Of Mice and Men

 

Stop what you’re doing right now. Immediately go the phone and call the Woodland Opera House to get tickets for director Gil Sebastian’s production of John Steinbeck’s classic “Of Mice and Men.” It will be the best gift you give yourself this month — or perhaps this year.

Steinbeck’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning novella was first published in 1937 and was also presented on stage that year, a movie following in 1939. Over the many productions of this story, there have been many actors playing the roles of George and Lennie, two migrant field workers in California during the Depression, and many of them have been as good as John Ewing (George) and Jason Hammond (Lennie), but I suspect none have been better.

Ewing and Hammond have nailed the roles, Ewing the quick-witted man who has been Lennie’s guardian and protector for most of their lives. Though Lennie frustrates him, it is their mutual dream of having their own place where they can “live off the fat of the land” that keeps them both going.
Hammond’s program bio says he has wanted to play this role since he was in the eighth grade — and it’s easy to see why. He completely embodies the character. Lennie is a large, powerful man with the mind of a child. He loves soft things but has no concept of his strength. He lives for George’s story about their future life, which he asks him to repeat throughout the play, especially the part about tending to rabbits.

Hammond’s scene in the second act, where he knows he has “done something bad” is heartbreaking.
Ewing and Hammond are surrounded by an equally strong cast. Paul Fearn plays Candy, an aging ranch hand who has lost one hand in an accident and knows that his time on the ranch is limited. He begs George to let him be a part of the house dream.

Chad Fisk is Slim, the mule skinner, who seems the only good member of the crew. He and George become friends.

Curley (Patrick Jordan) is the boss’s son, a man with a quick temper who is fiercely jealous of anyone who looks at his bride (Jadi Galloway), identified only as “Curley’s wife.” Galloway’s character is already bored at the ranch and just wants someone to talk to, though she gives a seductive eye to everyone. Steinbeck considered her “not a person, she’s a symbol. She has no function, except to be a foil — and a danger to Lennie.”

David Guria, Jr. has the small role of Crooks (named for the crook in his back), who must live in his own small house because he is not able to live with the white ranch hands. Guria’s Crooks is bitter and cynical, but realistic, yet is fond of Lennie.

Others in the cast are Steve Mackay as The Boss, Scott Reese as Carlson (who kills Candy’s dog because he is old and stinky), and John Haine as Whit.

It is a shame that musicals get large audiences while excellent plays like this one don’t. “Of Mice and Men” is definitely an outstanding production and should be seen by anyone who appreciates good theater.

Alabaster

 

Do a Google search on “Alabaster,” the Audrey Cefaly play at Capital Stage, directed by Kristin Clippard, and you’ll get a list of “text words” to help describe it:

LGBTQ, PTSD, grief, recovery, alcoholism, same-sex relationships, natural disaster, Alabama tornado, farm life, goats …

Now, how, you wonder, does all that fit together into one play?

Surprisingly well. This is a very funny, but very dark comedy about two women, learning how to deal with the scars of life and begin to heal.

And it’s all narrated by a sassy goat.

“A play about suffering that cuts so deep — it also needs goats,” says Capital Stage literary manager Cathy Hardin.

There is a cast of four extraordinary actresses. Stephanie Altholz is June, a folk artist who lost her family in a tornado that destroyed their barn, ripped off the front porch of the house, and left June, the only survivor, scarred from head to toe. She has not left the house in over two years and spends all of her time painting.

Alice (Susan Maris) is a photographer who comes to the farm from New York to take pictures of June as part of a project of photographing scarred women for a book showing how really beautiful they are. She has her own traumas to deal with, following the recent death of her wife, who was four months pregnant with their first child.

And then there are the goats. Amy Kelly snuck over from B Street to make her Capital Stage debut. She is Weezy, the younger of the goats and it is explained that she speaks both English and goat. Her partner Bib (Janet Motenko) is an aging goat who only speaks goat.

Kelly is a talented comedic actress, whom I have watched play a host of characters, both human and animal. She has that certain je ne sais quois that she brings to everything she plays and this goat was a perfect role for her.

In California Stage’s “Italian Opera,” Motenko played several different very verbal characters. As Bib, the dying goat, she has little to do but sleep, and as she speaks only “goat,” she has no lines. Yet, Motenko presents a sympathetic character, whose dying days are eloquent, words or not. It is a beautiful performance.

As for the humans, kudos to costume/makeup designer Caitlin Cisek, who has created June’s scarred body, both burn scars on her legs and back and ribbed scars on her face.

June uses sarcasm, bitterness and isolation to protect her from her emotional scars, until a terrifying incident opens a crack in her wall and lets her open up to Alice. Altholz gives a riveting performance.

Altholz and Maris have wonderful chemistry together. Maris’ scars are more deeply hidden, but when June needs her, her raw emotional story is very moving.

The scenic design by Timothy McNamara, lighting design by Michael Palumbo and sound/projection design by Ed Lee make this a very believable story — and whoever painted June’s paintings was wonderful.

This is a show that will make you laugh and cry and cringe, but will make you very happy that Sacramento has such a professional theater that presents such wonderful productions.

Popcorn Falls

“Popcorn Falls,” the comedy currently at B Street Theatre, directed by Lyndsay Burch, is advertised to be “a side-splitting tour de force exploding with humor and heart!”

A small town in Michigan was playwright James Hindman’s inspiration for the show. The town was on the verge of bankruptcy until a theater opened. People responded and a couple of years later, the town had two theaters, a hotel and a restaurant jammed with people and the town was saved.

