A Little Slice of Heaven - "Enchanted April" at Bus Barn Stage Company

How is your April going? Does it need a little magic? Yes, you say? Then you must get over to the Bus Barn Stage Company before May 5th and see Matthew Barber’s, Enchanted April. This production directed by the multi-talented, Shannon Stowe makes for an absolutely enjoyable night of theatre. Barber’s adaptation of the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim is surprisingly well written. How often does a novel, turned into a movie, then finally a play, get nominated for a Tony Award as Best Play (2003)?


Barber’s script strikes a perfect balance between humor, sentiment and plot. Four women, with very different personalities and problems, sneak off on a holiday to an Italian villa in order to get away from men and their pasts. But when, Lottie Wilson, played wonderfully by Laura Jane Bailey, decides that she misses her husband and that she must send for him, and come clean on the scheme, the conflict and comedy burst forth as husbands and wives, a landlord, and a jilted lover are forced to live together in what Lottie keeps reminding us is supposed to be “paradiso.”


One of the funniest moments on stage involving the character of Mellersh, Lottie’s husband, and a bath towel, had me and nearly every audience member in absolute stitches. John Romano, who plays the role, displays an ability with physical comedy as good as anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, every actor in this production is absolutely wonderful. Laura Jane Bailey is funny, feisty and touching in the role of Lottie Wilton. Her scenes with Sally Clawson, who plays Rose Arnott, are priceless. Ms Clawson is perfect as the long suffering, Rose, who so wants to bust out but just can't seem to do it. Gemma Beddo Barozzi is perfect as the beautiful socialite Lady Caroline Bramble. The character requires an actress with outstanding acting ability and striking beauty. Ms. Barozzi fits the bill in both areas. Ken Boswell captures the complexity of his character Frederick Arnott with a multi-layered portrayal. Jeanie Forte provides many laughs as the Italian housekeeper Costanza. She speaks only Italian throughout the entire show both with her voice and her body. It was just delightful to see. William J. Brown III as Antony Wilding, the owner of the villa, plays his character with real charm. He seems so completely wonderful and selfless, until we see his disappointment when he finds out that his guests aren't widows. I found it hilarious to see his disappointment creep out. The most riveting performance of the show is given by Beverley Griffith who plays Mrs. Graves. Her physicality, voice, and her character's point of view and journey, were so full and rich that I left the theater talking about it for hours. I hope we see her again soon.

Something that really struck me was how each of the actors really seemed to grasp that wonderful conflict between propriety and desire that makes British comedy so enjoyable. Director Stowe has orchestrated something truly magical in Los Altos - this production is one of the best I’ve seen this year. Get over to the Bus Barn before May 5th for a little taste of heaven.


Enchanted April by Matthew Barber. From the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

Directed by Shannon Stowe.

Scenic Design by Ron Gasparinetti.
Costume Design by Gloria Grandy.
Lighting Design by Brendan Bartholemew.
Sound by Rich Miller.
Properties/Production by Nichole Y. Hamiltion.
Stage Manager is Nancy Park.
Master Carpenter is Charles McKeithan.
Assistant Stage Manager is S. Conner.
Cast: Laura Jane Bailey, Gemma Barozzi, Ken Boswell, William Brown, Sally Clawson, Jeanie Forte, Beverly Griffith, John Romano

Theatre: Bus Barn Stage Company, 97 Hillview Avenue, Los Altos, CA
Through May 5, 2007

Amnesiacs at City Lights, War and Remembrance at A.C.T. and Nostalgia at AMTSJ

This week I saw three very different shows at three theatres. The first was After the War at A.C.T. in the beautiful Geary Theatre. The set is constructed as a three story building that spins on a turntable to reveal various rooms and staircases in a boarding house. The thing is huge and it creaks as it turns. The actors were able to continue acting as it turned. It was quite a wonderful piece of stage work.

I also saw a free pre-view of Smokey Joe's Cafe at AMTSJ. James Monroe-Iglehart was wonderful, especially when he danced. I always loving seeing him dance. He's a large powerful man who looks like he should be on the front line of the 49ers, not a musical stage. But then when it's time for him to bust some moves, he's amazing!

And...last night I saw Voluntary Amnesia a City Lights in San Jose. What a fantastic show it was! Nichole Hamilton's direction and the excellent acting all around made this thoroughly challenging and enjoyable. Some of the comic character acting was just wild. It was great to see a brand new face to the bay area theatre scene, Lia Fischer from Chicago, bring her expert comedy to the stage. I hope we see a lot of her in the future.

Backstage

Vote for this Picture!! I took it of the multi-talented actress - Nichole!

Lauren Ambrose to star in Romeo and Juliet

One of my favorite young actresses, Lauren Ambrose, will be starring in Rome and Juiet with The Public Theatre  in their annual Shakespeare in the Park event.  Lauren  was absolutely wonderful on Six Feet Under, possibly the best series that HBO hosted for a few seasons. It's great to see her success there begin to give her these kind of stage opportunities. Not only is she beautiful, she's immensly talented. I'm going to have to get out there for a weekend this summer to see this and a couple of other shows. I think she has the ability and charisma to become one of our next big stars.

Nominations for Foothill!

Almost every year Foothill Music Theatre  receives multiple Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nominations.

This year is no exception.

Urinetown was nominated for outstanding entire production; Robert Brewer, male principal performer; Jessica Lynn Carol, female supporting performer; and Catherine Snider, musical direction.

Annie Get Your Gun, FMT’s summer musical, included nominations for Jessica Raaum, female principal performer; Jay Manley, director; Catherine Snider, musical director; Tyler Risk, choreographer; Joe Ragey, scenic designer; and Janis Bergmann, costume designer.

Congratulations to all!

Bay Area Critics Circle Award Nominations

The annual nominations are in and here they are:

DRAMA

ENTIRE PRODUCTION

• Brooklyn Boy, TheatreWorks
• Killer Joe, Marin Theatre Company & Sankowich/FireMused Productions
• Kiss of the Spider Woman, New Conservatory Theatre Center
• The Little Foxes, American Conservatory Theater
• The Master Builder, Aurora Theatre
• The Miser, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Salome, Aurora Theatre

PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE, FEMALE

• Ivonne Coll, Mother Courage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Lauren Grace, The Master Builder, Aurora Theatre
• Phoebe Moyer, The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, TheatreWorks
• Rita Moreno, Glass Menagerie, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Susi Damilano, Reckless, SF Playhouse
• Vilma Silva, Anna in the Tropics, TheatreWorks

PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE, MALE

• Eric Lochtefeld, Glass Menagerie, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Francis Jue, M. Butterfly, TheatreWorks
• James Carpenter, The Master Builder, Aurora Theatre
• Javier Galito-Cava, Kiss of the Spider Woman, New Conservatory Theatre Center
• L. Peter Callender, World Music, TheatreFirst
• Ron Campbell, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Steven Epp, The Miser, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, FEMALE

• Amy Resnick, Brooklyn Boy, TheatreWorks
• Delia MacDougall, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Julia Brothers, Salome, Aurora Theatre
• Maureen McVerry, The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, TheatreWorks
• Nancy Carlin, The Immigrant, San Jose Repertory Theatre
• Sue Trigg, Noises Off, Willows Theatre

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, MALE

• Anthony Fusco, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Dan Hiatt, The Immigrant, San Jose Repertory Theatre
• Danny Scheie, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Danny Scheie, Restoration Comedy, California Shakespeare Theater
• Darren Bridgett, Alice in Wonderland, Marin Shakespeare Company
• Nick Sholley, The Long Christmas Ride Home, Magic Theatre

