Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Review: LUCKY STIFF, a To-Die-For Madcap Musical Comedy
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| L-R: Brandon Parrish, David Atkinson, Gina D’Acciaro, Vito Viscuso, Jose Villarreal, Selah Victor, and Alastair James Murden. All photos by Michael Lamont |
Before Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty teamed up for iconic works like Ragtime, Once on this Island, and their current Broadway hit Anastasia, they wrote a crazy little musical called Lucky Stiff. It was their first collaboration and, though it never made it to Broadway, it won the pair a Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre and launched a 30-year partnership that has helped shape the genre ever since.
It may not have been their biggest success but it was quirky and fresh, and had a unique kind of boisterous charm that audiences loved. The musical is based on Michael Butterworth’s novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo about a nervous young shoe salesman named Harry Witherspoon (Brandon Parrish) who has never done anything exciting in his life. He’s unlucky in love and tormented by neighborhood dogs. Harry can’t seem to catch a break.
But when a rich uncle he’s never met dies and leaves him six million dollars, it appears Harry’s luck is about to change. The catch: he must take his dead uncle – now embalmed and sitting in a wheelchair – to Monte Carlo for one last adventure. Should he choose not to take him, or not to observe the detailed instructions his uncle has dictated for the trip, the money will instead go to The Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. Horrors.
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| L-R: Claire Adams, Alastair James Murden, Brandon Parrish and Vito Viscuso |
So Harry quits his job and sets out on a vacation that takes one unexpected turn after another until the show’s hilarious conclusion. You picture going on a swanky vacation to Monte Carlo with a corpse in tow that you have to pass off as alive. And if that’s not enough, it’s the eighties. Things are going to get big, including Harry’s troubles.
Other than a couple of student productions, the show has rarely been produced in Los Angeles but you can see it now through June 18th at Actors Co-op in Hollywood – and you should. Director Stephen Van Dorn turns this lively song and dance musical into the perfect pick-me-up after a long and exhausting week. It’s full of laughs, intrigue, and mischief, plus a colorful cast of goofy characters who nimbly move in and out of the story. Light and frothy as champagne-spiked cotton candy, you can’t beat it for a good time.
Lucky Stiff isn’t an easy musical to stage. It requires multiple changes of location, often within the lyric of a song or single scene, so creative use of space is a must. Van Dorn smartly plays into the silliness of the plot and solves the dilemma of world travel on a small stage by thinking like a kid. Underwater adventures accompanied by cast members blowing soap bubbles, and a trombone that stands in as the voice of a wife at the other end of a dramatic phone call, are two of many delightful touches that add an element of surprise to the show. Lex Gernon’s breezy set design is a versatile backdrop.
It’s also the kind of musical a cast of character actors can dig into and shine, especially as capable a group as this one. Many of them play multiple roles – dogs, gangsters, assorted international travelers, oddball hotel staff, old biddies, even Hare Krishnas – and with each switch they get funnier and funnier. Gina D’Acciaro’s nosy landlady is only outdone by her bulldog, which is only outdone by her shaky Miss Thorsby, which is only outdone by her drunk maid. Girl can belt too. If she ever announces a one woman show, it’ll be the hottest ticket in town.
It’s easy to root for Brandon Parrish who plays Harry, the underdog-turned-accidental-leading man. He blossoms from frustrated loser into a charming romantic as the story unfolds and Parrish navigates the character’s journey swimmingly. His “I Want” Song – “Mr. Witherspoon’s Friday Night” is quirky and fun, and like many of Ahrens & Flaherty’s songs, full of unusual syncopations and changing time signatures that add an appropriately off-kilter color to the show.
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| Brandon Parrish and Claire Adams |
The other half of the developing romance is Annabel Glick (Claire Adams). All work and no play, it is her home for dogs that will benefit from Harry’s inheritance if he can’t fulfill the requirements of his uncle’s will so she follows him everywhere hoping to catch him making a mistake. The winsome Adams gets the best love song of the show, “Times Like These,” underplayed to perfection and a definite highlight.
On the flip side, Rory Patterson has found her role of a lifetime in Rita LaPorta, the gun-toting girlfriend of the deceased who wants Harry’s fortune for herself. The trap is to play her big and loud, but Patterson makes sure this Jersey girl is also likably insecure. She sidesteps what could be a caricature and instead creates a sympathetic and unusually funny broad. Devil’s in the details and this cast is full of surprises.
