Taylor House B&B, Jamaica Plain

When we planned our trip to Boston, Jeri's sweetie Phil came across an ad for the Taylor House B&B just a couple of blocks from where he and Jeri live. It was more expensive than we are used to paying, but we bit the bullet and booked two rooms, for Walt and me and for my mother.

We could not have been more pleased with our accommodations. Walt and I had a small suite at the back of the house, overlooking the beautiful garden. My mother had a huge room in the front. There was a coffee station right outside our room, with freshly brewed coffee waiting when we got up, and a fridge stocked with soft drinks, water and yogurt for anyone who wanted it. There was also a large collection of VHS tapes and paperback books, for those who wanted something to read or watch at night!

The place is owned by Dave and Darryl, who are delightful guys who were extremely accommodating. They even provide a "Business Center," computer access for guests. I would sit at the computer in the dark when we came home each night and get my journal entry for the day written--I didn't need to lug that huge heavy laptop with me.

Best feature, though, are the "Goldens." They have two golden retrievers, Wags, who is the mother, and Parker, her son. They are beautiful animals, very friendly and well behaved, and they have learned how to guilt trip you into feeding them from the table (we never did feed them from the table, but sure did feel guilty about it, looking at Wags' hopeful eyes). The dog toys that we found lying around the house from time to time made it feel more like "home" than a "hotel."

I have a notoriously bad back and never ever plan to sleep well when we are traveling. To my delight, the beds were so comfortable that I slept all night long every night we were there, with nary a pain whatsoever. I was very sorry to leave!

Breakfast each morning was a gourmet treat. Darryl prepared fabulous breakfasts, each with a unique sort of flavor to it. There was pistachio granola, some cinnamon scones (fantastic), a delicious "egg wrap," with some of the best bacon I've ever tasted.

I loved the days when we got a late start in the morning and I would hear Darryl, a singer, vocalizing while he cleaned the house.

We had rented a car, but the B&B is perfectly located near public transportation, two blocks from the heart of Jamaica Plain, with its great restaurants and shops, and just a block from Jamaica Pond, which was wonderful for walking, running, or people-watching.

We had booked our rooms so late that we weren't able to book for the entire length of our stay, so had to find somewhere to go the last two nights. We went to a Holiday Inn about 10 miles away. Walt kept saying "Yeah, but it's only 1/3 the price..." In the end, when you factor in meals, the Taylor House wasn't that much more expensive and significantly more luxurious. We will definitely return.

I've posted a slide show here for anyone would would like to check out the photos that I took while there.

We will definitely be back.

4 stars out of 4 for this one!

The Wizard of Oz

I have a soft spot in my heart for “The Wizard of Oz,” so I was delighted to see that the Davis Musical Theater Company’s current production (in the newly-carpeted Hoblit Performing Arts Center through May 14) is mostly charming. The production brings the movie version of the L. Frank Baum story of the little girl from Kansas who is transported over the rainbow for adventures in the land of Oz to the stage, almost unchanged, with all the Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg songs (including “The Jitterbug,” cut from the movie) and dialog almost verbatim from John Kane’s screenplay.

Sadly, this is not DMTC’s finest orchestra. There are some serious problems with the music, but the splendid cast, direction (by Jan Isaacson), music direction (by Steve Isaacson), costumes (by Jeanne Henderson), choreography (by Dian Hoel), scenic design (by John Ewing) and lighting design (by Dannette Vassar) make it easier to ignore the sour notes coming from the pit.

Anyone familiar with the movie will remember the monochromatic Kansas scenes, which in this stage production are done in drab black and white, making the transition to the wildly colorful Oz that much more striking.

Alissa Steiner is almost perfect as Dorothy. She’s a bit tall and mature for the part, but the innocence she projects makes that not really a factor. Her “Over the Rainbow” is delivered in a clear, sweet voice that shows the longing of a young girl looking for a place where there isn’t any trouble.

“Leroy,” who plays Toto, is a lovable dog who can be a real scene stealer.

The rest of the cast is likewise excellent.

Kevin Carvavalho as the farmhand Hunk, and the Scarecrow has a child-like charm about him, and absolutely no bones at all, as befits a proper scarecrow.

Jason McDowell is Hickory the farmhand and also The Tinman. He clanks his way effectively around the stage and is at his most endearing when he learns that the heart for which he has so long hoped is capable of breaking.

And was there ever a better part for Steve Isaacson than that of the Cowardly Lion (also the farmhand, Zeke)? Isaacson presents his very best Bert Lahr impression and becomes an instant audience favorite.

Jill Wright was born to play Glinda, the good witch of the North. She is simply outstanding.

Buffee Ann Gillihan as Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch gave the role her own interpretation which was, at the same time in jarring contrast to the familiar inflections from the rest of the cast, and refreshing that she made the role her own.

Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are solidly played by the familiar Mary Young and the newcomer Chuck Snipes. Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz was the entertaining Adam Sartain.

The children who play the Munchkins were adorable. Unnamed in the program, yet worthy of note were the three girls of the Lullaby League and the endearing three boys for the Lollipop Guild. The children also play the flying monkeys and look like they are having the time of their lives doing so.

This low budget production lacks a lot of the pizzazz that high tech special effects can add, but innovative and often clever substitutions are made. Instead of a razzle-dazzle tornado, we have storm dancers, instead of a yellow brick road we have – we’ll you’ll have to see the unique solution to that problem. Somehow it all just works, though sometimes lengthy scene changes slow the momentum. (And unless the orchestra can play in tune, the interim music should be done by keyboard alone.)

Scenic design was basic, but effective. Using an upper level for the Witch’s castle was perfect and one of the better scenes in the show. No specific credit is given for the construction of the mechanical Wizard, so I assume it was made by scenic designer Ewing. It was great!

With all of the innovative ways of dealing with special effects one scene is a puzzlement. When Dorothy, the Scarecrow and Tinman enter the forest where they encounter the Cowardly Lion, they shudder at how “dark and creepy” it is, though they are walking onto a brightly-lit stage with only a few bare trees for scenery. Later in the show, when they enter the witch’s forest, the lighting is spooky and there are dark branches overhead, so it is not beyond the designers’ abilities to create the “dark and creepy” forest described. The contrast between dialog and actual setting is jarring.

This is a show that will delight any audience, particularly children. One hopes that with a few shows under its belt the orchestra will come together, but the rest of the show is well worth the price of admission.

Spring Concert 2006

Choreographer’s Hilary Bryan’s “Sacred Space” is performed in front of the U.C.D. Main Theater as part of the Main Stage Dance/Theater Festival, running through April 23. This is a production which attempts to break down spatial borders between performance and everyday life.

In “Sacred Space,” five icosahedrons (a polyhedron having 20 faces) consist of pipes which each contain a complete diatonic scale (twelve tones). The 7 dancers each stepped inside one of the figures, which surround the draped egghead statues, and they began to dance, tapping the pipes to produce a lovely ethereal sound...which unfortunately competed with the drum group that was rehearsing somewhere on campus. 5 minutes into the 12-minute piece, the drums finally stopped and one could finally get the full effect of the lovely tones that were being played.

Eric Kupers’ “Catch Cradle” actually opened the evening at 7:30 at the Davis Commons (in front of Borders) and then moved to the theater for the second half of the “structured improvisational” piece, which by its very nature will change somewhat each night.

“Baú” followed, a lovely piece choreographed by Jennie Amaral. The visual for the piece was stunning. Sheer cloth panels, illustrated the “personal boxes” and experiences that we go through as we deal with our “entrapment.”

“Imagination: love”, choreographed by Whitney Peterson, is described as “coming from a place of imagination.” Peterson may have channeled Tim Burton because it had that quirky Burton look to it. The music by Claude Challe provided a great strident rhythm.

“Point Zero,” by Hector D. Martin-Rodas is loosely based the book “Woman at Point Zero,” by Nawal El-Saadawi, based on an interview with a woman on the eve of her execution. The story of her tragic life is beautifully portrayed in this number, where the dancers were coverings over their faces.

“Captured Movement,” choreographed by Rebecca Abdenour, is inspired by the paintings of Joan Miró, whose style is represented in the costumes by Molly LeGoy and in the abstract lines and angles created by the dancers.

“Sense (it’s an experience)” choreographed by Keith Hennessy is high-flying fun with the rap beat by Miss Elliot. An all-male cast, these are mostly inexperienced dancers, but accomplished athletes, showing that the line between sport and the arts is not that wide.

“Tour,” by Hilary Bryan was an interesting number, described by Bryan as “based on the Space Harmony work of Rudolf Laban together with his theories of Effort and Shape Qualities.” To this viewer, it looked like a group of people going on vacation to a foreign country and pointing out the sights.

Brian Runstrom’s “Cacaphony Undisclosed,” set to original music by Portia Njoku, “encompasses an exploration of humanity and truth and asks if truths can ever really be unmasked. Costume designer Jenny Foldenaur has created black costumes, each with its own decoration, but all faces covered.

Finally, “Pondering Tongue-tied Green Fragrances,” by William Anthony Munkacsy III sports a charming backdrop of a child’s drawing of home, by Lysandra Nelson. The dance expresses deep-seated loneliness and longing blended with a sense of hope and comedy.

