Gutenberg! the Musical!

There’s a new sheriff in town. Or at least a new theater company. Bike City Theatre Company is a promising new group, whose goal is to bring new works — dramatic and comedic, as well as improv and sketch comedy — to Davis.

The first production, “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is a zany comedy that definitely delivers on the promise to bring comedic works to Davis.

“Gutenberg!” is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for more than a year, then transferred to The Actors’ Playhouse on Jan. 16, 2007. The production closed on May 6, 2007. It was nominated for four awards for book and music.

Bike City is not your usual company, as one discovers upon picking up tickets, where you learn that in keeping with their philosophy of saving the environment, there are no printed programs available. Either print your own from their website before coming to the theater, or you scan the QR code on the wall of the theater to get the program on your cell phone.

There are also no real “sets,” but milk cartons and cardboard covered with newsprint to serve as guidelines. Scenographer Heidi Voekler gets high marks for creativity. There is no credit given for costumes, but whoever chose Kevin Gish’s tie was inspired.

Bike City has no home theater, so this show is being performed in several locations. We saw it at Root of Happiness Kava Bar. Other locations are Sudwerk and Super Owl breweries, Watermelon Music and the Pence Gallery. The idea is to bring theater to people who might not otherwise go to theater, explained Artistic Director J.R. Yancher.

“Gutenberg! The Musical!” is a 90-minute, two-person comedy and features Doug (Gish) and Bud (Kyle Stoner) as enthusiastic playwrights who have written a musical about the inventor of the printing press. We, the audience, have been invited to a backer’s audition, where the playwrights are looking for funding to bring the show to Broadway.

Gish and Stoner are two actors with excellent dentition (one can’t help but notice when sitting in the front row, inches from the stage!) who have seemingly inexhaustible energy as they race through the story, playing some 20-plus different characters (each with his or her own unique hat, labeled to avoid confusion). The playwrights admit that their extensive Google search yielded little information on Johannes Gutenberg, so this play is made from alternative facts.

Gutenberg lives in the fictitious town of Schlimmer, Germany and is a vintner who can’t seem to make a living plying his trade. He notices that nobody in the town can read and this is causing problems, such as the death of a baby (“dead baby” is one of the characters) because his mother gave him jelly beans instead of medicine because she couldn’t read the label (“Jelly beans, not medicine/If only I could read,” she sings).

The music in this show is fun and catchy, but totally forgettable. We didn’t go home humming “Gutenberg/darn tootin’-berg/he’s the best chap around sure as shootin’-berg” or the beef-fat trimmer’s song, “The sun it rises in the east/I smell bread rising with the yeast” — but we loved hearing them.

Gutenberg’s assistant is the lovely Helvetica, who spends her time stomping grapes and pining away for the love of her boss. Gutenberg has an epiphany and decides to convert his grape press into a printing press and help the town become literate. But will the evil “monk” — who does not want the people to read, so he can interpret the Biblical word of God to be anything he wants it to be — succeed in destroying the printing press?

There is so much cleverness in this comedy. For example, when there is a meeting in the town square, the two men don all of the hats and, as they speak out as one character or the other, toss the top hat aside and become the next character. There is also a dance number that features a kick line of five dancers, which must be seen to be believed.

This show is just fun from start to finish — and may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience if the theater company finds its own stage. For the time being, being “homeless and wandering” doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect on this talented company at all.

You will have to go to the Bike City Theatre website to get information about venues and tickets. But, trust me, you won’t be sorry.

South Pacific

 

Before the start of the opening performance of the Davis Musical Theater Company’s excellent new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” producer Steve Isaacson shared that it was exactly 30 years ago that night when his wife, Jan, woke him to announce that the two of them were going to start a new theater group.

Thirty years later, DMTC is going stronger than ever, with this new production proof of the pudding.  And, sadly, the message of this show rings as true today as it did when it premiered in 1949. Themes of xenophobia, hatred and fear of people who are not like “us” permeate this story of a young Navy nurse on a South Pacific island falling for a handsome middle-aged French ex-patriate,, but unable to make a commitment to him when she discovers that he has children by a Polynesian woman.

While this show has many memorable tunes, like “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger than Springtime,” “Bloody Mary,” and “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair,” it is the bitter song, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught,” sung by Lt. Cable when he realizes that his inbred distaste for people with dark skin will prevent him from marrying the young girl he has come to love which still rings true today.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
of people whose eyes are oddly made
and people whose skin is a different shade...
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate...

Director John Haine has a first-rate cast for this show.  Laura Woodruff plays Nellie Forbush, the nurse who struggles with the idea of mixed-race children.  She is a strong personality, yet softens when with Emile deBecque (Travis Nagler), the plantation owner she has known only a few days.

Woodruff and Nagler have powerful voices and a lovely chemistry together.  Nagler is not a pretty-boy leading man, but a strong, barrel-chested man who exudes both strength and tenderness.

DeBecque’s children are played by Mckenna Lincoln and Andrew Montano, who are the least likely looking siblings you’d want to see, looking quite different from one another, but so darn cute it doesn’t matter.  Both have mastered their lines in French beautifully.

Bloody Mary, the Tonkinese woman who sells grass skirts and shrunken heads to the military is portrayed beautifully by Dannette Vassar in a role that seems tailor-made for her.  Vassar does not have the vocal power of some Marys, but with clearly modulated tones, the power of her “Bali Hai” comes across just as well as any other.

She is also a woman who is looking for a good future for her daughter, Liat (Ana Chan) and has eyes on Lieutenant Cable, newly arrived on the island, as a mate for the young girl.  She has no qualms about prostituting the girl if it will get her a rich American husband.

Scott Scholes is simply wonderful as Lt. Cable.  He is innocent, idealistic, tortured by his conflicted feelings for Liat...and has a great set of pipes on him too.

The military hierarchy come in the persons of Captain George Brackett (Richard Lui), and Commander William Harbison, played by Ben Bruening, who has been absent from the DMTC stage for 8 years.  It was such a welcome familiar face to see again.

Comic relief is provided by Seabee Luther Billis (Gabe Avila), a wheeler-dealer who knows what he wants and how to get it.  His duet with Nellie at the base’s Thanksgiving Day festival was very funny.

This is a large cast who move well on stage, thanks to the choreography of Katherine Coppola.

The small DMTC budget is never enough for lavish sets but the set and lighting designs of Steve Isaacson managed to create a very believable South Pacific isle.  The silhouette of the volcanic island Bali Hai against a plain sky which changed colors at various times in the day was the perfect effect, and deBecque’s plantation was lovely.  There was even a beach shower with real water for Nellie to wash that man right out of her hair.

This one’s a real winner. 

Prelude to a Kiss

Common House Productions has just opened the 1988 play, "Prelude to a Kiss," by Craig Lucas at the Wyatt Pavilion in the UCD Arboretum. The show will run weekends until October 27.

Director Robert Williamson admits the play "was not what I expected. It has romance, but it’s not romantic. It has mystery, but it’s not mysterious. There is magic without being magical, and on my first read-through I didn’t like it." On subsequent reads, he realized he was wrong. "There was humor I hadn’t seen, and it was mysterious and romantic and magical, not in a grand adventurous way, but in the way that occurs in everyday life."

This is an old fashioned fantasy, where we discover that people are not really who they seem to be. On the wedding day of Peter (Connor Dick) and Rita (Wendy Wyatt), a strange old man (Joachim Schnier) gives the bride a kiss and, with the flickering of lights, the two exchange bodies, the new bride now in the body of the old man, and the old man delighted with his new young body.

Inexplicably, the old man leaves the wedding without an attempt to question the new situation. Peter and his "bride" set off on their honeymoon to Jamaica, and Peter must decide what the true nature of love is.

With an actor as totally likeable as Connor Dick, the show can only be enjoyable. His comments to the audience draw us in and make us hope for him to figure out what has happened to the woman he loves.

Slowly, Peter comes to realize that there is something wrong with his new bride and decides that it happened at the time of the kiss. He sets out to search for his lost love, which he finally finds in the body of the old man.

Wendy Wyatt creates a very likeable, if complex, person in Rita. The whirlwind passion-filled courtship makes us smile as it progresses to that awkward, impulsive proposal. Wyatt does well at keeping her testosterone under control in the female body she now inhabits, but letting just enough of it out to remind the audience that there’s really a guy living in there.

Schnier is less successful in being a young woman trapped in a dying old man’s body and his scenes with Peter, which should have been poignant, after Peter realizes what has happened, seem to fall somewhat flat.

Sarah Cohen is Mrs. Boyle, Rita’s emotional mother, who ultimately helps in the culmination of this story. Cohen always delivers a convincing performance, and this one does not disappoint.

Matthew Mueller gives an uneven performance as Rita’s dentist father, who sometimes feels awkward in his portrayal, but is fierce in his dedication to his daughter. The script fails Mr. Boyle in giving him unbelievable lines following the break-up of the newlyweds.

