Hairspray

Move over, Hannah Montana, there’s a new girl in town and her name is Tracy Turnblad.

An irrepressible Joline Mujica bursts onto the Music Circus stage as Tracy in the season’s rousing closer, “Hairspray” (a Music Circus debut for this show) and she worms her way into everyone’s heart. She’s a girl with a big dream who isn’t going to let the fact that she can’t fit into a size 2 rain on her parade. She believes in the goodness of people, the equality of everyone, and in taking a stand for what you know is right.

The phenomenon of “Hairspray” began as a non-musical movie, written and directed by John Waters, in 1988. It gave Ricki Lake her first big role and featured Divine in the cross-dressing role of Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad. Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan adapted the movie for the stage, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It opened on Broadway in August of 2002 and won eight Tony awards (out of 13 nominations), including an award for Best Musical. More recently it’s been turned back into a movie – a musical this time – starring John Travolta as Edna.

The setting is Baltimore of the 1960s. Tracy is an avid fan of the afternoon “Corny Collins Show,” (modeled after American Bandstand, and featuring John Scherer as the Fred Willard-esque Corny Collins). Her dream is to win a regular spot on the show in still-segregated Baltimore.

When she does and then discovers that her friends won’t be permitted to dance with her, because they are African-American, she becomes determined to get the station to let the white kids and the black kids dance together. Her controversial statement on national television, that “every day should be Negro Day”causes an uproar. Tracy is color blind when it comes to dancing partners and learned her best moves from Seaweed J. Stubbs (Wilkie Ferguson) and his pals, with whom she has spent many hours in detention.

Paul Vogt, who took over the role of Edna Turnblad in Las Vegas from Harvey Fierstein (who originated the role on Broadway) has also played the role in Boston and on Broadway. Edna is a laundress who once had dreams of fame and fortune, but as her weight has soared, her self esteem has dipped so low she “hasn’t left the house since Mamie Eisenhower rolled her hose and bobbed her bangs.” The loves of her life are her daughter Tracy and her husband, Wilbur (Dick Decareau), a novelty store owner. Edna is afraid her little girl is going to be hurt by trying to follow her dreams in a world where thin is in.

Vogt is a veteran comedian who has played a lot of roles in drag (e.g. another Edna, Edna Garrett from “The Facts of Life” on NBC’s “The Rerun Show”) and his comedic talents are never better displayed than when he is cavorting with veteran Decareau in the show stopping “Timeless to Me” (the two have an easy, appealing rapport that earns them the show’s built-in encore).

Tracy becomes the bane of existence for “Corny Collins Show” producer Velma Von Tussle (Joanna Glushak), whose life revolves around her daughter Amber (Heather Nichole White). Von Tussle is determined that her daughter will win the title of “Miss Hairspray” and she will do whatever necessary to make that happen. Glushak and White are the villains you love to hate and they succeed in their goals.

Tracy’s best friend, Penny Pingleton is played by Haley Podshun. It’s a small, supporting role, but Schwartz is delightful as the fun-loving, if not overly bright best friend whose most endearing characteristics are her love and loyalty. She begins to come into her own when the sight of Seaweed Stubbs sets her heart going pitter patter.

Her mother, Prudy (Stacey Scotte) is appalled when she discovers that there was “a Negro in the house,” because now she will never be able to sell the place. Scotte does a nice job playing the uptight Prudy, which makes her transformation, later in the show, as she begins to appreciate Seaweed’s physical attributes, very funny.

Seaweed’s mother, the rhyming couplet spouting Motormouth Maybelle is given a dazzling performance by Inga Ballard, whom Music Circus regulars may remember from some of her other show-stopping performances in shows such as “Smokey Joe’s Café,” “Ragtime,” and “Show Boat.” She brings down the house with her “I Know Where I’ve Been.”

Ron Wisniski plays several small roles, from the “Corny Collins Show” sponsor, hairspray magnet Harriman F. Spritzer to the principal of Tracy’s school and does them all well.

“Hairspray” owes a lot of its popularity to the grossly exaggerated look of the 60s hairstyles, those impossibly high beehives and the Jackie Kennedy bob. Jason Hayes gets well deserved kudos for his hair and wig design. A bow was (I assumed inadvertently) left off of Tracy’s wig on opening night, which made the look rather bizarre and it was amazing what a difference it made just adding that little element in the next scene.

This show promises high energy, delightful performances, and energetic choreography by Bob Richard and delivers on all counts.

“Hairspray” takes the audience back to a more carefree time and when the cast sings the finale “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” Tracy has won the hearts not only of Baltimore, but all of Sacramento as well.

Tom Sawyer

Few stories could be more perfect for a good, old-fashioned family musical than Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer.'

Ken Ludwig thought so, when he conceived the idea and adapted the novel. Don Schlitz thought so, when he wrote the music and lyrics.

And Amy Vyvlecka thought so, when she agreed to direct the show to debut this year's Woodland Opera House Theater for Families season. The energetic production delights on many levels, despite some shortcomings in the Ludwig/Schlitz book.

While all the familiar stories are present - the whitewashed fence, the friendship with Becky Thatcher, the specter of Injun Joe, Huck and Tom attending their own funeral, and so forth - they all feel more like sorta connected vignettes than a single, smoothly flowing storyline.

The music is enjoyable but forgettable.

Although Twain never gives his Tom a specific age, the character is this play is a bit older than one's traditional mental image of the lad; this choice was made by Ludwig and Schlitz, so they could add a budding romantic relationship - and a love song, 'To Hear You Say My Name' - between Tom (Casey Camacho) and Becky Thatcher (Kara Sheldon).

The play's central relationship therefore is between Tom and Becky, rather than Tom and his best friend Huckleberry Finn, which changes the feel of the original story.

All that said, Vyvlecka's production is charming, largely due to a cast of good - and some outstanding - actors.

Asking a 14-year-old to carry a show is a tall order, but Camacho, a Woodland High School ninth-grader, is up to the task. He has it all: He sings and moves well, and has great energy and charisma on stage; you just want to smile while watching him. He bursts onto the stage during the opening number, 'Hey, Tom Sawyer'; with very few exceptions, he's in almost every subsequent scene.

Huck is played by UC Davis student Elio Gutierrez, but the age difference between the two actors isn't apparent. Gutierrez is an equally strong presence: He has his own moment in the sun with 'I Can Read!,' which he sings with the Widow Douglas (Katie Ichtertz), who has taken the homeless boy under her wing and given him a sense of family for the first time.

The song is a genuine highlight, and will leave you thinking of 'The Rain in Spain,' from 'My Fair Lady.'

Nancy Agee is a lovely Aunt Polly, often exasperated with the mischievous Tom but able to show her affection for him in 'Angels Lost.' She sings this duet with Judge Thatcher (Wayne Raymond) after Tom and Becky get lost on a school outing through nearby caves, and are presumed dead.

Alex Stapp is nicely smug as Tom's annoyingly perfect younger half-brother, Sidney. Kirk Parrott is tall and menacing as Injun Joe, while Chris Taloff turns in a good performance as attorney Lanyard Bellamy. Eric Alley is lovable as the perpetually inebriated Muff Potter.

Vyvlecka's simple set design works wonderfully. By flying in a roof, she can indicate a church or a school. When assisted by Jeff Kean's inventive lighting design, she creates a wonderful graveyard whose boundaries extend beyond the edges of the stage. It's one of the most impressive (yet simplest) scenes in the play.

Dim lighting and a suggestion of stalactites hanging from the top of the stage beautifully convey the interior of a cave, without having to go overboard on set pieces.

Vyvlecka and Tyler Warren share credit for choreography; the moves are simple and occasionally repetitious, but they allow untrained dancers to look comfortable and experienced, thereby adding to the energy on stage.

The small, five-piece pit orchestra works well for accompaniment.

'Tom Sawyer' is far from being the newest 'great American musical,' but this Woodland Opera House production is a lot of fun. It's certain to delight young and old alike.

Evita

“Evita,” this week’s Music Circus production, is the third and final collaboration between British musical theater legends Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice and was the Tony Award winner for best musical in 1980. This show, which is more than a musical and less than an opera tells the story of the rise of Maria Eva Duarte, the child of an unwed mother in the rural areas of Argentina to a show business career in Buenos Aires, to her ultimate position as Eva Peron, wife of President Juan Peron, and first lady of Argentina.

The Music Circus production is under the direction of Glenn Casale and features Julie Murney in the title role. Murney turns in a lovely performances and there are moments which really shine, first of which being her arrival in Buenos Aires, an (almost) innocent young girl with the whole world ahead of her and just so excited to be in the big city.

The second, of course, is the show’s signature song, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria”), on the occasion of Juan Peron’s (Scott Blanks) assuming the presidency. Murney runs the gamut of emotions for the adoring fans outside the Casa Rosada, the Presidential Palace. At first she seems shy, overwhelmed by the crowds, then warms to them, then becomes strident in her justification for her lifestyle and underscoring her love for and belief in her husband, and finally, again shy and overwhelmed. It’s a first class delivery.

Scott Blanks, who has played Juan Peron in two different touring companies of “Evita” has a smoldering chemistry with Murney in the scene in which Peron and Eva first meet, leaving no question about how good she would really be for him. Thought he sometimes thinks it’s not worth all the effort, he allows himself to be molded by his wife until he successfully wins the support of the working class, the “descamisados,” and with it, the presidency.

