Monday, February 23, 2015
Review: Good People Theatre Company's Elegant CLOSER THAN EVER
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| Sara Stuckey, Gabriel Kalomas, Jessie Withers and David Zack. Photos by Rich Clark |
A tastefully elegant production of Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever brings the duo’s beautiful and thought-provoking songs to life in the intimate performance space at Hollywood Piano in Burbank. It’s a co-production between Good People Theater Company and Hollywood Piano; a partnership that means the audience gets the rare opportunity to hear the score played on a gorgeous 9½ foot Mason & Hamlin grand piano. That’s a luxury most 99-seat theatre productions can’t afford which makes it all the more satisfying to be able to experience it up close in a room with great acoustics and the incredibly talented Corey Hirsch making it sing.
Closer Than Ever is a musical revue that plays like an ensemble cabaret show without the connecting patter, and although it first debuted Off-Broadway in 1989, it isn’t a tired walk down memory lane. Rather, it is a timeless treatment of the thoughts and emotions that people experience in the course of a lifetime - love, loss, regret, aging, and the friendships that endure - in a relatable context for today.
In true Maltby/Shire fashion, the songs are the star. Each one is a self-contained story that is fully satisfying on its own. Put them all together and they have even more impact. Often both humor and pain exist side by side, as in the urban love story “She Loves Me Not,” in which a trio (Jessie Withers, David Zack and Gabriel Kalomas) sings of unrequited love. The fragile lyric artfully wraps itself around the three singers in a most poignant fashion and the effect is stunning.
Director Janet Miller keeps the storytelling simple and direct while layering in subtext with a delicate hand. In this type of intimate venue it’s all about what you can see in the actors’ eyes while allowing the abrupt shifts in tone to lift the comedy and let it surprise the audience. Under Miller and musical director Hirsch’s guidance, the company easily succeeds, blending four unique voices into a lovely ensemble with each actor still retaining his or her own personality.
She too has a way with comedy, as you’ll hear in “The Bear, the Tiger, the Hamster and the Mole,” a song that had been cut from Maltby & Shire’s musical, Baby, that would be the impetus for the writers to create Closer Than Ever. In “Back on Base” she turns up the heat with Jordan Lamoureux (at this performance) on upright bass in a jazzy arrangement that sizzles with intensity and provides plenty of opportunity to do some sensual scatting.
All in all, this is an elegant two hour evening of storytelling through song that is as musically satisfying a production as you’ll find anywhere in LA. Catch it now through March 15th.
CLOSER THAN EVER
February 21 - March 15, 2015
Good People Theater Company
Hollywood Piano
323 North Front Street, Burbank, CA 91502
Tickets: http://goodpeopletheaterco.org
Free parking in the Burbank Metro Lot
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Labels: good people theater company
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
MUSICAL NEWS for Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Producer/Director Janet Miller says that this production of Closer Than Ever is ideally timed as a prelude to the May opening of Maltby and Shire’s newest musical, Waterfall, which gears up for Broadway by having out-of-town try-out runs first at Pasadena Playhouse and then in Seattle. “Closer Than Ever isn’t done very often here in LA, so this is a special chance for musical theater fans to remind themselves of Maltby and Shire’s classic before Waterfall debuts this Spring. What’s special in our production is the chance to see some great performers in a very intimate setting--in what is probably one of the nicest rooms with the finest grand piano in the 99-seat theater scene. Our audience has a chance to really cozy up to Maltby and Shire’s material: a funny, poignant and slightly risqué portrait of how complicated things get as we all start to grow up.” The cast will include musical director Corey Hirsch (Guy at the Piano), Elizabeth Brackenbury (Elizabeth), Jessie Withers (Jessie), and Jordan Lamoureux (Guy Playing Bass).
As a part of their commitment to “good people doing good work,” the Company has also announced a special “Charity of Choice” performance of Closer Than Ever on Saturday, March 14 at 3:00 pm. 100% of the ticket proceeds from this performance will be donated to Los Angeles Habilitation House. www.lahabilitationhouse.org. Hollywood Piano is located at 323 North Front Street, Burbank, CA, 91502. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $12.50 for students and seniors. Tickets and more information: www.goodpeopletheaterco.org.
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| Christopher Gattellil |
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| Stephen Flaherty |
“In Your Arms is one of the most romantic shows I’ve ever come across, and I am happy and proud to bring it to San Diego audiences,” said artistic director Barry Edelstein. “Its creators are a staggeringly brilliant group of top-rank theatrical talent, and the Globe is honored to host them. Stephen Flaherty’s lush and beguiling music comes together with wildly imaginative scenarios by an unprecedented gathering of significant writers to express the many moods and varieties of love. And wizardly director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli weaves this diverse material together with a special magic: the potent and exuberant language of dance. I’m thrilled to open our new season with such a fresh, original, and moving show.”