Popcorn Falls is a fictitious town whose tourist attraction is its namesake falls. When a corrupt politician turns off the falls to make it a sewage treatment facility, Mayor Trundle (Greg Alexander) discovers that the town will receive a sizeable sum of money if they can put on a play in a week. There’s only one problem — there is no theater, no play and no actors.

No problem, says Trundle, as he meets other members of the town to get a play produced, proving (as the synopsis in the opening monologue suggests) that “art can save the world.”

Alexander and Dave Pierini, two of B Street’s most popular actors, play more than 20 characters in this comedy, among them, Joe, a janitor; Becky, a bartender; Ms. Parker, the cat-loving town librarian; Floyd, the one-armed owner of the lumber yard; Mrs. Stepp, the chain-smoking middle school teacher and town vamp; and a bored teenager.

Unlike “Greater Tuna,” to which this comedy is often compared, there are no real “costume changes,” and each appearance of a character lasts only a few seconds. Pierini plays most of the characters by changing headgear, minor costume details, body language and accent in an eyeblink, while Alexander is the “straight man,” mostly the mayor and, briefly, one or two other characters.

The speed with which characters appear and disappear is both very funny, but also occasionally confusing since appearances occur so fast it’s sometimes difficult to keep the characters straight, though in the “plot” it hardly matters.

Nevertheless, it’s an amazing achievement, particularly for Pierini, and keeps the audience laughing throughout the 90-minute, one-act performance.

There’s even a kind of surprise ending, but I won’t give it away.

Dear Evan Hansen

 

“Dear Evan Hansen,” the current Broadway on Tour production, is perhaps the most visually exciting show you will see this year. The set is a cacophony of social media: big screens, little screens, vertical screens, horizontal screens, which practically fill the stage, slide in and out and up and down and play various things from text messages and tweets to Facebook entries, to photos and videos and even a penguin or two. It’s tour de force for scenic designer David Korins, projection designer Peter Nigrini and the crew that make it all work.

But the set is only the beginning of this 2017 Tony award winner for Best Musical, which is perhaps a testament to where theater may be going in the 21st century.

Evan Hansen (Stephen Christopher Anthony) is an isolated teenager longing to fit in. His arm is in a cast from, he explains, falling out of a tree on a summer job he was working, an incident which becomes more significant as the story progresses.

He is about to start a new school, is on medication and is regularly seeing a therapist, who suggests he write himself a letter every morning to talk about positive things that he expects to happen that day. His single mother Heidi (Jessica E. Sherman) cheerfully sends him off to school, with a suggestion that he have students sign his cast.

Things don’t go well, however, and the only student with whom he has an encounter is a guy named Conner (Noah Kieserman), who signs the cast with huge letters, and gets angry with Evan when he learns of the boy’s attraction to his sister. Three days later, Conner takes his own life, leaving his family bereft.

Anthony’s performance is astounding. He carries the show and has a couple of solos that are very moving, especially “You Will Be Found,” a message to every alienated person, and “Words Fail,” the ultimate apology song.

Connor’s family, father Larry (John Hemphill), mother Cynthia (Colleen Sexton) and daughter Zoe (Stephanie La Rochelle) are the perfect grieving family. Cynthia is distraught and missing her beloved child, Larry is confused and angry at his son and doesn’t know how to express his grief, Zoe is furious and won’t even talk about him. She calls him a monster. The lie Evan will eventually tell them ultimately brings the three of them together as a family.

Unsure what to say to a grieving family, Evan hints that he and Connor were friends and that simple lie, as lies often do, grows and grows until it encompasses not only the family and the school but ultimately the whole country, as Evan is asked to speak about Connor at a memorial service and his nervous speech (“You Will Be Found”) goes viral on the internet and results in a GoFundMe site to raise money to reopen an apple orchard in Connor’s memory.

Helping perpetuate his lie are Evan’s cousin Jared (Alessandro Costantini), who provides humor to the story, and a friend Alana (Ciara Alyse Harris), who becomes the zealous co-president of the Connor Murphy Project.

As the lie begins to unravel, everyone is affected, particularly Connor’s mother Heidi, who, realizing how miserable her son has been, has a particularly moving and show-stopping solo with “So Big/So Small.”

Loneliness, bullying and suicide may not seem like ingredients for a hit Broadway musical, but Dear Evan Hansen has struck a chord, especially with younger people.

The Burials

The Martin family members — from left, Ryan (Grey Turner), Sophie (Morgan Hendrix-Chupa)
and Chloe (Rebecca Hirsch) — mourn after a tragic event occurs at Sophie and Chloe's high school.

Acme Theatre Company is opening its 40th season with an excellent, powerful play called “The Burials,” by Caitlin Parish, directed by Emily Henderson.

In its 40-year history, Acme has never shied away from controversial subjects and this play about a school shooting and gun control delivers another compelling message that will have the audience talking when they leave the theater.

In fact, leaving the theater, I heard one group talking about how it was “the most real thing I’ve ever seen” and another sadly remarking that “this is the way things are now.”

The cast of nine are uniformly good, with Morgan Hendrix-Chupa outstanding as Sophie Martin, the daughter of Sen. Ryan Marin (Grey Turner), who is running for re-election.

The play is loosely based on the Greek tragedy “Antigone” by Sophocles, in which a desperate young woman single-handedly defies an unjust law in order to bury her brother, and is punished by being buried alive.

