merchant and Lauren Robyn doing her best Judy Holliday impression as the Courtesan are all so much fun.

The Duke orders that the Abbess be summoned and the cry “Heyyyyy Abbessssss!” time travels a couple of decades from the twenties to the forties and briefly stops the show with the Abbott and Costello reference. Dragalicious Gibby Brand plays The Abbess as well as the randy Nell whose cap is set for one of the Dromios (oh wherefore art thou, Dromio?)

The eventual problem, of course, is how to present the final scene to reunite the twins of Syracuse and the twins of Ephesus all at the same time. Needless to say that in ANW’s Burlesque on Brand, this is not a problem. Twins are reunited, families reconciled and all’s well that ends well. Applause!

A Noise Within takes the company off to Pasadena in the fall of 2011 (they are still about a million bucks shy of their entire budget, but ground is broken and construction has begun.) A fund raising campaign is on to sign folks up for the “50/50 Coffee Club” ($50 a month for 50 months which will fulfill a matching donation) which will garner each donor free coffee at the theater for life! Coffee anyone?

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Plays in repertory with Eccentricities of a Nightingale and The Chairs
Wednesdays through Sundays

A Noise Within
234 South Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91204
P: 818.240.0910
F: 818.240.0826
http://anoisewithin.org
$46 Top

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

Culture!

After having had a marathon of culture with back to back productions of King Lear at Antaeus, I should let you know that the company has lined up a summer of interesting readings starting July 6th. Works in Process and First Looks are ongoing examinations of plays that Antaeus is dedicated to explore and audiences are invited to attend. Check the Antaeus website for titles and times.
www.antaeus.org or call them at 818 506 1983

Supporting this theatre company and all dedicated local venues is part of what OnStageLosAngeles is all about. However, make no mistake, the reviews are not fluff. Check out the Antaeus schedule for the summer and stop by for a little culture. These folks are dedicated professionals. For lovers of classic theatre, this is an opportunity to see works in progress and then, perhaps, see a finished product in the future.

Michael Sheehan

Sweet Grapes

Los Angeles poet/playwright/author, Jack Grapes, will play Shakespeare in his play CIRCLE OF WILL opening at the Macha Theatre, 1107 N. Kings Road, 90069 on July 16, 2010. Watch this space for more news.

Previews July 15 at 8 p.m. Opens Friday, July 16, 2010 at 8 p.m., runs through Sunday, August 15. Regular show times: Thurs.- Sat. at 8, Sun. at 7.

ADMISSION: $30. Preview $20.

RESERVATIONS: (323) 960-7822.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.Plays411.com/circleofwill

ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes.