Peter Pan

When Cathy Rigby and husband, producer Tom McCoy, brought their “Peter Pan” to the Community Center stage in 2004, it was billed as Rigby’s “farewell tour,” so it was somewhat of a surprise to see her returning in 2012 with another production of “Peter Pan.” But hey — if you can still do such an iconic role, why not?

In truth, the production, directed again by Glenn Casale, is spectacular, and Rigby is spectacular in it. Her flying through the air, across the stage and out over the audience, doing all sorts of twists and turns and flips high above the stage (choreographed by Paul Rubin) is perhaps not so unusual for an Olympic gold medalist, but have I mentioned that the actress is now 60 years old? (To compare, Mary Martin did her last “Peter Pan” at age 42)

But what I found even more impressive was her ability to step so effortlessly into the body and psyche of a young boy. She has the mannerisms, the constant motion, the endlessly curious hands which must pick up and examine everything, the swagger, the bravado, all the things parents of little boys will easily recognize (she herself is mother to four and grandmother to four). She literally inhabits the body of Peter Pan.

In fact, she seems almost younger than the three Darling children whom Peter takes with him to Neverland.

Krista Buccellato was almost more believable as the grown-up Wendy than the young girl Wendy (not surprising, as she has already earned her BFA), though she has a lovely voice and becomes “younger,” if possible as she attempts to mother the lost boys.

Oddly, Wendy’s two younger brothers are both played by girls, John by Lexy Baeza and Michael alternately by Sophie Sooter or Julia Massey. I saw 10-year-old Massey, who was fine, but not the cute little boy we are accustomed to seeing — certainly too old to be carrying a teddy bear. (Sooter is 8 and may be more size appropriate).

Kim Crosby is a nice, serene Mrs. Darling, fearful of leaving her children alone while she and her husband go to a party, because she thinks she has seen a boy at the window, and she is afraid he may harm her children.

The program lists Brent Barrett as Mr. Darling, though played by understudy Sam Zeller at the production I saw. The actor also plays Captain Hook and Zeller looked straight out of the Disney cartoon, visually perfect as the pirate trying to catch Peter Pan to make him pay for cutting off his hand, and tossing it to the crocodile, who has been chasing Hook ever since, trying to get the rest of him.

Nursemaid Nana (the dog) and the crocodile are both played by Clark Roberts who must have spent a long time studying both dogs and crocodiles to be able to bring both species to life so believably (thanks, of course, to costumes by Shigeru Yaji).

Choreographer Patti Colombo keeps the pace sprightly with a number of dance numbers, including a pirate tarantella and a pirate tango. It is interesting to note that the Indian dance, “Ugg-a-Wugg,” originally choreographed by Jerome Robbins, was felt to be insensitive to Native Americans and in need of revision. Colombo left the music unchanged, but completely redid the choreography to become a spirited dance sequence for the Lost Boys and the Indians, as they prepare to battle the pirates.

John Iacovelli, head of UC Davis’ MFA design program, designed the sets for this production, creating a luxurious nursery with its tall windows for the Darling nursery, Neverland’s island setting, mermaid lagoon and the cartoonesque Pirate ship.

The lighting design of Michael Gilliam included the all-important Tinker Bell effect, a ball-shaped light that bounced around the stage and hid out in the children’s doll house. Such personality did the light have that as it began to fade and Peter makes a plea to the children in the theater to believe in fairies, the applause was strong, and Tinker Bell was saved once again.

At the end of the evening, as Peter Pan flies overhead sprinkling the audience with fairy dust, you will believe that thinking good thoughts will help you fly, and you will believe in fairies and in a little boy who still, 100 years after his creation, has steadfastly refused to grow up.

The Bacchae

It’s a familiar tale. A child is born, supposedly the son of a god. His arrival flanked with revelers and worshipers brings forth a wave of religious fervor, song and adulation that threatens the city’s ruler and leads to chaos, blood and barbarism throughout the land. The god-man is persecuted; his followers ruthlessly suppressed. The story ends with the sacrifice of a son and the ultimate suffering of his mother.

Only this particular story, written by Euripides near the end of his life, happens centuries before the birth of Christ.

UC Davis Granada artist-in-residence Barry McGovern — known for his screen and stage roles in “Far and Away,” “Joe Versus the Volcano” and “Waiting for Godot” — directs Euripides’ classic “The Bacchae” at the UCD main stage, with original rock music, humor, dominatrixes and cheerleaders. A wickedly sexy Dionysus locks horns with King Pentheus in a violent power struggle between freedom and control.

McGovern’s vision of Euripides’ ancient Greek work, aided by Irish poet Derek Mahon’s translation, brings “The Bacchae” home to American audiences. His inspiration for Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry seeking vengeance on King Pentheus and the town of Thebes for denying his deity, was the larger-than-life rock stars of the 1970s and ‘80s. Dionysus commands every inch of the stage with his electric guitar and fierce sexuality à la Mick Jagger.