Eric Kunze returns to reprise the role of Che, which he played at Music Circus eight years ago. While Che is described only as “a revolutionary,” it is clear that he is modeled on Che Guevara (whose path never crossed Eva Peron’s in real life). The character makes an effective narrator of the story and Kunze is a powerful presence, pointing out the duplicity of Eva’s character, and mocking the Peron administration and its manipulation of the lower classes.

Philip Michael Baskerville is deliciously sleazy as Augustin Magaldi, a cabaret singer who becomes the first of a series of increasingly influential men Eva uses to sleep her way to the top.

Kari Yancy plays the young girl who was Peron’s mistress until Eva shows up. Her song, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” is very sweet and plaintive and Yancy gives it a lot of heart.

A group of military men and a group of upper class citizens play a big role in this show, expressing their displeasure at Eva’s role in Peron’s life. The problem with a small stage is that it does not give the opportunity for the close-order drill that made the original production so spectacular, but choreographer John MacInnis has created some interesting visuals that work well and convey the same message.

Marcy Froehlich’s costumes are nicely representative of the period, and I particularly liked Eva’s patterned dress, as she arrives in Buenos Aires, surrounded by muted browns and tans. A lovely visual portrait.

This is another winner for Music Circus, which only has one more show (Hairspray) to go before the end of this outstanding season.

Twelfth Night

There is a phrase used in the arts, that sometimes the appreciation of an art form requires “suspension of disbelief.” That is, the audience agrees to suspend judgement in exchange for a promise of entertainment. In theater, there is smoke and mirrors, makeup, costumes and magic. We believe a 40 year old balding tenor is actually a 20 year old hunk; we believe the blonde, blue-eyed girl is really a native of a south sea island; we believe the skinny guy can really lift that huge set of weights.

It is recommended that people leave their disbelief at the Buckhorn before going across the street to see the Winters Community Theater production of William Shakespeare’s comedy, “Twelfth Night,” continuing through August 16 in the amphitheater behind the Winters Community Center, under the direction of Howard Hupe.

Janette Dahn and Dominic Orlando play twins, Viola and Sebastian, shipwrecked off the island of the shores of Illyria. Neither knows the other has survived. Viola decides to dress in her brother’s clothes and pass herself off as a young page named Cesario, under which guise she enters the service of Duke Orsino (Trent Beeby). She finds herself attracted to her new boss.

Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia (JoAnn May), grieving the death of her father and brothers. Orsino sends Cesario with messages of love to Olivia, who wants nothing to do with Orsino, but finds herself attracted to the young page.

After a lot of back and forth, intrigue and conniving, Viola and Sebastian are reunited and the citizens are shocked -- I tell you shocked – to realize that there are two of them, when they look identical

And herein lies the suspension of disbelief because not only are the twins different genders, but Sebastian is head and shoulders taller than his twin sister, a little matter the woman he has just married seems not to have noticed!

But we suspend disbelief in exchange for promise of entertainment, and entertainment there is in this rollicking production. Though fighting the sound of motorcycles riding back and forth across the bridge into Winters and wind that blew the on-stage trees over several times, the cast continued on gamely and turned in an evening worth the drive out to Winters.

The production is edited and lasts just two hours (including a 20 minute intermission) from start to finish. “We say the beautiful poetry, but we cut some of the extraneous scenes to make it run well,” says Germaine Hupe, who also acts as narrator and plays Maria, Olivia’s gentlewoman. “Gentlewoman” is an apt description of Hupe, who is gracious and “gentle,” whether she’s setting the scene, tending to Olivia, or plotting a fiendish trick on Malvolio (Michael Barbour), Olivia’s pompous head steward.

Trent Beeby is Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, and gives a solid performance.

But perhaps the night belongs to Larry Justice, as Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s uncle, whose drunken revels are legendary. Justice is over the top and very funny, as is his foil, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Philip Pittman), who puts up with a lot in the hope of an opportunity to woo the fair Olivia.

Dahn turns in a fine performance as Viola, completely believable in her male garb and in her feelings for Orsino.

JoAnn May is a controlled, regal Olivia, finding her grieving heart reawakened by her growing feelings for the young Cesario.

Barbour is less malevolent as Malvolio than pompously righteous, and later downright silly as he plays into the hands of the crew determined to bring him down a peg or two.

Kirsten Myers is particularly enjoyable as Feste, Olivia’s jester. She displays a lovely singing voice and her laughter as she plots with Maria, Toby and Andrew to make a fool of Malvolio is infectious

Director Howard Hupe shows up in two brief roles, as a Sea Captain in the opening scene, helping settle Viola onto the island, and later as the priest who marries Sebastian and Olivia. Though Hupe is generally in the director’s chair, even in these two small roles, his acting talent is apparent.

Others in the cast include Maureen Hallett as Orsino’s valet and, later, a police officer, Stephen Catanio as Antonio, a friend of Sebastian, Colleen Hallett as Olivia’s servant, and Tom Neely as a police officer.

The setting is lovely for this summer’s evening comedy, with a stage nestled along the banks of Putah Creek, and a nice terraced seating area (though patrons might be more comfortable if they bring chairs). At $5 per ticket, it’s definitely an affordable way to spend the evening. All children under 12 are admitted free, if they come with a responsible adult.

A Longtime Jewel In Winters' Crown

This feature article appeared in the Davis Enterprise on 8/7/08

Fortunately for the town of Winters, and the outlying communities, Howard Hupe, one of the founders of the Winters Community Theater, and a regular director there, decided against taking a 14 year old bride.

Hupe, a native of Pittsburgh, PA met Davis resident Germaine Walgenbach (whose father, Jake, the owner of Jake’s Plumbing since 1948 was a beloved town character) on a blind date. Howard was attending the Army Language School (now called the Defense Language Institute) in Monterey and Germaine was doing her first year of teaching in Pacific Grove They fell in love and became engaged. Hupe went off to Saudi Arabia, as the first American other than embassy personnel in that country.

He traveled around the country with an interpreter and, as Germaine recalls the story, happened to notice one day that the interpreter looked particularly happy. The interpreter replied that he had just returned from his second honeymoon.

Howard said "Oh, that's a lovely custom...we do that, too, in our country after several years, we take off with our wife" and the interpreter said "No--this is my new wife. She's 14 and my mother just arranged her and she's absolutely wonderful."

The interpreter then said that he would be very happy to have his mother arrange for a wife for Howard as well, but Howard explained that he had a fiancee back in the states.

“This guy said ‘do you have a picture of her?’ -- this 'old bat' of 22 -- me – so Howard hauled out a picture of me and he just shook his head and said, "tsk tsk...her father must have many sheep and goats!!”

Howard returned to the States, and married Germaine in Georgia, where he was sent to another special school. The two traveled extensively with the Army and lived for three years in Tehran, where Germain taught at the English language school, just before the fall of the Shah.

Germaine recalls having to have armed guards traveling with them on school field trips and one particular occasion when the school bus was being bombarded with rocks. Everyone was lying on the floor to escape the bombardment and their son looked at his mother and said “Don’t ever tell me that Grandpa had to walk three miles to school when he was a kid.”

In addition to giving the Hupes a unique world view, their Army experiences also gave them an introduction to theater. Germaine had been a drama major, but “Howard’s theatrical experiences had been limited to playing a tree in his fourth grade play.”

“It was high school,” Howard corrects his wife. “I was much more advanced.”

They were living in Missoula, Montana when they were first married and saw a notice that a group was auditioning for roles in a play. “I wanted to try out, so I dragged Howard along,” said Germaine. “They took one look at him (he was a hunk)...and had that voice...and they cast him and me. That was the beginning of it.”

The Hupes continued to be active in theater wherever they were stationed because almost every military post had some sort of a theater, usually run by the women’s club, who would get their husbands involved as well.

When Howard retired, after 25 years in the military, they moved back to California, where Germaine’s roots were. Howard planned to go to graduate school to get a Masters Degree in counseling, and Germaine applied for a teaching position in 17 different locations. She was hired to teach English at Winters High School.

“I was only going to stay two years while Howard completed graduate school but I fell in love with the town and the people.”

When he completed his degree, Howard also joined the faculty of Winters High School as a counselor.

Though they lived in Davis, the couple became quite active in the social life of Winters. A few years after the Hupes’ participation in the 1976 Centennial Festival in Winters, there was a movement to start a theater group. Howard explains, “It was Shirley Rominger, who has since died; Linda Glick, our current theater group president; Jeannie Vaughn; Germaine’s brother Wayne; Germain and I who decided to form a group.”

They sought permission from the city of Winters to use the community center, currently under construction, for performances, and it was granted. In fact, the very first production was a benefit for Yolo Family Service Agency, and Howard explains that “the kitchen floor was still unpaved. Just dirt. And there were no stalls in the bathroom, so it was a unique experience.”

But the fledgling company took root and began putting on 4-5 productions a year. With the demise of the Davis Comic Opera Company, the Winters Community Theater is now the oldest continuously running community theater in Yolo County.

Elly Award winning actor/director Gil Sebastian got his start with the Winters Community Theater.

“When I was in high school I had no desire to do theater,” he said. “I was really shy and didn’t like performing in front of people. But I had a girlfriend at the time who was the city clerk in Winters. They were doing a melodrama and she said there was a role for a butler and that I would only have two lines. I said it scared me to be on stage, but she dared me and I went out, delivered my two lines and I’ve been doing it ever since -- 27 years now!”

Sebastian explained that the Hupes made a very comfortable environment. “Howard was more than just a director; he was like a surrogate father. I learned so much from him–his demeanor and attitude. I even learned how to tie a tie (I was 28 years old at the time). It was always that family atmosphere, always a family group.”