John Malin gives an energetic performance as Peter’s friend, Taylor, instrumental in the meeting of Peter and Rita. Taylor is the friend we would all like to have in our corner.

At its core, this play is about mortality, and aging, and the nature of romantic love. Why do we love a certain person? Is it because of how that person looks, or is it because of that person’s beliefs and personality. Can you separate one from the other?

Kevin Admanski is the artistic director for this play and, given the shortcomings of the Wyatt Deck, manages to create a number of different scenes merely by the movement of two tables and a few chairs which are moved about by the cast while a scene is going on at the front of the stage, all well choreographed.

This is a short show, about 2 hours, which includes a 10 minute intermission. No refreshments are sold and the evening may get a bit cold, so jackets or blankets are recommended. Bug spray is also recommended for those mosquitos visiting from Putah Creek. A pillow for padding on the hard folding chairs may also make the time more pleasant.

City of Angels

“City of Angels” is — producer Steve Isaacson boasts — the most technical show the Davis Musical Theatre Company has ever done.

The book for this comedy was written by Larry Gelbart (“M*A*S*H”), who has, not surprisingly, filled his story with double entendres and razor-sharp word play. Music is by Cy Coleman with lyrics by David Zippel. It tells the story of a screen writer in the 1940s working with a producer trying to get his script onto the screen. The production is directed by John Ewing.

There are two stories going on simultaneously, the “real” story in color, and the movie in black and white. Writer Stine (Tony Ruiz) is working with producer/director Buddy Fidler (Patrick Stratton) to bring his whodunit to the screen. And while Stine is working on his script, we see the pages come to life scene by scene, as he writes (and rewrites) it.

While Stine and his hero, private eye Stone (Tevye Ditter) are played by different actors, most of the rest of the cast have both a “color” role and a “black and white” role; e.g., Stine’s wife Gabby (Jennie Ribadeneira) becomes Bobbi, Stone’s ex-fiancee.

If one doesn’t know the premise before seeing the show, it may take a while to figure out what is going on, especially since this is a “wordy” show, and a great deal of it relies on voice-overs. Isaacson says there are 60 of them, mostly the voice of Stine narrating the action for Stone. Sadly, not all of them were clear or were drowned out by the orchestra, so we missed a lot of the story. It may be that they were more clear in other sections of the audience.

Some scenes work better than others. A black-and-white bedroom scene transforms into a color bedroom scene beautifully, for example. However, costumer Jean Henderson, who has made some gorgeous clothes for this show, must be taken to task for a couple of egregious errors. In an early scene, Stone arrives at his black-and-white office wearing his black-and-white clothes and his secretary is in black-and-white polka dots; then, he removes his black coat … which has a maroon lining! Likewise, the secretary Oolie (Caitland Martin, who is also Buddy’s secretary, Donna, in the color world) wears tan shoes in both.

However, these are minor points. The best thing about this show is that every actor is very strong and there are some outstanding performances.

Could there possibly be a better gumshoe than Tevye Ditter, with his Dick-Tracyesque jaw, his steely-eyed gaze and his demeanor that just screams “1940s detective”? Stone is hired by socialite Alaura Kingsley (Danielle Debow) to find her stepdaughter Mallory (Rebecca Wilson). What initially seemed like a simple plot gets more and more complicated as Stine keeps rewriting to keep up with the demands of producer Buddy Fidler.

Tony Ruiz’s Stine becomes increasingly frustrated with his studio clashes. His “Funny,” at the end of the show, was a highlight.

Patrick Stratton, returning after a theatrical hiatus, is perfect as Buddy (and the movie mogul Irwin S. Irving, in the black-and-white world). Stratton delivers some of the show’s funniest lines, reminiscent of the malaprops of Yogi Berra (“You don’t get a hole in one your first time at bat.”). His comic timing is just perfect.

Jean Riradeneira singing her torch song, “With Every Breath I Take,” is absolutely stunning, both visually and vocally.

Caitlin Martin, as Stone’s “Girl Friday” Oolie and Stine’s girlfriend Donna, is the classic street-smart woman who is always a pal but never gets the guy. Martin does a great job with the song, “You Can Always Count on Me.”

Joshua Smith has the small but ultimately pivotal role of Jimmy Powers, a movie crooner in both real and movie world.

Jimmy is backed up by the “Angel City Four,” a quartet in the style of the Manhattan Transfer nicely handled by Wendy Young Carey, Christine Gross, Douglas Barbieri and Adam Sartain.

Whenever DMTC does a show that is rarely done, such as “City of Angels,” the top local talent shows up for the chance to participate. This production is no exception and the show is worth seeing for the outstanding ensemble.

Chicago

Stop what you’re doing right now and call for tickets to the Davis Musical Theatre Company’s amazing new production of Kander & Ebb’s Tony Award-winning “Chicago.”

This is one of the best DMTC productions I’ve seen in a long time. It’s full of murder, greed, corruption, violence, sex, exploitation, adultery and treachery all glitzed up with so much razzle and dazzle that you’ll be cheering at the end of the first number, and consistently throughout the show.

“Chicago” points the finger at this country’s perennial fascination with bad boys (and girls) and our raising them to near cult status, as we salivate over every gory detail, the more salacious the better. Think Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, O.J. Simpson, the Kardashians.

This musical is based on actual events during the 1920s, when reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins reported on the trial of a young woman (Beaulah Annan, “the prettiest murderess”) who killed her boyfriend and then called her husband to tell him, as a popular fox trot record played in the background. As Beaulah sat awaiting trial, she announced that she was pregnant, prompting the headline, “Beaulah Annan Awaits Stork, Murder Trial.”

Years later, William Wellman turned the story into a satirical movie called “Roxie Hart,” starring Ginger Rogers, in which the heroine, to kick-start her show business career, confesses to a Chicago murder. Funny man Phil Silvers played her lawyer.

This movie was the inspiration for choreographer Bob Fosse’s collaboration with Kander and Ebb to produce “Chicago, the Musical,” which opened on Broadway in 1975, with Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera as the two jailbirds competing for publicity for their respective crimes.

The show closed after a two-year run, unable to compete with “A Chorus Line,” but was brought back again in 1996, under the direction of Walter Bobbie with choreography by Ann Reinking (in the style of Bob Fosse). The revival won six Tony Awards, Drama Critics Circle Awards, Astaire Awards, Olivier Awards, Helpman Awards and a Grammy for best cast recording (among many other accolades).

The 2002 movie, starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, won the Academy Award for best picture.

And now we have it right in our own back yard, with a sparkling production directed by John Ewing, choreographed by Pamela Lourentzos, and featuring a stellar cast — each one as good or better as the last one.

Amber Jean Moore is outstanding as Roxie Hart, a housewife with stars in her eyes, who shoots her lover and then tries to use her crime to launch a show-biz career.

Roxie’s crime steals the headlines from Velma Kelly (Jennie Ribadeneira), a once popular singer/dancer, now also languishing in prison for shooting her multi-married lover. Her exciting “All That Jazz” was the show’s opener and set the tone nicely for the rest of the show.

Tony Ruiz is marvelous as the smooth, charming, yet slick lawyer, Billy Flynn, who knows how to work the press and, for a price, make his clients such sympathetic figures that no jury would convict them. Billy’s “All I Care About,” performed with several chorus girls armed with fans that would do credit to Sally Rand, is a knock-out.

A ventriloquist number, “We Both Reached for the Gun” — with Roxie in Billy’s lap as he literally puts words into her mouth — is outstanding.

Andrea Eve Thorpe is by no means the large matron we associate with previous actresses playing the role of Matron “Mama” Morton, but instead of heft, Thorpe achieves her dominance with strength and a cold, forbidding wardrobe and severe hair style. The effect works well for her.

Amos Hart is Roxie’s all-but-forgotten husband, played beautifully by Dan Masden. There is a lot of heart in this Hart and his “Mr. Cellophane” was very moving, as he describes what it’s like to be invisible to the people in his life.

Jacob Montoya deserves applause for his role as the Master of Ceremonies. When Montoya mixed with dancers Michael Cesar, Elio Gutierrez and Randy Noriega, it was a sight to behold.

The sob sister reporter Mary Sunshine was played to the hilt by D.A. Holmes, whose not-quite-so-surprising secret is revealed during the second act.

The DMTC orchestra, under the direction of Steve Isaacson, is on the stage, instead of under it, for this show on a set designed by John Ewing.

Costumes by Jeanne Henderson are, of course, spectacular.

Co-producer Jan Isaacson says tickets are selling fast. The Saturday evening production we attended was a near capacity audience, so get your tickets soon. Once word of mouth begins to spread, they will be in very short supply.

