Brilliant STILL LIFE at The MET

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--> STILL LIFE by Alexander Dinelaris

 

Laurie Okin and Susan Wilder 

Photo by John Perrin Flynn

 The Rogue Machine is a company of serious theatre practitioners who must stay in shape by finding places to park in their neighborhood and climbing cardiac stairs to their well appointed performance space at the MET Theater.  The space has great history with famous names and beautiful productions attached ever since Bill Bushnell (corrections are welcome) got the place going many years ago.  This is the heart of what theatre for the next generation is supposed to look like. Funky and low down. Ancient wood paneling and refreshments for a donation make for a comfortable lobby to meet other patrons before the house opens. 

Still Life will only be up for a short time longer.  If Sunday’s excellent performance with standby James Liebman (in for Lea Coco) as the artistically conflicted statistician, Jeffrey, is any indication of the dedication of this group, it’s a must see.  Director Michael Peretzian has molded Academy Award Winner for “Birdman” Alexander Dinelaris’s modern morality play flowingly into a story for our time. Dinelaris asks deep and personal questions that each of us must address but seldom do. 

Looking in the dictionary, one might see the term ‘jerk’ (for want of a broader term that has to do with pejorative body parts) and find a portrait of “Terry” depicted by Jonathan Bray, the owner of the ad agency where Jeffrey works to futurecast the wants and needs of the general public.  In a strong turn, we see both truth and beauty in this character’s approach to living the wasted life.  His brutish and blatant approach to getting things done, fraught with fear and loathing of himself and others is enough to put us all on notice to pay attention. Pay attention to how the ripples we  send into the Universe may leave others in chaos.

Central to the story is a love affair between Jeffrey and one of the most natural actors I’ve seen on any stage: Laurie Okin as the inspired photographer, Carrie Ann.  Daughter of a well known photographer, Theo (Frank Collision), she has risen to prominence for her dramatic photos, some of which depict the startling beauty of dead things.  This sets the scene for the examination of what is important to the story's characters we meet and what the true value of being alive is to each of them: to each of us.

Susan Wilder as Joanne brings to life a gorgeous no nonsense agent for the down to earth Carrie Ann.  Her life turns on how well she represents herself and her client. Exchanges between the two are tough and heart rending.

Every scene depicts some special conflict that we must, as individuals, also work out within ourselves to move forward with life… and death. 

In multiple turns, Jennifer Sorenson shines as Michaeline, the dive bar bartender,  who is challenged to examine her own personal worth by Terry's indecent proposal. She is forced to examine herself by Terry as he snorts himself into oblivion, too late becoming aware of his own distinct shortcomings.  

Tania Verafield, Nardeep Kuhrmi and Alexandra Hellquist round out the cast perfectly. Tom Buderwitz’s excellent scenic design is spare and modern; beautifully set off by Leigh Allen’s subtle lighting with what are presumably more photos by Carrie Ann projected during scene changes, depicting in an astounding way, the circle of life. 

STILL LIFE  by Alexander Dinelaris

A West Coast Premiere

Rogue Machine Theatre

In residence at The Met Theatre

1089 N. Oxford Avenue

Los Angeles, California 90029

Through April 17, 2017

Saturdays and Mondays at 8:30PM

Sundays at 3:00PM

 

Sun Tzu’s Brother

According to Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor the credited authors of The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War had a brother, (whose name was mentioned and it seems that I was laughing and neglected to write it down. Let’s call him Larry), who was the first chronicler of comedy.  The idea of condensing the entire history of funny stuff into two zany acts including cream pies is quite a feat!   

Ginsburg, Jacobson and Fazal Photo by Sasha Venola

Thanks to Zehra Fazal, Marc Ginsburg and Mark Jacobson, this idea is not all together absurd, though some of the bits in this history lesson totally are!  There in lies the rub.  It’s fast and furious with these three skilled actors embracing their inner Rambozo (the first comic?) and through him, they engender the entire audience with the permission to laugh.  Laughter is the best medicine, but that’s a Reader’s Digest thing, though a truism and now my inner Rambozo is acting out. 

