The Scottish Play

From its very first performance, several strange events have plagued Shakespeare's famous yet short play, Macbeth, a play that was supposedly written to please King James. It is said that practitioners of the black magic ritual depicted in Act 2 took exception to the exposure of their witchcraft and cast a spell on the play. There are instances of terrible consequences (or coincidences) which have befallen those connected with the play and it has become bad luck to even say the word “macbeth” in a theater, unless it is part of the script. There are complicated rituals involved with removing the curse should one forget and utter the word. Superstition is so strong that for many theater people, it is known simply as “The Scottish play,” to avoid saying the cursed word.

The cast of the UC Department of Theater and Dance’s current performance of the Scottish play must have been very diligent to limit their references to the title character to on-stage utterances, because there is nothing “bad luck” about this production, directed by MFA candidate Emily Davis, a production which ignores gender in the casting of the play (the majority of the roles are played by women) and concentrates instead on the best performances of its 15 person ensemble.

The Wyatt Pavilion does not lend itself easily to elaborate sets, but scenic designer Robert Broadfoot has worked miracles with twigs, giving one the sense of being in a forest. (He has designed a particularly interesting looking dining table and stools)

Costume Designer, Molly LeGoy, in conjunction with director Davis, has created an interesting look for the three witches. They appear at the start of the play, joined together to form a barren tree, their body suits show the bark of the tree, the branches are extensions of their fingers. Throughout the play, they break apart or come together, as the case warrants.

Art Grueneberger has added an interesting twist with “puppet elements” as part of the witches’ cauldron scene in Act 2.

Heading the cast are Paula Dawson as Macbeth and Ara Glenn-Johanson as Lady Macbeth (repeating a performance of the role she last did in the 5th grade).

Dawson has mastered the manly swagger, has a throaty voice, and she brings believability to the complexities of Macbeth’s personality, at the same time hungry for power, and wracked with guilt over what he does to obtain it. We watch Macbeth’s rapid transformation from an opportunist to someone who has destroyed himself and everything around him in his quest for power.

Glenn-Johanson is simply marvelous as Lady Macbeth, from the moment she reads her husband’s letter hinting at future greatness based on the prophesies of the three witches. She knows how to push her husband to grab the crown, and how to help him deal with what he must do to get it. “Leave the rest to me,” she tells her husband, taking charge of the plans for what must occur. We later watch her descent into madness as she comes to the realization that crime really doesn’t pay.

Travis Dukelow is a regal and likeable Duncan, who will meet a tragic end. Dukelow also appears in 3 other roles.

Sarah Cohen has an appropriate princely bearing as Malcolm, especially at the conclusion of the play when Malcolm assumes the crown following the death of Madbeth.

Jon Carlo Blumwald wields a mean sword, especially as he slays Macbeth.

All of the swordplay is quite realistic, thanks to the fight choreography of Gregory Hoffman, and the cast wield their huge, heavy swords expertly. The fight scenes make the most use of all of the stage and ramp areas of Wyatt Pavilion to good effect.

JT Reece offers comic relief as the Porter, clowning with members of the audience (even a dense reviewer who didn’t realize she was being asked to tie his shoe for him).

Andrea Guidry is particularly good as Lennox, and Franchesca Jimenez is a sensitive Banquo.

Shefali Nagrani has two small roles, as a gentlewoman and as Fleance and yet she makes an impact whenever she is on the stage.

This Macbeth is one worth checking out. It is a tale told in a manner which will appeal to both the die-hard Bard afficionados and yet not so stylized or esoteric that it becomes difficult for the neophyte to enjoy.

Night

Oprah's pick for book of the month is Elie Wiesel's "Night," (which is not likely to be outed as untrue, unlike Frey's "A Million Little Pieces.")

As with Frey's book, this was presented as a page turner, something that everyone needed to read, something so shocking it would hold your attention to the end, something that would change your life.

I have always felt that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, then I am a recycled concentration camp occupant. The problem is that I don't know if I would have been a former prisoner, or guard. I have always fantasized that I must have been a prisoner ('cause I'm a good guy and can't imagine torturing people, even in a former life), but there is a part of me which has to accept that it might have been otherwise. But I have had a fascination for the Holocaust and stories of the Holocaust for as long as I can remember.

I suspect that the "shock" value of this book is more for people who perhaps have not thought or read much about the Holocaust. To read with brutal honesty what happened to human beings -- men, women and children -- in our world, in our lifetime (well, my lifetime anyway) is gut-wrenching.

"Night" tells in painful detail the story of Wiesel's life as an adolescent in a small village in Romania, living with his family, studying his religion and hearing tales of the approaching Nazi troops. We watch the family torn apart, shoved into boxcars and arriving at Auschwitz, where he sees his mother and sister for the last time, not knowing it was the last time.

The story follows the struggle of the young man and his father to stay alive, in Auschwitz, Buna, Buchenwald and Gleiwitz. It recounts the father's ultimate loss of his life, literally days before the camps were liberated. The book also tells of Wiesel's survivor guilt, being the only one in his family to have come out alive.

This book started Elie Wiesel's lifelong project to bear witness for those who died, stating that "to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all" (a message which rings as true today as it did then). His passion for bearing witness earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

"Night" is, indeed, a gripping story, and mirrors so many other similar horror stories.

Let us remember, let us remember the heroes of Warsaw, the martyrs of Treblinka, the children of Auschwitz. They fought alone, they suffered alone, they lived alone, but they did not die alone, for something in all of us died with them.

Relatively Speaking

When you find you are still giggling about aspects of a show you’ve seen in Sacramento as you drive into your carport in Davis, you know that this was a fun show.

