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LIST OF CURRENT BROADWAY SHOWS
(last updated June 2008)
39 Steps - Drama - Cort Theatre
August: Osage County - Drama - Music Box Theatre
Avenue Q - Musical - John Golden Theatre
Billy Elliott - Musical - Imperial Theatre - (opens 16th October)
Boeing Boeing - Comedy - Longacre Theatre
Chicago - Musical - Ambassador Theatre
Chorus Line, A - Musical - Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (formerly Plymouth)
Country Girl, The - Drama - Bernard B Jacobs Theatre (formally Royale)
Dancin' - Dance - Studio 54
Grease - Musical - Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Gypsy - Musical - St James Theatre
Hairspray - Musical - Neil Simon Theatre
In The Heights - Musical - Richard Rogers Theatre
Jersey Boys - Musical - August Wilson Theatre (formally Virginia Theatre)
Legally Blonde - Musical - Palace Theatre
Lion King, The - Music - Minskoff Theatre
Little Mermaid, The - Musical - Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Mamma Mia! - Musical - Winter Garden Theatre
Mary Poppins - Musical - New Amsterdam Theatre
Monty Python's Spamalot - Musical - Sam S. Shubert Theatre
November - Comedy - Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Passing Strange - Musical - Belasco Theatre
Phantom of the Opera, The - Musical - Majestic Theatre
Rent - Musical - Nederlander Theatre
Spring Awakening - Musical - Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Tale of Two Cities, A - Drama - Al Hirschfield Theatreworld Internet Magazine (opens 18 September)
Wicked - Musical - Gershwin Theatre
Xanadu - Musical - Helen Hayes Theatre
Young Frankenstein - Musical - Hilton Theatre
WASHINGTON DC
THEATRE NEWS & REVIEWS
(supplied by Meaghan Greyson)
Washington, DC, USA :
SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY
2008-2009 season
La Malade Imaginaire
(The Imaginary Invalid)
Reviewed by Meaghan Greyson
Performed by the Shakespeare Theatre Company at the Lansburgh Theatre on June 21, 2008
Performances Added July 31, August 1 and August 2 at the Lansburgh Theatre
A three acts satirical comedy, the last play written by the French dramatist and actor, Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) who died during its fourth performance.
First performed in 1673, published in 1674 and translated into English in 1732, always has been considered another of Moliere's great character plays, which originally included exceptional dance segments and musical interludes written by the French composer Marc Antoine Charpentier with the collaboration of the ballet choreographer Pierre Beauchamp. From 1659 on, medicine as well as physicians were frequently satirized on Moliere’s comedies such as Le Medecin volant (1645) among others and also in parts of Dom Juan where Sganarelle is disguised as a doctor. This final comedy is very much a reprise of earlier material; though La Malade moves far beyond its predecessors in medical farce since the entire development of the action- like in L’Avare (The Miser-1668)-is centered around a single trait of Argan’s character upon which everything turns, and just as the Miser failed to distinguish the concepts of love and money, the Invalid confused religion and medicine; therefore, there is a holiness given to medicine that reflects the mysteries of religion. It roots in the tradition of the old French farce and in the form of the Italian commedia dell’Arte, where the masks are used with particular effectiveness; however, the theme where the wife’s love is put to a test by the supposed death of her husband seems to be strong influenced by the Roman comedy specifically inspired by Plautus and Terence. With his typical wit and ingenuity, Molière created for himself the role of Argan: an obsessive compulsive egomaniac of the worst sort, who tended to dwell on ill-health possibly as a defense against anxiety from unconscious conflicts of being not loved. Argan has two daughters, the lovely Angelique whom Beline, his second wife, wants to intern in a convent and the young Louison. Argan decided that Angelique should marry a doctor so he can get free “medical care", even though she is already in love with Cleante who is posing as a musician concealing his love in songs; yet Dr. Diafoirus brings over his obtuse son Thomas- a pedantic medical student- to ask for Angelique’s hand. Beralde, his sagacious brother, together with the smart maid Toinette concocted a plan not only in an attempt to "heal" Argan from his health anxieties but also to expose Beline’s cupidity. Toinette came disguised as a physician-a provocative implication of Biblical echo- rejecting with contempt all Purgon’s knowledge and all his advices, which reminisced the admonition to sinners in Mark ( IX:43-47) : “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off………and if thine eye offend thee pluck it out.” Both, Beralde and Toinette, convinced Argan to feign death in order to prove his wife’s affection and find out who is really either loyal or in love with him. As it turned out, Argan's wife is only after his money whereas his daughter really loved him. After the "revival" of the supposedly-dead Argan, Angelique is free to marry Cleante on the condition that he