COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS
NEW REVIEWS
STAGE FEATURE on The Event and Kharmful Charms of Daniil Kharms
THE 31ST ANNUAL L.A. WEEKLY THEATER AWARDS
NEW REVIEW GO EXTROPIA
Photo by Keith Roenke
Imagine how sonically colorless a world without traditional music
would be. Actually, not very, according to the “retro-utopia”
environment of this show, created and originally produced by the
Seattle-based company Collaborator. Though its residents inhabit a
future drained to such grayness that it's not even as cool as The Matrix,
Foster (Sam Littlefield) wakes one morning to discover he's been
slipped a red pill that allows him to “hear too well.” Fortunately,
Arial (Alexandra Fulton) has long been dancing to the beat of the, uh,
plastic straw squeaking in and out of the fast-food cup lid, and they
orchestrate all kinds of funk out of frogs croaking, birds chirping and
rocks skipping. While the performers are, as they say in this show,
“sufficient,” music director Mark Sparling and musician Miho Kajiwara
deserve credit for making the show a marvel. Relying on sounds from
such “found objects” as a hairbrush, a wooden spoon and a skillet cover
(OK, and of course, the omnipresent MacBooks), they provide live sound
effects for everything from tooth-brushing to factory machine-whirring,
and turn it into music. Extropia optimistically believes in
our innate need to create, and in our ability to scrounge up something
out of nothing when those Macs get taken away, though it is actually a
protest against the yanking of public-arts funding. In that spirit,
this production plans to perform pro bono in various Los Angeles-area
schools. Night performances are followed by live acts such as On Blast,
Bullied by Strings, The Naked and Cherry Boom Boom. King King, 6553
Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Sun., 8 p.m.; thru April 18. (323)
960-7721. (Rebecca Haithcoat)
For all of the weekend's NEW REVIEWS, press the More tab directly below
NEW THEATER REVIEWS scheduled for publication March 18, 2010:
NEW REVIEW GO EXTROPIA
Photo by Keith Roenke
Imagine how sonically colorless a world without traditional music
would be. Actually, not very, according to the “retro-utopia”
environment of this show, created and originally produced by the
Seattle-based company Collaborator. Though its residents inhabit a
future drained to such grayness that it's not even as cool as The Matrix,
Foster (Sam Littlefield) wakes one morning to discover he's been
slipped a red pill that allows him to “hear too well.” Fortunately,
Arial (Alexandra Fulton) has long been dancing to the beat of the, uh,
plastic straw squeaking in and out of the fast-food cup lid, and they
orchestrate all kinds of funk out of frogs croaking, birds chirping and
rocks skipping. While the performers are, as they say in this show,
“sufficient,” music director Mark Sparling and musician Miho Kajiwara
deserve credit for making the show a marvel. Relying on sounds from
such “found objects” as a hairbrush, a wooden spoon and a skillet cover
(OK, and of course, the omnipresent MacBooks), they provide live sound
effects for everything from tooth-brushing to factory machine-whirring,
and turn it into music. Extropia optimistically believes in
our innate need to create, and in our ability to scrounge up something
out of nothing when those Macs get taken away, though it is actually a
protest against the yanking of public-arts funding. In that spirit,
this production plans to perform pro bono in various Los Angeles-area
schools. Night performances are followed by live acts such as On Blast,
Bullied by Strings, The Naked and Cherry Boom Boom. King King, 6553
Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Sun., 8 p.m.; thru April 18. (323)
960-7721. (Rebecca Haithcoat)
NEW REVIEW GO GROUNDLINGS SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN
Photo by Shawn Bishop
In this sprightly, very funny revue, The Groundlings once again show
why they are L.A.'s go-to company for sketch comedy. Of course, the
sketches, in director Mikey Day's crisply paced, surgically focused
production, hew to a number of rules that are familiar by now to
Groundlings fans. One rule: First dates will never turn out well — such
as the one in which a woman (Lisa Schurga) self-sabotages a promising
romance by making a series of appallingly unsuitable, compulsive
personal revelations, or the one in which a hilariously dorky pair of
teens on prom night (Jim Rash and Annie Sertich) paw and stumble their
way through their loss of virginity. Another rule is that folks with
facial hair are invariably ripe for ridicule, be it the creepy,
whiskery pair of recovered addicts (Nat Faxon and Steve Little)
delivering a not-entirely-convincing testimonial at a rehab clinic, or