Davis’ Peter Mohrmann has directed “Relatively Speaking,” one of prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s earlier works for Capital Stage, on the Delta King, and he had ‘em rolling in the aisles throughout most of this face-paced two-act farce.

Ayckbourn explains that he wrote this play originally in 1965 following a request for a play “which would make people laugh when their seaside summer holidays were spoiled by the rain and they came into the theater to get dry.” As this play became Ayckbourn’s first really big hit, and remains popular small theater fodder today, he obviously was wildly successful in accomplishing this task.

There is little of substance here, but anyone who appreciates the fast pace and wry delivery of British humor will eat it up.

As the play opens, Gregory (the impossibly tall Gillen Morrison, who has one of the most expressive faces I’ve ever seen) is waking up in the apartment of Ginny (the delightful Heather Brooks), with whom he has been in a relationship for the past month. This is a first for Gregory, and definitely not a first for Heather.

Gregory is too smitten to care about the obvious signs that Heather has a few secrets and begs her to marry him. He seems unconcerned about the bouquets of flowers, the chocolates hiding in the bureau, the mysterious phone calls, and the men’s slippers he finds under her bed.

Ginny won’t give him an answer to his proposal, and he takes her at her word when she declares she must be off on a quick trip to visit her parents, but can’t invite him along because it would upset her mother if she brought someone home unexpectedly.

In reality Ginny is off to the home of her employer/lover Phillip (a blustery, red-faced Loren Taylor) and his wife Sheila (the delightfully clueless Gail Dartez, whose performances was very much reminiscent of a British Gracie Allen). There is some business about some love letters that Ginny needs to straighten out with Philip, but of course before that can happen, madness and mayhem ensue.

Ginny misses her train and Gregory, who is determined to meet her parents and convince both Ginny and her parents that he is perfect husband material has decided to surprise her by accompanying her “home.” Gregory arrives at the house first, to the surprise of Phillip and Sheila, who can’t quite figure out who he is. The dialog is filled with the typical misunderstanding, miscommunication, and double entendre that lead to all sorts of revolving ideas of who is what and to whom.

By the time Ginny finally shows up, Phillip is convinced that Gregory is his wife’s lover, Sheila is convinced that Gregory is there to speak with Phillip about some mysterious bit of business, and Gregory is convinced that Sheila and Phillip are Ginny’s parents.

There is the usual farcical use of entrances and exits to keep the misunderstandings intact, which become more complicated when Ginny herself shows up, astonished to find that Sheila is expecting her and is encouraging her to marry “him” (which Ginny, of course, takes to mean that Sheila knows of and approves her relationship with Phillip).

The end is predictable and at the same time surprising.

Mohrmann has deftly directed an engaging farce, with a pace that never stops, and a humor that keeps audiences laughing throughout.

Set design is by Jonthan Williams, whose rather plain (if messy) apartment for Ginny converts before our very eyes (thanks to David Ott and Tasha Strickland) into a lovely British garden, the pride of gardener Phillip.

Lighting design is by Jordan Burkholder. One might quibble with the fact that Gregory and Ginny keep running into a darkened kitchen in the first scene to make tea, but it’s a very small point.

Costume designer Nancy Pipkin has nicely recreated the feel of the 1960s with Ginny’s mini skirted dress, her thigh-hugging boots, and the pin-on beehive hair piece.

I have long been an unabashed Ayckbourn fan and it is delightful to see his work on the local stage, and handled so adroitly by Mohrmann and his talented cast. In its first appearance on the British stage, “Relatively Speaking” was deemed “deliciously heady,” “a near miracle,” and provoking “the proverbial gales of laughter.” It’s nice to see that 40 years have not dimmed its appeal.

Little Shop of Horrors

Bigger is not necessarily better, as anyone will learn who takes in “Little Shop of Horrors,” the current touring Broadway production at the Sacramento Community Theater, and watches the plant, Audrey II, begin to grow to gargantuan proportions.

Based on the Roger Corman 1960 film of the same name, the musical, with book and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, had its world premiere off Broadway in 1982, where it ran for more than 2200 performances. The musical music version, starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin was produced in 1986 and in 2003, “Little Shop of Horrors” hit the big time with a real on-Broadway production.

The current production under the direction of Jerry Zaks shows the difference between a small theater off Broadway production and a splashy on Broadway one. Everything seems “bigger.” The choreography (by Kathleen Marshall) seems tighter, the performances broader, and skid row is glitzier (if possible) than ever.

The opening trio, Chiffon (Iris Burruss), Crystal (Badia Farha) and Ronnette (Latonya Holmes) are high school drop outs who hang around the buildings near Mushnik’s flower shop and act as a kind of “Greek chorus,” filling in the gaps in the story, and reminding us the unfolding emotions. Burruss, Farha and Holmes are each outstanding, and each gets her own chance to shine in solo bits.

Joe Farrell is Seymour Krelborn, the hero of the story, a clumsy, young man with a Dickensian upbringing, an orphan who had been taken in by Mr. Mushnik (Darin DePaul), the owner of a failing skid row flower shop, who let him sleep on the floor behind the desk and sweep up. But Seymour has a couple of secrets. He is hiding his love for the sweet, if a bit ditsy shop girl, Audrey (Liz Pearce), and he has been tending a strange and wonderful plant he picked up at an open air market. He feels he has discovered a new species and, in honor of the girl of his dreams, has named the plant Audrey II.

Unbeknownst to Seymour, Audrey II is actually a creature from outer space, with a taste for human blood, and its own nefarious plans for world domination. Seymour is the perfect foil.

The spectacular Audrey II puppet was designed by the Jim Henson Workshop and manipulated by Michael Latini, Marc Petrosino, and Anthony Asbury (who is credited in the program as its “midwife.”). Michael James Leslie gives Audrey II a booming voice, and also appears as a derelict on the street in earlier scenes, as do the other manipulators.

