The Undoing of Prudencia Hart

Can an evening possibly go wrong when it starts out with Celtic music played on the uilleann pipe — the smaller cousin to the bagpipe? I think not.

“The Undoing of Prudencia Hart” is a gift to the audience by the National Theater of Scotland, now playing at Mondavi’s Vanderhoef Theater through Sunday. It was a big hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, so you knew right off that it was not going to be your run of the mill play.

And it wasn’t.

For starters, the audience members were taken in, about 10 at a time, to give guides inside an opportunity to explain how the evening would go.

The theater seats were gone, in their place, tables and chairs had been set up to simulate a Scottish pub. A bar was placed along one wall, where free “wee drams” of Scotch whiskey were being served. (Another free “wee dram” would be offered at intermission, along with finger sandwiches passed around by the ushers.)

Our guide explained that it was open seating and that it wasn’t important to sit near the stage, since the actors would be using the entire room as the play progressed.

The actors (Annie Grace, Melody Grove, Alasdair Macrae, Paul McCole and David McKay) passed among the tables, explaining that we were supposed to tear the paper napkins given to us into small bits to be used as snow later in the show.

As the action began, there were two problems with the show. The lack of microphones made much of the dialog (which, when we could understand it, was very clever verse) difficult to hear, made more difficult by the heavy Scottish accents. But understanding every word was not necessary to the enjoyment of the evening.

The story of the writing of the script for this show is almost as entertaining as the show itself. It came out of an experience by writer David Grieg, director Wils Wilson and composer Alasdair Macrae, when they visited a pub while researching the Border Ballads for the show. It was the coldest winter in Scotland in many years and they were so comfortable in the pub that nobody wanted the evening to end, so they locked the pub doors and sat around all evening telling story after story. Out of one of those stories (said to be 110 percent true) came the story of Prudencia Hart.

Prudencia (Grove) is an academic, an expert on ballads, literature and “the topography of hell.” She is en route to a conference in the border town of Kelso, driving through a snowstorm to get to a professional meeting. The entire cast gathers around Pru to form a car, with flashlights for headlights and, most clever, the use of a violin bow as a windshield wiper, while tossing bits of napkin bits for the snow.

After much verbal sparring between Pru and her fellow academics, she is trapped in a pub with her nemesis Collin Syme (Clark), where the whiskey flows and inhibitions dissolve as the lights go out, leaving the pub in complete darkness, a problem very cleverly solved by the cast.

Ultimately Pru tears herself away and goes out into the night in search of a B&B and finds herself, instead, in hell.

After the intermission, Act 2 seems like a different play, much more sedate, much easier to follow, and initially lacking the free-wheeling antics of Act 1. Hell, Pru discovers is far more entertaining than she ever imagined — at least for the first few millennia.

Ultimately, however, the lure of “every book that was ever written and even those that have not been written yet” loses its appeal and she finds herself popping up to watch the grass grow in the cracks of the Costco parking lot instead. She decides she wants to return to her non-dead life. She attempts to trick Satan (McKay) into rhyming with her (using the language of love and humanity) to get him to take pity on her and allow her to return to her old life. McKay’s response to his inability to stop rhyming is very funny.

There is a bit of the Orpheus mythology about Pru’s attempts to escape, and the attacks on her would-be rescuer, Collin, are hilarious.

The fun of this show is not necessarily in the plot, but in the ensemble, the music, the hijinks. It is a unique piece of theater, and easy to see why this was a sell-out at the fringe festival and has been a sell-out wherever it plays.

Rock of Ages

At its core, “Rock of Ages,” now at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, is a simple story — boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl becomes stripper, boy becomes rock star, mean landlord threatens to destroy legendary nightclub, everybody learns that if they “don’t stop believing,” all will live happily ever after, with arms waved in the air in the manner of a last act finale.

(Parents should note that there is more butt sniffing, crotch scratching and simulated sex than you’d find in “Bark the Musical” at Sacramento Theater Company, along with lots of one-finger salutes, cigarette smoking and skimpy costumes. So if you intend to take your kids to show them what the rock scene was like in your day, you might want to take that into consideration.)

The always muddled sound system of the Community Center Theater made following the very thin, yet apparently convoluted plot all but impossible. However, when you add the music of iconic rockers such as Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake and many more (some 28 classic rock tunes of the ’80s are woven into the story, much the way ABBA songs form the basis for the plot of “Mamma Mia”), the “simple story” becomes a lively, ear-splitting trip down rock-and-roll memory lane that delighted the Sacramento audience.

Directed by Tony Award nominee Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine, “Rock of Ages” is a multi-award-nominated musical (five Tonys, two Drama League Awards, two Outer Critics Circle awards).
Heading the cast is Lonny (Justin Colombo), who serves as the show’s narrator and keeps the interaction with the audience going. Colombo is heavy smoking and crass, as the role requires.

Danny McHugh is Drew, working as a busboy in the legendary Sunset Strip club, The Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis (Jacob L. Smith). Drew has dreams becoming a rock star and spends his spare time writing songs, hoping for his big break someday.

Sherrie (Shannon Mullen) is a wide-eyed, innocent young girl just arrived from Kansas with stars in her eyes, hoping to become an actress. She and Drew become instant friends when Drew helps her get a job at The Bourbon Room.

Their friendship is affected when Sherrie decides she “wants to know what love is” and has sex in the men’s bathroom with Stacee Jaxx (Universo Pereira), lead singer for the group Arsenal, who not only promptly dumps her, but insists she be fired from the club or he will refuse to perform.

With nowhere to go, Sherrie is taken in by Justice (Amma Osei), owner of a strip club, who teaches Sherrie the moves.

In the meantime, German developers Hertz (Phillip Peterson) and his son Franz (Stephen Michael Kane) want to introduce “clean living” to the Sunset Strip and plan to demolish The Bourbon Room.

This sets off a protest led by Regina (Megan McHugh) — emphasis is made that the character’s name rhymes with a female body part — who spends her time chained together with her fellow protesters marching up back and forth across the stage with their protest signs.

The playing out of the various plot lines in Act 2 is merely an opportunity for performing several well-known classic songs (“Anyway You Want It,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Every Rose has a Thorn,” “Oh Sherrie,” among others), and of course, The Bourbon Room is spared, the Germans have a change of heart, Franz gets to fulfill his dreams of owning a candy store, Sherrie and Drew reconcile (“The Search is Over”), Dennis passes on and becomes an angel and everyone realizes that the dreams you start with are not always the dreams you end up with, but they still rock (“Don’t Stop Believin’”).