Musical director Taylor Stephenson does an excellent job of punctuating the musical irregularities in the score and you can understand every word that is sung. Julie Hall’s choreography fits the caper nicely and includes an absurd tango, an opening production number with the cast literally dancing over the dead man’s body, and plenty of movement-driven bits integrated into both the dialogue and the songs.
A long chase scene slows down the second act after intermission but the pace eventually recovers when the pieces of the puzzle start to come together. In the end, it’s a no-brainer. Everyone gets what they deserve in this to-die-for madcap musical comedy. Go for the laughs. Stay for the fun.
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| Clockwise: Rory Patterson, Jose Villarreal, Alastair James Murden, Brandon Parrish (center), David Atkinson, Brian Habicht, and Selah Victor |
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| Rory Patterson and Brian Habicht |
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| Alastair James Murden |
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| Brian Habicht, Gina D’Acciaro, Rory Patterson, Alastair James Murden, Brandon Parrish, David Atkinson, Claire Adams, Jose Villarreal, and Selah Victor |
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| L-R: Gina D’Acciaro, Selah Victor, Brandon Parrish, Alastair James Murden, and Jose Villarreal |
LUCKY STIFF
May 10 – June 18, 2017
Actors Co-op
1760 N. Gower Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
www.actorsco-op.org
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Labels: actors co-op
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
MUSICAL NEWS for Tuesday, May 9, 2017
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Labels: a classic broadway, actors co-op, after hours theatre company, ebony rep, hollywood bowl, musical theatre guild, robot teammate
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Review: Actors Co-op's The Baker's Wife
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| The company of The Baker's Wife. Photos by Lindsay Schnebly |
Yes, it’s true. “Too much truth can be hard to digest.” By the time those words are spoken in the second act of The Baker’s Wife it’s been made painfully clear that everyone in this provincial French village needs a healthy dose of reality.
It’s 1935 and the only baker in town has died. What a tragedy for these unfortunate townspeople who have been forced to exist without the comfort of their croissants and baguettes for weeks. When we meet them at the top of the show, they are squabbling incessantly over the stupidest things. In fact, two of them don’t even know why they fight, but their fathers and grandfathers did before them so they’ve continued the feud like lemmings. (Sounds like a lot of the world, right?)
You’d think that when a new baker arrives in town they would all stop arguing and be happy to have their bread at last but even when they get what they want, they still don’t stop bickering. The moral of the story will come late in the day. Until then, get ready for a hefty dose of chauvinism among men who treat their wives like dirt and women who pretend it doesn’t matter. It’s a town that makes a poor case for marriage, but then again, if any of them actually responded to each other with honesty and respect there would be no need to tell this fable so on we go.
When the new baker (Greg Baldwin) arrives with his pretty young wife (Chelle Denton) we see that even they have adopted a false reality to keep up appearances. We learn a little about them but not enough to really become invested in their situation. A handsome young man (Nick Echols) will convince her to run away with him but even that is a false reality she will come to regret.
The musical is based on Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono’s French film La Femme de Boulanger, adapted by Joseph Stein (book) and Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics), here directed by Richard Israel, an expert in staging intimate musicals with precision and charm. He does that again with this production but because the tale is a basic one stretched out over more stage time than it really needs to tell the story, the success of the show rests with the actors’ ability to offer emotional depth that isn’t written on the page. Among this set of players that ability is inconsistent, and since more time is spent on the townspeople’s irritating behavior rather than the plight of its leading players, it becomes tiresome. Still, the show does spring to life in some of its more celebratory slice of life moments where the cast comes together as one.
Schwartz’s score is a true delight with musical director Jake Anthony at the helm. He leads a 5-member band consisting of piano, accordion, flute & recorder, bass, and percussion (including a washboard and spoons). The choral sound he achieves with the ensemble is heavenly and rest assured the show’s most well-known song “Meadowlark” is ably sung by Denton. Music theatre fans who have never seen the show -- and that is almost everyone since the show is not often revived -- will love hearing the score sung live (the best way to experience any musical score).
Julie Hall’s spirited choreography incorporates traditional production number dance staging into songs like “Bread” that happily adds a measure of unexpected humor. Rich Rose’s picturesque set and Wendell C. Carmichael’s Tuscany-inspired costume designs lend a vintage peasant charm to the visuals.