Bye Bye Birdie

The Davis Musical Theatre Company’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” directed and choreographed by Jan Isaacson, has a large cast (about 40), many crossovers from the Young People’s Theater program. It has a large orchestra (15) and a full house of parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. How could it possibly be less than a hit?

This musical, with book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, opened on Broadway in April 1960 and was a sleeper hit, shocking everyone with its success. But based on Elvis Presley’s drafting into the Army and leaving for an 18-month tour of duty in Germany, with its inevitable media circus, how could it fail?

It was Gower Champion who developed the idea of a rock and roll idol going off to the Army, setting off a ripple effect on a group of teenagers in the small town of Sweet Apple, Ohio.

While there are some outstanding scenes in this production (such as the telephone scene in Act 1 and “Kids” in Act 2), it lacked the pizzazz to make it exceptional. The problem may lie with the under-stage orchestra which, despite its large size, seemed muted and thus not always contributing to the big sound that this show requires, resulting in occasional off-key beginnings of songs.

There were also just simple dumb mistakes that a company about to celebrate its 28th season should know better — such as the placement of the black curtains that allowed the audience to see characters entering and leaving the stage and a microphone that was spotty at best.

But this should not detract from the positives of the show. Spencer Johnson is an affable, likable Albert Peterson, a mama’s boy who can’t commit to love. Albert sets off on a campaign to publicize his new song, celebrating his protege’s imminent departure for the Army and giving one last very well-publicized kiss on the “Ed Sullivan Show” to a fan chosen at random.

Johnson sings OK and, while he will never be a dancer, he was able to keep up with the others all right.

Danielle DeBow had a bit of opening-night jitters at the start of the show, as Albert’s long-suffering Latina secretary/girlfriend, Rosie Alvarez. She displayed a wonderful voice that was not always being used to its best advantage.

But as the show progressed and as her confidence grew, it was there in full force and she became a Rosie to be reckoned with, especially when being pursued by a room full of fez-wearing Shriners.

Christine Deamer was born to play Mae Peterson, Albert’s overbearing, manipulative mother. She is simply wonderful as a stereotypical Jewish mother, determined to find a girl to replace Albert’s ethnic girlfriend.

Levi Fuentes as Conrad Birdie was sabotaged by a microphone that faded in and out. His big number “Honestly Sincere,” which needed to boom out to the townspeople and the audience, just didn’t. He is better than that and I hope the mic problems are fixed in subsequent performances.

The McAfee family members are uniformly good. Taylor Hartsfield as Kim, the girl chosen to be the girl to receive Conrad’s “one last kiss,” is quite good. Scott Minor as her father Harry definitely makes a terrific impression in his “Kids,” and Danette Vassar, as Mrs. McAfee, shows once again that good things come in small packages. Watching her grow as an actress over these past years has been a delight.

Kim’s younger brother Randall McAfee (Joshua Aiden Smith) has little to do, but he does it competently.

Outstanding among the teenagers in the show are Tomas Eredia as the nerdy Harvey Johnson, whose changing voice was just perfect, and Lydia Smith as Kim’s best friend Ursula, who can scream for Conrad Birdie better than just about anybody.

Like Spencer Johnson, Noah Papagni was an affable, likable whitebread kind of boyfriend as Hugo Peabody.

Jean Henderson’s costumes were mostly perfect for the time, though I did wonder if Elvis would have worn such well pressed blue jeans with such big cuffs. Rosie’s gowns, especially for Act 2, were gorgeous.

Vasser’s dress, while not necessarily overly special, caught my eye with how perfect it was for the actress; it may have been one of my favorite outfits in the show.

This DMTC production is entertaining and will please most theatergoers.

Peter Pan

The little boy in front of me looked to be about 4 years old and he was absolutely mesmerized by the antics of the pirates on stage at the Davis Musical Theatre Company’s sparkling new production of “Peter Pan,” directed by Steve Isaacson.

There is something for all ages in this funny, colorful production, which was fortunate because DMTC had a near sell-out house for the opening. There were patrons of all ages, every one of them enjoying the show.

The role of Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up, is traditionally played by a female and this was no exception. McKinley Carlisle is a high school junior but with a professional adult stage presence. She is a gymnast in school, which helped her make all of Peter’s flying sequences beautifully realistic.

She was endearing trying to attach her shadow with soap, wistful in her comments about wanting someone to read stories, and chivalrous in saving Tiger Lily and Wendy from the evil pirates.

The Darling children, while somewhat tall for the roles (especially John, Noah Papagni) were all wonderful. Wendy (Amanda Jane Melhuish) moved seamlessly into her mother role and Michael (William Chan) was just adorable, carrying his teddy bear around with him.

The Darling parents are played by Jenny Plasse and Michael Cross (who later appears as Captain Hook). Cross, in particular, was effective in his role. Plasse was very sweet.

Levi Fuentes was one of the more believable nursemaids, as Nana the dog.

There was some problem with Tinkerbell, who appears as a ball of light darting about the stage, thanks to the operation of Karay Himo, who seemed to have some problem operating the light. Rarely was Tinkerbell where a character was speaking to her.

Wendy would look in one place, but Tink was on the wall behind her. But it really didn’t matter. When Tink begins to “die,” it was very poignant and we all clapped enthusiastically to show that we did believe in fairies.

Michael Cross as Captain Hook was simply wonderful. His performance was strong and intimidating without being over the top, as he leads his bumbling band of pirates in an attempt to capture the Lost Boys in general, and Peter Pan in particlar. His sidekick Smee was appropriately deferential.

This is not a production that has been rendered politically correct by changing the portrayal of the Indians, and Emily Jo Seminoff is fun as Tiger Lily, doing several Indian dances with her cohorts — Danielle Debow, Isabel Machado, Monica Parisi, Jenny Plasse, Madelyn Robinson, Anissa Smith, Lydia Smith and Hannah Wallace.

Thomas Eredia is very funny as the crocodile who hungers for the rest of Captain Hook, having had a taste of one hand years before

Others in the cast include Monica Parisi as the maid Liza, Kimmi Kuanto as the grown-up Wendy’s daughter Jane, and a multitude of actors of all ages as Lost Boys, Pirates, Indians, Trees, Animals and Shadow Dancers.

Choreography is by Cyndi Mitterholzer and is lively and appropriate for the abilities of the dancers.

Costumes by Jean Henderson, are wonderful, as always, and in this case, very colorful as befits the cartoonesque story.

Steve Isaacson’s sets are better than many DMTC sets and deserve kudos.

This is a cast of dozens, combining adults and children, and it all comes together beautifully.

Before the show began, DMTC awarded its annual scholarship to Ashley Hickman and Rebecca Rudy, alumnae of DMTC’s youth program. This is one way DMTC gives back to the community and supports young people as they begin their college studies. The girls received engraved boxes and checks to go toward their tuition.

There is never a slow spot in this production. It is appropriate for children of all ages — by all means, do take your little ones. They, like the little boy in front of me, will be on the edge of their seats throughout the show.

Twelfth Night

I questioned the wisdom of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble scheduling its new production 'Twelfth Night' at the UCD Arboretum's gazebo, fearing the audience would freeze outdoors on these cold winter nights.

But the company has encased the gazebo in tarps, installed heaters and the resulting intimacy of the 'theater' was so warm, I even removed my jacket before the end of the evening.

The company's very first production, last summer's 'Romeo and Juliet' had only four members in the cast. They have now expanded to 11 actors and three musicians.

'Romeo and Juliet' had no sets and only the most minimal of costumes. This production has, while not exactly a 'set,' at least a hint of one and a couple of more complicated costumes.

And so the quality of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble is growing, and the strong performances exhibited across all roles in 'Romeo and Juliet' continue in this joyous new production of one of Shakespeare's funniest comedies, which relies on gender-bending, mistaken identities, and love at first sight - over and over again. The production is again under the direction of Rob Salas, who has acquitted himself well.

The heroine of 'Twelfth Night' is Viola (Gia Battista), a shipwreck survivor mourning her brother Sebastian (Matthew Canty), whom she believes was lost at sea.

For some reason - which is not made clear - sight-unseen, she decides she loves Duke Orsino (Will Klundt). To get closer to him, Viola pulls her hair back, puts on men's clothing, declares she's a eunuch named Cesario and becomes the Duke's servant, in the hope of winning his love.

But Orsino is in love with the fair Olivia (Alison Sundstrom), also mourning a dead brother and father and rejecting all thoughts of love for seven years.

Orsino sends Viola/Cesario to woo her for him. Complications arise when Olivia decides instantly that Cesario is the man of her dreams and forgets all about her self-imposed period of mourning.

This sets up the scenario where Orsino loves Olivia, Olivia loves Cesario/Viola, and Viola loves Orsino.

And then there is the perpetually besotted Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Brendan Ward), also in love with Olivia, who seems to spend a lot of time drinking with his buddy, Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Robert Williamson) and the fool Feste (Esteban Gonzalez), who plot to play tricks on Olivia's steward Malvolio (Kristopher Ide).