As for the rest of the cast, it would be difficult to find a flaw. Farrell’s Seymour was perfectly nerdy, struggling with the desire for the recognition that owning Audrey is beginning to give and anguish over what he must do to get it.

Liz Pearce’s Audrey, mincing about on impossibly high heels, in skin-tight clothes she considers to be stylish is just right without being over the top (though being “over the top” is pretty much what this show is about). She has no self esteem because she considers herself a “woman with a past,” and so she allows herself to be manhandled by her sadistic leather-clad, gas-sniffing biker/dentist boyfriend (Daniel C. Levine, who also appears in several other roles, each with its own bad wig) because she feels that’s all she deserves.

Audrey sings a wistful song about what her dream of the perfect life would be, living in a small tract house in the suburbs, “somewhere that’s green.” The play is set in the 1960s and so the lyrics reflect that time, but it did occur to me that I wonder how long references to “Lucy” and “Howdy Doody” will resonate with the young people who are just discovering this musical.

Audrey and Seymour also sing the shows signature song, “Suddenly Seymour,” as they discover their mutual love, and as Audrey discovers that with “sweet understanding” she can learn to be “more the girl that’s inside of me.”

Darin De Paul’s Mushnik is outstanding. With a commanding stage presence, he gives the character the kind of life one would find in a vaudeville comedian.

As Audrey continues to grow, Seymour becomes the neighborhood star and begins to have all the things he dreams of -- a real father, a real girlfriend, fame, riches. Unfortunately, he learns all too soon the price he must pay to make his dreams come true and is faced with making painful decisions.

There is no great message in this show, unless it’s “if you find a strange plant which appears suddenly following a total eclipse of the sun, walk by and leave it alone.” But this musical is fun for the whole family.

The Puppetry of the Penis

All those years growing up, I'm sure that when Simon Morley and Dan Lewry began to play with their "dangly bits," their mothers slapped their hands and told them that it was naughty to play with themselves.

Shows how much you know, Mom.

The two men have taken "playing with yourself" to new heights in what may be the most unique night of theatre one has ever witnessed, The Puppetry of the Penis, now playing at the Crest Threatre through February 15.

The Puppetry of the Penis is described as "the ancient Australian Art of Genital Origami." There's not a lot to do in the Outback, I guess!

The show was conceived and created by David Friend and Simon Morley and was the only New York off-Broadway hit of the 2001-2002 season. It has played sold out engagements in London's West End, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and all across Australia and Canada. The show recently made headlines with its Northern California premiere in October at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square.

If you didn't know that the show was being presented at the Crest, you'd have been hard pressed to get that information from the look of the theatre itself. The marquee blazes the name of movies, and there are no posters or signs which indicate what's really going on inside, except a small sign, with small print indicating where one can pick up tickets to the show.

It's also not your typical theatre crowd. We were by far the oldest in the audience. We come from an era where Lucy and Desi couldn't sleep in the same bed on television and couldn't say the word "pregnant" when she was. Look how far we've come--now we get the full monty on stage and newspapers like The Enterprise send reviewers to report on it.

It's a whole new world.

The show opens with a very funny Latina comedienne, Debbi Gutierrez, who is introduced as their "favorite fluffer." The lady is talented and has an instant bond with any woman in the audience who has raised children. She could easily have carried the show herself, but after half an hour, she broke for intermission (to allow the audience to get some popcorn and settle down for the main event).

Morley and Lewry make their entrance wrapped in velvet cloaks, presumably to give the audience chance to adjust to what was about to...uh...unfold. A cameraman is positioned under the stage so that he can do closeups of the...uh..."installations" and flash them up close and personal on an overhead screen so that everyone in the back of the house can see every minute detail.

And then the capes came off and the men got down to business.

I have to admit that for the first few tricks I was semi shell-shocked. I mean, I KNEW I was going to watch nekkid Aussies play with The Land Down Under, but there's a big gap between knowing you're going to see something and then actually seeing it.

Yes, we were looking at male sex organs in almost microscopic detail. Yes, some of the jokes were about sex. But even you know what? The show wasn't coming from a sexual place at all.

Remember when you were little and you used to wash your hair in the bathtub? Remember the goofy fun you used to have pressing your hair into silly shapes? Well, that's the place this show comes from. Only instead of shaping hair, two very charming and funny men shaped their You Know Whats into kangaroos, windsurfers, turtles even the Eiffel Tower! One never would have guessed the endless possibilities. (I definitely will never look at Kentucky fried chicken or hamburgers in quite the same way again.)

Despite the versatility--and the inventive things one can do with eight flaccid inches, it does get a tad repetitive after awhile. A judicious...uh...cutting might have tightened it up a bit.

Still, it's silly, innocent fun and definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.

When it was all over the guys went out into the lobby to autograph copies of the book of photographs which were sold at the souvenir stand. I hardly recognized them with their pants on. I passed by one guy who had just spoken with Simon and was walking away saying "I'll never wash this hand again...."

I dunno...if I'd just shaken hands with a guy who'd been playing with himself for an hour, I think the first thing I'd do was to go wash my hands!

Puppetry of the Penis

All those years growing up, I'm sure that when Simon Morley and Dan Lewry began to play with their "dangly bits," their mothers slapped their hands and told them that it was naughty to play with themselves.

Shows how much you know, Mom.

The two men have taken "playing with yourself" to new heights in what may be the most unique night of theatre one has ever witnessed, The Puppetry of the Penis, now playing at the Crest Threatre through February 15.

The Puppetry of the Penis is described as "the ancient Australian Art of Genital Origami." There's not a lot to do in the Outback, I guess!

