Sunday, July 10, 2011
Long Live the Troubies and FLEETWOOD MACBETH!
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| Lisa Valenzuela (Lady Macbeth) and Morgan Rusler (Macbeth). Photos by Chelsea Sutton |
Watching a Troubie show feels a little bit like being invited to be part of a secret boys club only in this case, the clubhouse is a theatre rather than a tree house, the secret decoder ring has every possibility of being an exploding magic trick, and the password to get in is sure to be a battle cry, song spoof, or pun. The one thing you know for certain is that when the fun begins, you're in for a helluva good time.
This summer the troupe is stirring up a cauldron cocktail called Fleetwood Macbeth, made up of equal parts Fleetwood Mac songs and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The hilarious result turns the Scottish play on its (severed) head while delivering plot points via songs like “Dreams”, “You Can Go Your Own Way”, “The Chain”, and Landslide”.
True to form, and honoring the relationship they have with their fans, FM enlists audience members to participate in the opening battle scene, though they are soon vanquished by Macbeth (Morgan Rusler) and Banquo (Matt Walker), with a little help from their trusty pool noodles. As the buddies return from battle they meet witches in the forest whose predictions both excite and disturb Macbeth.
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| Matt Walker (Banquo) and Morgan Rusler (Macbeth) with the Witches |
There’s a lot of comic mileage to be gained when you turn three witch hags into their Pussycat Doll alter egos, increase their number to eight, and add a little glitz…especially with Beth Kennedy at the other end of the witch spectrum. As Hecate, she sports the full ugly witch regalia, nose warts and all. Imagine her writhing on the floor screaming to be taken as a spoil of war or flirting with an audience member to score a date and, well, you get the picture.
The witches’ predictions will come back to haunt Macbeth in more ways than one and all will surely not end well for the future king. Bloody right it won’t end well, but it will end funny for that’s the stuff the Troubies are made of.
Walker, who also directs the production, mines every bit of humor imaginable and does it with the most emphatic Scottish brogue you’ve ever heard. After dodging the slings and arrows of outrageous comedy for the first three quarters of the musical, Rusler delivers a completely serious “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” monologue that is so terrific you can hear a pin drop.
Matching wits with him is Lisa Valenzuela as Lady Macbeth, a sexy firecracker with a penchant for power that will ultimately be her undoing. Valenzuala scores big channeling Stevie Nicks’ sultry vocals (my favorite was her spooky-good version of “Dreams”) and costumer Sharon McGunigle has given her the trademark top hat, long black coat, and veils to achieve a striking Stevie Nicks rock fantasy princess look. Actually, McGunigle gets props for all the great costumes, from the comic touches of the Scotsmen to the push-up bustiers and fishnets of the witches, they are perfection.
No character escapes the spin doctor treatment - Brandon Breault is Sayton, a roller-skating Satanic rocker; Joseph Keane is Duncan’s son Malcolm, a gentle youth with a mean back flip; Rob Nagle is the doomed King Duncan wearing a gigantically nippled breast plate; Jason Turner is Macduff, a Little Rascals reject with Charlie Brown’s pessimism who also does a hilarious cameo as baby Macduff, and the list goes on.
Musical director Eric Heinly (who also plays drums) leads the ever-ready house band, made up of Linda Taylor (guitar), Kevin Stewart (bass), Brian Baker (keyboards), and Jack Majdecki (guitar alternate).
FM is choreographed by Nadine Ellis, Christine Lakin and Monica Schneider. Schneider’s choreography for “Dreams” is especially saucy for Lady M, featuring the witches and their attempts to rub out the damn spots.
Troubie shows traditionally sell out so make sure you get your tickets now. It’s the inside track to the coolest club you’ve ever been part of with a bunch of rogues who know how not to take things too seriously. And if you ask me, we could all use a little more of that.
Performances run now through August 14th at the Falcon Theatre in Toluca Lake, except for July 15, 16 and 17 when the Troubies will be taking Fleetwood Macbeth to La Mirada Theatre. For more information go to http://www.troubie.com/.