This is a multimedia presentation, with three large screens over the stage and TV cameras on either side. The middle screen is for YouTube videos of Ben Martin (Sam Cubbage), son of the senator, leading up to his decision to go on a shooting rampage in his school and end his own life. The one problem with the videos is that the sound needed to be louder; they were not always easy to hear.
Ben begins his shooting rampage on voting day, as his father is on television being interviewed by reporter Zoe Lucas (Jemima Aldas, who also plays one of the schoolteachers, Mrs. Souder). The ability to see each individually on the large screens was a wonderful idea.

The screens are also used to display the many twitter and email messages received by the Martins, condemning them following the shooting.

Turner is excellent as the politician/father, though the character is extremely unlikable. His feelings about his son are hard to accept, as a parent, and his treatment of his daughter, whom he has taught to think for herself, when she has her own strong feelings about the shooting and about her brother, is just downright cruel.

While there is no violence seen on stage, there are vivid descriptions of what happened. We hear of a pile of bodies and attempts to escape. Chloe Martin (Rebecca Hirsch), Sophie’s sister, also has stained knees from kneeling in someone’s blood. (Hirsch has problems projecting and much of her dialogue is lost).

Parish’s script tries to tackle too many subjects for one play. The Martin family must learn how to deal with Ben’s actions and their own grief, to ask how they might have helped Ben and how do they move forward, but, in addition, they argue about what can be done about gun control.

The girls return to school, and face ostracism from other students. Only Sophie’s friend Janette (Wren Arellano Calderon) remains positive and supportive of Sophie, though Sophie wants only to be alone. Janette, it turns out, is hiding anger issues of her own.

Janette’s boyfriend Jayden (Maya Bailey) is angry with Sophie and seems to blame her for his pain at the loss of friends. The fistfight among the four was done very well.

Brianna (Sara Su), a survivor of the shooting, seems to have the most reasonable feeling about the shooting and seems to understand Ben. Sadly, however, Su spoke very softly, and we missed most of her dialogue.

The only negative thing about this show is that there were so few people in the audience. This is an excellently acted play with an important message and I hope that more people will come to see it.

Pump Boys and Dinettes

 

Any show with a tap-dancing accordion player has got to be fun.

“Pump Boys and Dinettes” by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann is now on Sacramento Theatre Company’s Pollock stage. This is a 1982 Tony-award-nominated musical written by a performing group of the same name. It became Chicago’s longest-running theater production for many years.

This concert-style musical centers around the story of four men — L.M., Jim, Eddie and Jackson — who work at a gas station and two sisters, Rhetta and Prudie Cupp, who work at a diner called the Double Cupp-all in an isolated, small-town road stop somewhere between Frog Level and Smyrna, N.C.

The show was conceived when two of the writers (Wann and Hardwick) were playing music in a restaurant in New York City and wrote of their experiences in the restaurant.

As Jim Wann said in a 2010 interview, “I was a scuffling songwriter/guitarist and Mark Hardwick was a piano player/actor … Mark and I were unemployed and happy to take a job playing five nights a week in the Cattleman Lounge, attached to a restaurant on one of the darker blocks west of Grand Central. Our mission was to play country standards to entertain the ‘tired businessman’ who had come for the drinks, the steaks, and the waitresses in classic Western saloon girl attire.”

On slow nights, they would play original music, gradually adding costumes, which gave them the look of guys who worked in a gas station.

This is more a stand-alone story tied together with music, but it spotlights each of the characters: Jim (Sam C. Jones), L.M. (Brady Wease), Jackson (Darrell Johnston), Rhetta (Rebecca Mason), Prudie (Sidney Raey-Gonzales) and Eddie (Michael LaPlante).  The men are postponing working on Uncle Bob’s Winnebago by singing, they say.

As for the girls, they spend their time baking pies and flirting with the men.

Each of the performers gets his or her turn to shine. LaPlante, as Eddie, sings a loving song about his beloved grandmother, whose photo hangs on the wall. Johnston rocks out to “Mona,” Wease brings down the house with his Dolly Parton memory. The women stand out in their song “The Best Man” about “the one who got away.”

The charismatic Jones, who is sort of the MC of the show, stands out in each of the songs in which he is featured.

While this does not sound like much of a show, the 20 high-spirited country-rock tunes make this a concert rather than a real musical play, and many have the audience clapping along while the girls dance in the audience. Some highlights include “T.N.D.P.W.A.M.” (“The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine”) by L.M., “Tips” by the girls, and a Menu Song. There is even a raffle for someone in the audience to win a new car … air freshener.

Scenic designer Andrew Fiffick has managed to create a complex set in the tiny Pollock theater, with half of the set in the garage and the other half in the restaurant. Costume designer Jessica Minnihan get stars for L.M.’s costume for the Dolly Parton number.

Director/choreographer Abbey Campbell has created a look that is special, with all of the musical numbers as precise and crisp as a military parade.

This show aspires to be nothing but a fun evening, to show off the talents of the cast. Add to that a collection of toe-tapping music and you have a show that will appeal to an audience.

Sister Act

“Sister Act,” the new show at the Woodland Opera House, directed by Jason Hammond, is an absolute delight from start to finish.

Based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg movie, the stage show adds music by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater. The musical turns the story-with-music movie into a musical-with-story stage show. I missed some of the story of the nuns venturing out of the convent and into the community, but the musical numbers are so much fun, it makes up for it.

