Dec./Jan. Reviews
December 08-January 09 Reviews
Lunatique Fantastique 's Wizardry Is Back in Town
Liebe Wetzel's newest version of her popular Wrapping Paper Caper at
the Marsh, incollaboration with and directed by Jeff Raz, is enriched
with dramatic elements such as the use of words and vocal sounds and
acrobatics, clowning and miming by her found object characters. And all
the while her piece has preserved its original imaginative charm and
freshness in a unique fantasy world peopled by inanimate objects that
come to life.
As the black silhouettes of the puppeteer animators take their places
behind a long table before us, imagine a light jacket (that the
animators rapidly shape into a body), a hat and a magnifying glass
lying there that rise up from the table to become Sherlock Holmes
brandishing his magnifying glass. The puppeteers animate him and other
characters created from Xmas wrappings, silverware, bread rolls, and
everyday items that artistic director Liebe Wetzel claims can be made
in less than 5 minutes. Then after our detective hero discovers a
fancily wrapped gift among some Xmas ornaments and cries out "Mine!"
the piece begins.
In the puppet theatre of Lunatique Fantastique one's imagination is
sparked because characters, props, and sets are cleverly created from
so little. Children as well as adults are drawn into the inventive
antics of these fantasy creatures born from familiar objects. We leave =0
D
Lunatique Fantastique wondering if the objects around us-the chair on
which we were sitting or the glass we held in our hand-do not caper
about when our heads are turned. All this because Lunatique Fantastique
excels in the art of making the inanimate animate.
Lunatique Fantastique will be back in the Bay Area at the San Francisco
Marsh in the Spring and Summer with Executive Order 9066. For
information contact WWW.Lunfan.com. Annette Lust
Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party Brings Freedom To Choose One's
Mores
Aaron Loeb's (the esteemed playwright of First Person Shooter) play
about Abraham Lincoln begins with a scene in which three elementary
school children interpret forefathers Thomas Jefferson, George
Washington and Abraham Lincoln divulging the truth about Lincoln having
on a certain occasion shared a bed with another male. "Who was I" asks
the child playing Lincoln-" a saint, gay, or a liberator?" "Totally
gay!" he concludes. The audience is then asked to vote for the order in
which it chooses to see the play performed, "liberty" "house divided"
or "power"? A majority votes for "power" to begin the spoof on
Lincoln's lifestyle in a complex intrigue that revolves around an
anti-gay senator (Joe Kady) in Menard County, Illinois. The latter
attempts to keep the children in the county from being corrupted by
0Ainformation about gay sex, particlarly in respect to the morally intact
historical image of Abraham Lincoln. A trial follows over the
culpability of the teacher (Lorraine Olsen) with the senator's hard
fast opponent running for governor defending the teacher. The teacher
decries her innocence by declaring that children need to know the truth.
More clarity of at times confusing content is introduced in such
following scenes as the visit of a gay New York journalist (Mark
Anderson Phillips) and a sexy fashion photographer (Velina Brown) to a
pie shop run by the senator's son (Michael Phillis). Here the so-called
naïve senator's son who is unwillingly coerced by the fashion
photographer reveals to the gay reporter that he secretly went to
Chicago to frequent gays and had lied to his father about being
attacked by gay protestors.
Directed by Chris Smith, former Artistic Director of the Magic Theatre
where he helmed the introduction of a number of new works, the piece,
in spite of the overwritten text and complex development of dramatic
action, is lively and innovatively presented and put together. It is
enriched by the mix of movement and dance choreography of Kimberly
Richards and Tom Segal that has a chorus line of Abraham Lincoln's
brightening the stage and bringing satirical fun and cheer to the
ensemble
Acting credits go to Velina Brown who handled two opposing roles-that
of a tough Republican
senator running for governor and the role of the
exotic Latino fashion photographer who makes sensual advances to the
innocent senator's son.
Multiple sets by Bill English that move from a courtroom to a pie shop
to a corn field and to scenes that require spaciousness for numerous
characters dancing and moving about are both playful and well conceived
for these purposes.
Victoria Livingston Hall's costumes of the multiple Abraham Lincolns in
black period suits and top hats is charming along with simple attire
that well suits the characterization of each.