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Labels: falcon theatre, la mirada theatre, troubies
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Interview: At Home at the Garry Marshall Theatre with Joseph Leo Bwarie
Theatres have a way of becoming an artist’s second home. It doesn’t matter if you are a director, designer, actor, or volunteer – the countless hours you invest and the close proximity in which you do your work often create friendships that last a lifetime. And each time you step back through those doors you feel like you’re coming home. No one knows this to be true more than Joseph Leo Bwarie, whose current home away from home is the Garry Marshall Theatre in Toluca Lake. Bwarie has been connected with the theatre (known formerly as The Falcon) and the Marshall family for many years, and he recently stepped into a co-artistic directorship of the newly-rechristened theatre, along with another longtime Marshall associate, Dimitri Toscas.Also on his dance card is directing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which opens later this month. It’s no wonder he’s spending almost every waking minute at the theatre. Joe talks about his relationship with Garry and also about the company’s plans for the new theatre that bears his name below.
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| Joseph Leo Bwarie |
Joe, Forum is a lot of fun but an interesting choice for 2017. Why did you and Dimitri decide to include it in your first season?
All of the shows in our first season speak to Garry in some way but they also center around art and the making of art. This show reflects the very broad comedy side of Garry with punch lines that deserve a rim shot. It is also the production that speaks to the art of “putting on a show.” It’s vaudeville, it’s burlesque. It’s a fun, raucous farce that has great music and lyrics. We are staying true to the essence of the piece but we’ve given the women more of a say and more power. They’re not just beautiful eye candy (and this cast is beautiful – inside and out). One of our designers said it best: “This is not your father’s Forum!” It’s still set in ancient Rome. It’s still the characters we love. They just have more to say.
Garry loved comedy and he was a funny guy, wasn’t he?
Oh man, he was so funny. He would have given us a lot of pointers on what we could do to be funny with this show.
I understand he was a bit of a practical joker too.
Garry wanted everything to be fun. He loved it if there was a way to play a practical joke on someone, or to throw a party, or celebrate a birthday, or have a parade, or dress up in a costume, or have a surprise visitor come to the theater or on set. He would always say it’s just a show, it’s just a movie.
If broad comedy is his connection to Forum, how do the rest of the shows in the season fit in?
Master Class and Forum and Occupant and Laughter on the 23rd Floor all speak to different disciplines of art and to exploring the way we experience art, whether it be the high classical form of opera or the broad stroke appeal of vaudeville, the visual art of sculpting or the craft of writing.
Garry was a lover of opera. He worked with Terrence McNally on the screenplay and film adaptation of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and there was a strong connection between the two. They were like family. That’s why we wanted to open the season with Master Class. Also, it was one of Garry’s favorite modern plays, period.
Occupant is about Louise Nevelson, the famous sculptor and outsider who changed the rules of the game – a theme that Garry always championed. And then the most direct tie to Garry is the writers’ room and the art of writing in Laughter on the 23rd Floor. They’re also all shows that break the fourth wall and direct address to the audience, which is a really cool layer for us to add – a true conversation with the audience.
So your whole first season is really an extension of Garry.
It is an extension and even an expansion of what he wanted to do. He loved that people would think of him and think of Happy Days and fun and jokes but he also loved anything that was really dramatic, really artful, and really playing with all the facets of the human condition. You can see that in his films, especially some of the earlier films like Beaches or Pretty Woman or even The Flamingo Kid. Relationships. It’s always relationships.
Speaking of relationships, you’ve known Garry a long time, haven’t you?
Long time, almost twenty years.
You’ve been involved with the family program at the theatre for a long time as well. Is that one of the reasons you’re expanding it now?
We wanted to bring it back in a bigger way. Garry used to always say he wanted something for kids. He wanted something at night that was maybe a little risqué that adults could handle and he wanted something on the weekend afternoons where all ages could come and enjoy a storytelling experience.
