The Show Must Go On

Arianna Manabat (Louise), Rachel Hoover (Rose) and Nate Lacy (Herbie) rehearse “Together, Wherever We Go” for the Davis Musical Theatre Company's production of “Gypsy,” which now will be held at University Covenant Church. Courtesy photo

In the truest example of the show biz motto of “the show must go on,” the Davis Musical Theatre Company is dealing with a nearly impossible situation that threatened to shut down the impending production of “Gypsy,” which had been scheduled to start at the Jean Henderson Theater on November 1.

“It’s been so stressful,” producers Jan and Steve Isaacson sighed.

The Jean Henderson theater is the front half of a building that contains three other offices, one of which is used by the UCD Anthropology Department. On Oct. 10 at 4:42 p.m., Steve Isaacson was told that they must vacate the building immediately. Apparently a truss in the very back of the UCD Anthropology office slipped, causing the drop ceiling to collapse. It was a safety and liability issue and the landlords could not risk damage to any of the other tenants, Isaacson explained.

“Nobody can be faulted,” Isaacson said, adding that he was very happy with how the landlords have handled the situation. “They did a great job and I’m very happy with them.” Still, DMTC will not be able to return to the building until at least late November — and there was a show to put on. What to do?

Several options were investigated and for one reason or another they proved to be unworkable. They even worked with UCD’s Mindy Cooper to see about using the Wyatt Pavilion.

First, they needed rehearsal space. Rebecca Detrick (whose daughter played Annie in a recent production) suggested they check with her church, Christ Church of Davis on Oak Ave. Isaacson met with pastor Eric Dirksen and they started rehearsing there. But the church has its own remodel coming up in a week, so performing there was out of the question.

They finally found a home at the University Covenant Church on Mace Boulevard and Second Street. (by the Arco station).

“Those people are so nice,” Isaacson said, adding that he has met with more pastors in the past week than in a very long time!

So the show will go on.

“Gypsy” will open, as scheduled, at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, but there will be no charge throughout the run (though donations will be happily accepted). It will be performed with an orchestra but without costumes, and with the only two set pieces that were finished at the time they had to evacuate the building. The company is trying to contact every ticket holder — more than 1,000 people — by telephone to let them know of the change in location.

The show will run at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 24. For more information, visit dmtc.org.

The Humans

My favorite moment of “The Humans,” now at Capital Stage, is a moment when there is a scene going on in the upper part of the stage, while Erik (Matt K. Miller) stands just looking down at his mother. Momo (Janet L. Motenko), who has advanced dementia, and is napping on the couch. The feeling of love, concern, and frustration in Miller’s eyes is so powerful that I couldn’t stop watching him. It’s exactly how I feel looking at my 100-year-old mother.

“The Humans” is a very funny, yet often sad play by Stephen Karam, which will feel familiar to anyone who has family Thanksgiving dinners. In fact, it is so believable, you feel like you might be watching reality TV instead of a scripted play.

The Blake family are invited to the home of daughter Brigid (Karen Vance), who has just moved into a new run-down apartment with her boyfriend Richard (Damien Seperi). It’s an unusual two-level apartment with only stairs to get from one floor to the next, so grandma Momo has to be taken down the elevator to get to the bottom floor.

The noise of a New York building, with stomping from the folks upstairs and crashing noises from the garbage compactor, interrupt frequently and make everyone uneasy (including the audience, from time to time).

With action taking place downstairs in the kitchen, dining area and living room and upstairs, there is often overlapping dialogue, but it’s easy to follow. Everyone in the family has his or her problem, which all begin to be revealed as everyone drinks a bit too much before dinner.

Erik, a school custodian, has a secret he is hiding. Wife Deirdre (Jamie Jones) is struggling to stick with her Weight Watchers diet and not having an easy time of it with all the Thanksgiving temptations. Both parents are concerned that Brigid and Richard seem to have no desire to marry and thus will not be producing any grandchildren.

Daughter Aimee (Kristine David) is an attorney who has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and has been taken off the partner track and knows that she will be let go soon. She has also just been dumped by her longtime girlfriend and is devastated. The pain she experiences from her physical condition is intensified by the pain she feels at having lost the love of her life.

Momo speaks mostly gibberish, though manages to perfectly join with the family in saying grace before dinner, then lapses back into gibberish again. It is so like someone who can’t remember her name but can sing familiar songs or recite familiar prayers from long ago. Motenko so nails the role of someone with dementia that it seemed strange to see the actor, looking perfectly normal, taking a bow at the end of the show.

“The Humans” won the 2016 Tony for new play and was a finalist in for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

This is a deceptively simple play, with no hysterics and no name-calling — just a family revealing its weaknesses and struggling with how to carry on. It is both entertaining, yet honest, with a surprising and disturbing conclusion, which I’m not sure I understood. But all in all, it’s an excellent play.

Stepping Out

 

The Woodland Opera House, which now has its own dance program, has shown off its dancing skills in several recent shows and now it has decided to feature them.

“Stepping Out,” by Richard Harris, takes place in a church basement, with a group of women and one man learning how to tapdance. The class has been invited to take part in a big charity show and they must learn a choreographed routine or be made a laughing stock.

Sadly, it was very difficult to hear most of the dialogue. I thought it might be that I was sitting in the back row (though that should not have been a problem), but when I checked with friends sitting in row five, they said the same thing and overheard people at intermission talking about the show being unintelligible: “I had an acute feeling of being cheated when it seemed as if half the audience could hear and respond to the dialogue, while the rest of us had no idea what was so funny. Such a loss.”
However, intelligible or not, this is a fun play and the finale is well worth it.

Harris was encouraged to write “Stepping Out” after his wife returned from a dance class and pitched the idea as a possible play.

He went to his local village hall and saw a bunch of misfits attempting to make sense of a tap class — and “Stepping Out” was born. The play was a hit in London and a musical version, based on the play, was made in 1991, starring Liza Minnelli and Shelley Winters. The Woodland production is not the musical.

Director Bob Cooner has chosen a wonderful assortment of types for his cast, and they are a perfect look for the group of “misfits” Harris was attempting to describe.

Instructor Mavis (played by Jenny Plasse), a down-on-her-luck former professional dancer, has her hands full managing the range of personalities and skill levels of her motley crew while at the same time dealing with her gruff, outspoken accompanist Mrs. Fraser (played by Nancy Agee). Mavis is doing her best to remain upbeat despite the lifestyle change and unexpected shock news.

The dancers reveal their strengths and insecurities as they step out of their comfort zones to make meaningful connections with each other, but we don’t really learn a lot about any of the characters, just the briefest bits of information that make one long to know more about their backstory.

Andy (Analise Langford-Clark), for example, insists on a long-sleeved leotard and always clutches something to her body when not dancing. We never hear definite evidence of an abusive husband, but it seems clear that she is hiding bruises.

It would be nice to know more about the quiet nurse Lynne (Nicolina Akraboff) who says she comes to class because it’s the only thing she does for herself. She obviously cares a lot about her job, since the death of one of her patients is so upsetting for her.

Also having difficulty with grief is Geoffrey (Darryl Strohl-DeHerrera), the only man in the group, who is trying to deal with his wife’s death and is uncomfortably embarrassed at the thought of appearing in public.

Charlotte French is Dorothy, the most awkward and uncoordinated of the group (other than Geoffrey) but desperately trying to learn the steps. It’s a great role for French, who is actually quite a good dancer (you have to be a fine dancer to make your dancing look so bad). In the role of the older woman in the group, she is very funny.

Deborah Hammond is a joy to watch as Rose, very positive and full of fun, and Ania Mieszkowska is Maxine, whose size is never an excuse to give less than her best and who can dance as well as the rest of them.