What is funny to one may not be funny to another. There are guffaws and groaners and inappropriate stuff that serves up guilty pleasure.  There are popular digs and topics that to some must forever be off limits, “Aside from that how did you like the play?” That features Honest Abe as a stand up comic!   All humor by necessity must be somehow referential and in tune with the audience.  I once heard a guy on the radio try to tell the Dalai Lama the story of what the Dalai Lama said to the hot dog vendor:  “Make me one with everything.”  His Holiness didn’t get it!

To the credit of Fazal, Ginsburg and Jacobson (the latter of whom goes wonky if confronted by a strobe light!) most of the silly bits, quick changes and unapologetic schtick keep the audience in groans and titters (rim shot) throughout.  One marginal idea to draft audience members on stage to provide sound effects for a rather lame attempt at Give Me A Location improv doesn't work. It needs either ringers from the audience or to be cut.  One of the ‘rules’ of comedy is to keep it moving.  Embarrassed audience members who really aren’t into it, slow everything down and with the threat of Cream Pie waiting in the wings there was no way that I’d allow myself to be dragged onto the stage! 

Director Jerry Kernion keeps his actors hopping as we see them in and out and up and down, Stephen Gifford’s Music Hall set features a couple of Laugh In type windows put to good use with the echo of farce in mind as doors left and right open and close.   

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF COMEDY (abridged) 

by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

The Falcon Theatre
4252 Riverside Dr.
Burbank, CA 91505

Through April 23, 2017

Tickets and Information:

Box Office phone 818-955-8101

Box Office hours Tues-Fri noon-6pm, 

Sat & Sun 10am-4pm

www.falcontheatre.com

ANTAEUS bursts the walls with Tennessee Williams’ CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Harry Groener and Ross Philips
Photo by Steven C. Kemp

 “There is nothing so motivated as a cat on a hot tin roof,”  the playwright reminds us through his character of Margret/Maggie the Cat (Rebecca Mozo).  There are layers of exploration that Williams creates for us to peel away; thick with the mores of the 1950s, Cold War Era, and McCarthyism that defined American society in a time when conformity was all about toeing the line and delivering what was expected of one’s self.     

That Williams drank heavily, used drugs and was gay probably meant that he had to deal with discrimination, both overt and subtle that permeated the world sixty years ago, Certainly, this made catering to theatre audiences of the 1950s a challenge.  Thus, examination of some of the ambiguous relationships in this wonderfully complex piece has waffled over the years.   Antaeus has adapted the 1974 version of the play restored by Williams from the version that was originally softened to coax Elia Kazan to direct the Broadway production in 1955. We must keep in mind that in the sixty years since this play was first mounted, though some of our society may still struggle with the fear of women’s power and the success of homosexuals that still plague world society, that those times were especially difficult times for women and gays around the world.   Layer upon layer of the characters’ motivation that emerge are fodder for intense discussion and debate.    

Cameron Watson’s direction of “The Buttered Biscuits” cast mostly attends to the same careful detail as Steven C. Kemp’s out of balance scenic design: a bed-sitting room in the mansion on Big Daddy’s 28,000 acre plantation where all of the action takes place.  When a serious theatre company leaps full on into any Tennessee Williams project, the coordination of all aspects of the play must find harmony.  Interestingly, in the three hour production, after each intermission, the set becomes more unbalanced and the story crumbles into a condemnation of ‘mendacity’… the fabric of lies and avoided truths that   creates the matrix of the play.

 Brick (Ross Philips) has broken his ankle while attempting to run the hurdles at the local high school track.  Having taken to ‘drink’ he realizes that he couldn’t  have cleared them even when sober.  One scholar defined this character as “caught in the amber of his adolescence.”    Brick’s failure as a husband and as a sports announcer must turn on the loss of his ‘true friend’ Skipper and using alcohol to bridge the gap.  Drinking heavily throughout the play Philips seems in and out of his inebriation, waiting for the ‘click’ that will bring him peace.  Rebecca Mozo as Maggie dominates the first act, ranting from first light, not really giving her character an opportunity to much build.  The inner fire that is impossible not to remember from Elizabeth Taylor’s film version of the character is an unfair comparison, but it is important for fire and nuance to build from within.  The woman is an enchantress, not a harpie.