Woodland has amazing talent in the cast. Deborah Hammond is Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer under the thumb of her gangster boyfriend Curtis (David Ewey), who witnesses a murder he commits. Fearing her life is in danger, Deloris reports to police officer “Sweaty” Eddie (Erik Catalan), who remembers Deloris from high school and hides her in a local convent under the name Sister Mary Clarence.

Hammond is magnificent with a strong voice, captivating personality and quick comedic timing. Each of the 10 numbers in which she is featured is wonderful. Over the course of the two-hour show, she goes through a transformative process that makes her reevaluate her priorities.

The role of Mother Superior has been expanded from the movie version, and how lucky we are for that. Lenore Sebastian is vocally every bit Hammond’s equal. Mother Superior is frustrated with having to hide a woman of whom she does not approve, who is such a disruption to her quiet convent. Her anguished “I Haven’t Got a Prayer,” trying to ask God for guidance, was a standout.

To give her something to do, Mother Superior puts Sister Mary Clarence in the tone-deaf choir, a group so discordant it has driven parishioners away. With the addition of a real musician, the choir shapes up quickly and becomes so popular the church is filled again, though Mother Superior is shocked by the modern twist to some of the beloved hymns.

But Monsignor O’Hara (David Cross) is pleased with the popularity of the choir, which has removed the danger of having to close the church for lack of congregation.

Sister Mary Patrick had a somewhat larger role in the movie, but Judith Boreham still brings her personality out beautifully, and Jadi Galloway, as the postulant Sister Mary Robert, is shy and retiring, but when she comes out of her shell, she displays a wonderful, rich voice. Her “The Life I Never Led” was quite poignant.

Catalan also has a powerful voice and his Act 2 costume gets the biggest laugh of the night (kudos to Denise Miles and Kathy Dixon).

Gangsters Joey (Spencer Alexander), Pablo (Miles Meckling) and TJ (Michael Davis Smith) get laughs in “Lady in the Long Black Dress,” as they describe how their manly charms will affect the nuns and help them find Deloris.

With Deloris safe, the show ends gloriously, with the nuns in Vegas-worthy habits, receiving a well-deserved tumultuous standing ovation

The Drowsy Chaperone

Aldolpho (Brian McCann), seduces The Drowsy Chaperone (Chris Cay Stewart) as,
in Davis Musical Theatre Company's musical comedy production,
“The Drowsy Chaperone,” on stage through Jan. 26 at the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center.

The most celebrated musical of the 2006 Broadway season, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a completely original musical comedy, opened this week at the Davis Musical Theatre Company, celebrating its 35th year of musicals. The show is directed and choreographed by Kyle Jackson, also listed as co-musical director.

The show had its beginnings in 1997 when several friends created a spoof of old musicals for a stag party. It was so successful that it was reshaped for a theatrical performance and presented at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Over several versions, it finally opened on Broadway in May of 2006, where it won five Tony awards.

The character of “Man in Chair” opens the show, sitting in the dark, musing about his feelings for theater. He thinks of his favorite show, the 1928 fictional “The Drowsy Chaperone” and pulls out the original cast recording to play it for the audience. He reads, “Mix-ups, mayhem and a gay wedding,” then laughs “of course the phrase ‘gay wedding’ has a different meaning now. But back then it just meant ‘fun’ and that’s all this is — fun,”

As the music plays, the characters appear on stage, lights come up on the set, and the show begins, with Man in Chair providing a running commentary on the plot, the characters, and the actors who played them.

This show is a salute to those old 1920s musicals that were light on plot and heavy on comedy.
DMTC has the perfect cast to bring this show to life. Scott Minor as “Man in Chair” is wonderful. Just the kind of lonely theater queen you’d imagine. He is particularly good when the attention is on other parts of the stage and he is supposedly just listening to his record. His facial expressions are spot on.

Fans of DMTC’s Mary Young must see her turn as Mrs. Tottendale, the eccentric widow who is hosting the wedding of starlet Janet van de Graaff (Aimee Rose Santone) and Robert Martin (A.J. Rooney). Neither of them is completely certain they are ready for marriage.

Rooney has a great show-stopping tap number, “Cold Feets,” danced with his best man George (Hugo Figueroa)

Santone has her own turn to shine in “Show Off,” where Janet explains to the press, and others assembled, why she is giving up the stage for good. “I don’t want to show off no more,” all the while showing off for the cameras.

Steve Isaacson is Feldzieg, the harried producer of Janet’s show, who hired Adolpho (Brian McCann), a Latin lover, to discourage Janet from giving up the stage. McCann’s performance is over-the-top and hilarious, especially when he mistakes the Chaperone (Chris Cay Stewart) for the bride. Stewart is an Ethel Merman-like belter whose Chaperone is fond of her little flask and who gives Janet no real advice about whether or not to marry Robert, but merely explains how she has gotten through life by “stumbling along.”

Joe Alkire is great fun as Underling, the butler, who serves everyone in this Prohibition-era comedy “ice water,” which results in a very funny scene between himself and Mrs. Tottendale.

Andrea Bourquin is delightful as Kitty, the chorine with her eye on the prize, to be a leading lady if she gets her shot when Janet leaves the show. She has some of the most dazzling costumes (thanks to costumer Jean Henderson).