As the play begins, it is Sylvia (Emily Delk) who is the most proficient. She stands model-thin and tall and knows all the steps the others are struggling with. She chews gum constantly and puts chewed gum everywhere.

This is a huge deal for Vera (Patricia Glass), a neatnik who is forever picking up the gum and also cleaning the bathroom during tap drills. Vera, who may match Sylvia in talent, has the most amazing costumes (credit to costumer Denise Miles!).

By the end, of course, the group have all learned how to tap dance and perform two outstanding numbers, which makes this show, whether you can understand what is being said throughout or not, definitely spec-tap-ular.

The Viewing Room

“The Viewing Room,” a comedy-drama by Mark Smith, was performed at the Howe Avenue Theater in Sacramento last year. Director Jesse Akers saw it there, enjoyed it, and decided to bring it to the Winters Theatre Company. In conjunction with the playwright, Akers added some running gags and other effects, while Smith made edits to the script.

I am assuming this play has not been performed elsewhere. The playwright attended the opening night performance.

This is the story of Chester Dumbrosky, who has died and is lying in his coffin when son Matthew arrives, awaiting for the wake to begin. Imagine Matthew’s shock when his deceased father sits up in his coffin and begins to talk with him.

As it turns out, Chester was an emotionally distant father and was allowed to return on the day of his wake to interact with his “grieving” family, make amends and say the things he had left unsaid.
This production has a talented cast of eight, including Brad Haney as the corpse and Cody Svozil as son Matthew.

Dona Marie Akers is Chester’s wife Florence, who sold their house on his demise, bought a condo in Florida and a new Mercedes and isn’t all that happy to discover that he is quasi-alive and will probably disapprove.

Daughters Patty and Debbie are played by Cameron Toney and Janene Whitesell and son Steven is Scott Schwerdtfeger. Chet, Jr., who left home at 18 and has not been heard from in 30 years, is played by Robert Payawal.

The cast is rounded out by Chris Thaiss as Jay, the Undertaker, who is not able to see the “alive” deceased.

There are a lot of funny things in this show, both jokes and physical humor and enough drama to show the extent of the dysfunction of this family. Each person explains how Dad’s attitude throughout their life has affected the adult they have all become and Mom, who took charge of her life on her husband’s death, seems to retreat back into the dominated woman she was during his life.
My feeling watching this play was that this excellent, talented cast is better than the material with which they are working.

While this is an enjoyable evening, there are problems. (For starters, it’s amazing that Mom has sold the house, bought a condo in Florida and a new car — all before her husband’s wake!)

While each of the adult children experiences serious effects of living in this dysfunctional family, each’s interaction with Dad is quite unsatisfactory and Dad’s excuse is that was just the way he was because of growing up during the Depression and working hard to pay the bills. I’m not sure any of them, except maybe Chet Jr., felt any better when he climbs back in his coffin, though his brief return to life at least gives him a chance to tell them all that he loves them, and may give the audience something to think about.

His dance with his wife is very sweet.

If I were still giving stars for reviews, this one would be five for actors and three for the play itself.

I found some humor that the program gives special thanks to the Dixon Florist, Milton Carpenter Funeral Homes and St. Peter’s Catholic Church!

Northanger Abbey

There are many reasons to see Sacramento Theatre Company’s world premiere production of “Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey,” adapted by local playwright, Carissa Meagher, but foremost among them is Olivia Stevenson, an alum of STC’s Young Professionals Conservatory, who plays both Austen herself and Catherine Morland, the heroine of the novel.

Stevenson has the herculean task of being on stage almost the entire show and she is magnificent.
“Northanger Abbey” was Jane Austen’s very first novel, but it was not published until it was discovered by her brother after her death. It was Austen’s satirical contribution to the gothic novels of the time, which she so enjoyed.

It was that satire that appealed to playwright Meagher. “I found myself absorbed in the budding romance of the book’s protagonist, Catherine Morland and her new suitor Henry Tilney, while also curious about the darkness to be found at Northanger Abbey — only to find myself suddenly cracking up at Austen’s commentary on it all.

STC decided that its 75th anniversary was the perfect time to introduce this 20-something playwright’s work to the world. And what a delight it is.

Feeling that the story needed a narrator, Meagher introduced Austen herself, along with her brother Henry (Corydon Melgoza). The story begins with the pair discovering Jane’s forgotten novel. They begin to read from the book and tell the story of the unlikely heroine who goes from a wild and free-spirited kid, who much prefers rolling down hills and playing cricket to learning the piano, to an intelligent young lady, ready for a life in society.

Catherine is invited by her neighbors, the Allens (Marie Bain and Michael Jenkinson, who also play Catherine’s parents at the start of the show) to come with them to Bath so that she can be part of the social season. Uncomfortable and shy, Jane makes friends with Isabella (Rebecca Mason, in an engaging performance) whose brother John (Mike DiSalvo) finds her appealing, though she is put off by his boorish attitude and has no interest in him. She is, however, interested in the dashing Henry Tilney (James Edwards) and becomes friends with his beautiful sister, Eleanor (Devin Wiesner).
Henry’s father, the stern, tyrannical General Tilney, is played by Capital Stage co-founder Jonathan Rhys Williams, who has not been on the STC stage since 2008. In those days he played the handsome young suitor roles, but he has grown into middle age roles elegantly.

Invited to Henry’s home, Northanger Abbey, Catherine’s gothic suspicions kick in and she becomes convinced that Henry’s mother was killed by his father and she searches the house trying to find clues. When the general discovers that Catherine is not rich, he denies Henry’s desire to propose to her, until the truth of her history is revealed.

Jarrod Bodensteiner has done a wonderful job of creating a gothic-looking castle using only a few doors, moved easily from place to place. It’s how to make a set without actually making a set — and it works

Isaiah Leeper’s lighting design is also integral to the story, going from present to past to gothic.
Teresa Stirling-Forsyth and Michael Jenkinson have directed a tight production that is certain to please any Austen lover, and a few new to the author themselves.

Sacramento Theatre Company’s 75th season is off to a good start.

2019 Ellys

Members of local and regional community theater were honored at the 37th annual Elly Awards, sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), Sacramento’s answer to Broadway’s Tonys. Because of the number of awards, there were two ceremonies: the Youth Awards on Sept. 8 at Cosumnes Oaks High School Performing Arts Center in Elk Grove and the Adult Awards on Sept. 22 at The Center in Sacramento.

Nominated for 42 awards, the Woodland Opera House picked up 10, including two Adult Awards.
Lenore Sebastian received the award for best Supporting Female in the Musicals category, for her role as Maggie Jones in Woodland’s highly acclaimed “42nd Street.”

“It was pretty shocking,” Sebastian said. “I seriously had no expectations. The last Elly I won was for “Candide” in 1990!” She added, “I was thrilled for Opera House because sometimes the Ellys seem to ignore Yolo County. Half of the people I talked with at the ceremony had no idea the Woodland Opera House even existed.”

Choreographer Staci Arriaga also received an award for her work in that show. Arriaga had also been nominated for her choreography in the Children’s Theatre Production of “Annabelle Broom.”

Woodland’s also received six Youth Awards, mostly in the Children’s Theatre Productions category (theater performed by all ages for children).

“Rumpelstiltskin, the Game of the Name” took home five awards, including Ania Mieszkowski for Choreography, Marcia Gollober as Leading Female (adult), Barrett Shepherd as Supporting Male (adult) and James Glica-Hernandez for Musical Direction for this world premiere. Craig Vincent tied for best Lighting Design,

Glica-Hernandez said, “As satisfied as we are at Woodland Opera House to be recognized with SARTA’S Elly Awards, our cast, designers and directors were delighted to work on the original script for ‘Rumpelstiltskin, the Game of the Name.’ Creating a world premiere is an unforgettable experience for all of us. Playwright Catherine Hurd and composer Vatrena King gave us a marvelous piece upon which we could build.”