It’s all very silly, but you go to “Rock of Ages” for the music, not for the story, and those for whom this is the music of their lives will come away satisfied.

Godspell

“Godspell,” the musical based on the parables contained in the Gospel of Matthew, opened at the Woodland Opera House this week, under the direction of Jason Hammond.

“Godspell,” with music by Stephen Schwartz and book by John-Michael Tebelak was first presented in 1970 as Tebelak’s masters project thesis at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. It subsequently had a 10 performance run at La Mama Experimental Theater club in New York, where it caught the eye of producers Edgar Lansbury (brother of Angela) and Joseph Behruh, who hired Steven Schwartz to write a new song score, incorporating a variety of musical styles including pop, folk rock, gospel and vaudeville.

The newly reworked show opened Off-Broadway in 1971 and has been playing around the country ever since, including a 2011 Off-Broadway revival which played from October to June 2012.

Perhaps more than most musicals, this show seems to have a lot of opportunities for different visions, depending on director. A broad, circus-like version received a lot of critical complaint for its irreverence. For director Hammond, keeping the reverence in all the silliness was crucial.

“In all my theater ventures, I keep God center stage; but this show is particularly close to my heart in that I was raised on these parables and hold the teachings to be relevant, powerful guides in my life today,” he said.

There are 12 actors listed in the cast. “Father” (Jerry Stadel) is not seen, but is only a disembodied voice at the start of the show. “Boy” (James Hayakawa) is briefly seen at the start of the show. And Eric Alley, a part of the ensemble, was not able to participate, due to a broken foot, but his part was beautifully sung from the orchestra by musical director James C. Glica-Hernandez. So seamless was the substitution, that it almost seemed as if it had been planned that way.

After a cacophonous opening number by the ensemble representing various philosophers and their philosophies, Matt Taloff as John (and also, later, Judas) starts the actual story, meeting Jesus (Erik Catalan) and baptizing him. Taloff is a powerful presence throughout, and Catalan exudes the peaceful, yet powerful, persona of Jesus. It is easy to see how people want to follow him.

As the parables unfold, each of the cast gets his or her moment to shine, starting with the story of the master forgiving a servant’s debt. Emily O’Flaherty sings “Day by Day,” the only song which really achieved much prominence from this show. It has an almost “Hair” quality about it.

The parable of Lazarus and the Rich man is sung (“Learn Your Lessons Well”) by Emily Delk, who later does a beautiful reprise with Glicia-Hernandez.

Ayesha Thomas rocks the house with the gospel tune “O Bless the Lord, My Soul,” followed by Quentin Carbajal’s “All Good Gifts” to represent the parable of the sower and the seed.

Eimi Taormina reminds the audience of the necessity of turning to God in “Turn Back, Oh Man,” while Hannah Wallace sings a beautiful “By My Side” as the adulteress, whom Jesus rescues.

One of the many lighter moments comes with “We Beseech Thee,” separating the sheep from the goats, sung in vaudeville style by Alex Cesena.

Jesus suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane (“In the Willows”) and subsequent betrayal by Judas and crucifixion was poignantly portrayed by Catalan.

If one wanted to quibble, there are funny bits that might seem sacrilegious (such as the blessing of Goldfish and YooHoo drink at the Last Supper), but this production never loses its reverence for the word of God, and I think Jesus himself might have smiled watching it.

As I left the theater, I couldn’t help but think that if more churches incorporated some of “Godspell” into their services, church attendance might rise.

Bark, The Musical

“Bark, The Musical,” directed by Michael Laun with choreography by Jacob Montoya, is now entertaining audiences on Sacramento Theater Company’s Pollack Stage. A portion of the proceeds will go STC’s partner for this production, the Sacramento SPCA. Adoptable dogs will be on display at some productions, and a poster of dogs up for adoption adorn the lobby.

This show is somewhat of a phenomenon. After making its debut in Los Angeles in 2004, it received rave reviews, ran for two years, and became the third longest running show in Los Angeles history. It ran seven months in Chicago and has played in little theaters all across the country, as well has having had a Portuguese translation for showing in Brazil.

This isn’t exactly the dog-lovers’ answer to “Cats.” The scale is much smaller, and the dog-specific parts of the costumes (by McKayla Butym) are limited to collars, leashes and pads for hands, but it is as earnest as a puppy begging you to love it.

This a show built by committee. The book is by Mark Winkler and Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, music by David Troy Francis, lyrics by Dillard, Winkler and Robert Schrock, with additional lyrics by Jonathan Heath and Danny Lukic.

There are 23 songs that give us a glimpse at life from a dog’s perspective. Titles such as “Whizzin’ on Stuff,” “Fooood!” “Howling Just to Scare Away the Blues,” and “Dirty, Filthy Old Flea Bag” let the audience know immediately what to expect, though it is less clear with songs like “Mighty Mutt from Mars” or “Senorita la Pepita.”

Dog lovers will recognize each of the characters by their breed. King, the Labrador Retriever (Armond Edward Dorsey), is missing his master, who has grown up and gone away to school. He awaits the day when they will be together again. His interpretation of “Dog’s Best Friend” and the later “Grassy Field” are both very emotional, while his story of being neutered was very funny.

Jessica Goldman is listed as Boo, the Cocker Spaniel, but was unable to perform on opening night, so her role was played by Meghan Greene, from STC’s Young Professional’s Conservatory. Greene is a sweet and cuddly cocker spaniel, though her voice did not have the power of her co-stars. She did, however, give a touching rendition of “Pound Song,” telling the story of losing her pups when they were rounded up by the dog catcher.

Golde, the Bull Dog was played by Miranda D. Lawson. Golde is the comedian of the group, always with a cynical, sardonic aside. Her depiction of a dog wearing a neck cone is hilarious.

Tyler Wipfli is Chanel, the French Poodle. Owned by a gay couple and dressed in pink and feathers, Chanel’s favorite time of the week is when she and one of her owners listen to opera together. Her song “Il Cane Dell’Opera” was one of the highlights of the show, and displays her musical training (she is a Music Theater major, studying voice at Oklahoma City University).

Sean Patrick Nill plays Sam, the Pit Butt Mutt. He and King vie for yard superiority. His “M-U-T-T Rap” is another highlight, which lists just about every breed in the book, comparing them to plain vanilla mutts.

Rocks, the Jack Russell pup is played by a “please love me!” Scottie Woodard, so eager to please and a continually wagging tail. Rocks presents the only real “story” of the evening, trying to learn how to bark, and getting lessons from the older dogs.