DIRECTOR

• Barbara Damashek, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Center REPertory
• Dominique Serrand, The Miser, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Jonathan Moscone, As You Like It, California Shakespeare Theater
• Louis Parnell, Reckless, SF Playhouse
• Mark Jackson, Salome, Aurora Theatre
• Tracy Ward, Hunter Gatherers, Killing My Lobster

SET DESIGN

• Bill English, Roulette, SF Playhouse
• Donald Eastman, The Rivals, American Conservatory Theater
• Kate Edmunds, M. Butterfly, TheatreWorks
• Robert Blackman, The Little Foxes, American Conservatory Theater
• Steve Coleman, Old Wicked Songs, Marin Theatre Company
• Steve Coleman, Sly Fox, Ross Valley Players

SOUND DESIGN

• Billie Cox, King Lear, Marin Shakespeare Company
• Dave Malloy, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Donald Remedios, The Miser, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Jeff Mockus, Old Wicked Songs, Marin Theatre Company
• Tim Gray, Tartuffe, Marin Theatre Company

LIGHTING DESIGN

• Alexander V. Nichols, Mother Courage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Alexander V. Nichols, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, American Conservatory Theater
• Joe Retsky, Mystery Play, SF Playhouse
• Matt Frey, Glass Menagerie, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Nancy Schertler, The Rivals, American Conservatory Theater
• Russell H. Champa, The Little Foxes, American Conservatory Theater

COSTUME DESIGN

• Anna R. Oliver, Restoration Comedy, California Shakespeare Theater
• Beaver Bauer, The Rivals, American Conservatory Theater
• David Zinn, Mother Courage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Fumiko Bielefeldt, M. Butterfly, TheatreWorks
• Lydia Tanji, Merry Wives of Windsor, California Shakespeare Theater
• Sonya Berlovitz, The Miser, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

ORIGINAL SCRIPT

• Brad Erickson, The War at Home, New Conservatory Theatre Center
• Carey Perloff, Luminescence Dating, American Conservatory Theater/Magic Theatre
• Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford, All Wear Bowlers, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

ORIGINAL SCORE

• Gina Leishman, As You Like It, California Shakespeare Theater
• Gina Leishman, Mother Courage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Peter Golub, Glass Menagerie, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

CHOREOGRAPHY OR FIGHT DIRECTION

• Chris Black, Salome, Aurora Theatre
• David Maier, Zorro in Hell, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Joe Goode/Lunatique Fantastique, The Long Christmas Ride Home, Magic Theatre
• Richard Lane, King Lear, Marin Shakespeare Company

SOLO PERFORMANCE

• Ron Severdia, A Christmas Carol, Humbug Theater
• Tim Miller, 101 Beds, New Conservatory Theatre Center
• W. Allen Taylor, Walkin’ Talkin' Bill Hawkins, The Marsh Berkeley

ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

• The Immigrant, San Jose Repertory Theatre
• The Little Foxes, American Conservatory Theater
• The Marriage of Figaro, Center REPertory
• Mother Courage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• The Rivals, American Conservatory Theater
• Salome, Aurora Theatre

MUSICALS

ENTIRE PRODUCTION

• Love, Janis, Columbia Artists
• Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Putting It Together, SF Playhouse
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Broadway by the Bay
• Urinetown, Foothill Music Theatre
• Vanities, TheatreWorks

PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE, FEMALE

• Charlotte Cohn, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Jessica Raaum, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre

PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE, MALE

• Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Noel Anthony, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Rick Williams, 1776, Willows Theatre
• Robert Brewer, Urinetown, Foothill Music Theatre

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, FEMALE

• Jessica Lynn Carroll, Urinetown, Foothill Music Theatre
• Mary-Pat Green, Putting It Together, SF Playhouse
• Maureen McVerry, Pardon My English, 42nd Street Moon
• Tiffany Marie Austin, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, MALE

• Aaron J. Albano, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Post Street Theatre
• David Sattler, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Justin Weatherby, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Broadway by the Bay
• Paul Araquistain, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Stanley Bahorek, 25th Putnam County Annual Spelling Bee, Post Street Theatre

DIRECTOR

• Alex Perez, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Carey Perloff, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Dianna Shuster, Putting It Together, SF Playhouse
• Evan Pappas, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Broadway by the Bay
• Jay Manley, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre

MUSIC DIRECTOR

• Catherine Snider, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre
• Catherine Snider, Urinetown, Foothill Music Theatre
• Constantine Kitsopoulos, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Mark Hanson, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Stew, Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

SET DESIGN

• Joe Ragey, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre
• Walt Spangler, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater

SOUND DESIGN

• Jeff Curtis, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater

LIGHTING DESIGN

• Kevin Adams, Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Michael Ramsaur, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay

COSTUME DESIGN

• Candice Donnelly, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Janis Bergmann, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre

CHOREOGRAPHY

• Berle Davis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Broadway by the Bay
• John Carraffa, Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Robyn Tribuzi, Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Tyler Risk, Annie Get Your Gun, Foothill Music Theatre

ORIGINAL SCRIPT

• Morris Bobrow, Shopping! The Musical, AWAT Productions
• Jay Kuo, Insignificant Others, New Conservatory Theatre Center
• Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

ORIGINAL SCORE

• David Kirshenbaum, Vanities, TheatreWorks
• Morris Bobrow, Shopping! The Musical, AWAT Productions

ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

• 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Post Street Theatre
• Happy End, American Conservatory Theater
• Miss Saigon, Broadway by the Bay
• Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Putting It Together, SF Playhouse
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Broadway by the Bay

TOURING PRODUCTIONS:

• Doubt, Carol Shorenstein Hays, MTC Productions
• Hairspray, American Musical Theatre of San Jose
• Jersey Boys, Best of Broadway
• A Light in the Piazza, Best of Broadway
• Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Best of Broadway

"Pippin" at Foothill

In 1973 we were all traumatized by the Viet Nam War which was finally coming to an end, and by Watergate which was just erupting. What did Broadway do in response? They gave us the frivolity we so desperately desired. Take a look a the shows that were nominated for Tonys that year: Pippin, A Little Night Music, The Sunshine Boys and Much Ado About Nothing. All these plays try to address serious issues in very subtle ways, but are careful not to whack the audience over the head with anything too heavy or emotional.

In Foothill Music Theatre's recent production, the choreography by Joe Duffy was excellent with just enough Fosse to pay tribute to his legacy. Jay Manley's direction was fantastic as always, and Catherine Snyder's music was excellent. But, what really struck me was how Pippin reflects the social atmosphere of the early 1970s.  Much of Pippin is whimsy. We were worn out as a nation and we needed to feel unencumbered. There is no gut wrenching conflict in the first act of Pippin. It's mostly light humor and fun.

Sometimes when I watch a musical, I get the feeling that the writers create a first act that exists merely to fulfill an audience's desire to just listen to nice music and watch people dance. Then once they have them in the seats, they give them Act II. Act II often is the musical they want people to see. This for me was the case with Pippin. Act II turned out to be something much more touching and personal. The thrust of the second act revolves around Pippin's (Nathan Baynard) growing love for Catherine, a charming and beautiful peasant woman played wonderfully by Alicia Teeter. He is in conflict over his love for her and his own self perception. He sees himself as a prince that could never live the life of a farmer. The scenes between the two are written with humor and love and the actors really were excellent in bringing it to life. Mr. Baynard and Ms. Teeter create some wonderful moments in the second act that made me both laugh and cry a little.

More than anything, Pippin made me think of life in the early 1970s. It made me remember our need for innocence. It made me think of how in 2007 we are in another war that looks all too similar to Viet Nam. And, it made me long for a time when we could hum along to songs of hope as the flower children we were, or wished we could be.