“Annabelle Broom, the Unhappy Witch” received two awards, one to Veronica Gersalia for Makeup Design and one to Denise Miles for Costume Design.

Joey Vincent picked up an award for Set Design for “The Cat in the Hat.”

Davis Musical Theatre Company’s Amaralyn Ewey won the award for Supporting Female in the Youth Theatre Productions category (theater performed by youth actors) for her role as Ursula, in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr.”

“I never thought I’d actually win an Elly!” she exclaimed. “Ursula was such a horrifically fun role!”

Amaralyn actually had a mega dose of “The Little Mermaid.” When her father, cast as Sebastian in the main stage version of the show, suffered an injury, she stepped in and after only three rehearsals did that role for 12 performances, before starting the Young Performers’ Theatre version of it as Ursula.

Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts, the Elly Awards celebrates excellence in Sacramento regional theater.

SARTA’s mission is to promote high-quality theater in the Sacramento area and neighboring regions. When combined with the opportunity to provide quality entertainment and formal recognition of those in the performing arts, SARTA and the Sacramento community benefit.

Currently, SARTA membership includes approximately 100 theaters, more than 400 individual members and 30 media agencies. In addition to the Elly Awards program, SARTA sponsors headshot days, fall and spring general auditions, a weekly electronic update for those last-minute auditions and casting calls and a monthly electronic TheatreLetter featuring auditions, classified ads, workshops and performance information for theaters and individual artists in the greater Sacramento region.

A Stand-Up Guy

Any would-be stand up comedian would do well to get to the B Street Theater and watch Jack Gallagher’s “A Stand Up Guy.”

Gallagher, the three-time Emmy award winner, host of various TV shows, and Tonight Show with Johnny Carson comic (his favorite gig) has appeared in several movies and has lived his life’s dream since he was 10 years of age, for the past 41 years.

Now in a show written by Gallagher and son playwright/actor Declan Gallagher (who appears briefly in an hilarious piece about the grammatical uses of the f-word) the stand up comedian and story teller explains how he did it...and how this Fall River, Massachusetts native ended up making Sacramento his home and becoming one of its biggest entertainment assets.

Put very briefly, it’s by always doing the very best he could no matter what the job.  It also helps if you have the kind of supportive wife Gallagher has in Jean Ellen, to whom he has been married since 1980.

But the path to B Street (for which he has now written 8 different shows) was a rocky one, to put it mildly.  While Gallagher is a comedian, he is more a story teller than a joke teller.  He can tell a story that will keep you mesmerized (check his You Tube video “Letters to Declan,” the first of his one-man shows), but as popular as he may have been, the fact that he didn’t tell zippy jokes that brought audience applause every minute kept him off Carson’s “Tonight Show” through four auditions, for example.

His career has been a series of ups and downs, sometimes leaving him without an income entirely.  But he never gave up, and Jean Ellen never gave up believing in him.  Soon the ups were higher and the lows not quite as low.

The script of this show was shaped by the calendars he kept throughout his career (“in case I’m ever nominated to the Supreme Court,” he quips – his one political joke).  There were times when he was performing a show in the early afternoon in one state, and another at night in a different one...for weeks at a time.

But the work paid off and the gigs started to get more serious.  He nearly had his own sitcom, until the network pulled it for reasons which had nothing to do with Gallagher, but merely left him without work again.

In 1983, he was offered a job in Sacramento.  He was promised that he was going to be a Big Star on KCRA.  He and Jean weren’t sure they wanted to move to Sacramento, but at the time they were living in Los Angeles and hated it.  Sacramento, with its trees and older houses, reminded them of Massachusetts, so they gave it a try.

The show only lasted 9 months before it was canceled, but by this time, Gallagher was less frantic about his career and happy in Sacramento. He had appeared in concert with Dolly Parton, The Four Tops and Tony Bennett, had a recurring role on the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and appeared in a couple of movies, including “Heartbreak Ridge,” with Clint Eastwood.  He began writing shows for B Street.

Now he’s decided it is time to tell his story, from his first joke (on the golf course with his father when he was 10) through his 15 years of averaging 35 weeks a year on the road, to moving to television, to Sacramento, where he is now, happily living with his family and trying to figure out ways to stay off the road.

I’ve been a fan of Jack Gallagher ever since I saw him do Crystal ice cream commercials a long time ago.  I’ve seen several of his one-man shows.  Each one is quite different from the last, but I’ve never left the theater without smiling and raving about how wonderful it was.

“A Stand Up Guy” joins the list of other exceptional Jack Gallagher performances I have seen.  And his brief salute to the old B Street theater brought laughter and applause.

Newsies

 

There is something exciting happening to local community theater. It seems that the line between “community theater” and “professional theater” is much thinner these days than it has been.

First, there was the spectacular “Mamma Mia” at Davis Musical Theater Company and now we have “Newsies” at the Woodland Opera House. Community theaters may not have the budget for flashy sets and costumes, but when it comes to direction, musical direction, choreography and acting, what our community theaters offer is on a real par with the big boys.

“Newsies,” directed by Crissi Cairns, with musical direction by Jia-Min Rosendale, vocal direction by James Glica-Hernandez and choreography by Jacob Gutierrez Montoya is the Disneyfied version of the true story of the 1899 newsboy strike in New York, and shows how the passion of one person can make a difference in the world.

At the turn of the 20th century, some 10,000 boys sold newspapers on the streets of New York, many of them orphaned and homeless. The boys paid to get the newspapers, and if they did not sell, the publishers would not buy them back.

During the Spanish-American war, when the desire for news was high, the publishers raised the price charged to the boys from 50 cents per hundred to 60 cents per hundred. But at the end of the war, when the interest dropped, publishers Pulitzer and Hearst did not reduce the price the boys paid, even though other publishers did. The boys demanded a return to the price that their peers at other papers were paying.

Under the leadership of a 15-year-old boy named Kid Blink, the “newsies” organized, held massive outdoor meetings and after two weeks, the publishers and the newsies compromised — they would keep the higher price, but would buy back any unsold papers. The stand-off was considered a major step in the child-labor movement.

It is often difficult to fill male roles in community theater, but the 35 member cast is definitely male-heavy and those men are incredibly talented. Each of their five high-energy dances was a show stopper and the audience is treated to everything from tap to acrobatics.

The character of Kid Blink is now named Jack Kelly (Casey Camacho). He’s also an older teen now, so a love interest can be written into the story.

It’s a physically exhausting role, which the talented singer and dancer takes in stride. Kelly struggles with the rights of his fellow newsies and the possible repercussions by the newspaper magnates. He wants to have enough money to move to Santa Fe and is tempted by bribes to give up the fight for fairness.

As Joseph Pulitzer, Rodger McDonald is wonderful as the cold, heartless publisher who cares only about money and has no empathy for the kids.

Jack’s best friend is Crutchie (Collin Robinson-Burmester), the disabled newsie with a positive attitude who becomes the heart of the show. (Collin’s brother Bailey appears as one of the newsies and his father, Stephen, making his theatrical debut, has two smaller roles). He becomes perfect victim for the goons of the publishers trying to squelch the boys.

Making her opera house debut is Grace Leekley as Katherine Plumber, an inexperienced reporter who becomes interested in the David vs. Goliath struggle of the newsies and manages to give them the publicity they need to make their voices heard. She has a lovely soprano voice and has a great solo in “Watch What Happens,” and a beautiful duet (“Something to Believe in”) with Jack. This is Leekley’s first musical in six years and one hopes her success in this role will encourage her to step back on stage regularly again.