Tomas Eredia and Anna Cutshall are gangsters disguised as bakers sent to threaten Feldzieg if he is unsuccessful in thwarting Janet’s wedding plans, but it seems the worst they can do is exchange a lot of puns about baking.

Act 2 begins with a decidedly unpolitically correct number “Message from a Nightingale,” for which Man in Chair apologizes because it’s actually from a different musical. Be prepared for lyrics like “What is it about Asians that fascinates Caucasians … is it the won ton? The egg rolls? The rice?” It is a funny, if mildly offensive, take on “The King and I.”

Marika Rogers has a small, but pivotal role as Trix, the aviatrix, at the end of the show, with an impressive special effect.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a funny bit of escapist theater, which will be as enjoyable to the audience as it seems to be to the cast.

The Wizard of Oz

The land of Oz has gone high tech, in the B Street production of “The Wizard of Oz,” adapted by Lyndsay Burch.   

Gone is the drab Kansas farmhouse and the evil bicycle-riding Miss Gulch.  In this adaptation, Dorothy (Tiffanie Mack) is a video game designer, building a virtual reality Oz game for a holiday release date.  But they have discovered a few glitches and Dorothy must enter the game to find and fix them.  The performance itself, when I saw it, had a few technical glitches of its own that the cast handled smoothly.

Thanks to the Los Angeles-based guest scenic and video designer Kamyi Lee, an exciting digital world has been created, complete with a digital Toto.       

Scary Dave Pierini eats up the scenery as the Wicked Witch of the West, Amy Kelly was the logical choice for the Cowardly Lion, the kind of role that she does so well.  Sam Kebede is the boneless Scarecrow, Greg Alexander is the Tin Man and John Lamb is the Wizard.  Each actor, except for Mack,  has at least one other role which must be most difficult for Elisabeth Nunziato, having to switch from Glinda to Aunt Em in an eyeblink at the end of the show.

But there’s no place like home, and Dorothy is able to fix the video game and return to her office in time for Christmas.

The show is geared for all ages from 5 up and is great fun for adults too. The kids like being included in several spots and love the chase scenes throughout the theater.

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley

When friends Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon decided to take a six-hour drive from San Francisco to Ashland, the two Jane Austen fans began to conceive a post “Pride and Prejudice” plot that resulted in two delightful Christmas-themed plays. For the last two years, Capital Stage has presented “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.” Now comes its sequel, “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley.”

For “Downton Abbey” fans, “The Wickhams” may at first take a little getting used to. For one thing, it’s the Jane Austen version of “Upstairs, Downstairs,” though this sequel takes place downstairs and features a housekeeper who has all the stern authority of Mr. Carson from Downton, while actress Stephanie McVay’s “Mrs Reynolds” looks more like Mrs. Patmore, the Downton head cook.

Those who saw last year’s “Miss Bennet” will recognize that we are seeing what happened downstairs before action appears on stage “upstairs.” For example, footman Brian (Noah Thompson) carries a big fir tree into the servants’ quarters, to put in the upstairs library as a surprise for Mr. Darcy (Rob Salas). The decorated tree in the library, a new German fad, was a big part of “Miss Bennet.”

Directed by Peter Mohrmann, this show moves at a fast pace, sometimes dizzyingly fast, with so many characters entering and exiting. But there is never a dull moment.

Brittini Barger is returning for the third time to play Lizzy Darcy, who has settled into her role as the lady of Pemberley, and knows how to keep things as calm as possible even when a crisis arises.
Melissa Brausch plays sister Lydia, a flighty, flirty airhead, there without her husband George (Colin Sphar), about whom she raves, but obviously things are not right. Plus Mr. Darcy has given strict orders that George is not to enter the house, though he crashes the party anyway.

Both Brausch and Sphar are making their Capital Stage debuts. While both are excellent and a wonderful addition to the company, Sphar stood out from most of the cast and was outstanding. He has a scene with Salas as Darcy, which may be the most powerful of the evening.

This being a Christmas play, there has to be a romance in there somewhere and, in this case, it’s footman and would-be inventor Brian with newly hired maid Cassie (Kate Morton), friends since childhood, who are beginning to feel those stirrings and will they? Won’t they? Cassie has a more 21st-century idea of love, however, and trains Brian how to treat a woman he likes, which includes really listening to her. “Love is about seeing someone and allowing them to be exactly as they are.”

While this is a thoroughly enjoyable pastiche, there is just something “missing.” Perhaps the plot goes by too quickly to really get emotionally involved in some of the major issues, perhaps the comings and goings are too many and too quick. I don’t know. I didn’t feel as fulfilled as I did after “Miss Bennet,” though I certainly enjoyed myself and I really wanted to steal some of those cookies they ate all through the show and left on the table at its conclusion.

A Christmas Carol

 

As important as Bing Crosby Christmas carols are to my enjoyment of the holiday season is the Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” particularly with Matt K. Miller, playing the role of Scrooge this year for the eighth time.

This musical was commissioned by STC 32 years ago, written by Richard Hellesen with music by David de Berry, and has been an audience favorite ever since. This year’s production is directed by Michael Laun and Miranda D. Lawson (who also plays Mrs. Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig).
There are 35 named characters in the show and 39 actors, many of whom do more than one role and alternate with other actors throughout the run of the show.

The success of any production of “A Christmas Carol” is Ebenezer Scrooge himself, the miserly grump who finds holidays a “humbug” and just an excuse to steal money from employers by employees who take the day off to celebrate with their families, yet still expect a salary.