This timely play that also relates to our current election of an
African American president and the dissention over Prop 8 touches upon
social, religious and financial issues. It is likewise a twentieth
century mix of many elements, namely farce, satire, sentimental
romance, politics, audience participation, dance, and an innovative way
of fusing all of these elements. Annette Lust
Ennio's Origami Celebrity Cartoons Return to Berkeley Rep
Internationally acclaimed cartoon artist Ennio Marchetto on his world
tour stopped at Berkeley Rep to perform his paper and cardboard costume
show spoofing everything and everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Santa
Claus and his reindeer. With a happy-go-lucky, rascal-like allure, in
seconds he turned each costume inside out or unfolded it to represent
another one. After portraying Marilyn Monroe singing I Wanna Be Loved
by You, he20presented Mona Lisa making faces in her picture frame. Then
appeared an astronaut, a mummy, a rapper, a Mexican lady on a donkey,
an Xmas tree and much more. His culminating image of Elvis brought the
house down.
It was in Venice that Sosthen Hennekam Ennio's Dutch associate and
Paris costume designer, came to see Ennio's show and began to
collaborate with him, adding new characters and a technique to Ennio's
creations. Soon they had a one hour show that they took to the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they had rave reviews, and eventually
to theatres around the world.
Ennio's work is unique in its combination of origami (the Japanese art
of folding squares of paper into diverse shapes) with mime, dance, and
songs, that blend in rapidly changing cartoons of familiar celebrities
and objects that he parodies with a boundless joie de vivre. (See
Ennio's magical transformations in theatres around the world on the You
Tube).
Next up at Berkeley Rep is the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl's In The
Next Room or The Vibrator Play, about the role of sexuality in our
lives, directed by Les Waters January 30 through March 15. For info
call 510-647-2949 or visit berkeleyrep.org. Annette Lust
Second Wind's World Premiere of "Meadowland" at the Phoenix
In "Meadowland" we have two parallel stories. The first story involves
two
brothers: one who chose a more righteous path to be
come sheriff of
their small
town (sensitively played by Leon Goertzen) and the younger, more
rebellious
sibling who marries his brother's childhood love and then joins the
Army to find
bigger adventures (played with a spirit of fun by Arthur King).
The younger brother has already been dead for two years. The exact
nature of his
death a mystery. Unwilling to move on fromt his world, he has proven
to be
something of a pesky spirit until he brings his brother an unsolved
murder, a
retelling of the Roshomon story of a murder and a rape of the murdered
man's
wife which is told from three different points of view.
Ian Walker's imaginative staging involves the use of four major playing
areas--Meadowland, where the Roshomon story takes place is below the
stage,
right in front of the audience. He makes an interesting use of levels
for the
rest of the set. Elevated on stage right is the kitchen in the house
of the
sheriff's sister in law. Elevated on stage left is a bar. Upstage
center is a
scrim which is imaginatively lit to project characters from the
Roshomon story
as well.
There is a good contrast between the two stories. The story involving
the two
brothers and sister in law is at a daily conversational level, while
the
Roshomon story takes on the proportions of Greek tragedy complete with
costumes
and masks which are lit effectively.
For information about future20Second Wind productions, call 415-508-5614
or go online at www.secondwind.8m.com
Floralynn Isaacson
The Traveling Jewish Theatre Celebrates 30th Anniversary
The Traveling Jewish Theatre (TJT) begins its 30th Anniversary Season
with a
revival of "The Last Yiddish Poet" created 30 years ago by Corey
Fischer, Albert
Greenberg and Naomi Newman.
Corey Fischer and Aaron Davidman (replacing Albert Greenberg from the
original
cast) play a couple of Jewish comedians on a journey to save the
Yiddish
language and culture. "The Last Yiddish Poet" is a song to the spirit
of the
Yiddish language. It sings of survival(through humor), hope, despair
and
inspiration.
The two actors, Davidman and Fischer shift through many roles with an
ease equal
to the depth of the play's journey. This production is enhanced by a
stunning
use of music, lighting and masks. "The Last Yiddish Poet" is suffused
with
poetry, song, dance, and mime, and is exquisitely directed by Naomi
Newman.