It was that comfortable environment that drew Amy Vyvlecka, now a director with the Woodland Opera House. “Howard and Germaine are just delightful people, and it reflects on their whole theater experience. What loved about doing shows in Winters was that it made theater fun again.”

Vyvlecka was a theater major at San Francisco State and when someone dropped out of a production of “Twelfth Night” in Winters, she was asked to take over the role. “I didn’t know Shakespeare. I didn’t even like Shakespeare, but I agreed to do the role.” And she began to learn how to perform Shakespeare.

“Both Howard and Germaine have this love of Shakespeare and of teaching and they let people explore characters. Now I do love Shakespeare,” says Vyvlecka, pointing that she has performed in three of the summer Shakespeare productions.

“Germaine’s love for Shakespeare is just incredible,” added Sebastian “She is so thorough. She does an incredible job.”

But Shakespeare is only the summer production. There are all those plays at the community center throughout the rest of the year. Winters has been fortunate to have enormous community support.

“By the time we put on our 25th play, which was something like 20 years ago, more than 600 people had participated,” Germain remembers. “Now we’ve done more than 100 productions and it must be up to about 1500, in terms of either acting or helping to build sets or being spear carriers or helping with costumes and this kind of thing, which is pretty amazing for a town that size.”

“We’re pretty much non-threatening and we welcome new people without any hesitation. If there’s a part for them and we think they’ll do well, we’ll put them on stage,” says Howard.

The group advertises in all the outlying areas, but their core of members come from Winters Woodland and Davis. “They get a talent pool from within the community that’s pretty consistent,” Sebastian says.

“We don’t have a very large pool to draw from that a lot of the other local theater companies do,” says Howard. “I attribute that to the fact that their venues are a little bit more sophisticated than the community center and there is the added distance, particularly during the winter months. That additional 12 miles in the fog and the rain is enough to dissuade some people.”

“It really has a good diverse representation of community members,” said Vyvlecka. “One of my favorites is Larry Justice, who was the sheriff for the town for years. He is a sheriff but he’s so funny on stage.”

Joannie Bryant, a stay at home mom currently serving on the 13-member Board of Directors, has been performing with Winters Community Theater for several years now, her first production a two-woman play directed by Linda Glick, followed by“Twelfth Night”in the summer of 2004. “Howard asked me if I would be interested in being on the board, and I agreed,” she said, adding that “It’s fun–but my husband might not agree, since I spend a lot of time doing publicity.”

Publicity must be working. Seventy-six children auditioned for the recent production of “Sound of Music.” They double-cast the children’s roles, to give as many children as possible a chance to perform.

“Costuming in that play was a killer because we double cast,” remembers Germaine. “We tried to get the most talented kids and generally hoped they’d fit the costumes, but they didn’t always, so I ended up making 13 matching capes for the final scene where they perform at the concert and then take the trek across the Alps into Switzerland.” She also had some dirndls from their four years living in Germany, which she put to good use along with “an armload of clothing” donated by a Austrian neighbor.

Costuming has been a learned art for Germaine. “I did not sew. I came from a family of beautiful seamstresses. Whenever I needed something, I just said ‘mom, can you fix it?” When we got involved in the theater I found that I had to, so I started stapling hems and that kind of thing. Then we got some talented seamstresses who were willing to join our group and they taught me a few things, so I now know not as a seamstress so much as a “rigger.” I can take three Salvation Army dresses and make a decent costume out of them by rigging. It’s been a great experience; I’ve loved it.”

They rent storage space in Winters to house the costumes and set and prop pieces. The Hupes are always on the prowl for something that might work in a future production. “I will buy the weirdest collection of things,” said Germaine. When Lawrence’s Department Store closed in Davis, she spied a shield and some swords that were being used for decoration. “They were nothing but papier mache but they looked wonderful and I bought ‘em all for $10 and we’ve used them many times. I knew if we ever did a period play we could use them or a modern play set in an old castle. We’ve used them for that too.”

Gil Sebastian performed in twenty-five productions in Winters, and returned later to direct for the company. “It’s difficult to do staging at the community theater,” he said, “There are no wings and no backstage.” “The Wizard of Oz” was a huge production and they built extensions out into the audience. “It was tough, but we did it.”

Howard’s dream is a new performing arts center. “One of our goals right now is to try to work with the city to come up with a performing arts center, not just for us, but the high school needs it, the elementary school needs it, Parks & Rec needs it–something that can be theirs and they can work with, where they have graduated seating and things like that. I think it will eventually come to fruition in Winters because I think the town wants it and the city is behind it. It’s just a matter of finding a suitable venue and finding enough money and getting the grants.”

Like most community theaters, money (or lack of it) is a constant problem. Royalties alone take a huge chunk of admission revenue. The royalty for “Sound of Music,” for example, was $2,000, which is a big chunk of money when you only charge $10 for a ticket. Sometimes you have to be creative with finding funding.

“We had an antique auction once,” remembers Howard. “One of our supporters arranged for an auctioneer and we raised several thousand dollars on that auction which was actually attended by a lot of dealers.”

“And we’ve had a few ‘angels,’” says Germain, with a smile.

Bryant says that the board is working on their five-year plan and their ten-year plan. “We’re hoping to catch up with the rest of the world,” she laughs.

The Winters Community Theater is a little gem of an institution which owes its longevity to the dedication of a core group of people, primarily Howard and Germaine Hupe.

“I adore Howard and Germaine,” says Amy Vyvlecka. “ I think what they’re doing is really wonderful. It gives people the opportunity to do really great plays. It gives people a chance to try out some of these roles. So many people have this opportunity to be part of this family they’ve created.”

Gil Sebastian agrees. “Performing for Howard (who directed all of my 25 shows there) taught me some valuable life and work lessons, as well as theater etiquette. The confidence I gained, the ability to stay calm amid chaos, the ability to engage and hold an audience, the importance of humor, to respect others as you wish to be respected –– all have made me a better person, and I seriously owe all of that to Howard.”

Imagine how things might have changed in Yolo County, had Howard accepted that offer of a 14-year-old bride.

My Fair Lady

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Music Circus’s new production of “My Fair Lady,” directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, and running this week at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. This is a show that I have seen many, many times and have a special fondness for and in order to impress me, it has to be done exceptionally well. Fortunately, this production has done the Lerner & Loewe musical exceptionally well.

Right off the bat with the sparkling choreography of Josh Walden, the audience knew that it was in for a treat.

I was not sure, at first, how I was going to feel about Richard B. Watson as Henry Higgins, the brilliant, arrogant linguist who agrees to give lessons to the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Kate Baldwin) so that she can become “a lady in a flower shop.”

Anyone who has ever seen the original stage play, or the movie, with Rex Harrison and either Julie Andrews or Audrey Hepburn has a mental image of the age difference between Higgins and Eliza as being significant. Higgins is a crusty older man and Eliza is a sweet young thing.

In this production, however, Watson and Baldwin appear much closer together in age, so a romance between them does not seem implausible. It adds an extra air of sexual tension to the scenes and Watson so quickly dispels any doubts as to his ability to handle the role that I wondered how I could have had any doubt.

For her part, Baldwin is enchanting. She is more believable as the Cockney Eliza than some I’ve seen and perfect as the “lady” she becomes. Her entrance in the gown she is wearing to the ball at which she will make her debut in high society was stunning. (Costumer Leon Wiebers outdid himself on that one!)

Her best acting may be in the scene where she says nothing at all. As Higgins, his staff, and Col. Pickering are dancing and celebrating the triumph of the ball, totally ignoring Eliza, the look on her face was eloquent and heart-breaking.

Music Circus favorite Ron Wisniski is a bombastic Col. Pickering, come from India to meet with Higgins. It is Pickering who dares Higgins to take on the project of turning Eliza into a lady and he is a major presence in all of his scenes.

J.B. Adams is a real scene stealer as Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle who has show stopping numbers in both acts, with “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.”

Dan Callaway is the lovelorn Freddie, spending his time in front of Eliza’s doorstep hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

Annie O’Sullivan does a nice job as Mrs. Pearce, Higgins’ housekeeper, and Melinda Tanner was delicious as his mother.

Rodger McDonald, a familiar name particularly to Woodland audiences, is fun in the small role of Zoltan Karpathy, Higgins’ old student who now “uses the science of speech more to blackmail and swindle than teach.”

“My Fair Lady” is a big show with big scenes, difficult to pull off in theater in the round, but Scenic Designer Christian Harvey Boy does beautifully with what he has to work with (which includes what seems to be a larger than usual group of set changers). The scene at the Ascot races was particularly clever, and again, Costumer Wiebers gets high marks for the beautiful costumes, reminiscent of the original Cecil Beaton gowns, and the amazingly intricate hats.

The Wells Fargo Pavilion was filled to capacity on opening night, so tickets may be difficult to get, but if you are fortunate to see this production you won’t be disappointed.

On the Razzle

Tom Stoppard’s “On the Razzle,” currently presented at the Veterans Memorial Theater by Acme Theater Company, is the story of two store clerks who decide to go out on the town (“on the razzle”) while their boss is going to a parade and then meeting his fiancee who runs a women’s dress shop. Accidentally, the two guys stumble into the very same dress shop, while trying to hide from their boss. They misrepresent their identities to the dress shop owner and her friend, the women convince them to take them out to dinner at a big fancy restaurant (for which they have no money to pay).

Uh. Haven’t we seen this before? With music?