The dogs remind us that their needs are simple — a handful of kibble, fresh water, a loving hand to pet them, and a place to call home. “Bark” is a reminder to go home and give our pets a scratch behind the ears and a tummy rub and let them know how glad we are that they are in our lives.

And if you have no dog in your life currently, the SPCA will be happy to help you find your own forever friend at one of the performances.

Radium Girls

I am continually amazed that Acme Theatre Company, whose young members spend a maximum of three, possibly four years, performing with the group before moving on to college, continue to present some of the most professional theatrical productions around.

The company also continues to present shows that make us laugh and think, and especially leave us with topics to talk about, topics that may have a historical context, but that are relevant even today.

“Radium Girls,” by D.W. Gregory, covers one of those topics. At the dawn of the 20th century, according to program notes, radium was full of glowing promise and represented the bright potential of scientific progress. The Curies were celebrities and radium’s fantastical healing properties were an overnight sensation. Radium-infused toothpaste, hair creams, medicinal waters and make-up were made quickly available to the public.

In 1917, the U.S. Radium Corp. opened a factory in Orange, N.J., and began hiring young women to paint the small, glowing numbers on watch dials. The job paid well and the work was challenging, but appealing, until the dial-painters began experiencing health problems, which were not properly diagnosed.

When studies linked the strange physical conditions — rotting jaw bones, various cancers, necropsy of extremities — to radium, U.S. Radium Corp. covered up the findings and insisted that their plant was “clean” and presented no danger to the workers.

“Radium Girls” follows the case of three young women — Grace (Camila Biaggi), Kathryn (Eden Tomich) and Irene (Margaret Starbuck) — as they first work for the plant and then, one by one, begin to get ill. After Irene’s death, Grace and Kathryn decide to bring a lawsuit against the plant, and the plot is on.

Grace is the longest-lasting and hardest-fighting of the trio and we watch her character grow throughout the play. Her formal education ended at age 15 and she starts as a naive thing who trusts that her employer will take care of her, but she learns a lot along the way and ends up much stronger for it. It is a beautiful performance by Biaggi.

The play, which is staged at the Pamela Trokanski Performing Arts Center on Del Rio Place (a perfect venue for Acme!), is directed by Maddy Ryen and includes eight actors, six of whom play many different roles. There is not a weak performance in the lot.

Will Kingscott is the other actor playing only one role, that of Arthur Roeder, the president of U.S. Radium Corp., torn between his drive to lead his company and to deny any responsibility for the girls’ illnesses, and his deeply embedded desire to be a good guy. We want to hate him, but Kingscott makes us feel the character’s dilemma. In the courtroom, and later at the cemetery, he is so guilt-ridden that he cannot look Grace in the eye.

In addition to playing Irene, Starbuck also appears as Kathryn Wiley, the lawyer whose determination kept the suit active but who, in the end, uses the girls for her own group’s purposes almost as much as their employer does.

Miki Benson and Wil Forkin are perfect as the newspaper reporters hungry for every gruesome detail about the girls’ illnesses and giddy with delight when some new tragedy befalls them. They are too sadly reminiscent of the paparazzi, celebrity reporters and talking heads of today.

Forkin also plays Grace’s long-suffering, devoted boyfriend, Tom, who stands by her through the early days of what ultimately will be her fatal illness.

Antonio De Loera-Brust is both Von Sochocky, the man who originally founded U.S. Radium and who developed the radium paint that is killing the workers, and the attorney who represents the corporation in the lawsuit, who attempts to buy the girls’ silence with a fairly low settlement offer.

In smaller roles are Katy Zaragoza-Smith, Brian Stewart and Matt Fyhrie, all of whom deliver the goods for their many characters.

Kudos also to whoever had the idea of using radiation green to light the back of the stage during scene changes!

Despite the depressing topic, there are some lighter moments that break the tension, but ultimately there can be no happy ending.

Director Ryen has created a tightly woven production that should remind all of us how little practices have changed in the business world today, as far too many corporations still value profits over the welfare of their workers.

Follies

The setting for Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” is a run-down theater, so pretty much any theatrical group, with or without a large budget, can do it! A Broadway production can add glitz for the flashback scenes, but basically any stage can be given the run-down look.

The costumes must be spectacular, those for the former glamorous stars returning to their old theater for one last hurrah before it is to be destroyed and made into a parking lot, and especially for the flashbacks to their former days, but when you have someone like Jeanne Henderson, Davis Musical Theatre Company’s faithful costumer, it’s a no-brainer.

What you must have, however, is a stellar cast of principal-quality voices and, to his credit, director Steve Isaacson has managed to assemble just that for DMTC’s current production.

The story is pretty simple — the old stars having one big reunion and reliving their former glory days. The tension comes between two couples, Buddy and Sally, and Benjamin and Phyllis. Two chorus girls dating two admirers, and later marrying, with problems in both marriages. The unfolding revelations are at the heart of the action.

Sally (Lenore Sebastian) has “run away” despite Buddy’s (Rand Martin) edict that she should not attend the reunion. Buddy follows her. Sally still has the magic in her eyes as she sees the theater again. Sebastian has two knock-out numbers with “In Buddy’s Eyes,” talking about the love her husband has for her, and “Losing My Mind,” where she is furious that she has wasted the past 30 years obsessed with a man who has never loved her and never will.

Martin as Buddy, a character reminiscent of “Chicago’s” Amos Hart, brings down the house with “The-God-Why-Don’t-You-Love-Me-Blues.”

Phyllis (Allison Lizzi) married Benjamin (John Haine), a successful politician and businessman. The two travel in elite circles, but things are not as they seem, as we learn in Act Two, as Phyllis sings the acerbic “Could I Leave You?”

Many of the actors are “shadowed” by younger members of themselves. Caitlin Martin and Thomas Eredia, as Sally and Buddy, and Michele Guerrieri and David “Turtle” Akona as Phyllis and Ben, were excellent choices, acting the scenes among the four in their younger years.

But the real soul of the work is when the former show girls relive their big moments in the days when they were working for the womanizing Dimitri Weismann (Gil Sebastian).

All are wonderful, but the surprising stand-out is Jan Isaacson as Hattie Walker, a “Broadway Baby,” the one who never achieved her dreams, but kept on slugging away “pounding 42nd Street to be in a show.” This is Isaacson’s finest hour. The beaming smile on her face and the thunderous applause that followed her unique interpretation of the song told the story. Bravo, Jan!

Mary Young, longtime DMTC diva, who has not had a real “meaty” role in a while, was also in her element as Carlotta Campion, singing “I’m Still Here,” proving that she is, indeed, still here.