The San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum will soon honor
Ms. Newman
for her "many accomplishments in theatre and her outstanding
contribution to the
cultural life of the Bay Area" with the publication of a book
documenting her
life and career as part of its Legacy Oral History Program.
Coming up next at TJT will be "The Model Apartment" by Donald Margulies
and
directed by Amy Glazer from February 26-April 5, 2009.
TJT is located
at 470
Florida Street in San Francisco. Call 415-522-0786 or click for
information at
www.atjt.com.
Flora Lynn Isaacson
Glengarry Glen Ross: the Life of a Salesman"
On the 25th anniversary of its U.K. premiere, Ross Valley Players
opened
"Glengarry Glen Ross" by David Mamet on Friday, January 16, 2009.
Winner of the
1984 Pulitzer Prize, this explosive drama follows four small-time real
estate
salesman in Chicago pushing plots of worthless land on reluctant buyers
and
trying to make a living by any means necessary, from lies and bribery
to threats
and intimidation. The language of these everyday con men and losers
defined the
Mamet style, creating a kind of grubby "Death of a Salesman."
In Act One, in 3 brief, two person scenes, set in a Chinese restaurant,
we meet
the primary characters and learn they are under extreme pressure to
sell
apparently worthless land in Florida and to succeed in this, they need
good
sales "leads" which are under the control of the office manager,
Williamson.
Act Two begins the next morning; the office has been ransacked and the
leads
have been stolen. The Act ends with the apprehension of Levine, one of
the
salesman, as the thief.
Roma, the fast talking superstar who weaves a web of words to capture
his prey,
is beautifully played by Eric Burke. Roma's energy and charisma is as
essential
as his heartlessness t
o the meaning of Mamet's play. Roma's prey, a
hapless,
inarticulate man who finds these guys don't cheerfully return your
money when
you realize you've made a mistake, is bashfyully played by Stephen
Dietz.
Norman Hall gives an energetic performance as Shelly Levine, the aging
former
sales star, who is so desperate for money, he lends himself to the
dirtiest of
schemes to get it. H.D. Southerland fills the officious office
manager's shoes
with flair. Richard Conti as David Moss received a special hand of
applause
from the audience. Rounding out the cast, Tim Earls plays the timid
Aaronow and
Jason Souza is intimidating as Detective Baylen.
Bruce Lackovic, the set designer receives high praise for his two sets,
the
bright red and gold Chinese restaurant of Act One with two separate
tables which
gives a private, closed in feeling and then in Act Two, the wonderful
open set
of the office which begins with the "L" train in Chicago passing by and
has a
realistic see-through window. This set almost becomes a character in
the story
of these desperate salesman to win at any cost.
A great deal of high praise should also go to the experienced director,
James
Dunn, who has been directing and teaching theatre arts for 48 years.
Under
Dunn's careful direction, all of these actors give convincing
performances and
capture the rhythm of the language and meld into a true ensemble.
"G
lengarry Glen Ross" plays at the Barn Theatre, Marin Art and Garden
Center,
Sir Francis Drake Blvd. at Lagunitas, in Ross from January 16 through
February
22. Performances are held at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
Thursdays
and 2 p.m. Sundays. Buy tickets online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com or
call
415-456-9555.
Flora Lynn Isaacson
THE FRINGE OF MARIN REVIEWED by Jeffrey R. Smith
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Strange that in an era of reduced material expectation, Americans are
turning toward the psychological luxury of self-actualization and
discovering vehicles to express their personal creativity.The great
American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, anticipated the opposite: when
we are secure materially speaking, only then would we set forth
evolving into our higher selves.The truth is, we were materially
secure, up until recently.
And how exactly did we optimize our economic freedom to pursue
personal growth?
By sucking the equity out of our homes, leveraging ourselves out over
a yawning abyss of financial woe, all so we could eat more, drink more,
buy more and to better pander to every appetite that our psyche could
give rise to!
Maslow saw self-actualization as different from all other human
drives: the others stemmed from what he called deficit motivation;
self-actualization on the other hand stemmed from growth motivation.