The play describes the battle between the Dynosian cult — enjoying the pleasures of the world, including wine, sexual love, music, dancing and the excitement of group emotion — and the Appollonian side of man’s nature — that which is rational and civilized, ordered and controlled, represented by Pentheus.

Bobby August Jr., as Dionysus, is a character you will long remember thanks to the outrageous and electric costumes of Dee Loree Silveira. August’s flamboyant personality matches the costumes and he puts his all into his role.

Mitchell Vanlandingham, as Pentheus, is an uptight little man, determined to tame the wild and unruly Dionysus. He gives a wonderful performance, until he is ripped to pieces by the Dionysian folks.

But if you’re looking for all this sexual love, wild dancing and bloody battles to play out on the stage, you may be disappointed, since most of the fun stuff takes place off stage and is then described in lengthy speeches by relevant characters on stage. This is not R-rated for sexual situations and violence, but rather PG-rated for suggestive language. (At one point I felt it was like watching an audiobook, but with cheerleaders.)

Even the “sex-crazed American cheerleaders” who make up the Bacchae are as erotic as a group you’d find on the football fields of Davis High. This is not to take away from the fine job done by the 17 women who make up the chorus. They provide a unified, beautifully vocally shaded chorus and add an interesting visual aspect to the stage, but the costumes are quite tame; you won’t see an undulating torso. While they are great fun to watch, “sex crazed” is not the right word to describe them.

Maria Candalaria gives a very moving, tender and memorable performance as Agave, mother of Pentheus, who moves from exaltation to shock to grief and finally resignation, all in one continuous scene as she confronts the reality of her son’s murder.

Cooper Wise is wise, as Teiresias, the old, blind visionary who argues with Pentheus, and he is comfortable with giving lengthy speeches.

Soldiers Amanda Vitiello and Lindsay Beamish are characters who deliver pivotal messages detailing offstage events.

Original music for this production is by McGovern and Dan Cato Wilson, which is more tuneful than “throbbing,” and even reminiscent in part of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Master of fine arts candidate Travis Kerr has created an impressive set, which is all the more impressive in its response to a Dionysus-caused earthquake.

Many in the opening-night audience were there as homework assignments for their classes, as witnessed by all those writing in notebooks furiously throughout the production. Perhaps the best review of all was given by two students sitting in front of me, who turned to each other at the end of the show, somewhat in surprise, and said, “Hey, that’s wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be!”

In fact, it was downright enjoyable.

A Christmas Carol

If you ever thought it would be fun to take your children or grandchildren to see Sacramento Theatre Company’s sumptuous production of “A Christmas Carol,” do it quickly. When this perennial favorite ends on Dec. 23, it will be going on hiatus for several years.

This sparkling new production, directed by Michael Laun, celebrates 25 years since the work was first commissioned for STC by Dennis Bigelow, who directed the first production. It has since been performed in several cities across the country.

With music by David deBerry and book adaptation by Richard Hellesen, this musical version of the Dickens classic includes a lot of Dickens’ original words, as the actors both narrate and perform seamlessly, while set pieces slide in, rotate and move out again. (Kudos to all the tech people who manage Scrooge’s bed so wonderfully!)

Greg Coffin modernized the music a few years ago, and has reorchestrated the soundtrack for this 25th anniversary production. (The orchestration is recorded; no live orchestra was used … but you’d never know it.)

In years past, I have complained about excessive stage fog and over-use of reverb on the microphones, and I was thrilled to find that neither of these is a problem and I found nothing whatever to grumble at.

The redoubtable Matt K. Miller, back from a tour performing in Greece, is making his fifth appearance as the ultimate Christmas grouch, Ebenezer Scrooge. I am an unabashed fan of Miller’s work and love how he balances the irascible temper of Scrooge with his rediscovered joy in being a child and a young man in love, and how his heart is awakened with feelings for both his nephew Fred (Scottie Woodard) and little Tiny Tim (played in this performance by Miller’s son, Max Miller, alternating in the role with Liam Nevin). Scrooge’s child-like glee at realizing he has not missed Christmas is particularly touching to watch.

Miller is surrounded by a host of first-rate actors, many of whom are products of STC’s Young Professional’s Conservatory.

Jerry Lee gave just the right touch of grisly remorse and dire warning to Scrooge, as his deceased partner, Jacob Marley.

Ninth-grader Courtney Shannon, in her third season with YPC, did a wonderful job as the Ghost of Christmas Past, steering Scrooge through many eras of his young life, where he sees himself as a child (Rion Romero, alternating with Cameron Stephens), an apprentice (Griffith Munn, alternating with Garrick Sigl), and a young man (Brian Watson, who definitely shows the beginnings of the cold, unfeeling Scrooge that he will become in later life). Shannon alternates in this role with Devon Hayakawa.