What I have always enjoyed about Actors Co-op is that they choose musicals that require them to take a risk. They’re often musicals you don’t see everyday – musicals with a message populated by colorful characters – musicals that make you think. Like previous productions 110 in the Shade, The World Goes Round, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and The Spitfire Grill, The Baker’s Wife fits that mission to a T.
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| Chelle Denton (Genevieve) and Greg Baldwin (Aimable, the Baker) |
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| Rachel Hirshee, Lindsey Schuberth, Greyson Chadwick & Christopher Maikish |
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| Chelle Denton (Genevieve) and Nick Echols (Dominique) |
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| Greyson Chadwick, Lindsey Schuberth, Rachel Hirshee and Greg Baldwin |
THE BAKER’S WIFE
Sept 16 – Oct 25, 2015
Actors Co-op
1760 N. Gower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90028
--on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood
Tickets: www.actorsco-op.org
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Labels: actors co-op
Friday, September 19, 2014
Review: Belly Laughs Abound in Actors Co-op’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood
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| The company of Actors Co-op's The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Photos by Lindsay Schnebly |
Actors Co-op transforms its Crossley Theatre into a boisterous English music hall for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, kicking off its 23rd anniversary season with two and a half hours of broad comedy, big personalities and plenty of belly laughs. Director Stephen Van Dorn takes the Tony Award-winning Rupert Holmes musical, based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel, and stages it in a new configuration for the Crossley, breaking the fourth wall and adding a virtual thrust stage to the theater. It brings the actors into the audience and the audience fully into The Music Hall Royale as his 16-member cast presents The Mystery of Edwin Drood, “A Musicale with Dramatic Interludes” where murder may or may not have happened, not everyone is what they seem, and comedy is always the order of the day.
Since Dickens inconveniently died before he could finish his novel, part of the audience’s job is to vote on its conclusion. Is Drood dead or alive? If he’s dead, who is the murderer...and who is Datchery, the mysterious detective who appears at the top of Act II. And more importantly, who will be chosen to play the lovers in the final scene. As the clues are laid out and the characters introduced, it all comes together like a madcap variety show with singing and dancing (there’s a great deal of amusing choreography by Julie Hall), intrigue and adventure, and always great fun throughout.
The cast brings a considerable amount of charm to their performances as the motley crew of actors playing actors playing characters in this lusty musical-within-a-musical. A jaunty affability underscores the proceedings and it’s clear that all involved are having a grand time; none more so than Edwin Drood, played as a pants role by the delightful Catherine Gray.
Craig McEldowney oozes villainy as Drood’s melodramatic, and somewhat comically deranged uncle, John Jasper, and Gina D’Acciaro steals the show as the bawdy Princess Puffer who runs an opium den and spins the perils of her profession into comic gold. Her stand-off with musical director Jake Anthony on piano is priceless and reaffirms that no one messes with the Madame. After seeing her as Puffer, it also makes one hope there’s a Mrs. Lovett lurking in her future, should the Co-op ever add Sweeney Todd to an upcoming season.
Crisp diction, vocal clarity, and the joy of a much larger sounding band than the 5 musicians in the stage left orchestra box are also the result of Anthony’s skill in addressing the difficulties of the complicated score. Peter Allen Vogt doubles as the music hall’s master of ceremonies, narrating, introducing characters, and augmenting the action with his own witty remarks. When he is called upon to step in as Mayor Sapsea for actor who is missing in action he flips into a hilarious character portrait; one that is responsible for a significant number of the belly laughs mentioned earlier.
The Co-op’s designers have also outdone themselves for Drood, with Vicki Conrad providing some ravishing costumes (especially for the ladies and the outrageous Landless brother and sister, Brandon Parrish and Selah Victor), and a set design by Sets To Go’s Mark Henderson and Tim Farmer that is full of surprises. Lighting by Mark Svastics and sound design (yes, the sound effects are a lot of fun) by Warren Davis also work to transform the space and give the theater the feel of a much larger space.
This was my first time seeing a production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood* and I am happy to say I have now been duly “Droodified.” I highly recommend you get droodified too! Best of all, the ending will change nightly depending upon how the audience votes so no one will ever be able to spoil it for you.
*Actors Co-op was graciously able to accommodate a last minute schedule change on my part, so the performance reviewed was its final preview.