For people in pursuit of self-actualization, the jour
ney is often more
important than the ends.
Self actualizing people uniformly seem to resist enculturation: they
are not susceptible to social pressure to be "well adjusted" or to "fit
in."
Not only are they nonconformists in the best sense; they are not
content to blithely consume the creativity of others i.e. the mass
media.
Maslow noted that self-actualizing people have a "non-hostile sense of
humor." They have a sense of humor that is self-deprecating at worst:
they joke at their own expense, or at the human condition, and never
direct their humor at others.
The self-actualizing share an ability to be creative, inventive, and
original.These self-actualizers tend to have more peak experiences than
the average person: they step outside of themselves; they are safe
feeling very tiny; they feel secure in their uniqueness and do not seek
to camouflage themselves in bland uniformity.
Their sense of richness and self-sufficiency does not come at the cost
of environmental impoverishment.
They are playful: their lives are not grim, humorless or rooted in
drudgery.
By discovering the simple values of self-sufficiency and
meaningfulness, the self-actualized sidestep depression, despair,
disgust, alienation, and a degree of cynicism.
To his credit, Maslow allowed that that there might be people that
actualize despite deprivation.
One did not need to be a member of the Brahman (leisure)
class to
tread the pathway to self-actualization.
In this sense, Maslow's theory aligns itself with other theories on
personal evolution: that exceptional people are those who succeed in
the face of adversity: they can be seen as heroic rather than freakish
aberrations living in childish denial of reality.
Think of it: Annette Lust's FRINGE OF MARIN seems to incorporate every
aspect of Maslow's Theory on Self-Actualization.
Writers, directors and actors in Annette's Festival of One Act Plays
have discovered that the plays are essentially "vehicles to express
their personal creativity:" that their participation "stems from a
motivation for growth;" that the "journey is often more important than
the ends" i.e. that writing, directing and acting for no hope of
monetary recompense or fame was far from a senseless effort: it was a
truly meaningful activity. Annette's coterie are "self actualizing
people (who have) uniformly resisted enculturation: they are not
susceptible to social pressure to be 'well adjusted' or to 'fit in.'
In fact they have literally identified themselves as the FRINGE OF
MARIN: these people are "nonconformists in the best sense; they are not
content to blithely consume the creativity of others i.e. the mass
media."
If you attended the FRINGE OF MARIN, you would note that these
"self-actualizing p
eople have a 'non-hostile sense of humor:'" and that
they "joke at their own expense, or at the human condition, and never
direct their humor (maliciously) at others."
Throughout its 22-year history, the FRINGE OF MARIN has consisted of
people who have "shared an ability to be creative, inventive, and
original."
Annette's stalwart crew of self-actualizers a.k.a. amateur thespians,
have always tended to "have more peak experiences than the average
person: they step outside of themselves . . . they felt secure in their
uniqueness and do not seek to camouflage themselves in bland
uniformity."
The good news for their loyal audiences of friends and aficionados is
that "they are playful" and their shows are neither "grim, humorless,
(nor) rooted in drudgery."
Nor are the one-acts in any measurable sense ensconced in "depression,
despair, disgust, alienation, and a (disproportionate) degree of
cynicism."
Perhaps some reviews of this season's FRINGE OF MARIN will illustrate
what we mean.
For example: Kenneth Williams has dreamt up a skit: TWO WAY SPLIT; it
is set in a Stinson Beach barrio.
Charles Grant plays the nefarious flimflam scam-artist Sonny Zapata
(no relation to Emilio): a conman working in intimate (ahem)
collaboration with Sherry Page: played by Christine Clemmons.
Miss Sherry has a coke habit that=2
0could corrode away the average nasal
septum in less than a week: she should be used in a Hoover Vacuum
commercial to see which is faster at sucking up a one ton of pure
Columbian: Sherry or the Industrial Capacity Hoover plugged into a 220
V.A.C. socket.
Stage veteran Flora Lynn Isaacson plays the duplicitous MRS Ryan a
"predator posing as a house plant."
MRS Ryan is an undercover cop who lugs a 0.45 caliber cannon and is
not afraid to paint the ceiling with brain tissue.
