review - Night of January 16th

Night of January 16th

by Ayn Rand

directed by Charles Picerni

Odyssey Theatre

through November 14

First produced in 1934 and then a hit of the 1935-36 Broadway season, Ayn Rand's Night of January 16th is a full out courtroom drama, intense for that era, which may very well have inspired TV series such as Perry Mason in the 60s, the granddaddy and  springboard for such contemporary series as Law and Order. The current production at the Odyssey has a fine cast, but by today's standards the play is far less riveting a drama than say the classic Witness for the Prosecution.

Inspired by Ivar Kreuger, referred to as the "Match King", it concerns a Swedish corporate criminal/swindler who fell 50 stories to his death from a penthouse apartment in New York City. The man called Bjorn Faulkner in the play had a wealthy wife Nancy (Ann Henson) and mistress Karen Andre (Nancy Young) who lived in the penthouse at the time of the death, first labeled a suicide and later murder. Andre is the prime suspect and the play treats her defense. Wife Nancy had a billionaire father John Whitfield (Cal Bartlett) who catered to her every need, including keeping Faulkner's failing business alive through hefty loans, only as a means of consoling his daughter who claimed love for her husband despite his overt indiscretions. It's a predictable triangle involving greed and jealousy: did the mistress kill Faulkner because of his fidelity to the wife or did the wife (or her father) do it because of Faulkner's refusal to let the mistress go? A pretty tame plot. The mistress has another lover, and there's an unexpected piece of evidence that provides a momentary surprise at the close of Act I, but who cares? Even the issue that money talks, that the wealthy get away with murder wears fairly thin at this point in time.

The ensemble is excellent with a motley array of characters, including a playful Don Moss and Richard C. Hawkes as the opposing attorneys, Young beautiful and vibrant as Andre, Henson equally sincere in her portrayal of the wife, Bartlett strong and resolute as Whitfield, Larrs Jackson appropriately firm as the judge, Steve Peterson forthright as a handwriting expert, and particularly engaging are Arthur Richardson as a security guard, Terri  Marsteiner as Faulkner's nosy housekeeper and Andre Tenerelli as an overly loyal former bookkeeper. Praise as well to Yancey Dunham, Michael Bruce, Ivan Borodin, John Gloske, John Candelaria, Aaron Benore, Daniel Lee Everson and Dianna Leanne Wilson as the court stenographer.

An interesting feature of the play is that 12 members of the audience are chosen at the top to be the jury and their decision determines the outcome at each performance. This was the way it was originally done on Broadway in the 30s, certainly a novel concept ahead of its time. However, in spite of this and the good acting, the play offers little to sustain interest in 2010, unless, of course, you are a die-hard courtroom drama fan.

3 out of 5 stars

Andrea McArdle Comments About a Very Special Annie

Andrea McArdle praised Melody Hollis as Annie and called her a very special, lovely little girl!

review - Annie

CRITIC'S PICK

Annie

book by Thomas Meehan; music by Charles Strouse & lyrics by Martin Charnin

directed by Steven Glaudini

Musical Theatre West (MTW) @ The Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach

through November 14

The phenomenally successful 1977 Broadway musical Annie took America by storm and has been filmed twice. After 33 years, and especially now during our country's long bout of economic recession, its Depression era optimism holds up better than ever, and in MTW's current glowing production everything is in place to savor.

This production features Andrea McArdle, Broadway's original orphan Annie playing the role of Miss Hannigan. So in 2010 she comes full circle with this show.

The great thing about McArdle as Hannigan is that she does not try to steal from Dorothy Loudon, Carol Burnett or Kathy Bates, previous star turns; she creates the middle-aged, boozing, disillusioned 'Aggie' Hannigan from scratch, unleashing those ragingly mean insecurities in small doses, keeping her fully grounded. Musically she is in top form; dramatically, with this a stretch, she will probably hit her peak in a couple of years. As is, hers is a technically skilled and theatrically driven look at the amusingly pathetic popular villainess.

The main success of Annie is in its star; if you don't have an Annie that can act and sing, you don't have a show. Luckily, MTW's Annie - Melody Hollis - is dynamically dependable.

Like McArdle - who was a sensation - Hollis has a belting voice and a sweet, caring demeanor which puts her Annie toward the top of the list. 

Also effective is Jeff Austin as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Cold and indifferent upon first meeting Annie, Warbucks eventually warms to her, opening a brand new chapter in his life. As played by Austin, the warmth is real and engaging. 

Shannon Warne rather underplays Grace Farrell. We see her loyalty but little affection for Warbucks or Annie. Michael Paternostro and Bets Malone as con artists Rooster and Lily St. Regis are exceptional. 

