Camelot

There are stunning moments that one finds in theater. Moments that surprise you and take your breath away.

There was such a moment at Friday night’s Davis Musical Theater opening of Lerner & Lowe’s classic “Camelot,” directed by Lenore Sebastian (in her first directorial position with DMTC). The show had opened well. The set design by John Ewing and Steve Isaacson was not opulent, but utilitarian and for the low-budget production it worked just fine. The pared down orchestra, under the direction of Steve Isaacson was adequate, if lacking in the richness that one would like to hear in a big work such as “Camelot.”

Gil Sebastian’s King Arthur was fine, nicely balancing the shyness of the boy who never expected (or wanted) to be king with the man who has become one of the most powerful rulers of the land and yet is terrified to meet his bride-to-be.

Paul Fearn, returning to DMTC after an absence of 13 years, was a wise Merlyn, Arthur’s mentor, soon to fall victim to the spellbinder Nimue (Bridget Maguire, vocalist and Meg King, dancer). (Fearn would go on later to add delightful comic relief as the doddering old Pellinore.)

Marguerite Morris gave one of her better performances as Guenevere, whose “youth was sold” when she was given in marriage to this stranger, King Arthur. Guenevere is not ready for maturity before she has had an opportunity to experience the “simple joys of maidenhood” -- “Shall two knights never tilt for me / and let their blood be spilt for me?” “Shall a feud not begin for me? / Shall kith not kill their kin for me?” Morris had the lovely bearing of a queen, and the voice of an angel.

Arthur admits his own nervousness about the upcoming nuptials, but convinces Guenevere that “there’s not a happier spot for happily ever-aftering” than Camelot.

Up to this point it has been a delightful first scene. As the royal couple exited, the curtains closed and Lancelot du Lac (Tae Kim) appeared in a spotlight. When Kim opened his mouth to sing, everybody in the near-capacity audience sat up straighter. We all experienced a stunning moment together. Kim, a medical student newly moved to the Davis area, is, amazingly, making his very first theatrical appearance--ever, yet he has the confidence of a seasoned professional and a voice worthy of any professional production. He lifted the production to a higher level. It is unfortunate that he had slight pitch problems in Lancelot’s signature,“If ever I should leave you,” and seemed to be unable to get solidly back on pitch throughout the song, but other than that slip, he was first rate throughout the evening.

Another outstanding performance was turned in by Jon Jackson as the deliciously bitchy illegitimate son of Arthur, Mordred, who is responsible for bringing down Arthur’s dream of a world where disagreements are solved by rule of law rather than by swordplay. Like Kim, Jackson lifted the production to a higher level and made it something more than a run-of-the-mill, decent community theater production of an old classic.

“Camelot” is the story of honor, of love, of friendship, of betrayal, of remorse, and of honor again, as Lancelot and Guenevere deal with their love for each other and their mutual love of Arthur, whom they do not wish to hurt. Arthur must also deal with his love for his wife and his best friend, but sets thoughts of revenge aside following their betrayal, because he still loves them both and would rather see them happy together than to lose them completely.

In the end, nobody wins.

Sebastian and Morris, who give fine performances at the start of the production, grew into their roles and their relationship as the evening (and the Camelot years) progressed, so that by their final scene together, there was genuine affection between them and their farewell was wrenching.

The supporting cast is small, lacking the “oomph” for a production this grand, but they do the best they can to be a decent crowd.

Jan Isaacson choreographed a May pole dance for “The Lusty Month of May” which was colorful, and gave the chorus lots of business to do.

Young Griffin Jackson is Tom of Warwick, on whose shoulders Arthur places the responsibility of keeping the dream of the principles of the Round Table alive. Jackson is very cute, but could speak up a bit more in order to be heard.

Jean Henderson designed the costumes and Morris, in particular, has never looked lovelier.

This production of Camelot has a lot of good things going for it, but it is worth seeing especially for the debut of Tae Kim who, if he chooses to continue doing theater, has a long successful career ahead of him.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

There is a Disney ad running on television now for the latest version of the cartoon “Cinderella.” In it, we are shown the now-familiar face of the sneering evil stepmother. I thought of that image several times, watching Janis Stevens’ portrayal of La Marquise de Merteuil in Capital Stage’s lusty production of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of the 1782 French novel by Choderlos de Laclos, directed by Michael Stevenson.

Stevens’ Merteuil may be the most malevolent female character you see on stage this year. With her head tilted back, her eyes mere slits, and her mouth forming an icy smile, Stevens is the perfect bad girl.

The setting is pre-Revolution Paris. Merteuil enlists her former lover, Le Vicomte de Valmont (Jason Kuykendall), to avenge a wrong done to the both of them by the unseen Gercourt, who has seduced a lover of Valmont while in the midst of a liaison with Merteuil. Merteuil wants Valmont to seduce Gercourt’s young bride to be, the 15-year-old virginal Cecile Volanges (Michelle Murphy). However, Valmont, feeling Cecile too unchallenging and uninteresting a victim (“humiliating, if you fail; commonplace, if you succeed”), is more intrigued by the virtuous, married La Presidente de Tourvel (Stephanie Gularte).

Let the games begin!

Kuykendall is a perfect co-conspirator for Stevens’ Merteuil. Tall, handsome, charming, and totally smarmy. Kuykendall has it all. He appears believable in his interactions with the young Cecile and the virtuous Tourvel, yet his personality can change in an instant when he flops down on the chaise lounge to report progress on his path of seduction. Valmont doesn’t plan on one thing: he actually falls in love with Tourvel and he’s not quite sure how to handle those feelings, which are his ultimate undoing.

Gularte is positively luminous, struggling with her response to Valmont’s advances, juggling the conflict between her duty to her husband, whom she does not love (“I am so lonely!”) and her desire for Valmont.

Michelle Murphy is so innocent, so young, that her rape by Valmont is so disturbing, we almost hope someone from “To Catch a Predator” will pop out from behind the secret panel and prevent the attack. Her later delight in the pleasures of the bedroom are likewise disturbing, given the age discrepancy between the two partners.

Paul Alary is Le Chevalier Danceny, a young man hopelessly in love with Cecile who innocently allows Valmont to control both his life and his pursuit of the object of his desire. Alary plays this young man as a bumbling adolescent whose transformation later in the piece is striking.

David Campbell makes much of the small role of Azolan, Valmont’s valet.

The supporting casts is equally strong – Gail Dartez as Cecile’s mother, Mme de Volanges; Vada Russell and Mme de Rosemonde; Megan Smith as the courtesan Emilie; and Michael Pollock as the Major-domo.

This production is so good that one would wish for a larger venue to greater present the opulence of the period, but Capitol Stage does what it can with the space it has to work in. Jonathan Williams has designed a generic drawing room which can be transformed into various boudoirs or drawing rooms by the movement of the ubiquitous chaise lounge, the changing of a vase of flowers, or the addition of a card table.

Gail Russell’s costumes are luxurious, and well suited to the character in question, whether the deep scarlet of Merteuil or the more virginal beige for Tourvel.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a sexy tale of love, lust and lies, beautifully served up by Capital Stage. The production contains brief nudity and is not recommended for the under-18 crowd.

Jack Lynn

Actor/director Jack Lynn owes his illustrious nearly 70-year career in the theater to giving the worst audition anybody had seen in ages at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in England, at age 15.

The 84 year old Lynn, director of the Woodland Opera House’s current delightful production of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” spoke with Oscar winning actor Robert Donat (“Goodbye, Mr. Chips”), an adjudicator for RADA, following his audition. Donat explained that they were not looking for finished or polished performances because “if someone is already polished there would be no need for instruction.” “We’re looking for potentiality,” he said. “We can see that you have talent, but you just don’t know what to do with it.”

Donat became one of Lynn’s mentors. Another mentor was a man named Robert Atkins, best known in England (at that time) for being the only man to have directed all 37 Shakespeare plays, some of them many times.

Lynn apparently fulfilled his mentors’ view and within three years he had done “a little directing, a little instruction and a lot of acting” (including a season at Stratford-Upon-Avon, under Atkins’ direction).

He was recommended by Donat for a position at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse, at the conclusion of the World War II. The Playhouse, established in the late 1920s, had become an accredited college by 1937. It had as many as five independent stages in operation at any given time, making the it the single most prolific theatrical producing organization in the world.

Donat, who expected his protege to concentrate on acting was surprised to discover that he preferred teaching. “I love instructing,” Lynn admitted, clarifying that he feels you can’t teach acting. “The talent has to be there in the first place, so ‘teaching’ is the wrong word.”

(A lifetime of instructing has formulated one of his philosophies – “The more I learn, the more I realize the less I know. I hope when I was young I never had the attitude that I find so many young people have today--learn a little and think they know everything.”)

In 1947, the 25 year old Lynn moved to the United States for what was to have been one term at the Pasadena Playhouse. Before the end of his term, he was invited to stay on permanently. He eventually became the head of the Shakespeare Department and, in 1956, became dean of the college. “ I was told that I was the youngest dean of any educational institution in the U.S.,” he says, modestly.

For personal family reasons Lynn returned to England in 1959. “Until then I had been visiting England every summer while living in the states. Now, between 1959 and 1987 I reversed my life and was living in England and coming to California every summer. I think that might be a record — since 1947 there has not been a single year I have not been in both countries. It’s what has kept me poor all my life.”