Her itching manicured trigger finger is just hoping that Zapata will
"make her day."
While the play is riddled with clichés, it is fun, stoked with ironic
justice and reveals a side of Stinson Beach that many of us did not
know existed: perhaps we will go there for Thanksgiving Dinner at
Parkside Pizza or at the Sand Dollar: I hear their Roast Heron is to
die for.
David Talley's comedy: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? turns the tables
on the traditional prostitution racket.
Rick Roittenger convincingly plays Derek: a man "writing checks his
body can't cash" and who would sell his soul if he hadn't already
mortgaged it down to its foundations.
Brittany Hogan plays a superb Estelle: a Marin Madame who obviously
shops at her own store and specializes in road tested stud muffins.
Estelle dispatches her escorts to make house calls in the tony 0D
neighborhoods where neurosis is easily swapped or mistaken for sexual
frustration and vice versa.
Estelle knows men better than they want to know themselves; she is
more hard-boiled than a 30-minute egg.
MS Hogan's Estelle has a very direct yet kind way of bringing reality
into sharper focus for Puer Aeternus Derek.
Derek wants the easy life and Estelle only wants to recruit him, not
destroy his male ego: in her business it would be bad for business.
As great play, we strongly suspect a Marin based roman a clef,
enhanced by two capable actors looking to have a good time with a
script.
Stanton Klose has offered up a dark comedy: HOTLINE; which parodies
the real thing.
A sensitive and relevant subject given that the Gold Gate Bridge
Authority is contemplating spending millions to construct a butterfly
net to intercept the roughly 25 people per year who jump to their
deaths from the bridge.
While the 220-foot trip to oblivion only takes four seconds, at the
average speed of 75 mph, no more than 2 percent of the jumpers can tell
us what they thought about during the descent.
If art imitates life or vice versa, then Mary Ewert, Erica Badgeley and
Johann Schiffer are hot on the trail to verisimilitude without being
too irreverent or morbid.
Johann as the hotline volunteer, who is supposed to discourage NOT
encourage the clogging of the shipping channels with the crescendo
despondent,
does a good job of ratcheting up his stress level until he
is nearly garroting himself with his telephone chord.
Erica Badgeley, as a hotline caller, tosses in a little exotic
ambiguity, adding an interesting edge to the already edgy show by
mixing eroticism with melodrama—is it foreplay?
And is it intended for the hotline volunteer?
Whatever the case, Erica adds new meaning to "hotline."
Gaetanna Caldwell-Smith's offering: DANCE OF THE INNOCENTS addresses
the complex long-term mixed reactions our country has had to the 9/11
tragedy.
Fear and paranoia, triggered by 9/11, seem to have invaded marriage
itself and Barbara, a psychologist and therapist, played ably by Jude
Haukom, is out to exorcise the demons or get rich trying.
Sylvia Kratins plays Joan: a psychologically stir-fried artist with a
knife to grind; and Robin Schild plays her retreating husband Ethan.
Not only have they let politics drive a wedge into their marriage but
Barbara too.
This is a great soap brought to the stage via a sound script and an
excellent casting.
Susan Jackson is obviously no stranger to the nursing home nor its
veiled, convoluted language of misplaced hope for the terminally aged:
her play: BLESSED HER HEART, paints an accurate and vivid picture of
these end of the trail campsites in which the staff tries to create the
rosy mirage that something substantive lies ahead in the road to
oblivion.
Diana Brown, as Red, pro
vides what is arguably the best performance at
the FRINGE OF MARIN.
Sitting in a cemetery Red reminisces about her mother, traversing the
emotion gamut from cheerful to tearful, and dredging up issues that
ultimately lie in patient ambush for all of us: Sundown Syndrome,
revisiting Christianity as a mythology of eschatology and an indictment
against the hypocrisy of the nursing home industry.
Most importantly is playwright Jackson's underlying issue, "What do you
do when a family member refuses physical therapy, deliberately getting
weaker and invoking the reaper?"
VB Leghorn's piece PARK PLAY is basically a one-trick pony but a
suitable ending to the first cycle of wonderful plays at the FRINGE OF
MARIN.