Elio Gutierrez is Davey and DJ Michel is his younger brother Les. They are new to the newspaper delivery business and are amazed to learn that many of their colleagues have no mothers or fathers. Crutchie is amazed to learn that Davey and Les go home to a mother who is a “good cook.”

“Newsies” focuses on the atrocities of child labor and poverty, but also shows the power of those who stand together for what is right. The Woodland Opera House production is outstanding.

Mamma Mia

 

“Mamma Mia,” now in its 21st year, was groundbreaking. The popularity of this “jukebox musical” based on the music of ABBA sparked a raft of similar musicals featuring the music of other musicians — like “Jerseys Boys” (music of The Four Seasons), “Beautiful” (Carol King), “Ain’t Too Proud” (The Temptations) and dozens of others. The stories are sometimes contrived in order to fit in as many songs by the featured musicians as possible.

“Mamma Mia” appears to be having renewed popularity. There have been several productions of it in the Bay Area and at least three in the Sacramento area in the last couple of months. And now a joyous production has opened on the Davis Musical Theatre Company stage.

Directed by Steve Isaacson, with choreography by Kyle Jackson and a cast of 40, this production is spectacular. (Never let it be said one cannot dance in swim fins!)

In 1999, Catherine Johnson decided to take 22 of the best-known ABBA songs (written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus) and weave a story around the lyrics. Even if you think you don’t really know ABBA music, you’ll be surprised at how many tunes you’ll recognize — and if you are an ABBA fan this is a must-see show.

The story centers around single mother Donna Sheridan (Andrea Eve Thorpe) raising her daughter Sophie (Abby Lambert) on the Greek island where Sophie was conceived, the product of a liaison with one of three men. Donna has built herself a successful taverna and has no need of a man in her life.

But Sophie is about to be married to Sky (Kyle Jackson) and she wants her real father to give her away. Having snooped through Donna’s diary, she invites three men — Harry Bright (AJ Rooney), Bill Austin (David Muerle) and Sam Carmichael (Tate Pollock), all of whom had relations with Donna around the time of Sophie’s conception — to her wedding, unbeknownst to Donna. The men all arrive, thinking Donna has invited them. Sophie wants her real father to walk her down the aisle.
Also attending the wedding are Donna’s two friends, her back-up singers when the three were Donna and the Dynamos. Tanya (Laura M. Smith) and Rosie (Kasper Cummins) are delightful comediennes, and those costumes were great fun.

(The program gives an ABBA fun fact about those marvelous costumes. They were an easy way to save on the group’s tax bill. ABBA exploited a Swedish law which meant clothes were tax deductible if their owners could prove they were not used for daily wear.)

Andrea Thorpe gives a powerful performance as Donna and gets cheers for her very emotional “The Winner Takes it All.”

As Sophie, Abby Lambert is winsome and engaging, as is her fiancé Sky (Kyle Jackson), whose short shorts make him look leggy and somehow younger than he really is.

The three possible fathers are fun. Harry’s (Rooney) secret is suggested in his various costume changes. Bill (Muerle) is the adventurer, the first to accept Sophie as his daughter, while his duet with Rosie (Cummins) is great. Sam (Pollock) is the love of Donna’s life and, despite a marriage and children of his own, is obviously still in love with her.

Everyone in the show learns something about themselves and the wedding itself, though not quite as planned, is worth the two-act wait.

The three “bows” numbers — tacked on at the end because there was no place in the plot to put them — are great fun and have the audience standing and waving their arms along with the cast.

Do I recommend this production? Of course I do, I do, I do, I do, I do.

Yeomen of the Guard

“Yeomen of the Guard,” the 10th Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration is, strictly speaking, not a comic opera – it is a tragedy.  In fact, Gilbert & Sullivan themselves never called it a “comic opera” but rather “an entirely new and original opera.”

That’s not to say it’s not funny.  It’s very funny, but mostly gallows humor, since the entire story is about death.  It deals with beheadings, traveling performers,, mistaken identity, overlapping romances,...and not everybody lives happily ever after.

“Yeomen” has some of the most magnificent Sullivan music, and Light Opera Theater of Sacramento performs it magnificently.  With a 30 piece orchestra, under the direction of Anne-Marie Endres, which knows when to let the music soar (when no one is singing) and when to keep it low so the voices can be heard over the instruments, the orchestra alone is worth the price of admission.

And trust me, you want to hear those voices!  Robert Vann (double cast with Anthony Tavianni) is Colonel Fairfax, a man, wrongly accused, who marries a randomly chosen, blindfolded woman to divert his fortune away from the cousin who wrongly accused him.  He is one of those performers whose first appearance on stage makes you sit up wondering where he’s been all his life.  One place he’s been is performing with San Francisco’s Lamplighters, with whom he performed the role of Fairfax several years ago.  His performance is outstanding.

Timothy Power is quite good as Sir Richard Chomondeley, tasked by Fairfax to find him a bride before his beheading.

Carley Neill (double cast with Jadi Galloway) is Elsie Maynard, who comes to the Tower of London with jester Jack Point (Charlie Baad) to earn some money by entertaining the people.  Her mother is ill so when she is offered 100 crowns to marry the condemned Fairfax, she agrees, knowing that within an hour she will be a widow.  Neill’s voice is as outstanding as Vann’s and the two make the perfect pair.

The focus of the story, however, is Jack Point himself.  Baad gives a good performance, one of his most poignant moments being “A private buffoon,” wherein he describes the life of a funny man who must entertain no matter what tragedies are going on in his life.  “They’re exceedingly kind...they don’t blame you as long as you’re funny,” he sings, dripping irony.  The end of the story for Point has been the subject of debate among Gilbert & Sullivan fans ever since it was first written in 1888.

Sergeant Meryll, of the Yeomen of the Guard, is played by Mike Baad.  He succeeds in helping Fairfax escape, with the assistance of daughter Phoebe (Rikki Pratt, alternating with Paige Kelly).

Wilfred Shadbolt (Eric Piotrowski), the head jailer and assistant tormenter) has his eye on Phoebe, who uses that knowledge to find a way to help her father free Fairfax.  Wilfred is convinced that if Point can be a jester, he can too and their “Cock and Bull” is very funny.

Lenore Sebastian, familiar to Davis audiences, is Dame Carruthers, born and raised in the Tower and now its housekeeper, fiercely proud of its workings (“When our gallant Norman foes”), She is furious that a prisoner has escaped and nobody can find him. 

Rebecca Cox is her niece Kate.  The character exists mostly to add a fourth voice to the lovely madrigal “Strange Adventures.”

Scenic Designer Dwayne Slavin has made the most of the small stage with a lovely Tower of London, and Theresa Vann Stribling has credit for the lovely costumes, though the striking yeomen’s uniforms are from Valley Light Opera.

This rarely performed production, directed by Mike and Debbie Baad, is one of the best I’ve seen from Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento.  From the wonderful orchestra to the strong chorus to the beautiful visuals to the perfectly cast principals.

If you’ve been missing Gilbert & Sullivan, this is definitely one you’ll want to see.

The Wiz

“The Wiz,” now at Music Circus, is a joyous, energetic, audience-pleasing musical with a cast that is mostly Equity members. The result is spectacular.

The history of this musical is older than one would think. Author L. Frank Baum always thought his “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” would make a good musical and, in fact, a musical was first presented in Chicago in 1902 and played for 12 sold-out weeks. It opened on Broadway in 1903 and ran for 18 months, and productions were held around the country.

However, it was not until 1939, when MGM created the iconic movie that we all know so well, that we formed our visions of what the story should look like. We all know what Munchkins are, that Dorothy follows a yellow brick road with her dog Toto, and that she wears the ruby slippers of the wicked witch whom she accidentally kills.