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| Brandon Parrish (Neville Landless), Selah Victor (Helena Landless) and Catherine Gray (Edwin Drood) |
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| The company performs a number from The Mystery of Edwin Drood |
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| Gina D'Acciaro, Lauren Thompson, Emily Armstrong, Jonathan Sims, and Michelle Parrish |
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| Peter Allen Vogt (center) and the company of The Mystery of Edwin Drood |
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
September 19 - October 26, 2014
Actors Co-op
1760 N. Gower Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
www.ActorsCo-op.org
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Labels: actors co-op
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Musical News for Wednesday, July 30, 2014
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| Andrea Martin in Pippin. Photo credit: Joan Marcus |
MUSICAL NEWS: Andrea Martin will reprise the role of Berthe for the L.A. premiere of PIPPIN at the Hollywood Pantages Oct. 21 – Nov. 9. With a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, PIPPIN tells the story of a young prince on a death-defying journey to find meaning in his existence. Previously announced casting for the national tour includes Sasha Allen (NBC’s The Voice) as Leading Player, Kyle Selig (The Book of Mormon on tour) as Pippin, Tony Award winner John Rubinstein (created the role of Pippin in the 1972 original Broadway production) as Charles, Sabrina Harper (Pippin, original Broadway Revival cast) as Fastrada and Kristine Reese (Wicked on tour) as Catherine. The company also includes Skyler Adams, Sascha Bachman, Bradley Benjamin, Callan Bergman, Dmitrious Bistrevsky, Mark Burrell, Mathew deGuzman, Fernando Dudka, Mirela Golinska, Kelsey Jamieson, Preston Jamieson, Lisa Karlin, Alan Kelly, Melodie Lamoreux, Zachary Mackiewicz, Lucas Schultz, Tory Trowbridge, Mackenzie Warren and Borris York. Tickets: www.HollywoodPantages.com
FRINGE TOWN HALL: If you attended or were involved in this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival, the fringe folks invite you to join them for a Post-Fringe Town Hall public forum and Q&A session on Saturday, August 16 at 2:00 pm at Theatre Asylum (6320 Santa Monica Blvd). There will also be an informal mixer to follow at Three Clubs (1123 N. Vine St.) at 4:00 pm..
AUDITIONS: Performance Riverside will hold auditions for Shrek the Musical Aug. 24 & 25 at the Landis Performing Arts Center in Riverside. The production will be directed by Gary Krinke, with choreography by Jodi Julian. Audition times for both days are as follows:
4:00 pm Kids Audition
6:00 pm Equity Auditions
7:00 pm Open-call (everyone)
Rehearsals begin Oct. 8 (Mon.-Thurs., plus Sat. & Sun. TBA); show runs Nov. 7-16 at the Landis Performing Arts Center, 4800 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA. Equity Members will be hired under the Guest Artist Agreement, Tier II, pending Equity approval; professional pay for non-union; students must enroll in a class. For complete details go to www.performanceriverside.org/shrek-auditions.
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Labels: actors co-op, hollywood fringe, pantages, performance riverside, rubicon theatre
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Review: 110 in the Shade Casts a Magical Spell
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| L to R: Treva Tegtmeier, Tim Hodgin and Skylar Adams. Photos by Lindsay Schnebly |
Though the term is rarely used today, there was an era when ending up an old maid was the worst possible scenario for a woman. Hard times and modest dreams made finding a husband a requirement for happiness, especially during the Depression when people lived off the land, family meant all, and survival depended on the support of one’s neighbors in times of need.
In 110 in the Shade, based on N. Richard Nash’s play The Rainmaker, and later adapted by Nash, Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones (lyrics) for the musical stage, Lizzie Curry (Treva Tegtmeier) finds herself approaching the far side of marrying age with no prospects and little hope. Though she is a plain woman, it is her blunt personality and refusal to be vulnerable that keeps any man she meets at arm’s length, rather than her actual looks. Lizzie’s love life is in a drought and if something doesn’t change soon she’ll live out her days alone while suffering the humiliation of being a dreaded old maid.
It’s a drought also reflected in the parched land. 110 degree weather is causing the cattle to die and stifling the town, and that means everyone is worried. So worried that when a charismatic drifter named Starbuck (Skylar Adams) appears promising he can bring rain within 24 hours, Lizzie’s father H.C. (Tim Hodgin) is ready to shell out 100 of his hard-earned dollars to make it happen. She and her brother Noah (Jason Peter Kennedy) are skeptical; youngest brother Jimmy (David Crane) believes in the dreamer; and File (Michael Downing), the sheriff, is on the chase to run him out of town as soon as he can catch him.