Pennel Chapin, Gail Gongoll, Marybeth Halsing and Stephanie Miller are
all having fun, laughing up their sleeves, while spoofing an
unsuspecting audience as they casually feign watching the action in the
park from a not-too-concerned afar.
Stephanie Miller turns in a great performance as a most improbable and
bitter matron of child protective services.
To hear the punch line, you are going to have to catch the play or
plead with VB Leghorn to leak the twisted ending.
Jacque Brell may be dead in Paris, but creativity is alive and well and
living in the FRINGE OF MARIN.
22nd Anniversary Fringe of Marin Award Ceremony
The Dominican University Community Players and the Fringe of Marin
Festival
beg
an their award's ceremony for new Bay Area one act plays and solo
festival performances with
Theatre Critic's Circle Awards for Best Play, Director, Actress and
Actor on
Saturday, December 6, 2008 at Meadowlands Assembly Hall,
Dominican University, San Rafael. Best Play.
"Jailhouse Conversion" by Ellen Swain Veen won the $100 first place
award. The
second place winner was "Blessing Her Heart" a solo piece by Susan
Jackson.
"The Perfect Crime" by Steve North won third place. Fourth place
winner was
"Park Play" by VB Leghorn. Nominations for Best Play went to Penny
Wallace for
"Who Will Buy the Leather Pants," Gaetana Caldwell-Smith for "Dance of
the
Innocents" and Tony Matthews for "Bigger than Life."
Next up were the awards for Best Director. First place honors went to
Mike Ward
for "Blessing Her Heart." Second place went to Billie Cox for "Park
Play." The
third place winner was Jennifer E. Hewitt for "Jailhouse Conversion."
Nominations for Best Director went to Steve North for "The Perfect
Crime," Robin
Schild for "Dance of the Innocents" and Linda Vito for "Bigger than
Life."
Diana Brown won first place for Best Actress for "Blessing Her Heart."
Second
place for Best Actress went to Erica Badgeley for "Hotline." Third
place honors
went to Ellen Swain Veen for "Jailhouse Conversion." Nominations for
Best
Actress went to Pennel Chapin for "Park Play," Sylvia Kratins for
"Dan
ce of the
Innocents," Christine Clemmons for "Two Way Split" and Candace Brown
for
"Condoms."
The last of the Critic's Circle Awards went to Best Actor. Steve North
won
first place for Best Actor in both "The Perfect Crime" and "Bigger than
Life."
Second place went to T. Louis Weltz for "My Name Is Alice." Rick
Roitenger won
third place for "What's Love Got To Do With It" and fourth place went
to Johan
Schiffer for "Hotline." Nominations for Best Actor went to Charles
Grant for
"Two Way Split" and to Guy Biederman for "Jailhouse Conversion."
For the third time, the Audience Awards took place. Here are the
results.
"Jailhouse Conversion" by Ellen Swain Veen took first place. Second
place went
to "Blessing Her Heart" by Susan Jackson. Third place honors went to
"Bigger
than Life" by Tony Matthews. There was a fourth place tie between "My
Name Is
Alice" by Charles Lerrigo and "What's Love Got To Do With It" by David
Talley.
Jennifer E. Hewitt was the People's Choice for Best Director for
"Jailhouse
Conversion." Second place for Best Director went to Linda Vito for
"Bigger Than
Life." Third place honors went to John Clevenger for "What's Love Got
To Do
With It," and fourth place went to Carol Ellis for "My Name Is Alice."
Steve North took first place again as Best Actor for "The Perfect
Crime" and
"Bigger than Life." Rick Roitenger won second place as Best20Actor for
"What's
Love Got To Do With It." Johann Schiffer won third place as Best Actor
for
"Hotline" and fourth place went to Guy Biederman for "Jailhouse
Conversion."
At the conclusion of the Awards Ceremony, two certificates of
completion of
Advanced Theatre Workshop went to Linda Vito and Floralynn Isaacson.
Congratulations to Dr. Annette Lust for maintaining the Fringe Festival
of Marin
for 22 seasons!
Flora Lynn Isaacson