Upon his return to England, he was contacted by John Fernald, who had taken over as head of the RADA in the early 1950s, and asked to join the staff as an instructor/director. “I told him I thought it was a very good idea to employ ex-students,” Lynn said. “Fernald’s reply was ‘We’re not employing you because you’re an ex-student, but because of your work with founder Gilmor [sic] Brown at the Pasadena Playhouse.’ It was then I realized how famous the playhouse really was,” said Lynn. “It was world renowned.”

His students, at Pasadena Playhouse and RADA span the gamut of theatrical greats from Anthony Hopkins to Ruth Buzzi, and include such luminaries as Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Charles Bronson.

During his time back in England, Lynn became the producer of Knightsbridge Theatrical Productions, with over 10 West End productions in London, including “Pygmalion,” with Diana Rigg and a then-unknown Bob Hoskins (“We can claim to have helped him start his career”), “Candida,” with Deborah Kerr (“A wonderful person”), “Hamlet,” with Ian McKellan, and “Lord Quex,” with Judi Dench and John Gielgud.

Both Dench and Gielgud became good friends. Lynn wistfully remembers the late Gielgud fondly. “He was a wonderful actor, a wonderful man. So modest it was unbelievable. He had no idea how good he was.”

His “closest and greatest friend” is Paul Scofield, who won both an Oscar and Tony playing Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons.” “A very fine actor and friend.”

"I've been so lucky over the years with people I've worked with and the friends I’ve made,” Lynn said. “Great actors are some of the nicest people. They have a basic humanity and a basic kindness. They have to be nice, unprejudiced and open minded if they are to portray people of all types and styles. If you have a closed or prejudiced mind, you are unable to really understand the characters and it affects your performance.”

But Lynn saves his greatest pride for his “adopted son,” actor, novelist, playwright and director Ian Ogilvy, well known in England as Simon Templar in “Return of The Saint,” and seen in the U.S. in many television productions including “Murder She Wrote,” “Jag,” “Murphy Brown” and “Diagnosis Murder.” He is now making a name for himself as an author of children’s books. By mutual agreement, Ogilvy did not take his adopted father’s name, feeling that nepotism was a terrible thing. “His attitude was that because I’d been a producer and goodness knows what if he changed his name people would think I used my influence to get him work, and he wanted to earn it on his own.”

As an actor, Lynn has been in several television productions, such as the Rabbi in “Bar Mitzvah Boy.” His last movie appearance was as the bookseller in the film “Yentl,” and says he adored director/star Barbra Streisand. “She was an angel to work with,” he said, contradicting those who warned him that she would be difficult. “She’s kind and considerate as long as you do your work. If you don’t she can be critical.”

In the early 1990s, following a run as Cardinal Woolsey in a production of “A Man for All Seasons,” with Charlton Heston, Lynn was invited to come to Sacramento to work with friends Jerry and Laura Grisham, who ran the now defunct Stagedoor Comedy Theater in Sacramento for over 25 years. He remained with the Grishams, doing some coaching and some directing, and acting in local productions.

“To talk about my life would fill a three volume novel,” Lynn laughs. Instead he now does a one-man show, “Life and Laughter in the Theater,” in which he reminisces about his over 68 years in the theater. It was this show which first brought him to Woodland at the invitation of Woodland Opera House Artistic Director Jeff Kean. He has since taken the show to Scotland and England, and will present this one man show for the last time at the Chautauqua Theater in Sacramento on Sunday, February 11 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., as he plans to retire to England soon after.

The show is described by Chautauqua as “the story of his life in entertainment, filled with humour and poignancy. A fascinating talk followed by questions.”

Health problems have compromised his ability to direct as he always has. “I’m one of those directors who likes to get up on the stage and demonstrate things, but the most frustrating thing is that I have to stay seated because I’m being incapacitated.” Instead he now sits in the house and actors come to him following a scene, in order to get instructions.

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” currently at the Woodland Opera House, will be his swan song as a director (“It’s one of my favorite plays”). He is very happy with this production. “The secret of good directing is to cast the play with the best possible people,” he says, pointing to all of the cast, but particularly Jerry Lee, in the role of Jack Worthing, with whom he first worked when the young actor was merely 15. “Jerry has made the greatest advance of any young actor I’ve ever worked with,” he says, proudly.

When he returns to England, Lynn will move into Denville Hall, a retirement community for theater persons outside of London, where he recuperated from surgery on his previous trip to England.

“It’s going to be a terrible wrench for me,” he says, sadly “I shan’t be coming back to the States every summer. Thank goodness a lot of my English friends whom I see every summer are very happy that I’m going to be there.” Among those friends is the Chairman of the Board of Denville, a former RADA classmate, Richard Attenborough, who first suggested that Lynn make Denville his permanent home.

For health reasons, Jack Lynn may be giving up the more energetic of his career activities, but something tells me that we have not seen the last of this delightful, talented gentleman.

The Importance of Being Earnest

This review appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 1/24/2007


It’s a world of polite society, cucumber sandwiches, and a world where “smoking” is considered a proper activity for a young man. “A man should always have an occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London as it is.”

It’s a world where “being Earnest” is very important.

In fact, that’s the name of the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, who can skewer high society pomposity better than most. It is currently delighting audiences at the Woodland Opera House.

Jack Lynn, who, in his 70 year career has taught such luminaries as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman and worked with the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Sir John Gielgud, is making this production his directorial swan song. The veteran director is going out with a bang, not with a whimper.

He has assembled a talented cast, with keen comic timing, and several are new to the Woodland Opera House.

Chris Quant is delicious as the n’er do well Algernon Montcrief whose life seems to consist of partying and heading off into the country for dalliances. For this purpose he has created an imaginary friend named Mr. Bunbury (whom Quant pronounces “Bombury,” for some inexplicable reason), who becomes conveniently ill when Algernon needs to get out of town. The young man is quite pleased with the effectiveness of his deception.

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!”

Algernon’s friend is Earnest Worthing (Jerry Lee) who is absolutely perfect as the young man who is hiding the fact that his name is really Jack Worthing, and as a baby, he was abandoned in a handbag at Victoria Station and adopted by the wealthy Thomas Cardew, who, on his deathbed, made the young man the guardian for his granddaughter, Cecily (Janey Pintar). Jack has invented a wayward brother named Earnest who lives in the city and whose antics force Jack to have to leave the country and come to town.

Earnest (or Jack) is in love with Algernon’s cousin Gwendolyn Fairfax (Katherine C. Miller) whose mother is the formidable Lady Bracknell (Shelly Sandford), who has some of the most memorable lines in the play.

Miller is the perfect spoiled upper crust daughter, who fell in love with Jack because she has always dreamed of marrying someone named “Earnest.”

Sandford is prim and ultra proper as she questions Jack about his qualifications to marry her granddaughter. All seems to meet with her approval until he admits that he has lost both of his parents. “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”

Deciding that a handbag is not a proper mother, Lady Bracknell forbids the marriage and, when asked by Jack what he can do to change her mind replies, “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.”

The action moves to Jack’s house in the country, where Algernon has traveled in order to meet Jack’s intriguing ward and introduces himself as Jack’s elder brother Earnest. Pintar is cute as Cecily, whose dream has been to meet a truly wicked man and can hardly wait to meet her guardian’s brother.

But wait, there's more. Cecily’s teacher, Miss Prism (Georgann Wallace), is hiding many things, including a love for the rector, Chasuble (Paul Fearn) and a shameful secret which sheds light on Jack’s parentage, after which everyone learns the real importance of being Earnest.

Mark Garbe and Chris Lamb have minor roles as the manservants Merriman and Lane, respectively.

Laurie Everly-Klassen has outdone herself in the elaborate costumes. The women’s hats alone are not to be believed.

Scenic and lighting design are by the reliable Jeff Kean, who can do more with a few flats than most. One never feels a lack of opulence in any of the scenes.

If you have never seen an Oscar Wilde play, this is the one not to miss. From the sparkling dialog to the keen comic timing of this cast, to the visual delight of the sets and costumes, “The Importance of Being Earnest” delights on all levels.

THIRDeYE Theatre Festival

The annual THIRDeYE Theatre Festival [sic], presented by the UC Davis Department of Theater and Dance, features three new plays by three undergraduate playwrights: Rachel Skytt, Natasha Tavakoli, and Kellie Raines. All three plays will be performed on each night of the festival, which will continue January 25-28 in Wyatt Pavilion Theater.

The plays are created in the Playwriting and English courses at UC Davis and the actors, designers, stage managers, and crew are all undergraduates, many performing their role or task for the first time.

The evening opens with “Over the Line,” by Natasha Tavakoli, directed by Amy Kronzer. While all the actors throughout the evening were excellent and I would be hard pressed to find a weak link anywhere, this particular play had some of the strongest performances. It is unfortunate that the script itself had the most problems.

Tavakoli set out to create a political drama which dealt with issues of immigration, relationships between parents and children, and between lovers, and a myriad of topics which, crammed together into a short one-act piece became sensory overload. There was no time for development of relationships or completion of scenes. Meals are served, eaten (or not eaten) in one bite and dishes immediately removed from the table. Parents arrive from Mexico, after a harrowing trip across the border to the home of a daughter they have not seen for years and the mother has no time for pleasantries; she only wants to go to bed. The Mexican mother emotionally speaks to her husband, complaining that he refuses to answer her in English.

Despite the problems with the story itself, this play had wonderful performances, particularly from Alma Ruelas, as Maria, the heroine of the piece, who may have given the strongest performance of the night. Her boyfriend Eli was played by Mike Yost, who likewise turned in a solid performance.