the woefully white bread, mustachioed aspiring dancers auditioning
ineptly for a spot on an MTV show. Judging from this outing, the
company's sensibility seems to be evolving into slightly edgier
terrain, with characters who sometimes appear darker and more nuanced
than we've seen before. The ensemble work is tight and often brutally
funny — but particular standouts include some brilliantly versatile
turns from Steve Little, as a monstrous office worker with a gluttonous
appetite for break room animal crackers, from Annie Sertich, as the
world's least coherent restaurant waitress, and from the
ever-astonishing Jim Cashman, assaying a variety of roles, including
half of a screechingly dysfunctional gay couple, to a dippy dude trying
to create a “flash mob” video of one. Director Day commendably cuts the
generally uneven “audience participation” sketches that are frequently
a Groundlings show downfall. Groundlings Theater, 7307 Melrose Ave.,
L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 10 p.m.; thru April 24. (323)
934-4747. (Paul Birchall)
HARAM IRAN Jay Paul Deratany's dramatization of the real-life trial
and execution of two teenagers convicted of being gay in Iran in 2005.
Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood;
Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru April 4. (323) 957-1884. See
Theater feature on Wednesday
NEW REVIEW HOT PANTS, COLD FEET This
compendium of sketches, written and performed by Will Matthews and
Cassandra Smith, with direction by Leonora Gershman, zeros in on the
subject of marriage, from the disastrous proposal to the hyperkinetic
ring-bearer on a sugar high. The show combines live action with videos,
enabling the actors to catch their breaths between sketches, and
eliminate dead time. Video passages include a proposal in which
attempts to create a romantic mood are punctured by nosebleeds and
projectile vomiting, and an audition tape by a corn-ball, down-market
wedding band. Other sketches focus on the difficulties of making a
seating plan for the wedding dinner, a confrontational visit to a
wedding boutique with Matthews as the bitchy proprietress and
difficulties with rival caterers. Hip and zippy one-liners fly thick
and fast, and a very friendly audience was kept in stitches. (It
appeared that on the night I attended, many of those in the audience
were participants in the filmed sequences.) It's a short program at
about 30 minutes, but the admission price includes a full evening of
performances by various sketch comedy and improvisational groups. I.O.
West, 5366 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Tues., 8 p.m.; thru April 20.
(323) 962-7560. (Neal Weaver)
NEW REVIEW GO LIBERTY INN
Photo by John Demita
Carlo Goldoni's La Locandiera, first produced in
Venice circa 1750, has held the stage sporadically ever since,
providing a vehicle for such theatrical divas as Eleonora Duse. Now
it's been made into a musical, with book and lyrics by Dakin Matthews
and music by B.T. Ryback. Matthews emphasizes a feminist slant, and
transfers the action to Liberty, N.Y., in 1787. Mirandolina (Deborah
May), the clever, independent proprietor of the Liberty Inn, inspires
amorous feelings in her guests, including a rich English count (John
Combs) and a vain, impecunious French marquis (John DeMita). She humors
her lovesick swains for the sake of business, but a woman-hating
Hessian captain (Norman Snow) offers a challenge, so she sets out to
enchant him. Her flirtation is so successful that her loyal servant
Faber (Bill Mendieta) must rescue her from the violently enamored
captain. Part of the fun is, ironically, the plot's predictability. The
songs, with Matthews' playfully rhyming lyrics, are more clever than
memorable, but director Anne McNaughton stages the piece con brio, and
the cast (including Charlotte DiGregorio and Mark Doerr) plays it with
zest, aided by Dean Cameron's lavish colonial costumes and classically
simple set. NewPlace Studio Theatre, 10950 Peach Grove St., North
Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. (no perfs Easter
weekend); thru April 25. Produced by Andak Stage Company. (866)
811-4111 or Andak.org (Neal Weaver)
NEW REVIEW MEN OF TORTUGA Jason Wells'
behind-the-scenes examination of a corporate assassination plot takes
us into the executive suite (nicely detailed by set designer Sara Ryung
Clement), where power brokers Jeff King (Alan Brooks) and Tom Avery
(William Salyers) discuss with hired gun Taggart (Robert Pescovitz) the
trajectory of a proposed bullet through a glass window, in
forensics-level specifics. As their discussion, monitored by senior
group member Kit Maxwell (Dana J. Kelly Jr.), continues, we come to
learn of a business deal gone sour and of a revenge plot to rectify it.