I have reviewed four of Miller’s eight performances. He just gets better and better. He has perfected the moments when the curmudgeon has a positive thought because of something he is shown. His absolute childish glee at the end, realizing that he has not missed Christmas after all is infectious, and his affection for Tiny Tim (Leo Bettinger, sharing the role with Kit Bettinger and David Ngirmidol) brings tears to the eyes.

In several reviews from previous years, I have complained about the reverberation used for the ghosts and I will complain again this year. Jacob Marley (Eric Wheeler) and the ghost of Christmas Past (Olivia Stevenson) were so reverberated as to make most of their dialog unintelligible, particularly bad for Wheeler, who gave an over the top dramatic performance that was lost due to reverb distortion. There was only minor reverb for the Ghost of Christmas Present (the effusive Ryan Blanning), and it was lovely to be able to hear him so clearly.

Blanning also plays an enthusiastic Fezziwig, Scrooge’s first employer, who makes working so enjoyable by the way he treats his employees. It makes the Scrooge of today have passing thoughts of how he treats his own clerk, Bob Cratchit (Mike DiSalvo).

Lexie Allison is a warm and loving Fan (Scrooge’s sister). She shares the role with Isabella Hernandez. The role of Ebenezer the child is shared by Lorenzo Lopez and Miller Traum. Sadly, I missed which actor played it on opening night, but he was quite good.

Griffith Munn plays Scrooge as a young man, in love with Belle (Maddy Grace Wood, who alternates with Elysia Martinez).

Devin Weiser is a street singer, who fills in many “change the scenery” spots. What a beautiful, clear voice she has. Lucy Lederer and Cara McIntyre share the role of the beggar child whom Scrooge attacks in his curmudgeon days.

The set by Renee Degarmo and Jarrod Bodensteiner is a wonder, with large pieces that roll or rotate while actors walk them telling the Dickens story, morphing into the characters singing the songs about the story. The smoothness of the transitions is due in large part to the lighting design of Jordan Burkholder, who directs the audience to one side of the stage while the technicians are quietly changing the scenery on the other side.

Costumes by Jessica Minnihan are lush, especially in party scenes, though I did wonder why so many of the guests at Fezziwig’s party were wearing glasses when there did not seem to be any other scene where glasses were so prevalent.

Charles Dickens described the holidays as “a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

As we move forward through this holiday season may we, like Scrooge, take those words to heart and be a little more kind, a little more forgiving, and a little more loving toward those around us.

Sacramento Theater Company’s “A Christmas Carol” is a 32-year-old Sacramento tradition and should be on everyone’s list of things to do to enhance their holiday spirit.

Coney Island Christmas

The theatrical Christmas season is already in full swing and now comes “Coney Island Christmas” by Pulitzer-prize winner Donald Margulies, presented by the Winters Theatre Company, directed by Anita Ahuja. The play, written in 2012, is based on a short story (“The Loudest Voice”) by Grace Paley.

This is a cast of nine adults and 14 children, who play 47 different parts, including, Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, Santa Claus, Ebenezer Scrooge, the ghost of Christmas past, Miles Standish, King Herod, a tribe of Indians, the Statue of Liberty and a bearded lady. It’s lots of fun and not nearly as chaotic as it sounds.

Great grandmother Shirley (Gail Finney), trying to convince her great-granddaughter Clara (Amelia Doran) to put down her cell phone, tells her the story of the first school play she was in, in depression-era Brooklyn. The bulk of this production is the story of that play, with Shirley continuing to narrate. She paints a vivid picture of the time, with the smells and sounds she remembers fondly.
Isadora Harris, who receives deserved applause for her solo bow at the end of the show (she is wonderful) plays the young Shirley, a Jewish girl who loves theater and is cast as Jesus in the school Christmas play. She is cast for her loudmouth voice, which she is unafraid to use.

While her father, Mr. Abramowitz (Trent Beeby), a shopkeeper, is proud and supportive of his daughter, her mother (Alexis Velasquez) is appalled that Shirley has been cast to play Jesus in a Christian pageant.

“We let our Shirley play Jesus, then what?” she asks. “She becomes a nun?” (I was waiting for someone to point out to the mother that Jesus was Jewish, but nobody ever does).
The Harris family is well-represented in this cast as, in addition to Isadora, brothers Arlo and Abner are also in the cast. Five-year-old Abner, with a feather in his hair as an Indian, is easily the cutest kid on stage.

The school play is directed by Mr. Hilton (Scott Schwerdtfeger) and Miss Glacé (Cameron Toney) and the play itself is as endearingly inept as you’d expect a grammar school play to be.

Bridget O’Flaherty plays grouchy Mrs. Kornblum, a customer of Mr. Abramowitz’ store. She also joins with Robert Payawal and Jennifer Rutherford as a Christmas caroler.

Rachel Rominger is a proud Statue of Liberty, reciting the Emma Lazarus poem, sadly appropriate at the moment.

Set design and construction by a dozen company members is an ingeniously simple way to create a home, a school, a store and the school interior, with simple fold-out walls. The timeline is set by sale signs for things like chicken at 25 cents a pound or potatoes 20 pounds for 25 cents.

Costumes by Germaine Hupe and other regulars are fine, though I do think Shirley’s bushy beard was too big for her face. It made her unrecognizable and masked even her loud voice.

This is a truly delightful production, like going to your kid’s Christmas play, with the chance to enjoy watching how it comes together.