Sex and sexuality are part and parcel of the message and it is brought to the fore with expert strokes by long time Antaeus actor, Harry Groener as Big Daddy.  The underlying issue of mortality and power burst with intrigue as the patriarch and his favorite son battle for understanding. Nuance is the key here and Groener’s performance delights.  There is stage magic in the ability of this actor to move from moment to moment with such agility.

As Big Mama, Dawn Didawick is a put upon and dismissed spouse as many submissive wives of the times were forced to be.  Her time to shine arrives at the climax of the play where forty years of frustration come to a head.

Patrick Wenk-Wolff as Gooper and Jocelyn Towne as Mae are mordant for the scrambling greed that permeates the piece.  Gooper is Big Daddy’s rejected son though he and Mae have prospered heartily with a brood of children. Maggie wonders why they were named for dogs… and a parrot: Trixie, Dixie and Polly!

It is unfortunate that the ‘no neck monsters’ necessary to the production have been included.  Many children on stage are ‘acting’ while seasoned actors do their best to maintain character.  These are moments that, sad to say, distract.

Terri A. Lewis’s costumes brilliantly reflect the times, coordinating fluidly with the whole production.   Some shadows stage left were distracting, with dramatic side lighting from time to time. 

The layers of discovery in the plot of this Williams classic emerge beautifully, in spite of any criticism here.  Opening a brand new theatre space is a challenge and I recommend that patrons come prepared with some knowledge of the play for full enjoyment.  We welcome Antaeus to Glendale and know that their arrival is now another brilliant jewel in the crown of our Jewel City.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

By Tennessee Williams

Antaeus Theatre

Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center
110 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91205
(between N. Brand Blvd. and Maryland Ave.)

Previews: March 16-22
Performances: March 23 – May 7
• Tuesday at 8 p.m.: March 21 ONLY (preview)
• Wednesday at 8 p.m.: March 22 ONLY (preview)
• Thursdays at 8 p.m.: March 16 (preview), 23 (opening), 30; April 6, 13, 20, 27; May 4
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: March 17 (preview), 24 (opening), 31; April 7, 14, 21, 28; May 5
• Saturdays at 2 p.m.: April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; May 6 (no 2 p.m. perf. on March 18 or March 25)
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: March 18 (preview), 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; May 6
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: March 19 (preview), 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; May 7, 2017

Tickets and Information:

818 506 1983

www.Antaeus.org

33 VARIATIONS! YOU MUST SEE THIS PLAY!

Why? 

Why Theatre?  

In LA..  it’s about many things that include looking for work, but there are actors who, when they come together with exceptional writing and actually get the play; get the characters and the characters’ lives and loves and stories and a director gets the script and there’s music and talent and love of the moment.. the moment before the lighting booth brings the house to half, the curtain speech is spoken and then, house to dark and the stage manager calls “Places” and the cast is ready and the play is ready and the audience is ready, probably not knowing what it’s in for and that moment of breath before it all begins .. and then.. something happens.  It’s not the text or the actors or the effects, it’s some synergy that brings the people in their seats and the crew and the actors all together in an unspoken agreement that we are all here for one purpose: we abandon our disbelief and let the play begin.  Let the magic happen. This one unique moment when we leave the outside world to do what it will still be doing later..  the blinking off thank god of all the little screens.. of all the after thoughts of future to attain the moment of the play.. That time ..when it really works.. not only as the lights come up and the story unfolds and the criticism of a gait or voice or other things that critics like me enjoy or find some fault with.. it all becomes The Play.  It all becomes this time. It all becomes.