Well, yes, we have. Actually the original idea for this play came from a 19th century Austrian farce (“Einen Fux will er sich machen “) which spawned Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” in 1938 which again spawned Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman’s “Hello, Dolly!”in 1968. “On the Razzle” (1981) takes much of the plot of “Matchmaker,” but eliminates the matchmaker herself, so you will find no Dolly Levi, but much of the rest of the plot elements will be very familiar, with a little “Shop Around the Corner” (or “You’ve Got Mail,” depending on your age) thrown in for good measure.

The production, directed by Daniel “Pheelyks” Guttenberg, marks the new era in Acme history, with the retirement of founder David Burmester, who (wrote and) directed his last Acme play in May. In fact, this was the very first opening night of an Acme play I’ve attended where Burmester was not in the audience.

The Stoppard play is very funny, replete with puns and spoonerisms. Crystal clear diction and impeccable timing are necessary to get maximum effect and sadly, this was not always the case with the young cast.

Egypt Howard has the role of Herr Zangler, the tongue twisted shop owner going off to meet his fiancee in the big city. Ms. Howard did well conveying the part of a gruff old man, but so much of her dialog was rushed and muffled that one had to strain to get the humor, much of which was unfortunately lost. This is particularly disappointing in the opening scene, which needs to be performed with the timing and clarity of a stand-up comedian.

I thought perhaps her problem was that the lines were too rushed until Alex Kravitz came on stage as Weinberl, Zangler’s top clerk. Kravitz’s delivery was equally as rapid fire, but every word crystal clear, every joke hitting the mark.

Kane Chai, as Christopher, Weinberl’s assistant, is likewise wonderful, skillfully handling the lines and successfully getting the most out of the humor of his role.

Delany Pelz as Melchior, the “new man” that Zangler hires, occasionally muffles her lines, but her stage presence is so electric that it really doesn’t matter. We get the humor whether the words are crisp or not...and most of the time her delivery is just fine.

Torin Lusebrink, playing Sonders, the debt-ridden suitor of Zangler’s niece, Marie, is a very promising young performer. He has an easy manner on stage and is one of those actors you enjoy watching.

Emily Tracy, always lovely to watch, plays Frau Fischer, the widow who has her eye on Weinberl and who has a surprise or two up her sleeve.

Pabo Frias has the small role of the lecherous Coachman, lusting after every woman he sees (“is she a go-er?”) with an inordinate fascination for breasts (“are they round like apples, or pointed like pears?”). He was funny in the role, but I would like to have seen it played a bit broader.

Vivian Breckenridge is very funny as the French maid Lisette, who is having a liaison in the kitchen with the Coachman, but we only know it from her assorted stages of dishabille as she runs to answer the front door.

Others in the cast include Carrie Miller as Madame Knorr, Kathleen Johnston as Zangler’s niece Marie, Anna Eckert-Kramer as Gertrude, Emma Kurtz as Miss Blumenblatt, Hannah May as the Foreigner, Sean Olivares as the tailor Hupfer, Danielle Wogulis as Phillipine, Jeremy Reinhard as the Constable, and GG Gilbert-Igelsrud as the Ragamuffin.

John Ramos’ set design consists of a huge white platform with a building wall in the middle, which allowed easy change of scenery by rotating the platform (also fun to see the colorful costumes against the white while the cast was changing scenes)

This first outing without Burmester at the helm shows that its founder has left Acme in good hands. The show could use a little work on delivery in spots, but is still a very funny, very enjoyable production.

Swing

If you like “Dancing with the Stars,” particularly the segments when the dance instructors dance with each other, you’re gonna love “Swing,” making its Music Circus debut this week. It’s just under two hours of nonstop singing and dancing with no dialog, no story line, no message, just high energy dancing and singing, an homage to the legends of the Big Band era, the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Harry James, along with some contemporary music with that 40s feel.

If you’re looking to be dazzled by footwork, flips, and other dance moves we might see in dance competitions, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking for more traditional “musical theater,” perhaps not so much so. The Music Circus crowd went wild for the hard-working company, but I also noticed that many people around us left at intermission. In truth, if I had not been there to review the show, I might have been tempted to leave myself, feeling that the second act was going to be just more of the same. But in the end, I was glad that I stayed, because there was some pretty good stuff in Act 2.

The cast of “Swing!” includes members of the Broadway cast and first national touring company, as well as professional ballroom dance competitors. The cast of four singers and 12 dancers includes Kirby Ward, a Music Circus veteran who also starred as song and dance men on the Broadway Sacramento Stage in “Crazy for You” and “Showboat.” Also appearing are singers Stacia Fernandez (Broadway cast), Julie Tolivar, Maceo Oliver and dancers Mark Stuart Eckstein (U.S. and Japanese tours), Beverly Durand (original Broadway cast), Paul Romero Jr., Sarah Marie Jenkins (U.S. and Japanese tours), Chris Saunders, Adealani Malia, Michael Jagger, Evita Arce, Christopher Beroiz, Desiree Duarte (original Broadway cast) and Lori Barber. The production is directed and choreographed by Dana Solimando, herself a member of the Broadway cast of “Swing!”

There is also an eight piece band – Mike McMullen, Mark Tulga (woodwinds), Larry Lunetta (trumpet), Chip Tingle (trombone), Darryl Archibald (keyboard), Tom Phillips (guitar), Steve Comber (bass) and Stan Lunetta (drums), several of whom walk up out of the orchestra pit at various points in the show to interact with the dancers. If you’ve never thought of a bass or a trombone as sensual instruments, you’ll be surprised!

Kirby Ward opens the show, with solo guitar, soon to be joined by all the company in a rousing “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing” (reminiscent of many years of enjoyment from Davis High Jazz Choir performances!)

Foremost among the outstanding numbers was Julie Tolivar’s “Cry Me a River,” sung in duet with trombonist Chip Tingle, where Tolivar matched the wah-wah of the trombone perfectly.

Tolivar also displays her vocal versatility in “Two and Four,” where she sings in her operetta voice until, with the help of Ward, she unleashes her inner swing personality.

Stacia Fernandez and Maceo Oliver do an entire dating scene singing in only scat, in “Bli-Blip.”

(As an aside, Mr. Oliver is in desperate need of a dresser. Costumes by David Draper were overall outstanding, but Oliver’s first brown suit appeared to have pockets stuffed with things, giving the pants a very messy look. I expected something magical to emerge from the pockets, but nothing ever did. The collar of his pink shirt in a later scene was not turned down properly but bunched awkwardly on his right shoulder, and the contrast with the neat appearance of the dark suit was very distracting. And the white bow tie in the tuxedo he wore for the finale rested at a rakish angle on the side of his neck, rather than at the Adam’s apple line.)

The entire cast joined for a section called “The USO,” which closed out the first act. Each of the dancing pairs had a chance to shine in one number, and they all joined together for “In the Mood” / “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.”

“Take Me Back to Tulsa,” by Oliver with the company introduced a western section of the program, which included an updated countrified version of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

Sarah Marie Jenkins and Paul Romero Jr. were very cute in “Dancers in Love.”

Things come to a crescendo with Stacia Fernandez’s “Stomping at the Savoy,” followed by the entire company in “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing”)

This is definitely an enjoyable evening of entertainment, but if you prefer your musical theater with more of a plot to involve yourself in, this may not be the show for you.

But it's all about good, old fashioned fun. With its high energy, great music and terrific choreography, “Swing!” can’t help but put a tap in the toe of the most dour curmudgeon.

The Typograher's Dream

As I stood in the lobby at the end of opening night of “The Typographer’s Dream,” currently at Capital Stage, a group of people next to me were asking each other “What in the world was that all about?”

In truth, I was asking myself the same thing about the one-act Adam Bock play, directed by Stephanie Gularte. I wasn’t sure what it was, but what I was sure of was that I had enjoyed it very much.

Bock’s inspiration for his play was his developing love of typography – the designing of text and its placement on a page – while working at a design firm. He thought he should write a play about a typographer, and then, carrying the idea to the absurd with rhyming words, decided to add a geographer and a stenographer as well. He thought it would be interesting to explore the extent to which people’s jobs affect who they are in real life. (E.g., a geographer is concerned with boundaries – political boundaries, historical boundaries, social boundaries. Is she concerned with boundaries in her real life? Boundaries between people?)

There is no plot line in this comedy and for it to work a strong cast is essential. Fortunately for the audience, Gularte has a stellar cast who know how to wring the most out of every nanosecond on stage.

The show opens in silence for several minutes. Stenographer Dave (Davis’ Peter Mohrmann, who has also served as Capital Stage’s managing director for the past four years) enters hesitantly from the back of the theater, pulling a small suitcase on wheels. He proceeds to the stage set up for what looks like a panel discussion, and appears appalled to discover an audience out front, and no other people on stage. Mohrmann’s travels around and behind the stage are hilarious. He has the comedic timing of a Charlie Chaplain.

Eventually Dave settles himself at the speaker’s table, behind the sign which says “Stenographer.” He carefully pulls his a machine out of the little suitcase and meticulously sets it up on the table.

The door bursts open and in comes Annalise, the geographer (a welcome return to the Sacramento stage of Saffron Henke). Still in silence, Annalise quickly takes over the stage, moving Dave around, and settling herself in.

The two wait, impatiently (Annalise) and nervously (Dave), for the Typographer, who eventually rolls in. Literally. Gail Dartz is wonderful as Margaret, clearly the least forceful of the three, and easily interrupted as she attempts to speak In fact, her lines for most of the first quarter of the play consist of “Um”... “Um”... “Um. Ah.” However, timing is crucial and her delivery is impeccable.