became a doctor but Beralde advised Argan to become his own physician; therefore, he could minister his own needs. The play ends on a note of joyous freedom and vitality, with a gracious ballet burlesque, a mocking ceremony of conferring a medical degree. The use of this device is not a “memento mori” or “remember you will die” but rather a “remember to live,” a full development of the concept of rapturous living as well as the imaginary obstacles to life experiences being established by men’s irrational envisions. In this comedy of thematic complexity -adapted by Alan Drury-, the director Keith Baxter skillfully subordinated the plot to characterization; structuring scenes in contrasts between words and actions; also featuring several commedia dell'arte interludes "to capture the spirit of the original production by recreating the environment in which the play was first seen." There were hilarious, boisterous, and uproarious scenes such as the young Thomas Diafoirus’ s bungled attempt to recite his memorized declaration of love as well as the unforgettable episode when the apparently disabled Argan flies out of his chair, brandishing his stick, to chase the maidservant around the table before he suddenly realizes that either he cannot or not supposed to walk, less run. In act II, a series of “bright” and “dark” scenes unmistakable designed to alternately express hope and despair in keeping with the theme and plot: Toinette introducing Cleante as a substitute music master for Angelique’s singing lessons and the couple exchanging vows while singing a pastoral under Argan’s eyes -a typical wile also seen in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s comedie-ballet “Le Sicilen” (“L'Amour peintre” 1667)-; with the young couple singing their determination “to die rather than consent to separation” (II.v). The last act is composed of scenes which brought together violent extremes like the folly of Argan at the lively vigor of Toinette’s stratagems yet the play's greatest event- the musical masque in which Argan is finally initiated as a physician- is a pageant in praise of foolishness, preceding by more than two hundred years, the comedies of Alfred Jarry (“Ubu Roi” 1896) and Eugène Ionesco (“Rhinoceros” 1959). Unforgettable characters the assortment of doctors (Monsieur Purgon, M. Diafoirus), the apothecary (M. Fleurant) ,and the lawyer (Maitre Bonnefoi) all presented as universal types rather than unique individuals, being strengthened their distinguishing qualities and dominant traits which created a powerful dramatic effect. René Auberjonois was great in the role of Argan-the hopeless hypochondriac and one of Moliere finest creations- representing, with virtuosity, pure egotism and pusillanimity. The actor pictured superbly the pathological enthusiasm with medicine and doctors, showing perceptibly that behind this fantasy was a thread of logic, hence his imagination saved and kept him alive since his strongly preoccupation with sickness and medical paraphernalia was as foolish as the ignorance of the others. Nancy Robinette portrayed a clever and witty Toinette describing with lively vigor a sometimes annoyingly cynical woman showed in her humorous pranks specifically when announced the arrival of a “distinguished” doctor played by herself. Peter Land as Beralde -a foil for Argan- represented a pragmatic and sensible brother with a spirit of refined criticism who displayed real common sense among all the surrounding irrationalities. John Robert Tillotson as Dr. Diafoirus and Drew Eshelman as Dr. Purgon, both mockingly delineated the annihilators of life and health, genuine figures whose verbal and material magic apparently gave them a power over the gullible.
A comical satire against a variety of vice and follies brought into a prominent pungency which introduced not only piercing realism to the French stage but also elevated its amusing drama from a farcical buffoonery to a significant forum for social and religious criticism.
The shows runs until July 27, 2008
September 9 - October 12, 2008
"Romeo and Juliet," by William Shakespeare, directed by David Muse at the Sidney Harman Hall.
September 30 - November 16, 2008
"The Way of the World," by William Congreve, directed by Michael Kahn, at the Lansburgh Theatre.
December 2, 2008 - January 4, 2009
"Twelfth Night," by William Shakespeare, directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman at the Sidney Harman Hall.
February 10 - March 29, 2009
"The Dog in the Manger," by Lope de Vega, translated and adapted by David Johnston, directed by Jonathan Munby at the Lansburgh Theatre.
March 10 - April 12, 2009
"Ion," by Euripides, translated and adapted by David Lan, and directed by Ethan Mc Sweeny at the Sidney Harman Hall.
May 12 - June 28, 2009
"An Italian Straw Ha,"by Eugene Labiche, adapted by John Strand
("Lorenzaccio") music by Dennis McCarthy, and directed by Michael Kahn at the Lansburgh Theatre.
June 16 -July 19, 2009
"King Lear," by William Shakespeare, directed by Robert Falls (Tony Award), at the Sidney Harman Hall. The well-known actor Stacy Keach will play the title role, returning to the Shakespeare Theatre Company after his splendid "Macbeth" in 1995.