Excerpts from the Main Stage Dance/Theatre Festival will be shown at the Davis Farmers’ Market from 10 to noon on Saturday, April 15, and at locations around the UC Davis campus on Picnic Day, Saturday, April 22

Cabaret

Midway through Act 1 of Studio 301's production of Cabaret, running at the Wyatt Pavilion through April 16, the Jewish grocer Herr. Schultz (Yahya Rouhani) hands his landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Melanie Levy) a pineapple, which is the impetus for “The Pineapple Song.” During the song, actress Levy kind of bobbles the pineapple accidentally and some fronds fly off of the top of it. I kept waiting for someone to pick up the pineapple fronds, but at the end of the show they were still there. Even when the chorus girls from the Kit Kat club were crawling around on the floor picking up currency during “The Money Song,” they left the pineapple fronds there. Nor did anybody pick them up during intermission.

In Act 2, in another scene between Schultz and Schneider, a broom and an orange are left on the floor. It took 3 scenes before anyone picked them up (they danced on top of the broom and over the orange during the song “If You Could See her”) and toward the end of Act 2, Sally Bowles (Jennifer Nelson) drops what looks like a pitch pipe as she makes her entrance. It didn’t get kicked off stage until the curtain call, though scenery was moved around it.

I mention these serious oversights because I’m having a difficult time knowing what to say about this show. Who can’t like “Cabaret,” right? It’s downright unAmerican.

In fact, I had high hopes for the show when I entered Wyatt Pavilion, which had been turned into the Kit Kat Club, a seedy nightclub in Berlin in the days when the Nazis were coming to power. I was impressed that the atmosphere was perfect, down to the missing and mismatched lightbulbs around the second floor platform where the orchestra sat. Matt Welch and Katie Baad are credited with “original set conception” and deserve high marks for their vision.

The chorus girls, in wonderfully decadent costumes designed by Alexandra Bergere were wandering around on stage prior to the start of the show and it added to the ambience before the lights ever went down.

(Someone should tell whoever printed the programs, however, that while purple is a nice paper color, when you try to read black letters on purple in a dimly lit theater, it just doesn’t work!)

The show’s real problems started with the overture.

I tried to decide how to handle this, and decided not to point fingers because, in truth, with the exception of Rouhani there was not ONE principal who managed to make it through a song without hitting at least a few sour notes, some tried several different keys before settling on one which matched the orchestra, and there was at least one song which was so bad that I don’t think the singer hit one note right throughout. The last two notes of the show caused me to visibly wince.

I am puzzled by why this is because it is obvious that each of the performers has strong vocal talent. I don’t know if having the orchestra seated above them was the reason, or if the fact that the orchestra was out of tune as often as the singers was to blame. But for whatever reason, this is a show with very strong music and vocal problems.

Alas, vocal problems are not the only ones. The decision to cast a woman (Jacquie Pospisil) as the Emcee was a curious one. Pospisil is a good actress and has a good voice, but the role is written for a man and the lines were not changed to indicate that the character was female, yet Pospisil was costumed decidedly feminine, which made the number “Two Ladies,” with Pospisil as the “man” and one of the chorus men as one of the “ladies” distinctly odd.

But the show’s choreography (for actors who aren’t primarily dancers) by Tori Terrell-Carazo was fine.

Jennifer Nelson was Sally Bowles and is obviously a fine actress, but can’t quite carry off the degree of decadence that makes us understand Sally’s Bohemian lifestyle.

Drew Phillips is Cliff Bradshaw. Phillips is another fine actor whom I have seen in other productions, but in this production, we don’t get believability in his sexual orientation. Is he gay? Is he straight? Is he bisexual? Is he sexual at all? There’s not a lot of chemistry between Cliff and Sally.

Another directing oversight has Cliff packing Sally’s clothes into a suitcase, which he then takes with him as he leaves Berlin.

Studio 301 is a student run and funded club, independent from the university’s Theater and Dance Department. Last year’s “Into the Woods” was a promising entree into the world of musicals for the fledgling group. Unfortunately, its second attempt is less so.

Costume Guild Calls it Quits

Who will ever forget the image of Scarlet O’Hara taking the curtains down from the windows of Tara in order to make herself a fancy dress (or Carol Burnett’s parody of that same scene, complete with curtain rods)?

It was hard not to think of Scarlet O’Hara as I sat talking with Barbara Jackson, one of the few surviving members of the once very active Davis Theatrical Costumers Guild, now in the process of folding up its sewing machines, closing the door to its closet, and fading into the performing arts history of Davis. As Jackson and Charlotte French, the two remaining active members of the Costume Guild face decisions about what to do with the costumes which remain in storage, I met with each one of them to get their memories about 40 years of costuming history in Davis.

“In the early days, all the costumes were made out of people’s old draperies and tablecloths,” Jackson remembered. “We didn’t go buy fabric. The company didn’t have any money. So we really used everything we could get our hands on. We dyed things, used old sheets. There are still some petticoats and bloomers that we made for one of the Gilbert & Sullivan shows that were made out of my dining room curtains. They’ve gotten increasingly faded, but they are still there.” There are even a couple of men’s suits, from “The Gondoliers,” made from the old upholstery of Jackson’s couches, when she recovered the furniture.

Nobody set out to establish an official costume guild back in the 1950s, somebody just found a barn and decided to put on a show and it set the stage for several Davis institutions to be formed.

“The barn” was the school gym, when what is now City Hall was the high school. A group of people, headed by Dr. Robert Cello, then head of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, decided to put on a production of “The Pirates of Penzance.” Cello played the Major General, Joe Pence, DDS was the Captain of Police, and Marinka Phaff made the costumes. (All three, sadly, are no longer with us.)

Marinka Phaff had costume making experience in Europe prior to settling in Davis with her husband Hermann, professor of Food Science and Technology. (“I think she may have worked with the Ballet Russe,” speculated Charlotte French, adding that Phaff had been a very private person who did not like to discuss her life outside of the work she did with the other costumers. “‘Eccentric’ is a word that is just perfect for her. She never talked about herself. She would never talk about her past.”).

At the time of the “Pirates of Penzance” production, Phaff was working in the costume department at UC Davis. “Marinka was dedicated to costuming more than to anything else,” remembers Jackson.

Phaff and Jackson began to make costumes for Davis Art Center productions in the 1950s. The Art Center had no building at that time, but had office space behind McNeil’s Rugs and Draperies. Classes were held in various locations around town. Cello, who was on the Board of Directors of the Art Center with Jackson, was the inspiration for productions sponsored by the Art Center.

Jackson’s first show was “Brigadoon.” Eleanor Barnes was in charge of costumes, which were rented, but which came missing some integral pieces. Barnes called Jackson, to ask if she would be willing to make four dancers’ costumes for the show. “I said I’d be glad to do it if she would just bring me the fabric and measurements and patterns.” Barnes arrived with a stack of fabric and a playbill that had a 2x3 picture of a Scottish dancer on it. “I asked ‘where’s the pattern?’ She said ‘Bill Barbe (the director) said you don’t need a pattern.’”

Always up for a challenge, Jackson, who had never sewn without a pattern before, decided that if her mother could do it, she could do it. “I knew how a sleeve was shaped and a how a skirt was shaped, so it really wasn’t that complicated.” She learned about things like the “dancer’s gusset,” which allows a dancer to raise her arms while dancing without distorting the fabric. “I learned a lot of things,” she added.

When the Art Center stopped doing shows, Bob Cello wanted to form a company to do comic opera. (“They started with Gilbert & Sullivan because it’s cheap--no royalties,” Jackson pointed out) and the Davis Comic Opera Company (DCOC) was formed. Phaff was in charge of costumes. Jackson was working full time at the University for English, Dramatic Art and Speech. She continued to work on costumes in the evenings, picking up material from Phaff and bringing it home with her at night. This arrangement continued for many years.

When Jackson left the University, and the knit shop she later owned downtown, the Guild began making costumes in her home, which was more conducive to a large number of women with sewing machines going for hours on end. “In the early days we had a lot of people who helped. We put four sewing machines at my table and we put up card tables. They put a couple of machines on one table and then I had a sewing table that had two sewing machines on it and we sewed. I think that among all of the people who worked on costumes, the only real ‘professional’ among us was Marinka, so she took things home and did fancy things.”

In 1975, Charlotte French moved to Davis and got involved with “The Bad Actors,” which performed such memorable pieces as “I’m Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You’ll Have to Spend the Night” at the old Palms Playhouse. Phaff built costumes for this group as well.

French began making costumes because her mother ran a dance studio. “I made my own clothes from the time I was 12. It just seemed a natural thing to make costumes,” she explained.

French pointed out that though the Costume Guild has come to be associated primarily with the Davis Comic Opera Company, in the early years, when there were several theatrical groups performing in town, the Costume Guild worked with them all--the Art Center, the Davis Players, The Bad Actors, and even the high school. (The high school costumes for “Brigadoon” still hang in the costume shop.) Jackson also became the costumer for the Sacramento Opera.

The companies for which the costumes would be built paid for the fabric, the seamstresses donated their time. The costumes were also rented to companies outside of Davis--to Sacramento or to Stockton or to several companies in Solano county, and the proceeds of those rentals went for the upkeep of the costumes, and later for the necessary maintenance of the Costume Guild building.

