Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Geffen Playhouse Brings Students in to see NEXT FALL
We salute our friends over at Geffen Playhouse for something amazing they did today providing a student matinee of Next Fall for nearly 500 students from 10 Title I public high schools. These students were able to see the production thanks to the Geffen Playhouse Education Department who provided FREE tickets and transportation. Attending schools included: Santee Education Complex, Roosevelt Academy of Medical & Health Sciences, Roosevelt Humanitas Art School, Roosevelt Math, Science & Technology Magnet, Annimo Inglewood Charter, Westchester High School, Hemet High School, James Monroe, Miguel Contreras, San Pedro High & Gabrielino High.
Next Fall, written by Geoffrey Nauffts is playing its final performances at the Geffen and will close on December 4 so you have only one more weekend to see it. This is the critically acclaimed play’s west coast debut directed by Sheryl Kaller. It was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play, and received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play). It stars Ken Barnett, Betsy Brandt, Jeff Fahey, Geoffrey Nauffts, Lesley Ann Warren, and James Wolk.
Adam and Luke seem like a case of opposites attract – Adam is older, neurotic and an atheist; Luke is impulsive, a struggling actor and a devout Christian. After Luke is involved in a critical accident, family and friends descend upon the couple and these longtime differences collide, forcing opposing views on faith and family into a stand-off. As timely as it is touching, this must-see play exposes the fundamental truth that we love people both because of – and in spite of – who they are.
Way to go Geffen. Doing good with theatre. It makes a difference. http://www.geffenplayhouse.com/
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Labels: geffen playhouse
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Review: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
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| Heather Ayers, Ken Barnett and Jefferson Mays. Photos by Henry DiRocco |
D’Ysquiths are dropping like flies in The Old Globe’s world premiere musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and each time one dies, Monty Navarro moves one step closer to becoming the ninth Earl of Highhurst.
Eight of them meet their hilarious demise after seemingly innocuous encounters with Monty; a Beekeeper, an Actress, a Bodybuilder, a Social Reformer, a Dandy, a Banker, a Parson, and finally, the fox-hunting, spoiled-rotten reigning Earl. Not bad for a nephew with no means whose deceased mother was disinherited for marrying a Castilian.
Darko Tresnjak directs this guilty pleasure of a musical, based on Roy Horniman’s novel “Israel Rank,” and written by bookwriter Robert L. Freedman & composer Steven Lutvak (lyrics by both men) in a manner befitting its British music hall roots. He skillfully fits the pieces of this “he-dunit” together by revealing little bits of information strategically placed for maximum effect, much like the colorful pop-up images of an Edwardian greeting card.
Each of Lutvak and Freedman’s songs is its own tight little package of comic efficiency, filled with Gilbert & Sullivan-esque patter and lyrics that sparkle with invention. Never has a pair made murder seem so appealing and never has a cast so fully embraced the absurdity of its task.
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| Ken Barnett and Jefferson Mays |
The members of the D’Ysquith (DIE-skwith) clan are all played by Jefferson Mays, the Tony Award-winning star of I Am My Own Wife, who gives deliciously idiosyncratic life (and death) to each one. He is a master at highlighting their quirks in subtle ways, eliciting barrels of laughter from a delighted audience when they realize that it’s him in each new disguise.
Some sing, like Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith, who delivers a comical musing on the state of the lower class in “I Don’t Understand the Poor,” and Henry, the impishly, childlike beekeeper whose double entendre-filled number “Better with a Man” is one of the best of the bunch. “Poison in my Pocket,” quietly springs up behind a very funny ice-skating sequence and is reprised later at another wholly appropriate and quite hilarious event in Act II.
That none of them sees their impending deaths coming is even more amusing, as the audience watches opportunity present itself eight time over and each light bulb go off in Monty’s head.
It wouldn’t work half as well as it does without the innocence of Ken Barnett, a tall, handsome Monty you can’t help but love. The simplicity of his mannerisms and sincerity in his narration make him a charming leading man and a perfect counterpoint to Mays and his physically quirkier characters. Los Angeles theatregoers will recognize Barnett from his 2011 work in Next Fall at The Geffen and The Taper’s production of Burn This.
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| Lisa O'Hare, Ken Barnett and Chilina Kennedy |
An effervescent Lisa O’Hare plays Monty’s social-climbing lover, Sibella. She is a vision in pink and a perfectly pouty participant in Monty’s romantic triangle that also includes Chilina Kennedy, a proper D’Ysquith young lady who is determined to marry Monty once she becomes widowed following the death of her beekeeper husband.
O’Hare’s appearances in L.A. have included playing Eliza Doolittle in Trevor Nunn’s national tour of My Fair Lady at The Ahmanson and the starring roles of Gigi and Sally Bowles in Reprise Theatre Company’s recent productions of Gigi and Cabaret. Kennedy also guested in Reprise’s An Evening with Jason Robert Brown and played Mary Magdalene in the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar at La Jolla Playhouse and on Broadway. Here she displays her expertise with humor using an operetta heroine’s vocal gymnastics to enhance a moment, and when she lets her high notes spin out over the audience, it is glorious.