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SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
All information kindly provided by
Dr.Kedar K. Adour, MD
A WINTER’S TALE, By William Shakespeare, Directed by Lesley and Robert Currier. Marin Shakespeare Summer Mainstage Season at Dominican University of California's Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 50 Acaia Avenue, San Rafael, California . 415/499-4488 or http://www.marinshakespeare.org. July 11- August 24, 2008.
A TOUCH OF CLASS IS NEEDED
Since Winter’s Tale is a romance with a happy conclusion and none of the characters taken from history, it is perfectly appropriate for directors to take liberties with the play’s time and place of the action. One would suspect that Australia has been picked to be the locale when the director introduces a Greek chorus of one, named TIME, starts the evening playing a didjeridu eventually telling us he is our guide to “A tale of Sicilia – and Bohemia.” Shakespeare only introduces TIME in Scene I of Act IV to convey, “slide O'er sixteen years . . . To speak of Perdita, now grown in grace.” This conceit with TIME being continually on stage, could easily be dropped allowing the very good actors to strut their stuff without intrusion.
There are two distinct moods in the play, intense drama giving way to ribald comedy. Shakespeare often uses such dichotomy and the cast adroitly handles the change in pace to the delight of the audience. More about that later.
King Leontes (Rafael Untalan)of Sicilia has entertained Polixenes (Scott Coopwood), King of Bohemia for many months and must now return to Bohemia. They are inseparable best friends since childhood. At Leonetes’ behest, Hermione (Alexandra Matthew), Leontes’ pregnant wife encourages Polixenes to stay. This triggers an insane jealously in Leontes unjustly accusing her of infidelity with Polixenes. His insidious jealousy causes him to denounce his son Mamillious (Gabriel Cowger) as illegitimate. Both are imprisoned despite Paulina’s (Celia Madeoy) imploring protestations. In prison after giving birth to a girl, Hermoine, upon hearing of the death of son, dies. The infant daughter is banished and set adrift. The Oracle of Delphi proclamation attests that “Hermione is chaste, Polixenes blameless . . .”
Now the fun begins with an Old Shepard (George Maguire) and his not too bright but raunchy young son (Drew Hirshfield) discover the infant girl who has washed up on the shores of Bohemia with a bag of gold and letter identifying her royal birth. They adopt her; give her the name Perdita (Kate Fox Marcom). Sixteen years pass, Perdita is now a beautiful young girl in love with Florizell (Mark Robinson) son of Polixenes. Enter Autoclycus, a cozener (one with artful coaxing, wheedling and shrewd trickery) who invites himself to the sheep shearing party complete with music, dancing and singing.
Camilo (Michael Ray Wisely), trusted aid to Polixenes who denies marriage to the lovers, aids Perdital and Florizell on a journey to Sacilia where a life-like statue of Hermoine has been erected. Paulina, the sorcerer, brings Hermoine’s statue to life and all leads to a happy ending.
The plot line is much more convoluted. The unfolding is half the fun and the entire cast does justice to Shakespeare’s lines adding more than a modicum of the vernacular to inject humor after an intense first act. Rafael Untalan as Leonetes progresses from hail-fellow- fast friend of Polixenes to raging jealousy is a study in character development. Coopwood’s Polixenes defines the word regal. Michael Ray Wisely as Camillo calmly and elegantly underplays the role to perfection. Jerry Hoffman switches from the subservient role of Antigones to become the scene “stealer” as Autoclyus the cozener. George Maguire challenges Hoffman as “best in show” from his entrance baaing like a sheep. However, he has help from Drew Hirshfield as they feed off each other as father and son. Mark Robinson and Kate Fox Marcom exude charisma and are completely believable as the lovers.
A problem lies in the characterization of the two female leads who are excellent actors and bring verisimilitude to their characterizations of Hermoine and Paulina but their interpretations under Lesley Currier’s direction lacks “class.” Hermoine is a creature of great stature who would not grovel, as she did, under Leonetes diatribes. Madeoy has not learned that assertiveness does not require raising your voice.
Running time 2 hours and 50 minutes with intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE; Musical book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan, new music by Jeanine Tesori, new lyrics by Dick Scanlan (Original story and screenplay by Richard Morris for the Universal Pictures Film); Directed by Dennis Lickteig, Choreography by Robyn Tribuzi and Musical direction by Attilio Tribuzzi. Broadway by the Bay (BBB), San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo. (650) 579-5565, or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.