Matthew Moore’s performance as Eli’s father, Hank, was good, but his character was less believable because he looked more like Eli’s renegade brother than his father, a danger when all members of the cast are roughly the same age.

Christina Moore gave a sympathetic performance as Maria’s mother, Esperanza.

The second play was “Saving Trophies,” by Kellie Y. Raines, directed by Orion Al-Shamma-Jones. As a person who saves “things” in excess, I found I could relate to this story about a Sofia (Melanie Levy) who has a passion for collecting, cleaning, and displaying old trophies. “It’s about the way we all give pieces of ourselves to each other in small moments. It's in the pieces that we try to find something whole, something worth saving,” explains the author.

Levy’s seemingly strong performance was marred by her lack of projection so that too many of her lines, and thus the plot points, were lost, which is a shame because I was most impressed with her involvement with the character, a woman with a broken heart filling the space left by her former boyfriend with these trophies that she incessantly polishes.

Carolyn Hodson had no projection problems as Lozzie, Sofia’s lesbian friend who tries to make Sofia understand that she needs to get out into the world and live her life. Lozzie is that very rare character, an incapable lesbian. When Ken (Daniel Reano-Koven [Derrick--your computer won’t pick it up in an e-mail but the “n” in Reano should have a tilde over it]), a street person who has come into the shop where Sofia is polishing her trophies, collapses, it is Lozzie who doesn’t know what to do and leaves Sofia to handle the situation.

Rounding out the evening was “Baetylus” by Rachel Skytt, directed by Travis Dukelow. The death of a classmate was Skytt’s inspiration for this play about Felix (Daniel Hakim) whose fiancee Annabelle (Rebecca Backer) is the victim of a drive-by shooting. Hakim skillfully handles the conflicting emotions of a man trying to find meaning in life and struggling with his desire to hang onto the past and his growing affection for Babette (Jessica Herman). “If you don’t have a ‘now,’ you will never have any more ‘pasts,’” Babette tells him.

Shea McWhorter is delightfully ditzy as Mrs. Allen, an old woman mourning the loss of her beloved dog. The believability of the character is due as much to the costume design of Jennifer McEwen as the acting ability of McWhorter.

Jade McCutcheon is Artistic Director for this year’s festival. Scenic designers are Sam Hardie (Baetylus), Chris Lee (Saving Trophies) and Cary Babka (Over the Line), each of whom creates a pleasant environment, with Babka’s apartment particularly lovely.

Mame

This review appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 1/11/07

If you want a good looking musical theatrical experience, make certain that your show is directed by a choreographer, and costumed by an experienced costumer. The opening chorus of Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee’s “Mame,” Jerry Herman’s musical adaptation of Patrick Dennis’ delightful book, “Auntie Mame” is a visual delight, thanks to director/choreographer Ron Cisneros. From Jeannie Henderson’s colorful and opulent appearing costumes to the precision of the chorus, it is a sample of the kind of good things that can be done with community theater.

The production itself, however, is spotty and does not maintain the level set by the opening chorus throughout. There are both good things and bad things about the production.

It is nice to see Mary Young given something other than matronly roles for a change. She doesn’t quite pull off the “flamboyant” Auntie Mame, but does a credible job with a huge role as the free spirit who suddenly finds herself saddled with her brother’s child, following the death of the child’s parents.

Thirteen year old Andrew Lampinen was an unfortunate choice to play the young Patrick. He is nearly as tall as his aunt, making description of the games played at his progressive school sound less innocent than they were intended. As Andrew has performed in 19 musicals with DMTC, I am assuming that he had the great misfortune to go through a sudden voice change during rehearsal, as none of his songs were in his key and he had great difficulty with all of them. That said, however, he is a talented young actor and brings great depth and pathos to the part. His duet with Mame, “My Best Girl,” following a disastrous incident in play in which she had been cast, was very poignant and one of the sweeter moments of the evening.

As the grown up Patrick, Robert Coverdell is excellent. Coverdell also appears as part of the ensemble throughout the first act and displays, yet again, his talent for dance and the handsome figure that he presents on stage.

Making her DMTC debut, Peggy Schechter plays Mame’s best friend, the famous actress Vera Charles, who seems to spend her time either bored or drunk or both, but who obviously cares for Mame and comes to her aid when Mame has reached her lowest point.

William Hedge gives a solid performance in the role of Beauregard Picket Jackson Burnside, the southern gentleman who falls in love with Mame while she is giving him a manicure.

Dannette Vassar, who is getting larger roles these days, was a perfect choice for Mother Burnside. The diminutive actress becomes larger than life as the commanding matron of the Burnside clan.

Wendy Young is outstanding as Sally Cato. Her lifetime in theater shows in her stage presence and she is deliciously catty toward her former fiancee’s girlfriend when Mame visits the family plantation.

Agnes Gooch is everybody’s favorite nerdy female character and Monica Parisi does well with her. Her transformation into glamour girl was a bit less spectacular than it should have been (couldn’t a wig have been used to give her a more glamorous appearance?), but her return to Mame’s house, heavy with child, was very funny.

Rebekah Shepard was perfectly cast in the small role of Gloria Upson, Patrick’s snobbish society fiancee, an airhead who would rather discuss rinsing her hair with beer than anything more serious. Shepard had the upper crust New England accent down perfectly.

There was a strange set decision made by designer Steve Isaacson (who also plays Mr. Babcock, the trustee for young Patrick’s estate). Mame’s living room has one couch mid-stage, one easy chair on the far right and another easy chair on the far left. Had things been staged differently, it might not have been so noticeable, but with Mame sitting in one chair and Mr. Babcock sitting in the other, they had to practically yell at each other across the vast expanse of stage in order to have a conversation.

People in the audience, and in the lobby following the performance seemed to enjoy the show very much. I would not list this among the best the company has done, but this is a hard working group and their dedication to DMTC shows.

The Women of Lockerbie

This appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 1/9/07

“The Women of Lockerbie,” one-act play by Deborah Brevoort, presented by Acme Theater Company at the Veterans Memorial Theater, will grab your attention immediately and hang on tenaciously until the very last scene. Except for a few humorous moments when the audience laughed, you could hear a pin drop throughout the entire 75 minute duration of the piece.

When director David Burmester first read the play, he knew that Acme had to perform it. “Never before have we found a play so timely,” he writes in his director’s notes. “It is not hyperbole, I feel, to hold that terrorism is the single most pervasive political reality of our time. Since September 11, 2001, no one human activity has occupied our political leaders, our media and our lives as has the threat of terrorism.”

Lockerbie is known internationally as the site where, on December 21, 1988, the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 landed on the town as a result of a terrorist bomb. Eleven townspeople were killed when the plane's wings and fuel tanks crashed to earth in a fiery explosion, leaving a huge crater.

Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, the bombing of Flight 103 was the worst act of terrorism against civilian citizens of the United States. The 270 victims (259 on the plane, 11 on the ground) were citizens of 21 nations. Of them, 189 were Americans.

“The Women of Lockerbie” opens in a pre-dawn setting in the hills around Lockerbie. Set design by Victoria Gimpelvich is effective, with a series of platforms arranged to approximate a hillside, and a long piece of cloth which represents a stream running through the hills, a shimmering light on it making it come alive.

John Ramos plays Bill Livingston, who has traveled to Lockerbie with his wife Madeline (Emily Tracy). It is seven years past the tragedy of flight 103 and the Livingstons are visiting the site for the first time. Madeline has been grieving openly for seven years and Bill felt that if she could actually see the place where their son lost his life it might help her to get past the grief.

Madeline abruptly left the memorial service taking place in the town and is roaming the hills looking for her son. Her husband has come to the hills to search for her.

He is joined by Olive Allison (Cami Beaumont) and two women, identified as First Woman (Julieanne Conard) and Second Woman (Kate McFarland), who aid in the search and who attempt to bring peace to Madeline when she finally appears. They share their own experiences of that terrible day when horror rained down on the town, killing some of their own. With Madeline they ask “what if?” questions. What if I hadn’t gone to get petrol that day? What if I had changed the date of my party? What if...? What if...? What if...? Could I have changed the ultimate outcome? Questions that will always remain unanswered in the face of the reality of what happened.

At the same time the United States representative, George Jones (Sean Olivares) has given orders for the warehouse holding all of the items recovered from the crash to be burned, now that the investigation into the incident has ended. The government feels this is the best way to bring closure to the tragedy and help people move on with their lives.

The women of Lockerbie are fighting Jones. The women want to take the clothing stored in the warehouse, wash them, and return them to the relatives of the victims of the tragedy, feeling that the way to combat hatred is not with more hatred, but with love.

Playwright Brevoort has created a gripping story which deals with ordinary people coping with extraordinary horror. As we deal with escalating violence in so many parts of our world, it is good to step back and ask whether fighting hatred with hatred is really the best policy. The gentle strength of the women of Lockerbie suggests that there may be another way.

As director Burmester puts it, “Until we look at the whole, complex set of conditions that result in terrorism, until we stop trying to react to incidents and begin to look at and understand the root causes of the dilemma, until we treat each other with love and respect instead of hate and disdain, terrorism will continue to haunt us at every turning of our lives.”

“The Women of Lockerbie” is a powerful play with a powerful message presented by an amazing group of young people. Everyone is encouraged to check out this play, which runs through November 13 at the Veterans Memorial theater. It will provide much food for thought and discussion.

Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"

Ask anyone to name their top five Christmas themed movies of all time and it’s a pretty sure bet that “White Christmas” will be on the list for most people.