The spanner in the works, however, is Kit's decision to take young
idealist Allan Fletcher (Michael Matthys) under his wing. The
Bourne-style plot by this corporate cabal that begins promisingly in medias res
at the top of the show unfortunately doesn't pay off as expected.
Alexis Chamow's direction is partially responsible, as it lacks the
dynamism and menacing energy necessary to create suspense, but Wells'
writing, especially in the second scene, is equally weighed down by
stretches of dialogue that stagnate in a discussion of ideas instead of
a dramatic execution of them. The cast is capable, and Doug Newell's Mission Impossible-style
music is a nice touch, but neither can rescue the interest of the
audience, which ends up as the plot's true victim. Carrie Hamilton
Theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena;
Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7:30 p.m.; thru March 28. (626) 356-7529. A
Furious Theatre Company Production. (Mayank Keshaviah)
NEW REVIEW GO ROCK 'N RIDICULE The country
might be flat broke 'n broken, but we have an embarrassment of riches
in material for political and social satire, which this new show by
Acme Comedy Theatre cleverly demonstrates. Howard Bennett and the four
member Rock N' Ridicule Band are showstoppers, spinning off jazz. Blues
and R&B tunes with the utmost precision, and also providing some
well-timed sound effects. Nicholas Zill's book and lyrics are equally
impressive, as is the nine-member cast who prove themselves remarkably
versatile under Robert Otey's direction. With few exceptions, the 24
skits are very funny, mixing song and dance routines that are
humorously blended with just the right mix of physical comedy. No
sacred cows here: El Presidente takes it on the chin more than a few
times. “We Will Barack You” (sung to the tune of Queen's “We Will Rock
You”), is a hilarious ditty performed by the entire company, while in
“Barack A Bye Baby,” the Commander In-Chief (a hilarious Derek Reid,
who also does a great take on Tiger Woods), is smitten with insomnia
and resorts to some unusual remedies. Natascha Corrigan is a hoot in
several turns as Sarah Palin, the funniest being a golf lesson she gets
from Reid. Louie Sadd steals the show with his clueless stare,
eyes-blinking, language-contorting take on (almost) everybody's
favorite foil and punch line, George W. Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N.
LaBrea Ave., Los Angeles; Sun., 8 p.m.; thru April 25. (323) 525-0202.
(Lovell Estell III)
SALAM SHALOM Saleem's story of a Palestinian Ph.D. candidate housed
with an Israeli graduate student at UCLA. Greenway Court Theater, 544
N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 & 7 p.m.; thru
April 16, SalamShalomThePlay.com. (323) 655-7679. See Theater feature
on Wednesday.