JULY 10 — 27, 2008
GREAT FUN, HAPPY FEET, AUDIENCE PLEASER
The successful conversion of stage musicals into movies far exceed the number of movie musicals going in the reverse direction. Thoroughly Modern Millie is one of the later as it takes us back in time to the “flapper era” of the 1920s to kick up a storm. The 2002 Tony Award-winning Broadway hit musical, based on the1967 movie that featured Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing included only two songs from the movie with updated music by Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan, with a few 1920 standards thrown in to make 15. After opening in San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse it went on to win almost every Broadway award. Broadway by the Bay has mounted a sure-fire hit filled with a talented, young, energetic cast that would make New York envious. This production is one of BBB’s best and the present cast is ready for the Big Apple.
Small-town girl Millie Dillmount (fantastic Melissa WolfKlain) who arrives in the Big Apple in 1922 to marry for money instead of love, singing her heart out that Salinas, Kansas “Is Not the Life for Me” before she shares the stage with the ensemble (The Moderns) dressed in bright, eye-popping flapper era costumes, with the first big dance number “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Enter, Jimmy Smith (local icon, marvelous tenor Ben Jones), accidentally meets Millie whom he dislikes. But heck, this is a musical comedy and we all know that between love and dislike “there is a line as sharp as the razor’s edge. (Apologies to Somerset Maughn).
Millie bobs her hair, changes into modern dresses (I counted 9 dressing changes . . . all flamboyantly gorgeous), moves into a Hotel for Women and meets Miss Dorothy (clear voiced soprano Dominque Bonino) singing “How the Other Half Lives.” Finally getting a job as a stenographer for Trevor Graydon III (powerful baritone William Giammona) they break into “The Speed Test” with Miss Flannery (hilarious Heather Ortt) and a stage full of foot tapping typists. It is a lesson in how a patter song should be staged.
Meanwhile back at the Hotel, the devious, smarmy Mrs. Meers (funny Mary Gibboney) is blackmailing her two Chinese laundry men Chung Ho (loveable Joshua Lau) and Bun Foo (competent Jeffery C. Wong) into kidnapping orphan girls, shipping them into white slavery. The three have a chance to strut their stuff in song and dance with, would you believe, super-titles to translate their words. The final main character is chanteuse Muzzy Van Hossmere ( Jackie De Munro a sexy, alto who can really belt a song), she plays a role in bringing Mrs. Meers to heel.
The 21-piece orchestra is in great form under Attilio Tribuzi’s direction. Choreographer Robyn Tribuzi has a field day with her almost dancers who are a colorful sight in their flapper outfits. Dennis Lickteig, in his first gig with BBB, demonstrates complete control of the action and hopefully will return for further shows.
As with most musical comedies, love does not run smooth, conflict arises, songs carry the plot and eventually there is a happy conclusion. Thoroughly Modern Millie has all that and more making it a must see show. One caveat: Running time is 2 hours and 20 minutes, with intermission. The large auditorium is not air-conditioned and it is advisable to leave jackets at home and arrive in shirt sleeves and summer dresses.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
DRIVING MISS DAISY by Alfred Uhry; Directed by Cris Cassell. Ross Valley Players (RVP) Barn Theatre, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. at Lagunitas, Ross, CA. 415-456-9555 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com.
Through August 17, 2008.
WORTH A DRIVE TO RVP’s BARN THEATRE
In 1987, after a modest start in a 74-seat Off-Off Broadway theatre, Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy with Morgan Freeman and Dana Ivey, moved to the much larger John Houseman Theatre earning rave reviews and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Within 18 months, the play was adapted for film winning the Best Picture Oscar with Morgan Freeman reprising his role as Hoke and Jessica Tandy giving an Oscar winning performance as Miss Daisy. It also earned Freeman a Best Actor nomination.
When the theater lights go out, we hear the sound effects of a racing car motor and a tremendous crash. It is 1948, Miss Daisy (Anne Riley), a 72-year old widow living in Atlanta, has just demolished another car, and no insurance company will insure her. Her son Boolie (Alex Shafer), against Miss Daisy’s will, hires Hoke (Berton Bruno), a black man to be her chauffeur. Necessity overcomes Miss Daisy’s disdain and this is the beginning of a heart-tugging study of the 25-year unlikely relationship between a proud Southern Jewish woman and a competent, quiet, yet proud, black man.
Although the story line plays out over milestones of black/white Southern history, the emphasis is on character development between two disparate individuals separated by skin color and religious differences. History remains in the background. Both are products of societies bathed with intolerance. Hoke’s pointed reference to the distinction between whites and white Jews matches Miss Daisy’s vocal declarations to Boolie that Blacks are untrustworthy and devious. A journey begins in misunderstanding, progresses to interdependence and ends in true friendship.