When you transfer such a well-known and beloved film to the stage, you’d best be very careful to do it well, because a large portion of your audience is going to be watching to see how good a job you do.

Judging by the enthusiastic response on opening night of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” at the Sacramento Community Center, the experiment was an overwhelming success, despite what must have been a technician’s worst nightmare, with curtains that refused to cooperate (several times), lights that went on when they shouldn’t and off when they shouldn’t, audible banging from backstage, and set pieces that didn’t quite get into place on time.

Yet, the technical glitches didn’t seem to matter in this slick holiday pastiche, which will run through January 7.

While this show is, of course, based on the 1954 musical with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, don’t expect it to be a carbon copy.

The story of the famous song and dance team of Wallace (Michael Gruber in the Crosby role), and Davis (Greg McCormick Allen) who meet aspiring sister act of Betty Haynes (Christina Saffran Ashford in the Rosemary Clooney role), and Judy Haynes (Tari Kelly), and head to a ski resort which turns out to be run by Wallace & Davis’s old World War II commanding General (Stephen Godwin), who has fallen on hard times and is looking at a bleak ski season, as Vermont is experiencing unseasonable warm temperatures is familiar.

The story turns into a “find a barn and put on a show to save the General,” and it all ends predictably with beautiful snow on stage and in the audience.

However, there are plot differences from the movie, new characters and character twists, and additional Irving Berlin songs not found in the movie, such as “I Love a Piano” (which film buffs will recognize from “Easter Parade,” not “White Christmas”) and “Blue Skies,” to name but two.

Michael Gruber has a lovely crooning voice, displayed best in his “Count Your Blessings.” Greg McCormick Allen is a talented hoofer with a pleasant demeanor who is a good partner for Gruber.

Christina Saffran Ashford displays a lush voice with her emotional delivery of “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and Tari Kelly (the role will be played by Taryn Darr beginning December 29) has a bubbly personality and gets a chance to shine in several dance numbers, especially the spectacular “I Love a Piano.”

Carol Swarbrick plays Martha Watson, the sardonic inn housekeeper immortalized by character actress Mary Wickes in the film. In this version of the story, however, Martha has a show biz background and when she belts out “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” she brings down the house.

Stephen Godwin was a world-weary General Waverly, who becomes a sentimental favorite as he tries to make the adjustment from military to civilian life, even 10 years after the end of the war. My only disappointment with this production is that “The Old Man,” Waverly’s surprise at finding all his old military outfit at the Inn, doesn’t pack the emotional wallop of the film.

Keaton Whittaker (who alternates with Olivia Spokoiny) is Susan, the General’s young granddaughter, who has show biz in her genes and belts out her own reprise of “Let Me Sing.” Whittaker is a real scene stealer and clearly an audience favorite.

Making the most of a the tiny role of Ezekiel, the stage hand, Clayton Corzatte was perfect and received an ovation at the final bow.

Anna Louizo’s set design was beautiful, with both detailed settings for the inn and splashy backdrops for the big dance numbers. The closing snow scene was straight from Currier and Ives.

Costumes by Carrie Robbins were straight out of 1954, with the huge crinoline skirts for the girls and shocking bilious green suits for Wallace and Davis’ first big production number.

The production is under the direction of James Rocco and David Armstrong and one of only four cities given special permission to present this new stage adaption during this holiday season.

Ticket sales are brisk, but there are a still few left to be had. Call now for a chance to take your family to see this delightful holiday gift to the Sacramento area.

A Christmas Carol

You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry...Ebenezer Scrooge is coming to town. In fact, he’s already here, snarling his way around the stage at the Sacramento Theater Company as it revives the perennial favorite adapted by Richard Hellesen from the classic Charles Dickens novel, with music composed and adapted by David de Berry. The production is directed once again by Philip Charles Sneed.

The production will continue to entertain audiences through December 24

This is a real extravaganza for STC, with a cast of 40 (many roles are double cast) including six members of one family: Amanda, Caleb, Campbell, Christian, Colby and Cooper Salmon.

Though music is an important part, this is really more of a play with music than a musical. Extensive narration, straight out of the pages of Dickens’ original work, overlaps with the action, and the narration is delivered by actors who also move the set pieces around the stage as they verbally set up the next scene. The music is not intrusive, but adds just the right touch at just the right moment. The accompaniment is pre-recorded.

Once again, the scenic design of UCD graduate John Klonowski (with complementary lighting by designer Victor En Yu Tan) effectively twists, turns, and rolls around the stage creating minimal settings, which nicely suggests the fuller settings they represent.

As the show begins, Davis student Camille Totah, now 13, whom we have watched grow up in local theatrical productions slowly walks across the stage as a young beggar child, singing “Advent Carol,” as she asks for a donation from the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.

This year’s Ebenezer Scrooge is played by veteran actor David Silberman (Jacob Marley in last year’s production), who makes everyone’s favorite curmudgeon a believable character, without becoming a caricature.

Don Hayden steps into the chains of Jacob Marley, come to warn his old partner of the pain that will befall him if he does not change his ways. Marley sets up the visits of three spirits who will help him to look back over his life in the hope of helping him make some changes before it is too late.

I never have understood why Dickens writes that the spirits will come on three successive nights, when the first comes on Christmas eve and the last leaves before Christmas morning...or what Scrooge does on the days between, but that answer is long-buried with the author.

Michele Hillen is the ghost of Christmas present (and later Mrs. Cratchit), who guides Scrooge to the school he attended, and his first place of employment, happier times of his life before he became so centered on money. Cooper Salmon plays the youngest Scrooge, Brennan Villados is Ebenezer the apprentice, and Colby Salmon is -Ebenezer the young man.

Anna Miles makes a strikingly lovely entrance as Fan, Ebenezer’s sister come to bring him home from school. As Fan sings the beautiful “Home at Christmastide,” there is a brief softening of the present day Ebenezer’s heart as he remembers the young beggar child whom he shunned the day before.

Scrooge visits himself as a young apprentice to the ebullient Fezziwig (Mark Standriff, who appears later as the Ghost of Christmas Present), and as the young man whose burgeoning love of money forces a break-up with his beloved Belle (Lauryn Caruso, who later also plays Martha Cratchit, and still later Belle’s daughter). Mary Baird is the equally ebullient Mrs. Fezziwig in an amazing costume.

Standriff returns as the jovial Ghost of Christmas Present and accompanies Ebenezer to the home of his nephew (George Schau), a man of modest means whose heart seems full of love for everyone, even his miserly uncle.

At the home of his long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchit (the delightful Gillen Morrison) and his wife (Gillen) Ebenezer has another tug at his heartstrings as he watches the crippled Tiny Tim (6 year old Campbell Salmon, whose brother played the role last year). Others in the Cratchit family are Carey Porter reprising his role as Peter, Amanda Salmon as Belinda, Cooper Salmon as Edward, and Caruso as Martha.

Zack Sapunor has no words to speak as the Ghost of Christmas yet to come but makes the most of the opportunity to look menacing.

By the end of the story, of course, Scrooge has come to see the error of his ways, makes nice with his nephew, sends “Turkey Boy” (Christian Salmon) off to buy the biggest bird in town and have it delivered anonymously to the Cratchits and we realize that the dire scenes projected by the Ghost of Christmas yet to come will be altered, everybody will live happily ever after, and Tiny Tim will grow stronger and live to offer many more “God Bless us every one”s

As for Scrooge, “His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”

The Weight of Memory

Each season, the UC Davis Theater and Dance Department's Dancing on the Edge series brings new work by contemporary choreographers to the local stage. This year, Granada Artist-in-Residence Ellen Bromberg and choreographer Della Davidson have collaborated to create “The Weight of Memory,” a provocative performance piece combining image, movement, and language.

Bromberg has been creating dances for solo artists and companies for over 30 years. Since 1996 she has been working at the intersection of live performance and media, creating her own works as well as collaborating with other choreographers. In 2005, she collaborated with Della Davidson and John Flax on “A Dream Inside Another,” based on “The Stories of Eva Luna” by Isabel Allende.

Based on ten short verses by writer Karen Brennan that describe one woman's changing inner state as she transitions from sleep to wakefulness, “The Weight of Memory” features seven dancers - one man (David Orzechowicz) and six women (Jennie Amaral, Ann Dragich, Adi Hamou, Meghan Moyle, Randee Pauvfe and Whitney Peterson) - who move through the fluctuating landscape of the woman's inner life. At times dynamic, at times tranquil and meditative, the dancers' movements within an ever-shifting environment of light, video, and sound create a "visual poem" informed by Brennan's acute attention to sensory detail and her ability to capture a moment in time and expand upon it.

The focal point of the work is a bed made of “memory foam,” (accentuating the theme of “memory”), and each of the ten segments (called “the 10 birds”) begins “When I woke up....” and deals with both the man in her bed and the birds which surround her (the reason for which is revealed at the end).

“When I woke up the man beside me rolled over, as was his custom. It was as if he were telling me to go back to sleep. Too many birds in the room, now they were beside me, flicking their feathers.”

This work is a tour de force for the audiovisual department, working with the concept and video design of Ellen Bromberg, scenic design of Victoria Livingston-Hall, and lighting design of Javan Johnson. Three large, irregularly shaped and angled panels define the performance area, described as a “deconstructed room with fluid walls,” and a multitude of projections set the stage for trees blowing in the breeze, birds flying in the air, or simply someone tossing about in bed. The blending of text and dance is indicated before the performance begins, when the text of the narration is projected, and moves across the panels.