French recalled some of the wonderful women who were part of the Costume Guild in its heyday.

“Toshi Jestes did the most beautiful work. Fabulous tiny stitches and very very persnickity. Barb McKinney and Grace Noda had both sewed with Marinka, so they were all part of that group. Molly Ann Lipelt did sewing for years, but her kids were little-ish at the time and so she preferred to take stuff home and work on it. Amy Patten never sewed, but Amy would come and cheer,” she laughed.

Jackson remembers Anne Ough, who suffered from emphysema which was so bad that she was forced to spend most of her time living over on the coast, where she could breathe more easily. But she continued to sew for the Costume Guild, taking specific pieces along with her, and was noted for her intricate detail work.

“Anne Ough was one of my best friends,” said Jackson, sadly. “She was so young when she died. She had a very creative mind.”

Jackson also complimented Charlotte French. “Charlotte does gorgeous hats. I think she prefers to do hats to doing any of the rest of it.”

“I like the craft side of it,” says French “I still love hat making. I really like the period hats, which are wonderfully fun to make, but nobody wears them now.”

French, a costume designer, returned the compliment. “I got real picky about who built my costumes. Barbara, of course, was wonderful. If Barbara would sew for me I was in heaven.”

At some point the Costume Guild, realizing that they could not continue to store costumes in people’s attics or basements, where they risked damage by the elements, and could get misplaced, decided they needed a building. The group incorporated and began holding fund-raising events to raise the money to build a real storage shed for costumes. “We did all manner of things to raise money,” said Jackson. They held dinners which the guild members cooked, in the Veterans Memorial building before DCOC shows, for example, and they made a special quilt.

Each square was the depiction of one of the characters in one of the shows, and it as made from the same fabric that the costume was made of. “There were several of us that did blocks for it and then I put it together,” said Jackson, noting that Ellie Glassburner won it. “We made quite a bit of money doing it. It was really a beautiful quilt.”

With enough money collected, and land behind the Veterans Memorial Theater loaned by the city of Davis, with the proviso that the land and building would revert to the city when the Costume Guild no longer needed it, a building was designed by Gale Sosnick, a cement floor was laid, Costume Guild husbands built the building, and the Guild members painted it. Jackson’s husband Turpie (historian W.Turrentine Jackson) and a cousin of his put together the racks for the costumes. It was dedicated in 1979 as the Marinka Phaff Costume Library.

Barbara Jackson and I met Enterprise photographer Alison Portello at the costume shop for a photo shoot for this article. It was a trip down memory lane for Jackson, as she remembered the circumstances of the building of so many costumes. She pulled out a can can dancer’s costume from “The Merry Widow,” displaying the multicolored ruffles on the inside of the skirt. “There are 90 yards of ruffles on each skirt,” she said. “Everybody hated me!”

She also showed me the size 12 white patent leather ladies shoes which had been donated by someone and which Malcolm MacKenzie wore as the Duke of Plaza Toro in “The Gondoliers.”

She pulled one of the Beefeater costumes off the rack. The Beefeater costumes present a special dilemma for her--they were so intricate and took hours of construction to make, authentic and durable.

“Somebody gave Marinka a bolt of white interior tape, just old white cotton tape, which Barbara McKinney took and dyed black and ironed. She ironed tape until she just could have thrown it at Marinka.,” laughed Jackson. “That’s what the Beefeater costumes are trimmed with. Barbara dyed and ironed every piece of it.”

Jackson wants to see them go to a good home, but who needs Beefeater costumes these days?

Portello asked Jackson to stand beside a Costume Guild banner which hung on the back wall. Jackson fingered the trim on the skirt of the figure on the banner, then looked closely. “Oh!” she said, “I think that was one of my scarfs.”

It is unlikely that we will ever see the likes of the Davis Theatrical Costumers Guild again. It is an organization of a different time. “Most people don’t value live theater today,” said French. “And the spirit of volunteerism isn’t there. Everybody wants to be paid. People who have the time, like the people who were involved in the costume guild, came from an era where the husband went off to work and the wife stayed home. They had the time to do it; now they don’t.”

The Davis Theatrical Costumers Guild is, perhaps, like the costumes they built--a period piece. But the unseen women who labored so long and so lovingly behind the scenes for so many years made it possible for theater to live and thrive in Davis. Without their expertise, the cultural life of this town would have been significantly different.

Cul de Sac

Two things we know about Leonard are that he is gay and that he is dead.

We know Leonard is dead because he tells us. We know he is gay because he shows us (by pointing out his mannerisms and suggesting that life might have been different if he had learned to appreciate football.)

Leonard is the central figure of “Cul de Sac,” a remarkable 90 minute one-man show, presented without intermission at the Mondavi Center Studio Theater for three more performances, ending with a matinee on Sunday.

The creation of Canadian writer/actor/director Daniel MacIvor (who performs the work) and Daniel Brooks, “Cul de Sac” examines our place in the world and how that place changes with other people’s perceptions of us, or how we interact with each other.

(Think of the block on which you live. How well do you know your neighbors? Really know your neighbors? How well do they know you?)

Leonard lets us know that his death was sudden and unanticipated and then he introduces us to each of his neighbors, as they learn of his death. In “meeting” these neighbors (all of whom are played, brilliantly, by MacIvor), we learn their view of Leonard, and we watch as they distance themselves from his death.

As he steps into block-shaped pools of light which indicate the home of each of his neighbors, McIvor also steps into the bodies of his neighbors. So complete is the instant transformation, so rich the characterizations, that we have no difficulty picturing the residents of each house, even when they engage in rapid-fire dialogue with each other. (An unbelievable Christmas party takes place, where in MacIvor is all of the guests at once, jumping in and out of identities in the blink of an eye.)

We meet Joy, love-starved housewife from Minnesota who is constantly bickering with her husband Eddie.

Next door is Virginia, the haughty Gilbert & Sullivan diva who dabbles in nudism and was very close to Leonard’s former partner Robert, a social climber, but who, like the rest of his neighbors, didn’t really know Leonard very well.

Mr. Bickerson (or “Bick” as he was known when he played college football) is the crusty, toothless, old retired veterinarian who yells at kids to get off his lawn and who kills the neighborhood cats in his basement so he won’t forget how to do it.

Finally, there is 13 year old Madison, an anorexic budding author, who thinks oral sex isn’t really sex because President Clinton said so and “isn’t it in the Constitution or something?” Madison has been Leonard’s closest friend, who ultimately, unwittingly sets in motion the events leading up to his death.

One by one we watch them discussing Leonard’s death, there in the privacy of their own homes. We learn that none of them felt they knew Leonard well, so they don’t let his tragic death touch them too deeply.

As the reactions to Leonard’s death unfold, so, too do the lives and personalities of these inhabitants of the cul de sac which is really a “dead end” for all of them, in one way or another, as much as it was literally for Leonard.

The final person we meet is Eric, a prostitute Leonard picks up at a gay bar. Eric, who has a woman of his own, will do anything for money to feed his drug habit.

“Cul de Sac” mixes black humor and hard-hitting reality. In the Q&A following the performance, MacIvor described it as “Our Town” meets “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

With assistance of the powerful lighting design of Kimberly Purtell, effectively using harsh flashes of lightning, temporarily blinding the audience, and the sound and music design of Richard Feren (who was replaced by Michael Laird for this United States tour because Feren will not enter the U.S. while George W.Bush is in office), this becomes an unforgettable work which will have its impact on the audience.

This work may not be to the tastes of the more mainstream theater goer, but for those willing to step out of the box and try something a little different, the evening will have great rewards.

Taming of the Shrew

“Rip-roaring” and “rootin’ tootin’” are not usually adjectives one hears to describe a Shakespearean production, but that certainly fits the Sacramento Theater Company’s latest production of “The Taming of the Shrew,” under the direction of Peggy Shannon.

This tight, energetic, sprightly paced production is set in the Old West, with lots of boots, cowboy hats, whoops, hollers, and impeccable “Wild West accents.” And actually, therein lies its problem. The combination of rapid fire dialog and broad John Wayne western accents assume that the audience is already well-versed in the story and the dialog.

“It’s fun, but I can’t really understand most of what they say,” I overheard someone laughing at intermission.

It is a shame that so many marvelous lines get lost on those unfamiliar with the text, no matter how much they are enjoying the production as a whole. In spots some may have longed for supertitles. I saw children in the opening night audience. They were obviously enjoying the on-stage hijinks, but I really wondered how much “Shakespeare” they were getting.

That said, for those already familiar with the story and the dialog, this snappy production is a delight.

There are those who question the political correctness of performing this comedy in this day and age, since it seems so blatantly mysogenistic, the message being that harmony will only occur when wives accept the domination of their husbands. But there are various shades of interpretation that can be presented without compromising either the original script--or the sensibilities of feminists. Director Shannon has achieved this delicate balance.

At the helm of this production are two of STC’s most familiar faces. Saffron Henke is the feisty Katherina is a gun-toting tomboy who will take no guff from anyone. Matt K. Miller is her fortune-hunting suitor, Petruchio, who vows to tame this hellcat. The two actors have always had great on stage chemistry together and it is at its best here.