 

Technorati tags: pippin, foothill music theatre

Arcadia at The Pear Avenue Theatre

The Pear Avenue Theatre is currently showing a wonderful production of Arcadia written by Tom Stoppard. Stoppard's play is truly a modern masterpiece. The direction by Rebecca Ennals is superb and the acting is excellent.

I hear that the show is completely sold out for the remainder of the run. I think you can possibly get in if you arrive early and get your name on the waiting list. There are often a couple of no-shows. Come by yourself if you can, there is almost always at least one empty seat for a walk-up.

Where: The Pear Avenue Theatre in Mtn. View

When: February 23-March 18, 2007

Tickets: $10-$25

Info Phone: 650-254-1148

Official Web Site

A Magnificent Hedda Gabler at A.C.T.

A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theatre) in San Francisco is currently showing Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece, Hedda Gabler, at the beautiful Geary Theatre. I went to see this show last Wednesday afternoon, and despite the coughing, wheezing, snoring, hearing aid mal-adjusted audience, it turned out to be one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had.

I am going to try something here as an experiment. Because of our overly committed lifestyles it seems that people tend to read blogs more often when they are written in a list format. So here's my list...

 

Top 5 Things that make A.C.T.'s Production of Hedda Gabler Great

 

1. Rene Augesen. Simply put, Rene's portrayal of Hedda is brilliant. Her ability to completely embody a character in all her complexity draws you in completely. I have never seen an audience so mesmerized by an actor on stage. You could feel the sold out crowd ride the roller coaster of Hedda's emotions from the first moment of the play to the end. What a fantastic actress she is.

2. Paul Walsh's translation is brilliant. He took a script written in 1890 and made it feel contemporary without losing the feel of the 19th century. I have read numerous translations of Ibsen's works, and this is the only one I have ever heard that completely removes the dated feel without losing any of the classical sound of the text.

3. The set and lights. Scaffolding surrounding a living room and sitting room turned the set into a realistic piece that also brought in the loneliness in a symbolic way. The actors would periodically appear on the scaffolding alone and lonely. It really added a creepiness that worked fabulously.

4. The sound. John Gromada wrote some original music for this piece that added a Hitchcockian feel to the piece. It really created an atmosphere of foreboding and isolation.

5. The humor. Whenever I have read Ibsen or scene a production I often feel like laughing out loud. Usually, however, I restrain myself because, after all it's Ibsen. You're not supposed to laugh. God might strike you dead or something. But, under Richard E.T. White's direction the actors unabashedly embrace Ibsen's humor and run with it. Like in an Albee play you laugh at the awful. It's very disconcerting but wonderful.

Theatre of Courage - "Intensive Care Unit"

A couple of days ago I came across a story of a Baghdad theatre company that had the courage to stage a one act play depicting the horror that plagues the streets of Iraq. It's astonishing that both actors and playgoers risked their lives to speak out in this way. Imagine what it must be like to rehearse a play in Iraq in a bombed out building with the noise of war all around you.  Here's the text of the story..

 

 

No Respite from Reality in Baghdad Theater

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq

A sculpture of a bomb-charred motorcycle and auto parts decorates the theater's foyer, and the concession stand lies empty under a layer of dust. Spectators are frisked by policemen, and a notice board announces that an employee has been "caught by the hand of treachery and terrorism," a Baghdad euphemism for a violent death.

Inside, the one-act play "Intensive Care Unit" offers more reminders of death and destruction in its portrayal of the war-torn lives of 10 Iraqis.

Theater is back in Baghdad — or is it real life?

If it was an oasis for the audience and the actors, the respite was brief.

The story on stage spoke at once of the city's relentless violence and the resilience of its people, a struggle for normalcy in the midst of mayhem, and if the audience of 300 or so still didn't get the message, it would soon be driven home on the street. As the crowd emerged from Monday's matinee opening at the National Theater, it saw black smoke rising in the distance — the aftermath of a triple car bombing that killed at least 80 people.

The arts once thrived in Iraq, but stage productions have been rare since Saddam Hussein was ousted nearly four years ago. Many in the theater community have fled abroad, while many Iraqis fear large gatherings that can become bombing targets.

"We must go on living," playwright and director Kaheel Khaled said after the show. "We don't want to die in a hole that we dug ourselves. We must end our differences so we can come out of this intensive care unit."

Dozens from the audience, apparently overcome with the depiction of their lives, climbed onto the stage, embracing cast members and posing for group photos.

The characters, played by students from a drama college, include a theater director forced to make a living by peddling cigarettes and candy on the street, and a man who has lost his ID card and has endless trouble at Baghdad's many checkpoints.

A third character is a black-clad woman who lost a leg in a bombing and then was abandoned by her lover. "Mother, Mother, I am sick. Get me the doctor quickly! Quick!" the woman says repeatedly in English, the only non-Arabic line in the show and what the director said is the play's bleak message.

In the background, a man's body is tied with ropes and lies motionless, a reminder of the sectarian abductions and killings afflicting the capital. A stern-faced man, a symbol of today's leaders in Iraq, comes on stage occasionally to bark bizarre orders that are obeyed at once.

"He is a man who makes reasonable demands," the character of a subservient poet says apologetically.

The play's premiere came as Baghdad braces for the escalation of a new security operation that many people see as a final bid by the U.S. military to calm the city of 6 million.

The cast held most of the rehearsals for "Intensive Care Unit" in the blackened shell of another theater that was looted and burned in the days after Saddam's fall, said actor Haidar Joma'a. "It was the only place where we could meet."

Rehearsals stopped for about five months early last year when the bombing of a Shiite shrine set off sectarian reprisal killings. Several members of the original cast fled Iraq, and others stopped showing up for rehearsals.

"But we finally became serious about rehearsals," said Joma'a, who plays a young man scorned by the woman he loves. "We realized that death lurks in the street just as it does at home, that death is really everywhere."

That spirit was shared by the theatergoers, whose decision to brave the deadly streets said as much about their determination to enjoy themselves as it did about the artistic merits of the play.

Dozens of men and women in the lobby before the play showed flashes of the secular Baghdad of old, when the city was a magnet for artists and writers from across the Arab world.

Women openly smoked and mingled freely with men. Some women embraced male friends, a public taboo in today's Baghdad. Only a few women wore the Islamic head scarves so common now, although some said they would wrap their heads when they left the theater.

"If every one of us stayed home, then our lives would be a waste," said Amal Yassin, an Iraqi actress who showed up in a fur coat, black trousers and checkered red scarf.

"Everyone will die on the day he is meant to die," she added. "Nothing will change that."

City Lights Theater Company

City Lights Theater Company

I will be performing in a staged reading of a new play at City Lights on Feb. 6.

City Lights has a strong commitment to developing new, offbeat theater pieces. The New Play Readers Series gives promising new plays by local playwrights a workshop play-reading production, followed by an audience TalkBack session in which audiences can let the artists know what they think of the show. Potential plays are reviewed by our New Play Readers' Committee and are selected on a competitive basis. City Lights secures the actors and director for the piece, and the playwright is closely involved with casting decisions and rehearsals. The public play readings are one-night-only performances that occur on selected nights throughout City Lights' season.

Coming Next to the New Play Readers Series...

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 8:00 pm THE MOON SEES ME By Jody Handley. Directed by Rachel Bakker. Cleo, a 37-year-old professional who craves motherhood, walks into a fertility clinic and shakes up the sheltered world of Mary — a young receptionist at the clinic and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As their friendship develops, they both must face their sexuality, spirituality, and romantic relationships. Playwright Jody Handley's other works, which have been produced across the U.S., include Curls , Subjects , Bless Me Father , and To Engage in Mutual Touching or Caressing of the Lips , which also won the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco 's DramaRama 2001 competition. Her work has appeared in San Francisco 's Daytrippers 2001, Overnighters 2003, the 2003 48-Hour Film Competition, and in several PCSF staged readings. Jody is the Special Events Director of the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco .

One of my photos...

is going to be used on a commercial travel web site and partner of Expedia.com called Home and Abroad.  I took a bunch photos last year in Acapulco of a bullfight. Some of them are pretty cool and even though it's a gruesome sport the photos are extraordinary.  The person there in charge of photography saw my photos on Flickr.

This is the picture they will be using on the web site:

 

 

I like the movement of the bull's leg and the confidence in the face of the matador. You really get the sense of who's in charge. It's beautiful and chilling at the same time.

New Year's Treat

If you don't have a New Year's Party to go to tonight, you'll have something better to do...

PBS Broadcasts Audra McDonald's New York Philharmonic Concert Dec. 31

By Andrew Gans
31 Dec 2006

Audra McDonald

photo by Eddie Malluk

"Live From Lincoln Center," which recently broadcast Audra McDonald's American Songbook concert, televises the four-time Tony Award winner's New Year's Eve concert Dec. 31.

McDonald headlines the New York Philharmonic's annual New Year's Eve gala. The evening, titled "Audra McDonald Sings the Movies for New Year's Eve," will feature tunes from such films as "The Wizard of Oz," "A Star Is Born," "Cabin in the Sky," "A Little Night Music," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "My Fair Lady." Tony Award winner Ted Sperling conducts the New York Philharmonic orchestra.

PBS stations will broadcast the event live at 8 PM ET; check local listings.

A four-time Tony Award winner for her work in A Raisin in the Sun, Master Class, Carousel and Ragtime, Audra McDonald was also seen on Broadway in Henry IV. The singer-actress made her solo Carnegie Hall concert debut in an evening of songs scored for big bands, performing several tunes from her Nonesuch CD "Happy Songs." McDonald's other solo recordings, "Way Back to Paradise" and "How Glory Goes," are also on the Nonesuch label. The acclaimed actress also co-starred in the NBC series "Mister Sterling” and was recently seen in the WB series "Bedford Diaries." McDonald also made her Houston Grand Opera with a double bill of Send (who are you? I love you) and La Voix Humaine.

McDonald will return to Broadway later this season in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of 110 in the Shade.

Beverly Sills hosts "Live From Lincoln Center," which is now in its 31st broadcast season.

My Next Show

I will be performing in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Bus Barn Stage Company in Los Altos.

Bus Barn Stage Company

Christmas

I wish everyone a wonderful New Year. It's been a tough one for the country. Lets hope that next year we can get out of the war and find some peace as a nation.

The older I get the less I enjoy Christmas in the way we seem to be programmed to celebrate it. Thanksgiving is quickly becoming my favorite holiday - no gifts, just togetherness.

Mahagonny at L.A. Opera

This is show I would love to see - Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Los Angeles Opera. It's starring two of my favorite actresses and singers, Patty LuPone and Audra McDonald.

I performed in a local production of the show at West Bay Opera a few years ago. It's one of those operas that are almost musical theatre. That's why performers like LuPone and McDonald get the roles. One of the cool things about the show is that The Doors actually took a couple of the numbers and turned them into rock songs including "Alabama Song".

The opera company provides a nice synopsis of the play here.

 

What:	Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald stars in a new production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, one of the great 20th-century operas. From composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht, the creators of The Threepenny Opera, comes a savage and lyrical satire told in a highly entertaining blend of opera and raucous music hall songs, conducted by Music Director James Conlon. Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and John Doyle, star and director of this season's hugely acclaimed Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, reteam for their Company debuts, joined by acclaimed tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. It's every man for himself in the newly founded city of Mahagonny, devoted to life's illicit pleasures, where anything goes and the only crime is to run out of money. The brilliant score, featuring the classic song "Moon of Alabama," masterfully creates a vivid picture of determination, desperation and debauchery.
When:	Saturday, February 10, 2007 3:00 PM to Sunday, March 4, 2007 4:00 PM
Where:	Los Angeles Opera 135 North Grand Avenue Los Angeles, California 90012

 

Tickets..

PRODUCTION DATES:

Saturday
February 10, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Wednesday
February 14, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Saturday
February 17, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Thursday
February 22, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Sunday
February 25, 2007
2:00 p.m.

Thursday
March 1, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Sunday
March 4, 2007
2:00 p.m.

The Last Waltz

Our little play has ended. It was a magical ride that I will remember always. Thanks to everyone and thanks to Paula and Carl for sharing their souls with us.

Palo Alto Daily News review of The Baltimore Waltz

Palo Alto Daily News

It's so great to have had such wonderful success with this play. It's something that I will always remember..

Waltz' dances around bizarre circumstance

By John Angell Grant / Daily News Staff Writer

A zany comedy about dying from AIDS was how playwright Paula Vogel processed her grief and paid tribute to her brother's death from that disease in 1988. A solid production of the show, "The Baltimore Waltz," is currently running at the cozy, 45-seat Pear Avenue Theater in Mountain View.

Playwright Vogel is best known for her 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "How I Learned to Drive," a play about pedophilia. That play's sympathetic portrait of an older married man's sexual affair with his teenage niece was unsettling.

So, Vogel makes unusual choices as a playwright.

Although "Baltimore Waltz" opens with a brother being fired from his San Francisco library job for wearing a pink triangle, he suddenly finds himself back home in Baltimore visiting his sick sister, a first-grade schoolteacher.

In one of the play's unexpected twists, it turns out that the sister is the one who has AIDS, not the brother. Although it's not that simple.

A confused physician, flummoxed by the symptoms, speculates that the sister has ATD, or Acquired Toilet Disease, and that she caught it from sharing toilet seats with her students. Brother and sister then decide that since she's dying, they will head off on a tour of Europe together and seize life in its last moments.

"The Baltimore Waltz" is a mix of fantasy and reality, and it's not always clear which is which.

Early on the script threatens to degenerate into a pedestrian political rant. A later sequential sexual rampage is redundant almost to the point of numbingnesss.

Director Ray Renati and his cast, however, get good mileage out of the odd characters and situations. Actors Alexandra Matthew and John Romano sell a close and touching relationship between brother and sister.

Their high energy and zany farce performances serve the comedy well, but they also stay focused inside honest emotional characters, in carefully punctuated performances. Romano brings mystery to the San Francisco librarian who was fired for wearing a pink triangle.

Matthew is wrapped tightly and effectively as sister Anna, doomed by Acquired Toilet Disease, and compulsively sleeping with European waiters and bellhops in her last hurrah. The apparent absence of safe sex practices is unsettling. Basically, this is a world turned upside down, in which grown sister and brother share the same bed.

As the play's third actor, Jeff Clarke is amusing in a dozen smaller, over-the-top roles. In Holland, Clarke appears as the little Dutch boy who put his thumb in a dike, and who now makes a living sleeping with female tourists who regard him as something of a celebrity.

Elsewhere, Clarke functions as a government health official promoting Operation Squat, which encourages the use of home toilets. Later, he goes way over the top as a German physician specializing in esoteric urine-drinking cures.

Director Renati, who has been nurtured at the Pear and is one of their emerging success stories, handles the comedy well, then ends this story of compulsive comic excess with a touching emotional shift.

Designer Ron Gasparinetti's effectively resentful set features a mostly bare stage with two rolling toilet bowl consoles, a well-used bed, and a patch of grim, white-tiled bathroom wall up center stage.

This is a bizarre production of a bizarre play that makes for an unsettling evening in the theater. It reminds us that humor is often an indicator of pain.