Malone is particularly remarkable in her switch from Regis to the motherly Shirley Mudge. Mark Capri makes a splendid FDR and proving that there is no such animal as a tiny part, Todd Nielsen makes Drake the butler a richly supportive and memorable soul. And who can forget Mikey as Sandy, so well trained and loveable. Kudos to the entire ensemble who dance and sing magnificently under the guidance of choreographer Roger Castellano and director Glaudini who keeps this Annie faithful to the original.

Summing up, Annie's cheery outlook is so welcomed in our troubled era, making it a favorite for the holidays, and MTW may be exceedingly proud of their thoroughly delectable representation.

5 out of 5 stars

review - Neighbors

RECOMMENDED

Neighbors

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

directed by Nataki Garrett

Matrix Theatre

extended through November 7

Described as the most provocative play of the season the West Coast premiere of Neighbors @ the Matrix is as complex and alluring as a theatre piece is likely to get, at least by 2010 standards. Taking place in a distorted present,  Branden Jacobs-Jenkins literally sets off a time bomb. This is an extremely potent clash of values: into a high middle-class gated community come racially stereotypical black traveling minstrels or vagabonds from out of the distant past, moving right next door to an upwardly mobile African American professor. With an astounding ensemble, bold direction from Nataki Garrett and a radically atypical structure Neighbors is a definite must see.

Let's first of all define the characters more specifically. Richard Patterson (Derek Webster), teaching Greek tragedy/mythology at a local college, is a highly educated African-American with a Caucasian wife Jean (Julia Campbell), a former poet, and a 15 year-old African-American daughter Melody (Rachae Thomas). Are they happy? Hardly, except through his rose-colored glasses. Patterson cannot believe his eyes when what appear to be a band of black slaves - right out of the nineteenth century - move next door. The Crows consist of Mammy (Baadja-Lyne), her brother-in-law Zip (Leith Burke), and children Sambo (Keith Arthur Bolden), Topsy (Daniele Watts) and Jim (James Edward Shippy) - whose names are all symbolic of denigrating black stereotypes. Like minstrels the Crows wear black face and are represented, also in the minstrel vein, as working entertainers, all of whom perform, singly and together, throughout the play. 

Jacobs-Jenkins sets up an implausible situation - impossible in today's world - that boggles the mind, but that makes it think and explore in totally novel ways. The Crows are 'different', outcasts in a white world where even blacks like the uppety Richard Patterson are trying desperately to live a white lifestyle, to deny their heritage and  declare that 'race is just an illusion'. In the end, what we are left with, is a painful reminder that a black man is still a black man despite his position, and that, in fact, he is first and foremost a man, who by means of art, in whatever form - education or entertainment, represents his own slant and value, which will, in the long run, help to shape a shared human experience.  

The cast is miraculous. Webster and Burke play the dueling antagonists with a keen and undiminished ferocity to the very end. Burke's Zip is really the mouthpiece for the playwright, moving in and out of the Pattersons' lives to stimulate and jolt them into positive action. Campbell is outstanding in her depiction of the desperately lonely wife. Her monologues 'soliloquizing' about preferences for black or white are simultaneously funny and irritatingly thought provoking. Thomas is equally strong as Melody. We sympathize with her in her attempt to escape an oppressive and unrealisitc environment. Bolden, Watts, Shippy and Lyne are all terrific, each with a uniquely expressive panto or musical set that is brazen and highly entertaining. Through the caricatures they are all able to convey the frustrations and humiliation of their lot.

John Iacovelli's cold scenic design and Naila Alladin Sanders' costumes, especially the Crows' clownish wardrobe are expertly executed. Garrett's staging, especially at play's end, is unforgettable.

Like Sam Shepherd's True West, that manages to be funny and meaningful with larger-than-life cartoonish characters, Neighbors enlightens and entertains with a one-of-a-kind structure, personality and delivery that make it somewhat of a minor classic and gives its author Branden Jacobs-Jenkins a truly fresh voice on the American theatre scene.

(Language, some visuals and sexual inuendos will be offensive to some.)

4 out of 5 stars

Cissy Conner's After Party

Top photo: Scott Umfress, Cissy and far right: Shelly Markham.

review - Bell, Book and Candle

CRITIC'S PICK

Bell, Book and Candle

by John van Druten

directed by Richard Israel

Colony Theatre

through November 21

To be frank, John van Druten's works, which include I Am a Camera and The Voice of the Turtle, as well as Bell, Book and Candle, may be considered dated, because sadly plays are no longer written with such style and wit. And who dotes on love and just being human in the 21st century? There's no time; it's unheard of! The Colony Theatre in Burbank proudly presents van Druten's amusing and cherished play about witchcraft, that may very well have inspired TV's Bewitched, with a delightful cast under Richard Israel's nourishing direction.