Philip Charles Sneed (who also does the pre-show lecture) is Katherina’s domineering father, Baptista, who refuses to allow his youngest daughter, the blonde, flirtatious Bianca (Michele Hillen) to marry until a groom is found for her bad-tempered older sister. Hillen plays the sweet little lady role to the hilt (think of a somewhat less endowed Dolly Parton).

While Petruchio has his hands full with his “Kate,” the young rich Lucentio (Kurt Johnson) finds himself smitten with Bianca. He trades places with his servant, Tranio (Michael Stevenson), and disguises himself as a poor teacher to gain an excuse to be in Bianca’s company, while Tranio, posing as Lucentio attempts to convince Baptista to let him marry his younger daughter. Johnson and Stevenson make a great pair and play off each other beautifully, and Johnson gentle, romantic lover for Bianca.

As Bianca’s older would-be suitors, Mark Standriff as Hortensio and Allen Pontes as Gremio are wonderfully silly. Kyle Hayden as Petruchio’s manservant Grumio is outstanding.

Marion Williams has created the Wild West in the sparest possible manner, using a bare stage with platforms, a couple of swinging barroom doors on the sides of the stage, and hanging interchangeable signs overhead to indicate change in location, setting all against a wide open sky with colorful clouds as one might find in a Montana sunset. It proves that with a good cast, you don’t need a fancy set to put you in the location.

Shannon makes the most use of the entire stage, frequently sending her actors out into the audience to exit out the back of the theater, which adds yet another element to the energy.

Petruchio puts Kate through the tortures of the damned, first being late for the wedding, arriving in a ridiculous outfit, forcing the bride to leave before the wedding feast, depriving her of food or sleep for several days. Ultimately his new bride will admit that the sun is really the moon...or is it the moon which is really the sun. She agrees that an old man is really a beautiful young woman, and she gives a long speech about the need for wives to obey their husband in all things.

However, at the hands of the talented Henke, is Kate really subjugating herself to her husband, or does that sly gleam in her eye indicate that she has just found a better way to keep peace and manipulate her husband? I’m betting on the latter.

For those who intend to see this delightful production, I would suggest you brush up your Shakespeare, if you are unfamiliar with the script, in order to get the most out of the production, but do go to see it. It will be time well spent.

Kite Runner

When Lynn and I went searching for a copy of Quality of Care, she picked up this book and asked me if I'd read it. I'd never heard of it. She told me a friend had given it to her and that I needed to read it, so she bought it for me.

I took it to the theatre with me the night we saw Taming of the Shrew and one of the other reviewers came up to me at intermission and said, "You're reading that now, not last year, like you were supposed to."

Guess I was out of the loop when this book appeared on the scene. Even then, I'm not sure it was a book that I would have chosen to read. That would have been my loss.

This is the story of Amir, a young boy growing up in an affluent family in Kabul, playing with his best friend Hassan, the servant's son. The two have a very special bond and the story of their life together in pre-Taliban Afghanistan gives the reader a look at what life was like before the Russians invaded the country, and then the continuing destruction of the country under the Taliban.

A tragic incident changes the relationship between Amir and Hassan forever, which is not resolved for decades. Even then, the ultimate resolution takes twists and turns that are tragic and unexpected.

This is a gripping tale that will keep you turning pages, even while trying to watch Desperate Housewives (LOL)

Ascending / Descending

“Ascending / Descending In Spite of, Despite, and Anyway” is the title of the Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre’s Spring Concert, in the Dance Workshop Theater on Del Rio Pl. The show lasts for an hour and a half, without intermission and features dancers Nicole Bell, Caitlin Barale, Lisa Lin, Katy Lundgren, Rosie Shelton-Mottsmith and Trokanski herself.

The recorded music for this concert is by English composer Peter Gabriel, noted for his world music, described as “pictorial and imaginative.”

The concert is divided into six sections, each inspired by a piece of poetry. The first was “Treasure Hunt” by Robert Penn Warren (Hunt, Hunt again. If you do not find it, you will die.) Prior to the start of the concert, I had been reading a story in which the hero was searching through a grove of trees for the lost treasured memories of his youth, and so as this number started, with three pairs of dancers, one standing, one lying curled around the standing dancer, the visual image evoked a grove of trees through which one might be searching for lost treasured memories of youth, especially as the standing dancer began to “unfold,” much as a tree coming into bloom.

The music becomes more strident, with a Middle Eastern sound to it, the dancers moving with such precision that at times it is like one body with 12 arms and 12 legs.

For a section inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s “On Death,” the dancers were joined by Ashlyn Savidge and Phoebe Anderson, who represented youth and age, respectively. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one,” writes Gibran. “And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” The dancers, in their black leotards and red vests presented a vision of dancing to life.

Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” speaks of the roar of the waves and “ignorant armies” clashing at night. As the piece opened, the strident, rhythms of the music and the mechanical look to the choreography was reminiscent of the feel of a robot factory and segued into the dancers pairing off, one pounding another into submission, and then raising the “fallen” dancer back again.

“35/10" based on a poem by Sharon Olds was a lovely piece where in the passage of time and the shift from generation to generation, the underlying theme of “replacement,” was shown in the simple act of brushing another’s hair. It was also a beautiful reminder that dancers bodies come in all shapes and sizes and ages.

There was a return to Gibran with a piece based on “On Joy and Sorrow,” showing that “your joy is your sorrow unmasked.” As the piece begins, the dancers present mirror images of each other, showing the yin and yang that are sorrow and joy, that one is merely a manifestation of the other, that without sorrow there is no joy, and vice versa.

Bringing the work full circle was the closing segment based on e.e. cummings’ “Oh Sweet Spontaneous” a joyous celebration of Spring, in which the dancers, joined again by Anderson and Savidge, return to the visual imagery of the tree in the first segment.

The lighting design of Myvanwy Morgan added greatly to the ambience of each of the pieces.

The Spring Concert runs for two more performances, March 31 and April 1 at 8 p.m.

Man of La Mancha

The Broadway hit, “Man of La Mancha,” by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, currently at the Woodland Opera House, delivers a simple message which should resonate with anyone today who is overwhelmed by all the negative that surrounds us--war, famine, pestilence, floods, fires, the incompetence of world leaders... “Man of La Mancha” reminds us that with so much darkness in the world, humanity continues to hope.

Director Bob Cooper’s excellent production rises above the level of most community theater productions, with an outstanding cast, without a weak link in the bunch.

Rodger McDonald combines all of the qualities that the principal role demands. He is uneasy as Miguel de Cervantes, the prisoner, awaiting trial by the judges of the Inquisition for daring to assess a tax against a Catholic church, and commanding as Miguel de Cervantes, writer and actor, who agrees to present an entertainment for his fellow prisoners as his “defense” for the trail that will determine whether he gets to keep his belongings or not. He is the befuddled Alonso Quijana, an old man losing a grip on reality who has become an embarrassment to his family, and he is dashing and noble as Don Quixote de La Mancha, the imaginary character Quijana becomes, who tilts at windmills, thinking they are dragons, and who fights for the virtue of his Lady.

One expects a stirring performance of the show’s signature song, “The Impossible Dream,”and is not disappointed, but is just as moved by the sweet “Dulcinea,” sung to Aldonza, a serving wench and town whore whom Quixote insists on treating with dignity, gentleness and respect.

As Quixote’s friend and manservant, Sancho Panza, Paul Fearn is funny without being a caricature. He is slavishly devoted to his friend and would lay down his life for--or with--him, if need be.

Michelle Drever brings a sultry seductiveness and a world-weary attitude to Aldonza, who is puzzled by, irritated by, and intrigued by this stranger’s vision of her. She finds depths in herself that she did not know were there...and is uncomfortable by her discoveries. Drever has a powerful voice which can also achieve a soft gentleness that would melt the hardest of hearts.

Veteran actor and film critic for the “News and Review,” Jim Lane, adds another feather to his cap with a strong performance as the prison “Governor,” who becomes the Innkeeper in Cervantes’ play.

Andrea St. Claire does well with the smaller role of Antonia, Alonso’s niece, who is concerned about his fading competency and, more importantly, what will happen to his estate. St. Claire has a beautiful, strong voice and is able to change her persona when she moves from prisoner attire into the gown of the noblewoman, Antonia. She is another asset to this strong cast.

The “bad guy” is Matthew Abergel in the triple roles of the Duke, Dr. Carrasco, and the Knight of Mirrors. He is cruel and sardonic and handles the role well.

This show actually has a pit orchestra, under the direction of Dan Pool, which adds great depth to the sound and with stage mics (so much less distracting than body mics) there was no problem at all being heard over the instruments. With a fine orchestra in the pit, however, it was a bit puzzling as to why the director felt the need to use recorded music for mood at times.

Jeff Kean created a beautifully massive, impressive set which very realistically depicted a dungeon holding cell. However, the illusion was broken twice, once by flying in a windmill for the scene where Don Quixote has mistaken the windmill for a monster of some sort, and once when a confessional was flown in at the start of Act 2. Since all of the action takes place in the dungeon, the use of these realistic set pieces momentarily shatters the illusion that has been created thus far. It would have been much better to go with the descriptive passages, have Quixote’s battle take place off stage, and fashion a confessional out of something within the cell itself, as they did Alonso’s bed at the end of the show.