As the deception plays out, hearts open and each of the characters comes to a new realization about his or her place in the world. It is a sweet story about the chances we take and the paths we don’t that add up to make a life. Director Richard Israel brings it all into focus with simple elegance and an attention to detail that maximizes the strengths of his company.
Dated viewpoints on the necessity of marriage aside, I adore this musical. The score is sweepingly epic, with rich, beautiful ballads that capture the yearning of isolated individuals whose hearts are aching but can’t cross the bridge. Tegtmeier does lovely work with the bulk of Lizzie’s songs including “Love Don’t Turn Away,” “Simple Little Things” and “Is It Really Me?” although the Act I finale “Old Maid” wobbles a bit out of her control. She has the pinched look of a woman who knows her life will always be lived in sensible shoes and a likable quality that makes us root for her happy ending, whether or not she will actually get it.
Adams’ fresh-faced Starbuck plays up the carnival barker side of the rainmaker, choosing to boisterously strong-arm the townspeople into hiring him rather than reeling them in with a more seductive array of charms. He’s working harder than he needs to but when he relaxes into the softer moments – mostly in his later scenes with Lizzie – there is an innocence he brings to the role that is unexpectedly sweet.
Kennedy and Downing both give fine performances; Kennedy, as Lizzie’s forthright brother Noah, who loves his sister but always says the wrong thing at the wrong time, and Downing as a man whose jaded view of love keeps him distanced from an entire town. He also pulls a mean punch, with Crane on the receiving end, in a well-played serious moment that contrasts with Crane’s normally broad comedy scenes.
Hodgin is terrific in the role of Lizzie’s father, corralling his sons with the sure hand of a rancher in control of an unruly herd. He and the boys bring a delightful sense of fun to Lizzie’s coming home song and later, when they try to nonchalantly entice File into coming to their picnic as a date for Lizzie in “Poker Polka,” they go from charming to downright hilarious. The song - and many others - also benefits from Julie Hall’s amusing character-driven choreography. Hodgin and Tegtmeier’s tender rapport shows the very real bond between father and daughter, though as a single parent he doesn’t always know what to do to make her happy.
Musically the show succeeds in the always challenging task of balancing the sound between the singers and the band (credited to Cameron Combe). In addition to being able to hear and understand every word, musical director Bryan Blaskie uses subtle dynamics and musical phrasing to achieve a beautifully polished choral sound. (And I do love a good choral sound). What that does is give the scenes movement and helps maintain a natural flow in the transitions from one to the next.
Stephen Gifford’s scenic design creates a warm and natural small town atmosphere as panels surround the audience with rolling hills and fences, bringing the great outdoors inside. Always one to give the space a unique twist, Gifford’s most creative touch for this production is placing the band onstage in a corner under a wooden water tower reminiscent of the TV series Petticoat Junction. When I realized what it was, it made me laugh. Brilliant. Costume designer Vicki Conrad’s vintage print dresses, sturdy shoes, and everyday men’s work clothes bring to life the 1930s sensible world of hard-working good people.
110 in the Shade was originally produced on Broadway in 1963 and although it never reached the level of acclaim Schmidt & Jones won for The Fantasticks, it did receive four Tony Award nominations, including Best Composer and Best Lyricist. That production’s cast included Will Geer, head of the Geer family and founder of Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, in the role of H.C. Curry. A 2007 Broadway revival received five Tony nominations and two Drama Desk nominations with Audra McDonald receiving a Drama Desk Award for her role as Lizzie.
Now Actors Co-op offers a charming production of this beautiful musical that will wrap you up in its magical spell as the final moments resolve. The smile you take home is a bonus.
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| Skylar Adams (center) and the ensemble |
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| Skylar Adams and Treva Tegtmeier |
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| L-R: Michael Downing, Tim Hodgin and Treva Tegtmeier |
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| The Ensemble of 110 In the Shade |
110 IN THE SHADE
May 9 - June 15, 2014
Actors Co-op
1760 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, CA 90028
Tickets: (323) 462-8460 or
www.ActorsCo-op.org
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Labels: actors co-op
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Musical News for Thursday, April 10, 2014
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Labels: actors co-op, fraggled productions, la jolla playhouse, ryan black, upright cabaret, valley performing arts center