Once you accept the fact that Gillian (Willow Geer) is a witch, who is out to get what she wants to the perilous consequences of others, and that her entire family, including brother Nicky (Will Bradley) and Aunt Queenie (Mary Jo Catlett) have magical powers, you're hooked. There's also a handsome neighbor, Shepherd Henderson (Michael A. Newcomer) that Gillian wants - especially when she learns that her despicable former college roommate is engaged to him, and an enchanting author Sidney Redlitch (Benton Jennings) who, through a spell, comes into and touches all of their lives. It's great fun!

Geer as Gillian is a gem of an actress. She plays the alluring, conniving element divinely and beautifully manages to convey the humanity that suddenly consumes her. Newcomer is attractive, appealing and completely likeable as Henderson. Bradley does well underplaying Nicky - a difficult rather nondescript role that an actor could easily push for laughs as did Jack Lemmon in the film. Bradley makes him his own without going over the top. Catlett is sheer delight as Aunt Queenie, adding touches of eccentricity here and there, but , like Bradley, keeping her within control. Jennings makes his few scenes as Redlitch memorable by playing an unpredictable oddball.

Stephen Gifford has designed a classy 50s New York apartment and Sharon McGunigle's period costumes are effectively colorful, especially Gillian's satiny dresses and Queenie's spiritualist-like headgear, caftans and wraps.

With indifference and selfish isolation rampant in our contemporary world, Bell, Book and Candle is a gentle and graceful reminder of how much we need to open up and be human. Plus, it's the perfect holiday treat!

5 out of 5 stars

Mary Jo Catlett Just Great in Bell, Book and Candle!

review - Happy Days A New Musical

RECOMMENDED

Happy Days A New Musical

book by Garry Marshall; music & lyrics by Paul Williams

directed by Susan Morgenstern

Cabrillo Music Theatre

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza

through October 31

When Happy Days premiered in 2006 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank it had the subtitle A Family Musical; now it's changed to A New Musical. For obvious reasons, I liked the original version better. We grew to love the Cunninghams on TV as a family and the Falcon depicted their home; in this new production at Cabrillo, the only part of the home on display is the kitchen. This is not to say that the production is not worth seeing, though, for it has a great cast - and the music and dancing and corny comic setups are terribly enjoyable backed by Susan Morgenstern's consistently even pacing as director.

Heading the cast are two Dereks, Derek Klena as Richie and Derek Keeling as Arthur "Fonz" Fonzarelli.

Both actors are terrific. With his boyish good looks and charming personality, Klena was born to play Richie. Keeling is equally appealing in a streetwise, leather jacket, more macho way, and both boys sing and dance up a storm. Misty Cotten brings out the sophistication of Pinky, but somehow the wild side is missing. Cotten, always a great singer and performer, is a tad too old for this role. Otherwise, her performance is genuine and affecting. Tracy Lore is just great as mom Marion, as are Tessa Grady as Joanie and John Richard Petersen as father Howard. The Malachis - Will Harris and Nicholas Leinbach - do fine with the outrageous comedy. Equally excellent are Benjamin Goldsmith as Potsie, Estevan Valdes as Chachi and Dane Biren as Ralph. 

Choreographer John Charron keeps the dance numbers big and bright, and all production values are tip top, including sets, costumes, lights and hair and makeup.

Leave your troubles behind, and take a walk down memory lane with Happy Days. Like Grease and Saturday Night Fever before it, its nostalgia is irresistible.

4 out of 5 stars

review - Legendary Duets Wayland Pickard & Deborah Johnson Perform Gala for Group rep

Top photo: artistic directors Chris Winfield and Larry Eisenberg and far right Dick Woody flank Johnson and Pickard at gala benefit for Group rep on Thursday October 21.

This is a great evening of over 50 songs from artists of the 40s to the 70s, like Burns and Allen, Sonny and Cher and the Beatles, presented with nonstop singing at duel pianos  - and with impressions - by two incredibly versatile performers Wayland Pickard and Deborah Johnson, who are off to Arizona and then to Vegas to perform. Pickard will be doing his Liberace: Back from Heaven there for the next five months. Break a leg!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

review

What a glorious evening of song and mirth is to be had in the company of supertalents Wayland Pickard and Deborah Johnson in Legendary Duets! Facing each other at dueling pianos, Pickard and Johnson play, cavort and sing. As one gets up to solo, the other assists with background accompaniment. Pickard is most definitely the comic and Johnson is straight-man. Behind is a screen with projections of the singing artists in question.

And there is a variety of music explored: rock from the 50s, 60s and 70s, country, the classics, Hollywood film tunes and Broadway pop. 

