April Theatre Reviews

Bees, Ghosts and Family Conflicts in Humble Boy
Echoing the Hamlet-like conflicts of a son who suffers over his mother's
infidelity to his father, in Charlotte Jones' Humble Boy at the Ross Valley
Players, Felix, a young Cambridge astrophysicist, returns to the English
countryside to face his dominating mother Flora (played with authority by Robyn Wiley),
who has been cheating on her husband with her lover George Pye and is now
preparing the funeral for the death of Felix's father mortally stung by a bumble
bee. As Felix reproaches his mother's actions, he encounters Pye's daughter
Rosie, who reveals she has had a child by him. As his mother announces her
decision to marry George because he has brought her more satisfaction than Felix's
father, a sudden revelation concerning her dead husband reverses Flora's
decision.
Performed at the Ross Valley Players' Barn, the first act of the play moves
slowly and remains mysterious and obscure concerning Felix's father's death by
a bee sting.which is clarified in the second act. The play then concludes with
some profound wisdom concerning the value of true love and devotion. The
second half also offers comic relief that is sorely missing in the first act.
Directed by Ken Sonkin, good characterizations are created by the entire cast
with Lynn Stofle offering comic relief throughout the mounting dramatic
intensity of each scene in her role of Mercy, the naive birdbrain friend.
The flowering garden is by Benicia Martinez and costumes by Nancy Wilson
enhance the characterizations of English countryside inhabitants.
Humble Boy continues through April 23. For information about Arthur Miller's
The Price, call 415-456-9555 or visit www.rossvalleyplayers.org.

A Bang-Up Our Lady of 121st St. at the Playhouse

They don't make comedies any funnier than Stephen Adly Guirgis' Our Lady of
21st St playing at the S.F. Playhouse. Although at first it seems to be a
series of disconnected scenes about cololrful odd characters with Harlem accents
that are so strong that they are at times incomprehensible, it all somehow
meshes together under the theme of culbability that each character feels. And it
is the death of Sister Rose, who has inspired all of them as students, that
brings them to her wake where they relate their sorrows to one another. And if
their life stories are not at all interconnected it is of no importance. What
imports is that they are all suffering from loss or pain (a detective has lost a
young son, a man accidently hitting his brother has left the latter mentally
incapacitated, a priest has lost his legs in Vietnam, a gay guy is depressed
about his gay allure etc), And it is each one's loss that unites them all as
they seek redemption and relief while mourning the passing of their beloved
Sister Rose, only to undergo still another loss when they discover that her dead
body has disappeared.
Although each of the cast members is as funny as the other, Hansford Prince
as the talky," swearin", guilty "feelin" Rooftop (named after a show he is
"doin") steals the show especially in the confessonal scene with Father Lux when
he beats around the bush non-stop while trying to confess. The remainder of the
cast, with each character seeming to be more eccentric than the other, are
excellent.Their unleashed energy is contagious in scenes that often reach
comedic heights. I should add that the fact that Guirgis was himself an actor
renders this play very character-oriented which is also the reason why it is
dramatically and humanly appealing and sparks our interest.

The Playhouse dauntlessly continues to explore and bring to its audiences
diversified theatre creatively staged in an intimate, family-like ambience.
For info about Our Lady of 121st St. and upcoming productions call
415-677-9596 or click on www.sfplayhouse.org.

A.C.T. M.A. Program Takes On Neal Bell's On the Bum

Thirteen talented A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts students joined director Sheryl
Kaller for the New Deal-era comedy On the Bum or The Next Train Through
written by Obie award playwright, Neal Bell. On the Bum is about the extreme lengths
to which theater artists will go in pursuit of their craft, and how the
greater community responds to them. A wryly comic, witty, insightful and
multi-layered examination of the transparency of art--and of time--at a pivotal moment
in the growth of modern America, it centers on a hard-luck New York actress
named Eleanor, beautifully played by Caroline Sharman. After hopping a train to
the heartland to act in a government-sponsored local production and while
rehearsing the play--a historic piece about the town of Bumfork--Eleanor finds
herself in the midst of political scandal, artistic censorship and an unexpected
romance.
Each act begins with the house lights up as if we are in a play rehearsal.
Especially effective is the musical accompaniment of each scene change with the
entire ensemble singing Depression-era songs such as "Brother Can You Spare a
Dime," "I'm Going Down the Dusty Road," "I Don't Got No Home," "Life is a Bowl
of Cherries," and "Give Me Back My Job Again." The off stage noises also add
a lot of color to the play.
Even though the play's content is thin, the talented and energetic cast
brought it to life. Except for the lead role of Eleanor, all the cast members
played a variety of roles. By Flora Lynn Isaacson.
For information about A.C.T. M.A.'s upcoming productions call 415-749-2228
or visit www.act-sf.org.
Annette Lust, member S.F. Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and drama faculty
Dominican Univesity of California.