Stella Deams (Christine Deamer) gets the whole troupe up dancing together to “Who’s That Woman,” shadowed by a chorus line of tap-dancing young women.

The always-wonderful Marguerite Morris as Heidi gives a moving rendition of “One Last Kiss,” shadowed by Christina Gross as Young Heidi, who perfectly mimicked all of Morrison’s movements as well.
Chris Cay Stewart as Solange LaFitte, pushing her beauty product line, sings “Ah, Paris!” to great effect, while Rick Faiola and Barbara Ann Checceti as Vincent and Vanessa, who now teach dancing at an Arthur Murray-like school, do a sweet “Bolero d’Amour.”

Musical director Adam Sartain does double duty as Roscoe Whitman, the man who always sang those “Beautiful Girls” down the staircase to make their entrance. He ultimately married chorus girl Emily (Monica Parisi).

This is a show about youthful enthusiasm and middle-aged regrets mixed together with nostalgia and cynicism, a recipe for a hearty evening of entertainment.

Peter Pan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bacchae

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In fact, it was downright enjoyable.

A Christmas Carol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inspecting Carol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mistakes Were Made

If there ever was any doubt that Eric Wheeler is one of this area’s most talented actors, a visit to Capital Stage’s production of “Mistakes Were Made,” by Craig Wright (directed by Carolyn Howarth), will convince you.

In this 90-minute mostly frenetic and ultimately surprisingly poignant comedy, Wheeler carries on non-stop telephone conversations with several people, his mostly unseen receptionist Esther (Anne Mason) and a large koi fish named Dolores (created by puppeteer Richard Bay).

Wheeler is Felix Artifex, a second-rate theatrical producer who has discovered an unknown playwright who has written a play about the French Revolution (“Mistakes Were Made”) that Felix thinks could finally be his ticket to the big time.

Though Felix describes his career to this point as simply “filling up theaters with moldy chestnuts and two-bit stars,” he is the eternal optimist and he knows he has a potential hit on his hands. He envisions a big production, with a huge cast and a big-name star.

As the play begins, he is on the phone with Johnny Bledsoe, the Hollywood hunk-du-jour, trying to convince him to star as King Louis (“… so you tell me, Johnny … who is the star of the French Revolution, if King Louis is not the star?”). Bledsoe apparently wants a special role as the “kid,” who is the handsome pal of Robespierre, written just for him, but with more lines than Louis. He’d also like the playwright to consider making this a one-man show.

While trying to make a deal with Bledsoe, Felix is also talking with the playwright, who is adamant that he is not going to change his play. Felix walks the fine line of lying to each of the men and making impossible promises, trying to reach a compromise so the show can go forward as he envisions it.

At the same time, he is receiving frantic calls from a guy named George Cossetta, calling from a desert somewhere, with a caravan of sheep being pursued by a bunch of guys with flame throwers. This apparently is part of a hair-brained, somewhat shady scheme to raise money to finance “Mistakes Were Made.”

As the calls continue to come, bells ring, buzzers buzz, Felix’s mood, like a traveling salesman’s, changes with each caller, whether wheedling, flattering, self-deprecating, threatening or profane. In the brief respites between calls, in moments of self-revelation, he converses with Dolores (wonderfully manipulated by puppeteer Janey Pintar), whom he overfeeds — despite warnings from his secretary — while he continues to wait for a call back from his ex-wife.

In less competent hands, this play might be less entertaining, but Wheeler allows Felix Artifex to become a man desperately, if comically, grasping for that brass ring that has hitherto eluded him and shows the lengths to which he will go to get it. Ultimately, he also lets the audience see the man behind the caricature and makes him a real human being.

Like the recently staged “Fully Committed,” which was a one-man tour de force for Matt K. Miller, “Mistakes Were Made” is a wonderful vehicle for Wheeler and his opportunity to shine for 90 minutes. Wheeler makes the best of it.

A Christmas Carol

It helps to understand that the version of “A Christmas Carol” by Alan Menken, Lynn Ahrens and Mike Ockrent — currently at the Davis Musical Theatre Company, under the direction of Jan Isaacson, with musical direction by Chris Congdon — was originally produced in the mid-1990s by Radio City in New York and was a holiday favorite at Madison Square Garden for more than 10 years.

Knowing that helps to explain what scantily clad Rockettes are doing in Victorian London and why the sepulchral Ghost of Christmas Future becomes a beautiful ballerina. This makes me think that perhaps other elements I found jarring also might have been part of the original production and not just poor directorial choices.

But to start with the good, DMTC finally has its orchestral mic-ing perfected. Hallelujah. After so many years of being unable to hear the orchestral blends, thanks to microphones and mounted speakers on each side of the theater, I was able to hear the orchestration clearly. It is just sad that so much of the music is forgettable, with one or two tuneful exceptions.

Forgettable or not, the DMTC chorus was top-notch and in great voice for all of the ensemble numbers.

Steve Isaacson is the best person in the company to play Ebenezer Scrooge. He can make a sour face better than anyone, and his snarls read genuine, as does his glee as he realizes he has not missed Christmas after all. He is positively cute in his giddiness. Hats off to him for performing this role two weeks after spinal surgery.

Jeff Nauer played the dual roles of Scrooge’s deceased partner Jacob Marley, and, in the past, his old boss the ebullient Fezziwig. He handled both roles well and was particularly entertaining as Fezziwig. I was disappointed, however, that his entrance as the chain-covered ghost had absolutely no sense of terror about it, but that he simply walked into Scrooge’s living room as if he were the butler.

Likewise, the chorus of ghosts writhing on the floor in one of the more tuneful numbers, “Link by Link,” do so in bright light in an old Victorian mansion at night. I am still wondering why that lighting choice was made.

I was impressed in the opening scene with the young woman playing the lamplighter (Leanna Friedrich), and was pleased that she later appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Friedrich has a lovely voice and a wonderful stage presence, though I am confused about why the ghost would join in the company at Fezziwig’s and dance with them, if she and Scrooge are supposed to be invisible.

Adam Sartain, who plays Young Ebenezer in the past, is also the Ghost of Christmas Present and a right jolly fellow he is, too, though he knows how to get his message across when he has to. He was a highlight.

When the pair visit the home of Bob Cratchit (Scott Griffith) and his wife (Dannette Vassar), I was surprised to see that the Cratchit family now only has two children, not the traditional six, though this is not the only inconsistency with the original book and previous versions on stage and screen. We now learn that Ebenezer’s father was sent to debtors’ prison, and his mother died shortly after that, leaving Ebenezer and his sister orphans. Ebenezer’s girlfriend, too, is now named Emily, not Belle.