Things start well, and Cris Caswell’s production flows very smoothly on Ken Rowland’s effective utilitarian set aided by superb musical bridges (sound design by Billie Cox) that evoke the period from 1948 to the 70s, as well covering the costume and 20+ scene changes. The car(s), placed unobtrusively upstage, slides effortlessly down stage as our minds try to guess the name of music being played.
The play is really a two-hander and the part of Bollie, played very adroitly by Allen Shafer (with an occasional off beat Southern accent), is there as an intermediary, acting as a sounding board, filling in the time gaps and arbitrating problems between Miss Daisy and Hoke. The roles of the major characters offer great challenges since they emotionally and physically must evolve as they age. Septuagenarian Riley has the physical looks for the part but there is no real change in her demeanor from scene one on. In the early scenes, there should be a feisty attitude with sparks while confronting Bollie or Hoke and that attitude should mellow with time as her physical demeanor deteriorates.
Breton Bruno is an ultimate professional with a background as writer, director actor and founder of Pathlight Productions in the Bayview-Hunters Point area in San Francisco. Hoke’s aging is palpable as he stoops, shuffles, limps and has problem handling the imaginary car controls. He is charming (read devious) when he cons Bollie into increasing his salary by suggesting his services are in demand elsewhere.
The recommendation for this 90-minute warm-hearted, humorous and affecting play is that it is worth the drive to the Barn Theatre.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
TEA ‘N CRISP; Richard Louis James plays The Notorious Quentin Crisp at the SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, Sundays @ 2:30 pm, July thru August. www.sfplayhouse.org.
NOTORIOUS NO MORE
Long before the Stonewall riots of 1969 when homosexuals rebelled against the tyranny of perverted law and the condemnation of the populous, Quentin Crisp, born Denis Charles Pratt, staged his quiet personal revolt by being what he was born to be. He became a notorious, flamboyant, outrageous homosexual in the center of London in the 1930s when mainstream English establishment and society regarded such sexuality as deviant and criminal. Today, English and American societies would regard his proclivity for wearing bright make-up, dyeing his long hair crimson, painting his fingernails and wearing sandals to display his painted toenails as being just “one of the boys.”
However, beyond that external shell, used as a weapon of defense, there was an individual determination to live life on his own terms. His well-received autobiography, The Naked Civil Servant, later made into a movie, stripped the protective veneer revealing his true nature as a gentle, bon vivant with a great sense of humor and serious inner thoughts. During his last years people sought his commentary, taking part in the acclaimed The Celluloid Closet. . He gained respect with his autobiographical monolog An Evening with Quentin Crisp that he performed throughout the country.
Award winning Bay Area character actor Richard Louis James uses this monolog as the basis for his critically acclaimed Tea ‘N Crisp which returns to the SF Playhouse. Before James takes the stage as Quentin Crisp we are appropriately treated to a medley of Noel Coward songs and one of his first statements is “You will hear straight talk from a bent person.” James keeps Crisp’s format devoting the first section of this one-hour show to bringing us up-to-date on his past life and philosophy. In the second act, questions written during intermission are answered with candor and humor.
A word that best describes Crisp’s philosophy is “style.” He encourages us to “enter the world of being”, not to keep up with the Joneses but rather to “drag the Joneses to your level.” “Determine what image you wish to project . . . and do it!” “Beauty is a waste of time.” Other Crisp aphorisms abound and James delivers them with complete assurance, becoming Quentin Crisp both in physical look (see photo) and conviction with attitude without offense. He denigrates his philistine opinions and advises not to make them our own. He bemoans the fact that our privacy is being usurped and machines/internet will triumph. His idol is Tallulah Bankhead who said, “I take my case to the people.”
Do arrange to share tea and crisps on a Sunday afternoon with Quentin Crisp who was a legend in his time, is notorious no more and is given an extended life by Richard Louis Pratt’s superb performance.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
A CHORUS LINE, conceived, originally choreographed, and directed by Michael Bennett, features a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. Baayork Lee re-stages the original choreography. Curran Theatre Box Office (445 Geary between Taylor and Mason, Mon-Sat Noon – 6pm) and at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office (1192 Market at 8th St., Mon-Sat 10am – 6pm) or visit www.shnsf.com. Through July 27, 2008.
AN AUDIENCE PLEASER WITH SPARK
There was great excitement and anticipation in the enthusiastic patrons crowding the sidewalk and lobby waiting to see A Chorus Line. The show that is presently playing on Broadway started its journey here in 2006 and one wonders whether San Francisco is ready for another road show. The answer is a qualified “Yes!” as indicated by the applause punctuating almost every number. The ensemble numbers are great but some individual performers do not generate the spark remembered from the original and the 2006 productions.