The cast and full creative team for the world premiere at The Old Globe will be announced at a later date. www.theoldglobe.org
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Labels: good people theater company, old globe
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Fringe Review: Good People Theater Company's THE FANTASTICKS
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| The cast of The Fantasticks. Photos by Sherry Barnett |
Despite their best efforts, the good folks of Good People Theater Company are unable to recreate the magic they achieved with their 2013 fringe hit, A Man of No Importance, in their current revival of The Fantasticks. Contributing to the lackluster production are pacing issues and actors without the singing ability, stage presence, or emotional depth to effectively handle the demands of the roles. The exposed nature of comedy makes it even more difficult to pull off than drama and so much more obvious when it isn’t working. In the absence of real passion, poignancy and an understanding of how to blend the bitter with the sweet - which is what makes this Schmidt & Jones classic so satisfying - it left me feeling restless. Even the more successful comedy songs by the fathers did not keep me engaged for long. The saving grace is the wonderful harp accompaniment which creates a sparkling mark in the plus column, despite the show’s onstage deficiencies.
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| Matt Franta and Audrey Curd |
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| Matt Stevens and Michael Wallot |
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| Christopher Karbo |
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| Joey D'Auria, Matt Franta and Corky Loupe |
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| Matt Stevens, Matt Franta, Audrey Curd and Michael Wallot |
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| Audrey Curd and Christopher Karbo |
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| Joey D'Auria and Corky Loupe |
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| Matt Stevens, Matt Franta, Audrey Curd and Michael Wallot |
THE FANTASTICKS
June 5 – 29, 2014
Good People Theater Company
Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way at Santa Monica Blvd
Tickets: $10 (preview) $20 (general run) $10 (students and seniors).
www.hff14.org/1513
www.goodpeopletheaterco.org
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Monday, May 12, 2014
Fringe Spotlight: Good People Theater Company Returns with THE FANTASTICKS
Why choose The Fantasticks for the Fringe? Miller says, “People think they know this show. But it’s a piece that’s staged so many times, it’s possible to lose our sense of the original -- its clarity, its simplicity, and the off-beat innovative style that had a lot of people in the 1960s scratching their heads, trying to figure out if The Fantasticks was great, or just odd.”
When it was written in 1958, big musicals like My Fair Lady, The Music Man and West Side Story were in vogue. Everything was big, bold, and over-the-top during a period that would come to be known as the Golden Age of the American Musical.
Within that climate, two young writers – Schmidt and Jones – were trying to figure out how to compete. What they decided to do was go back to the way theatre used to be. Using stock characters, simple sets, charming storytelling and vagabond rapier wit, they turned the slim comedic charm of the 18th century Romantics into The Fantasticks of 1959. By doing so they accidentally upended the American musical, reinventing something so old, it was shockingly new, making history in the process.
Miller’s goal with the production is to “give Fringe audiences a pristine revival,” which means incorporating important original details like a harpist in the ensemble.
“There are good reasons people don’t use a harp in The Fantasticks,” she says. “It’s a gorgeous instrument but not exactly the easiest thing to lug around! Especially with the 15 minute load-in, load-out requirements of the Fringe Festival.”
But she insisted that the company bring the original show’s sensibility back as much as possible, and the original orchestration of the score calls for a harp.
“For people who are used to seeing the show with just the keyboard and maybe a little percussion, adding the harp is a revelation. It adds to the magical quality of the score and the storytelling. By presenting this revival at the Fringe Festival, we’re on a mission to remind people how truly odd and innovative The Fantasticks was back in the day. And that means you gotta have a harp!”
In the greater scheme of things, Miller is hoping to inspire a larger conversation about fringe works -- then and now. “The Fantasticks truly is the original fringe musical, including fulfilling every fringe producer’s dream of running, literally, forever. With so many new works being shown, we think the Fringe Festival is a great context for reprising this piece. And besides, it’s a fun show!”
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| Audrey Curd |
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| Matt Franta |
The cast will feature Audrey Curd as Luisa, Matt Franta as Matt, Christopher Karbo as El Gallo, Corky Loupe as Mortimer, Alix Ogawa as Mute, Matt Stevens as Hucklebee, Robert Towers as Henry, and Michael Wallot as Bellomy.