Kean’s lighting design, however, worked well, using cool tones for the real-time prison setting and warmer tones for the fantasy of the play-within-a-play.

Costume design by Laurie Everly-Klassen was, as always, excellent. The pull over gown for Antonia was particularly lovely.

This “Man of La Mancha” is an outstanding production which gives hope for good things happening in the world, despite often overwhelming odds.

Quality of Care

"Quality of Care" is a first novel by Elizabeth Letts, a midwife with whom I worked in an ob/gyn office many years ago.

In truth, this probably is not a book I would have picked up to read, just because it's not the sort of book that I read recreationally. But when my friend, another midwife, was here visiting, she and all of the hospital staff who had known Elizabeth were buzzing about it because, of course, everyone had read it (and my friend Lynn is one of the people acknowledged in the book for having taught Elizabeth about "the quality of care.")

And so I bought it.

I expected it to be good, based on the response from everyone who had read it, and it was. It's the story of Clara, a doctor who is being investigated for an unfortunate tragedy which occurred on her watch, but the tragedy sets off an interesting journey into Clara's past to get answers and to find direction.

This is an easy read, but a real page turner. I discovered that once I was into the story, I couldn't put the book down until I finished.

As soon as I finished, I ordered Elizabeth's just-published second novel, "Family Planning" and am looking forward to seeing if the quality displayed in this first book continues to grow in her second.

Chicago

Murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery have come to Sacramento and it all takes place across the street from the capitol. I’m sure there is a joke in there somewhere.

Razzling and dazzling the opening night audience, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Tony award winning musical, “Chicago” returned to The Broadway Series at the Sacramento Community Theater for a limited two-week engagement.

“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.

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 headling, “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 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) when it won 6 Tony Awards, Drama Critics Circle Awards, Astaire Awards, Olivier Awards, Helpman Awards and a Grammy for best cast recording (among many other accolades). The 2003 movie won the Academy Award for best picture.

The appeal of this show is something that is impossible to capture on film with quite the same energy or excitement. Watching large clumps of people executing complex dance steps and making it look effortless is an experience not to be missed.

As Velma and Roxie, Terra C. MacLeod and Michelle DeJean are superb. In each there are echoes of Verdon and Rivera, and I found myself understanding that Fosse had these two specific women in mind when he originally choreographed this show, the moves seeming to be unique to each character, but specific to the style of dancer.

Greg Evigan 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.

Carol Woods brings down the house with Matron “Mama” Morton’s “When You’re Good to Mama.” She’s a real powerhouse who received the biggest ovation at the end of the evening.

Roxie’s long-suffering husband, Amos Hart, the man who loves his wife no matter what, was given the appropriate downtrodden characterization by Kevin Carolan, but he has his moment to shine as he sings “Mr. Cellophane,” and shine he does.

There are marvelous ensemble numbers in this piece, which rely as much on choreography as they do on lyrics. The “Cell Block Tango,” where each woman explains how she happened to kill her husband/lover is marvelous, and “We Both Reached for the Gun,” where Billie coaches Roxie in how to give her court testimony are both outstanding.

Scenic design for this show is by John Lee Beatty, who places the orchestra center stage, with character entrances and exits over, under, around and through the orchestra box. Dramatic lighting is provided by Ken Billington and the costumes, elegant yet decadent, are by William Ivey Long.

Chicago is one of those musicals that will have you clapping enthusiastically, and then leaving the theater humming “All that Jazz,” and what more could one want from an evening’s entertainment?

Death of a Salesman

Last month, eight Nebraska meatpackers took a chance on a dream, plunked down money for the Powerball Lottery, and won the biggest jackpot in U.S. History.

The rise in popularity of insanely large lotteries, reality shows with millions of dollars in cash at the end of the road, and Internet get-quick schemes shows that the dream of the good life is as alive today as it was for Willy Loman in 1949 when Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” first debuted on Broadway. The UC Davis production, under the direction of Kent Nicholson, now playing on the Main Stage, will feel as up to date with today’s struggling families as it did to audiences nearly 50 years ago.

Tom McCauley, a working actor for more than 30 years, and now an MFA candidate, is an excellent choice for the role of Willy Loman, who has worked as a traveling salesman all of his life, but now, at 60, is wearing down and trying to decide how he’s going to support his family. McCauley has perfectly captured the look of a man beaten down by life, a little frightened of what lies ahead, but still trying to keep his dreams alive. Despite his disappointments in life, Willie takes pride in two things: First, his ability to make friends, and the host of friends he has made throughout his career (“I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ’Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?”).

Willy’s second pride is the accomplishments of his oldest son Biff (Matt Rapore), former high school football star, who Willy is convinced is going to take the professional world by storm.

Biff’s problem is that he can’t possibly live up to Willy’s grandiose fantasies for him. He never received his high school diploma and has been fired from every job he’s held. All he really wants is to move out west and work with his hands. Rapore was off to a slow start as Biff, but as his confidence grew, he gave a powerful performance. The final showdown between Biff and Willy, is skillfully handled by both actors.

In the shadow of his brother is Happy Loman (Michael Yost), who shares Willy’s inflated image of his own importance and questionable moral choices. Yost is makes the audience feel Happy’s frustrating attempts to get his father to notice him.

Lisa Klein is Linda Loman, Willy’s long-suffering wife. Linda is the stereotypical wife of the 40s, taking care of her husband’s needs, supporting his dreams, but with her own frustrations. She mostly suffers in silence and it is her emotional strength which keeps the family together, until things finally explode beyond her ability to control them.

Matt Sullivan is Charlie, Willie’s next door neighbor, who owns a successful business and whose son Bernard ®. Andrew Hess) is a successful lawyer, who has always regarded Biff as his hero.

Willy’s boss, Howard Wagner (Dan Hakim) is a young man whom Willy has known since he was a baby, but Wagner regards Willy with condescension and when Willy goes to him, hoping for a change in his work conditions and perhaps an advance on his salary so he can pay the insurance bill, Wagner fires him.

Willy is losing his grip on reality, and his life seems to be played in the here and now, and in flashbacks to Biff’s glory days and to the days when his wealthy older brother Ben (John Crosthwaite), who recently died, was still alive.

Lighting designer Daniel Goldin uses cool tones for the “here and now” and warm tones for Willy’s flashbacks.

Scenic Designer, Martin Flynn has built a massive, functional set with a colorful backdrop showing the cramped neighborhood in which the Lomans live, and a multi-level house where the action can easily move from bedroom to kitchen to hotel.

In his director’s notes, Kent Nicholson points out that, like Willy Loman, many of us are embracing a system bent on destroying us. “Today there is a cultural obsession to get ahead no matter who we leave behind.”

We have not learned much in the past nearly 50 years. We are, most of us, still Willy Loman, trying to make it in a world that seems determined to keep beating us down.

Willy took comfort in the knowledge that if he had no money to show for his lifetime, at least he had a wealth of friends. The ultimate irony was that the only people at his funeral were his family and his one close friend.

Insides OUT!

Stop what you're doing right now, go to the telephone, call Sacramento Theater Company, and order tickets for the production of Insides OUT! the powerful one-woman show by Katie Rubin. It's that good.

Insides OUT! is a no-holds barred, emotional, funny, gut-wrenching look at the 29 year old Rubin’s journey through alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, food addiction, and self-loathing throughout her high school and college years and ultimately, to the path of recovery. While this sounds like a heavy evening – and, in spots it is – Rubin makes the one hour piece a mesmerizing experience. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cheer. Not bad for an hour’s work.

In a sort of prolog, Rubin talks with the audience and explains that in her study of Carl Jung, she learned that the human psyche is made up of several different archetypal characters. Rubin has identified seven different characters in her own psyche and has named most of them. As she begins the formal part of her program, Baby Katie (who is 6 years old) takes over to tell the story. She is joined by The Perfect Monster, whose job it is to remind Big Katie of what a terrible person she is, and that no matter what she does, it’s never good enough. Then there is Hank, “the Trickster,” who leads Big Katie to alcohol, drugs, food, and heavy partying, and in party mode Sylvia, “the Romantic,” takes over as the archetype who can’t get enough sex. Sylvia figures that if Katie can just find the right man, she’ll never have to work again.

Somewhere in the middle of all these conflicting characters, there is a “wise woman” whom Big Katie stumbles upon in a bathroom mirror one day, whom she gradually learns to trust, and who helps her to put all of the others in their place.

The piece itself uses comedy, poetry, song, improvisation and monologue to tell the story, and we see that, despite the criticism of The Perfect Monster, Rubin is more than adept in each area. Her singing voice is particular strong and her poetry is raw and filled with emotion.

She brings a message which will resonate with most people and she has such an open, likeable demeanor that she creates a safe place from which to begin to identify your own archetypal characters.

Rubin began her career as a comedic writer/performer at Amherst College with her first original piece, “PartyBoobyTrap.” Her second play was produced through the 2000 New York Fringe Festival. "Insides OUT!" is her third original piece and her first one woman show.