Battista is a cute Viola (who could pass as a rather feminine boy) and, thanks to costumer Caitlin Cisek, she bears enough of a resemblance to her brother Sebastian (albeit a great height difference) that the confusion between the two at the end of the play is kinda-sorta plausible.

Sundstrom plays the sex-deprived Olivia to the hilt, and is very funny swooning over Cesario. She was a delight to watch when she sees what she perceives as two Cesarios, first shock and then delight as she contemplates the possibility of two lovers.

Stephanie Hankinson gives a solid performance as the earthy Maria, who conspires with the men against Malvolio and who herself is attracted to Sir Toby. She has a hearty, robust laugh and dominates any scene in which she appears.

As for the Malvolio of Kristopher Ide, it is just delicious. It is so much fun to watch his ramrod prim and proper demeanor melt as he believes Olivia loves him and he becomes willing to make a fool of himself to please her.

Gonzalez is a commanding Feste, taking liberties as the clown, and singing all of the original rock/blues/folk music written for the production by Richard Chowenhill. His is a very physical interpretation and he is literally all over the stage - including the rafters - in his performance.

Gabriel Rosa is Olivia's servant Valentine, and Mark Curtis Ferrando is Antonio, the captain of the ship and Sebastian's friend.

'Twelfth Night' continues through Jan. 23 at the Arboretum Gazebo and is a delightful way to pass an evening.

The Three Musketeers

Summer marks the time when the oldest Acme performers must move on to college, and the local theater company brings in a crop of newbies.

Such transitions sometimes can be felt for a show or two, before the fresh faces properly hone their acting chops and blend in with the group.

Not so this time.

Whether the new kids on the block are exceptionally talented, or playwright Ken Ludwig's zany adaptation of Alexander Dumas' 'The Three Musketeers' is a perfect selection for a mixed group of experienced and less experienced young actors, the end result is an absolute delight ... and a marvelous way to close Acme's 30th anniversary season.

This show is fresh. It's fast-paced. It's funny.

And it's modern, with a fifth musketeer - D'Artagnan's sister - thrown into the mix.

What's not to like about a show heavy on swordplay? (I counted 19 sword fights in two hours!) Acme alum and professional fight choreographer Dan Renkin flew in from New York for a week, to build and polish the fights.

His efforts paid off: The kids obviously had a marvelous time on the Veterans' Memorial Stage opening night, engaging in each skirmish with considerable gusto.

Directors Emily Henderson and Allie Polubiec kept the action moving, with no lag time.

Delany Pelz and Alex May's lighting design greatly enhances the production. Hannah May and William Delacorte's set is minimal - a platform makes a sweeping arc around the stage - and so the lighting assumes even greater importance. The first appearance of the original three musketeers, silhouetted against a white backdrop, is extremely dramatic.

The cast includes some particularly good performances, starting with Jeremy Reinhard's Cardinal Richelieu, looking for all the world as if he just stepped out of some 17th century painting. Reinhard makes an excellent villain, as does his partner in crime, Milady (Hope Raymond), who revels in all her delicious wickedness.

Zach Salk also is wonderfully campy as King Louis XIII, pawn of Richelieu, who seems terribly inept and better suited to planning the castle meals than mounting any sort of attack.

The Musketeers give strong and individual performances. Andrew Lampinin is Athos, hiding a deep dark secret. Torin Lusebrink is Aramis, who believes that the ties of friendship are paramount. Antonio de Lorea-Brust is Porthos, the group's extrovert.

Matt Gibson plays D'Artagnan, raised by his father (Sam Wheeler) to be a musketeer, and now headed to Paris to join this select band. D'Artagnan also is placed in charge of his sister Sabine (Gigi Gilbert-Igelsrud), who is to be deposited in a Parisian convent.

Sabine, however, has other ideas. Apparently she's as good a swordsman as her brother - if not better - and isn't about to settle for being locked in some dull convent.

In the minor role of an innkeeper, Alex Clubb has a wonderful scene that I won't spoil by describing. It's a standout moment.

Margaret Starbuck, as the Mother Superior, has a similar brief moment: also handled beautifully.

Kudos to Hope Raymond and Alix Miller on the gorgeous costumes, which go far beyond what one would expect from a company of young people.

This rambunctious 'Three Musketeers' is a huge undertaking, with more than 30 actors, a dozen different settings and almost 100 crucial props. And those great sword fights.

Congratulations to the entire cast, on a job well done ... and to Renkin, for helping make a crucial element truly outstanding.

As You Like It

Competing with games at the Little League fields across the street, happy noise from the Bouncy House at the picnic area in Community Park, passing ambulances and other noise making vehicles, and the occasional cyclist tearing along the path in front of the Art Center Stage, Acme Theater Company celebrated its 30th season with its annual thank you to Davis, a free production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” under the direction of Artistic Director Emily Henderson.

The group decided to celebrate its 30th anniversary by engaging the community in recycling, and turning the recycled materials into art. Creating sets and costumes almost entirely from recycled materials was a real challenge, but the young actors and technicians proved up to the task.

Hannah May is credited with scenic design and the unique choices worked beautifully. The proscenium arch of the stage was decorated with cardboard boxes while large rotating panels on the stage were covered with newspaper–one side for the next, with graffiti painted on it in angry red, the other side all in pages from the comic section. (At the time the design was made, who knew we’d be having rain storms in May?)

Hope Raymond is credited with costume design, and the costumes were ingenious. The play takes place in “Elizabethan era Davis.” The ruffled collar around one character, for example, was a Slinky; on another character it was the silver exhaust hose from a clothes dryer. Absolutely inspired. Two women wore dresses accented with men’s ties, one in an intricate woven pattern, the other as almost an overskirt. The pattern on one of the ties indicated there may have been some ignoring of “Star Trek’s” prime directive back in Elizabethan time...but it was my favorite part of the costume.

The audience was given a program designed to look like the town newspaper (“The Herald”). The program was designed by house manager Sarah Douglas and the front page headline story gives the background of the play under a headline which reads “Duke Banished! Duchess says ‘Go Hug a Tree.’” The tongue in cheek articles were both entertaining and informative.

Music and dance are traditionally a large part of Acme’s spring show and this one is no exception. The production opens with a dance number, choreographed by Hope Raymond, which “recycles” its way through famous love songs of the ages, beginning in the 20th century, rewinding to the Renaissance, and then working its way back again. Midway through the show Raymond, Matt Gibson, and Jeremy Reinhard each have solo ballads to sing and display wonderfully warm and strong voices. A duet between Gibson and Reinhard has a lively kazoo accompaniment!

Reinhard is Orlando in this production, the youngest son of the recently deceased Sir Roland DeBoys, head over heels in love with Rosalind (Delany Pelz), daughter of Duke Senior (Andrew Lampinen), whose throne has been usurped by his sister, the evil Duchess Fredericka (Kristine Hager). Senior is living in exile in the forest.

Rosalind is banished from Fredericka's court and travels to the forest in the company of her cousin Celia (Gigi Gilbert-Iglesrud). Rosalind assumes a countryman's dress and takes the name Ganymede; Celia passes as Aliena, Ganymede's sister and they meet with Orlando who has joined the banished duke and is papering the forest with love letters to Rosalind. Ganymede becomes his firend and encourages Orlando to pretend to make love to her as though she were his Rosalind.

Pelz gives another delightful performance as the spunky heroine who somehow manages to completely disguise her appearance simply by donning a pair of men’s pants. Reinhard is wonderful as the lovestruck lad mooning for his lost love and so blinded by his pain that he doesn’t realize she’s right there in front of him.

Gilbert-Iglesrud’s Celia is a wonderful sidekick to Rosalind. The two of them giggled together naturally as would any young girls chatting about their boyfriends.

Matt Gimpelevich is Touchstone, the court jester who accompanies the girls into the woods. He grows into his role as the play progresses and is a delightful comic talent. Audrey, the country wench who wins his heart (Leah Julian) is a good match for him.

“As You Like It” is a play about love: physical and intellectual love, sentimental and cynical love, love at first sight, love between friends, love between relatives, imagined love, and deep, lasting love. It is the roles we are often forced to play, either by circumstance or by societal pressure.

Take the kids, pack a picnic, and enjoy a fun afternoon in the park with Acme Theater Company.

The Matter of Taste (feature article)

When Julia Child was inviting people to come into her kitchen, via television camera, nobody ever imagined that an industry ultimately would be created by people like Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and the queen of butter, Paula Deen.

Nor did anyone who was part of the early days of The Food Network imagine that its nighttime offerings eventually would become contests: baking things, constructing things, decorating things, mystery ingredients and elimination challenges such as could be found on 'Survivor.'