Projections of trees rustling in the breeze begin the performance, so well incorporated into the whole that the audience can almost feel the breeze blowing through the theater.

One projection which impressed me was a simple one of a man lying in the bed, next to the live female dancer. Her body made impressions in the foam mattress as she moved, as did his, so that it was difficult to determine whether it was a real dancer or a projection, as the live and projected images blended seamlessly into each other.

“When I woke up it was green and frightening...the birds had arrived and they were insistent...” precedes the most impressive section of the work, a section which would have pleased Alfred Hitchcock, as the lead character is surrounded by birds projected from above and below.

“The Weight of Memory” blends memories, associations, and images together, in a multimedia extravaganza which creates a unique theatrical experience.

The Peculiar & Sudden Nearness of the Moon

(This was printed in The Davis Enterprise on 11/22/06)

According to comments in the pre-show talk, by Kyle Haden, Velina Hasu Houston is the country’s most prolific playwright. Since 2000, she has had world premieres of six different plays and will premiere four new plays in 2006 and 2007.

One of her newest works, “The Peculiar and Sudden Nearness of the Moon,” directed by Peggy Shannon, opened this week at the Sacramento Theater company, where it will run through December 24. While it is out of the workshop stage, the cast is still in the process of tweaking it and a final script won’t be printed until this run ends.

Many of the multi-racial playwright’s works deal with various aspects of race and “Moon” takes it in an unusual direction.

Sydney Spencer (Saffron Henke) and her husband Brad (Brett Williams) are an upper middle class couple who have planned the perfect life. They have the perfect home, the perfect jobs, and are expecting the perfect baby.

As her pregnancy progresses, Sydney is visited by “The Dark,” (Kyle Haden) a ghost-like figure, speaking all in rhyme, who describes himself as a “fugitive from history” and warns of dark secrets about to be uncovered.

When the baby is born, she isn’t at all what Sydney and Brad expected. Her skin is dark, her hair is black and curly and, not surprisingly, the very Nordic, blonde Brad assumes Sydney has been having an affair.

The baby, who was born prematurely, has some minor health problems and most of the first act takes place in the neonatal intensive care unit, with the baby’s incubator dominating the stage.

As the play progresses Sydney begins to explore some of the deepest meanings of life as she deals with questions of identity and “belonging” in the context of race, culture and class.

Sydney turns to her mother Jessica (Susan Andrews) for answers about her own lineage, but the mother refuses to discuss her heritage, so Sydney is on her own, following clues that lead her to an enigmatic man named Sydney (Vincent Dee Miles), who directs the woman’s questions to a woman named Grace-Maria Marquez (Irene Velasquez).

There is a great difference in “feel” between Act 1 and Act 2. Act 1 has a more spiritual, ethereal aspect to it while Act 2 seems to center more on who knew what when and who is willing to be open and honest, and how everyone reacts to the truths that begin to come spilling out.

The show ends with a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” situation and though questions are answered, the audience is left hanging as to the outcome for the new baby and her family.

Director Shannon has assembled a strong cast. Henke nicely handles the fear for the safety of her unborn child when “Dark” begins to confront her, the confusion about the baby’s appearance, and the growing love she feels for her child.

Sydney’s husband perhaps goes through the greatest character shifts, from supportive husband, to angry cuckold, to a father who begins to recognize his own child, and Williams makes the character a sympathetic one.

Andrews handles the brittle Jessica adroitly. Haden is outstanding as the enigmatic “Dark.”

While the play addresses very real, valid emotions, the work as a whole doesn’t quite come together coherently. Given experience with Houston’s work in the past, I am certain that as the cast, director and playwright respond to audience reaction, the final product will be a valuable addition to Houston’s total body of work.

Beauty and the Beast

Is Mickey Mouse king of Broadway? If you look at the new musicals to hit the New York stage it may seem that way. After a successful run on Broadway, “The Lion King” has been touring the country for awhile now, “Tarzan” is still playing on Broadway, “Mary Poppins” just opened, a production of “The Little Mermaid” is expected to open soon, and “Beauty and the Beast” released the rights for community theater productions a couple of years ago.

It’s pointless to argue whether there is any “there” there for these productions (I often feel they are much better as cartoons). They are larger than life and if the music isn’t exactly on a par with Rodgers & Hammerstein, who cares? They’re just plain fun.

A Disney production is designed as a big stage extravaganza and yet Director Angela Shellhammer (who is also credited with Scenic Design, along with Jeff Kean) has managed to give her small Opera House production the appearance of a “big stage extravaganza” without making things look crowded.

A narrator (James Shellhammer) opens the show with the story of the beast's origins: An old beggar woman (Taryn Huber) asks a prince for shelter from the cold, though she has only a single rose to give him as payment. Being selfish and heartless, the prince refuses her, simply because she is ugly. The old woman warns him that true beauty is within one's heart, not one's appearance. To teach him a lesson, she transforms the prince into a hideous beast, gives him an enchanted rose, and tells him that "if he can learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal falls, then the spell will be broken. If not, he will be doomed to remain a beast for all time."

Troy Thomas is perfectly cast as the beast. His height is a boon to the illusion of a towering hulk of a creature and he has a magnificent voice to match. He learns to tame his anger as his love for and tenderness toward his “Beauty” grows. His struggles with his complex emotions actually make his “beast” more appealing than the handsome prince he ultimately becomes, and it is easy to see why Belle was won over.

Buffee Ann Gillihan is Belle, the feisty heroine of the story, a girl who is “different” from her peers because she loves books and lives a rich fantasy life, dreaming of a better life and a happily ever after. When her father (Rodger McDonald), an eccentric inventor, becomes a captive of the Beast, Belle offers to take his place, and thus the story begins. Like Thomas, Gillihan is perfectly cast as the idealistic Belle whose heart is touched by the Beast she begins to tame.

Not only is the Beast a victim of the witch’s curse, but also his entire castle staff, who will slowly become tea cups, candles, items of furniture, and other household items.

Laurie Everly-Klassen must have found this either a costumer’s dream, or a costumer’s nightmare. Her costumes for the household staff are simply wonderful. The only slight criticism that one might make is that in other productions of this show, as time progresses, the costumes become more elaborate, indicating that the characters are closer to becoming the thing they represent. Lumiere, for example, is a candlestick and should become more candle-like as the show progresses. However, it is but a very slight criticism because one can hardly fault the costume designs.

The actors themselves are all top notch. Kevin Caravalho is Lumiere, a deliciously fussy maitre d’ who is in the process of becoming a French candlestick.

Cogsworth, the castle’s major domo is played by Jim Lane, who may perhaps be giving the best performance I have seen him give to date, in his transformation into a clock.

Jodi Serrano is delightful as Mrs. Potts, the teapot who sings the show’s title song. Her son Chip, a teacup, is the adorable Abby Miles.

Amy Vyvlecka is charming as Babette, the feather duster.

Scott Woodard is Gaston, the town’s nefarious hunk who has set his sights on Belle and is determined to marry her. Gaston’s good looks are exceeded only by his ego. Woodard is the villain you love to hate, and as male chauvenists go, none can hold a candle to this Gaston.

Gaston’s hapless lackey, LeFou, was the delightful Bobby Grainger, a character with little brains, who is routinely slapped around the stage by Gaston.

This is one of those happily-ever-after stories that will make little girls want to go out and kiss frogs to see if maybe there really is a prince trapped inside. It is highly recommended family entertainment.

Beauty and the Beast

(This review was printed in The Davis Enterprise on 11/21/06)

Is Mickey Mouse king of Broadway?

If you look at the new musicals to hit the New York stage it may seem that way. After a successful run on Broadway, “The Lion King” has been touring the country for awhile now, “Tarzan” is still playing on Broadway, “Mary Poppins” just opened, a production of “The Little Mermaid” is expected to open soon, and “Beauty and the Beast” released the rights for community theater productions a couple of years ago.

It’s pointless to argue whether there is any “there” there for these productions (I often feel they are much better as cartoons). They are larger than life and if the music isn’t exactly on a par with Rodgers & Hammerstein, who cares? They’re just plain fun.

A Disney production is designed as a big stage extravaganza and yet Director Angela Shellhammer (who is also credited with Scenic Design, along with Jeff Kean) has managed to give her small Opera House production the appearance of a “big stage extravaganza” without making things look crowded.

A narrator (James Shellhammer) opens the show with the story of the beast's origins: An old beggar woman (Taryn Huber) asks a prince for shelter from the cold, though she has only a single rose to give him as payment. Being selfish and heartless, the prince refuses her, simply because she is ugly. The old woman warns him that true beauty is within one's heart, not one's appearance. To teach him a lesson, she transforms the prince into a hideous beast, gives him an enchanted rose, and tells him that "if he can learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal falls, then the spell will be broken. If not, he will be doomed to remain a beast for all time."

Troy Thomas is perfectly cast as the beast. His height is a boon to the illusion of a towering hulk of a creature and he has a magnificent voice to match. He learns to tame his anger as his love for and tenderness toward his “Beauty” grows. His struggles with his complex emotions actually make his “beast” more appealing than the handsome prince he ultimately becomes, and it is easy to see why Belle was won over.