Rating: Three stars

E-mail John Angell Grant at jagplays@dailynewsgroup.com.

San Jose Metro Review for "The Baltimore Waltz"

We received a very thoughtful review from Marianne Messina today in The Metro. You can read it hear.

 

Foreign Hop

A brother and sister seek a European cure in the Pear's 'Baltimore Waltz'

By Marianne Messina

SIT FRONT and center at Pear Avenue Theater's production of The Baltimore Waltz, and you'll find, at very close proximity, two toilet commodes staring you down. No need to get up and move; it's just a glimpse of the play's potty humor and part of Ron Gasparinetti's clever set for episodic scenes that follow Anna (Alexandra Matthew) and her brother, Carl (John Romano), on their trip through Europe. Equipped with wheels, the toilet seats quickly become seats on a German train or at a Paris cafe, with only a little help from the actors in the dark-of-scene changes.

more..

Nice review for "The Baltimore Waltz"

Here is the link from the San Mateo County Times.

 

 

Pear Avenue Theatre's unusual 'Baltimore Waltz' eases grief with laughs
By Keith Kreitman, CONTRIBUTOR
Article Last Updated:11/21/2006 02:40:10 AM PST

SOME plays, on first viewing, are bewildering but so entertaining that only after they are completed, do you reflect upon them and get the point.

The point in "The Baltimore Waltz," now at the Pear Avenue Theatre in Mountain View, is that there are multiple ways of dealing with the loss of loved ones.

Why Baltimore and why waltz, you ask? Well, Baltimore is playwright Vogel's hometown, where the action takes place, and the waltz represents the "dance of death," she, an elementary school teacher, and her beloved, AIDS-stricken librarian brother, Carl, dance it to the very end.

But this isn't a sad memorial to Vogel's lost brother. It is as quirky as you can get, very funny, erotic and upbeat.

read more.....

Talk Back for "The Baltimore Waltz"

We had a talk-back after the show on Sunday. This is when some of the audience stays after the performance for a discussion of the play. The actors and director answer questions and talk about the rehearsal process. I found myself talking a lot more than usual. I am usually very quiet during these things. One of the questions that really struck me was from an audience member that felt we embellished the play to the point that we perhaps should have asked for special permission from the author. For some reason that question really stuck with me for a couple of days. I know for sure that we didn't do what he suggested but, nonetheless, I kept wondering what would have motivated a person to ask such a question. Maybe he was a playwright himself and is very sensitive about his own work being corrupted. Who knows?

Rehearsal Moment

   This was just a very nice moment I caught on my Treo phone one night. 

Waltzing Mathilda

The show has opened and I am thrilled. We had two reviewers come for preview. That was somewhat unfortunate because we had a couple of technical glitches to work out. But at least they came. Opening was just about sold out and the whole production from the acting to the lights to the sound and even a few changes on the set, came together and were nearly flawless. It's a little sad. I have been traveling this journey with Alex and John and Jeff and Leslie for weeks now and for me it's pretty much finished. I poured my heart into this show. I will be there for every performance that my schedule allows. No matter how many times I see this show, I am always awed by the work that the actors are doing. They are the best.

 

The Baltimore Waltz

Pear Avenue Theatre
November 17-December 3, 2006

This funny/rueful exploration of brotherly (and sisterly) love fancifully re-imagines the real-life story of Paula Vogel and her late brother. This wonderfully inventive play shows how love triumphs over such foes as Acquired Toilet Syndrome, bigotry, mortality and other things that go bump in the night.

My Director's Notes

When Paula Vogel wrote “The Baltimore Waltz,” A.I.D.S. was an enormous social crisis and George Bush was President. Now, sixteen years later, A.I.D.S. is still damaging lives, and another George Bush is President. Only the middle initial has changed. And although this might be a sad commentary on social progress, it has kept the play fresh and relevant. Nothing in it feels dated and none of the words had to be changed. But this play is not really about any specific disease or political situation. This play is about love and lust and laughter. It’s how one woman chose to remember her brother who meant so much to her.

Paula Vogel encourages theatres that bring The Baltimore Waltz to life, to publish her brother Carl’s letter to her. He wrote the letter after his first bout with pneumonia in 1987. By this time she knew he was H.I.V. positive, and she also knew that they would probably never get visit Europe together. It was something they had talked about, but that Paula had turned down because of time and money. She had no idea, at the time, that Carl’s life was coming to an end.

Usually we only talk about the sad part of grieving - the sense of loss, the feeling of despair and the emptiness. But there is often another side of grief. It’s the remembrance of our most precious moments, the times we laughed and cried together and how, if we are lucky, those memories can make us smile and give us comfort for the rest of our lives.

 

The Letter

 

March 1987

Dear Paula:

I thought I would jot down some of my thoughts about the (shall we say) production values of my ceremony. Oh God . - I can hear you groaning - everybody wants to direct. Well, I want a good show, even though my role has been re­duced involuntarily from player to prop.

First, concerning the choice between a religious ceremony and a memorial service. I know the family considers my An­glican observances as irrelevant as Shinto. However, I wish prayers in some recognizably traditional form to be said, prayers that give thanks to the Creator for the gift of life and the hope of reunion. For reasons which you appreciate, I pre­fer a woman cleric, if possible, to lead the prayers. Here are two names: Phebe Coe, Epiphany Church; the Rev. Doris Mote, Holy Evangelists. Be sure to make a generous contribu­tion from the estate for the cleric.

As for the piece of me I leave behind, here are your op­tions:

1) Open casket, full drag.

2) Open casket, bum up (you’ll know where to place the

calla lillies, won’t you?).

3) Closed casket, interment with the grandparents.

4) Cremation and burial of my ashes.

5) Cremation and dispersion of my ashes in some sylvan

spot.

I would really like good music. My tastes in these matters run to the highbrow: Faure’s “Pie Jesu” from his Requiem, Gluck’s “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Orfeo, “La Vergine degli Angeli” from Verdi’s Forza. But my favorite song is “I Dream of Jeannie,” and 1 wouldn’t mind a spiritual like “Steal Away.” Also perhaps “Nearer My God to Thee.” Didn’t Jeannette MacDonald sing that di-vinely in San Francisco?

Finally, would you read or have read A.E. Housman’s

“Loveliest of Trees”?

Well, my dear, that’s that. Should I be lain with Grandma and Papa Ben, do stop by for a visit from year to year. And feel free to chat. You’ll find me a good listener.

Love,

Brother

Freedom

Take a look at this moving video that some talented person put together. It really makes you see what we've been through as a country over the last couple of years.

Cherry Jones in DOUBT

Two days ago I sat in the eighth row of the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco and watched Cherry Jones in John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize winning play - Doubt.  Her portrayal of Sister Aloysius is stunning. Images of my years of Catholic training came flooding back to me.

What a wonderful play Doubt is. The ambiguity of the characters is very thought provoking. It humanizes everyone, even those that we tend to dehumanize lately, namely priests who for some strange reason are attracted to children.

Like in Albee's The Goat, the play leaves you feeling a little disoriented because it challenges your feelings about those we like to demonize in order to assuage our own fears.

If you get a chance, go see this play.

 

The upshot: A taut 90-minute thriller on the shadowy nature of truth.

Where: Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St. at Market Street, San Francisco

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays; through Dec. 3

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Tickets: $40-$80: (415) 551-2000 or www.shnsf.com

Directing Journal Vol. 7

Our production of The Baltimore Waltz heads into tech week on Friday. The show is in great shape at this point. Last night we did a run through and I timed it. We were thinking of splitting what is normally a one act play into two acts. But now that we are up to speed on the lines, and have the actual set, the show is only running 80 minutes. I think this is too short to do in two acts. The first act would last 45 minute and the second would only last 35 minutes. So, we'll probably do it in one act as Paula Vogel has written it.