The next step was inevitable: Our 'hunger' for food preparation - as both entertainment and sporting event - would break down the imaginary theatrical fourth wall, at which point the audience would become a part of the action.

It's happening this week at the UC Davis Wyatt Pavilion, when the university's theater and dance department presents 'A Matter of Taste.' The production is directed by Granada artist-in-residence Anna Fenemore, artistic director of the Manchester, UK-based Pigeon Theater, an experimental physical performance company.

Curtain times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets - $18/$16 general, $13/$11 students and children - are available at the Mondavi Ticket Office (530-754-2787).

Working with food and cooking is nothing new for Fenemore. Her first Pigeon Theater project, 'The Housekeeper,' involved performers cooking for the audience.

'I lived with one of the performers at that point, who was from Italy and who was an incredible cook,' she said. 'We started making the show in our then-kitchen, and I thought 'Why don't we extend it, and do it in a slightly bigger kitchen. We'll feed them this wonderful Italian food that you can cook.' '

The idea blossomed.

'This act of 'doing something for' and 'giving something to' the audience initially was merely a strategy for attempting a certain kind of intimacy between performer and spectator,' Fenemore said. 'Sharing food with another human being is an extraordinarily intimate act.'

Fenemore quickly realized that the food was doing far more than just connecting all the different people in the room at that time; it also was connecting those people with other, absent, people: mothers, grandmothers, fathers, daughters, lovers and friends. She saw the act of sharing food not just as an act of intimacy, but also as a ritual charged at one time or another with obsession, seduction, memory, shame, joy and - perhaps most importantly - pleasure.

For the 16 member cast of 'A Matter of Taste,' this will be an entirely new way to perform on stage.

'I'm asking them not to play a character,' Fenemore said, 'but to be themselves, and bring their own stories and histories to the stage.'

Not surprisingly, preparation for this show began with a pot luck dinner: Each actor was asked to bring a dish that had a story connected with it.

'We talked through dinner.'

A kind of collaborative script emerged from these food stories.

'We sometimes play with that - we sometimes tell lies - but ostensibly it's about these people, and it's somewhat autobiographical.'

Consider Won Joon Yoon, who is from Korea.

'He's cooking birthday soup, which usually is cooked by the mother on the son's birthday. But Won has been in the United States for the past eight years, and hasn't been with her on his birthday, so he hasn't had birthday soup for eight years. But she's here now, and he's cooking it for her in the show. It's a lovely moment.'

Fenemore warmed further to the subject.

'Lots of significant things happen during the relatively banal act of eating: We fall in love; we understand moments of loss and grieving; we make friends; we have family arguments; things break down or are created. What's really interesting is the kind of difference between what we often think of as the everyday ordinary act of eating, and the extraordinary things that might be attached to it.

'I'm interested in ritual as well: the ways in which we behave at the table, the ways in which we cook for each other, the ways we might host a dinner party and the structures that surround that.'

And this show?

'I'm interested in this particular collection of people, asked to cook food with memories and family stories attached. I'm asking them to present themselves: perhaps to tell us things they should only really tell their friends, to bring their cultural and social individualities together.

'I want to squeeze all this into a theater, and see what happens when an audience with its own food memories and experiences also is thrown into the mix.'

And yes, audience members will be served food during the course of the performance. They'll get tiny little tastes throughout the show ... although, given this country's safety regulations regarding food preparation for public consumption - unlike the more relaxed regulations in the UK - the shared food will be prepared by the university's food service personnel.

But it'll be prepared according to the actors' recipes.

'We've been working with the Food and Technology Department,' Fenemore explained. 'The students have had a great time, because they've all had knife-training skills. We all learned to chop very quickly, and we learned about safety with knives. Six actors are doing the knife work in the show, and they're using huge knives.

'We've also had half a day of basic food handling safety training.'

The cast members will sell the food featured in the show, and the party will continue after each performance on the Wyatt Deck, which will feature even more food, music and possibly dancing.

Along with a chance for audience members to share their own food stories.

Hair

Attending any production by UC Davis' student-run Studio 301 company is always an adventure, whether patrons try to find a tiny room through a darkened passageway ('Fuddy Mears'); sit outdoors, on ice-cold cement in November, in someplace called 'The Death Star' ('MacBeth'); or lounge on the delightful Wyatt Pavilion deck on a warm midsummer night evening ('Midsummer Night's Dream').

The group always brings something fresh and unexpected to its productions, before a single actor walks onto the stage.

Studio 301's handling of 'Hair' - the 'American tribal love-rock musical' by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, with music by Galt MacDermot - is no exception.

This production is directed by Steph Hankinson, with musical direction by David Moschler.

The group has chosen UCD's Arboretum gazebo - on Garrod Drive, off La Rue - a bucolic location that works well for a production about flower children. As the cast mingled with the patrons, handing out flowers before the show started, I realized that this group of young people might have had grandparents who were part of the hippie movement.

That era, more than 40 years ago, was a time when we were engaged in a disastrous war ... and people protested that war with a passion. And yet, despite the horrors of that overseas conflict, Americans still believed they could make a difference: They cared enough to raise their voices in protest.

Sadly, I don't think we do that any more, as caught up as we are in the affairs of Tiger Woods, or whether Kate will leave Jon, and who will become the next American Idol.

All of which may make 'Hair' an historical piece, rather than something fresh and vibrant. The U.S. military no longer uses a draft, so nobody has a draft card to burn, and we're more concerned about people who can't get into the service, than we are about wondering how to get out of it.

Nevertheless, the cast of Studio 301's 'Hair' gets into the swing of things quite well, starting with dancing on the grass and through the audience to the outdoor stage, where the show opens with a rousing rendition of 'Aquarius,' sung by Linda C (Alyssa Parsons) and the rest of the cast.

The show has a plot of sorts: Claude Hooper Bukowski (Mark Ferrando) has received a draft notice, and he struggles with his conscience over whether to present himself for induction, or burn his draft card and remain with his friends, enjoying the free lifestyle and protesting the war. Ferrando brings poignancy to his role.

But while Claude's struggle may drive the plot, this show actually is about music: 'Hair' was this country's first rock musical, with minimal dialogue. Songs such as 'Aquarius' and 'Let the Sunshine In,' the closing anthem, have a permanent place in our musical history.

Many in the cast give good performances, including Esteban Daniel Pantoja Gonzalez as Claude's roommate, George: long-haired, barefoot, anti-establishment and rocking out to songs like 'Donna.'

Cody Messick - as Jeannie, hopelessly suffering an unrequited love of Claude - has a stand-out moment with 'Hippie Life.' Alison Sunderstrom, as Crissy, delivers a poignant 'Frank Mills.'

Mitchell VanLandingham adds comic relief as Margaret Mead.

The first act 'nude scene,' so shocking when 'Hair' first opened in 1967, seems a more natural part of the action than anything to raise an eyebrow over, in this modern era when nudity in the media has become more common. In this production, the sequence is brief and tastefully done.

The music is provided by the band Vaseface and the Optical Illusions, and they're outstanding.

Patrons planning to attend this production are advised to bring either blankets or chairs. Dress warmly, and then bring an extra blanket, just in case. (We didn't and were much colder than anticipated.)

A flashlight also would be wise: While the path from the street is signed well for arriving patrons, things are pitch-black - with no lights - once the show concludes.

A parking lot is close, but it lacks a machine for the necessary $6 ticket; if on-street parking isn't available, you'll need to visit another parking lot to purchase a ticket.

Back in the 1960s, we dreamed that a time would come when 'peace will guide the planet.' I don't know if that's possible any more, but it's nice to reminisce and remember those idealistic days, when we still held on to such promises.

Gypsy

For as long as theater has existed, the institution has endured stage parents: those well-meaning mothers and fathers certain that their little Johnny or Janey will become the next superstar, and who drive producers and directors batty with their interference.

The quintessential stage mother was “Mama Rose” — Rose Havick — the mother of the Queen of Burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee, and her sister, actress June Havoc. “Gypsy,” the story of Havick's role in the careers of her two daughters, is the current offering from the Davis Musical Theatre Company.

The production is directed by John Ewing and choreographed by Jason Hammond, who also plays Herbie.

The original award-winning musical was suggested by Gypsy Rose Lee's memoirs, with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (still at the start of his career).

Rose is a dangerously obsessed woman with dreams of seeing her somewhat talented daughters achieve the stardom for which she herself is so hungry. The role was written for Ethel Merman, and Broadway has seen a long list of big names follow in her footsteps: Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Rosalind Russell (who played the part in the movie), Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone.

(Lansbury, Daly and LuPone all won Tony Awards for their performances; Merman lost to Gwen Verdon, in “Redhead.”)

In this DMTC production, Deborah Hammond has the role of a lifetime as Rose, and she makes the most of it. Hammond is powerful and unrelenting, and she has the big voice required by the role. Each of her numbers is a clear stand-out.