The three are apparently at this event to describe their jobs. Clearly all three are passionate about their work and proud of the good job they do.

Without interaction with each other, they take turns talking about their jobs. Dave waxes poetic about the importance of stenography (technically court reporting, he reminds us many times, in struggling to identify exactly what his job should be called. “You call yourself a court reporter,” he says. “It’s a little more glamorous.”) He stresses his importance as the witness of record in court cases, and swells with pride at the skill required. “Those who can't quite achieve the necessary manual dexterity can always become surgeons.”

Annalise is excited about her profession, but upset that “geography” gets buried in the larger heading of “social studies” in school and wants it to be recognized for the significant stand-alone job that it is.

Margaret is in love with the beauty of typography, the design of words on the page, the page itself, the colors, the typefaces, the letters (though numbers trouble her, she admits). “I am my job,” she says. “I don’t care. I know that. It’s what I do all day. I am my job.”

As the play progresses, it become apparent that these three have personal reactions with each other and the effect their professions have on those relationships are brought out. Are they all happy having their very being set by what job they do?

Bock’s crisp dialog, Gularte’s skillful direction, and the actors’ impeccable timing make this a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes entertainment. Even if you aren’t sure what it is when it’s all finished!

Sweeney Todd

If you are looking for diversity in your summer entertainment, The Music Circus is certainly the place to find it this year. How can there be two more different musicals than the season’s opening “Sound of Music” and this week’s “Sweeney Todd,” Stephen Sondheim’s dark story of revenge and murder.

It’s a first for Music Circus, which has never presented “Sweeney Todd” before. But it was apparent from the start that they have made up for lost time with an outstanding production, directed by Glenn Casale.

This is the story of a 19th century London barber, Benjamin Barker, who is married to his beloved Lucy and the father of their baby Johanna. However, the villainous Judge Turpin has his eye on the lovely Lucy and so sends Barker to the penal colony at Botany Bay in Australia on some trumped up charge so that he can have Lucy all to himself.

Many years later, Barker escapes and manages to get back to London, where, under the name Sweeney Todd he begins his plan to get revenge on the people who destroyed his life.

Tony award nominee Mark Jacoby is magnificent as Todd, a broken man filled with rage for the wife he thinks is dead and determined to revenge those who drove her to commit suicide.

He rents his old apartment, over the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett (Tony Award nominee Mary Gordon Murray) who, by her own admission, bakes “the worst pies in London.” His plan is to lure Judge Turpin (Michael G. Hawkins) and his Beadle (Roland Rusinek) to his barber shop and slit their throats.

But things don’t go quite as planned at first and the Judge slips through his fingers. Todd’s anguish at losing him is acute as he sings his “Epiphany,” where he revises his plan, “I will get him back even as he gloats / In the meantime I'll practice on dishonorable throats.”

Sondheim’s brilliance in the creation of the character of Sweeney Todd is that, as menacing as he is, as heinous as his killing spree is, those who surround him are so much more evil that we feel empathy with Sweeney, we care about him, and we hope for his success in avenging the terrible things that were done to him.

The affable Mrs. Lovett, never one to let opportunity pass her by, hates to see all that good “meat” go to waste as Todd begins his killing spree (“Seems an awful waste... / I mean, with the price of meat / What it is, / When you get it, / If you get it...”) and so they work together to improve the quality of her pies, which soon become the talk of London.

Their duet, “A Little Priest” is one wonderfully macabre moment of lightness in an otherwise very dark musical.

Murray is delightfully coquettish as Mrs. Lovett, enjoying her newfound success as a pie baker, and attempting to woo Todd and move him out of London.

A side story revolves around the young sailor, Anthony Hope (Max Von Essen), who rescued Todd at sea and who, coincidentally, has found Todd’s daughter, living as the ward of Turbin, and fallen in love with her. Anthony and Johanna (Carolann M. Sanita) remain symbols of goodness in an evil world which swirls around them.

Also important to the plot is the beggar woman (Heather Lee) who seems to be the only one aware that terrible things are happening in the pie shop, but her mind is so far gone, nobody will believe her.

Outstanding in the minor role of Tobias Ragg, a simple young man who is devoted to Mrs. Lovett, is August Emerson, whose final scene is one of the most poignant in the play.

The ensemble fill a variety of small roles (almost all of the men's throats become targets of Sweeney's razor) and also to function as the Greek chorus Sondheim has employed to chilling effect, giving deadpan delivery to “telling the tale of Sweeney Todd.”

Scenic Designer Evan Bartoletti has made maximum use of the Wells Fargo Pavilion, turning the entire theater into a section of London. The set-up for Sweeney’s infamous barber chair is ingenious.

It is good to see Music Circus taking a chance on meatier (pun intended) fare than the usual frothy musicals. Judging from the audience reaction, it was a good decision.

Little Shop of Horrors

“FEED ME,” orders Audrey II, the plant from outer space with plans for world domination in the current Davis Musical Theater Company production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” the stage musical adaptation of the 1960 Roger Corman black comedy movie. For the stage show, Howard Ashman developed the script and Alan Menkin wrote the music. Steve Isaacson directed this production for DMTC.

The longer Audrey II goes without human blood, the more anemic and weak she becomes and so it becomes necessary for her mentor, Seymour Krelborn to find inventive ways to perk up the plant with a kind of transfusion.

It might have helped if Seymour did the same thing to the production. While it was, on the whole, enjoyable, there were some real anemic spots that begged for something to “feed it”!

On the good side, Joshua Smith, as Seymour, is wonderful. The perfect nerd, with horn-rimmed glasses, a baseball cap, a red plaid shirt, and a feeling of inferiority. He sings well, longs for the love of Audrey, the shop girl “with a past” (Lauren Miller), and he suffers the tortures of the damned trying to meet the escalating demands of his plant. (Though he should be careful when tossing “food” into the plant, and not let it roll around on the floor!)

The quasi Greek chorus, Ronnette (Caitlin Humphreys), Crystal (Casey Ellis) and Chiffon (Sarah Duvall) keep the plot moving, fill in background choruses and add local color. They are each and every one outstanding. Great voices, funny in a kind of subdued sort of way, and they really stand out in most of the scenes in which they appear.

I have enjoyed watching Lauren Miller grow into the kind of ditzy Judy Holliday-esque type of characters and handle them adroitly, so the role of Audrey seemed perfectly suited for her. Indeed, she has the walk, the voice, and the attitude down pat. What was lacking was projection and energy. This surprised me because I know she has both (and, in fact, her “Suddenly Seymour” was just great). Perhaps director Isaacson suggested she “sweeten” the tone for the character, or perhaps she was having throat problems. I don’t know. But Audrey needs to be over the top and Miller’s was not.

Darryl Strohl is the sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello, who not only enjoys tending to patients without the assistance of pain medications, but also likes to beat up on his girlfriend (Audrey) to “keep her in line.” He’s a motorcycle-riding, Elvis-impersonating character and Strohl was only intermittently spot-on. But when he was good, he was very good.

Strohl also plays a host of other characters, both male and female, and was quite good in all of them.

A big disappointment was Dustin White as Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the flower shop where the action takes place. For one thing, he both swallowed and rushed his lines so you were concentrating more on hearing him than watching him become the character. It seemed like he hadn’t quite found the character yet. He had the right body language and the proper accent, but it just didn’t come together.

A+++ for Scott Griffith and Mike McElroy, who brought Audrey II to life. McElroy (who also plays one of the “Skid Row Occupants”) was the plant’s voice and Griffith returned for the third time to manipulate its body parts.

Jean Henderson’s costumes are of course excellent, though I have problems with Audrey wandering around the streets of Skid Row at midnight wearing a pink babydoll pajama set and fuzzy pink slippers. However, the costumes for the chorus are great, especially the Marge Simpson style wigs and the glittery red evening gowns. Orin’s Elvis costume is perfect.

The DMTC 5-piece orchestra sounded particularly good for this production. Kudos to all of them.

There is nothing wrong with this production except that it felt a bit tired. Perhaps due to the heat. However, nobody attending it is going to come away disappointed. “Little Shop” is a fun story but, like Audrey II, it just needs a bit more blood from time to time.

A Secret Garden

“The Secret Garden” was the Davis Musical Theater show which closed out the company’s time at the Varsity Theater in 2002, prior to moving into the Hoblit Performing Arts Center. I gave it a lukewarm review, pointing to low energy and a bare bones set, which made, particularly, the finale scene very disappointing.

I was curious to see what changes I would find six years later, with the company firmly ensconced in their own theater, hoping they would improve on that long-ago production.

They have. In the current production, which opened this weekend at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center, the look is much more plush, the cast consistently good, and the overall evening a delight.

Based on the beloved 1911 book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, "The Secret Garden" tells of Mary Lennox (Kaylynn Rothleder), the only survivor of a cholera epidemic which swept through the family compound in India. She is taken back to England to live with her only remaining relative, her uncle Archibald Craven (Bret McLaughlin), a hunchback who lives in a lonely mansion on a hill in the Yorkshire Moors.

Archibald has been wallowing in deep grief over the death of his wife Lily (Caitlin Kiley), who died in childbirth ten years ago, and has isolated himself from the world, and especially from his sickly son, Colin (Christian Salmon), who is bedridden and kept hidden in his room by his physician, Archibald's brother Neville (Rick Eldredge).

The arrival of Mary, initially a spoiled, self-centered child who has been waited on all her life, causes disruption in the carefully ordered life that Archibald has built for himself.