She is a graduate of the Theater and Dance program at Amherst College. She has studied at the Wynn Handman Studios, at Annie Bogart's SITI Company and has an MFA from UC Davis. Rubin’s involvement with recovery and the 12-step process has led her to perform this one-woman show at recovery centers.

The press release for this show warns that “Insides OUT! contains mature subject matter and language and is appropriate for high school and college age audiences and above.” Given the insecurities of high school students in general, and the difficult life decisions they are often forced to make, I feel this show is not only “appropriate” for high school students, but might go so far as to say attendance at this show should be encouraged for high school age students.

The show is booked for a nine-week run at Sacramento Theater Company. Following each performance there is a question and answer session with Katie Rubin, who creates a palpable bond with her audience, which makes in-depth questions safe to ask.

Run, don’t walk, to the Sacramento Theater Company and see this show. You won’t be sorry that you did.

Titanic: The Feature

This article was originally supposed to run before the show opened, but space constraints necessitated that it not be run until the following week. This is the article I wrote about the projected opening of the show...

Steve Isaacson was like a little kid on Christmas morning. “What is finally starting to dawn on me is--this is our place,” Isaacson gushed. “This is ours! Look at all this ROOM! I am just so excited about this. My God this is real.”

He was giving me a backstage tour of the new Hoblit Theater for the Davis Musical Theater Company’s upcoming production of “Titanic: the Musical” which opens February 24. It is the largest show the company has ever presented, with 47 in the cast,

I made a comment to normally unflappable costumer, Jeanne Henderson about the number of costumes necessary for such a big show and how nice it must be to have the space to get them all done in a more timely fashion.

“It would be, except I had to move in the middle of it,” she said, rolling her eyes, explaining that now that the theater was completed and DMTC was moving out of its former storage unit, she had to move all of the costumes previously in storage over to the new building, at the same time that she was constructing new costumers for the current show.

Isaacson took me into the Barbara Jackson Costume Shop, which I had visited when the theater first opened. The cavernous space I had seen in November was now filled with costumes. Racks ran the entire length of the building, on both walls, two racks tall, the top rack nearly reaching the ceiling.

“It’s the largest walk-in closet in Davis,” Isaacson joked.

The racks were designed by Doug Hicke and Dixon High School shop class teacher, Bill Scott. The men designed a system which would allow the clothes to hang without touching the wall. The actual forming and welding of the “stand offs” was the final exam for Scott’s advanced class (80 students). The entire system was installed by Scott, Hicke and his father, and Henderson’s husband Alex. “For years the Davis Musical Theater Company has loaned costumes for Dixon High School drama productions,” said Scott. “I thought it was time for a little helping hand pay-back.”

As Isaacson and I passed to the other side of the theater, the cast was on stage rehearsing the opening number, while choreographer Ron Cisneros refined the blocking. Isaacson, who is also the musical director, stopped to listen. “We have some of the best singers we’ve ever had in this show,” he said, as the chorus reached the final notes of the number, the richness of the sound a wonderful demonstration of how full a chorus can sound when it includes 22 men (“that’s unheard of,” Isaacson said).

Some modifications had to be made to the open orchestra pit so that the stage could be moved forward, allowing the ship’s passengers to use a larger deck area. This resulted in cutting a hole in the floor for the conductor. “After my welcoming speech on stage, I turn and jump into the hole,” Isaacson laughed.

The special changes to the Hoblit Theater make it immediately obvious that “Titanic: The Musical” is a show which never could have been produced in DMTC’s former home, the Varsity Theater.

Time alone would have been a factor. The demands of such a huge show, with such a large, complicated set would never have been possible in a theater which the company only inhabited for a few weeks prior to opening. And then there are the kinds of semi-permanent changes which cannot be done in a rented space.

Technicians were nailing things to the specially built platforms on either side of the stage, which will act as the bridge and the first and 2nd class passengers’ decks. The two sections of the ship will be joined by a false proscenium (the arch that goes over the stage), tying the whole thing together into one big ship.

The set designer for “Titanic: the Musical” is Mike McElroy who, coincidentally, will also play Thomas Andrews, the builder of the Titanic, in the show itself. The multi-talented McElroy has performed in other shows, and designed lights for DMTC before, but this is his very first set design.

“I’ve worked on building a lot of sets,” he said, “but this is the first time I’ve ever designed a set.”

When the new season was announced last year, McElroy knew that this was a project he wanted to undertake. He also felt that he was ready.

“The last show I did was ‘Victor, Victoria,’ at Runaway Stage. It had a massive set. Watching the set designer there build that monstrosity was a big inspiration to me. It gave me a few ideas on construction techniques. I felt a lot more confident.”

McElroy began mentally planning his design nearly a year ago, although actual construction didn’t start until early January.

The tech crew is in the process of building the third piece of the set, a 35' by 12' wooden deck which will actually tilt as the ship begins to sink.

In preparation for sinking his Titanic, Isaacson has acquired a 6,000 lb winch that runs on a car battery. It’s his newest toy and Isaacson is very proud as he jokes about the technical workings, “It’s got gazunta circuitry. It’s got this giant thing so it unrolls and then you hook it up and then you just turn it and it has a remote control and it just pulls and lifts it.” (Got that?)

Again, this mechanical set-up would not have been possible at the Varsity Theater, as the winch must be firmly attached to the walls in order to begin to pull the large deck to a realistic slant.

“Let’s hope your set won’t sink, like the real Titanic,” I joked with McElroy

“Hopefully it will sink,” McElroy laughed, as he turned away from me, began singing, and walked onto the stage, to join the rest of the cast.

“Titanic: The Musical” opens on February 24 and runs weekends through March 19.

Mary, Mary

"Everytime I think I'm out, they pull me back in," must be how Alex Cross feels. Here he thought life was settling down, that he could stick around the FBI, be a Dad, take his kids to Disneyland, and then what happens? Someone starts cutting up pretty ladies and he's back on the case again.

This time he's on loan to the LAPD after the murder of an actress whose face was cut to ribbons so that she was nearly unrecognizable. This sets off a string of similar murders, each with an accompanying message to the local gossip columnist.

While Alex is looking for the bad guy or gal, he's also fighting his ex-wife for custody of their son. The custody battle seems a bit contrived, especially when it comes to the ultimate resolution.

But naturally Alex solves the case and Nana-Mama is there to scold him for putting the kids in danger yet again. He promises that he's finished with all the dangerous stuff for good...but is he? Only Patterson's next book knows for sure.

But once again, James Patterson has given us a page turner with sex and violence and home cooking, and isn't that what we expect of Patterson?

Derfs Cafe, Santa Barbara

Our previous experience at Derf's had been a good one, and we had no reason to believe that this would be any different.

Boy, were we wrong.

I suspect the main problem was the wait staff, who just didn't seem interested at all. The waitress took forever to even notice we had sat down, took forever to get us anything to drink, and then got the drink order wrong. She eventually took our food order and we waited a good 30-40 minutes for it to be delivered. Two of the six orders were also wrong.

It might, at one time, have been good food, but by the time our burgers arrived mine was barely warm, the meat had the consistency of cardboard, and the cheese, which had once been melted was now a congealed rubbery mass. The bun may have once tasted good, but because of sitting so long, it had dried out and even I, the bread maven of the world, didn't want to deal with it.

Santa Barbara is a town loaded with wonderful places to eat, so I think it's fair to say that we will look elsewhere the next time we are in town and looking for a place to have brunch.

Titanic

The shake down cruise of “Titanic: the Musical,” with story and book by Peter Stone, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston set sail at the Davis Musical Theater’s Hoblit Performing Arts Center on Friday night, under direction and musical direction of Steve Isaacson. Like the great ship whose story it tells, the production is not without its flaws. It has some fixable problems and some non-fixable problems, but in those moments when it all comes together it is downright glorious.

It is evident from the moment one enters the theater and sees the size and complexity of the set (designed by Michael McElroy, who also designed the lights and plays (appropriately) Thomas Andrews, the builder of the Titanic, in the show itself) that this is a show which could never have been produced at the old Varsity Theater. Even without all the technical elements necessary to sink a giant ocean liner several nights a week, the size of the set alone would not have been possible at the Varsity. The ability to affix things semi-permanently to the walls provided for a rock-solid set.

The 14 piece orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan Rothman, got off to a shaky start in the overture but quickly warmed to the task at hand as the show progressed.

Jeannie Henderson’s costumes are, as always, exquisite.

This is not a plot show. Well, other than the obvious plot about the ship itself. There are no characters in whose lives we get deeply involved. Nobody stands at the bow of the ship proclaiming himself to be “king of the world.” If there is hanky panky going on below deck, we don’t see it. It is more an opportunity to get a glimpse into the lives of the first, second, and third class passengers of the great ship, the meet its crew and then to see how they all handle the terrible tragedy that is about to befall them.

A show this big requires a big cast and DMTC may have assembled its biggest to date. There are 47 actors, some of them doing double duty to fill out the sound of choruses.

Collectively, they are exquisite. When all the passengers are ready to set sail and then launch into “Godspeed Titanic” I literally had tears in my eyes. I think it was a combination of the fact that it was such a full, beautiful sound--and the fact that these were people who were about to meet their death.