It also helps build your audience.
It does, but more importantly, it introduces the new generation to theatre. If we start when they’re young, really young, and they see there are live people telling a story, not a screen, and they like it, they’ll start to want to come. That’s how we want to develop new audience.
What made you decide to say yes to being an artistic director at this time?
I have had the great opportunity of being a performer for so many years and I’ve also had the great opportunity to write and direct and produce and record studio albums and each one of them is actually just an extension of me. Garry would always say to me, you’re not just a performer, you’re not just a singer or an actor. You need to write. You need to produce. You need to direct. If you can do all of it, you need to do all of it. That’s what he did and that’s what he would always say to me.
As for why I said yes to being an artistic director now, that’s easy. I wanted to do this for Garry, I wanted to do this for the Marshall family, and I wanted to do it for the Burbank-Toluca Lake community that grew up in the last twenty years with Garry’s theatre. I wanted to make sure we were setting it up for the next more-than-twenty years. And I thought, well, if I’m going to take a few years of my life to do that, that’s a great investment because it’s not about me, it’s about something much bigger. We’re here because Garry brought us all together and that’s important to a community. It’s fun to be working with Dimitri too because we’re very like-minded and yet we’re very different, so we make a great complementary duo.
How did the partnership come together?
It happened at Joan’s on Third. It came from Kathleen Marshall LaGambina after many discussions she had with her siblings and with her mom. I had told them I would be here for whatever they needed as a consultant or to help point them in the right direction but we had never discussed artistic director. Then, at Joan’s on Third, she said to us (Dimitri and me): I decided I want you two together. You both bring so much to the table and will balance out everything we need to do. Garry respected you both as creative minds.
I think I really understood Garry. I can say that confidently. We worked on many projects in a very collaborative way. I was his associate director on Billy & Ray that we produced at the Falcon and then at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. I learned Garry’s philosophy directly from Garry firsthand. No one had to tell me, well, Garry once said this. I lived it. So we’re keeping that alive.
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| Paul Vogt (center) and the cast of Forum. Photo by Chelsea Sutton |
Forum has been a hit ever since it first opened on Broadway, with Pseudolus being a Tony Award-winning role for Zero Mostel in 1963, Phil Silvers in 1972, and Nathan Lane in 1995. Now funny man Paul Vogt is taking on the role. Was casting him a no-brainer?
It didn’t even cross my mind that there were other people for the role because I knew he could jump in and be everything this part requires and then bring so much more freshness to it. He constantly makes me laugh. They all do. Paul is supported by a great cast, and figuring out how it all fits together in the rehearsal process with the whole company is exciting. We’re not trying to be other productions. We’re retooling what the show is for our specific space and this specific year with these specific actors.
Is yours a traditional staging and design?
I think what we’re presenting is a deconstructed and then reconstructed Roman cityscape. All of our designers agreed they didn’t want to create a cartoon. Funny doesn’t need to be shown in a cartoon. We wanted to give the actors the funny, not dress them as funny, and it will evolve as we get further into rehearsals. The sets are being installed right now, the costumes are being fitted as we speak, there are so many layers that are still going to be surprises for all of us and we will continue tweaking until the show opens.
There is nothing like exploring a show like this in rehearsals.
It’s great. We get to walk different lines. We get to say, okay this moment here, this is vaudeville ha-cha-cha, and this moment over here is like a subtle take we might see in a TV show, and this right over here takes the show somewhere totally unexpected. We get to play with all of that.
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| Director Joe Bwarie and the cast in rehearsal |
It sounds like a fun way to lead into the holidays.
It’s a perfect show for the holiday season. It’s so fun.
So even though the Troubies aren’t part of your first season it’s still ‘comedy tonight’ at the Garry Marshall Theatre.
Absolutely. The way everything rolled out has been beautiful for everyone. Garry himself often said, “Matt [Walker], you need to take the show somewhere bigger. You need to do a show in a bigger venue. It needs to grow and go and move on.” But how are you going to move on from this great little place, right? We’re starting something new and we have to give the “new” some attention while we work on finding new ways of collaborating with the many talented companies who were part of the first chapter.