In the 1970s, disc jockey Ken Harper imagined what the story would be like if the cast were all African-American. With financial backing from 20th Century Fox, he selected playwright William F. Brown and songwriter Charlie Smalls to create a new script using the urban vernacular and music that was a mixture of R&B, soul and gospel.

After a 1974 opening in Baltimore and lots of tweaking, it opened on Broadway in 1975 and received mixed reviews, negative from the traditionalists and more positive from other critics. It went on to receive seven Tony awards, including Best Musical. This is the show that is now gracing the Music Circus stage and leading to a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience.

There are great special effects, including a marvelous tornado. Music Circus also makes the best use (so far) of its new projection screens that surround the stage.

There is no “Over the Rainbow,” but Auntie Em (Christine Acosta Robinson) opens the show with a warm, wonderful “The Feeling We Once Had.” (Robinson briefly appears later in the show as the wonderful Glinda the Good Witch in a gorgeous costume.)

Toto appears very briefly, but Dorothy (Adrianna Hicks) makes the trip to Oz alone.

There is no gathering of little people to play Munchkins, but the costumes for the chorus are unique and they are led by Addaperle (Terry Burrell), the Good Witch of the North. Burrell, like Robinson, displays a magnificent voice and is dressed in another gorgeous costume (kudos to costume coordinator, based on the designs of Paul Tazewell).

As Dorothy “eases on down the road,” she meets the Scarecrow (Kevin Smith Kirkwood, returning to Music Circus after his starring role in “Kinky Boots” on Broadway), the Tin Man (James T. Lane) and the Lion (Phillip Boykin). Boykin has a magnificent voice which could easily shine in the opera world.

It is the Lion alone who gets hypnotized by the Poppy Girls.

Arriving in Oz, they must fight the royal gatekeeper (Jeff Gorti), determined to keep the quartet away from the Wizard until he sees that Dorothy is wearing the silver slippers from the Witch of the East (MGM changed the color of the slippers to “ruby” because they photographed better).

Alan Mingo Jr. is The Wiz and promises to grant their wishes if they will do one simple thing for him — kill Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. The encounter with the witch is surprisingly short, but Zonya Love makes the most of it.

The unmasking of the Wizard isn’t done by Toto but by a uniquely Music Circus effect, which is very clever.

Glinda encourages Dorothy to “Believe in Yourself,” and with clicks of her silver slippers, she is once again back in Kansas in the arms of Auntie Em, who must have had a very quick costume change.

This whole production, directed by Glenn Casale, with musical direction by Darryl Archibald, making his Music Circus debut, is simply a delight and a good choice for all ages. The theater was nearly filled on opening night, so tickets are selling well.

Peter and the Starcatcher

Acme Theatre Company traditionally does three shows a year: an intimate drama in January, a free comedy in the park in May and a large show where everyone gets cast in the summer. Acme members are in the ninth to 12th grade, so their time in the company is only three to four years and every few years, there is a new crop of actors. In the past, the years where the bulk of the cast are new to the company, the shows are less polished than they will be two to three years later.

Happily, “Peter and the Starcatcher,” directed by Emily Henderson, is the exception to that rule. With more “new” people in the cast than “old,” this “Peter” is outstanding. The show is double-cast, and I saw the performance on opening night. You would have thought it was a cast of veteran Acme actors.

Adapted by Rick Elice from Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s 2004 children’s novel, this play tells the story of how a nameless, angst-ridden orphan became the immortal Peter Pan. The (air-conditioned) Wyatt Pavilion became a magical place, without the use of many fancy technical tricks. Sets were created using ordinary rope, a couple of ladders, a few household appliances, a couple of boxes, and, most important, the actors themselves.

In “Peter and the Starcatcher,” the young orphan and his mates are sent on a ship from Victorian England to a distant kingdom ruled by an evil king. There are some marauding pirates, a jungle tyrant, less-than-willing comrades and unlikely heroes. Best of all, there is a mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is star stuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands.

Jordan Hayakawa is excellent as “boy,” who would later acquire the name Peter (Hayakawa alternates with Garnet Phinney in the role). We first meet him and his two friends Prentiss (Odie Lopez/Antonia Zaragoza-Smith) and the food-obsessed Ted (Sara Su/Gavin Pinnow) on a ship named The Neverland.

Molly (Megan Abbanat/Fiona Ross) is the daughter of an English Lord (Julie Knoepfler/Lee Libbet), and herself an apprentice starcatcher, a group of people dedicated to stopping the power of the star stuff from being used for evil. The two overcome bands of pirates and thieves in their quest to keep a magical secret safe and save the world from evil.

Molly’s father, on the ship The Wasp is a starcatcher and is guarding a trunk filled with magical star stuff to prevent pirates from stealing its treasure. Grey Turner is outstanding as the pirate Black Stache (alternating with James Hayakawa) and has one of the best moustaches ever, a trademark of his family.

Black Stache’s faithful first mate is Smee (Jemima Aldas/Wren Arellano)

Peter and Molly manage to dump the trunk into the ocean and jump overboard during the confusion of a storm. After the storm, everyone and the trunk wash ashore on an island inhabited with hostile natives and a giant crocodile (one of the most clever crocodiles you’ll ever see on stage, created using the plainest of materials).

The island natives are Cypher McIlraith/Rylan Valdepena as Fighting Prawn, Allie Gunther/Anja Nittner as Hawking Clam and Kira Cubbage as Teacher in both productions.

While not strictly a musical, there is a three-piece band, directed by music director Oliver Steissberg, for a couple of musical numbers.

Sophia Nachmanoff and Emma Larson are credited with costumes, and what a delightful assortment of colorful costumes they are!

Henderson’s direction results in a tight cast with no lapses in the action. The two hours pass quickly. This is a show that will delight adults and children alike.

Guys and Dolls

 

There are people who love Shakespeare and people who love Jane Austen. I love musical theater. I’ve loved musical theater all of my life. There are some shows I like better than others.

“Guys and Dolls,” currently at Music Circus, was never one of my favorites. It’s OK. I’ve seen the movie several times and have reviewed the stage show five times and was never blown away — until I saw this Music Circus production.

My word, is it wonderful!! I may have to move the show into my “favorites” category.
This musical by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows — based on short stories by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser — is set on the streets of New York in the 1940s, and the characters are so stereotypically delicious that we can’t help falling in love with them.

These are the lowlifes, gamblers, showgirls and gangsters, and the Salvation Army-like missionaries who try to save their souls.

While everyone in the show is terrific, the real “star” of the show is choreographer Michael Lichtefeld, who has created fabulous dance numbers that blend seamlessly with the storyline. Particularly wonderful was the dance during the overture.

Kudos also to costume designer Marcy Froelich for all those terrific 1940s “gangsta” costumes, especially the wonderful striped suit of Nathan Detroit (Jeff Skowron), desperately trying to find a place to hold his “oldest established floating crap game” in New York, now that Lieutenant Brannigan (Ron Wisniski) is hot on his tail and has managed to seal up all the “usual” places.

It is particularly necessary to find a place to accommodate “Big Jule,” in from Chicago and ready to play. Jerry Gallagher is a wonder. Head and shoulders above everyone else, he is a talented hulk who personifies someone named “Big Jule” and the actor’s bio says he has played this role all over North America and Europe and even on a cruise ship.

Into the world of the dedicated gamblers come the Salvation Army-type missionaries, trying to win souls for God, especially naive, idealistic Sarah Brown (Ali Ewoldt), under the guidance of paternal Arvide Abernathy (Lenny Wolpe), whose love for Sarah is expressed beautifully in “More I cannot wish you.”

Charming gambler Sky Masterson (Edward Watts), who has a girl in every port, sets his sights on Sarah.