In her loneliness, Mary begins to explore the grounds and finds secret garden, planted by Lily, and locked ever since her death. With the help of the gardener, Dickon (Joshua Smith), brother of the chambermaid, Martha (Emily Jo Seminoff), Mary works to revive the garden, and in so doing she is herself changed into a caring child who ultimately brings life back to the house, to Archibald and to Colin.

It is helpful to have either read the book or seen the movie (with Margaret O’Brien as Mary) to understand that half of the people on the stage are actually ghosts. This is not a fault of the DMCT production, but of the musical itself, with book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and (mostly forgettable) music by Lucy Simon. The authors seem to take for granted that the audience will already be familiar with the story.

However, whatever the shortcomings of the musical itself, this modest production is quite good.

The bulk of the story and the action rest on the shoulders of Mary Lennox and Kaylynn Rothleder is up to the task. She can be petulant, angry, frightened, and filled with wonder. Rothleder is both a good actress and a good singer, which is half the battle right there.

Bret McLaughlin is a marvelous Archibald Craven. The grief is painfully written on his face in all of the scenes when he remembers his beloved wife. He has a powerful voice, which is equally effective when tender, as in the duet with the ghost of his wife Lily, one of the more poignant in the play.

Caitlin Kiley’s Lily is eloquent and in great voice, and also quite poignant as she interactions with her husband.

Christian Salmon, as Colin, turns in a good performance as Archibald’s son, Colin, being kept in bed by his doctor-uncle who is convinced that to let Colin out of bed would be to shorten his life. He has a good tantrum, and a wonderful wide-eyed wonder look when he sees Mary’s garden.

Rick Eldredge is sufficiently smarmy as Dr. Neville Craven, gradually taking control of Archibald’s house and family for his own reasons.

The supporting cast is quite strong, from Jabriel Shelton, the Fakir in the opening scenes, down to Richard Lui as Ben, the old gardener who is full of wisdom to impart to Mary.

Joshua Smith carries a heavy load as Mary’s friend Dickon, who teaches her how to bring the seemingly dead garden back to life again. Smith has great charisma and you enjoy watching him on stage.

Emily Jo Seminoff is the relentlessly cheerful chambermaid, Martha, Dickon’s sister. Seminoff has a long professional resume and it shows in this role.

Dannette Vassar is the dour Mrs. Medlock, given the task of bringing Mary to Yorkshire. She’s curt and crisp and without much empathy and Vassar is wonderful in the role.

Director Steve Isaacson, who also designed the sets and lights, has greatly improved on his 2002 production. With a cast which is uniformly fine, a more detailed set (the finale is now quite lovely!), and interesting lighting effects, such as the tree on the curtain during one of the later scenes, he has created an enchanting production.

Kudos also go to costume designers Jean Henderson, Anna Johnson and Denise Miles. I particularly liked the assortment of pinafores for Mary.

While its slower pace and complicated themes may not make it a good production for children under the age of 8, older children, especially little girls, should enjoy entering Mary’s secret world and watching how her transformation rubs off on everyone.

Julie, Julie

Liam Creighton never touched a video camera until he went to the University of Kent in Canterbury at age 21. Now, at age 29, he is submitting a film, “Julie, Julie,” to the upcoming Sacramento French Film Festival and a test print is being given a test screening at the Varsity Theater on June 16.

“Have you heard of Worcestershire sauce?” he asked me, when we met for coffee at Mishka’s Café, where he worked for 18 months when he first moved to Davis with his wife Courtney Hopf, an American he met when she was doing a year abroad in Canterbury in 1999.

“That’s where I’m from. Just outside Worcester.”

It was a town of about 2,000 people, he explained, and the main industry was catalog sales. “It was just me, my mum, dad and the cat,” he said.

But young Liam loved movies and would often skip school to go to the movies with a friend (“It was either that or the pub, when we got to be around 17,” he laughed.) He had a special affinity for Alfred Hitchcock movies, particularly “Vertigo,” and has been on a mission to visit as many of the location shots from that film as possible since he moved to California in 2004. “I like the classic films of Hollywood, which were small, intimate, and tightly crafted,” he explained.

Creighton graduated from university with a BA in Film Studies and moved to Davis so that his wife could start a PhD program in English Literature at U.C. Davis. He worked several jobs, including managing the Varsity when it re-opened as a movie house. He currently teaches DV camera operation and video editing through DC-TV as well as making projects for clients on the side. He also works for CAFF (Community Alliance with Family Farmers).

For the past two years, Creighton has worked at Sacramento’s French Film Festival, running the projector for the short films, and it was there that he got the idea to enter a film in the 2008 festival (“And hopefully many festivals after that,” adds Hopf). He felt it was his way to give back something to the festival.

“I’d seen a lot of the short films there. I thought some of them were great. Some of them that come from France are just astonishingly good, really quite mature and some really showed potential.”

.“Julie, Julie” is a 15 minute short film. Creighton wrote the script and is the film’s director and editor. Hopf took on the job of co-producing and acting as production coordinator, a new experience for her. “The biggest challenge was having no idea how to go about doing the things I needed to do, yet having major responsibilities of the production on my shoulders,” Hopf said.

“Courtney derives a perverse pleasure from paperwork,” laughed Creighton.

“It was a lot of fumbling around and learning as I went along,” said Hopf. “How does one get a shooting permit? How do film makers hire SAG union actors? How do you form an Limited Liability company? buy production insurance? create a shooting schedule? Often the things I worried about the most turned out to be quite simple, and almost always the things I thought would be easy turned out to be a nightmare. I learned to openly acknowledge my ignorance and ask a lot of questions. In the end, the great thing about independent film making is that people really respect you for doing things the "right" way - meaning you pay people on time, you respect their expertise, you make sure they're fed and comfortable so they can do their jobs well. We were very committed to this, and so people were willing to help us along and teach us what they knew. It was a pretty amazing experience.”

To be included in the French film festival, a movie must have some connection to France, so Creighton’s heroine, Julie (played by American actress Stephanie Carwin, who is fluent in French) is in an accident and receives a blow to her head. When she awakes in the hospital, she speaks only French and doesn’t recognize her husband. The movie then explores the issues of identity and communication.

Creighton was inspired by the film, “La Moustache,” directed by Emmanuel Carrere, the story of a man who shaves off his moustache and is surprised when nobody notices. When, at the end of the day, he asks his wife why she didn’t mention the shaved moustache, she tells him he never had a moustache to begin with.

“The man’s entire identity starts unraveling,” explains Creighton. “He starts questioning who he is and his whole relationship with his wife falls apart. He doesn’t know what’s going on any more. That got me thinking. I was already asking what can I do to create a film that is an American story, but has a French component. Then I got this idea. I talked it through with Courtney and it seemed like something that would work, and we started building on that.”

While Creighton wrote the script himself, he sought feedback from many friends, including his old high school drama teacher. “She has really good radar for theater and writing and emotion in writing, so she’s always a good sounding board. She’s also very detail-oriented, very nit-picky.”

With script in hand, he began the monumental task of producing a professional short film.

He found his cast through an on-line casting web site, Mandy.com. “I used it before, here and in the UK. It’s pretty well respected. Serious people check it and make a point of applying for things through that.” He not only found his cast – Fred Pitts, an ER Doctor and SAG actor; Stephanie Carwin, who is presently getting a Masters in Aesthetics and is also a full time actor; and Hester Schell, who teaches acting and wanted real footage for her resume, to show herself playing a doctor – he also found his cinematographer, Sacramento-based Mark Herzig on the internet.

“Mark was a real find,” said Creighton, who couldn’t find enough superlatives to describe his Director of Photography. “He has 20 years of experience and loads of contacts.” Herzig was able to help find top notch crew people, who were essential to the overall professional look of the film.

Finding the money to make the film was obviously a major undertaking. Most of the $12,000 was raised from family and friends, with one large donation from an anonymous donor and a sizeable check from the Margaret Atwood Book Group of Davis.

To keep their backers, and interested parties, apprised of progress, Creighton and Hopf set up a web site, called “Shooting Bulletins” (http://www.junkopia.net/movieblog/), where Hopf would create videos at various intervals when there was something new to report (and where they could also ask for additional donations).

Next they needed shooting locations. They needed a 50s style diner, a street, a hospital, and a house.

The connections of his filming crew were essential in finding a hospital. They approached the UCD Medical Center, Cowell Hospital, Kaiser Medical Center, the Surgery Center in Davis, but the liability issues were “crazy.” Then someone on the crew knew of a hospital in San Mateo which has a room it can shut down, so they can make money by renting it to film crews.

They found a diner with the perfect look in Sacramento which had the right look, with booths and a side-on angle for filming, but the owner hardly spoke English and the previous film crew she had rented it to made a mess of things, so she said absolutely not.

Instead they filmed at Cindy’s in Davis and through “movie magic” made the scene through the window look like downtown Sacramento.

In terms of dollars per second, the street scene, where Julie has her accident was the most expensive scene. It is only seven seconds on film, but they had to pay ~$100 for permission to block off the street, they paid an overtime police officer. They had to rent orange cones. They had the entire crew, who were all working for a low salary, but it all added up. They had a stunt coordinator driving the car involved in the accident.

“As well as getting permission to use the street, we also had to get permission from the restaurant, Thai Basil, to let us use their seating area and toilet so we’d have a place for our actors to pad out. And it’s always essential to have a bathroom.”

Creighton and Hopf drove many miles trying to find a house where they could shoot their interiors. They were looking for a vacation rental so they didn’t have to deal with the stress of people living in the house. “People don’t realize how disruptive a film crew is. They’ll agree and then you turn up and even a small crew is going to just completely make you feel like a stranger in your own home.”