The creative team includes Janet Miller (producer, director & musical staging), Corey Hirsch (musical director), Katherine Barrett (lighting designer & stage manager), Rebecca Schroeder (assistant stage manager), Robert Schroeder (scenic designer), Kathy Gillespie (costume designer), Kimberly Fox (marketing), Ashley Hanson (media & patron relations) and Oliver Lan (graphic design).
As a part of their commitment to “good people doing good work,” GPTC will also offer a special Charity of Choice performance on Saturday, June 28 at 2pm. As the fathers in The Fantasticks would agree, healthy gardens and happy children go together so 100% of the ticket proceeds from this performance will be donated to Little Green Fingers LA, a local non-profit that creates community gardens and encourages kids 5 and up to “get dirty and eat healthy.”
Now that's Good People doing Good Work. Check out the details of their Fringe run below:
THE FANTASTICKS
June 5 – 29, 2014
(Opening night, Friday, June 5 at 8pm)
Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way at Santa Monica Blvd
Tickets: $10 (preview) $20 (general run) $10 (students and seniors).
www.hff14.org/1513
www.goodpeopletheaterco.org
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Labels: good people theater company
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Gordon Goodman Becomes BARRYMORE for Good People Theater Company
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| Gordon Goodman as John Barrymore. Photos by Steve Anderson. |
It’s an art to be able to disappear into a role. Some actors never master the task and others, like Gordon Goodman, make it look so effortless that you’d never believe that countless hours of preparation and careful study had gone into creating each unique character. That it looks so easy is a testament to how good he is at his craft.
He started his career at 16 as a soloist with symphony orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. He was a founding member of the Musical Theater Guild here in Los Angeles. He’s well known in musical theater circles – locally and nationally – as the go-to man for classic baritone character roles, and with more than 100 film, television and live theater credits, you’ve probably seen him around.
Add to that the fact that Goodman has a doctorate in psychology and does academic research into what makes creative people tick with Dr. James Kaufman at the University of Connecticut, and you have to admit that he sounds like the perfect choice for Good People Theater Company’s next production.
He’s in the process of becoming John Barrymore in BARRYMORE, which opens Saturday, Nov. 9 and during rehearsals I had the opportunity to speak with the show’s producing director, Janet Miller, as well as Gordon, to ask why Barrymore. And why now?
This is Good People Theater Company’s second production. Why choose BARRYMORE as the follow-up to your opening musical, A Man of No Importance?
Janet Miller: We launched our new theater company back in June with a musical for a number of reasons. First, no one in Los Angeles had done a fully staged production of A Man of No Importance, so that gave us something unique to make our launch more noteworthy. Plus it was a play about doing plays, so it had a nice ‘valentine to theater’ storyline which felt right for our first season. And I’m known around town for musicals, given my history as a director & choreographer. So all that was pretty logical.
But ultimately none of that matters if you can’t get the casting right. If I wasn’t sure I had the perfect Alfie – the lead character in A Man of No Importance – then there was no way I would have launched the company with that show. It was way too risky to try filling that very special role with someone I hoped to find in open auditions. But I knew Dominic McChesney was the perfect Alfie, so we committed to the show. And he gave us such a beautiful, nuanced performance. It really was a perfect match.
And it’s a similar story with BARRYMORE. This is another theater-about-theater show. And again casting is everything. You can’t present this piece without the right actor to play John Barrymore. It’s not an easy task, because you’re bringing the audience a well-known historical character.
Barrymore was incredibly famous back in the day. And for theatricals, Barrymore plays a major role in American theater history. He stunned New York audiences in the 1920s by giving them a shockingly naturalistic Hamlet. He immediately changed the way people saw the role, and after that run, Jack jumped from Matinee Idol to Serious Shakespearean. The point is, people know a lot about Barrymore – his sense of humor, his personal style, his legendary good looks. So if you’re going to do this piece, you must have the perfect person to play this part. And I was convinced Gordon Goodman was the ideal choice.
How did Gordon become involved with the production?
Miller: I asked him! I’ve known Gordon for more than 25 years. I’ve seen him perform in musicals and straight plays many times and I think Gordon has amassed a brilliant body of work. He is a detailed and thoughtful actor as well as being charming and funny. I just love watching him on stage.
As far as this BARRYMORE project, it’s sort of obvious that Gordon’s got the look and the wit, but more importantly, Gordon is authentically curious about Barrymore, and very compassionate about Barrymore’s difficulties in life. I really believe he is able to bring us not just Barrymore the Celebrity, but Barrymore the complicated human being.
So early on I was very clear: it was ‘get Gordon or pick another play.’ So I called him and asked if he had ever thought of doing BARRYMORE. The answer was yes. After some discussion, he agreed.