Hammond's real-life husband has the role of Herbie, the theatrical agent-turned-candy salesman-turned-theatrical agent who falls in love with Rose and hangs around for years, finding gigs for the act while waiting for Rose to marry him. Although the two Hammonds have been together and worked in theaters together for 30 years, this is their first shared appearance on stage.

Jason's Herbie is reminiscent of John C. Reilly, the mild-mannered husband from the film version of “Chicago”: a good guy who puts up with years of emotional abuse before finally giving up. Herbie's affection for Rose's daughters is touching.

Camila Ortiz and Lizzy Carey are the young “Baby Louise” and “Baby June,” respectively: two girls who really don't want to be in show business, but who can't say no to their overbearing mother. Carey does an excellent high kick and has a shriek that annoys more than impresses.

The business of their growing up is beautifully handled by a clever bit of stagecraft and a strobe light.

The grown-up Louise and June are played by Amy Jacques-Jones and Danielle Hansen. June, the star of the show, runs away when she reaches adulthood and secretly marries Tulsa, one of the company dancers; he's played by Joshua James, who brings a likable earnestness to the role.

Jacques-Jones nicely portrays the innocence of a young woman, living in her talented sister's shadow, singing to a toy lamb on her birthday and wondering exactly how old she is. Jacques-Jones handles the bumbling attempts to be the kind of performer her sister was. She's persuasive during her sudden realization, as she dresses for her first “strip” number, that she really is pretty, after feeling like an ugly duckling for so long.

The actress hits each of the emotions spot-on.

“Gypsy” has several interesting minor characters, such as Uncle Jocko (Clocky McDowell), who runs a talent show for children, with all the frustrations that involves.

The various strippers are quite funny, as they try to explain to Louise that she needs to find her own gimmick. Monica Parisi is Tessie Tura, Christina Ray is Mazeppa (who does amazing things with a trumpet), and Karen Mo is Electra.

Steve Isaacson does triple duty in three minor roles, and makes each unique.

Jean Henderson's costumes hit the mark, whether for Uncle Jocko and his children, the outlandish costumes for the strippers, or the glamorous gowns for Louise.

Everything's coming up roses for DMTC, with this production.

In God's Country (feature article)

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
- Voltaire


Since 2002, at least nine recorded hate crimes have been committed in Davis, from vandalism with swastika symbols and satanic language, to the painting of a racial slur on the street in front of the house of an African-American family - which later moved out of the city - and the vandalism of the UC Davis LGBT center, with derogatory and hateful words targeting the gay community.

This doesn't even count events such as the 1983 murder of Vietnamese student Thong Hy Huynh on the Davis High School campus, or the 1978 incident where seven students appeared at a football game wearing genuine KKK robes and carrying ropes, to protest an African-American player on the other team.

(It was felt, by the administration at the time, that punishment would be 'counter-productive' and that surely the students 'didn't understand the implication of their actions.')

On the surface, Davis seems like a nice, peaceful, accepting, enlightened town, but hate is present. Hate speech appears to be escalating at the high school this academic year, with students heard proclaiming things like 'Jews are stingy' and 'Hitler was really smart; he had the right idea.' Other students wonder why the school needs a Black Student Union, but not a White Student Union.

DHS drama teacher Gwyneth Bruch wants to jolt her students and us townsfolk out of our complacency, and get in our faces with the reality of what hate speech can spawn.

'California has more hate groups than any other state,' she said. 'We have 84; one count says 87. Tracy is the white supremacy capital of California. I have friends of color who won't drive to Chico.'

She points to names of groups such as the American Nazi Party, the Aryan Brotherhood, the Confederate Strikeforce Skinheads, the Covenant Sword and Arm of the Lord, Guardians of Justice, Teenage Commandos, White Knights of Liberty ... and on and on and on.

What do the groups want?

'They want a homeland; they want a white place,' Bruch said. 'They're so absurd, they might just be funny ... if they didn't kill people.'

Last summer, Bruch decided to produce Steven Dietz's controversial play, 'In God's Country,' which follows the true story of The Order, a white supremacist, neo-Nazi group that operated in the Western United States in the early 1980s. Its members, led by Robert Jay Mathews, staged armed robberies, netting more than $4 million; declared the establishment of a new, all-white nation; and murdered Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg in 1984, because he ridiculed them.

And because he was Jewish.

The play opens Friday and continues through March 13 at the Brunelle Performance Hall, 315 W. 14th St., Davis. Curtain times are 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and March 11-13, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

The play's cast will lead a discussion after each performance.

Tickets - $12 general, $8 students - are available at (831) 224-0005 or dhsboxoffice@gmail.com.

Original court transcripts of the trial of Berg's killers - indicted for 'violating Berg's civil rights' when they killed him - provide the base for this play. Other elements are interwoven: images of neo-Nazi rituals and rhetoric; a training camp; intensely, intimately powerful monologues; and Berg's liberal and often in-your-face talk show.

'I'm grateful for the courage of our principal, Winfred Roberson, in agreeing to let me put on this show,' Bruch said. 'I showed him the script in August, and he read it. That's awesome.'

She then set about re-working the play so that 55 actors could participate in a play that actually calls for only nine or 10 (each of whom usually handles several roles).

'The students are excited to be doing this, because they see it as an important message,' Bruch said. 'Hate crimes happen in Davis; anti-Semitism is alive and well.

'What can we do about it?'

Bruch discussed the 'violence continuum,' with a casual racial slur at one end of the spectrum - a seemingly harmless thing - that can lead to murder at the other end of the spectrum.

'This reflects what happened to Matthew Shepard. If we ignore the anti-Semitic or racist comment - and there are lots around here - then somewhere it could end up with writing graffiti on the sidewalk to chase a family out of town, wearing sheets to a football game, or stabbing someone on school grounds.

'It's really important that people leave at the end of our play with the image that something very wrong is going on. And given the way I'm going to do this play, they will.'

Bruch has worked on this project since the summer, not only re-structuring the play to fit her large cast, but also recruiting to get specific actors in key roles.

'I have 10 guys playing white supremacists, and they're the sweetest people in the whole universe. Just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful people.'

Parents have been, for the most part, very supportive. One family agreed to let their child participate, but only if the role weren't as one of the white supremacists. Bruch accommodated that request.

'We're having a good time, but it's meaty. Theater is a powerful venue for a message. These kids have something to say, and I want to help them by choosing a piece where they can feel that they've made some growth as a person, and also helped their friends. My kids actually are excited about just talking about the experience of being in this play, and engaging their friends in conversations about the fact that hatred and hate speech are a real thing.

Kiss Me Kate

Marguerite Morris has a role to really sink her teeth into.

Her Lilli Vanessi/Katharine in the Davis Musical Theatre Company's production of 'Kiss Me Kate,' directed by Rand Martin, may be one of the best roles I've seen her embrace.

This is another strong showing by DMTC, boasting an outstanding cast, good tones from the orchestra, fun period apparel by costumer Jean Henderson, and Martin's eye-catching choreography.

'Kiss Me Kate' is the story of a touring Shakespeare Company that's presenting Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew.' Despite their acrimonious divorce, a spark obviously still flares between Lilli and ex-husband Fred (Martin Lehman), which erupts into a full-fledged on-stage conflagration in the middle of Act 1, and threatens to close the show.

Morris and Lehman are superb. Their feelings for each other, both positive and negative, sizzle on stage. Both Lilli and her character, Katharine, have fiery temperaments; the actress gives this full rein in her rendition of 'I Hate Men.'

Lehman is a take-charge guy with an ex-wife he obviously still loves, and a girl on the side he's trying to woo, yet his sensitivity spills out in his 'So in Love.' As Petruchio, his 'Where Is the Life that Once I led?' is outstanding.

Mariana Seda is irresistible as Lois Lane, playing the role of Bianca in the play within the play. She's in love with Bill (Chris Petersen), but is a gold-digger who can't keep away from other men; despite this, as she tells Bill, she's 'Always True to You (in My Fashion).'

Petersen, a man in love, also has a gambling problem. (This problem, merely a ruse to add two additional characters to the plot, never is taken all that seriously.)

Steve Isaacson plays Gen. Harrison Howell, Lilli's fiancé, a domineering military man who is more Petruchio than Petruchio himself. I sometimes forget what a really good singing voice Isaacson has, and this show is a good reminder.

Stealing the show, in roles designed to steal the show, are Kyle Hadley and Giorgio Selvaggio, known as 'Gangster 1' and 'Gangster 2': thugs trying to collect a debt. Both are hilarious and their 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' stops the show for several well-deserved encores.

Patrick Van plays Paul, a role that has no function in either the story of Fred and Lilli or Katharine and Petruchio, but provides an excuse for a great dance number, 'Too Darn Hot.' This opens Act 2, and Van truly sizzles. Despite having spent the week before opening night in a hospital, Van showed no hint of any physical ailment and was a standout in all his scenes.