Does that mean we may see them back at the theatre in the future?
At certain crossroads, there is often a WWGD moment. What would Garry do? From where I stand, I see future collaborations with my friends and I see great opportunity for growth. I know change is sometimes perplexing to people because it seems to mean something went wrong. Change doesn’t mean anything went wrong. Change is change. I’ll be honest, it’s been a really emotional journey to embark on building a brand new legacy theatre honoring an epic visionary man. Taking down the Falcon sign letters and making way for the next leg of the journey has been more emotional for those of us who are on the inside perhaps than it is to the public. Nothing has happened without great consideration and great thought.
And, as you expand, you’ll keep coming up with new ideas.
It’s going to be a work in progress, as theatre always is. In the past we would not have done Master Class at this venue. It is sort of fascinating to watch the new programming. We had Norman Lear here last month to do our first Modern Masters series. We had the second screening of the Garry Marshall Movies at the Marshall series. We launched the Storybook Pages Saturday morning kids program, which isn’t even the full productions for families yet. We had a Caldecott Award-winning artist (Marla Frazee) here and it was beautiful. The kids got to ask her questions. Barbara said, “This is why Garry built this place.” So our family programming is opening up many avenues for kids to come and experience what a theatre is.
How does Wood Boy Dog Fish fit into the season?
Oh man, that is one awesome show. Carrying on that idea of different disciplines of art, this goes into that idea of the physical maneuvering of art live on stage. It has puppetry and original music and it is very story driven. It’s also a collaboration with another theatre company, which is something we’d like to do more of. We want to collaborate with all sorts of theatre companies – Rogue Artists Ensemble, Troubadour, whoever wants to explore a new idea or has a story that should be told.
What else do you have in the works?
We have our first annual Founders Gala on November 13th. This is the first time we’ll host a gala because it’s the first year we’ve been a non-profit. We’re also doing a New Works Festival for new plays next spring that is open for submissions now. This is an idea that goes back to when the Falcon first arrived in 1997. There are so many talented creative people in Los Angeles who have not had a chance to have their work put up in front of an audience. We’re excited about bringing new material to the space, and we’re also looking forward to putting a new perspective on great existing material.
We can’t wait to see what’s next. Even theatre as an art form evolves and adapts over time.
It does. And the neighborhood is changing too. The streets, Riverside Drive, the restaurants, different types of families are leaving the neighborhood and new families are joining the neighborhood. It’s an evolution and we want to be part of that. I do know the other reality is, like any museum or restaurant, anyplace that offers a lot of different things that fit in that building, you’re going to like some things and you’re not going to like others but that’s the beauty of it. It’s all art. You’ll love some of it and, what you don’t, you’ll talk about and figure out why you don’t love it.
Hector Elizondo sat down with me and he said, the best theatre makes you feel uncomfortable because you end up having to figure out why you felt something. That feeling is what art is supposed to do. There is great entertainment where you just laugh, laugh, laugh and it’s fun. But really, the idea that you can sit in a room with a bunch of strangers and all have different feelings at the same time is what theatre is.
There is a special kind of joy that comes from creating theatre.
It is a joy. It was Garry’s passion. You know, he built this theatre from the ground up. A person would have to be fully committed to spend that kind of money and choose that kind of structure to build, and he did that. He was so passionate about it that he basically funded it his entire life. Now, in this new incarnation, it has become our passion project. I mean, I’m living here. I’m here twelve or more hours a day.
But as a home away from home, it’s a pretty good place to be isn’t it?
It’s so great, and honestly when people say, don’t you want to go do a Broadway show I say, yes I do, but not now. I also say that what I’m doing here is equally as important and has as much, if not more, of an impact on my life as performing. This is home.