They ran into a surprising roadblock with their first inquiries. “The first question you get from people when you email them about shooting a movie in their vacation home is ‘what KIND of movie?’ A lot of porn gets shot in vacation rentals, so we assure them that it’s not that kind of movie. We assure them that it’s a professional production and that we have professional people on board and that we will be doing it properly.”

(Ironically, it might help that Creighton is British. “People seem to think a British accent sounds more intelligent,” he laughed, adding “It’s completely not true, but I’ve got a lot of British actors to thank for that. Having an accent is also good for people remembering who I am. I’m the English guy who wants to make the crazy movie.”

Ultimately Creighton and Hopf found five houses that seemed do-able in terms of location and in terms of size. But they visited the five from Healdsburg (which was the farthest north), to Half Moon Bay (the farthest south), all in one weekend. They also visited Pt. Reyes, which is where Creighton wanted to shoot his beach scene, until he found out the cost involved in getting a permit.

The house chosen was in Half Moon Bay. “It had the right kind of look (because my characters are architects) and it had really high ceilings in the central living area anyway. That meant I could do certain things with the camera that I was very excited about,” said Creighton.

The production crew also included five interns from the UC Davis English / Film department. The five raved about their experience and opportunity to work with such professionals, and to have significant responsibility on the set. The five even started their own Facebook group to stay in touch.

Things went so smoothly with production, that at times Creighton found himself standing around with nothing to do. “The shoot could probably have run itself. At times I felt like this privileged person who gets to sit there and say ‘you do this’ or ‘you do that.’” He occasionally offered to help with things like moving equipment, but his help was declined. “What I ended up doing was keeping my eye on my script and my story boards and wandering around telling my actors what to do. Everything else was like this mellow machine that ran around me.”

When the filming was completed, Creighton had the laborious task of cutting and editing the footage. “I’m quite pleased with the job I did,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve edited something of this nature, something with a polished style.”

Accuracy is particularly important to the young film-maker, as this is going to be his audition to film school. “There are two schools that I really like, the London Film School, and the National Film and Television School just outside London. Mike Leigh (director of the recent Academy award nominated “Topsy Turvy”) is the head of London Film School. Stephen Frears (Director of “The Queen”) teaches at the National Film & Television School. Those are the places I’d really like to go.”

He would just like to get to a place where he can stop obsessing about the film, he told me when we had our second interview. “I’ve lost a lot of socialization,” he said.

At the conclusion of our interview, Creighton opened up his laptop and showed me the first third of the film. Just when I was getting interested, he stopped the film and invited me to come to the test screening on June 16th. Members of the community are also invited, for a $5 entrance fee. Creighton is hoping to get a large enough audience to get a realistic reaction from people coming in cold to the film.

All I know is that I will be at the screening. I want to see how it all comes out!

A Number

Caryl Churchill’s “A Number,” now at Capitol Stage in Sacramento has been called the first 21st Century play, for, indeed, it deals with subjects that at one time seemed a part of science fiction, and now are at least possible, if on the distant horizon.

The characters are “Father” (Loren Taylor) and “Son” (Gillen Morrison) and the subject is human cloning, a subject which asks many questions, not the least of which is – who are we, really? Are we our DNA? Are we the products of our upbringing? And the ever popular “Nature vs. nurture?”

Son has just discovered that he has been cloned. That there are “a number” of clones and he realizes that he doesn’t know whether he’s a clone, or the original. Surely he must be the original. He feels like the original.

In an opening dialog which has all the rapid-fire crispness of a ping pong game, we watch Son’s deepening confusion and father’s growing anger that the hospital should take such liberties. They circle the stage like a couple of prize fighters, son gradually seeing the positive aspects of there being more than one of him, father seizing the opportunity to get “a lot of money” from the hospital, son seeing the down side of cloning–who is he? And how many others are there?

Father tries to explain how a clone might have been made–maybe when son was born, or maybe when he broke his leg and was in the hospital. Maybe they took scrapings of his skin.

He’s all for profiting from the illegal use of his son’s DNA. “They’ve damaged your uniqueness, weakened your identity...”

As the discussion progresses, father’s story began to crumble and he begins to reveal that he’s not as innocent as he first stated. In fact, his wife and son were killed in an auto accident and he was so distraught at losing his beloved son that he agreed to have him cloned.

Or is that really the story?

The piece is only 65 minutes long, but director Stephanie Gularte makes certain that it is a roller coaster ride from start to finish.

Morrison has the opportunity to stretch his acting chops to become three very different personalities, as first one, and then another of the clones (or is one of them the original?) interacts with Father, each expressing his own feeling about the cloning experiment..

Each discussion with Father reveals a bit more of father’s story and wipes away the warmhearted person we saw in the opening moments of the play. Taylor’s performance matches Morrison’s in its multi-faceted complexity.

Apparently mother died under questionable circumstances–was it an auto accident? Did she commit suicide? Was it something else? Father becomes more and more evasive on the subject. We eventually discover that he apparently botched the fathering of his young son and he wants a second chance, hence the cloning.

But what became of the original? Was he killed, as the father first states, or did he survive? And if he survived, where has he been all these years?

Jonathan Williams’ somewhat stark set (a couch and some light-filled columns) adds to the futuristic feel of the play, along with Steve Decker’s lighting design, creating the mood for each meeting with a subsequent clone. Brad Thompson’s sound design, with its relentless heart beat, adds an element of suspense.

Capitol Stage’s production of “A Number” will be one that you will long remember.

Phantom of the Opera

If there was any doubt that the award-winning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “The Phantom of the Opera” is a true "spectacle," the multi page "tour facts" handed out to reviewers is proof enough. (The replica of the Paris Opera chandelier weighs 1000 lbs, and contains 6,000 beads and 50 radio-controlled lights; there are 2,700 yards of fabric in the drapery, 141 candles rise out of the deck to form the underground lake, there are 230 costumes, and one life-sized elephant).

It may be stated that "Phantom of the Opera," directed by Harold Prince, is one of the world's most popular musicals. This is a show guaranteed to bring an audience to its feet at the curtain call, with cheers and wild applause, whether or not there is any substance to the script, whether or not the music is repetitive, whether or not the sound system allows you to understand the dialog, or whether the performances are top notch. There is so much gold and glitter and pizzazz that the spectacle alone is enough.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's songs (with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe), such as "Music of the Night" and "All I ask of You" have become some of the most recognized today.

With a stage show which has been around since 1986, following the original book by Gaston Leroux, and several movie versions, there are few who are not familiar with the story of the masked disfigured musician who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. He is in love with Christine Daaé, an aspiring young soprano, and sets about making her a star by terrorizing the owners and members of the resident theater company.

Stephen Tewksbury as the Phantom is an imposing figure, but a bit too melodramatic (though how else can you be when your role requires you to holler from all corners of the stage, climb up into the procenium, and sing from within a gilded set of angels?).

Sara Jean Ford as Christine is marvelous. She gives the role the proper degree of innocence and naivete and she has a show stopper with her, "Wishing you were somehow here again," which she sings at her father's grave. (Ford will be replaced by Marni Raab on June 1 and Kelly Jeanne Grant will also play the role at selected performances)

Greg Mills as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, Christine's other suitor, is more convincing as the lovestruck youth and he has an excellent voice.

In smaller roles, Bruce Winant (Monsieur Firmin) and D.C. Anderson (reprising his role as Monsieur André), provide comic relief as the new owners of the Paris Opera, who discover they have purchased not only a theater company, but its phantom as well.

Nancy Hess, as the ballet mistress Madame Giry, the only one who actually seems to know the Phantom, gives a solid performance.

Kim Stengel handles the role of opera diva Carlotta Giudicelli well, with a firey temperament and a strong voice.

John Whitney plays the rotund tenor, Ubaldo Piangi, as a stereotypical buffoon.

There are wonderful visuals in this production, thanks to the production design of Maria Björnson. The rehearsal of the opera Hannibal is sheer opulence, and shows the marvelous choreography by Gillian Lynne. (The elephant is the star of this scene!) Lighting designer Andrew Bridge also gets applause for his realistic depiction of true "footlights" for the stage.

One of the most famous scenes, the Phantom piloting a gondola through the "lake" in the basement of the Opera House, is every bit as impressive as when I first saw this show in London, with fog rising off the water, and those 141 candles to light the way, as the boat glides across the stage as if on a real lake.

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a lush, beautifully directed musical with familiar melodies and strong performances. No one attending this production will come away disappointed.

Carnival of Follies

Playwright/Director Dave Burmester describes his play, “A Carnival of Follies” as a “Where’s Waldo” of quotes, characters, situations, staging, and in-jokes from the past 28 years of Acme Theater, the perfect way to end Acme founder Burmester’s 28 years as the company’s director.

Indeed, while this zany pastiche has enough giggles on its own merits, those who have been following Acme, American films, television and a host of other media, will enjoy it that much more. It has a little bit of everything, from Jack Benny to Fricandeau and lots and lots in between.

“It’s probably the least literary show I’ve ever done. I’m not William Shakespeare. I’m not Arthur Miller or Thornton Wilder. As much as I love them, I can’t be them. I am who I am,” said Burmester. Fortunately, what he is is a very funny guy. Oh the show was slow in spots and it wasn’t always easy to tell who was who because the dialog went by so quickly, and for that reason it was difficult to figure out the plot, at first, but nobody sitting on the grass at the Art Center amphitheater was complaining...and everybody was laughing.