David Ewey is a strong presence as Ebenezer’s good-hearted nephew Fred, who never gives up on his uncle and continues to extend the hand of family and friendship.

This is a show with some production and vocal problems, but they should not detract from the overall spirit of the production. It’s a good opportunity to get kids into the holiday spirit and we can all recite, with little Jimin Moon, as Tiny Tim, “God bless us, every one!”

Christmas has come early to Winters, beating even the venerable old Macy’s Thanksgiving parade by a week. “Miracle on 34th Street,” directed by Anita Ahuja, opened last weekend and will run weekends through Dec. 2 at the Winters Community Center.

This stage adaptation of the beloved 1947 movie classic was adapted by Mountain Community Theater from the novel by Valentine Davies.

Yes, the pace of this production is sometimes plodding and there were lots of missed and made-up lines throughout the evening, but who cares, when everyone on stage and in the audience is having such a good time, and when you can enjoy the delight of Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge, the littlest elf, who stole every scene in which she appeared.

It’s the story of Kris Kringle, who has just been booted out of the senior home in which he has been living because of his insistence that he is the real Santa Claus. In a piece of serendipity, he turns up at the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade just in time to save the parade from a drunken Santa Claus, and does such a convincing job that he is offered the opportunity to be the in-store Santa for the season.

Has Tom Rost ever looked more dapper? This stalwart of many Winters theater productions is perfectly suited to the role of Kris. His humility and passion for his role will convince anyone that he really is Santa Claus. He and little Emilia Orosco also must have had a good dialog coach to be able to converse and sing together so convincingly in Dutch.

Wendy Rash is Doris Walker, the very practical, no-nonsense mother of young Susan (Sophia Tolley). Doris believes in “utter realism and truth” for her daughter, without a shred of fantasy. It is Doris who hires Kris and then must face the consequences when he begins sending customers to other stores and convincing little Susan that fantasy is important in life.

Sophia Tolley does a good job of being the “you can’t fool me” child of her mother, but slowly pulled into Kris’ fantasy world and beginning to believe that maybe there really is a Santa Claus after all.

Jim Hewlett, featured as the town cop in last year’s “Fruitcakes,” takes on the role of Fred Gayley, Susan’s neighbor, who has developed a good relationship with Susan and tries to bring a little playfulness into her life. He would also like to have a closer relationship with Doris. Gayley befriends Kris and ultimately solves all of the old man’s problems, and receives a very special gift from Kringle as well.

Dona Akers is Mrs. Shellhammer, the head of the toy department, at first entranced with Kris’ performance, then appalled when she overhears him sending parents to different stores for toys that Macy’s does not stock, or where they can buy them more cheaply. She is ready to fire him until Mr. Macy himself (Howard Hupe) gets flooded with compliments on the store’s true spirit of Christmas and comes to Kris’ support.

Eleanor Yeatman puts on her best Lily Tomlin-as-Ernestine impression to portray Miss Saywer, head of Macy’s Human Relations Department, who gives Kris a psychological evaluation and sees him as a danger to the community and is determined to have him committed to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital.

Michael Barbour is Judge Harper, who will decide Kris’ fate at a sanity hearing, while Germaine Hupe is the formidable prosecuting attorney who gets trapped by her own granddaughter.

Shows like “Miracle on 34th Street” are wonderful for community theaters because they offer so many opportunities for members of the community to have a small role. Angel Clute-Bixby and Justice Brewer, for example, start off the evening as drummers marching onto the set and playing a little drum duet.

Alexis Velasquez grabs the microphone and gives a good rendition of several Christmas carols.

And there are a number of children who sit on Santa’s lap or become elves: Amelia Doran and Marc Velasquez, for example, in addition to others mentioned previously. Sam Peterson is one of the children and also does a surprisingly good job as Lou, one of the postal workers who handles Santa mail.

This is a play that exudes kindness, love, humanity and maybe a little bit of magic as well. It’s a fun family show to start the Christmas season.

The Year of Magical Thinking

The recipe for an instant five-star production in the Sacramento area: cast Janis Stevens.

I have seen Stevens in several productions — including one-woman shows “Master Class” and “Vivien” — and she now adds another stellar performance, playing Joan Didion in Didion’s stage adaptation of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Year of Magical Thinking.” The play is currently at Sacramento’s Wilkerson Theater (formerly California Stage), under the impeccable direction of Ray Tatar.

Didion’s husband, author John Gregory Dunne, suddenly died of a heart attack one night as she was mixing the salad for dinner. The play details her travel through grief during that first awful year, a year in which her daughter also was dying of many infections in many hospitals (she finally did die the following year).

“This happened on Dec. 30, 2003,” the character begins the play, staring out into the audience. “That may seem a while ago, but it won’t when it happens to you. And it will happen to you. The details will be different, but it will happen to you. That is what I’m here to tell you.”

As her husband lay on the floor of their apartment being attended by paramedics, Didion took charge. She got the paperwork in order, she followed in a second ambulance to the hospital — the “wrong” hospital, she notes, planning to move him as soon as he was stable. She stood in line to fill out paperwork. She took charge.

But he was dead. She knew he was dead when she had a social worker assigned to her, but in her mind she felt that if the doctor didn’t say the words, maybe her husband wasn’t really dead. She demanded answers from the physician. The social worker gave him permission to give her the facts. “It’s OK,” he said. “She’s a pretty cool customer.” She was cool on the outside. Inside she was crumbling, but she coped. She took charge.

Life changes in an instant 
 an ordinary instant

I don’t know what experiences Stevens may have had with personal loss, but she nailed the emotions of someone trying to make sense of something that makes no sense. Whether she is cool and calm, talking about moving from day to day, alternately making arrangements for burying her husband, and then visiting her dying daughter, or whether she allows herself to crumble, briefly under the weight of so much pain, it is a journey that those who have been through themselves will find very familiar.

She admits that she sounds crazy when she can’t give away her husband’s shoes, even weeks after his death (though she has given away bags and bags of his clothing), because when he comes back he will need shoes.

If she corrects an error in the galleys of his book, completed shortly before his death, will he be upset with her?

A grieving person straddles two worlds, the real one in which she lives, and the magical one in which somehow, the deceased is still present and may be coming back. Stevens handles this dichotomy beautifully, its symbolism represented by the yin-yang design on the stage floor.