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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs Nov. 17 – Dec. 31, 2017 at the Garry Marshall Theatre in Toluca Lake. Tickets are on sale now at www.garrymarshalltheatre.org.
More from rehearsals of Forum
Photo credit: Michaelyn Straub
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Labels: garry marshall theatre
Sunday, June 14, 2015
MUSICAL NEWS for Sunday, June 14, 2015
Troubadour Theater Company returns to The Falcon for the holidays reviving a fan-favorite, the parody of holiday classic, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Motown (Dec . 2 – Jan 17), directed by Matt Walker. Telling the tale of Kris Kringle’s (aka Santa Claus) origin, the Troubies take the jolly old man himself and send him to the land of Smokey Miracles and Supreme Temptations.
The Falcon will close its season with The Real Housewives of Toluca Lake: The Musical (March 23 – April 24), book, music & lyrics by Molly Bell, directed by Roger Bean. In this story, you’ll get to meet the wives, Joanne, Babette, Penny, Lulu, and Beezus: The Real Housewives of Toluca Lake. Scandalous surprises and bitter betrayals mix with a healthy dose of Pinot Grigio and pharmaceuticals to create this hilarious romp inspired by America’s not-so-secret guilty pleasure. The Falcon’s season will also include two plays, Scott and Hem (Oct. 14 – Nov. 15), by Mark St. Germain, directed by Dimitri Toscas, and The Complete History of America (abridged) (Feb. 3 – March 6), by Adam Long Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor. falcontheatre.com
Actors Co-op has announced its 2015-16 season, which will begin with Stephen Schwartz & Joseph Stein’s The Baker’s Wife, directed by Richard Israel, Sept. 18 – Oct. 25, 2015. From the creator of Wicked and Pippin comes the delicious musical about a French baker who stops making his mouth-watering bread when his young wife leaves him. Faced with the loss of the best food they have ever eaten, the town of misfits unites to rekindle the couple’s love. The season will also include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, Tennessee Williams masterpiece Summer and Smoke, and Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. www.ActorsCo-op.org
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Thursday, April 24, 2014
Musical News for Thursday, April 24, 2014
La Jolla Playhouse will hold a special event in conjunction with its Page To Stage workshop production of Chasing the Song, a new musical featuring book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, music & lyrics by David Bryan, directed by artistic director Christopher Ashley. This free public event, entitled Chasing the Song: The Drive to Make Music, with composer David Bryan, takes place on Monday, May 12 at 7:00 pm in the Playhouse’s Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. Christopher Ashley will moderate this exciting evening with legendary composer and Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan, who will discuss his musical influences, the cross-over from rock ‘n’ roll to musical theatre, as well as his work on the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis and Chasing the Song, which explores the creative process behind great American rock music. Reservations are required; please visit www.lajollaplayhouse.org to RSVP beginning on Friday, April 25.
FRINGE BENEFIT: The Hollywood Fringe Festival is hosting a fundraiser bash on May 29 at King Kong (6555 Hollywood Blvd.) to help support the production costs of the 2014 Festival. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. The event, which will have a fantastical circus theme, will feature live entertainment and a silent auction. Doors will open at 7pm. The Fringe folks are also holding a design contest for their annual Festival T-shirt. The winner will be awarded $399 (minus the commission taken by 99Designs). To qualify, submit your design by Friday, April 25 at 11am PDT. Click Here for the guidelines and good luck!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Love the performing arts in Los Angeles? Consider volunteering at LA STAGE Day, a gathering of the Los Angeles performing arts community, taking place at Cal Stage L.A. on Saturday, May 17. This event is a mass get-together of artistic directors, designers, actors, dancers, directors, arts managers. There will also be a large bazaar where many performing arts organizations will be ‘tabling,’ as well as many discussion sessions, workshops, panels, and networking opportunities. Early bird registration is $30 until May 1st (after which registration is $40), but volunteering for 2.5 or more hours gets you into the whole day for free! All you pay is $6 for parking. Details HERE.