Could STC do this show without Michael R.J. Campbell as the ebullient Ghost of Christmas Present, whose good humor can take a sharp turn when addressing the problems of “ignorance” and “want” that Scrooge has chosen to ignore? Campbell also plays several other smaller roles, including the delightful Fezziwig, Scrooge’s first boss, kicking up his heels with his wife (Lindsay Grimes) and showing that you don’t have to spend great sums of money to make your employees feel good about their jobs.

The Cratchit family is well represented by Michael Jankinson as Bob, long-suffering clerk to Scrooge, who steadfastly maintains his good cheer despite poor working conditions, low wages, his large family and worry about Tiny Tim.

As Mrs. Cratchit, Miranda D. Lawson is a loving wife, who displays the ire against his unfeeling boss that Bob refuses to at this holiday season.

It is Tiny Tim who steals the show, however. At age 4, little Max Miller is as professional as any other actor on stage. He never stepped out of place, handled his braces and crutch expertly, knew all the words to all the songs, and recited his “God bless us, every one” in a clear voice that could be heard in the back of the house. Obviously, the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

Sacramento Theatre Company’s “A Christmas Carol” is a long-standing holiday favorite and this 25th anniversary production does it proud. It’s the Christmas show that everyone should see, at least once.

Inspecting Carol

There is only one way to describe “Inspecting Carol,” by Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Company, now playing at the Woodland Opera House: totally insane.

This farce, directed by Jeff Kean, and presented “with apologies to Charles Dickens,” is a mashup of “A Christmas Carol” and “Noises Off,” with a bit of “Waiting for Guffman” thrown in. It may be one of the funniest Christmas shows you will ever see.

The action takes place at the financially struggling Soapbox Theater Company, a nonprofit regional group that has been together for many years, so that all of the members know each other well and have endured the touchy egos, financial woes, backstage romances, physical ills, and all the things that go into groups of this nature. They are rehearsing for their 12th annual production of “A Christmas Carol.”

The group is peopled by the quirky actors you might find in any theater company of this kind (and, in fact, the play’s characters originally were based on the then-members of the Seattle Repertory Company).

There is “the star,” Larry (Mike Maples) who postures like a Barrymore, and continually rewrites the scripts to make them socially relevant, whether his changes may be relevant to the actual play itself.

There is the old couple, founding members, Sidney (Paul Greisen), now getting a bit dotty, and his wife Dorothy (Laure Olson), who is British and unable to lose her accent, though hilarious when she adopts a different one for her role in the show.

Phil (Alan Smuda) is the stalwart who takes on the reliable characters, though he is getting old now and suffering physical problems.

Luther (Cole Hein) is a young man who has been playing Tiny Tim for so long that he is now a tall, robust adolescent and causes problems for Phil’s ailing back when being carried.

Wanda (Nita Christi, who is sometimes identified as “Walter” in the program) is new to Soapbox Theater this year, in its attempt to diversify and add some “color” to the cast.

Onto the scene comes Wayne (Tim Gaffaney), a wannabe actor, hoping to audition for a role — any role — with a local theater company. Having been told by the stage manager M.J. (Melissa Dahlberg) that this is a “professional” company and that he must be a union member to audition, he lies to director Zorah (Patricia Glass) to get a foot in the door.

Zorah, prone to histrionics (she’s Lithuanian, you know) is having her own problems, having just been informed by the financial manager Kevin (Jake Hopkins) that the company is out of money and that the National Endowment for the Arts has threatened to withdraw its grant this year, pending a visit by an inspector to see if they really deserve it.

When it becomes obvious that Wayne is no actor, everyone assumes he is the NEA inspector, there incognito to spy on them. As a result, Wayne is hired and catered to, resulting in a burgeoning of his already inflated ego.

There is a lot of exposition that needs to go on in Act 1 and it does get a bit long, though there are very funny bits, like the company all warming up before the rehearsal that never quite happens. But the zany farce that is Act 2 more than makes it all worthwhile.

Act 2 is made up mostly of lengthy excerpts from the actual “Christmas Carol” production, but to try to explain it would, first of all, be impossible and, secondly, spoil the fun. Suffice it to say this is the funniest version of the Dickens classic you will ever see.

While fine performances are offered up by all of the cast (which is rounded out by Horacio Gonzalez as Bart, the stagehand and occasional actor, and Mary Dahlberg as Betty, the real NEA inspector), outstanding performances are given by Maples as the classic actor, Glass as the director and Olson as the eccentric Dorothy.

High marks to go set designer John Bowles and Denise Miles for her costume design, especially for Betty’s final costume.

“Inspecting Carol” runs through Dec. 23. Don’t miss it! Be aware that some language may not be appropriate for young children, but it’s probably nothing they don’t hear on TV every day.