The show was conceived and created by David Friend and Simon Morley and was the only New York off-Broadway hit of the 2001-2002 season. It has played sold out engagements in London's West End, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and all across Australia and Canada. The show recently made headlines with its Northern California premiere in October at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square.

If you didn't know that the show was being presented at the Crest, you'd have been hard pressed to get that information from the look of the theatre itself. The marquee blazes the name of movies, and there are no posters or signs which indicate what's really going on inside, except a small sign, with small print indicating where one can pick up tickets to the show.

It's also not your typical theatre crowd. We were by far the oldest in the audience. We come from an era where Lucy and Desi couldn't sleep in the same bed on television and couldn't say the word "pregnant" when she was. Look how far we've come--now we get the full monty on stage and newspapers like The Enterprise send reviewers to report on it.

It's a whole new world.

The show opens with a very funny Latina comedienne, Debbi Gutierrez, who is introduced as their "favorite fluffer." The lady is talented and has an instant bond with any woman in the audience who has raised children. She could easily have carried the show herself, but after half an hour, she broke for intermission (to allow the audience to get some popcorn and settle down for the main event).

Morley and Lewry make their entrance wrapped in velvet cloaks, presumably to give the audience chance to adjust to what was about to...uh...unfold. A cameraman is positioned under the stage so that he can do closeups of the...uh..."installations" and flash them up close and personal on an overhead screen so that everyone in the back of the house can see every minute detail.

And then the capes came off and the men got down to business.

I have to admit that for the first few tricks I was semi shell-shocked. I mean, I KNEW I was going to watch nekkid Aussies play with The Land Down Under, but there's a big gap between knowing you're going to see something and then actually seeing it.

Yes, we were looking at male sex organs in almost microscopic detail. Yes, some of the jokes were about sex. But you know what? The show wasn't coming from a sexual place at all.

Remember when you were little and you used to wash your hair in the bathtub? Remember the goofy fun you used to have pressing your hair into silly shapes? Well, that's the place this show comes from. Only instead of shaping hair, two very charming and funny men shaped their You Know Whats into kangaroos, windsurfers, turtles even the Eiffel Tower! One never would have guessed the endless possibilities. (I definitely will never look at Kentucky fried chicken or hamburgers in quite the same way again.)

Despite the versatility--and the inventive things one can do with eight flaccid inches, it does get a tad repetitive after awhile. A judicious...uh...cutting might have tightened it up a bit.

Still, it's silly, innocent fun and definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.

When it was all over the guys went out into the lobby to autograph copies of the book of photographs which were sold at the souvenir stand. I hardly recognized them with their pants on. I passed by one guy who had just spoken with Simon and was walking away saying "I'll never wash this hand again...."

I dunno...if I'd just shaken hands with a guy who'd been playing with himself for an hour, I think the first thing I'd do was to go wash my hands!

Stars: 4

Wait Until Dark

The problem with Frederick Knott’s 1966 suspense thriller, “Wait Until Dark” is...well...Frederick Knott’s 1966 suspense thriller, “Wait Until Dark.” I’ll just come right out and say it: it’s a dumb plot that tries to be suspenseful and has a brief truly somewhat scary moment, but mostly leaves you scratching your head and wondering--why??

The cast of the Woodland Opera House production, under the direction of Dean Shellenberger, tries to make it all work but the slow pace and occasional muffled diction make it a struggle.

The action is set in a basement apartment in Greenwich Village. That’s New York, you know. The big, bad city. Why then, do the residents of said apartment go out for the day, leaving the front door unlocked. All you have to do is look at any movie or TV show to know that if you live in New York, you have all sorts of locks on your doors.

But the play starts with Mike Talman (David Campfield) opening the door to this deserted apartment and stepping inside. It seems that Mike has received a mysterious call from a total stranger asking him to meet in this apartment, which, he is promised, will be unlocked, and he will earn big bucks.

As Mike creeps around the darkened apartment, the door opens again and the large, imposing shape of Sgt. Carlino (Shawn O’Neal) is silhouetted in the door, and then he, too, begins creeping around.

It turns out that the two guys (both of whom are ex-cons, of course--the names have been made up for them) have been called by Harry Roat, Jr. (Scott Devine) (the “Jr.” is important because later on he also becomes Harry Roat, Sr.), who knows neither of them OR the residents of the apartment (so we’re still not clear on why the occupants leave the door unlocked) to do a job.

It seems that there’s this drug dealer who is smuggling drugs in from Canada. They are sewn inside the back of a doll and to avoid detection, she ends up handing the doll to a total stranger and says that it’s a gift for someone in the hospital. The drug dealer gets killed and Roat (Jr. or Sr.) is going to pay thousands of dollars to the two ex-cons if they can somehow find the doll, which must be hidden somewhere in the apartment.

(Parenthetically I must add that I have no expertise in drug trafficking, but heroin must be very expensive if such a small doll can be worth such a big fortune.)

The occupants of the apartment are Sam (Dan Featherston) and Susy (Kristine David) Hendrix. Sam is a photographer and Susy was in an auto accident recently and was blinded, so she’s still trying to learn how to get along on her own, though she has assistance from a neighbor girl, Gloria (Sarah Yablon).

On the day in question, Sam has gone to his photo studio on a made-up job, which the bad guys have concocted to get him out of the apartment and Susy, for some unexplainable reason, has gone to a movie (which turns out to be in Swedish, so she could neither see nor understand it).

Rather than use strong-arm tactics on Susy to get the doll back, which would seem the logical way to go, the three devise a complicated scenario which involves role playing and signals sent by way of Venetian blinds and fake murders. It is all intended, of course, to build a sense of dread and suspense, but you’re too busy trying to figure out what the heck is going on to be very frightened.

There are also just downright stupid plot elements, like pouring gasoline all over the apartment and then using matches to illuminate the dark.