It was 16 years ago when A CHORUS LINE transferred to Broadway winning nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Along with the Tony Award for Best Musical, Score and Book, it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award finally closing in 1990 after 6,137 performances. This National Tour wisely maintains the original choreography, staging, and all the cast are excellent dancers and most are great singers. The problem is individual performers do not project the necessary charisma to satisfy our nostalgic yearnings but there are many thrills throughout the two hours, without intermission, as we expectantly await the glittering finale with the cast discarding rehearsal clothes, donning spangled gold costumes, dancing up a storm before the elegant mirrors as they sing the toe tapping song “One.”
On the bare stage of a Broadway theatre, director/choreographer Zach (fine performance from Michael Grubber) is holding auditions where 17 “gypsies” (dancers) complete for eight spots. The ensemble is put through their paces with the “five, six, seven, eight” tempo beating in their ears before the plaintive “I Hope I Get It.” Inexplicably Zach wants to know who they are and he interviews each about their backgrounds. The unfolding of their stories expresses their individual deep needs with the refrain “I Need this Job” being repeated as they have misgivings about baring their past. First up is Mike (charming Clyde Alves) with “I Can Do That” as he tells of replacing his sister in dancing school at age five.
As Zach continues down the line, a trio of the girls led by Shelia (sexy statuesque Emily Fletcher) express the desires engendered “At the Ballet.” Attempt at broad humor does not materialize with “Sing” with Kristine (Jessica Latshaw) and Al (Colt Prattes) but a quick shift to an ensemble number picks up the pace and we are back on track until Natalie Elsie Hall does not stop the show with “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” (better known as “Tits & Asses”).
Cassie (fine performer Nikki Snelson), the former love interest of Zach, is given the best solo with “The Music and the Mirror” that expresses her desire to return to the chorus line. The marvelous song “One” is introduced by the company before breaking into “The Tap Combination” when groups of four or six strut their stuff. A standout job is turned in by Kevin Santos as Paul, Puerto Rican former drag star, and your heart breaks when he twists his knee during the tap sequences, is carried off stage and the auditions end.
As we learn more about the gypsies the more we appreciate the most endearing song from this show, “What I Did For Love” and you really believe their desires and the hardships they endure. Hopefully, if it has not already been done, someone will continue their stories because you truly can empathize with all of them.
If you have not seen A CHORUS LINE before consider this show a “must see.” To those who have enjoyed it before, don’t hesitate to see it again . . . and again.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
AN IDEAL HUSBAND by Oscar Wilde, directed by Jonathan Moscone; Cal Shakes (California Shakespeare Theater), 701 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710.
510-548-9666 or www.calshakes.org. All plays at the Bruns Amphitheater, Orinda.
July2 –July 27, 2008
A VISUAL, VERBAL WILDE/MOSCONE TREAT
The gods kept away the usual cold, damp fog from the Bruns Amphitheater providing a balmy night to enjoy a wild verbal and visual treat of Jonathon Moscone’s masterful production of Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband” . Director Moscone has put together a splendid cast, garbed in stunning costumes (Meg Neville) on an elegant set (Annie Smart) that includes a huge tapestry scrim of Boucher’s Triumph of Love, creating a memorable evening (with minor flaws), stimulating animated conversation as the audience departed for the evening.
Moscone’s directorial conceits of mixing farce, drawing room comedy with verbal pyrotechnics and physical humor are once again on display. Wilde has written delicious lines for every one of his major characters and Moscone, to gain emphasis, allows his actors occasionally to address the audience directly. Written in 1895, the play carries political truisms that are as cogent today, and possibly more so with the political scandals making recent headlines. Wilde considers London society, marriage and politicians as equal opportunity targets as he skewers all with rapier wit and satirically humorous barbs. Every member of the cast adroitly and clearly delivers Wilde’s lines with appropriate emphasis.
Wilde asks the questions of what responsibility should a person take for past transgressions and in marriage, can there be an “ideal husband.” The last question is rhetorical but the other is the basis for conflict. Early in act II Sir Robert Chiltern (Michael Butler) asks “. . . do you think that what I did nearly eighteen years ago should be brought against me now?” Wilde’s answer, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." What he did was tantamount to insider trading by giving secret government information about the Suez Canal that gained a huge sum for a German entrepreneur earning Robert seed money of 110,000 pounds that was parlayed into fortune and fame with a seat in the House of Commons.
The play opens during a dinner party at the fashionable home of Sir Robert and Gertrude Chiltern (beautiful Julie Eccles). Enter the devious Mrs. Cheveley (a star performance by Stacy Ross) threatening to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting, in the House of Commons, a fraudulent Argentina canal project. During the course of the party, we are introduced to dandified Lord Goring (Elijah Alexander) the Chiltern’s best friend, Robert’s sister Mabel (charming Sarah Nealis) who wishes to marry Goring and , Goring’s father (always professional L. Peter Callender) who just wishes Lord Gory would marry.