As expected, Alexander Dodge’s theater within a theater scenic design will make you gasp with delight the minute you walk into the room and he keeps the surprises coming as each new scene unfolds. Philip S. Rosenberg’s precision lighting directs attention to just the right place at the right time and Aaron Rhyne has created video projections that not only add to the action at hand but do so in a decidedly memorable way.
Linda Cho’s costume creations complete the aristocratic look of 1909 London, with her designs for Mays’ many characters easily deserving of awards for their authenticity and individuality, if not for their ability to look polished and effortless after costume changes that often take only seconds.
To be sure, the machinations of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder create a thoroughly entertaining diversion, and this world premiere musical, as Mays’ I Am My Own Wife before it, has a date with The Great White Way set firmly in its path. See it here at The Old Globe first and you’ll be one step ahead of the crowds.
A GENTLEMAN"S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
The Old Globe in Balboa Park
1363 Old Globe Way
San Diego, CA
Through April 14, 2013
Tickets: Call (619) 234-5623
www.theoldglobe.org
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Labels: old globe
Sunday, August 2, 2015
MUSICAL NEWS for Sunday, August 2, 2015
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| Anthony Crivello and Vanessa Claire Stewart in Louis & Keely. Photo by Charles Osgood Photography |
Sierra Madre Playhouse announces its 2015-2016 season of shows to include Ted Swindley’s Always…Patsy Cline directed by Robert Marra (July 31- Sept 12, 2015; Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (Oct 2- Nov 8, 2015); A Christmas Memory by Duane Poole, Larry Grossman & Carol Hall directed by Alison Eliel Kalmus (Nov 27- Dec 27, 2015); Jerry Sterner’s Other People’s Money (Jan 8- Feb 13, 2016): John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (March 11- April 16, 2016); and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (May 16- June 18, 2016). For tickets and more information about the season go to www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.
EXTENSIONS: The return engagement of Pasadena Playhouse’s A Night with Janis Joplin starring Mary Bridget Davies is once again exceeding all expectations and has extended through August 23. Tickets are available at www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.
Alien vs. Musical, the runaway Hollywood Fringe hit, is being extended by Combined Artform’s Matthew Quinn at Theatre Asylum for a 6 week run, starting Friday August 7 at 8pm. Tickets for the 60-minute show by Erik Przytulski and Steve Troop are available at http://hff15.org/2202.
DOMA Theatre Company remounts its smash hit production of American Idiot, Oct 2 – 18 at the Met Theatre. Directed by Marco Gomez, it features the music of Green Day, including “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the blockbuster title track, “American Idiot.” Tickets: (323) 802-9181 or www.domatheatre.com.
Chance Theater’s production of Hairspray has added four performances and will now run through August 16. http://chancetheater.com/
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| Sandra Mae Frank and Austin McKenzie in Spring Awakening. Photo by Kevin Parry |
And perhaps the most exciting extension of them all, congratulations to Deaf West Theatre and their production of Spring Awakening which played The Wallis earlier this year and originated at Inner City Arts last fall. They’re going to Broadway! Performances begin at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on September 8 and the show will run for 18 weeks, through Saturday, January 9. It will be performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English by a cast of 27. Spring Awakening (book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik), is directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Spencer Liff. The show is produced By Ken Davenport, Cody Lassen, Hunter Arnold And Deaf West Theatre (Artistic Director David J. Kurs). Tickets are available by calling (877) 250-2929 or at www.ticketmaster.com.
FUNDRAISERS: On the heels of last year’s highly successful event, Cabrillo Music Theatre will host its 2nd Annual, 24-hour Dance Marathon. This exciting community fundraising event unites marathon contestants of all ages and abilities, your favorite Cabrillo Characters, and local businesses for 24 hours of dance, Zumba, Stretch, music, food, prizes and special guests. There will even be special theme hours with the casts of Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma, Mary Poppins, Company, and the Young Artists’ Ensemble production of Legally Blonde. The marathon will take place from August 7th to August 8th, at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest, Thousand Oaks, 91360. All proceeds go to Cabrillo Music Theatre’s outreach programs. Click Here to participate, make a donation, or for more information.
The Chance Theater will recreate a Film Noir evening, complete with 1950’s style fun, live music, and entertainment by Chance artists on August 29. Casino games, a silent auction, 3-course themed dinner with cocktails, and a murder mystery to solve are among the killer events. All proceeds will support the Chance Theatre. Click Here for tickets and more info.
An Evening of Classic Broadway will host its next cabaret night on Monday, August 10 at Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz. Joining Brad Ellis and Dianne Fraser are Jahmaul Bakare, Nicci Claspell, Elizabeth Hayden, Damon Kirsche, Barbara Minkus, Kevin Odekirk and Valerie Perri. Doors open at 6:30 for the 8pm show. http://rockwell-la.com/
Noted actor, composer and musician John Slade brings his traveling “Chautauqua-tent spirit revival in story and song” Walt Whitman Sings to Shakespeare Orange County’s outdoor cabaret stage. Settle in for an evening of Walt Whitman’s great poetry set to music among the trees. Recommended for music and poetry lovers of all ages. August 23 & 30 at 7pm. The 80-minutes performance runs without intermission. Tickets: (714) 636-3729.
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