From the first moment of their meeting, sparks fly between the two actors and the chemistry is magic.

Detroit has been engaged for 14 years to the long-suffering Miss Adelaide (Lesli Margherita), a singer and dancer at The Hot Box; she’s beginning to worry that they’ll never get married. Adelaide only dreams of settling down in a real home with Nathan.

Their duet, “Sue Me,” is a true crowd-pleaser.

There is a whole stable of wonderful cast members, led by Michael Paternostro as Benny Southstreet, Carlos Lopez as Harry the Horse, and Evan Harrington as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, who delivers the show-stopping “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”

The popularity of, and enduring affection for, Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls” is easily seen in its award history. It swept the Tonys in 1951, the year it opened on Broadway (where it ran for 1,200 performances), winning not only “Best Musical,” but also awards for Best Actor, Actress, Director and Choreographer.

It had nominations again for Best Actor (Jerry Orbach) in 1965 and was nominated in 1977 for Best Revival of a Musical.

In 1992, it again won an award for Best Revival of a Musical, as well as awards for Director, Choreographer and Actress, with four additional nominations for the revival. In 2009, it was again nominated for Best Revival.

Various productions also hold Drama Desk awards, Olivier awards and Helpmann awards. It was picked to receive the 1951 Pulitzer Prize but because Burrows had been investigated by the House Unamerican Activities Committee, the trustees of Columbia University chose to withhold the award, so no Pulitzer for drama was awarded that year.

Guys and Dolls has a number of familiar tunes (“I’ll Know,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “If I Were A Bell,” “Luck Be A Lady”). It would be surprising if the audience did not emerge humming one of them at the end of the evening.

Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Kyle Stoner gives a great performance in Davis Shakespeare company’s production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” In fact, he gives eight wacky performances of members of a noble family, all of whom are doomed to die.

If the musical, by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, directed by Gia Battista, sounds familiar, you may remember seeing the Alec Guinness movie “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” also based on the 1907 novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal” by Roy Horniman.

Daniel Sugimoto is Monty Navarro, writing his memoirs from prison. He recently learned that his mother was disinherited by her aristocratic family when she married the wrong man. She was forced to spend the rest of her days earning a meager living as a washerwoman.

Monty is actually the ninth heir to the D’Ysquith (pronounced DIE-skwith) family. To avenge his mother, Monty decides to kill each of the other heirs, leaving himself as the Earl of Highhurst. Stoner plays each of the heirs, which include the pompous Lord Adalbert (with the fabulously expressive mustache), the Reverend Lord Ezekiel, the dramatic Lady Salome, the charitable matron Lady Hyacinth, the fitness-obsessed Major Lord Bartholomew and an effeminate beekeeper named Henry.
Though Monty is a cold-blooded killer, Sugimoto’s performance somehow makes him a charming, likable character. An enterprising, ambitious and resourceful fellow, Monty sets out to eliminate his family members while at the same time juggling relationships with the two ladies in his life: his mistress and his fiancée.

Sibella (Kyra Kozlenko) is his oversexed mistress who admits to loving him, but who is more in love with the idea of marrying a wealthy man. “Has it ever occurred to marry for love,” Monty asks her. “Now you’re being cruel,” she replies.

Cousin Phoebe D’Ysquith (Alyssa Giannetti) is perhaps the only truly virtuous person in the show. She is determined to prove Monty innocent following his arrest for the murder of the only person he actually did not kill.

Both women give amazing performances with gorgeous lyric voices. Like Monty, Sibella has no moral compass or sense of fidelity. Though she married for money, the closer Monty gets to becoming the heir, the more attracted to him she becomes, and to heck with her husband.

Though there are no real familiar tunes in the show, perhaps the most famous scene from the musical is “I’ve Decided to Marry You,” performed at the 2013 Tonys, where the show won four awards. Sibella is in one room and Phoebe in the other, while Monty tries to keep both from checking out what is on the other side of the door.

The scenic design by Liz Hadden-McGuire is functional, with lots of moving set pieces, allowing the set to be used by both this show and “The Tenth Muse,” running in repertory. But the most clever scene for this show has to be the portrait gallery.

“Why Are All the D’Ysquiths Dying,” which opens Act 2, is wonderfully choreographed, and too bad it was not used as a publicity photo since it is so photogenic. “I’m utterly exhausted keeping track / And most of all, I’m sick of wearing black.”

Music is provided by the nine-piece onstage orchestra, under the direction of Tom Abruzzo.

From the leads down through the multitasking chorus, this is a superb ensemble, vocally and in their facility for verbal and physical comedy. And while Stoner has the most amazing role, there is a reason why he and Sugimoto take their bows together because Sugimoto’s performance is invaluable as the narrator of every scene.

Davis Shakespeare Festival has chosen two blockbuster shows for their 10th summer season, and if you like one, you are certain to like the other.

The Tenth Muse

 

Davis Shakespeare Festival director Rob Salas explained to the audience that he had seen Tanya Saracho’s “The Tenth Muse” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival a few years ago and had been waiting for the right moment to bring it to Davis. This is the right moment.

Set in 18th century Mexico during the Spanish Inquisition, three young women are admitted to a convent for their protection. Jesusa (Gabby Battista) is a “Mestiza,” a woman in danger because she is of mixed race. She has been living in a Carmelite convent, but is sent to help Sor Rufina (Susanna Florence) take care of Sister Isabel (Kelley Ogden), who is going blind.

Tomasita (Leah Sanginiti), a servant, is brought by her mother to be a slave for the nuns, who will protect her from the Inquisition.

Manuela (Talia Friedenberg) is a noblewoman with her own secret who is also seeking protection for reasons that will become obvious far too soon.

The nuns, particularly Sor Filomena (Laurie Strawn), are none too happy with the new residents and, with room scarce, put them in a basement, where they are told they can sleep but not to touch a large locked cabinet. Naturally, they do and in it they find the writings of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a famous protofeminist and intellectual who died 20 years before.

The convent was once a center of culture, and Sor Juana was one of the first advocates for women to have the right to an education and her library was one of the largest in the New World. But under the pressure of the Inquisition, Juana was forced to take a vow of silence and burn her books. She died aiding her sisters during the plague.

The women aren’t sure what to do about their find. At first, they are afraid to even touch the writings because it is forbidden for women to be educated (and only one of them can read well). But they eventually revel in the contents of the papers and even begin singing Sor Juana’s songs (to the accompaniment of a guitar hidden in the cabinet) and performing plays, an act which creates a bond of sisterhood among the three.

In a funny scene, the young women are trying on men’s clothes, costumes for one of Juana’s plays. It is such an unimaginable thing for women to wear men’s pants that they all feel very naughty.

By the end of Act 1, I was thinking this was a pleasant play and watching the growing friendship among the women was nice — but I wasn’t sure where it was going or what the point of it all was. The longer Act 2 answered all my questions.

The all-female ensemble was fantastic, each player highlighting the quirks of her character superbly. Battista lit up the stage with her effervescent Jesusa. (She is so chatty, it’s difficult to imagine her in the silent monastery!)

Ogden was a joy to watch as Sor Isabelle, who, unlike her fellow sisters who are terrified of the Inquisition, is clinging onto her last glimpses of music and art left by her beloved Juana.

Lisa Quoresimo plays a powerful and frightening Mother Superior (sadly a vision that many still have of women in her position). She is at her worst at the climax, which is a beautiful scene but a cruel decision on her part, which she truly believes would protect the sisters.

The many scene changes are hardly noticed because of the lovely quartet singing Gregorian chant: Margie Curler, Lisas Halko, Monica Vejar and a fourth nun (split between Strawn and Quoresimo). They are a highlight of the production.