The Set - Directing Journal Vol. 6

To my utter amazement our incredible set designer built the whole set today. I can't imagine how he did it, but he did. It was so fantastic to have the actual set pieces to work with rather than the makeshift one's we've been using for the last few weeks.

We made huge strides tonight in really nailing down some nuances that will really make the show special. We also had the lighting and sound designer present and we tried some music out. I have built in some dancing between a few of the scenes and I wanted the actors to have a chance to actually move to real sounds, not just the sounds we inanely tried to hum for them during rehearsal.

We open in ten days and we're in great shape.

"The Baltimore Waltz" at The Pear

Rehearsals are going extremely well. Tickets will sell fast, so get them while you can! 

Repetition

Repetition

I took this picture at rehearsal the other night with my cell phone. I thought the angles were interesting.

BusFest - Annual Bus Barn Independent Film Festival

BusFest - Annual Bus Barn Independent Film Festival

Are you a film maker in the San Francisco Bay Area? Enter your work in this brand new local film festival.

Welcome To BusFest

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

BusFest! is a film festival for independent filmmakers who are residents of the 9 counties of the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz County, designed to support the local film community and to join hands to participate with and support the local live theatre community.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

In its first year of inception (2007) BusFest! is aimed towards two goals -- to provide a venue and give more exposure to independent filmmakers in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as to create a shared audience of live theatre goers and independent film attendees.

Bus Barn Theater in Los Altos, CA, is an old school bus building that has been used for live theatre since 1977 and is the home of Bus Barn Stage Company, a not-for-profit theatre company. The theater holds 100 seats, a perfect venue for an intimate film experience.

• Submissions are being accepted for consideration now through December 15, 2006
• Format is DVD only
• BusFest! is open to film makers in the 9 Bay Area counties and Santa Cruz County
• BusFest! will be an adjudicated event with prizes awarded in each category and a BEST OF FEST prize of $1000.
• Categories include FEATURE, SHORT (Under 30 minutes), DOCUMENTARY FEATURE, DOCUMENTARY SHORT, and ANIMATION
• Submission fee is $25.

For more information, call 650-941-5070 or go to withoutabox.com.

ORGANIZERS:

Barbara Cannon (Director)

GENERAL RULES

BusFest! is an independent film festival designed for San Francisco Bay Area film makers. Only films from the 9 Bay Area counties and Santa Cruz County are accepted.

Learning the Part - Directing Journal Vol. 5

I have always been intrigued by the different ways that actors learn their parts. Some just seem to set their script down one day and know everything perfectly. Others paraphrase up until tech week, and others seem to just effortlessly absorb them. Right now we are at the point in rehearsal where the actors are struggling to run through the show and also to remember lines, blocking and scene changes. It's an interesting process to observe as a director. It has informed my own understanding of the process as an actor.

Our set has changed somewhat in order to create more playing space. This I am very happy about because we had a couple of things that looked good on paper, but were just getting in the way during rehearsal.

30 Scenes and 30 Changes - Directing Journal Vol. 4

One of the most challenging aspects of this play are the scene changes. The play is comprised of 30 very short scenes. This requires that set pieces and actors move about quite often. The actors and one stage hand will be doing all the work. For our last rehearsal we practiced the scene transitions for three hours. Normally, you wouldn't do this until later in the rehearsal process, but as it's such a big part of the show, I decided to get it all down early.

The Horizontal Waltz - Directing Journal Vol. 3

The Baltimore Waltz is a very funny play and a very touching play and it also has a soft porn scene. In reading it the first time, the scene just seemed funny and amusing, but having to choreograph all the moves involved was something I wasn't quite ready for. I got a taste of what blue move director must consider run of the mill. I found it difficult to tell the actors such things as, "could you please thrust more with your hips, rather than your shoulders?" It's very hard work for the actors. Both of them finished the blocking sequence looking like they had just run a few miles.

One of my biggest challenges right now is that the set designer is out of town, on a cruise, and I am having some blocking problems because of the positions of the flats. We only have them marked with tape right now, and it's difficult to see where the actual playing space will be in the upstage area.

Overall, I am very pleased with the rehearsals. Tonight we have our designer run through which means that the people involved with providing lights, sound, costumes and props will be there. It's always a nervous time for actors, because it 's usually the first time that strangers see them perform a show that's only half finished.

Moment to Moment Work - Directing Journal Vol. 2

The Baltimore Waltz is a play done in thirty very short scenes. I really think it's important for the actors to be able to work at the play in sections, with intensive notes from me after each short run through. As an actor I know that it really helps to be able to repeat a short section numerous times with specific adjustments from the director. Doing this allow the scene to get further into the actor's psyche and body.

Often directors will just have actors run an entire act once or twice during a given rehearsal, and often they never stray from this routine. In my view this is usually an mistake. The actors never get a chance to do work on difficult sequences several times. For guidance, I turn to the French word - répétition. which is the word the French use for rehearsal. I think that repetition is really the key for an actor in feeling free and comfortable on opening night. It's such a simple concept, but often neglected. There is really something to be said about doing things over an over in order to perfect them.

It could be that in our acting world, which has been so effected in good ways and bad by The Method, we sometimes believe that repeating something too many times will make it stale. To some extent that may be true for film, but on stage, I don't believe it's true. On stage you want the performers to be so grounded and confident in all of their moments, so that it frees them to really be present.

Fortuneatly, I have a group of actors who take direction and my requests for subtle changes so easily.  I also have a stage manager that remembers every minute detail of blocking that I have mumbled over the last number of days.

Tonight we worked on the first twelve scenes. The last being an hilarious bedroom scene combined with a tour through the Louvre. It's kind of hard to explain. You'll have to come and see the show.

Thoughts on Directing - Vol. 1

Directing The Baltimore Waltz has been a very enlightening experience so far. Because I cast three excellent actors I am relaxed about the outcome. This has freed me up to really watch them rehearse and let my imagination just flow. I have always suspected, but now am certain, that many of my ideas come from that part of the brain that is purely unconscious. The observations that are most striking to me are two: first as I watch a scene I often don't worry about the content, I only pay attention to whether or not my mind is being stimulated and brought alive by what is happening on stage. If I pay attention to that, I can pinpoint problems in scenes just by asking myself, "what were the actors missing in this moment that caused my mind to become bored?", usually there is something very specific that is required to make the moment work and I look for that. I do my best to describe my impression to the actors and then ask them to do it again. Inevitably the moment that was bland or misguided comes to life. It's quite an astonishing process. The second thing I do often, is just let the scene unfold and pay attention to my associations. For instance yesterday, there was a scene that I had staged in a very static way. Initially this seemed adequate and would have been a fine way to set it. But as I watched them rehearse it again, the image of Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone, kept coming to my head. I quickly realized that what my unconscious was telling me was that this moment would be much more interesting, if I had one of the characters walk among the other two characters as he talked about their past lives. Often, Rod Serling would do something like this. He would saunter across the screen recounting the lives of one of his characters and asking questions about how things could have been different for them. I asked the actor to try it this way, and the outcome for all of us was astonishing. The feel of the whole scene changed and it was much more exciting and interesting to watch.

No More Underpants

Thanks to everyone in the cast of The Underpants. I will always remember the fun time we had. Kalon, Mary Lou, Shannon, Bob and Blake, you're the best. I can't ever remember getting along so well with a group of people.

Next up is The Baltimore Waltz at The Pear Avenue Theatre. I am directing this wonderful show written by Paula Vogel. It's the story of a woman's personal tribute to her brother. The play is very funny and also very touching. You can learn more at The Pear's web site.