The whole thing is a muddle, though it is a tour de force for WOH newcomer, Kristine David, who does a wonderful job as the blind Susy.

Matt Dahlberg rounds out the small cast in a very brief appearance as a policeman.

Doug Keowen has designed the good looking set and Jeff Kean’s lighting design is crucial to creating atmosphere throughout the play and these may be the best parts of the whole production.

With Joy Abiding

“Is G&S passé?” Dr. Robert Cello was asked in 1973. “Come on,” he snorted, eyes flashing. “Gilbert and Sullivan is timeless; it’s political satire at its best.”

The first production for the newly formed Davis Comic Opera Company was a potpourri at Wyatt Pavilion. There was a “Mini Mikado,” a full length “Trial by Jury” and “an assemblage of songs, dances, madrigals, heroines, heroes, and other persons from lesser and better known G&S operettas.”

Violinist Judy Riggs was in the orchestra for that first production, under the musical direction of Richard Brunelle. Little did she know then that she would play in every DCOC production for the next 33 years. “It was a good way for me to keep my music going,” she said, modestly.

The production was directed by Cello, with a cast of performers and musicians whose names continued to grace DCOC programs for years to come, and read like a “who’s who”of Davis musical theater history: Dick Walters, Ivan Sandoval, Stephen Peithman, Amy Patten, Martha Dickman, Barbara Slemmons, Cappy Stewart, Malcolm McKenzie, Dorothy West...some 50 or so performers and technicians eager to present the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Cello was obviously right. The town took the fledgling company to its heart and the initial show played to sell-out houses, despite the oppressive summer heat in the Wyatt Pavilion.

The company readied its second production, “Ruddygore,” for the opening festivities of the newly built Veterans Memorial Theater, which would remain DCOC’s permanent home. The portraits of “ancestors” used in the second act were actual portraits of the actors who played the roles. (Jim Hutchinson still has his hanging in his home.)

By the time the 1975 season opened, with the first production of “Yeomen of the Guard,” Bob Cello had gone on sabbatical leave and in his place Barbara Slemmons took over as director, and with Richard Brunelle on stage as Jack Point, musical direction was handled by Dan Parsons. The monumental 4-level castle, designed by the late David Wagner was the most ambitious to date. Again, the production garnered rave reviews, and the reputation of the young company seemed to be established.

Over its 33 year history, the Davis Comic Opera Company presented all 12 of the commonly produced Gilbert & Sullivan works and introduced the town to some 14 other period operettas, as well as two originally written works by Stephen Peithman and Bev Sykes. More than 50 shows in all.

The 1991 “Iolanthe,” directed by Charlotte French, with musical direction by Frederick Lange, was a high point for Stephen Peithman. It was a new way to look at an old favorite, being presented as if by a traveling theater company. Scenic designer Fred Forester built a set inside a huge crate, sitting on a bare stage. “Suddenly the overture began, guys came out and opened the crate and it was like a popup book. That was a magical moment,” Peithman recalled.

“Iolanthe” was not the first show to give an innovative look to an old favorite. Dan Kryston directed the 1978 “Princess Ida” (with musical direction by Carl Naluai) as a cartoonesque fairy tale, which offered opportunity for the most outrageous buffoonery in the company’s then-six year history. The sets by Richard Rose and costumes by Charlotte French could not have been more over the top. Malcolm McKenzie was a jovial, pot bellied King Hildebrand and Ida’s brother Arac, played by Henry Teichert, was described as “a tin soldier of a Kewpie doll.”

French also liked the 1993 production of “Mikado,” she directed, with Ralph Netz in the title role and Peter Shack playing Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. She recalled that Shack’s young son cried because he “didn’t want Daddy to marry that witch woman.” (Lenore (Turner) Heinson, as Katisha)

A Martha Dickman favorite moment was professor/actor/director/singer Harry Johnson’s performance in the 1992 production of “Tintypes,” with a cast of five representing several well-known historical figures of the era from 1897 to the first World War. Directed by Stephen Peithman with musical direction by Patricia Lange, this was a show whose talented cast included three directors and four choreographers.

“I loved ‘Naughty Marietta,’” said Craig Morphis. “It was directed by Steve Peithman and what a fabulous cast, with Martin Beal and Anna Vikre, but it was so old fashioned nobody came to see it.”

“I liked it when we stretched ourselves,” said Peithman. “There was a lot of concern about doing Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” (which Peithman directed), for example, but we did a magnficent job. I was so proud!” The 1981 production, with musical direction by Frederick Lang, set design by Ed Nordsrom and costume design by Charlotte French, is still considered one of the all-time favorite productions.

Jim Hutchinson’s personal favorites are shows where he had the opportunity to step into the spotlight, as Sir Joseph in “Pinafore” and as John Wellington Wells in “The Sorcerer.”

Walt Sykes remembers the time an owl got into the theater and settled in the flies, and the audience was confused by the feathers floating down onto the stage during Act 1.

What may have been the scariest moment in DCOC history occurred during the 10th anniversary show. A storm caused the drains to back up. Water came in through the loading dock of the Veterans Memorial Theater, across the stage and down into the orchestra pit, where there was a lot of electrical equipment. Everyone mopped and swept and bailed. Curtain time was 12 minutes late.

In a 1974 interview, Bob Cello indicated plans of growth for the fledgling company, and expressed hope to expand to works by other composers as well.

If Cello could be here as DCOC looks back on its 33 year history, he’d be quite proud of this baby he birthed back in 1973.

Dry the Glist'ning Tear

I was loading groceries into my car when Sian Bianco stopped to tell me that the Davis Comic Opera Company was calling it quits.