This play resonates on many levels and makes us wonder what life would be like if we were deprived of everything that makes life worth living.

Oklahoma!

“Oklahoma!” is a favorite of Music Circus audiences. The current production is the 14th since 1954. This production is directed by Linda Goodrich, her third for Music Circus, the last being “Singing in the Rain.”

According to many theater historians, “Oklahoma!,” the first musical collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who later brought the world the likes of “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music,” changed the face of musical history when it debuted in 1943, for telling an emotional story through music, lyrics and dance like never before.

Based on the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs, “Oklahoma!” brought something akin to folk art to professional theater and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1944 and recently won the Tony for best revival.

The story is set in the Oklahoma territory — in 1906, the days just before statehood — and touches ever so lightly on the ongoing feud between farmers and cattlemen.

As an aside, pay attention to the films shown on the screens surrounding the theater before the show starts. There is a nice history of the Oklahoma territory then and today. (I’m sure lots of women nudged their husbands when they showed Pawhuska, OK, the home of the “Pioneer Woman.”)

This is mostly a story of cattleman Curly McLain (Ryan Vasquez), who is in love with Laurey Williams (Emilie Kouatchou), who lives on a farm with her Aunt Eller (Jennifer Allen) and the hired man, Jud Fry (John Rapson). Jud has his eye on Laurey; she, in turn, is sweet on Curly, though won’t admit it.

Vasquez, who is making his Music Circus debut, has played the title role, among other roles, in “Hamilton” on Broadway. He is a perfect Curly — tall, charismatic and self-assured, with a powerful voice.

Kouatchou, also making her Music Circus debut, is a perky, flirty Laurey, attracted to Curly, but reluctant to give him the satisfaction of knowing it. She, too, has a beautiful, powerful voice, and the chemistry between the two of them is strong.

Rapson, as the dark hired man, has his heart set on Laurey as well, but his intentions are less honorable and he becomes a very scary character when he gets her alone.

It’s a simple story without a deep plot, but with songs like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,’” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” and “People Will Say We’re In Love,” the songs become the thing people remember most.

Brit West is the sex-starved Ado Annie Carnes, who has “known what’s right from wrong” since she was 10, yet “can’t say no” to any man who gives her any attention. West is adorable and doesn’t quite understand that the peddler Ali Hakim (Jeff Skowron) isn’t as interested in her as she thinks.

Skowron is great as Ali Hakim; his discomfort at finding himself engaged to Annie is very funny, as he finds a way to extricate himself.

Pierce Cassedy is Will Parker, who went to Kansas City to win $50 in a rodeo so that he could ask for Annie’s hand in marriage. His “Kansas City” is a wonderful song and dance number, especially for those cowboys in their tap boots.

Ron Wisniski, a Music Circus regular in meaty minor roles, is both Annie’s father and the territory judge, which comes in handy later.

Also of note is Ashley Arcement in the role of Gertie Cummings, who sets her sights on Curly. She has the most annoying laugh and does it perfectly. Often.

The dream ballet features Taeler Cyrus as Dream Laurey, Conrad Sager as Dream Curly and Stephen Hanna as Dream Jud.

It’s best not to think too carefully about the moral of this story, which seems to be that if you kill an unlikeable guy accidentally, you don’t need to go to trial because everyone would rather see you head off on your honeymoon. Poor Jud is dead and doesn’t get the nice funeral Curly promised him.

“Oklahoma!” is a timeless piece of theater and is worth the trip to Music Circus, whether you’ve ever seen it before or not. Your toes will tap and it’s almost a sure bet that you’ll leave the theater humming at least one of those old familiar songs.

The Roommate

Laura Jane Bailey, left, and Jamie Jones are excellent in the Capital Stage production of “The Roommate,” running through July 21. Charr Crail/Courtesy photo

It is unusual to find two meaty roles for over-50 women, much less one written by a 20-something playwright. Jen Silverman has created such a play, “The Roommate,” now at Capital Stage, directed by Dena Martinez.

This very funny play examines what can happen when a lonely, middle-aged woman takes in a roommate for companionship and to share expenses. Playwright Silverman feels that “Women of that age group are rendered invisible or they are played in ways that are harmless, infantalizing, and I want the audience to see potential for transformation that lies in themselves.”

For the play to work so well, it needs two excellent actresses to bring these two characters from paper to life. In Laura Jane Bailey and Jamie Jones, Capital Stage has just that.

Bailey is Sharon, who has “retired from her marriage” and who has a son, who may or may not be gay, whom she rarely sees. She fills her time with her “reading group” and a part-time job at a local shop. Though she is originally from Illinois, she is now an Iowan and may be the stereotypical view of any middle-aged woman from Iowa. I’ve been to Iowa. I have met Sharons. Bailey nails it.

Throughout the play, you realize the importance of Rebecca Redmond’s costume designs. Sharon starts out in a simple cotton dress, the kind you’d find in The Vermont Country Store catalog. As the play progresses, her dress becomes less dowdy and more current until her final costume, which is — well — amazing.

The play takes place in Sharon’s kitchen, which is perfectly depicted by scenic designer Eric Broadwater.

To help fill her big empty house, Sharon rents a room to Robyn (Jones), who says she wants to “start over” and through most of the play is hiding something that eventually comes out.

The “getting to know you” scenes are so funny, as Sharon begins to understand the kind of woman who has moved into her house. She thought that her new roommate was from upstate New York, not the Bronx (“Isn’t the Bronx dangerous … and you’re, I mean, a woman”).

Robyn starts to understand what it’s like to live in Iowa. She is amazed that Sharon never locks her door.

“It’s pretty safe here, except for the tornados,” Sharon tells her. Robyn never thought of tornados.
Robyn is vegan and a lesbian, a big adjustment for Sharon. “I don’t have any problems with homosexuals … I think, you know, gay rights! Let them marry! … Some of my son’s friends are homosexual people. Probably most of them. I think most New Yorkers are.”

Robyn also smokes pot — “medicinal herbs” she calls it. “Herbs only become drugs when a capitalist economy gets involved.”

She offers Sharon a joint, which she decides to try. “Am I gonna hallucinate?”

As the days pass, the women become more comfortable with each other. Robin’s story begins to unfold and without spoiling the reveal, suffice it to say that her move to Iowa was likely to remove herself from legal situations back east. Sharon is fascinated with Robin’s past life, and she begins to look at her own life in a different way.

The conversations between these two actresses and their rapid-fire responses make time pass very quickly. Bailey and Jones are a delight to watch, and Silverman’s dialogue is pure magic. The women are warm; they are funny; they are real people forced to overcome some of their earlier choices and learn how they want to spend their later years.

Better not to reveal how each is changed by the other since that is a surprise for all. I will admit that there are a couple of things at the end that I found confusing, but mostly it is a logical conclusion, and I’d love to see how both women are going to be in another five years.

Rent

The cast rocks out singing “Season of Love” in Davis Musical Theatre Company's production of “Rent.”
The show runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at the
Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center, 607 Peña Drive in Davis.
The show has strong language, adult themes and drug references,
and is recommended for theater goers 13 and older. Courtesy photo

“Rent” was to the 1990s what “Hamilton” became to the early 21st century — a little-ish show that started Off-Broadway, took the theater world by storm and moved to Broadway, where it made show business history.

The show was written by Jonathan Larson, based partly on his own story (and Puccini’s “La Bohème,” with musical references throughout). Larson tragically, died of an aortic dissection, believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome, the night before the Off-Broadway premiere. He never got to know what a sensation his show became, how it had a 12-year run on Broadway and how it won several Tonys and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Now it has come to Davis. Steve Isaacson, the producer of Davis Music Theatre Company, proudly shared his two degrees of separation with Larson, who was apparently a friend of Isaacson’s drama teacher.