DailyShowFoxClinton

John Stewart's take on Clinton's "meltdown". I think that Clinton was awesome in this thing. He just nailed that Fox Network right wing bullshit and they could do nothing. That's one for the Gipper!

Laugh Please

People!! You have to laugh if you feel like it! If you go to a play and it's in a small house and if they play is funny and you feel like laughing, For the Love 'O Pete, DO IT! This is a purely selfish request on my part. I get so tired of doing comedies in small theatres where most people are afraid to let out a laugh. I don't blame them in a way. I am a loud laugher myself, and I can't tell you how many times I have been on the receiving end of a nasty "mal occhio" from a quiet Politically Correct seat neighbor. But do it for the actors, please. We are a very insecure bunch. We need to know, we must know that you love us. If we don't get it, well, who knows what we might do. It could be awful. So, for the love of God, man, laugh. If it's not funny, laugh anyway! You might get the actors charged up and then they will actually become funny just because you said "I love you" with a goofaw.

Backstage Goofiness

  
Kalon Thibodeaux and I making our next album cover.

Clinton Interviewed on Fox News Sunday

This is awesome. Clinton beats FOX at their own game when they try to set him up with a question about bin Laden. Clinton is just way too smart for them. _______________________________________________________ This is the first 20 minutes of Bill Clinton’s interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. In this clip, Wallace asks Clinton why he didn’t do more to capture or kill Osama bin Laden while he was in office. Clinton clearly feels like he has been set up and doesn’t hold back in telling Wallace just how he feels. full transcript here: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/24/fox-clinton-interview-part-1-osama-bin-laden/

The Underpants at Dragon Productions

The Underpants at Dragon Productions


The Underpants
by Steve Martin
(Sept. 25 - Oct. 15, 2006)

Comic genius Steve Martin, author of the Arden's smash hit Picasso at the Lapin Agile, concocted this hilarious adaptation about a housewife who becomes an overnight celebrity when she accidentally loses her underpants in public. Chaos follows in this witty comedy that explores fidelity, sexuality, and hidden desire. This cheeky satire exposes the bewildering misfortune of love... and other unmentionables.

Call Dragon Productions at 650-493-2006 for tickets.
Tickets: $10-$21.50
Dragon Theatre
535 Alma Palo Alto, CA 94301
http://www.dragonproductions.net/

"

shakes-and-friends

shakes-and-friends
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

What one does, when one is home sick. One sets up strange photographyic poses with action figures.

"The Underpants" by Steve Martin in Palo Alto

This is picture is me (center) as Theo,
Blake Maxam as Cohen and Shannon Stowe as Louise in a production photo for THE UNDERPANTS.

Steve Martin, the famous comic, actor and writher, adapted and transformed the Sternheim play of 1911 called "Die Hose." He gave it a modern sensibility and enhanced the woman's place in the household as a sexual being.
Since its New York premiere, it has been produced all over the world. Martin has transformed a play originally about the the decline of the bourgeois, into a play about our American obsession with fame.

It plays from Sept. 21 – Oct. 15, 2006 at Dragon Productions in Palo Alto. 

Mr. Fogg in the W.C.

Mr. Fogg in the W.C.
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

I was playing the role of Fogg in a production of "Sweeney Todd" and took this photo while in the can during the show.

The Kill

The Kill
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

We went to Acapulco for vacation. Having watched many bullfights on TV as a child, I decided to go see one in person. I can see now why they are on longer on television in the U.S. This is great stuff for animal cruelty people to get very upset about. What you are seeing here as the Matador getting ready to impale the bull with a sword. He puts it in between the animal's front shoulder blades. It then cuts some artery I think. The bull hobbles around for another minute or so and then drops dead. As he is going to his knees the matador puts out his hand as if he were directing the animal to kneel before him. If the bull doesn't die instantly at this point, another guy runs up with a little knife and stabs it into the spinal column at the back of the skull. The these keystone cop kind of guys run out with a couple of donkeys and drag the dead bull away. They do this with much energy and yelping.

Uploaded by Master and Commander o

The Bountiful Actors Theatre of San Francisco

Last night I sat in the second row of the tiny Actor’s Theatre in San Francisco attending a performance of “The Trip to Bountiful” by Horton Foote. Jean Shelton, the person who has taught me more about acting than any other teacher , plays the lead role. I had been looking forward to seeing this show for weeks. Jean hadn’t been on the stage for over thirty years and yet she decided to take on this challenging role.

It turned out to be a challenging experience for me. The acting and direction were excellent in a way that you rarely see on stage today. There was very little pretense going on. The interactions for the most part were so organic and real. The only downside of this was that the show sometimes seemed to lack energy, although it was never boring. Even in the second act, during a very long scene between mother and son when both Jean and her real life son Christian Phillips spoke in hushed tones, seemingly with out a point other than to try to enjoy their last few moments in the soon to be gone forever, Bountiful, Texas, I found myself clinging to every word.

Now about the challenging part. Jean is getting a little up in years and like most actors I know of her age, they often have line trouble. Jean obviously was having that. It might not have been obvious to the casual theatre patron, but to those who have been up on the stage before, it was quite obvious. Normally as an audience member I would just watch with some empathy. But when this happened to Jean, I found my entire body going into a state of complete tension. I wanted to save her. I wanted to do something to prevent her any embarrassment. Being the pro she is, though, she always had a deep understanding of the scene and was able to work her way out of the line problems with more ease than most. It was my reaction that surprised me. It really made me see that when at some point in your life you care about a person, even if you don’t talk to them or see them anymore, there is always a part of you that wants to help, to console, to love, to reach out.

I take my hat off to Jean and to the entire cast. To see this woman who has completely dedicated her life to teaching others and helping others realize their artistic dreams, actually get the opportunity after so many years to go back to what started it all for her in the first place - being up on stage - was a sublime experience that I will never forget.

Actors Theatre of San Francisco:

"The Trip to Bountiful"
by Horton Foote
Through Sept. 9, 2006

Directed by Jennifer Welch and Rachel Klyce
The Trip To Bountiful tells the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman who flees the stifling confinement of the city apartment she shares with her son and daughter-in-law to revisit her hometown in the low farmland of the Texas coast. Amid ruin and decay wrought by the passage of time, she discovers a renewed connection to her past, and the satisfaction of a life well lived.

'The Trip To Bountiful ... is the rarest of theater experiences, an evening which will prove an indelible memory. .. Horton Foote has done, and done beautifully, the one thing it is important for a playwright to do. That is, provide the disciplined material for expert actors to completely capture an audience and hold it through the evening.' -NY World-Telegram

Featuring: James Baldock, Keith Burkland, Scott Agar Jaicks, John Krause, Tim Meehan, Virginia Dare Paulin, Christian Phillips, Duncan Phillips, Jean Shelton, Niki Yapo"

Jesus Christ has been Nailed to His Aluminum Cross for the Last Time

As they say, "all things must end". It was quite an experience to be part of such a magical production. This is the first time I have ever been in the cast of a show in which audiences lined up to get their names on the waiting list. Seats were sold out weeks in advance. Nightly, I would see people leave the theatre stunned, in tears or with looks of shock on there faces or just as often smiling in joy. If I were one to believe in such things, I might believe that our show was divinely inspired. But I'm not, so I guess it was just the love and dedication of every single person in the cast and crew that made this production of Jesus Christ Superstar the memory of a lifetime. From Lisa's inspired direction, to Gus' wild rock band to Shannon's seamless choreography and to all twenty eight performers total commitment, this show was as perfect and as raw as theatre can be. I am forever grateful for having been given the chance to be a part of it.

Mr. Show - Jeepers Creepers, Semi-Star

Here is the same video as below, but without the Director's commentary. Watch this one first.