Bruce Ladd and Nan McNamara  PHOTO CREDIT:  Lindsay Schnebly

Invited as a guest to see 33 Variations by a dear pal, I had not intended to write a word.  I’d sit and let the play just be the play and the actors (with an understudy, no less) do the work and just allow it all to wash over me and the guy who attends to make a report would be well absent, down the block or back at home.  But, moments after Dylan Price strode boldly across the stage to become the heart of Moises Kaufman’s  33 Variations settled at the grand piano, the story emerged: we meet the characters who arrive from the present time and from a time long ago now and the actors disappeared as their characters came to life with focused care and individual presence that simply ascended them into our lives.

It’s rare to become so involved in a play that the deep feelings that permeate the lives of the characters truly lift the audience to the moment.  “The Moment” is what every actor strives for and in this play the moments unfold with passion and if there is a shred of ‘acting’ going on, it totally eluded me.  These lovely characters: in the present becoming echoes of the past and brilliantly melding in harmonies that flow from Ludwig Von to his champion, Katherine B., and back again explore their paradigm with dignity and humor and love in such a way we seldom see in two hours time away from where we live.

33 Variations is a must see.  Extended for only one more week (or longer if Los Angeles is lucky), it’s a play so well crafted and so well directed and so well acted that for human beings who truly love The Theatre to not find a way to First Presbyterian to become immersed in what the Art of Theatre is truly about… Well, that could be a real shame. 

I have deliberately left the stuff of reviews out of this because the real review will be the one you leave the theater with in your heart. 

Please quickly make a reservation and go. Just go.
     

33 VARIATIONS

 by Moises Kaufman

Actors Co-Op

David Schall Theatre

First Presbyterian Church

1760 N. Gower St.

Los Angeles, CA 90028

Through March 26, 2017

Tickets and Information:

Phone (323) 462-8460
http://actorsco-op.org/wp3/ticket-info/

BEHIND THE ORANGE CURTAIN AT SCR

 ​Karthik Srinivasan, Pia Shah and Anjali Bhimani in South Coast Repertory's 201​6 ​production of ​Orange by Aditi Brennan Kapil. Photo by ​Debora Robinson/SCR

ORANGE,  a play about Orange County, California currently at the lovely Julianne Argyros Stage at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, directs us to the sights and sounds that locals and tourists have marveled at for years.  Leela (Pia Shah) arrives from India with her mother (Anjali Bhimani and all of the other females in the show) to attend a local wedding. Leela is 'on the spectrum' which means that autism or Asperger's Syndrome is a factor in the way she interprets and responds to the world.  Like a child, Leela is very literal.  Unlike a child, she is often monosyllabic and under stress filled with angst ..  Her father (Karthik Srinivasan who also plays a variety of roles as the only male member of the cast) is a very busy businessman who shunts off responsibility for 'watching' his adult.. or nearly adult, daughter to a hip and rebellious Americanized cousin.. again the quite versitile Anjali Bhimani. 

Discussion of 'adventure' and what it means factors well into the subsequent events that are aided and abetted by gorgeous scenic design  created by Michael B. Raiford and equally impressive projections by Mike Tutaj  which virtually become additional characters in the play.  It's not great when the most outstanding memory of this ninety minute production turns out to be the scenery.  Not that the 'adventure' of a young Hindu woman who prays to a pantheon of gods goes begging.. the energy (in spite of the choices made by Ms Shah  and/ her director Jessica Kubzansky to remain stiff and presentational... even when attacked on an Orange County beach) never lags.  This is a slice of life featuring a segment of the OC population that is at once, traditional to its Indian roots (barely) and a window into the way most folks behave when given an opportunity to slip the bonds of convention and head into the night. 

Tech credits practically overcome the stage work. All three actors turn in presumably what director Jessica Kubzansky required.  

The opportunity for more is waiting.  

ORANGE
by ​​​Aditi Brennan Kapil
​directed by ​​​​Jessica Kubzansky

​Julianne Argyros Stage

South Coast Repertory Theatre

South Coast Plaza

655 Town Center Dr

Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Through ​March 5-26, 201​7

Tickets and Information:

www.scr.org

 (714) 708-5555

FOR PIANO AND HARPO by Dan Castelleneta // A World Premiere

The Falcon Theatre finds that interesting line between the happy crowd pleaser and the avant garde that makes Garry Marshall’s comfortable venue the ideal space for this Laugh Then Think World Premiere that shall be remembered. 