NEW REVIEW GO SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM
Stephen Sondheim has graced the musical theater landscape
with wry urbanity for over 50 years. This 1976 revue of the composer
and lyricist's work will delight devotees and features songs from a
vast cross-section of his work, some familiar and some obscure, all
rendered in fine fashion. Brian Shipper has designed an understated set
consisting of a large, framed black-and-white photo of a Broadway
venue, flanked by bar stools and two panels displaying a collage of
smaller pictures of the Great White Way. Coupled with this small
venue's intimacy, it creates a cabaret-style atmosphere that accents
many of the songs' delicacies and of the composer's devilishly witty
lyrics. Director Dane Whitlock has assembled a splendid quintet of
performers (Jenny Ashman, Jennifer Blake, Joe Donohoe, Morgan Duke,
Nick Sarando), who sing and dance their way through 30 of Sondheim's
songs without one dropped note, sometimes prefacing the selections with
interesting historical information about the productions. Also featured
is music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Julie
Styne, all of whom Sondheim collaborated with on many shows. (The songs
are drawn from West Side Story, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Gypsy, Company, Sweeney Todd and others, as well as lesser-known productions like The Seven Percent Solution and Evening Primrose.
Musical Director Richard Berent provides stellar accompaniment on the
piano. Attic Theatre and Film Center, 5429 W. Washington Blvd., L.A.,
Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through April 17. (323) 525-0661.
(Lovell Estell III)
NEW REVIEW THE STORY OF MY LIFE Neil Bartram
and Brian Hill's nostalgic musical about two childhood best friends,
Alvin (Chad Borden) and Thomas (Robert J. Townsend), is set among
packed bookshelves stretching nearly 15 feet high. They represent both
the bookstore where Alvin spent his entire life and the memories the
two boys made together — each typed, bound and filed away. On one
occasion, Alvin urged Thomas to pick a memory and write it down; he
did, and promptly left Alvin behind in their small, rural town for
big-city fame. Now, Thomas is back in the bookstore/memory bank and
pressed to write Alvin's eulogy, a grim task continually derailed by
his former best friend's sunny ghost, who flits around forgivingly to
remind him of moments that mattered — touchstones like snow angels,
butterflies and It's a Wonderful Life that were for them
mutual obsessions and are for us heavy-handed metaphors. Directed by
Nick DeGruccio, the likable production never gels; like the feckless
Thomas, it never commits. Even post-mortem, Alvin is so selflessly
sweet that their seismic tensions register as inconsequential tremors.
A few intense cheek kisses ask, “Were the lifelong bachelors in love
love?” — a question this staging is unsure how to answer. Musical
director Michael Paternostro guides the duo through an amiable evening
of songs, the standouts being “1876” (Thomas' ode to his influence,
Mark Twain), and “People Carry On” (Alvin's farewell to his dead
mother's bathrobe and to the tangibles that slowly usurp the memories
they represent, and the people who created them — not unlike the books
of Tom Buderwitz's set.) Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood:
Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru April 4. havoktheatre.com. (Amy
Nicholson)
NEW REVIEW TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN
Though it bears the imprint of his Native American roots,
Canadian writer-performer Darrell Dennis' quasi-autobiographical solo
show weaves a story that might fit any confused youth, regardless of
background. Played out on a sparsely furnished set (a table and chair
and a few boxes), the piece recounts the coming of age of one Simon
Douglas, who lives with his teenage mother Tina and grandmother on a
reservation, until his mom is wooed by a white guy who spirits them off
to Vancouver. Later, after Tina's politically correct lover berates her
for becoming too assimilated, they return. From there, Dennis' yarn
oscillates between the two locales as it tracks Simon's sexual
awakenings, his adolescent angst, his discovery of the theater, his
descent into alcohol and drug addiction and, finally, his remorse and
redemption. Throughout, Simon is portrayed as coping with identity
issues in an unsympathetic or patronizing Caucasian world. One of the
piece's more effective dramatic highlights involves the death of
Simon's childhood friend Daniel, a young gay driven to suicide by the
cruel taunting of his peers, including Simon himself. Directed by
Herbie Barnes, the production relies on lighting shifts to mark scene
changes and intensify dramatic highlights, with variable success.
Dennis, who depicts all roles, is an animated and insightful
storyteller, but his performance at times seems set to automatic pilot;
also, his juxtaposition of a stand-up comedy approach with sequences of
emotional intensity — such as his remorse over Daniel's death — can be
jarring. Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith
Park; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru
March 28. (323) 667-2000. (Deborah Klugman)
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