DCOC, which was founded the year we moved to Davis, had been a part of our lives for more than 30 years. I had been its publicist for many years. My husband has been the technical director for more than twenty years. Our daughter was the set designer for one show. Now, seemingly out of nowhere, I learned that the company was about to be dissolved.

“It was probably time,” said Jim Hutchinson, a founding member, who performed up to 2003. “We had a good run, but even good things have to end.”

“I feel very sad about it,” said Martha Dickman, founding member, and producer for more than 25 years, “but we are losing people who understand and know what comic opera is.”

“I have to accept that there is no longer an audience for something that I love so much,” added Craig Morphis, who made his debut in 1986 as the Pirate King in “Pirates of Penzance.” “I love Gilbert and Sullivan. It’s incredibly clever and funny. It kills me that there just aren’t enough people who enjoy it to make a go of it any more.”

“It is a specialized type of theater,” agrees actor/musical director Roy Spicer. “It’s not comic, as in ‘ha-ha funny.’ Most younger people say ‘Gilbert and Sullivan--who?’ The world’s view of humor has changed.”

Bianco noted lower ticket sales, rising production costs, and increasing competition from newer theater companies. “It’s all about money and time and competing against iPods, DVDs, playstations and other theaters,” he said.

It wasn’t like that in 1972, when the late Dr. Robert Cello, head of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital met with cast members from a Davis Art Center production of “Fiddler on the Roof” and proposed forming a company to perform the works of Gilbert & Sullivan.

“We were almost the only game in town and it was fun” said Dickman. “We had the backing of the community then,” she added.

The City of Davis provided $500 in seed money. (The company returned the money a year later as its contribution toward improving lighting at the Veterans Memorial Theater.)

Performer, director, writer and founding member Stephen Peithman noted that there weren’t many musical theater groups in the greater Sacramento area in 1972. “We pulled in audiences not only from Davis but from Sacramento as well. We had a huge audience and a huge number of people involved.”

Many members lived in Davis and worked at the university, so could arrange their schedules to do community outreach, give free performances in the parks, participate at events like Picnic Day, visit schools, etc.

There was also a continuity of contact. DCOC produced two shows a year. Subscribers could set their calendars by that schedule. A newsletter (“The Basingstoke Bugle”) was published regularly, informing company and audience alike of upcoming events, performer news, and behind the scenes stories. The champagne gala, with hors d’oeuvres made by company members, was the highlight of the theater season for many people.

Behind the scenes there were the little traditions that bonded the company.

There was Krade’s barn, out on Road 95, where sets were built and stored. It became the company “place,” which ceased to exist when Harry and Margaret Krade sold their farm and moved into town.

Cast parties, lasted long into the night, with people gathered around a piano to sing. Groups went Christmas caroling each December.

The tech crew held its own private party on stage, the second week of performance, when the pressure was off.

“(Costumer) Marinka Phaff would have all of the costume ladies to her house after a show,” recalls performer, director, choreographer and costumer Charlotte French. “She’d make borscht and bread in the shape of our initials.”

Cappy Stewart, who, with husband Doan, did props for all DCOC shows, became the “M&M lady,” with her bowl of candies backstage at all performances.

The company saw its share of romances and marriages, witnessed the birth of DCOC babies, and said goodbye to beloved members like Amy Patten, Carolyn Wyatt, Harry Krade, Susan Wershing, and Cello himself, among too many others.

Children of DCOC members grew up in the company. LuAnn Gruebele (now Higgs), daughter of keyboardist Pat Lange, joined the chorus for the first show as a young teen, and moved into leading roles. The MacKenzie children all appeared in productions, as did Leslie Walters (daughter of Richard and Shipley). Jeri Sykes designed the set for “Tintypes,” Colin Gordon and Don Matteson joined the tech crew. Greg, Diane and Cindy Wershing worked with mother Susan on lighting. Lee Riggs, who grew up ushering at shows that his parents, Ralph and Judy were in, joined the chorus and now serves on the board.

This sense of “family” was exactly what founder, Bob Cello had in mind. In a 1973 interview, he stated, “You have to have a family feeling in a theater company, with everybody needed, everybody important, from the actor to the publicity people to the ticket-taker.”

Many state that most of their close friendships today grew out of involvement with DCOC. “People became a family and are still there for each other as long term friends,” said Lee Riggs.

“DCOC has been not only a major part of my life but it’s why I’m in Davis,” added Stephen Peithman, who noted that without DCOC, “Stage Directions,” the national magazine for community theater, started by Susan Wershing, would never have been a reality.

Nancianne Pfister, who joined in 1976 as director’s assistant (“I didn’t even know what a director’s assistant was!”), a position she held for more than 25 years says, “There is no way that I could even begin to calculate how this company has enriched my life. I met all these incredibly talented, warm, wonderful, eccentric, crazy people. My kind of crowd.”

But change was inevitable. As the company’s reputation grew, actors came in from Sacramento, wanting to get on-stage experience. Most weren’t interested in becoming involved with the company beyond the show itself, and after a production or two, they moved on. DCOC began to lose that family feeling.

Finding a volunteer orchestra was easier in the early years, but when more opportunities arose for musicians to be paid by other venues, the company bit the bullet and began paying musicians. Bianco, who has been musical director as well as performer, notes that costs for the orchestra alone went from zero to $7,000 per show, at a time when audience attendance was beginning to decline. River City Bank stepped in with orchestral sponsorship, but it wasn’t enough.

There were still big money makers, HalWright, vice president, insists. He recalls the 2002 “Mikado,” directed by Gil Sebastian, which was a sellout.

“When Gil brought in Musical Director Kern Holoman and his university orchestra, that was the epitome of what true community theater was about,” said Lenore Sebastian. (“That’s also what led to DCOC being involved with ‘HMS Pinafore’ at the Mondavi Center,” she added.)