Buffee Ann Gillihan is Belle, the feisty heroine of the story, a girl who is “different” from her peers because she loves books and lives a rich fantasy life, dreaming of a better life and a happily ever after. When her father (Rodger McDonald), an eccentric inventor, becomes a captive of the Beast, Belle offers to take his place, and thus the story begins. Like Thomas, Gillihan is perfectly cast as the idealistic Belle whose heart is touched by the Beast she begins to tame.

Not only is the Beast a victim of the witch’s curse, but also his entire castle staff, who will slowly become tea cups, candles, items of furniture, and other household items.

Laurie Everly-Klassen must have found this either a costumer’s dream, or a costumer’s nightmare. Her costumes for the household staff are simply wonderful. The only slight criticism that one might make is that in other productions of this show, as time progresses, the costumes become more elaborate, indicating that the characters are closer to becoming the thing they represent. Lumiere, for example, is a candlestick and should become more candle-like as the show progresses. However, it is but a very slight criticism because one can hardly fault the costume designs.

The actors themselves are all top notch. Kevin Caravalho is Lumiere, a deliciously fussy maitre d’ who is in the process of becoming a French candlestick.

Cogsworth, the castle’s major domo is played by Jim Lane, who may perhaps be giving the best performance I have seen him give to date, in his transformation into a clock.

Jodi Serrano is delightful as Mrs. Potts, the teapot who sings the show’s title song. Her son Chip, a teacup, is the adorable Abby Miles.

Amy Vyvlecka is charming as Babette, the feather duster.

Scott Woodard is Gaston, the town’s nefarious hunk who has set his sights on Belle and is determined to marry her. Gaston’s good looks are exceeded only by his ego. Woodard is the villain you love to hate, and as male chauvenists go, none can hold a candle to this Gaston.

Gaston’s hapless lackey, LeFou, was the delightful Bobby Grainger, a character with little brains, who is routinely slapped around the stage by Gaston.

This is one of those happily-ever-after stories that will make little girls want to go out and kiss frogs to see if maybe there really is a prince trapped inside. It is highly recommended family entertainment.

Probability Theories and Match.com

Where can you go and hear, in the same night recorded music by Beethoven, folk singer Cheryl Wheeler, and Weird Al Yankovic? Where else but at Pamela Trokanski’s Fall Concert, “Probability Theories and Match.com.”

Choreographed by Trokanski, the recital examines the world of dating, not dating, breaking up, living alone, and finding love through an on-line dating service. The dancers are: Caitlin Barale, Nicole Bell, Robin Carlson, Ai Hayasi, Trokanski herself, and Katie Lundgren (whose name was left out of the program).

Section I sets up the premise, comparing “love” to “probability theory,” the mathematical study of phenomena characterized by randomness or uncertainty. Was there ever a human emotion which more aptly fit a mathematical theorem!

The dancers are dressed in scarlet red outfits and first appear seated on stools while a voiceover explains probability theory and the pain of love betrayed. A perfect introduction to the first movement of Beethoven’s fifth symphony, which is danced with military precision as the dancers portray the anger of a jilted lover and the pain of trying to recover, including attendance at a lively support group.

Cheryl Wheeler’s “Addicted” follows.

She says she feels like she's addicted to a real bad thing,
Always sitting, waiting, wondering if the phone will ring,
She knows she bounces like a yo-yo when he pulls her string,
It hurts to feel like such a fool.

A piece for three dancers followed, a strident number by experimental performing artist Laurie Anderson, which can only be described as exploring the “prickly” feelings of a love gone wrong.

Following numbers by Lyle Lovett and James Blunt (which features a solo performance by Trokanski), the section closes with a delightful “Love Stinks,” by the J. Geils Band, where the dancers prove that anything, even toilet plungers, can work as props.

Section II examines the premise of living without love and asks if a woman can find fulfillment living with cats, without having to shave her legs. The opening “Moonlight Sonata” presents the dancers perhaps emulating the cat, with long, slow, stretched out movement.

A later piece, the charming “4 legs good, 2 legs bad”(Christine Kane) which asks whether it’s better to have animals or a boyfriend, gives the dancers the opportunity for some real fun mimicking pets (my favorite was the shaking leg response to a scratched tummy).

“Coin Operated Boy” by Dresden Dolls explores the possibility of finding satisfaction, if not exactly love, with an animated doll. It is fun watching how the dancers move so effortlessly from the fluidity of motion of household pets to the metallic precision of a robotic human.

This section ends with Weird Al Yankovic’s “One More Minute,” which embodies the rage of a woman whose lover done her wrong.

I'd rather have my blood sucked out by leeches
Shove an icepick under a toenail or two
I'd rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue
Than spend one more minute with you

Section III, the final in the recital, explores the world of on-line dating and comes with a confession by the choreographer of having done “extensive research” at Match.com.

The section opens with the beautiful Adagio from Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 (the “Pathétique”) and reprises some of the choreography from earlier sections.

Cheryl Wheeler makes a return with her “Arrow,” wishing for another chance at love

Oh, I wish I could fall in love
Though it only leads to trouble, oh I know it does.
Still I'd fool myself and gladly just to feel I was
In love

It is a wistful number, beautifully danced.

The evening ends on a more strident note with music by Kate Bush, which finds the dancers balancing precariously on top of the stools they have carried onto the stage, hoping to open their arms to love, while at the same time conquering their fear of commitment.

This is a short (1 hour) recital with great variety in both music and dance and everyone should find something to enjoy in it. There are two more performances, tonight and Saturday night, both at 8 p.m. at the Pamela Trokanski Dance Workshop and Performing Arts Center.

Oliver!

This was printed in The Davis Enterprise on 11/14/06

The thing that you have to admire about the Davis Musical Theater Company, which opened a production of "Oliver!" this weekend, is that everyone is so sincere and so dedicated. The new fountain in the lobby displays a panel of big money donors, with another panel to be installed soon. The walls of the theater are lined with ceramic tiles,"decorated by individuals supporters. A long-time subscriber who has been watching from the audience for years finally decided to get his feet wet in this production.

Company members work long, hard hours, whether on stage or behind the stage. Love for DMTC is evident everywhere.

Unfortunately, sometimes love just isn’t enough.

When you see a production of a beloved musical such as Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!” and the outstanding performer is Mr. Bumble (Brian McCann), the pompous, self-important beadle (minor church official) for the workhouse where Oliver was born, there is a serious problem.

McCann is almost equally matched by the voluptuous Monique McKisson as Mrs. Corney, the matron of the workhouse who lets Mr. Bumble worm his way into her middle-aged heart. Their scene together, ending with “I shall scream” was outstanding, and truly the highlight of the evening.

The production is directed and choreographed by Jan Isaacson, who needs to remember that sometimes less is more. The opening number, “Food, Glorious Food” featuring the orphan chorus waiting for their morning gruel, was so busy that you lost sight of what the song lyrics were. Every phrase had a corresponding action which, after awhile, began to look like a game of charades where the participants forgot they weren’t supposed to be speaking. This style, unfortunately, was repeated in most of the chorus numbers throughout the show.

Isaacson has done much better than this in previous shows and her choreography and blocking for this production were a disappointing surprise.

Blake Thomas was a winsome Oliver. While he lacks the oomph to really do a first class rendition of a song like “Where is Love?” he is so perfectly visually cast and is such a competent performer, that it didn’t seem to matter.

Steve Isaacson is reprising his all-time favorite role, Fagin, the manipulative old man who leads a group of homeless children and teaches them how to pick pockets and steal to survive. Isaacson is good, but not outstanding. His performance seems to lack the energy we’ve come to expect from him.

Jennifer Bonomo, as Nancy, the girlfriend of the villainous Bill Sikes (not Sykes, a common spelling error) who ultimately becomes Oliver’s protector, at her own peril, does a good job. She has a strong voice and is appropriately emotionally torn in the lovely “As long as he needs me,” where she describes why she remains with an abusive partner.

Two young girls in the chorus, Laura Sitts as the rose seller and Karina Summers as the milk seller have lovely voices and stand out, in their small roles, among the peddlers walking the streets.

Michael Elfant makes the most of his small role as Dr. Grimwig, called to Oliver’s bedside after he is rescued from the streets by his benefactor, Mr. Brownlow (Arnold Loveridge).

Danette Vassar, in a larger role than I have seen her in the past, does quite a good job as Mrs. Sowerberry, wife of the undertaker. (Vassar and McKisson switch roles in other performances, McKisson playing Mrs. Sowerberry and Vassar playing the Widow Corney.)

Others in the cast fall short of the mark, at the show’s detriment.

Steve Isaacson designed the set, which mostly works except for a projection on the back wall, meant to represent London. While such projections worked exceptionally well to represent a New York tenement in the recent “West Side Story,” this projection sticks out like a sore thumb because it is not only distractingly inaccurate as far as being anywhere near done to scale (Big Ben sitting right next to the dome of St. Paul’s with some sort of a pillar rising up between the two of them--we never did figure out what that was supposed to be), but it leaves most of the back wall totally blank. Also, with the cast constantly passing back and forth over the elevated bridge at the back, they had to walk right in front of the beam of light, so that the city of London was projected on the actors themselves. It would have been far better to eliminate the projection entirely.

I have a soft spot in my heart for “Oliver!” and was disappointed that this one just lacked that certain “something” to make it all work.

Sweet Charity

This appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 11/2/06

Charity Hope Valentine is a girl with an indomitable spirit who, though buffeted about by the vagaries of love, somehow manages to keep her head held high.