Mary Young, as Hattie, is paired with Van for both of his two big numbers. Young, whose performances span almost the complete history of DMTC, shows that she still has the energy to keep up with the company's younger members.

Martin's set design is simple and utilitarian, although some of the wagons could have been anchored a bit better, as one behaved like a snowboard when a character leaped up on it.

The lighting design is by Greg Wershing, who started designing here in Davis in his teens, went on to travel the world with the likes of Neil Diamond, Madonna and Garth Brooks, and now has returned to Davis; his children have joined DMTC's Young People's Theatre division. DMTC is fortunate to have the talented Wershing back in their ranks.

'Kiss Me Kate' has lots of references that date the piece, and no woman is ever happy when Katharine subjugates herself to Petruchio; all that said, this production offers patrons a rollicking good time.

Fuddy Meers

'Stability is a fragile figurine,' says Richard (Matt Kronzer), as he tries to help his amnesiac wife Claire (Sarah Stockdale) make sense of her life.

Claire suffers from a form of psychogenic amnesia, where she wakes each morning knowing nothing, and spends the day learning about her life. She's helped by a book Richard has put together, to let her know how to find her way around the house, and who she's likely to meet each day.

It sounds like a spin-off of the film '50 First Dates,' or perhaps a riff on 'Groundhog Day.'

David Lindsay-Abaire's play, with the odd title of 'Fuddy Meers,' has been mounted by Studio 301 Productions, under the direction of Gia Battista.

The play continues through Sunday in the Art Annex of UCD's Technocultural Studies Building. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission will be $10 general and $8 students at the door. For additional information, call (818) 251-6654.

The first challenge is to find the Art Annex. This can be a challenge for those not familiar with the UC Davis campus, especially since no helpful signs (or lights!) are present, at least not until you've just about arrived.

But this is a fun play, so do make the effort.

The nearby parking lot is well illuminated, and doors covered with black garbage bags have arrows that point to the correct door. The room is set up for 100 people, but only 15 of us were in attendance last week, on opening night; this is a shame, because the play is worth seeing.

Stockdale is a wonderful choice for Claire. Her face radiates innocence, first in the confusion of discovering that she doesn't have a clue who she is, and subsequently as she gradually learns things about her life from Richard, who may or may not be her husband.

But could she possibly have given birth to the sullen, stoned young woman named Kenny (Ashley Bargenquast)?

'How much did she weigh at birth?' Claire asks, as if trying to find some sort of maternal feeling for the girl.

David Lutheran plays the odd, deformed, lisping 'Limping Man,' who insists he is Claire's brother Zack, come to save her from 'Evil Richard.' Claire and Zack escape and go to the home of her mother, Gertie (Alison Stevenson), a stroke victim whose partial facial paralysis and impaired speech make it impossible for her to be understood. Despite this, she frantically tries to tell Claire things about her life.

Stevenson carries off the role brilliantly, and is very funny to boot.

Zack's crony is the mild-mannered Millet (Gordon Meacham), who comes with a foul-mouthed, alter-ego sock puppet dubbed 'Hinky Binky.' The puppet's stabbing, late in the play, is almost as touching as it is funny, given Millet's reaction to the assault on his long-time companion.

A policewoman (Steph Hankinson) adds another layer of confusion, as we realize that many in this cast aren't who they claim to be. The confused Claire slowly sorts them out, one by one, as her mother finds a way to make her message understood.

Claire knows one thing for certain: She likes to solve find-a-word puzzles, a hobby she embraces as a kind of grounding mechanism. She's delighted when she finds the word 'kiwi' on her own, without any assistance.

And this is what 'Fuddy Meers' is all about: finding words in a puzzle book, trying to decipher a mother's 'stroke speak,' looking for clues in a box of old photographs, registering random sparks of memory. Claire's life is a mystery, and she must try to sort it all out from the available clues.

But will she remember tomorrow?

Eurydice

The tragedy of the Greek god Orpheus has been told for as long as storytelling existed. The modern age has offered plays, operas and at least 30 films about Orpheus in many countries, from the United States and Japan to Czechoslovakia and Brazil.

It's the familiar story of love lost, found and lost again.

Orpheus' lover/wife Eurydice dies/is killed and goes the Underworld, where she's lost to Orpheus. He somehow finds a way to descend, to entreat the gods with his music and to achieve the release of Eurydice. But the permission includes a disclaimer and, of course, the rules are broken ... and Eurydice is lost forever.

Until playwright Sarah Ruhl came along, though, the story (probably) hadn't been told from Eurydice's point of view. Thanks to Acme Theater Company and director Emily Henderson, that omission has been corrected.

Ruhl's father's death in 1994 eventually inspired her one-act play, which was written in 2000.

By focusing on Eurydice's experience of her own death, and her journey into the underworld, we learn that she has been reunited with her father in Hades.

This father's love for his daughter is so strong that although the dead quickly forget their worldly attachments, he remembers his daughter; he seeks to get messages to her, during her lifetime. And, after her death, he reminds her of their relationship.

This Acme production has a strong cast. Hope Raymond and Torin Lusebrink, as Eurydice and Orpheus, have a warm and loving relationship. Their pre-marriage romps are full of joy, and are a delight to watch. Lusebrink is less effective later, in portraying Orpheus' anguish at the loss of his wife; he seems to focus more on his music than the emptiness with which he has been left.

Zach Salk's performance as Eurydice's father is more controlled than emotional, which may be fitting, given that he's dead. Sam Wheeler pulls out all the stops in his frenzied role as the Lord of the Underworld, played more as a petulant child with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Local bicycle maker Peter Wagner is given program thanks for the loan of his “awesome” bike!)

Rounding out the cast is a Greek chorus of “stones”: Hannah May as Big Stone; Gigi Gilbert-Igelsrud as Little Stone; and Amber Bianchi as Loud Stone.

Because of the nature of their characters, Bianchi and Wheeler are the easiest to understand. This intimate play, with its little cast, would work better in a smaller venue than Davis High School's Brunelle Performance Hall, where the audience area is so vast that many lines are lost.

The performances themselves are excellent, but I saw at least one audience member move closer to the stage after about 10 minutes.

Hannah May's set design is stark and rather bare, but the gray, rock-like curtains nicely delineate different parts of the set. And the method of arriving in the Underworld certainly is unique.

Delany Pelz's lighting design, integral to setting the various moods of the piece, works nicely.

In “Eurydice,” playwright Ruhl is working out her own conflicted emotions about death and the afterlife, based on her Catholic upbringing. That the piece seems confusing at times may indicate that she hasn't yet solidified all her feelings on the subject.

The Producers

If you want something to tickle your funny bone, do catch director Steve Isaacson's rollicking production of 'The Producers,' a first for the Davis Musical Theatre Company.

If you've just returned from a deserted island and have no idea that this delicious show was written by Mel Brooks, it wouldn't take more than a scene or two to figure it out. This is the show that Brooks has wanted to write his entire life: the musical that we've briefly glimpsed in several of his movies ... especially, of course, the 1968 comedy from which the plot of this show was taken.

'The Producers' is a fast-paced laugh from start to finish, with enough material to offend just about everyone: Jews, Nazis, old ladies, dumb blondes, corporate drones and just about anyone in between. And yet it's all done with such a sense of fun that you're amazed at the things that make you laugh.

It's burlesque all grown up.

For those few who may not have seen Brooks' original film, the story centers around Max Bialystock, a formerly successful producer who now can't get a hit to save his life, and who has become famous for his flops. DMTC's Martin Lehman doesn't quite have the bombast of Zero Mostel (but then who does?), but he's very funny in a role that seems perfect for him.

Into Max's office walks mild-mannered accountant Leo Bloom (Andy Hyun), who carries a strip of his baby blanket around in his pocket, to soothe himself in times of stress. Bloom discovers that it's possible for a producer to make more money with a flop show than with a hit ... if they plan it properly.

Hyun makes a perfect Bloom, with the wide-eyed innocence of a man who can be perfectly molded by the likes of Max.

And, thus, the team of Bialystock and Bloom is born.

They need the worst play in the world, the worst director in the world, and a bunch of gullible, horny old ladies as backers. When the show fails, as it is destined to do, Bialystock and Bloom will take off with their millions, to sun themselves on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

Let the fun begin.

And fun it is. It's difficult to pick any one scene as the best, but ranking right up at the top would be the chorus of horny little old ladies whom Bialystock will woo for their money, all tap-dancing with their walkers. It's one of the most inventive bits of choreography I've ever seen, and DMTC choreographer Ron Cisneros adapts it beautifully from the original Broadway production.

While 'The Producers' centers on Bialystock and Bloom, they're surrounded by a host of perfectly cast supporting players. First up is Kyle Hadley, as the pigeon-raising Nazi, Franz Liebkind, whose script - 'Springtime for Hitler' - is chosen for performance.