However, among the cast there are 44 named characters and many of those characters have either short solos or long solos. Some are not quite up to solo quality voices.

Ben Bruening as J. Bruce Ismay, owner of the Titanic, has never sounded better vocally, though I would have liked a bit less intensity in his portrayal of the man whose only thought was getting the ship to port in the fastest possible time and damn the passengers’ safety.

Richard Spierto was a properly regal Captain E. J. Smith. He has a commanding presence and a good voice and was a perfect choice for the role.

Brian McCann is excellent as Henry Etches, the 1st Class Steward, perhaps at his best “Doing the Latest Rag” (with choreography by Ron Cisneros).

It was fun seeing Davis theater veteran Jill Wright back on stage again as Caroline Neville. She’s as lovely and as talented as she ever was.

Lauren Miller was outstanding as Alice Beane, the starstruck wife of Edgar (Marc Valdez). Alice knows all the facts about all the 1st class passengers and it is her dream to rub elbows with the wealthy while aboard the ship.

There are many technical aspects to this show which simply didn’t work. I am assuming the glitches will be ironed out during the run of the show. An inordinate number of lighting mistakes were made on opening night, from lighting the wrong side of the stage to plunging the whole house into darkness to leaving a soloist in the dark as he sang his solo. It’s a complicated light plot, and I’m sure that this is going to begin to run more smoothly.

There are also video projections which didn’t work at all. The time line projected onto the proscenium was crooked and up much too high to be noticed, much less read, though this already appeared better by the second act. Likewise, there were various newspaper headline articles about the sinking of the ship which were projected onto the curtain and which were much too dark to be read from the audience.

There was also the matter of a stubborn tea cart which is the focus at a crucial moment, and which did not behave as it should.

But when things worked as intended, it was wonderful, and the sight of McElroy standing on the tilted deck of the ship he built trying to decide, in his last remaining moments of life, where he had gone wrong, it was worth it all.

Fears of Your Life (the stage show)

“Fears of Your Life, Study 1,” based on a book by San Francisco author Michael Bernard Loggins, and directed and choreographed by MFA Candidate Kim Epifano, is a true interactive work of theater.

As the audience enters the Mondavi Center, they are free to enjoy a display of artwork by members of Creativity Explored, a San Francisco-based visual art community for people with developmental disabilities, or watch portions of a video, “Life Itself,” by Francis Kohler and Todd Herman, about the life of Michael Bernard Loggins.

From there, the audience passes into the Mondavi Studio Theater, where everyone is invited to “leave their fears at the door,” by writing them on the large wall of butcher paper. The fears range from the serious (“Fear that my daughter will die,” “Fear that I will never again experience love”) to the less serious (“Fear of oversleeping,” “Fear of Dick Cheney”).

Next everyone is invited to choose from among a number of cartoon characters made of thick foam board, with velcro backing, and to, in essence, become part of the set-design team by placing the figures on the walls of set itself. The stage is lined with white felt, on which are drawn cartoonesque figures--a large television, which is running movie clips; a tall house, at the top of which is window in which sits actor Lonnie Ford, as Loggins himself, scribbling fears on pieces of paper, reading them aloud and then tossing them down onto the audience.

The audience is free to wander around the stage, picking up the pieces of paper, and reading Michael’s fears; examining the shoes on which are printed more fears; or checking out the larger than life puppets (designed and constructed by Michael Stasiuk), which will later become part of the choreography.

As starting time approaches, the lights begin to dim, the audience is invited to take their seats, and the show gets underway.

Ford, as Loggins, comes onto the stage with the dancers, members of Oakland’s Axis Dance Company – Judith Smith, Stephanie Bastos, Katie Faulkner, Sonsherée Gilese, Sean McMahon, and Renee Elisabeth Waters.

Inside the giant puppets, outside the giant puppets, on crutches, in wheelchair, running, dancing, leaping about, or rolling on the floor, the company energetically and effectively depicts the 138 fears listed in Loggins’ initial ‘zine. This is a work to which everyone can relate. Who hasn’t, at some time in their life, been afraid of a snake under the bed or going to the dentist?

“Fears of Your Life” is a multi-media event, incorporating movie projections (video design by Erich Bolton) and delightful animation by Todd Herman, bringing Loggins’ engaging drawings to life.

In spots there is definable music--songs written by Epifano and Katie Faulkner, and sung by Faulkner (accompanying herself on the guitar); in other spots there is what Epifano describes as “sound scape” or “vocal motion,” each type of music appropriate to the set of fears being examined. Sound designer Rick Scholwin does an exceptional job of handling the varied sounds.

Lighting plays an integral role in this production and Ron Reisner’s design beautifully portrays the mood, from the red color of traffic-related fears to the stark white fear of “panic attack,” or any of a number of moods in between, lighting only enhances the effect.

As for the performers themselves, they take us to familiar places, funny places, dark places, secret places. The combination of physically abled and disabled dancers, and of Michael Loggins, a developmentally disabled artist and writer, in such a seamless, beautiful manner erases the lines between our differences. We no longer see Michael, the disabled man. We see Michael the artist, the poet, the philosopher, the man. We don’t see physical disabilities of Judith and Stephanie, we see the beauty of dancers who move in a manner different from what we normally expect. We don’t see crutches, we see wings.

“Fears of Your Life, Study 1" is a unique theatrical piece which appeals to people on many different levels. It is a piece to which we can all relate and we leave the theater feeling a little less alone in our fears.

Which was, of course, why Michael Bernard Loggins wrote his little book in the first place.

Death and the Ploughman

When a person dies in the prime of life, the natural tendency of the survivors is to rant and rave and perhaps curse God and question why their loved one had to die too young. These days friends understand what’s going on. We have bereavement counselors and people like Kubler-Ross letting us know that anger is one of the stages of grief and that it’s OK to be angry and to question the logic of God’s allowing a young person to die.

Back in 1401, when Johannes von Saaz’s beloved wife died in childbirth, people just didn’t go around questioning the Almighty. People were supposed to hunker down in their huge cathedrals and accept the will of God.

So von Saaz’s 34 chapter, “Death and the Ploughman,” which presents a grief-stricken ploughman engaging in a bitter dialogue with Death over the loss of his wife, was not widely known in the author’s time, and not translated from the German and presented on the stage until 1977.

A new translation by Michael West opened Wednesday night on the Main Stage at UCD, under the direction of Anne Bogart and performed by members of the SITI Company.

As the audience entered the theater, the three characters were already on stage, moving in a painstakingly slow, stylized manner to the relentless music of Nine Sili Nebesniya, composed by Sheremetieve, a tune which is not likely to be found on my iPod any time soon.

Death, looking like Rene Magritte’s Man in a Bowler Hat, is played by Stephen Webber, with Will Bond as the Ploughman and Ellen Lauren as the Woman.

The Ploughman opens the dialog with a gut wrenching monologue in which all of his pain and anger comes spewing forth as he curses Death, despairs of ever finding happiness again in this life, and demands retribution from Heaven for the joy that was taken from him.

As the 90 minute play progresses, each of the actors, in turn, have lengthy monologues. There is rarely any actual conversation. The woman alternates as the Ploughman’s wife and as a supportive voice for Death.

Death seems to have an almost amused reaction to the depth of Ploughman’s grief. “You have not drunk from the fountain of wisdom. This much is clear from your words,” he says on one occasion, and on another counsels that “‘This too shall pass’ should be in the mouth of every man,” seeming to feel that it is only a matter of time before Ploughman recovers.

He also points out that Ploughman’s grief is so great because his love was so great and that to remove the grief would necessitate removing the love as well, and he gives a recitation of the kinds of positive things that cannot exist without their negative components. "Suffering is the end of love, the end of joy is sorrow. After pleasure comes the loss of pleasure." Death tells the grieving man that if he did not want to feel pain, he should not have allowed himself to love.

The Ploughman continues to harp on the injustice of mortality, while Death shows him the all the ills of the world that his wife has been spared. She died young and beautiful would never know what it was like to experience old age and watch her body begin to deteriorate.

Movement in this production is at times almost balletic, with graceful, precise moves and elaborate gestures. The choreography was a collaborative effort of the actors and the director and arose out of the “dense, articulate” language, explained the cast at a Q&A following the opening night performance. There are also moments of visual levity to break the mood when things get too heavy.

The action takes place on a black stage, bordered with white, a design by James Schuette, which is complemented by the geometric lighting design of Brian H. Scott. The only set pieces are two metal tables and a small suitcase which the woman carries.

The debate between Death and the Ploughman concludes with the arrival of God, who renders judgement as to who was the winner and why.

Director Bogart explains that Death and the Ploughman was written at a time when the theretofore accepted medieval sensibilities were suddenly called into question--faith, the meaning of life, religious hierarchy, authority--leading to the start of the Renaissance. She points out that today we are undergoing another paradigm shift where religion, values and meaning must be examined from fresh new angles.

When one watches this play, one is struck with the sense that history does indeed go in circles, and that everything old is new again, sooner or later. The issues raised in Death and the Ploughman are as fresh today as they were in 1401.