Morphis admitted that the “Pirates of Penzance” he directed in 2003 made more money than any show in the previous 10 years.

“This was a hard decision for the board, and not a happy one,” said Riggs. “but I think in the long run, it was the right decision.”

There is talk of a final show, or a potpourri, or perhaps just a party, but there is no set plan. “We don’t want to see DCOC go out with a whimper,” stated Sebastian, emphatically.

There are hints of another company rising out of the ashes, but nothing definite. The one certainty is that the Davis Comic Opera Company will cease to exist on June 1, 2006.

“I have no regrets,” says Peithman. “There is a lifespan for everything. We had a good run. We did high quality work and created a family that still exists, but nothing is forever. There is sadness in something ending, but we keep the good memory of what we were able to accomplish.”

And the Dream Goes On

Every January, the California Musical Theater presents the Martin Luther King, Jr. Theater Project, free to the public. The production is produced in association with the California State University Sacramento’s Department of Theater and Dance and Celebration Arts.

This year’s production, “And the Dream Goes On,” is the culmination of work, which began with the 2002 “Keeping the Dream Alive.” The creative team of Anthony D’Juan and Lisa Tarrer-Lacy (book), and the Rev. Charles Cooper (music and lyrics) found their efforts fueled by passion, and a firm belief that they were obligated to pass on the legacy of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement to today’s youth.

They found inspiration in a quote by author Alice Walker: “To acknowledge our ancestors is to acknowledge that history did not begin with us.” Tarrer-Lacy explains, “In light of the 2005 passing of such great African American heroes and artists as Rosa Parks, John H. Johnson, Ossie Davis and August Wilson, I believe it is even more urgent for us to reach beyond today, remember the lessons learned, and make every effort to create a brighter, peace-filled tomorrow. For it is in remembering that we breathe life into the stillness of our ancestors and once more give voice to their struggles, dreams and achievements.”

“And the Dream Goes On” is at once a musical revue, a political statement, and a good ol’ revival meeting, with a heavy dose of history thrown in to hold it all together.

The central characters are a trio of men, each representing a different generation and different perspective. The Dream Guide (Derrick A. Miller reprising the spectacular job he did last year), is given the mission to pass on the legacy of Dr. King to Chuck Temper (Stephen Lamar, in his first production with CMT), an angry young man whose life centers around his “homies” (Robert Joseph Andrews and Thomas Wright). Chuck seems to feel the world owes him a living and he is drifting through life without any real direction. Both Chuck and The Dream Guide battle internally as they try to discover and fulfill their intertwined destinies. The Janitor (the incomparable Bill Miller) becomes the voice of wisdom who helps The Dream Guide and Chuck Temper find a way to connect

Outstanding moments take place in the “Museum of Living History,” where heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, sung and unsung, speak their piece. In the very moving finale to Act 1, Kenna Wright, a vision of innocence in white, with large, luminous eyes, clutching a teddy bear, sings “God Knows What’s Best for Me,” speculating on the possibilities ahead of her, minutes before she becomes victim of the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

At the start of Act 2, Elaine Lenae Douglas, with dancers Venetia James, Misty Kline, and Sharen Moseby, portrays an elderly woman who participated in the bus boycott in Mississippi.

Albert (Noah Hayes) speaks out for interracial marriage, stating “If you forbid me to love, then you forbid me to live.”

Bill Miller and dancer Pepper Von give voice and vision to the pride in being an African American Man, in the show-stopping “I Am A Man.”

Mary Cobb, who many years ago graced the Davis stages for the Davis Comic Opera Company and the Davis Players, appears as Grace Lorch, telling the story (“On that Fateful Day”) of a white woman who stood up to an angry mob in Little Rock to protect Elizabeth Eckford (Shelandra Gross) who was attempting to enter the all-white school. Gross then sings the emotional “I’m Determined to Change,” expressing hope for her own future and for the future of African American children to come.

Quintina Kinsey gives rousing voice to “The Legacy,” as Chuck comes to realize that he a responsibility to those who went before him, and finds pride in the accomplishments of his forefathers and mothers.

Tarrer-Lacy feels that this works is more than just a play. “I see it as a vehicle for reflection, a call to remember how far we have come, and a reminder that our work isn’t complete. It is an acknowledgment that we are not the first to struggle against injustice and that we can stand proud knowing that we, too, possess the strength to overcome diversity.”

And the dream goes on.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

What a difference a theater makes.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is the first production to audition, rehearse and perform in the Davis Musical Theater Company’s new Hoblit Performing Arts Center, at 607 Pena Drive. Though the theater is still not completely “finished,” and though the smell of paint still permeates the nostrils, there is already a sense that production values for DMTC are on the rise.

For one thing, there are marvelous new programs, designed by Heather Sheridan and Dannette Vasser, with real photos and cast bios included, something I’ve been asking for for years.

For another thing, the set (designed by Director Michael Miiller) looks like something built for the theater, not something built to be moved in and out quickly in the last week before opening. There is a strong, sturdy back wall, with 12 inset stained glass windows, representing the 12 Tribes of Israel, and a large double door through which central characters make their appearance, as from a dream, on a cloud of smoke. And there is a marvelous kalaidoscope of colorful geometric shapes on the stage floor. Before the first notes of the overture float up from the new orchestra pit, the audience has a lovely visual to take in.

“Joseph” was never intended to become the runaway hit that it has become. It was a 20 minute throw-away piece, written in 1968 to be performed by a London school group. It was not until 1973 that it was expanded into a full West End production and has now broken box office records around the world. The Guinness Book of World Records lists “Joseph” as the longest running touring musical production.

This is a show which can easily be a full blown musical with all sorts of special effects, or something a bit more modest to suit the constraints of a community theater such as the Davis Musical Theater Company.