Mrs. Cheveley has an incriminating letter to prove the dirty deed that could ruin Sir Robert’s career and marriage. He capitulates leading to a confrontation with his wife who predicated their marriage on Robert being the ideal husband. The first act ends with Gertrude collapsing to the floor.
There is a secondary plot involving a bracelet found by Lord Goring that figures prominently in resolving the entanglement and a second letter adding further complications. Then there is unexpected visit by Mrs. Cheveley to Lord Goring’s flat, unbeknownst to him is sequestered in the drawing room, and she hears the private conversation between Sir Robert and Lord Goring.
Moscone starts the play as a farce with Mrs. Marchmont (Delia MacDougall) and Lady Basildon (Nancy Carlin) spouting classic Wilde: “I hate being educated. . .it puts one on the level with the commercial classes. . .” A bit later, the pair excessively fawns over Lord Goring that seems like a flagrant attempt to elicit laughs. Audience favorite Danny Scheie compliments the farcical element with over-the-top depiction of Vicomte De Nanjac, looking a lot like Charlie Chaplin. The tempo moves back into drawing room comedy mode and before intermission Sir Robert and Gertrude engage in a shouting match that is not classic Wilde.
Michael Butler turns in a very complimentary performance to match the charm of Julie Eccles. Joan Mankin, as the elderly Lady Markby, is perfect for an Oscar Wilde play and one can picture her as Lady Bracknell. Wilde describes Mabel as “apple-blossom prettiness. . . . freedom of a flower . . . with tyranny of youth.” Sarah Nealis is all that. Scene stealing Danny Scheie extracts every bit of humor with his second turn on stage as Phipps, Lord Goring’s butler, with his expressive facial movements and distinctive walk. Elijah Alexander, in the pivotal role of Lord Goring seems miscast. Finally, Stacy Ross’s elegant stature, sure delivery and command of the stage are worth the price of admission.
Running time about 2 hours and 25 minutes with intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
CABARET, Book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.
Directed by Bill English. SF Playhouse,533 Sutter Street (one block off Union Square, between powell & Mason), San Francisco, CA 94102. 415.677.9596 fax 415.677.9597 susi@sfplayhouse.org. June 28 –September 20, 2008.
THE REALITY UNDERMINES EXPECTATIONS
Since the SF Playhouse was founded in 2003, earning multiple awards for its productions, has been called “local theater’s best kept secret” by San Francisco Magazine. It is no secret they deserve the reputation as “an intimate theatre alternative to the traditional Union Square theatre fare.” Attendees all have great expectations even before being admitted into the 99-seat venue.
Expectations were very high on seeing the fantastic transformation of the space into an actual cabaret setting with the first two rows outfitted with small round cocktail tables and a sexy waitress (bar-girl?) dressed in black, taking drink orders before the MC (Brian Yates Sharber) burst from the aisle onto the stage to lead the entire cast and band in the raunchy/suggestive “Willkommen.” We are at the Kit Kat Klub in Weimar Berlin of 1931 ready to “hear the music play.”
The book by Joe Masteroff is based on John van Druten’s play “I Am a Camera” that was a dramatization of Christopher Isherwood's “Berlin Stories.” Lyrics and music provided by Fred Ebb and John Kander created a memorable evening with its opening on Broadway in 1966, running for1,165 performances with Joel Grey as the MC. Grey went on to the 1972 film version with Liza Minnelli and Michael York as Clifford.
“Cabaret”, set during Hitler’s rise to power revolves around cabaret performer Sally Bowles and a brief affair with Clifford, an American writer, who takes her in after she is kicked out of the Kit Kat Klub inhabited with sexual charged characters with androgynous personalities. The inhabitants shelter themselves from impending Nazi takeover and immanent WW II with its "No good in sitting alone in your room, come hear the music play!" A form of love develops between Sally and Clifford but external forces will drive them apart. Other tragic figures are Frauelin Schneider, a German property owner, and her Jewish admirer, Herr Schultz.
Artistic director English has assembled a large cast with an eight member on-stage Kit Kat Band, behind a scrim, band under the fine direction of Martin Rojas-Dietrich, with special accolade to Tania Johnson (who ably doubles as prostitute F. Kost) on accordion. Lauren English’s performance as Sally Bowles overpowers ineffectual Daniel Kruger’s Clifford, and is a distraction as she slips in and out of an English accent. For inexplicable reasons, Sharber as the MC, is miked, never generates a believable lascivious attitude and is occasionally off-key. Always reliable Louis Parnell as Herr Schultz and Karen Grassle, of “Little House on the Prairie” fame, as Frauelin Schenider are a charming pair oozing charisma.