Culture Clash's Zorro In Hell Raises Hell at Berkeley Rep

If you watched the Zorro movie or T.V. program or read Johnston McCulley's
Curse of Capistrano or saw the Zorro comic strips about the dashing figure who
always arrives on time to vanquish the evils of the day, you will be all the
more enchanted with Berkeley Rep's S.F. Mime Troupe comic strip version of the
beloved hero of the fourties and fifties. Although Culture Clash's Zorro in Hell
offers thin dramatic action, it justifies its stagiing if seen as a riotous
spoof of present-day issues and clashes.The action revolves around a writer
who has writer's block who meets up with a 200 year old woman (dynamically
played by Sharon Lockwood) who engages him at gun point to help her defend her
land by transforming himself into Zorro. Our hero soon faces numerous trials
during which there are biting and irreverent
references to past as well as present issues such as Mexican immigration,
Indian gambling, and a foreign born governor.
Written and performed by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza,
along with performances by Joseph Kamal and Sharon Lockwood and music ensemble
by Vincent Christopher Montoya, the work is a series of truthful allusions to
our current nightmares that mocks everything and everyone from Latino
illusions to homosexual promiscuity. It is a wild ride alluding to the political and
social demons we face today that is as funny as it is therapeutic.
The production, directed by Berkeley Rep artistic director Ton Taccone, is
performed in Mime Troupe farcical, exaggerated style well suited to the content
and spirit of the piece. Other visuals are of a high standard such as the
elegant scenic design by Christopher Acebo with each set outdoing the next one and
costume design by Alexander V. Nichols that offers an array of colorful
attire.
Whether or not we agree with the politics of culture clash, so compelling and
spirited is their drive to reveal truths, that it is hard to find any fault
with their incessantly irreverent fun-loving caricatures that force you to see
the humor in the most depressive of present-day issues and personalities.
For information about Zorro or the upcoming T. Williams' The Glass Menagerie
call 510-647-2949 or click on berkeleyrep.org.

A Comic Solo By an Authentic, Scary, Retired Teacher

Performing around the Bay Area in his solo show, Steve North, a retired Bay
Area school teacher who has won several local acting awards, as Professor
Furtwangler erupts on stage like a man shot out of a canon and treats us to an old
fashioned vaudeville dance routine which reminds us of the dancing baby on
Ally Mcbeal. He is all eyes, teeth, smile, full bodied and all there for a solid,
delightful minute. After introducing himself as Professor Furtwangler, he
morphs into Steve North, retired school teacher, who will share some of his most
notable memories with us. The idea delights him and as the minutes roll on we
happily join him on his trip down memory lane (He tells us a marvelous tale of
the planning of a perfect murder)..
We begin with his agonizing first day as a teacher in a private school in a
typing class where typing is forbidden, and follow him through his trials with
the Head Mistress, for whom he can do nothing right, and his attempts to teach
English as a second language. We meet his brother, mother, father, and other
characters, brought vividly to life physically and verbally. Not all the
memories are happy ones; some make us laugh out loud; others leave us speechless
with their impact.
Steve North as an actor is scary. He is indeed a man in full motion. We could
use a few more scary actors in full motion like him on stage.
Watch for Steve North's show in your neighborhood.
By Robbie Robertson.

A Shining Golden Apple at the Eureka

If Jerry Moross' Golden Apple has been a a neglected masterwork of musical
theatre for a number of years, it certainly moved into the limelight at its
recent 42nd St Moon revival at the Eureka Theatre. First successfully performed at
the Phoenix Theatre in New York and in 1954 at the Alvin Theatre, where it
ended after a four month run because of the way in which the score was
shortened, it was then revived on Broadway in 1962. However, perhaps because it offers
a musical challenge, the work has since been left obscure.
The dramatic action of the 42nd St. Moon staged concert based on the epic
Trojan War poems is done in early 20th century costumes in the state of
Washington in a small sleepy town of Angel's Roost depicts Ulysses going off to war
with the boys and leaving Penelope and the other women to count the days when
they will return.When Helen later runs off with Paris (a seductive traveling
salesman played by Jerry Van Carlos Gore), the boys dash to her rescue to return
her to her devoted hum drum husband Menelaus ( Rudy Guerrero)
The musical with book and lyrics by John Latouche is staged by 42nd St. Moon
artistic director Greg MacKellan and musical director Dave Dobrusky in
animated singing of the dialogue and light comedy acting style. The cast also does
not perform with their scripts as in other staged concerts. Josh Powell as
Ulysses, a war veteran, brings a great deal of life along with a resonant voice to
his role and to the entire musical. Alexandra Kapriellan as Helen the farmer's
daughter is an enticing singer/actress. Carly Ozard offers a powerfully
beautiful voice in her role as Mother Hare, the local mystic. Darlene Popovic
creates a comical interpretaton of the local matchmaker. Kristopher McDowell is not
only a fine singer but a talented dancer and actor as the mayor of
Rhododendron.
42nd St. Moon with its mission to revive older rarely performed musicals has
provided the Golden Apple with a rediscovery and full appreciation as a worthy
musical opera.
Next up 42nd St. Moon is Mack and Mabel by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart.
For info call 415-978-2787.