“Sweet Charity,” is the musical developed by Bob Fosse for his wife Gwen Verdon in 1966, brought to film in 1969 starring Shirley MacLaine, revived on Broadway in1986, starring Debbie Allen, and again in 2005 under the direction of Walter Bobbie, starring Christina Applegate. The show is now touring the country, directed by Scott Faris with new choreography by Wayne Cilento and former brat-packer Molly Ringwald, now all grown up, in the title role. The show opened last night at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, and runs through November 12.

Loosely based on Federico Fellini’s “Nights of Cabiria,” this entertaining musical has a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, a winning combination any day.

As the show opens, Charity is waiting for Charlie (Adam Perry), the man she is certain is going to propose to her (forgetting that little business about his wife, of course). She fantasizes about the wonderful life they are going to have together, and is obviously not prepared for his pushing her into the lake and stealing her purse instead.

Charity returns to the Fandango Club, where she works as a taxi dancer, dancing with any man who can pay for the privilege, and she sings about how she is through with men and won’t let herself be taken advantage of again.

Now hear this and get this
Hold this and Amen
This big fat heart ain't gonna be joined apart
Ever, ever, ever again!

Naturally this is a vow she cannot keep and soon she finds herself swept off her feet by the Italian film star, Vittorio Vidal (Aaron Ramey), trying to make his mistress (Angel Reda) jealous. A night of dancing at the ritzy and rather bizarrely decorated Pompeii Club and Charity winds up back in Vidal’s apartment, where she can’t contain herself at the thought of being with the famous heartthrob (“If they could see me now”), but just as things are heating up, the mistress arrives at the door and Charity is thrust into the closet to keep her out of sight. This gives Ringwald the opportunity to do some very funny physical comedy.

Determined to do better for herself, Charity attempts to take a class at the local YMCA and ends up stuck in an elevator for a long time with Oscar Lindquist (Guy Adkins), a shy, claustrophobic accountant trying to get to a class about self esteem. The elevator scene is one of the best in the show, with a box that moves upwards off of the stage. Adkins does some amazing gymnastics, as his claustrophobia worsens.

The two are rescued at the start of Act 2 and Oscar invites Charity to his Rhythm of Life church, a scene which seems quite dated and perhaps a throwback to the psychedellic 60s, as “Daddy Johann Sebastian Brubeck” (David Gilespie), with a huge Afro, sings “The Rhythm of Life.”

Oscar seems to be the man Charity has been waiting for all of her life, especially after she confesses what she does for a living and he tells her he doesn’t care, and that he wants to marry her anyway, but ultimately her past becomes too much for Oscar to accept and Charity finds herself back in the lake again, her hopes--and her body--doused once more.

Like Cabaret’s Sally Bowles, however, Charity won’t let it get her down and her final exit is a triumph of her spirit over her disappointment.

Ringwald has a winning earnestness about her which surpasses her limited dancing abilities. You can’t help liking her Charity. She has been sabotaged, however, by the costumer (William Ivy Long). While the dress she is wearing in the publicity photos is lovely and seems perfect for the role, she is instead saddled with a triangular shaped dress which makes her look bottom-heavy, and its red color seems to clash with just about everything, making her the odd man out in every scene.

Cilento’s choreography doesn’t have the sizzle of Bob Fosse, but there are excellent numbers, such as the taxi girls’ “Hey, Big Spender” and “There’s got to be something better than this,” a special for Charity’s friends Nickie (Amanda Watkins) and Helene (Kisha Howard).

“Sweet Charity” is an enjoyable evening, not without its flaws, but one which is entertaining and which answers the question “Whatever happened to Molly Ringwald...?”

Boy Gets Girl

This review appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 10/17/2006


It’s becoming more popular these days: blind dates. You can meet a potential mate through a dating services like e-Harmony, or check out an ad on MySpace or Craig’s list. The embarrassment of meeting a total stranger for the purpose of possibly finding a soulmate seems to be dissipating. But you always run a risk when going through an uninvolved third party. How much safer it would be to meet someone through a friend.

Theresa Bedell (Stephanie Gularte), an overworked writer whose last date was 15 months ago when her boyfriend left to go to Kuala Lumpur (“he didn’t ask me to go with him”) agrees to meet Tony (David Campfield) for drinks, on the suggestion of a mutual friend, in a Capital Stage production of “Boy Gets Girl”by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Jonathan Williams and playing now on the Delta King.

While both graduated from the University of Michigan, the similarities end there. Theresa has a quick, dry wit, loves sports, and is well read, while Joe’s level of intelligence seems to stop with People magazine. As the two make awkward conversation, one begins to get the notion that this is a Neil Simon-esque comedy.

Though things don’t click instantly, Theresa likes Joe enough to agree to a second date, for dinner, “in a few days.”

Joe, however, is not one to wait. Flowers arrive at Theresa’s office at World Magazine the next day and he calls to set the date that night. The two meet again and the disconnect between them is more apparent than before. Theresa decides to be honest, to let Joe know that it just isn’t working for her, and she leaves the restaurant.

That’s when her personal hell begins.

At first it is just annoying--flowers each day, each with a note hoping for another chance, then constant phone calls. Joe shows up at her office to invite her to lunch, clearly not taking no for an answer. She stops taking phone calls and he fills her phone message box with messages, each more angry than the next. As the level of threats escalates, the police are called in and Theresa finds out how powerless she is against her stalker. Detective Madeleine Beck (Tamara Walters) explains that her best bet is to change to an unlisted phone number, move out of her apartment, and change her name. All the police can offer her is a restraining order, with no guarantees that (a) they can find Joe to deliver it, or (b) that he will actually follow it.

As the play progresses to a conclusion which may or may not be logical, Theresa becomes increasingly incapacitated by Joe’s threats and actions and so this play, which has very funny moments, becomes an examination of what constitutes sexual harassment, what effect it has on its victims, and on the relations between men and women in the workplace.

Theresa receives tremendous support from her boss Howard Siegel (Peter Mohrmann) and co-worker Mercer Stevens (Harry Harris), but as the play progresses we discover first, how lightly the men initially take her complaints. In a very funny, yet very telling scene between the two men, they discuss how they view women, and the happily married Mercer even admits to having lustful thoughts toward Theresa.

There is also little sympathy coming from Theresa’s young assistant, Harriet, Michelle Murphy, who feels Theresa is just playing hard to get and aids Joe in wooing her.

At the same time, Theresa is sent to interview legendary porn director, Les Kennkat (Patrick Murphy) whose lecherous views about women leave little to the imagination, though he and Theresa strike up an unlikely friendship.

The play draws no real conclusions about where one draws the line between the relations between men and women and when it steps over the line and seems to leave that decision up to the audience, but you can’t help but feel that whether or not there has been any actual physical contact, Theresa is raped by the system and society over and over again and the play should lead to discussions about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior.

It also shows how people who may have a close working relationship with one another really know very little about each other, and how that may contribute to the underlying strain between the sexes. Theresa, for example, who has worked with Mercer for many years, had no idea he was happily married.

Capitol Stage has another feather in its capand continues to do what it does best--bring thought-provoking entertainment to the Sacramento area with a provocative play, a first-rate cast, and excellent direction.

Myth, Propaganda and Disaster (feature article)

“Remember, it’s about sex...and a bit about art,” laughed Jade McCutcheon, directing a scene from the upcoming “Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America,” by Stephen Sewell, opening at the Mondavi Center Studio on October 27. The characters are at a reception at the Guggenheim Museum and the air is filled with intrigue and sexual tension.

Billed as a “political thriller from Down Under,” “Myth” presents a compelling and disturbing view of the creeping erosion of democratic rights under the current U.S. administration and draws parallels to Germany as Hitler came to power.

Others have had difficulty with Sewell’s controversial play. Despite a successful run at theatres in Melbourne and Adelaide, no theater in Sydney would touch it. “I am being blocked, have been for some time,” claimed Sewell, “because I don't fit into their agendas, which is to reinforce their audience's beliefs.”

“In Australia, Stephen Sewell is on the political edge,” said McCutcheon. “This play represents only one view – an extreme one perhaps – of the events of 9/11 and subsequent reactions, but it’s important for all of us to step outside our comfort zone sometimes and see how another culture views us.”

This production is only the second in the United States, the first being in Reno in March of this year.

Edward Snyder, playing the central character of Talbot Finch, an Australian expatriate living in the United States, first heard that UC Davis would be presenting the play in March, when he interviewed with McCutcheon for admission as an MFA acting student. He asked her to send him a script. “When I first read this play, I thought it was terrible,” he said. Snyder explained that based on Sewell’s introduction to the play (that it was a response to what he considered the evils of the Bush administration), he expected it to be an indictment of the administration and, by association, the British and Australian governments. “I expected it to tell people ‘this is what you’re supposed to do, to know, to think,’” Snyder said.

He was disappointed when he found the play seemed to do none of those things, but as he worked with McCutcheon he began to understand the play’s power and what Sewell hoped the audience reaction would be.

“Jade re-framed, for me, what the purpose and intention of the play really are. She talked about upholding ambiguities in the play. If we are successful, the audience won’t leave the theater knowing exactly what to think, whom to indict, or how to behave. They will leave asking a lot of questions about what is true and what is real and what their place in reality is in relationship to what is going on with the U.S., British, and Australian governments, what is going on in the world, and in the war on terror.”

To successfully present this play, the cast had a lot of work to do, beyond the memorization of lines. For starters, there was all that history to absorb.