CABARET/CONCERTS: Kritzerland at Sterling’s Upstairs at The Federal presents At Long Last – Cole Porter Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 pm. The show will star Allen Everman, Jean Louisa Kelly, Lisa Livesay, Mark Whitten, Brennley Brown, Jenna Lea Rosen and Sami Staitman, with music director Shelly Markham. For reservations call (818) 754-8700. Doors open at 5:30. Show starts at 7:00pm. Reservations have already started coming in, and are highly recommended. Sterling’s at The Federal, 5303 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601.
The South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC) in partnership with the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and SOPA Studios will present four musical groups as part of the Sixth Annual Eclectic Music Festival on Saturday, May 3, from 2:00 – 10:00 pm at several venues around the city. The SPARC/SOPA Stage is located at the SOPA Studios, 1025 Hope Street, South Pasadena. Scheduled to appear are Lisa Finnie (5:00 pm), Shadowlands (6:15 pm), Anny Celsi Band (7:30 pm) and Jonah Smith (8:45 pm). Please note, all times are approximate. www.sopasartscouncil.com
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Westside Connections features actor John Rubinstein and pianists Jeffrey Kahane and Christopher O’Riley and the music of Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Brahms on Thurs., May 15, 7:30 pm. Rubinstein created the role of Bob Fosse’s Pippin on Broadway and received a Tony Award for Children of a Lesser God, and O’Riley is a versatile pianist as well as host of the popular NPR radio program From the Top. They join LACO Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cello Andrew Shulman in a performance that pays homage to the remarkable legacy of both Rubinsteins and features Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G minor (Shulman and Kahane), Chopin’s Nocturne in D-flat major Op. 27, No. 2 (Kahane), and Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 (Batjer, Shulman and O’Riley). Moss Theater, Santa Monica. Tickets: (213) 622-7001 or www.laco.org.
You may be required to learn a short dance/movement combination, so please come prepared to move; there may also be cold reading from the script. Bring a résumé, as well as a list of all potential conflicts. The production begins rehearsals May 19 and runs July 5 – August 3 (Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm). Click Here for complete audition details and a breakdown of characters.
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Labels: conejo players, hollywood fringe, kritzerland, la jolla playhouse, la stage alliance
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Holiday Shows For Your Merry Entertainment – 2013
Musicals/Plays/Stage Shows/Events
December 6 – 22
Hudson Backstage Theatre
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/513439
*54th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration
December 24 (3 - 6 pm)
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Music Center
www.HolidayCelebration.org FREE
*A Broadway Christmas
December 7
NoHo Arts Center
http://globaltruthcenter.org/calendar-of-events?task=view_event&event_id=220
*A Christmas Carol
December 7 – 22
A Noise Within
www.anoisewithin.org
*A Christmas Carol
November 30 - December 22
Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group
http://zombiejoes.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=4552
*A Christmas Carol
November 29 – December 24
Glendale Centre Theatre
www.glendalecentretheatre.com
*A Christmas Carol
December 7 - 15
Lewis Family Playhouse
www.lewisfamilyplayhouse.com
*A Christmas Carol
December 20 – 22
Long Beach Shakespeare Company
www.lbshakespeare.org/show.php?id=15
*A Christmas Carol
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Nov. 29- Dec. 23
www.sierramadreplayhouse.org
*A Christmas Carol
November 30 – December 27
South Coast Repertory
www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=6337
*A Christmas Carol with Orson Bean
December 13, 14 & 15
First Lutheran Church Venice
No reservations needed, no collections will be taken FREE
*A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens
December 8 – 29
Kirk Douglas Theatre
www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/A-Christmas-Carol-Twist-Your-Dickens/
*A Christmas Carol with Charles Dickens
December 5 - 22
Independent Shakespeare Co.
www.iscla.org
Read more »
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Review: The Troubies' The Snow QUEEN - 80 Minutes of Rocker Heaven
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| Misty Cotton and company. Photos by Jill Mamey. |
While the kids are busy getting their pictures taken with Santa at the mall and begging for overpriced toys they’ll forget the day after Christmas, adults know that the place they’ll get the most bang for their jingle bell bucks is at the Falcon Theatre. That’s where the latest Troubie show is roasting its comedy chestnuts in its own unique style while providing one of the wackiest soundtracks to the holiday season.