The set design by Ken Kurtis is stark, but the sweeping design painted on the walls neatly suggests the “vortexes” that a grieving person goes through during their year of magical thinking, trying to find a way to the “new normal.” Grief comes in waves, at times when you least expect it. You may think you’re doing fine and then the memories flood in and you have to deal with them. For someone like Didion, for whom being in control … “being right” … is so important, the vortexes are perhaps more painful.

The only unfortunate thing about this wonderful production is that there were only 20 people in the audience the night I saw it. The show deserves a larger audience, even if the thought of dealing with someone’s grief is a scary thing. The script is not really a downer, but has enough humor to keep the audience snickering with Didion throughout.

Try to catch this show. It will be a night you will long remember.

It will happen to you. The details will be different, but it will happen to you.

Memphis

If the plot of the new touring Broadway production, “Memphis,” now at the Sacramento Community Center, sounds familiar, you may be thinking of “Hairspray.”

In “Hairspray,” misfit 1950s teenager Tracy Turnblad loves “Negro music,” which is not played on white stations, becomes a big star on Cincinnati’s version of “American Bandstand” and by the end of the show, everybody loves “Negro music.”

In “Memphis,” misfit, illiterate 1950s high school dropout Huey Calhoun loves “Negro music,” which is not played on white stations, becomes a DJ and then the star of a Memphis based version of “American Bandstand” and by the end of the show, everyone loves “Negro music.”

In fact, the finale of “Memphis,” “Steal Your Rock ‘n’ Roll” is so reminiscent of “Hairspray’s” finale, “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” that you could almost sing the “Hairspray” lyrics to the “Memphis” melody.

There are, of course, lots of differences in the two shows.  For one thing, Sergio Trujillo’s energetic choreography and the amazing dancers who execute it makes “Memphis” seem like “Hairspray” on steroids.

This 2010 four-time Tony award winner (including Best Musical) won best original score (David Bryan and Joe DiPietro), best book (Joe DiPietro) and best orchestrations (David Bryan and Daryl Waters).  It also won four Drama Desk awards and four Outer Critic Circle award.

There is romance at the heart of “Memphis,” as Huey (Bryan Fenkart) wanders into a nightclub in the Black part of town and falls in love not only with the music, but with the owner’s sister, Felicia (Felicia Boswell), the star of the show.  Huey is convinced he can get her on the radio, but gets more than he bargains for when the two fall in love in an era where miscegenation laws are on the books and their love is impossible, a fact that Felicia knows full well, but Huey has more difficulty accepting.

Fenkart, with his strong, sometimes difficult to understand Memphis drawl is a firecracker that keeps the show moving at a frenetic pace, particularly in trying to convince would-be employers that he is right for the job.  He commandeers the mic at a local radio station and plays “Everybody Wants to be Black on Saturday Night,” which nearly gets him tossed out of the building until calls from teenagers begin to come in demanding more of this kind of music.

But the soul of the show is Felicia Boswell, giving a thrilling performance as Felicia.  Each of her songs is a standout, especially the poignant “Colored Woman,” singing about the dreams her mother told her not to dream, and which she now is cautiously allowing herself to have. 

Mama told me not to dream big,
But Mama lived her life running scared.
I am stronger and I'll fight longer!
I'll do what Mama never even dared!

“Memphis” has a strong supporting cast.  Julie Johnson as Huey’s Mama has little to do for most of the show, except criticize Huey for his life’s decisions, his relationship with Felicia and just about everything, but she brings down the house with her “Change Don’t Come Easy,” after attending one of the Black churches and being inspired by its gospel choir.

Horace V. Rogers is a commanding presence as Felicia’s protective brother, Delray, who does not like her relationship with Huey and is suspicious of his promises to Felicia.

Rhett Georger plays Gator, who stopped speaking when he saw his father being lynched when he was a small child.  He is an eloquent mute and when he finally finds his voice, it brings tears to the eyes.

Will Mann is Bobby, a hulking guy who works as a janitor and who becomes Huey’s biggest supporter among the regulars at Delray’s bar.

“Memphis” is a non-stop toe-tapper and will delight anybody who loves rock and roll, soul, and gospel music, as well as a good story to time them all together.

Macbeth: the Radio Play

It has been said that radio is the “theater of the mind,” and when a radio production is also a theatrical production, the audience gets double its money’s worth.

Davis audiences are getting a bargain this month as the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble presents “Macbeth: the Radio Play” at the UC Davis Arboretum Gazebo.

Book stands with microphones are set in a circle around the gazebo, and the seven actors sit at each of the posts that hold up the roof. When it’s their time to perform, they step to the mic and read from their scripts.
Directors Gia Battista and Rob Salas, who confesses they want the audience members to have more room for their own imaginations, invite the audience to get into the whole radio experience.

“Even though you can see the actors speaking and can watch some of the sounds being created, we hope that at some point you will ‘watch’ the show using only your ears and your minds. Yes, that means you can close your eyes …”

Crucial to the ambience and the success of this play are Battista, the sound designer, and Adam Smith, who creates live sound effects with a dazzling array of tubes, pipes, water, musical instruments and anything that can represent a specific sound.

Richard Chowenhill is the ensemble’s resident composer and is responsible for the music that becomes white noise under most of the production. I personally found it distracting, though my husband liked it.

With the exception of newcomer Evan Leiser in the title role, the rest of the seven-member cast each play several roles. (It also appears that though most of the cast have a Shakespearean or other acting background, all seem to be making their Davis Shakespeare Ensemble debut.)

Susanna Risser’s primary role is as Lady Macbeth, an understated performance that makes it all the more chilling for its detachment and cold-blooded ability to speak so dispassionately of the murder of King Duncan. She inhabits her characters so well that when she steps to the mic as a crazed witch, or the servant Seyton, you can almost forget that she was also Lady Macbeth.

Leiser is an amazingly strong Macbeth, less the foil of his wife and more the ambitious nobleman whose evil begins to destroy him. Leiser’s performance is excellent, but he has one serious flaw that I fear was a tremendous distraction. The man is a spitter. Everything he said was accompanied by sprays or droplets flying out into the air or onto the microphone, and drool running down his lips onto his chin. This was accentuated by the lighting which, from where I sat, showed me his profile brightly lit against the black background of the gazebo.

I fear that I reached a point where I simply could not look at him any more, though I was loving his performance, but was vaguely ill when the next person had to use his saliva-covered microphone.

Sarah Cohen played Banquo, Lady Macduff, General Siward and others. She gave the usual strong performance we have come to expect from her, after seeing several of her one-woman Shakespeare performances. Cohen has a unisex presence that is believable whether she is a male soldier or the grieving Lady Macduff, attempting to protect her children.