“The joy of directing in a university compared to when I was professionally directing is the permission to educate,” explained McCutcheon. “It becomes a learning tool. The cast had to research information about the Nazi holocaust, and study all the speeches that all the great leaders made, because that’s what Sewell is trying to do in the play, present a comparison of one dictator to another and how madness begins. It’s richer than a history course because the actors are embodying the knowledge. They aren’t just memorizing facts. They have to play a character and be influenced by that information.”

Snyder took immersion in his character very seriously. Professor Talbot is particularly interested in Nazi Germany and contemporary America. Snyder read Noam Chomsky and “The Rise and fall of 3rd Reich.” He studied the 9/11 report and Patriot Act. “Finding out what these things are all about and has been incredibly eye-opening and has transformed me as a person,” he said. “It has allowed me not only to do a better job as an actor, but I now have a better knowledge of what is going on in the world.”

Mary Anderson, playing Talbot’s wife, even did research on the neurobiological effects of torture, so she could understand what might be the effect on a man following a brutal interrogation.

“If Talbot is being tortured, whether it’s real or imagined (because there is that ambiguity in the play), we can actually imagine physically and physiologically what is happening to him.”

Such in-depth analysis of a character is integral to the way McCutcheon approaches the direction of a play.

Jade McCutcheon is perhaps the most interesting person I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing. This Australian-born director has lived a number of lives, with careers which include social worker in the slums of Melbourne (“I was knifed, I was beat up, I was spat upon”), Olympic gymnastic teacher, musician, car mechanic, barmaid, award-winning slalom canoeist, factory worker, and disc jockey. But she found her life’s calling in a pub in Adelaide when she met a group of traveling actors from Holland.

“They looked like they were from another planet, but guess what? My home planet! I had never seen theater in my life. They gave me tickets to Salome and they were brilliant. I nearly fell off my seat.”

By serendipitous coincidence, the group had just lost its stage manager and the actors encouraged McCutcheon to apply for the job. With no theater experience whatsoever, she interviewed with the company manager and within two weeks was packing her bags for what would ultimately be a two-year stint traveling around the world with the International Theater Research Group, an experience she describes as “profound.”

When she left the group after two years, she assumed that was the end of her theater life, so she took up a new career. “I joined a women’s healing center and I got into crystals, aromatherapy, and sound healing.”

She worked at this for a year and a half, but something was still missing, so she enrolled in an arts program at Wollongong University, where she majored in poetry, creative writing and theater. It was there that a play she directed won several awards, toured Australia, and led to her invitation to join N.I.D.A. (The National Institute of Dramatic Arts, which has produced such names as Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, and Cate Blanchett).

She emerged from the program as a freelance director, but after a year and a half found she was still dissatisfied. She had a burning desire to make a difference in the world, and that wasn’t happening.

“I thought-- this is just regurgitating the same old stories...it wasn’t going to help change anything. All this was was climbing up the star ladder, playing games with people.”

Instead she took a year off and, as she describes it, “ went to a rain forest and stared at my navel for a long time. Then I started doing the kind of theater I really wanted to do.”

The theater she really wanted to do included an innovative approach to character development, based on her interest in the traditions of Shamanism. “I focused my doctorate on re-languaging the permission for actors go into those places where no one dares to tread to actually start to build their inner self.”

McCutcheon is, in fact, in the process of writing a book about her work. “I’m using a process which uses body energy centers based on chakras to actually discover the character,” she explained. “I want people to feel a shamanic permission to engage with the earth and its forces. To listen in other ways. To consider we are all part of the one.”

“It’s working with your root, working with your belly, with you solar, chest, mind and crown,”said actress Alice Vasquez, playing the wife of the head of Talbot’s department. “It’s focusing on that part of your body and what it looks like to deliver a line, for example, from your belly, which is something more sensual, than if you’re giving it from your mind which is something that’s very straightforward or from your solar, which is more honest and direct.”

Mary Anderson adds, “we spend at least an hour, sometimes more, warming up every day. In order to kind of maintain a physical connection to each of those body energy center areas it’s really important for me to keep reminding my body what that feels like.”

The attention to body energy explained the electricity I experienced when I attended a rehearsal for “Myth.” Never have I seen a cast so focused, whether they were rehearsing or waiting. Anderson was doing push-ups against a wall, shaking her arms, and touching the parts of her body from which her next lines would come. The actress feels a more emotional connection to her character because of the extra imaginative work.

She explains that the actors take 30-40 minutes a day to lie down in a relaxed state and take a meditative journey to meet their characters in their lives. “We’ll walk around their apartments, they’ll cook us food and so I feel that we have a more textured relationship with our characters.”

This approach to character development and the collaborative work that McCutcheon and her cast are doing allows each character to react to each situation from a real place of familiarity, rather than from a strict set of staging guidelines, but Synder is careful to add that this freedom to make choices is set up under a set of very specific tools for the actors to work with. “As the process goes further along, Jade lays in more and more structure within which all of that play and freedom can occur.”

“Jade really loves to see the organic part of the process,” explains Vasquez. “Instead of setting specific actions for specific lines, she likes to see how things can change from time to time. She gives us options, and from there we’re able to analyze and realize the different dimensions of the specific line.”

“I’m allowed a lot of freedom and a lot of fun,” Snyder says “It blasts wide open possibilities that I can have within a role but it’s also an incredible challenge because I’m responsible for holding all of those possibilities, not just choosing a very narrow set of physical and vocal and intentional choices, but really upholding the full complexity and full range of each of those choices.”

Based on my discussions with McCutcheon and attendance at rehearsals, I feel the audience is in for an extraordinary night of theater, one which will challenge some beliefs, which may be slightly offensive (“The language may be seen as offensive to some. It’s really for mature audiences. There’s no graphic sex but there is violence and language,” warns McCutcheon), but which should definitely accomplish the director’s goal of “feeding the audience a great meal” and leaving them with a lot of questions, the answers to which will undoubtedly differ from person to person.

To Kill a Mockingbird

This review appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 10/11/06.

In 1960, Harper Lee published a book called “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It was an instant hit and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961. In 1962, a film directed by Alan J. Pakula won an Academy award for Gregory Peck, in a role which has become legendary, that of Atticus Finch, the quiet attorney from the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, who defends Tom Robinson, a local Black man, who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman.

In 1970 Christopher Sergel turned the story of that memorable summer in Maycomb into a stage play, and it is the tremendous good fortune for local audiences that the Sacramento Theater Company has decided to present Sergel’s adaptation as the opening show of the company’s 65th season.

Directed by Philip Charles Sneed, this production is first class from the moment the audience enters the theater and sees the beautiful set, designed by Troy Hemmerling and artfully lit by lighting designer Pamila Z. Gray, who uses subtle sky/cloud effects to mark the passage of time. The effect of a sleepy Alabama street is perfected by the amazing tree, built by sculptor Mitchell J.P. Martinez

The world never seems as fresh and wonderful, comforting and terrifying, as good and evil as it does when seen through the eyes of a child, and through the memory of the adult Jean Louise Finch, the girl who used to be called “Scout” (Carolyn Howarth), we are transported back to 1935 and the events of that memorable summer, as seen through the eyes of the young Scout (Paige Silvester) and her older brother Jem (Brennan Villados).

Silvester and Villados are considerably older than the 6 year old Scout and 8 year old Jem of the book (Villados is actually in college, though his youthful appearance works for this role), yet the two seasoned young actors are able to bring all the innocence and wonder that is expected to the roles.

As their new friend, Dill, who arrives in Maycomb for the summer, Jake Murphy is outstanding.

(All three children’s roles are double cast)

Taking on the role of Atticus Finch, one of the more recognizable figures in movie history, is a difficult one, yet Mark Standriff handles it beautifully. He is the wise father, teaching his children through his gentleness, yet resolute in standing up for his principles. (It is unfortunate that the material costumer Clare Henkel chose for his suit wrinkles so badly that when giving his impassioned speech to the jury, his pants looked like they’d been wadded up in the laundry bag).

Matt K. Miller is deliciously sleazy as the white trash Bob Ewell, insisting on retribution for the violation of his daughter Mayella (Katie Rubin), when it is clear to everyone that Mayella’s violation has been at Ewell’s own hands. (Miller also appears briefly as Mr. Radley.)

Rubin herself has few lines, but is the central figure of the Act 2 trial and her sullen demeanor leaves no doubt about what this poor girl’s home life is like. Rubin is a talented actress and she makes the most of her smaller speaking role.

Jamal Kelly is the gentle Tom Robinson, the defendant in this infamous trial, finding himself in an impossible situation, with clearly little doubt about his future in this southern town where feelings against the black community run high.

George Schau plays the mysterious Arthur (Boo) Radley, the Finches’ next door neighbor who never leaves his house, and who is the “boogie man” in the lives of the children. (“He eats raw squirrels and all the cats he can catch. There's a long, jagged scar that runs all the way across his face. His teeth are yella and rotten. His eyes are popped. And he drools most of the time.”). Schau also appears earlier in the play as Walter Cunningham, a client of Atticus with his own apparent deep hatred for the black community.

Linda Goodrich is Calpurnia, the Finches’ maid, who fills the disciplining role of the children’s late mother.

Others in this superlative cast include Georgann Wallace as the grumpy neighbor, Mrs. DuBose, Dan Harlan as Judge Taylor, David Silberman as Heck Tate, Wayne Cook as the Reverend Sykes, and Miles Miniaci as Mr. Gilmer.

This is a professional production in every sense of the word. It is a visual delight, the cast is top notch and for anyone who loved the movie, or for those who are not familiar with the movie, this play is a must-see.