Gordon Goodman: It was an interesting phone call.
Janet’s being very kind. But it’s true what she’s saying about my interest in John Barrymore. It goes back many years. I remember seeing Barrymore in the movie Grand Hotel when I was younger and being struck by the charming ease of his performance. As I investigated his personal story, I learned he was enormously gifted in fine arts, in writing, and in acting.
For me, Barrymore became a very fascinating case study in the complexities of a truly creative – if slightly out of control – life. I saw Chris Plummer do it, and God, so brilliantly, and it became a character I really wanted to play, to get inside of, especially as I’ve gotten older. So when Janet called to suggest the project, it was as if she’d been reading my mind.
Do you feel his story has relevance today?
Gordon: Absolutely. Look around. Walk by any magazine stand. Just try NOT to see some celebrity spinning out of control. They’re like shooting stars and they attract the attention of the media. Sure, people tend to remember Barrymore for his antics in his later years – the many wives, the alcohol, the blue sense of humor. It’s easy to typecast him as the cliché of an inebriated has-been. But that’s not the whole story.
People forget he was the youngest child in a family of super-star actors. His childhood was chaotic. He didn’t want to join the ‘family business’ of acting, yet he defaulted to the stage after a string of depressing false starts in other professions. He started drinking in his early years, and basically never stopped. He became the rage. He had an incandescent personality and a devilish charm. People were literally bewitched by him!
As an actor, Barrymore is still historically relevant because of the naturalism he cultivated on stage, especially in his Shakespearean roles. As Janet said, his style of acting was a true breakthrough in the 1920s and part of the movement into realism that was about to change the acting world.
I think Barrymore’s life story can be read as a timeless fable about that monster that consumes so many celebrities. He had no place to pour his life, but back into itself. Nothing in his own life had meaning. He was one of the biggest stars of his day, and it basically ate him alive. And that’s an important cautionary tale that’s still valid today.
Was there any special reason you wanted to tackle BARRYMORE now, at this point in your career?
Gordon: I honestly feel it’s an important project at a key point in my journey, because it allows me to apply the two halves of my professional skill set to the task. Besides acting, I have a Ph.D. in psychology because I’m fascinated by what makes people do the things they do. Normally, I don’t do 99-seat theater. I’m either too involved in new television projects, or working with clients on performance issues and faulty belief systems, or doing academic research in the field of media and entertainment.
As an actor, I’m excited about bringing Barrymore to life in an authentic way. In preparing the role, I’ve gotten to know him and I think I understand what made him tick, from a psychological perspective. He’s a very attractive character.
For example, in my research into Barrymore’s life, it is clear to me that he was honest. He was probably the first one to admit he wasn’t a good husband, that he was more interested in having fun than working. Acting was just something he landed in because of his family. But he was also extremely intelligent, and had a unique genius that captivated audiences, and other actors of his day, like Orson Wells or Lawrence Olivier. He was shoved into celebrity as a kid, and the money started flowing in – and it’s almost impossible to get off that train once you’re on it.
So for me, John Barrymore is a particularly rich case study. He was so gifted and so conflicted – about his talent, about his tremendous celebrity, about his ability to love and be loved.
William Luce’s play gives the memory of John Barrymore’s redemption. It’s a beautifully written, loving character study that becomes an ideal vehicle for realism, for presenting the deeper dimensions of a real person’s life on stage.
To me, that’s what it’s all about: making a character three-dimensional. Showing the charm, along with the fears and the imperfections that made Barrymore pitiful, admirable, and loveable all at the same time. I’ve come to the point in my career as an actor, where I don’t want the audience leaving the theater talking about me. I’ve done my job if, as they leave, they’re talking about Barrymore.
* * * *Presented by Good People Theater Company in association with Greenway Arts Alliance, BARRYMORE plays at the Greenway Court Theater, 544 N. Fairfax between Melrose and Beverly. Preview on Friday, Nov. 8 at 8pm, opening night on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8pm, and running through Dec. 1 (Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm and Sundays at 7pm.) Tickets are $25 ($15 for the November 8 preview) and are on sale now at www.GoodPeopleTheaterCo.org or by calling the Box Office at 323-655-7679 x 100. Parking is free in the theater’s lot (entrance on Fairfax).
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Labels: good people theater company
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Hollywood Fringe Review: A Man of No Importance
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| Dominic McChesney as Alfie and Audrey Curd as Adele Rice |
Fringe shows run the gamut. You’ll see everything from hastily rehearsed vanity projects to edgy original pieces, and works-in-progress of all kinds. Each one is worthy of a look for there are hidden jewels everywhere and you never know exactly where you’ll find one. Happily, I can tell you where you can see one right now. At the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood. There, a brand new L.A. theatre company is making its debut by presenting A Man of No Importance, a handsomely staged Irish musical written by Terrence McNally, with music & lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.