As the title suggests, this is the story of Joseph (Ryan Adame), favorite son of Jacob (Rich Kulmann) and his wife (Julie Kulmann) and the jealousy of his 12 brothers, which lead them to sell their brother into slavery and convince their father that he had been killed, only to have Joseph become, by a series of curious circumstances, the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. It is all told in a manner that was designed to entertain children. Bible stories lite.

“Joseph” cannot succeed without a strong narrator, who becomes both story-teller in the here and now and participant in the “back then” parts of the show. Andrea Eve Thorpe, last season’s Evita, handles the job masterfully and director Miiller has given her fun things to do. She looks beautiful, interacts delightfully with the children, and has that spark that makes you keep watching. It doesn’t hurt that she sings well too!

Ryan Adame as Joseph seemed to be having difficulty in spots getting the right key at the start of some of his songs, but he managed to get back on track handled the role well.

There is a small, but enthusiastic children’s chorus: Andrew Lampinen, Cass Olson, Lisa Parente, Rachel Pinto, Sara Pinto, Kaylynn Rothleder, Rebecca Rudy, Meghan Vanderford and the cute-as-a-button Linnea Lampinen, the youngest of the group.

Robert Coverdell, as brother Isaacher, does a wonderful rendition of the western hit, One More Angel in Heaven and has a striking on-stage presence, even when part of the ensemble.

Mike Jones was a commanding Pharoah, “The King.” His entrance lacked the pizzazz of the last time DMTC performed this musical, but he still made an impact and really got into his character.

Director Michael Miiller was also the show’s choreographer and created some nice visuals, particularly for the dancing wives, Marisa Casillas, Kris Farhood, Dian Hoel, Helen Spangler and Julia Spangler.

Jeannie Henderson outdid herself with the costumes, which ranged from blue sequined mini-skirts for the Egyptian wives to something so colorful and eclectic that it could have come from the costume shop of the old “Laugh-In” TV show.

As the cast took their bows and patrons began to leave the theater, perhaps a new DMTC tradition was born. Most of the audience gathered around the fence to the orchestra pit and stood there listening to what was almost an impromptu concert. The size of the crowd as they applauded at the conclusion seemed to be a surprise to conductor/keyboardist Eric Daniels.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat works well at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center and is a fun way to use all of the new DMTC toys to their best capacity.

Metamorphoses

When Acme Theater company says “limited seating” for its new production, Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, directed by Emily Henderson, they mean it.

The company has closed off all of the Veterans Memorial theater seating area and 80 chairs are placed around the perimeter of the stage, encircling a pool of water in, on, and around which all the action takes place. It may be the most unusual staging of an Acme show yet, though the pool is essential for this play and gives plenty of opportunity for water fights, boat rides, and floating dead bodies.

There are no credits for “set design” or for “lighting design,” though the set crew is headed by Anthony Pinto and the light crew by Zack Leuchars. The dramatic lighting was essential to creating the mood and was carried out beautifully. The smoke and steam was handled better than I’ve seen in a long time.

The printed program could have used some clarification and because I know that I’m not going to remember everyone who played each part (both because not all the parts are named, and because not all the character names are obvious), I will list the members of his excellent cast alphabetically in case I happen to leave anyone out in the review itself. Each plays several parts (and therein lies the confusion!)

Isaac Aldous, Camille Beaumont, Victoria Gimpelevich, Ernie Hernandez, Zack Leuchars, Alexandra n Moreno, Anthony Pinto, Tatiana Ray, Emily Tracy, Josh van Eyken, Celsiana Warwick and Dara Yazdani.

“Metamorphoses” is a 90 minute play which recounts several of the tales of Ovid, the overall message of which, I think, is “don’t go messing around with any gods.”

The show opens with the story of King Midas (Dara Yazdani, who just gets better and better with each production he does) who is granted one wish and foolishly (against the advice of the god Bacchus (Zack Leuchars)) wishes for everything he touches to turn to gold. Of course, he regrets his decision when his young daughter is turned to gold, and he sets off on a quest to find a way to reverse the wish.

In Alcyone & Ceyx, Ceyx (Isaac Aldous) sets out to sea against the pleas of his lover Alcyone (Celsiana Warwick). A sea voyage and a sea battle allow for lots of splashing about in the pool and dead bodies floating on the water. The tale does not exactly have a tragic ending, however, as the lovers are turned into sea birds and fly off to spend all eternity together.

Perhaps the high point of the show is the delightful Phaeton, with Ernie Hernandez as the son of Apollo and a mortal woman. This family has definitely put the “fun” in dysfunctional. Phaeton is meeting with his psychiatrist talking about how hard it is to convince all the other kids that his Dad is really the sun god. He talks Daddy out of the car keys and takes off with his car...with disastrous results. Hernandez is delightful, proving that young gods can be just as petulant and whiney as young humans.

Special note should be made of Anthony Pinto (as “Zeus and others”), who is always outstanding and of Victoria Gimpelevich, who has several of the smaller roles and stands out in each of her scenes (she also wields a mean squeegee).

The final story of Baucis and Philemon, a humble couple with more charity in their hearts than any of their richer neighbors, ends with a beautiful scene of floating of candles on the surface of the pool, and very nicely brings the whole collection full circle.

With Emily Henderson at the helm as director, the transition from Acme founder Dave Burmester to the next generation is well in hand. Henderson could learn a bit about directing for theater in the round. I missed the entire brief tale of Pandora because all the action was directed to the opposite side of the stage and I could barely see the box, much less what was going on, but even some of the local long-term directors in the form have difficulty with theater in the round, so she’s in good company. For the most part, the direction was expertly done, and Acme’s reins are in good hands.