This year’s recipe for success includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. A story that’s ripe for poking, typically one that everyone knows. This year it’s Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. (Buckle up your boots Gerda and Kai, you’ve never met an ice queen like this before.)
2. A dozen or so songs by a well-known musical artist or group, preferably rock or bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, done up with original lyrics to inflate the humor. In 2014, it’s the year of Freddie Mercury and QUEEN. ‘Nuff said. Well, except that the band members are also part of the story and make their acting debuts front and center. They’ve even got lines. And Eric Heinly’s band has the kind of Saturday Night Live sound with only four musicians - musical director Heinly on drums and percussion, Kevin McCourt on keyboards, Mike Abraham on guitar, and Dana Decker on bass - that shows this company means business.
3. A leader (Matt Walker) who boldly goes wherever he wants to and a fearless band of thespians who follow him out into the great comedy beyond and back again. In addition to the usual suspects (Beth Kennedy, Rick Batalla, Joseph Keane, and Lisa Valenzuela) who are on their game every minute, you’ll find first timers like a popular west coast musical theatre diva (Misty Cotton) and a celebrated commedia queen from America’s Got Talent (John Quale), both of whom make the house rock to the rafters. Disclaimer: no cast members were harmed in the making of this theatrical masterpiece...or audience members...although one unsuspecting woman did get her head stuck in a raven’s bill while trying to decide whether to help said raven with his wedgie.
4. Puppets! And who doesn’t love puppets. It’s like kittens, only better. (I know...random, right?) These are created by Matt Scott.
5. Snow...like you’ve never seen it before. In Troubie hands, even the snow is a bit, and only one of the imaginative ideas that set designer Jeffrey McLaughlin, prop designer Corey Womack and lighting designer Jeremy Pivnick have created by mixing humor with practicality in their design elements. Without a doubt, the production team is as wacked as their onstage counterparts.
6. Clothes that make the man - or a little Danish girl and her lederhosen-clad brother; or a narrator on stilts in very long pants; or a crazy old woman with locks to rival any hair band member; or a two-headed pinhead chorus member a la American Horror Story: Freak Show; or a glittering drag queen in a three foot tall ice sculpture wig; or an adlibbing male raven in a skin tight black unitard...(think about that for a minute); or a robber girl whose buck teeth can’t detract from her youthfulness and good heart. All of them come from the happily silly and slightly warped mind of Sharon McGunigle who fits right in with the rest of the gang.
Put all the pieces through the creative wringer and you have a rock operetta-style comedy that will give you the best night of laughs you’ll have all year. I wouldn’t miss one their shows for anything and you shouldn’t either. The Snow QUEEN is outlandish fun and the one show that just might get you through the holidays with your sense of humor intact. GO!
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| Matt Walker as the Narrator |
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| Beth Kennedy as Old Woman |
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| L-R: Joseph Keane, Misty Cotton, Breanna Kelly, Jen DeMinco, and Darrin Revitz |
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| John Quale as the Snow Queen |
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| L-R: Rick Batalla, Darrin Revitz, Jen DeMinco, and Breanna Kelly |
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| Beth Kennedy and Lisa Valenzuela |
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| Joseph Keane, Lisa Valenzuela and Misty Cotton |
THE SNOW QUEEN
December 3, 2014 - January 18, 2015
Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91505
Performances: Wed. – Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 4pm & 7pm
No shows Dec. 24 & 25, or Dec. 31 & Jan. 1
No 7pm show on Jan. 11 or Jan. 18
Added shows Dec. 27 at 4pm, Jan. 3 at 4pm
Tickets: (818) 955-8101 or www.FalconTheatre.com
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Labels: troubies. falcon theatre