The slim trim Kit Kat boys, Bobby Bryce and Norman Munoz are perfect for their parts and the Kit Kat girls, Laurie Nellesen, Rana Kangas-Kent, Lilly Tung Crystal are great eye-candy. They dance up a storm under the choreography by Barbara Bernardo. There are many high lights to delight the audience including “Don’t Tell Momma”, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”, “Money”, “Kick Line”, “If You Could See Her (with my eyes)” and the second act ”Entr’Acte.”
Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes with intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED, by Keith Bunin, directed by Robin Stanton. Aurora Theatre Company , 2081 Addison Street, Berkely, CA 94704. 510-843-4822 or www.auroratheatre.org. June 13 – July 20, 2008.
MOTHER, SON, GOD & GAY LOVERS
This Keith Bunin two hour, three-hander play on Aurora Theatre’s intimate stage is being given a taut production that at times is eye opening, thought provoking, tedious and timely. Anne Darragh, Chad Deverman, James Wagner perform admirably under the Robin Stanton’s direction and astute blocking on Eric E. Sinkkonnen’s set that includes stained-glass windows above an multi-paned arched window through which a gray New York skyline can be seen. The floor is a marvel of rich inlaid wood set in geometric patterns with piles of books and boxes lining the outer perimeter and a central table/desk dominating center stage. The characters will circle this desk like wary fighters in a boxing ring. Physical blows are not forth coming but the emotional blows are rampant.
The scene is the church office of our protagonist, a widowed Episcopalian Priest/Scholar, simply named Hannah (Anne Darragh), interviewing Brandt (Chad Deverman) a potential ghostwriter for her book about a newly discovered gospel that may be the truest depiction of the life of Jesus. Though Brandt is totally unqualified for the job and readily admits that he is homosexual, Hannah hires him. Her motivation becomes apparent in the second act and we are given a hint when Thomas, her gay son, comes in dirty with porcupine quills stuck in his leg and there is a suggestion of sexual attraction.
Thomas, aged 27, often disappears for weeks playing a game he calls “Get Lost,” where he will take off to the middle of nowhere, with only enough food for a day, and see if he can find his way home. Hannah has kept his room intact and hopes the Brandt will give Thomas a reason to stay as she encourages Brandt, without Thomas’s knowledge, to form a love relationship.
Ostensibly, Thomas has returned to build bookshelves promised to his mother. Actually, he is searching through old texts reading his father’s writing and Bible notations hoping to understand his father’s death that may have been a suicide when Hannah was still pregnant. The schism between mother and son is not fully defined but Bunin builds some explosive verbal battles between the two that, to Thomas and some of the audience is infuriating when she spouts Biblical platitudes to defend God and her unshakeable beliefs.
Brandt’s beliefs in a benevolent God are strained as he watches his father whom he deeply loves slowly and painfully die from a brain tumor. His desire to have a meaningful homosexual relationship with Thomas is expressed with pathos knowing that Thomas’ wayward nature will not permit it. Brandt: “Once you sleep with someone you’re married.” Thomas: “I guess I’m a Mormon!”
No real chemistry is forthcoming between Deverman and Wagner even though the second act is replete with passionate kisses. Darragh’s quoting of the scriptures has the ring of a true believer. The title of the play is voiced by Brandt in the opening scene: May the Lord support us all the day long,
Till the shades lengthen and the evening comes
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
When Thomas has departed and Brandt’s father has died, Hannah is asked by Brandt to give the final benediction. After, asking the inevitable questions about the whereabouts of Thomas, the play ends as Hannah intones with finality, “Let us bury the dead.” We have been given an evening of questions about mothers, sons, God and gay love.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
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SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 2008 SEASON SCHEDULE:
AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER (A.C.T)
GEARY THEATER 2008 season:
415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
A.C.T. Ticket Services: 415.749.2228 or www.act-sf.org
MAN AND SUPERMAN: By George Bernard Shaw, Directed by Jonathan Moscone, July 4—29
THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE: By Pierre Marivaux, World Premiere Adaptation Written & Directed by Lillian Groag, Aug 8— Sep 2.
KING LEAR: By William Shakespeare, Directed by Lisa Peterson, Sep 19 — Oct 14.
CHICAGO
REVIEWS BY RUTH SMERLING
PLEASE NOTE: Ruth has certain Chicago Theatre reviews archived
She may be contacted by e-mail at the following address:
Reelgodess@aol.com
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