Dan Castellaneta, Gail Matthius, Phil Proctor, Jonathan Stark, JD McCollum and Deb Lacusta 

Photo by Sasha A. Venola

In his own play, Dan Castellaneta, well known for famous television characters who shall remain nameless, D’oh!, plays the ever troubled and troubling Oscar Levant: the frequent guest on the 1950’s The Tonight Show with Jack Parr, where we begin our journey. The play opens with the excellent Jonathan Stark as Parr. ‘On The Air’ signs flash to draw the audience into the show.  Applause!   Levant, well known for his outrageous insults and quick wit mashed up with his virtuosity as a concert pianist, didn’t have it easy.  As an addict and a neurotic with components of genius, Castelleneta’s survey of Levant’s life and friendship with fellow virtuoso, Harpo Marx, spills onto Stephen Gifford’s simple set with speed and skill thanks to the adept direction of Stefan Novinski.  We often forget that it’s the artist at the helm who brings the actors and the script and the music (musical director David O on the grand piano and harpist Jillian Risigarsi-Gai behind the upstage scrim) together.  The ensemble creates a myriad of characters with quick changes, often presenting as ghosts from Levant’s memories. It all blends well together.

In 1935, Oscar shows up at Harpo’s rented Beverly Hills mansion to crash a dinner party and stays for a year. As Harpo (also appropriately presented as Charlie, the mute, a patient at the Mount Sinai Psych Ward where Levant finds himself) JD Cullum, transitions without a hitch. From time to time Harpo and Oscar play harp and piano together, via mime with piano and harp live upstage. 

As Harpo’s Butler (and sundry others) Phil Proctor’s diversity brings his characters to life.  Traversing time and space easily, Proctor brings pathos through the psych patient, Sidney,  as well as with his brusque portrayal of Oscar’s difficult and demanding father.

Deb Lacusta limns both June Levant, Oscar’s put upon wife, as well as another psych patient, Barbara, who, interestingly, resembles June and adds to Oscar’s state of perpetual disruption in his life.

Protean Gail Matthius, stretches from Fanny Brice to the hot to trot psych ward patient, Shirley,

Shirley

and then as Oscar’s mother, whom we learn may be at the root of many of Oscar’s issues. 

Leaps of time and space sometimes work and sometimes don’t in theatre and in film.  The easy transitions from 1962 to 1956 to 1935 in and out worked for me with Castellaneta best as the robust and acerbic pal of Harpo in the early years.  With no self censor, Levant was acknowledged as an amazing concert pianist and somehow tolerated as a drugged out nutcase rambling to a somewhat early death at the age of sixty-five.

Partnered with Laugh Then Think, the tradition of Garry Marshall’s pet project, The Falcon Theatre, will not disappoint.  Highly recommended but only for those who are active in the Laughing and Thinking Departments.

FOR PIANO AND HARPO  A World Premiere

by Dan Castellaneta

THE FALCON THEATRE

4252 Riverside Drive

Burbank, California 91505

Through March 5, 2017

Tickets and Information

www  .  falcontheatre.com

818 955 8101

KOAN UNIT: BECKETT 5: YES

BECKETT 5

The Odyssey Theatre’s Koan Unit brings the existential angst of Samuel Beckett to life.  That’s it.  Life in the face of the inevitable that scholars and actors and others will debate for a long time.  The essence of Theatre of the Absurd is the process,  perhaps.. or maybe, like an abstract piece of art or a conceptual piece that fails to immediately announce itself as Comedy, Tragedy, Drama, Satire?  It leaves the audience to its own devices to figure it out, if, indeed, there is something to figure out. 

Having seen spectacular performances of Waiting for Godot, Beckett’s signature piece, along with a well done Happy Days and interesting takes on Endgame and Play, it’s a treat to be exposed to Koan Unit’s take on Beckett 5.  This is all prologue to warm myself up to comment. The essential comment is that as troublesome as Samuel Beckett may be with his making the audience do the work, this dedicated company of actors comes together as an ensemble to share his work with a passion. Ron Sossi's experienced hand brings it all together.