It is directed & choreographed with exceptional skill by Janet Miller who presents a beautifully polished production in every regard. The attention to detail is exemplary and, from the very first notes of the penny whistle and a proper Irish band, it allows one to simply sit back and drink in the essence of the world being created upon the stage.
Based on the 1964 film starring Albert Finney, it is the “Tragedy/ Comedy of Alfie Byrne (Dominic McChesney),” and tells the simple story of a man whose only dream is to bring beauty and art to the world. During the day he does it by reciting poetry to his fellow passengers and friends on their daily bus ride to work. At night he leads them as the director of St. Imelda’s Players, a community theatre group that is the embodiment of all the artistic sensitivity in his heart.
On the day a newcomer steps onto the bus – a lovely, young woman (Audrey Curd as Adele Rice) who comes from a neighboring town – Alfie knows that he has finally found his leading lady to star in the one play he has not yet been able to produce. She will be his Princess in Oscar Wilde’s Salome and dance the Dance of the Seven Veils. It will be his greatest achievement. It is also a role that in any other era and time Alfie might well have played himself, but that here can only be expressed behind a locked door where he is free to transform himself with the aid of makeup and his imagination. But secrets are a heavy burden to carry and only lose their power once they see the light of day.
Eventually Alfie realizes that he can no longer deny his heart and, though it be in search of the “love that dare not speak its name,” he is ready to take the consequences of being seen for who he truly is. Though not everyone accepts him, and much of his world falls apart along the way, those who do rally around him show him that life, like art, is a collaboration, and they intend to be there to help him create another day.
McChesney was born to play Alfie. Much rests on his ability to be likeable, natural and present in every moment as he is the heart of the piece. Perhaps it is because I somehow sat where I could always see his eyes that I found him to be deeply connected to what he was saying. He inhabits the role with a simplicity and grace that goes beyond the words.
Shirley Anne Hatton plays his spitfire of a sister, Lily, who is determined to find Alfie a good wife and won’t marry until she completes her task. She’s a terrific singer who belts out two of the best numbers in the show, proving her skill with comedy in “The Burden of Love” and letting loose her frustrations in a bitterly poignant “Tell Me Why.” Of course, it helps that the material itself is so well-written. Flaherty & Ahren’s songs are rich with life and always enhance the storytelling by vividly capturing the spirit of a moment.
Another great example is Robbie’s “The Street of Dublin,” in which he sings of his beloved city while trying to get Alfie to come out to the pub with him. Robbie (Keith Barletta), the tall handsome young bus driver, is Alfie’s secret object of affection and Barletta is charming as all get up. He has an easy manner and sparkling eyes that light up the stage and is one among many excellent casting choices that Miller has made.
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| The cast of A Man of No Importance |
David Gilchrist offers two distinctly different characters as the gruff butcher-turned-actor Carney and as Alfie’s silent inspiration, Oscar Wilde, complete with cape and carnation. Curd’s Miss Rice is appropriately timid at the start, and though she has troubles of her own, she becomes an integral part of Alfie’s transformation while Matt Stevens’ sweet graveside remembrance of his wife, “The Cuddles Mary Gave,” is sure to melt the stingiest heart.
Miller gives her ensemble multiple opportunities to shine throughout the show as she highlights their individual quirks to create a thoroughly entertaining amateur theatre company filled with characters we all can recognize. And they, in turn, throw themselves in with a joyful exuberance that infuses everything they do, bringing humor and hope to a world that never contains enough of either one.
Corey Hursch’s musical direction is impeccable down to the last detail of the singers and onstage band. The dialect work, an element that is critical to the success of this type of musical, is expertly handled by coach, Jill Massie, and carried out beautifully by the cast. Design elements – most particularly Katherine Barrett’s lighting and Kathy Gillespie & Barbara Weisel’s costumes – easily furnish the look of Dublin in the 60’s.
This musical, like the good people who are presenting it, is the real deal. Full of heart and sensitivity, it is a class act all the way around and its company handles its coming out party with an abundance of colloquial charm. For those who create art, and for those who enjoy the fruits of their labor, it is a triumph. “Life goes on and so must we artists,” says one of Alfie’s actors as the lights fades. I hope these Good People continue to go on for a very long time.
A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
Good People Theater Company
Through June 30, 2013
Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way
Tickets: www.goodpeopletheaterco.org
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