Paul DelBene started the show as the good King Duncan and went on to use his considerable acting talents as the drunken porter, the blustery doctor and others. DelBene is a great addition to the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble.

Jason Oler is a loyal friend in Macduff, surprised by the betrayal of his friend, and a menacing killer as well as other characters.

Camille Beaumont and Aileen Wen join with Risser as the witches, their dialog sometimes difficult to understand due to the excessive reverb, but their cackles were clear and unmistakable. When Wen steps to the mic to issue the first orders as King Malcolm, the audience knows she is going to be a wise and just king.

This was an interesting look at a familiar classic and another enjoyable evening by the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble.

Enron

Those wacky Enron guys are back again, singing and dancing their way into your hearts.

Enron, the granddaddy of all bankruptcy cases is remembered using music, dance and video in a clever play by Lucy Prebble, directed by Stephanie Gularte at Capital Stage in Sacramento. 

“I didn’t want to write a play about finance that’s boring,” said the playwright.  “Enron hired Cirque du Soleil to perform at their company parties, so I thought can we bring that flamboyance to the stage?”

And succeed they did.

Jonathan Rhys Williams has the role of a lifetime as the messianic Jeffrey Skilling, who believed he could change the world by creating a virtual economy. 

“If you have an idea, if you sign a deal, say that we’re gonna provide someone with a supply of champagne for the next few years at a set price, every month or whatever—Then that definite future income can be valued, at market prices today, and written down as earnings the moment the deal is signed. We don’t have to wait for the grapes to be grown and squashed.”

Williams is mesmerizing as the man for whom the lives of the people he was ruining was merely collateral damage.  “The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren’t smart enough to do what we did.”

Aaron Wilton is Andrew Fastow, Skilling’s sidekick who achieves his dream of becoming Enron CEO.  Fastow provides comic relief, particularly when he interacts with velociraptors in suits, symbolizing the creative accounting practices used to hide irregularities in day to day business.

For those occasions when we need to...’offload,’ we create a company that exists purely to fulfill Enron’s needs.  We could push debt, we could push those losses into this other entity, sell it to this entity so we make money and move a loss off the books, wait for it to turn a profit...This is an area where we’re expected to be creative.  The regulations encourage it.

(And keeping with the fantasy metaphors, the Board of Directors are played by giant mice.)

While Kenneth Lay may be the name one first thinks of when one thinks of the Enron scandal, in Prebble’s script, as played by Gary Martinez, Lay assumes more of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” role, preferring to step back and let his team handle things.  As long as the money keeps rolling in, he doesn’t really care how it’s being made and is more interested in redecorating the company jet and hosting lavish parties.

Shannon Maloney is the seductive Claudia Roe, screwed by Skilling (literally and figuratively) representing several women in Enron’s upper management who were the only ones to see what was going on and to work to expose the corruption within the company.

(Maloney also is listed as the choreographer and, though this is not, strictly speaking, a musical, there is definite choreography and even a chorus or two sung)

The scenic design by Stephen C. Jones, with assistance by the lighting design of Steve Decker and video designers Decker and Will Klundt is minimal, with a set piece or two rolling in here or there, but the projected videos keep the tension high and remind us of the decade in which the piece is set.

The small ensemble, particularly Lucinda Hitchcock Cone and Michael Stevenson, were excellent, partying like there was no tomorrow, until the bottom fell out and they all realized that they had lost everything.

Capitol stage has begun its second season in the new J Street location with a very strong, informative, and entertaining production.

The Miracle Worker

Executive producing director Michael Laun, in his opening remarks to the Sacramento Theatre Company audience, pointed out that the first time STC performed William Gibson’s classic “The Miracle Worker” was 50 years ago, in 1962.

Half a century later, the work still holds up as a powerful, inspiring theatrical work, especially in the capable hands of director Greg Alexander and his talented cast.

The success of this work depends on the actors who play the young Helen Keller, and her would-be teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Courtney Shannon, a ninth-grader at Natomas Charter’s Performing and Fine Arts Academy, has been acting in musicals for several years, but this is her first foray into dramatic acting (she alternates with Bella Bagatelos as Helen). She is 95 percent convincing as the blind/deaf girl (there were a few moments when she obviously “saw” what she was approaching — a step in one case, and her brother’s outstretched hand in another), but overall she did an outstanding job.

The intense battle scenes between Helen and Annie Sullivan, as the latter attempts to teach Helen manners and try to get her to understand the concept of “words,” were wonderful and must have left both actresses exhausted. The audience is taken on such a roller coaster of emotions that when Helen finally “gets it,” there was a lot of sniffling and wiping of eyes in the audience.

Sullivan’s character is in the more-than-capable hands of Brittni Barger. Though director Alexander has eschewed the usual Irish brogue, it is not necessary to get into the soul of Annie, and Barger is full of spunk and fire and, despite her inexperience, is willing to fight for her pupil. She is passionate about giving Helen every chance to fulfill her potential, despite her handicaps.

(I once had a friend who was blind and deaf and who insisted she was not “disabled,” but merely “handicapped.”)

Shannon and Barger are backed by an excellent cast. Gary Wright is a very strong Captain Keller, a role that does not often stand out, but in Wright’s case does. He loves his daughter, but, along with the rest of the family, makes too many allowances for her bad behavior, which undermines Annie’s work with the child.

Michele Hillen is Helen’s mother, who desperately wants to know how to communicate with her daughter, but who also finds it difficult to be strict with her.

Griffith Munn (who alternates with Garrick Sigl) is surprisingly strong as the wise-cracking brother, James Keller, afraid of his father, not willing to accept his stepmother, and the only person in the family who sees that Annie’s approach to the girl is vital to her progress.

Others in the cast include Jeffrey Lloyd Heatherly in the dual role of the Doctor and Anagnos, the man who sends Annie to the Keller family; Georgann Wallace as Aunt Ev; and Tahlema Martin at the Kellers’ cook, Viney. Jordan Taylor and Jacob Navas played blind children Martha and Percy. They alternate in their roles with Carenna Thompson and Rion Romero.

The scenic design of Jarrod Bodensteiner is a multi-level set that includes an upstairs bedroom for Annie, the downstairs family dining room, the outside area that doubles as the cottage where Annie works alone with Helen for two weeks and the water pump area, which is vital to the closing scene.

Annie Sullivan went on to live with Helen Keller until Annie’s death in 1936. Helen’s list of accomplishments as an author, lecturer (she eventually learned how to speak) and political activist is impressive. She was one of the founders of the ACLU, and campaigned for women’s suffrage, labor rights and birth control. She died in 1968 and was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame in 1971.