Then there's the fabulous director, Roger DeBris, played in beautifully campy style by Richard Spierto, along with his partner Carmen Ghia (Joseph Boyette), who gives new meaning to the term 'flamboyant.' Newcomer Boyette is a real find for DMTC, and easily steals his scenes.

Amy Jacques-Jones is Ulla, the Swedish bombshell who can run an office, paint a room during intermission, and star in a musical all without mussing a blond curl. Jacques-Jones, another newcomer to DMTC, is a real triple-threat; she not only acts, but dances and sings beautifully as well.

Everyone behind the scenes has pulled out all the stops for this production. Jean Henderson's costumes are outstanding, especially for the Busby Berkeley number. Dannette Vassar has concocted some pretty dramatic lighting, particularly for Roger DeBris and Carmen Ghia. Isaacson's set design, while merely utilitarian, serves the production quite well.

The only place where the show falters concerns the orchestra, with some downright painful passages by a few instruments, loud buzzing and then a booming electronic piano that nearly drowned out the singers in the finale.

Fortunately, the performers worked around the problems in the pit, and the audience still was treated to one of the most enjoyable shows ever to come out of DMTC.

Carousel

It's amazing how much really bad stuff happens in theater that nobody notices because of the pretty music.

Davis Musical Theatre Company opened Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Carousel' on Friday, and I must have been listening more closely this time: I was appalled by the line, 'Can someone hit you really hard, but you hardly feel it at all?'

This from the daughter who has just been slapped by her ghost-dad, reminding her mother of the slap she had received from her husband, before his death. If the tunes are memorable and the clambake fun, we don't notice that the authors have just made spousal and child abuse somehow 'romantic.'

But that's neither here nor there in reviewing DMTC's delightful production, directed and choreographed by Jan Isaacson.

Matt Provencal plays Billy Bigelow, a ne'er-do-well carnival barker who falls in love with Julie Jordan (Karina Summers), a local factory worker. Provencal is a newcomer to DMTC, and he's quite a find. He has a wonderful voice, and he partners well with Summers, a DMTC veteran.

Billy's soliloquy, pondering the monumental prospect of becoming a father, is particularly good.

Summers gives Julie a quiet, gentle, loving presence that carries her from infatuation with Billy, despite his abusive treatment of her, to raising his daughter as a single parent following his death.

The rapid development of the relationship between Billy and Julie shines a spotlight on how different things were in turn-of-the-20th century America, where girls were 'loose' if they even talked with a fella without a friend around to chaperone.

Both Billy and Julie lose their jobs over an innocent conversation, and end up getting married instead. Go figure!

Julie's friend, Carrie Pipperidge, is played by Eimi Stokes: just as adorable and endearing as she could be. Carrie has her cap set on Mr. Snow (Jason Hammond), and the two go on to marry and have seven little Snows. Stokes lights up the stage whenever she appears, and her energy is infectious.

Hammond's Mr. Snow is suitably pompous and quietly domineering in his relationship with Carrie, and he makes an absolutely perfect 19th century head of the household.

Deborah Douglas Hammond, whose character seemed somehow out of place in an earlier DMTC production of 'The Cat in the Hat,' comes into her own as the motherly Nettie, who takes Julie under her wing following Billy's death. Hammond sings the showstopping 'You'll Never Walk Alone,' and does so beautifully.

Lydia Smith is a lovely Louise, Billy's 15-year-old daughter, whom we first meet dancing on the beach in a beautiful ballet number choreographed by Isaacson. Louise is a combination of Julie's gentle soul and Billy's spunk, and Smith brings her to life quite convincingly.

Nathan Mack is more slimy than menacing as Jigger, the guy who convinces Billy to rob the mill owner, to get money for the baby Billy has just discovered he has fathered.

Marguerite Morris plays Mrs. Mullins, who owns the carousel for which Billy works. Isaacson has written additional dialogue for the character, which brings her relationship with Billy full circle, and is a nice addition to the script. Morris, without a song to sing in this show, embodies the crusty Mullins and does a nice job with her.

Jean Henderson has created a beautiful array of costumes, all nicely befitting the era. I particularly liked the soft, muted colors and textures she used for Julie, and the contrast with the bold, bright colors and crisp textures for Carrie, visually expressing the personalities of each.

Jen Berry's scenic design works well, and includes a working carousel for the opening scene. There's also a particularly nice dock scene, as everyone gets ready for the first clambake of the season.

At a bit over three hours, this is a long show, but it's filled with familiar tunes like 'If I Loved You' and 'June Is Busting Out All Over,' in addition to 'You'll Never Walk Alone.'

If you concentrate on the music, the dancing, the costumes and the clambake - and overlook the plot's negative parts - 'Carousel' makes for an enjoyable evening.

MacBeth (feature article)

In the normal course of events, a director decides on a show, then works with a set designer to bring this vision of the production to life.

For those who work on a university campus, things can be much easier.

Studio 301, a student-run drama organization, produced 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' last year. Rather than find and decorate a stage, the company mounted the production in the Arboretum: an actual forest for the play's forest setting.

Such decisions cut production costs considerably.

This year, directors Stephanie Hankinson and Gia Batista knew they wanted to direct 'a' play, but weren't sure which one. An idea began to form when they started looking around the UC Davis Social Sciences and Humanities Building. It's commonly known as the 'Death Star' because of its outwardly shiny metallic appearance, as well as the fact that architecturally it's such a maze.

The glassed-in catwalk between the two center wings just begs for a lightsaber duel.

Hankinson and Batista didn't see outer space; they saw a castle, and immediately decided that Studio 301's next production should be 'Macbeth.' They're using the entire building, placing the witches on a balcony overlooking the action throughout the play, and employing the tower for sword fights.

The tall concrete walls are excellent screens for special effects, and corridors that lead off the main 'stage' area are ideal for echo-y sounds of horror.

Curtain times are 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 18-21; and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22.

The suggested donation at the gate will be $10 general, $9 students. For additional information, call (818) 251-6654.

Michael Lutheran, who plays MacDuff, is delighted with the location. He feels that it both works beautifully as a castle, and also conveys Macbeth's descent into madness.

'This building is so confusing, people get lost in it all the time,' Lutheran said, 'so it kind of represents Macbeth's state of mind.'

Setting a play 'in' an outside venue that is part of a working university building presents interesting situations.

'We get people passing through all the time,' Lutheran laughed. 'We'll be in the middle of an intense scene or sword fight, and all of a sudden a class gets out and we have to hold.'

Cawing crows fly overhead at dusk, and the sound of campus bells must be dealt with. The directors don't feel these will be serious problems; they may, in fact, add to the ambiance.

The production also worked with instructors skilled in the Asian hakido style of combat, which should add an extra layer of excitement to the fight scenes.

Cody Messick is finding it a challenge to play Lady Macbeth.

'I've grown up with Shakespeare, because my dad has been the artistic director of the Kern County Shakespeare Festival for 25 years. But I'm usually cast as the sort of sweeter, straight character, so it's different and really challenging to play such an evil character.'

Even bad characters have their good side, though, Messick believes.

'I'm trying to find sympathy and the humanity in this woman, who really is hard to relate to, because she gives herself over to evil. She devotes herself to this murder and all this horrible stuff, but it's beautiful to try to find those places that actually come from pain, and a deep love for her husband.'

Sarah Cohen, who cut her teeth on Shakespeare back in 1994, when she played Antonio in Acme Theater's 'Twelfth Night,' is playing Duncan. The directors felt that making the ruler a woman adds another layer to the production.

'It actually makes it interesting, killing a queen, because it would be Lady Macbeth who would be the next queen,' Batista said.

'And Lady Macbeth actually incites the murder,' Hankinson added, 'so what does it mean to kill a queen, if she's going to be queen next?'

Cohen, who jokes that playing a queen fits her body type better than playing the role of a king, graduated from MIT in 2000 and returned to Davis to direct a Shakespeare play. She has remained on campus ever since, working in Disability Services.

Hankinson feels that this is one of the many good things about Studio 301: It welcomes alumni and faculty, as well as students.

'We have a really wide array: two majors, several minors in theater and people who have graduated from the theater department. It's a pretty good mix.'

Studio 301 has been around, in different forms, for about 15 years. It started in Sacramento as an independent theater company, with a couple of Davis students involved. More Davis folks got involved, and eventually the group moved to the UCD campus and was 'legitimized' by the powers that be.

These days, Studio 301 is a UC Davis club and is run completely by students.

'We do all our fundraising,' Hankinson said.

The group has been on campus for 12 years, with a few breaks here and there.

'Now we have a couple of really solid years under our belts, and I think it can be maintained,' Hankinson said.

While watching these actors rehearse, I note a high degree of energy and enthusiasm. This should bode well for a good production.