Threepenny Opera

“The Threepenny Opera” was written in 1923 by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, and based on John Gay’s “Beggar’s Opera” (1728). First performed in Germany in 1928, it had poor reception, though it eventually became a success.

In this country, it was introduced as a film in 1931, and then a Broadway production, which opened in 1933 but closed after only 12 performances, though it had been translated into 18 different languages and performed more than 10,000 times on European stages. At least five Broadway and off-Broadway productions have been mounted, including a 2006 production starring Alan Cumming as Macheath, Cyndi Lauper as Jenny and a cast of drag performers.

Now, it is being produced on the main stage at UC Davis, directed by Peter Lichtenfels and Regina Maria Gutierrez Bermudez. Even though “opera” is in the title, it is perhaps mostly musical theater, with bits of opera included.

While most musical numbers are unknown, the song “Mack the Knife” became a popular standard and a No. 1 hit for Bobby Darin.

The directors and scenic designer Ian Wallace have chosen to present the full stage, the middle of which is the actual play while the two sides are for set pieces, costumes and relaxing for actors waiting to go on — all visible to the audience.

Behind the stage are two huge screens onto which are projected the action on each of the side portions of the stage. Director Lichtenfels explains, “We are interested in looking at how the actors don’t enter the stage as characters but transform onstage into characters.”

The storyline is a study of criminality at all levels and while characters unapologetically sing songs about the fact that the misery human beings inflict on each other is the foundation of our society, they continue to participate wholeheartedly in that corruption.

Diego Martinez-Campos is Macheath, London’s most notorious criminal. He has a booming voice that could use a little modulation as his opening notes fill the theater, to be followed by notes so soft you can barely hear them.

Toward the beginning, he marries Polly Peachum (Chloe Wasil) the daughter of Celia Peachum (Sophie Brubaker) and J.J. Peachum (Tiffany Nwogu), controller of all the beggars in London. Furious that his daughter would run off with a criminal, Peachum initiates a manhunt for him and vows to see that he is hanged.

Wasil has a beautiful voice and is so innocent throughout, while Brubaker easily steals any scene she is in, if only by her facial expressions. Nwogu’s Peachum is the most powerful character in the play.
Peachum’s plans for Macheath are frustrated by Tiger Brown (William Jiang), the London chief of police and long-time friend of the criminal. Jiang has a wonderful voice for a biomedical engineer.
Others in the cast include Brown’s daughter Lucy (Katie Halls) who claims to be Macheath’s real wife, with irrefutable proof of that fact, Olivia Coca as Jenny Diver, the prostitute who helps in Macheath’s capture and Angelita Sanchez, as Filch, a beggar-in-training.

The story describes the injustice of the capitalist system, where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and where everything and everyone has a price. How does our society treat people not in our social level? Do we have empathy for beggars, whores and prostitutes? Though nearly 100 years old, the questions are still appropriate today.

Gypsy

Editor’s note: After this review was written, DMTC announced it was allowed to return to its building and, starting Friday, Nov. 15, all remaining performances of ‘Gypsy,’ will be at its home theater, the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center, 607 Peña Drive, Suite 10, in Davis, and will still be free of charge.

“The show must go on” — and go on it did for Davis Musical Theatre Company, shut out of its theater by a structural problem during rehearsal for the upcoming production of “Gypsy,” directed and choreographed by Jan Isaacson.

Rehearsing first at Christ Church of Davis, and then performing at the University Covenant Church, the group had only an hour to grab costumes — so some of the costumes for the show came from the actors’ own wardrobes (though thankfully the most important costumes were collected). Likewise, there were no sets built at the time, but set pieces like tables and chairs created the proper look. John Stover is credited with the design of a car.

The show is being performed for free because it’s not the way it should be and this has got to be the best bargain in town. There’s nothing that feels “stripped down” in this production and it proves that when you have excellent actors, the audience can easily adapt to no sets and imperfect costumes.

This is the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, written by Arthur Laurents with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. But the principal character is Mama Rose, a militant stage mother who runs the lives of her children.

The show, which opened on Broadway in 1959, featured Ethel Merman in the role of Rose. It’s a huge role, with nine songs, most of which are real “belters.” There are echoes of Merman in the performance of Rachel Hoover, a terrific belter herself. She owns the role; each of her numbers is a standout.

Gillian Cubbage and Sage Greenwood are the young “Baby June,” and “Baby Louise,” two girls who don’t really want to be in show business, but who can’t say no to their overbearing mother.

Arianna Manabat is the adult Louise, ignored by her mother in favor of her more talented sister June (Maeve Kelly) until June secretly marries Tulsa (Eli Martinez), one of the chorus boys, and runs off with him.

Rose, whose dream is to make her daughter a star, concentrates on the untalented Louise, who finds her talent when forced to do a strip number in burlesque because they need the money. It’s a beautiful moment when Louise first sees herself in the mirror and realizes that she’s pretty. The rest is history. Gypsy Rose Lee became the most popular stripper in burlesque.

Nathan Lacy gives a good performance as the eternally faithful Herbie, who gives up a career in sales to help manage June. He is deeply in love with Rose and puts up with a lot for many years, but finally gives up when Rose postpones their wedding to encourage the reluctant Louise to strip.

A highlight of the show is “Ya Gotta Get a Gimmick” where three strippers, Tessie Tura (Barbara Silver), Electra (Heidi Masem) and Rene (Dannette Vassar) give Louise tips on what it takes to be successful. (Monina Reeves is credited with the costumes for this number.) Fans of Vassar have never seen her like this and even if the rest of the show weren’t so good, this alone is worth seeing.