One wonders what might have happened to that blind, deaf, out-of-control little girl if there had not been an Annie Sullivan in her life.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

It would be difficult, if not impossible, not to find something to relate to in Sacramento’s Cosmopolitan Cabaret’s sparkling, delightful new production, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

This musical, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, was the second-longest running off-Broadway musical comedy (“The Fantasticks” was No. 1). It is a celebration of the mating game. Act 1 explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, while Act 2 reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws, newborns, trips in the family car and pickup techniques of the geriatric set.

Who can’t relate to the angst before a first date?

Will my hopes be met? Will my fear dispel?
Will I captivate? Or will I repel?
Will I show him/her just how wonderful I am?
Or will I be a date from hell?

The show, directed by Glenn Casale, stars four talented artists — Michael Dotson, last seen as a member of the barbershop quartet in Music Circus’ “The Music Man”; Jerry Lee, memorable for his performance in the Cabaret’s recent “Forbidden Broadway”; Jennifer Malenke, new to the Cosmopolitan Cabaret, but recently seen on “The Voice,” singing with Florence and the Machine; and Melissa Wolfklain, also part of the “Forbidden Broadway” cast, and recently appearing as Jan in Music Circus’ “Grease.”

These four take on more than 20 roles throughout the evening, and it would be difficult to choose the funniest from among the vignettes, though “The Marriage Tango,” with a young married couple (Lee and Wolfklain) trying to find a way to have an intimate moment without the kids interrupting would be right up there. When Wolfklain asks her hubby how he pulled off the amazing feat of getting the kids to bed on time, he admits he promised to take the little ones to Disneyland.

“I figured we’d wait a few months and tell ‘em it burned down,” Lee says.

Dotson is also very funny in “Tear Jerk” as a macho man dragged to a chick flick by his girlfriend Wolfklain.

My movie satisfaction is mindless violent action,
Some muscle men to tussle with Stallone.
A thriller that would thrill us, with Arnold or Bruce Willis,
And lots of naked shots of Sharon Stone.

… and is then embarrassed to find himself sucked into the plot of the film, and fighting not to show the tears he is crying.

Malenke and Lee are perfect nerds in “A Stud and a Babe,” wishing they were more appealing, he longing for bulging biceps and she wishing for a larger bust (“my breasts would be rounder,” “my pecs would astound her”).

At the other end of the life span is “I can live with that,” featuring a widow and a widower meeting at the funeral of a mutual friend and the dance they do around the notion of dating each other, though they still both love and miss their departed spouses. It is a less funny and more poignant moment that will touch the heart of those of us “of a certain age” who have attended too many funerals lately.

This musical premiered in 1996 and so some of the material is a bit dated, but it is nonetheless very funny and a great way to spend an evening.

The Drowsy Chaperone

It would be difficult to find something to dislike about the Woodland Opera House’s delightful new production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.” This musical by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, which made its debut in Toronto in 1998, opened on Broadway in 2006 and won the Tony Award for best book and best score.

The WOH production, directed by Bobby Grainger, boasts a strong cast and is a gem. When the touring Broadway production of this show came to Sacramento, it was presented as a very long one-act (100 minutes), but Grainger has wisely chosen to break the action into two parts, including a “unique” Act 1 finale.

This show is an homage to musicals of the 1920s, a time before musicals had to have a hard-hitting message … or be a stage version of a beloved Disney animated film. “The Drowsy Chaperone” has no deep message, no memorable songs, no cute animals running around on stage. It’s just good, clean fun, with a lot of laughs, a lot of groans — as the lines are delivered — and a lot of madcap mayhem.

The central character, known only as “Man in Chair,” is a music lover who misses the days of old-style musicals. His voice addresses the audience in the darkened theater. “I hate theater,” the voice says. “Well, it’s so disappointing, isn’t it?” He talks about offering up a prayer before he sees a show, requesting that it be short, free of actors who roam the audience and blessed with “a story and a few good songs that will take me away.”

As the lights come up, he continues to speak to the audience throughout the show, as he pulls out one of his old records (remember records?) and plays the original cast recording of his favorite show, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” to which his mother introduced him.

As the record plays, the show comes to life on stage, turning his drab apartment into a show palace with glitzy costumes and sets that fly in, roll in or unfold. Man in Chair narrates throughout, giving the show’s history, discussing the actors playing the roles and commenting on the various musical numbers.

Stuart Eldridge is outstanding as Man in Chair. His excitement about playing his favorite record is palpable and endearing, and when he joins with the cast of the show in some of the scenes, his enthusiasm is contagious. This is Eldridge’s first show at the Opera House, and I hope it won’t be his last.

The fast-paced opening number, “Fancy Dress,” introduces the show’s many characters and lets the audience know right away that this is a plot with tongue set firmly in cheek. A big, fancy wedding has been planned and all these characters have assembled to make it happen.

The bride is a young actress, Janet Van De Graff (Cassie March), who plans to leave the stage to marry the dashing Robert Martin (Colby Salmon, who tap dances up a storm with best man George — Bradley Moates).

Janet’s producer, Feldzieg (Kyle Hadley), plans to sabotage the wedding, with the help of two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs (the delightful Colton Archey and director Grainger himself).

The gangsters represent some unseen big boss who’ll do serious damage to the producer if Janet leaves her show.

The wedding is hosted by Mrs. Tottendale (Maria Ryken). The role was originated by Georgia Engel, better known for the vapid characters she so played well on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Ryken is every bit as endearingly dingy as I remember Engel being.

Tottendale’s “Underling” is played by Don Noxon, with whom Mrs. Tottendale has a very funny slapstick scene, which requires Man in Chair to clean up afterwards.

Elizabeth Nilsen has the role of The Drowsy Chaperone, the bride’s elegantly attired friend and confidante, who is tasked with preventing the bride and groom from seeing each other on their wedding day. She states at the outset that champagne makes her sleepy, and then proceeds to down a bottle of it — with a martini chaser — and hence becomes “the drowsy chaperone.”

Ryan Adame is the Latin lover Aldolpho, the self-proclaimed “King of Romance” (who kisses a lot), who is hired by the producer to seduce the bride, and thus thwart the marriage, but who makes one slight mistake that changes everything. Adame is hilarious with his swirling cape and his machismo.

Eimi Taormina is Trix, an aviatrix who makes an unforgettable entrance that is a show-stopper. Taormina is a bundle of energy, and it serves her well in this role.

In the end, everyone lives happily ever after and a wedding does take place, because this is an old-fashioned musical comedy and that’s the way those things end.