They laughed at the slapstick humor, the corny jokes, and the lively dances to Raymond Scott music. They laughed at familiar situations in unfamiliar settings. They laughed at the Zanni (Geoffrey Albrecht, Vivian Breckenridge, Kane Chai, Torin Lusebrink, Hannah May, Matt Northup, Genevieve Whitman, and Danielle Wogulis), who kept the audience entertained between scenes, moved set pieces, and played background sound effects.

In writing his play, Burmester collected all of his favorite bits of theater, types of characters, types of situations, etc., and wove a story line around them. Though the play is set on “two incredibly long days in 1733,” it still has a modern feel to it.

It begins with Smeraldina (the ebullient Hope Raymond, always to be counted on) supposedly reading a fairy tale, but in reality setting up the action that follows, a story which includes twins separated at birth family feuds, and the beautiful Isabella (Delany Pelz) the object of every young man’s affections (and a couple of old ones too!).

(One of my favorite bits was the “birth” of the children in the play.)

Most of the action whirls around Truffaldino (Sean Olivares), the servant of Signore Pantalone (Alex Kravitz). Truffaldino’s inability to read sets off the action which is central to the story, the delivery of a love letter which, of course, gets into the wrong set of hands more than once, each time changing the flow of things. Olivares is very funny and great at slapstick humor.

Pantalone is neighbor to Signora Scarpazone (Kate McFarland), mother to the beautiful Isabella and her sister Flaminia (Emily Tracy). The miserly Pantalone and Signora Scarpazone have been feuding ever since their romance dissolved because of Pantalone’s love of money.

Pantalone’s two sons, Silvio (Zach Salk) and Rosario (Billy Baria) vie for the love of Isabella (though Rosario is secretly in love with Flaminia instead).

And then there is parallel plot of the young Duchess Aurelia (Celsiana Warwick), about to come of age and be free of her guardian, Spavento (Ethan Jaffe, who does great evil characters), who has his own plans to get rid of the Duchess and take control of the government himself, a government from which he has been siphoning gold into his own coffers.

Aurelia is secretly in love with “Il Bandito Negro,” the Robin Hood-like character who takes from the rich and assists the poor. Nobody knows his identity, but the dashing Ortensio (John Ramos) seems to know an awful lot about him.

Into this mix throw twins separated at birth, identified only by “a peculiar birthmark situated in a ‘delicate’ anatomical location”(and an interesting G-rated way of examining them), female characters disguised as men, a lot of great swordplay, outright gratuitous slapstick bits, chase scenes, fight scenes, and a happy ending for all the good guys, with all the plot threads neatly tied together.

Costumer Hope Raymond brings lots of primary colors to the stage, John Ramos has designed a wonderfully versatile set on a thrust built out onto the grass, decorated by Genevieve Whitman. Emily Tracy choreographed the dances, which are so much fun. Fight choreography is by Acme alum, Dara Yazdani, with Delany Pelz as fight captain.

As Dave Burmester rides off into the sunset, he can hold his head high, having created a delicious evening of fun and frivolity.

Tennessee Williams wrote 'A Streetcar Named Desire' in 1947, and Blanche DuBois has depended on the kindness of strangers ever since.

Director Lydia Venables treats her kindly in the production that continues through June 8 at the Woodland Opera House.

The 1951 Marlon Brando film put the focus on the character of Stanley Kowalski, a construction worker who has lured his wife, Stella, away from her rich family to a cramped apartment in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

But the play actually centers around the complicated relationship between sisters Stella (Amy Vyvlecka) and Blanche (Lee Marie Kelly) - both of whom have endured disappointment, loss, pain and hardship - and their struggle to survive.

Stanley (Brien Rife) is a possessive man with a volatile temper, but it's plainly obvious that he and Stella have an active and satisfying sex life that makes the rest bearable. Stella is torn between her love for Stanley and her love for her delicate sister, who needs protecting.


Rife's Stanley is crude, loud and menacing: quick to anger and prone to throw things when he becomes infuriated. But he's obviously madly in love with his wife, as the famous wail proves ('Stella! Stella!'), when he realizes that an upstairs neighbor, Eunice Hubble (Georgann Wallace), has taken Stella in to protect her from Stanley, after a particularly violent outburst.

But Stanley always puts his own wants and needs ahead of everything else, and doesn't realize what he has until he has lost it, and finally commits the unforgivable sin.

Vyvlecka gives Stella a real heart, and makes it obvious how much this woman loves her husband, even when he becomes abusive. We also can see what Stella gets from this dysfunctional relationship, as Vyvlecka adeptly displays her character's sensual attraction to her husband.

Blanche is a fragile soul, who struggles to retain her sanity while her world crumbles around her: the suicide of her young homosexual husband, the loss of her beloved family home at Belle Rive, the loss of her teaching job following an affair with one of her high school students. We get hints of a checkered past as a woman of loose morals. She hides a drinking problem.

But Blanche arrives in New Orleans with a trunk full of frilly clothes to meet all of Stella's friends, and she maintains an air of distracted gentility.

Kelly's performance is superb: She is coquettish, disgusted, fearful, tender, sensual and vulnerable, and she gradually slides into madness.

Dean Shellenberger gives a wonderful performance as Harold Mitchell, a large, shy man who lives with his mother; he's smitten with Blanche, whose like he never has seen before.

He plays the gentle suitor, only to turn his back on her when the truth comes to light. He turns cruel, as he strips away the colored lantern she has placed on a naked lightbulb, and forces her to confront her literal and figurative reality.

Great Collet (Steve Hubbell), Pablo Gonzales (Erik Catalan), Andy Hyun (a young collector), Leslie Kenyon (Matron) and Michail Buse (Doctor) complete the ensemble, each delivering solid performances.

Scenic designer Jeff Kean beautifully portrays not only the cramped, claustrophobic apartment that the Kowalskis share with Blanche, but also - by extending the set to the adjoining off-stage boxes - the French Quarter itself.

In 'Streetcar,' Williams gave the world a gumbo filled with failure, vulnerability, depravity and the helpless fragility of the human mind. Venables has mixed this ingredients with the expertise of a master chef, and served the results with panache.

Measure for Measure

What are the appropriate boundaries of governmental power, and how can citizens fight back when such limits are overstepped?

If you have the ability to help a fellow citizen, but doing so compromises your moral or religious beliefs, are you obligated to act?

How far should outdated laws be prosecuted before inhibiting the free expression of the people?

If I were to ask such questions, you might think I was preparing a letter to a newspaper's op-ed page.

And therein lies the proof that Shakespeare's works can be as current and topical as they are timeless, for these issues are faced by the characters in the UC Davis theater and dance department production of 'Measure for Measure.'

While many of this play's elements - notably bedroom mix-ups and stock comedic characters - have caused it to be listed as a comedy, 'Measure for Measure' has very little 'comedic' about it (and this production has very few laughs), and thus it has been called one of the bard's 'problem plays.'

The plot centers on Angelo (Jesse Merz), empowered by the Duke of Vienna (Timothy Orr) to rule the citizenry in his absence, with the assistance of Escalus (Sarah Cohen). While all believe the Duke is taking a brief sabbatical, he actually uses this opportunity to disguise himself as a friar, and then wander about the city and personally observe the extent of its moral decay.

Angelo, who today would be classified as an extreme fundamentalist, decides to use his temporary powers to enforce an archaic law against fornication; he begins shutting down bawdy houses and putting fornicators to death. One of these fornicators is Claudio (Daniel Reano-Koven), a young man who has impregnated his fiancee.

Claudio's sister, Isabella (Gia Battista), a novice in a convent, is made aware of her brother's plight; she comes to plead for his life.

On seeing Isabella, Angelo - like so many modern-day zealots with feet of clay - falls in immediate lust with her, and attempts to blackmail her into his bed. The choice is her virtue or Claudio's life, Angelo tells her, knowing that even if she were to report him, nobody would believe her.

But the Duke is made aware of the plot, and he hatches a scheme of his own to save Isabella's virtue and reveal Angelo's duplicity.

A parallel comic storyline follows the banter among a 'flamboyant bachelor,' Lucio (Kevin Ganger); the brothel owner, Mistress Overdone (Cody Messick); and her employee, Pompey (Stephanie Hankinson).

Eventually, the good get their reward, and the bad their just desserts: All's well that ends well.

Director Randy Symank has mounted a strong production. The play is set in modern dress: so modern that the sex workers - Maryanne Reveles, Tracy Kutt, Karen Askeland and Kelly Fleischmann - wear tight, skimpy black dresses and wigs of electric fuschia, blue, green and copper.

The performances are excellent across the board, with Orr and Battista rising above the rest. Orr gives the Duke a likable, accessible demeanor; Battista brings a glowing 'goodness' to her character. Her passionate argument with Angelo is particularly moving.

On a lesser note, someone decided to add music to the production, for reasons I cannot fathom. Isaac Blackstock is credited with 'electric music composition,' and Rich Gaarde as music director and arranger, with vocals performed by Allison Minick and Isaac Blackstock. While nothing is wrong with the music, it feels gratuitous and out of place; it also adds nothing but extra minutes to the overall production.

I didn't mind the dancing so much - choreography by Hope Mirlis - but the 'Let's take a break here, and sing lyrics that aren't Shakespeare's words, which the audience can't understand anyway' parts easily could have been dropped.

'Measure for Measure' points a finger at hypocrisy, corruption and human frailty: sadly, all themes that seem much too applicable to today's political climate, and which make this Shakespeare classic all the more appropriate for a university production.