Alan Abelew and Beth Hogan
Photo by Ron Sossi

In Act Without Words II  two large white bags are discovered on the stage.  A little ding is heard as Koan’s Norbert Weisser, all in black with a long prod pokes the bag stage left.     Alan Abelew abruptly awakens!  The bag is tossed. He prays silently “Help Me!!”  and attacks his miserable day. His ‘work’ consists of laboring to move the other bag slightly across the stage.  Back in the bag, the goad awakens Beth Hogan who blossoms to her awakening.. loves every minute of life; dresses in the same suit, does the same ‘work’ as Alan has done. Retires.  Repeat.  Whatever Beckett is telling us, the focus is laser sharp.  Is life a drudgery of work or the joy of life?

In Come and Go,

Beth Hogan, Diana Cignoni and Sheelagh Cullen
Photo by Enci Box

we meet three pastel clad ladies, Diana Cignoni, Sheelagh Cullen and Beth Hogan all seated comfortably in their fashion on a park bench.  Again, the pace and focus are slow and exacting.  Each of these biddies has a secret to share with another.  They are old friends. Cordial. Gossips. Ron Sossi’s crystal clear direction in this and each of the pieces is what choreographs the precision of the movements and the secrets that they share…  or do they?  

Catastrophe features Hogan and Abelew again tending to a stationary statue, Weisser: a mannequin.

Alan Abelew and Norbert Weisser
Photo by Enci Box

Weisser, as with each member of the Koan Unit is appropriately focused, only allowing to be adjusted by the sycophant, Abelew, under the impatient thumb of Hogan whose demands include infinitesimal adjustments.  Hogan is a demanding director. She and her nervous assistant create Art. It is uncomfortable and may be familiar to folks who may have encountered the demands of an impatient perfectionist.

Footfalls is stark and melancholy.  

Diana Cignoni Photo by Enci Box

As May, the elegant and statuesque Diana Cignoni paces before an open door in dialogue with her dying mother (Sheelagh Cullen’s off stage voice). She paces precisely nine steps from right to left and left to right again and again. The floor boards creak with each step. It’s a death watch:  obscure and still completely absorbing as Ms Cignoni’s, dedication to the work repeats and repeats itself: light fading and fading from stanza to stanza. Understanding May’s transformations here is a challenge. We hear Mother, but is she real? Seeing this work cold will not deliver the same reaction as when one takes time to read up a bit.  Beckett’s stage directions are often precise to create the pace and atmosphere that he insists on. He often repeats lines and situations.  I found myself counting May’s steps again and again as she walked her pathway: nine steps right, nine steps left.   Interestingly, the tone and physical changes with the actress’s dedication kept the piece mysterious and absorbing.

Norbert Weisser Photo by Ron Sossi

Batting cleanup in Krapp’s Last Tape, we discover a cluttered desk with drawers that lock and boxes and books and the detritus of a life recorded on magnetic tape twenty nine years earlier by Krapp (Norbert Weisser). It’s a life examined.  On his birthday, Krapp is alone with bananas and his memories, played again and again rewinding.. listening, rewinding..  we hear him lament the loss of the desire of his youth that stoked the life he was living years ago.. introspection and examination all deftly presented by Weisser, give pause to everyone whose life may cry out for examination.  The actor’s physical exhaustion reaches into the audience as we hear that he now may be ready to just “be gone.” Is this current recording the Last Tape that Krapp recorded? Or was it the last one that he has listened to from Box 3 Spoooooooooooooooooooool 5? Krapp relishes the word: spool.  

A friend has called the Beckett Experience a ‘slog.’  Indeed, one must have patience and come prepared to do some work to begin to find the way. The playwright never makes it an easy road to travel down.  Sossi and the Koan Unit (an apt name) bring this important work to life.

BECKETT 5

By Samuel Beckett

Produced by the Koan Unit

Directed by Ron Sossi

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

2055 South Sepulveda

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Through March 5, 2017

Tickets and Information: (310) 477 2055 Ex 2