Though it probably should not be, this is an excellent production and proves what dedication to putting on a show can create. (When you enter that huge room, remember that every single one of those chairs have to be put up and taken down by members of the company — so their work does not end with the curtain call!)

If you’ve never been to DMTC, this is your chance to see what it’s like — for free. It’s the best deal you’ll get all year.

Deathtrap

 

There are some serious problems with trying to review the play “Deathtrap” by Ira Levin (who gave us “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Stepford Wives,” among others). The play holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway. First produced in 1978, it was nominated for that year’s Tony Award for Best Play. In 1982, the play was adapted into a movie starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon. While a few of the jokes seem dated, overall the script holds up well.

There’s nothing wrong with Sacramento Theatre Company’s production, directed by Michael Laun, which is excellent, and the five-character cast is a strong ensemble. The problem is that the show is so full of twists and turns that to talk about any of them would be to spoil the fun for someone new to the play.

Billed as a “comedy thriller,” it is more thriller than comedy and has surprises, plot twists and shocking moments that make the audience gasp — all combined to make for a great evening’s entertainment.

The story begins as writer Sidney Bruhl (Casey McClellan), who is in the middle of a slump — his last four plays have flopped and he is living off his wealthy wife Myra (Natasha Hause) — receives a script of a new play written by one of his students, his first play.

The script is perfect. It has everything to make it a Broadway success and Sidney begins to speculate about how he could convince the student, Clifford Anderson (Dan Fagan) to let him “polish” it, with the thought that he could share in the proceeds — or, better, steal the script entirely and publish it as his own.

As he plots and plans, Myra becomes worried that he will actually kill his student and isn’t quite sure if she’s happy or upset about it. She spends a lot of time pacing and wringing her hands, growing more and more upset. Hause gives a convincing performance, but the more nervous her character gets, the faster she speaks and it is sometimes difficult to understand what she is saying.

McClellan, on the other hand, is powerful and sometimes downright frightening, especially when he paces angrily inches from the front row of the audience. His performance is memorable.
The comic element is provided by neighbor Helga Ten Dorp (Gail Dartez), a madcap psychic, who visits because she senses something painful is about to happen (“tonight, not in many years have I had such a feeling”).

Fagan as Clifford also gives an excellent performance as this complicated character. Clifford is not quite as innocent as we originally think.

Greg Parker is fine as the lawyer Porter Milgrim, who has his own embarrassing secrets, revealed at the end.

Scenic designer Tim McNamara has built a beautiful set filled with hints of what is to come. The thunder and lightning by lighting designer Sarah Winter sync perfectly with the action on stage and add a few more cringe-worthy moments for the audience.

This is a fun night of theater. Go and bring a friend so you have someone to discuss the plot with — but don’t tell anybody else and spoil it for them.

A Christmas Story

How do you make a favorite Christmas movie even better? Add music to it. It doesn’t always work, but it does for the current production of Broadway on Tour.

From the moment the colorful title curtain rises, revealing the home of the Parker family, the musical version of the 1983 film, “A Christmas Story,” adapted from the writings of the radio personality Jean Shepherd (Chris Carsten), is a delight. The story now comes with an often catchy score by the young songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Broadway on Tour usually performs at the Sacramento Community Theater, but the theater is undergoing an extensive renovation and so this season is being performed at the nearby Memorial Auditorium.

“A Christmas Story” is a fast-paced, lively story that sticks pretty close to the movie. There are 11 grammar-school-aged children in the cast and all are excellent actors, singers and dancers.
Ian Shaw has the role of Ralphie, alternating with Tommy Druhan. He is amazing and his solos bring thunderous applause.

William Colin is brother Randy, who doesn’t have much to say but when he gets out of his snowsuit, we find out that he is a talented tap dancer who brings down the house.

Briana Gantsweg is Ralphie’s mother, a somewhat Stepford-like stereotypical mom of the 1940s, but her poignant song about “What a Mother Does” was beautiful and will hit the heart of any mother in the audience.

Christopher Swan is “The Old Man,” pretty inept at handyman work, but diligent at entering crossword puzzle contests and thrilled when he actually wins “a major award” (unaware that his wife supplied most of the answers for him). It doesn’t matter how weird the award is — it proves he is now a “winner.”

The famous “leg lamp” prize is even funnier when it becomes the subject of a great dance number.
Special mention goes to Hoss and Stella, who play the “Bumpus Hounds” who chase The Old Man across the stage a few times.

Jay Hendrix, as Flick, does a great job keeping his tongue stuck on a flagpole outside the school for an entire scene.

Lauren Kent is Ralphie’s teacher, Miss Shields, who sheds her schoolmarm clothes and dons a hot red dress in a great dance number with Randy as part of Ralphie’s fantasy.

Having been written in 1983, bits of the story are somewhat dated. It is kind of cringe-worthy, for example, to hear Ralphie sing about all the reasons he wants a BB gun, one of which is to protect his teacher in case someone with a gun comes into the school. Oh, the innocent days when this was funny, and not a real concern.

Directed efficiently by Matt Lenz, with choreography by Warren Carlyle, this is a collage of childhood snapshots taken from the exciting month before Christmas, when children dream of a big haul from Santa Claus, even if their desires might “shoot their eye out.”

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!