Amadeus

As the old joke goes, when Mozart was my age, he’d been dead 28 years. In a mere 35 years of life, he composed so many pieces of music that it was not until 1862 (70 years after his death) that Ludwig von Kochel finally catalogued them all into a 551 page book. It’s enough to give a person an inferiority complex.

The composer was a bundle of contradictions, at the same time a child prodigy who never really grew up and who was reportedly loud, obnoxious and vulgar, and a brilliant musician who produced some of the most beautiful, profound, and memorable music of his day.

There are also contradictions in reports of his life. The manner of his death is a matter of debate. His burial place is unknown.

In the story of this multi-faceted genius, Peter Shaffer saw a great theatrical piece and his “Amadeus” was written in 1977 and first performed in London in 1980. It won 5 Tony awards on Broadway and the 1984 movie won 8 Academy Awards. The original stage work has undergone six revisions and the Sacramento Theater Company is presenting the latest version.

The story tells of a questionable relationship between Mozart and a lesser court composer, Antonio Salieri. It focuses on Salieri’s seething jealousy and hatred of the young genius, and his decision to destroy him. In actual history there is question of whether the two ever met, but it is of little consequence because Shaffer has made it a heck of a story.

Salieri is at the center of the work, the play beginning on what he says is to be the final night of his life. The action is mostly done in flashback, with occasional returns to the present as Salieri ticks off the remaining hours of his life.

Matt K. Miller may be playing the role of his life. He is simply magnificent as the tormented Salieri, making deals with God and then, when he feels the deals go sour, turning his back on God and embarking on a campaign to drive his nemesis to ruin. Salieri is on stage throughout the entire play, frequently delivering lengthy rapid-fire discourses. It’s an actor’s Olympic event and Miller handles it like the pro that he is.

Derek Manson as Mozart is brilliant. He is very funny as the raucous, raunchy, spoiled wunderkind. But this is a man who spent his early years accompanying his father, being presented and performing for royalty, so he knows what is expected to succeed at court and he is able to change in an instant to a courtly gentleman, eager to please his emperor (Philip Charles Sneed).

As Constanze Weber, Saffon Henke nicely rounds out the trio of exceptional lead actors, as captivating as the innocent, giggily young girl being courted by “Wolfie” as she is effective as the life-weary wife, struggling to find enough money to feed her family.

Paul Richard Alary and former Acme member Andrew Conard have large roles as the two Venticelli (Salieri’s “ears,” -- the word “venticelli” means “little winds” -- who bring him all the latest gossip).

Others in this fine cast include Margie Roesser as soprano Katherine Cavalieri (mistress to both Mozart and Salieri), Greg Alexander as Count Johann Kilian von Strack, J.T. Holmstrom as Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg, Thomas Engstrom as Baron Gottfried van Swieten.

The set, designed by Marion Williams, is perhaps more opulent than STC audiences are accustomed to, with its rich wood balconies and crystal chandeliers. Portions of the set move to partition off certain areas and it is hoped that the set crew can learn to do it a bit more quietly as the run progresses.

Clare Henkel is credited with costume design, working with costumes rented from the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. The look is luxurious and beautifully gives a feel for the period.

The recorded music (sound designer is Ned Jacobson) worked in some cases, not in others. During Katherine Cavalieri’s first act performance, she makes no attempt to lip synch to what is being played and, as her face is visible to the audience (though she is facing the emperor, who is seated upstage), the whole thing looks awkward and was distracting. By the same token, the choruses conducted by Mozart later in the play work quite well.

Lighting designer Pamila Z. Gray's design included (the pre-show talk informed the audience) over 300 light cues and nicely run the gamut from warm ambient lighting to spotlighted segments that set the actor off from the actual action on stage.

Director Peggy Shannon has created a gem of a production, opulent by STC standards, professional in every aspect, and certain to delight audiences. As the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart rolls around, the Sacramento Theater Company’s production of “Amadeus” is a beautiful gem to add to all of the other observances in honor of the composer which are taking place worldwide.

Fears of Your Life (the book)

Fears of your life is written by a developmentally disabled man named Michael Bernard Loggins. His work is being presented on stage in a couple of weeks and I will be reviewing it, but the choreographer gave me a copy of his book, so I could have an idea of what the show is about.

Michael has listed all of his many fears, along with cartoons which depict many of them. I can relate to a lot of them (like "monsters under the bed," my big fear all the years I was growing up).

I get the feeling that Michael has experienced much fear reaction on the part of other people. Several of his "fears" relate to how people perceive him. Fears 101 to 104 read:

101. What people think of when they see me coming up the streeet? What the first thing they can think of once they see a stranger like me coming in the direction I goes in? Nothing but fear!

102. Why do people when they see me coming what do they tell their friends? let's cross the street. I don't want to get hurt.

103. we better cross the street this man is following us and he wants to bother us whatwe ought to do is turn and go another direction Fear.

104. what does fear itself can do to make you afraid of a stranger and what does that fear tells you about that man and what fear cause you to think something may happen to you in just 5 seconds or 1 minute? does fear warns people to move away from ;him or is it that it's a warning system tells you that man is ready for an attack and harm you or what kind of danger your life is in when you or guys and girls think to do is it lot threatening or just a kind of situation you may face soon?

This book made me stop and think more often than not. It is available through Creativity Explored, a workshop for developmentally disabled people in San Francisco. I encourage people to check out their amazing web site.

Dancing on the Edge

How often do you get the chance to watch someone dance with a Sousaphone, while someone else roller blades around the stage? Not often, I suspect. If the notion intrigues you, get yourself to UCD’s Main Theater this weekend to see “Awake Now and Then,” the second half of a program called “Dancing on the Edge.”

“Dancing on the Edge” consists of two pieces by Granada Artists-in-Residence, Doug Varone and Joanna Haigood.

Varone’s piece, Fractured Lives, opens the 2 hour show. It is performed by Jennie Amaral, Mary Elizabeth Anderson, Kelsey Cassady, Robert Coverdell, Anna Feldman, Brennan Figari, Hector Marin-Rodas, Meghan Moyle, David Orzechowicz, Whitney Peterson, Brian Runstrom and Alice Vasquez and is described by Varone as being “loosely based on images from several films from the 1930s and 1940s film noir era.”

Costume and scenic designer Victoria Livingston-Hall and lighting Designer Javan Cayo Johnson played a big part in creating the film noir look. Costumes were all in black, white, or shades of grey. The set, an interior room, was all done in grey and white, and the lighting, most of it from the top straight down, cast shadows on the figures of the performers, which, again added to the film noir look.

There were two exceptionally moving points of this piece, one with a man and a woman on the floor, alternately tender and violent, painting a picture without words of the relationship between the two.

Later, there was a poignant moment when a man turns on a movie on the far wall of the room. The “movie” is a life figure of a woman he obviously loved, who has obviously died. The effect is beautifully haunting, as he approaches the “screen” and begins to interact with her, only to have to leave her there as he turns off the projector.

This was the outstanding moment of this piece for me.

The delightful “Awake Now and Then,” choreographed by Joanna Haigood in collaboration with dancers Rebecca Abdenour, Mary Elizabeth Anderson, Christina Fajardo, Anna Feldman, Meghan Moyle, Hector Marin-Rodas, Whitney Peterson, Mary Ann Reveles, Brian Runstrom, Derricka Smith and Alice Vasquez, opens on a half-bare stage, with pieces of the previous number and several ladders standing around. To the Ink Spots’ “My Shadow, My Echo and Me,” the set pieces begin to be moved off, the ladders moved around, and the dancing starts.

Haigood, director of San Francisco’s Zaccho Dance Theater, is known for her use of aerial flight and suspension and those elements are hinted at in her work.

The moving set, a play on ideas of states of consciousness, includes a series of ladders and doors that allows dancers to interact with the underlying mechanisms of the theater. As the music segues into “Begin the Beguine,” the light casts shadows of the dancers on the back wall.

It is at once a shadow puppet theater, a living M.C. Escher drawing, as the bodies climb stairs to nowhere, open doors that open on nothing, and climb down again, at odd angles, and a bit of a circus, with a Sousaphone player walking through the action while being circled by a woman on roller blades.

Somehow it just all works. It is original, quirky, beautifully executed, and a joy to watch.

“Dancing on the Edge” continues through February 5.

3rd Degree

The thing I love about James Patterson books, other than that he spins a mean yarn, is that he isn't stuck in one particular rut. He has two different sets of story lines going, the Alex Cross series, which centers on a detective working out of the D.C. area, and the Women's Murder Club series, set in San Francisco (which, being a native, I like).

This is the third of the Women's Murder Club books, written in conjunction with Andrew Gross. (The previous two were "1st to Die" and "2nd Chance").

The unlikely collaboration of friends, homicide lieutenant Lindsay Boxer (our heroine), an assistant DA, a medical examiner, and a crime reporter.

In this story, one of them will meet with foul play and it will be up to the other three to find out who is responsible. This particular story deals with a terrorist group calling itself "August Spies," and the fast-paced plot shows the very real posibility of the planting of incendiary devices or introducing the poisonous ricin into the environment, and the kind of response one might expect from the Department of Homeland Security.

This is a page turner, a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. There are enough twists and turns to warrant a dramamine.

Oh yeah--and there's a hint of sex too.