Theater Reviews: Titus Andronicus, Debbie Reynolds: Alive and Fabulous

Also, The Phantom of the Opera, State of the Union and more

A A A Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Theater Critics Thursday, Sep 30 2010

GO DEBBIE REYNOLDS: ALIVE AND FABULOUS On opening night, myriad Debbie Reynolds cronies decked out in their Hollywood best showed up to support the movie legend and to fill the coffers of the Thalians, a mental health charity. Reynolds went all out for her pals in the audience, with vitality and sardonic humor. In her homage to her own illustrious career, Reynolds mocks herself and her aging audience with the show opener, Sondheim's "I'm Still Here," the first in an evening of jokes about still being alive. Between songs and clips from her film career, from June Bride to Singin' in the Rain, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and beyond, Reynolds' self-effacing quips celebrate both her enormous talent and her unrepentant life as a "bitch," with a crustiness that's joyfully delivered. She presents tributes to and impressions of many departed friends, including Judy Garland and Bette Davis, but it is her spot-on imitation of the still very present Barbra Streisand (complete with a fake big nose and long-haired wig) that brings down the house. She heaps well-deserved praise on her musical director/pianist Joey Singer and percussionist Gerry Genuario, with whom she has spent years performing. Just approaching 80, Reynolds is indeed alive and fabulous. Her show is a pleasure. El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Oct. 3. (818) 508-4200. (Tom Provenzano)

PHOTO BY CARLOS SAN MIGUEL

The Reckoning

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ELEKTRA ELEKTRA There are numerous elements that could contribute to a mind- and heart-wrenching production of Sophocles' tragedy of matricide and vengeance. Start with the outdoor amphitheater tucked into the grounds of the Getty Villa, which allows for the kind of epic acting style that gives the drama its ferocity; add Pamela Reed's powerhouse performance as Clytemnestra, the matriarch who recently murdered her husband, General Agamemnon, upon his return to her bed from the Trojan War. (She had her reasons, and no it wasn't another woman.) Reed possesses the regal grandeur one would expect from the Lady of the House of Atreus. Yet within that noble posture, she can roll her eyes at the ravings of her embittered daughter, Elektra (Annie Purcell), or toss off a one-liner as though she's in a comedy of manners. Inexplicably, that contradiction results in nuance rather than tearing at the ligaments. It takes a rare gift to pull that off. Then there's Timberlake Wertenbaker's lucid, oratorical translation, composer/musical director Bonfire Madigan Shive's lugubrious music played by cellist Theresa Wong (additional music by Michael Wells and Wong), with percussion by Wells. Also grand is Jack Willis' rich-voiced Tutor, guiding Clytemnestra's long-lost son, Orestes (Manoel Feliciano), into the parlor for some unpleasantry. The play hangs on Purcell's Elektra, and the reasons behind her fury at her mother. And there it hangs itself. When that emotion is as earnest and generic as it is here, the cello accompaniment gets snagged on the high wires of pretentiousness. Purcell pours out her heart with a limited range of tonalities, resulting in a stagey effort. How these torrential emotions can be made authentic is the mystery of this play as well as the art of acting. The danger is, when it's not quite there, it's not there at all, and everything else starts to unravel, so that we're left appreciating some staging effects and a couple of good performances, rather than feeling the power of a classic. Carey Perloff directs. Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 2. (310) 440-7300. (Steven Leigh Morris)

GO THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Andrew Lloyd Webber's longest-running Broadway musical in history (now in its 23rd year) is also the world's most lucrative single entertainment project to date, raking in more than $3 billion since it was first staged in London in 1986. Now in its third national tour, presented by the Music Box Company, "Phanty" will sing its swan song on Halloween night at the Pantages. Based on Gaston Leroux's Gothic romance, and reminiscent of the fable Beauty and the Beast, the story follows promising singer Christine (Trista Moldovan) as she falls under the spell of a masked and ghoulish Phantom (Tim Martin Gleason inhabits the role with conviction), who haunts the Paris Opera House. The superb cast includes Sean MacLaughlin as Christine's suitor Raoul and Kim Stengel playing the pompous diva Carlotta. Moldovan's clear, pure voice only occasionally competes with the lush sounds of the orchestra. Infamous for borrowing several musical phrases from Puccini and even Pink Floyd, Webber's melodies may be as pedestrian as this musical is popular. His composition moves seamlessly from grand opera to romantic duets to rock opera (wailing electric guitar), all of which mesh well with occasional harp and violin solos, and the soaring, tender melodies that create several shivery moments. Harold Prince is still credited for the crisp direction. Energetic conducting by William Waldrop rounds out this first-rate production. Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 31. (213) 365-3500. (Pauline Adamek)

THE RECKONING The setting for Kimba Henderson's sprawling drama is a Louisiana crawfish farm called Rubaiyat. The farm is owned by the Robilliards, a proud, affluent black family headed by L.J., an iron-willed patriarch who, as the play opens, is set to return from a stay in the hospital. L.J. (Alex Morris) is determined that daughter Nathalie (the splendid Toyin Moses) take over the farm, and he'll stop at nothing to see that she does, even if it means breaking up her pending marriage to a young doctor (Dorian Christian Baucum). When a strapping young white man named Nicholas (Jacob Sidney) mysteriously arrives, L.J. encourages him to woo Nathalie. But Rubaiyat has an ugly history filled with angry ghosts, dating back to the days of slavery, and it is in the telling of that history that Henderson's otherwise intelligently written script becomes a tad cumbersome. By way of flashbacks, some of which are awkwardly inserted, we learn about how a white family, the Burnsides, were cheated out of title to the plantation, and of the taboo, interracial love affair that caused it. The parallels between past and present become apparent, but this obvious contrivance and the facts unveiled do little to bolster the play's story and become distracting. Rubaiyat's dark past collides with the present in Act 2, where the identity and true purpose of Nicholas' appearance come to light. By this time, however, the surprises are slight, and the resolutions unsatisfying. Ben Guillory directs a very good cast, whose solid performances somewhat offset the script's shortcomings. John Paul Luckenbach's two-tier set piece is a knockout. Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru. Oct. 24. (866) 811-4111. (Lovell Estell III)