This production is directed by John Ewing, with musical direction by Kyle Jackson and choreography by Cynthia Krivicich and displays a DMTC phenomenon that I have observed over the years.

In its 34 year history, DMTC has made great strides in productions. The quality of shows has become quite good, some better than others. What I have seen, however, is that when the company produces a “new” show, especially a popular one such as “Rent,” which is rarely performed locally, all the best talent from all over the area show up to audition. Based on how many actors in this show are making their DMTC debut, this is obviously the case for “Rent,” which explains why this is such a uniformly excellent production.

It is the emotional story of young artists and wannabes in Manhattan’s East Village, looking for love, inspiration and a place to live. Critics praised it not only for its acting and musical components but for its representation of HIV-positive individuals.

Mark (Philip Graves) is a documentary filmmaker living with rock musician and recovering drug addict Roger (Jonathan Wertz), who is attracted to S&M club dancer and drug addict Mimi (Aimee Rose Santone). Their first meeting (“Light My Candle”) is right out of “La Bohème.”

Zany drag queen Angel (Ethan Mack), who has AIDS, saves Mark and Roger’s former roommate Tom Collins (Kevin Borcz) from a beating and the two fall in love, a relationship which is the most powerful of the show, showing the couple as being happy, with positive outlooks on life, rather than being resigned to their inevitable deaths. Following Angel’s death, Collins’ moving “I’ll Cover You” is the production’s most powerful moment.

That most of the characters have AIDS is subtly revealed at a dinner scene, where someone’s alarm goes off and most of the characters take out pill bottles. Today, when AIDS is no longer an automatic death sentence, the underlying story of “Rent” is a bit dated, but no less emotional.

Maureen (Cassie Mosher) is Mark’s former girlfriend and current girlfriend of lawyer Joanne (Chantel Aldana).

Benjamin “Benny” Coffin (Kyle Hadley) is an ex-roommate to Mark and Roger and now the landlord of the building in which they live. He has overlooked their rent for a year and is now demanding it or threatening to lock them out of the building.

The story follows the group from one Christmas Eve to another (the beautiful “Seasons of Love” opens the second act and is a highlight of the evening, a poignant acknowledgment of the passage of time and evolution of emotion).

The message of “Rent” is to live for the moment, soak up as much of “life” as you can because you never know how much longer you have to live. Instead of being an overriding sad situation, it is a salute to the love of the characters for life and for each other.

Shrek

“Shrek” is a fairytale turned on its head. The princess waiting in her tower to be rescued by a handsome prince actually has a terrible secret: The prince is a jerk — and the unlikeable hero is a scary ogre who hates everyone.

Making its Music Circus debut, “Shrek the Musical,” with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori is a fun couple of hours, filled with just about every fairytale character you’ve ever known to appeal to the kids; enough double entendres and bad jokes to appeal to the adults; and enough farting and belching jokes to appeal to everyone.

This is not an instant stage classic that we will be seeing again for decades, nor does it have memorable music (except for the closing number, Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer”). But for what it is, under the hands of director Glenn Casale, it delivers. Based on William Steig’s book “Shrek!” and the DreamWorks animated film, its ultimate message is that everyone is worthy of true love (except, maybe, the prince.)

The show delivers some really marvelous effects, particularly the spectacular dragon, created by Richard Bay (who designed 15 puppets for this production). The dragon swoops and flies and turns in circles on stage and above the stage and is amazingly lifelike, and surprisingly flirty.

Shrek (Jacob Keith Watson) is an ogre who was left by his parents in the woods on his 7th birthday (Michael Stark plays Young Shrek), with a package of supplies and good wishes that he find a life for himself.

He’s now all grown, totally anti-social and enjoying the privacy of his little swamp when he is invaded by all of the fairytale characters who have been thrown out of the town of Duloc by the evil Lord Farquaad (Steven Strafford). Farquaad is scheming to make Princess Fiona his bride so he can become king and steal her kingdom. Shrek agrees to help the characters if only to get rid of them and return to peace and quiet again.

“Donkey” (André Jordan, who played the role in the national tour which played here in 2011) makes a dramatic entrance, and begs to be Shrek’s sidekick in his search for Fiona. Donkey is annoyingly endearing and Shrek relents and lets him tag along.

There remains only to (a) find the princess’s castle, (b) make it across the treacherous moat and beat the fire-breathing dragon, (c) manage to get the princess out of a locked room many stories tall and (d) return her to Lord Farquaad.

Piece o’ cake.

Princess Fiona is actually played by three actresses: Mia Fisher as the young Fiona, Ella Bleu Bradford as the Teen Fiona and Kristen Beth Williams as the adult Fiona. This is no shrinking violet. She has waited many years for her freedom and is going to make the most of it. But she bears a terrible secret, which Donkey accidentally discovers.

Several of the lesser characters make an impact, primarily the whiney Pinocchio (Tyler Jones), whose nose grows and shrinks on stage without any visible assistance from Jones himself.

Along the way, there are some marvelous dance numbers, such as the rat dance number, a chance for Fiona to shine, and a song called “Build a Wall,” which brought out titters from the audience with lyrics like:

“I’m gonna build me a wall, I’ll make it ten feet high.
See ya later pal, bye-bye.
No one gettin’ in so don’t you even try.
A ten-foot wall.”

This is just a fun production, which teaches us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and self-acceptance is the way to happiness.

Parents should be aware that it’s rather long; so for younger kids, a matinée might be best.

The Forever Question

I enjoy comedy, but I’m a tough critic. It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud. With that said, you should know that I laughed out loud throughout the entire first act of the new B Street production, “The Forever Question” by James Christy, directed by Lyndsay Burch.

The play, which won last year’s New Comedies Festival (a pool of 70 plays hoping to be chosen for a mainstage production this year), is about a couple trying to decide whether or not to have a second child.

Playwright Christy says the idea for this play came after he and his wife had their third child and he started to wonder, “How did I even get here?” Writing “The Forever Question” was his way of examining how becoming a parent changes your life forever — and why, having done it once, we ever do it again.

Actors Peter Story and Dana Brooke are stunning, playing the young couple, Mike and Carolyn, and, throughout the play, several other minor characters including her mother, his father, and his brother. They are so effective because all it takes is a small prop (like a beer bottle or a scarf) and a slight change of facial features to pop in and out of character.

This would be funny for anyone, but anyone who has a child — or more than one child — will especially enjoy it and find themselves remembering their early days of parenthood.

Through flashbacks, the couple remembers their first dating experiences and first sexual encounters. Back in today’s time, they make very, very funny observations about parents, babies, sex, childbirth and relationships between men and women.

Mike’s memories of his first sexual experience had the audience in stitches, and his attempts to prove to Carolyn that he understands menstrual cycles only get funnier and funnier.

Carolyn gives birth to their first child on stage — and you have to wonder how they did that as that basketball sized pregnant belly turns into a blanket-wrapped baby when it’s all over.

By intermission, everyone was laughing so hard that as the audience filed out to the lobby for a few minutes, even the usher was still laughing and sharing his own parenting experiences with people in his section of the theater.

I wish I could say that the second act was as good as the first. It was also very funny, but including the death of Mike’s father, the children growing into rebellious teenagers and both Mike and Carolyn facing the prospect of growing older, the laughs were further apart and not as hilarious. They were still tweaking the script on opening night, artistic director Buck Busfield explained, and I would love to return later in the run to see how it changes as it grows.

The scenic design by Samantha Reno is amazing. B Street asked for donations of toys to help decorate the stage and they received so many that Reno has built marvelous mountains of toys that rise up from the floor and hang down from the ceiling. The toys will be donated to children’s groups at the end of the run.