Jeepers Creepers ( Mr Show)

Fans of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' will bust a gut at this hillarious parody from the HBO series MR. SHOW. Jack Black plays the Jesus role (aka.. Jeepers Creepers). The segment is titled 'The Biggest Failure in Broadway History'. Not only do I love this video, because it's just damn funny, but also because of the fact that they produced it knowing that only a relative handful of viewers would even get it. If you know the movie, you just have to take a few minutes to watch this.

5 Steps To Being More Photogenic - Digital Camera University

Actors - This site has some great tips on how you can make your headshots come out better the next time you decide to have them done.


5 Steps To Being More Photogenic - Digital Camera University

George Bush is Hard Working and Don't You Forget It!!!

Georgie wants you to know that it's "Hard Work". Check out this video.
Hard Working George

powered by performancing firefox

Jesus Christ Pop-Star

Check this out! It's hillarious.

Give Peace a Chance

Give Peace a Chance
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

My son's message to the world right now.

Bea & Rock Turnin' On - Sniff, Swig, Puff...

This is both strange and hillarious. Boy, how times have changed in thirty years. Rock and Bea, singing nostalgically about getting high, you gotta love it.

The Merc Loves J C Superstar

MercuryNews.com | 07/19/2006 | Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

AMBITIOUS PRODUCTION BY S.J. COMPANY SHOWS THAT '70S ROCK MUSICAL STILL CAN BE RELEVANT

By Colin Seymour

Mercury News

JEANINE BROWN

Kit Wilder brings charisma and a big voice to the role of Jesus in City
Lights' excellent production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

The City Lights Theater Company is billing the rock opera ``Jesus
Christ Superstar'' as ``the most ambitious effort that the company has
ever undertaken.'' But some skepticism might surround the production.
For one thing, the image of the show as a cast-of-thousands
extravaganza might seem beyond the means of the tiny San Jose troupe.
Beyond that, would success mean sacrificing the City Light-ness of the
company's being?

O, ye of little faith: Suspend that disbelief.

With a cast of 28 and a five-man rock combo often surrounding the
audience at the 108-seat theater, City Lights artistic director Lisa
Mallette has filled the relatively small 2,000-square-foot space with a
multitude of sights and sounds in every direction, creating illusions
of grandeur worthy of the show's fabled music team, Andrew Lloyd Webber
(``Phantom of the Opera'') and Tim Rice (``The Lion King''). Yet the
set itself is as humble as a rural church.

The show -- which brought round-the-block lines to South Second
Street for previews last week -- even refutes a third cause for
skepticism: the sense that ``Superstar'' is mired in its early '70s
origins and is not worth producing anymore.

The score alone creates ecstasy, especially if you heard it back in
the day but haven't in a while. There's the title song. And ``What's
the Buzz?'' ``Everything's Alright,'' ``I Don't Know How to Love Him,''
``Hosanna,'' ``Jesus Must Die.'' And all those juicy licks for right-on
guitarist brothers Bill and Tim Rupel.

Talk about a revival! This audacious stretch by City Lights does not
deviate from its mission to aim high and have fun, with the gambling
and gamboling lacking in many of today's movies and television shows
but still present in good theater.

The two sure things going in -- probably the impetus -- were that
Kit Wilder, Mallette's husband and company co-leader, could deliver a
world-class performance in the title role, and that he could do it with
a City Lights sensibility.

His undeniable charisma has a diabolical element that rides that
edge. City Lights is clubby, and there's an air of a sly wink to this
whole thing that is faithful to rock 'n' roll. Yet it's a good-faith
performance. Wilder is an earnest, volatile, human Jesus throughout
those seven final days among mankind. And, zounds, he can hit a high C
full-voice.

Although there are other praiseworthy principals, the voices that
really carry this production are in the chorus. Everyone is miked,
despite the intimate venue. The surround sound and Lloyd Webber's
adventurous harmonies are so sensational they vastly outweighed any
scattered sound-system glitches that still were being ironed out at
Friday's preview. (The choral depth was not a given going in.)

Standing out among the principals is burly, tattooed Adam Campbell
as Judas Iscariot. The vocal role is nearly as juicy as the lead, and
Campbell is big enough for the job. Jay Steele and Michael Johnson are
perfect counterparts as even-more-burly priests. Tim Reynolds as
Pontius Pilate and Tomas Theriot as King Herod are slick and suitably
smarmy.

As a very soothing Mary Magdalene, Jeanne Batacan-Harper has more
than enough heart. Her lack of oomph as a lead rock vocalist creates a
weak impression, however -- at least until her miraculous turnaround, a
tearjerking rendition of ``I Don't Know How to Love Him.'' She redeems
a song that many consider a mawkish cliche epitomizing a mawkish era.

In that era, ``Hair'' was the quintessential rock opera, with
``Jesus Christ Superstar'' seeming a bit of a rip-off, aside from Lloyd
Webber's inventive score. But that ``tribal musical'' truly is a relic now.

In a production that seems more to be set in AD 2006 than in AD 30,
the relevance of this show is palpable for the audience. John might
step on front-row feet accidentally. Jesus' backdraft might muss
patrons' hair. And don't step in his ``blood'' as you're crossing the
stage on your way out. But the spirit takes hold and, for two hours
anyway, it doesn't let go.

`Jesus Christ Superstar' By Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

The upshotSmall company aims high, connects big-time

WhereCity Lights Theater Company, 529 S. Second St., San Jose

When8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; 7 p.m. July 23 and 30; 2 p.m. Aug. 6, 13 and 20

Through Aug. 20

Running time: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission

Tickets: $15-$35; (408) 295-4200, www.cltc.org

---

Contact Colin Seymour at cseymour@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5857.

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Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

A Superstar Is Born

City Lights brings a big 'Jesus Christ Superstar' to a small stage

By Marianne Messina

DIRECTING the City Lights Theater Company production of Jesus Christ Superstar, artistic director Lisa Mallette's collaborative style goes well with jazz-minded musical director Gus Kambeitz. He and Mallette have updated parts of Andrew Lloyd Webber's funky rock opera with the occasional hip-hop beat, a smattering of rap and a dynamic range that goes from big production to "unplugged." Both directors wanted the feel of a rock concert while highlighting a very human drama (as opposed to pyrotechnics). Since Kambeitz plays bass through most of the show, he is not there to cue performers in and out of his layered vocal arrangements and Webber's complex time signatures. On the one hand, that has unsettled a few performers who like every cue scripted. On the other, as Kambeitz points out, characters won't have to keep looking up for musical direction. "We've freed them up to just act. ... There's a little more flexibility."

Kambeitz enjoys the idea that every performance will be somewhat different. He offers performers the safety net of a cohesive, synergistic band unit, having just released a jazz album with two of the five-member orchestra. What—Superstar with no string section, no horn section?...more...

Great Review for J.C. Superstar in the Merc

MercuryNews.com | 07/19/2006 | Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

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JC the Superest of Stars at City Lights

We open on Saturday, which is sold out. You can come to a pay what you can night tonight, Thursday July 13, and I think that if you call the box office you can get a ticket for $5.00 for tomorrow's preview.
Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

Jesus Christ Superstar plays
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2 or 7pm through Aug. 20 at City
Lights, 529 S. Second St., San Jose. Gala opening July 15. Tickets are
$15-$25/gala $35. (408.295.4200)

DEUCE a World Premiere by Sharmon Hilfinger at The Pear

What a wonderful rich and multi-layered play this is. Rarely have I seen a new play that is so well written. The acting and directing are superb. You have one more weekend to see this thoufhtful and toouching new play.

The Pear Avenue Theatre - Current Show

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