Highlights of the evening, divided into two acts and subject to change, include: Richard and Karen Carpenter "Rainy Days and Mondays", Joe Cochran and Jennifer Warrens "Up Where We Belong", Carole King and James Taylor "You've Got a Friend", Clive Griffin and Celine Dion "When I Fall in Love", the Captain and Tenille "Love Will Keep Us Together", Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie "My Endless Love", Simon & Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" and Sonny & Cher "I Got You Babe". From the world of country, there's Johnny and June Carter Cash "Ring of Fire", Marie & Donny Osmond "Little Bit of Country", Roy Rogers and Dale Evans "Happy Trails" and single salutes to Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis and Patsy Cline's "Crazy". Of course, there's the dueling piano artists themselves from the past Ferrante & Teicher "The Theme from Exodus" and present day, the ever popular vocalists Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli with the ever popular "The Prayer". The list goes on and on. There's something to suit everyone's taste and pleasure.

Apart from his virtuoso piano artistry, Pickard's forte impressions are a hilarious Michael Jackson, Elvis, George Burns and Louis Armstrong - and his Liberace, which has a show all to itself, Liberace: Back From Heaven. He even takes on Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger here, as well as Kermit the Frog.

Apart from her virtuoso piano playing, Johnson's strongest asset is her vocal range, which is astounding. She not only sings rock and pop, but essays Puccini and Christine from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Amazing!

Music, music, and more music! Fun, fun and more fun! Run, don't walk to purchase tickets for Legendary Duets when it travels to a venue near you.

CABARET review - Cissy Conner

A stage without Cissy Conner is like a day without sunshine. Her presence alone, never mind her enormous talent, lights up a room with laughter. On Sunday October 24, Conner made a rare appearance @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's with her cabaret act Cissy Conner Farewell Tour, which, hopefully, will turn into at least a semi-annual event. The lady sings, does hilarious impressions and is just plain and simple a funny, funny girl.

Highlights of the evening, which also spotlighted wonderful guest singer Scott Umfress and the always terrific musical director Shelly Markham at the piano, included: as opener, Markham's clever ode to growing old "Age Is Just a Number", a great "Delta Dawn" with a few bars of sound from Katie Hepburn, Marie Caine's "Menopause Rag", which gave Conner a chance to spit some fire as an actress and also duet with Umfress, a sexy "What the Hell You Doin", "I Am My Grandma", which Conner confessed she's been trying to learn for ten years - it's a tricky song about Southern relations which she performed a la Loretta Lynn, the lovely ballad "Wee Small Hours", which gave her a 360 degree transformation to a soft, quiet rendition - very nice! - and her dynamic encore Shel Silverstein's "Checkin' Out". Besides Hepburn and Lynn, there were also impressions of Mae West, a great Cher performing "After All" with Umfress and a sick, silly version of "I Got You Babe" in which Conner as Cher channeled Son through John Edwards ... and a somewhat obscenely delightful "Mein Herr" from Cabaret, where Conner placed her Cher wig between...well, you had to be there to appreciate it! There was also a very funny monologue from airline stewardess Taffy Pole, Conner's original dumb blonde character who tantalized us with "I've Never Been To Me". 

Conner has been doing cabaret in Chicago and LA on and off for many, many years and can easily get the audience to literally eat out of her hand. Any slip or unrehearsed moments make the entire act seem like one big gigantic improv, which is what great comedy is all about.

Cissy Conner, you are the greatest! Do not wait so long to perform again! Make The Farewell Tour a regular happening @ Sterling's!

Tea at Five @ the Falcon Theatre

Here's what I said about Stephanie Zimbalist less than a year ago when I saw her in Tea at Five in Santa Barbara:

RECOMMENDED/Tea at Five/by Matthew Lombardo/directed by Jenny Sullivan/Ensemble Theatre Company/Santa Barbara/through December 27

Few actresses have the look, talent or audacity to portray legendary, larger-than-life Katharine Hepburn. Let's face it, she was an awesome figure and had a distinct manner of walking, talking and just being... well, Kate. Like Kate Mulgrew before her, Stephanie Zimbalist has the right look and acting chops to fit the bill, and succeeds quite astonishingly.

In Matthew Lombardo's one-woman play Tea at Five, Zimbalist plays Hepburn first in 1938 and 45 years later in 1983. In Act I, Hepburn enters the living room of her Fenwick, Connecticut home (meticulous scenic design by Neil Prince and set dressing) at a time when she had left Hollywood. Branded box office poison yet still thoroughly optimistic at being cast as Scarlett O'Hara in the then upcoming Gone with the Wind, Hepburn wanted stardom. Sporting long, fiery red-hair and wearing the characteristic slacks, Zimbalist plays Hepburn with most of the physicality down pat and with all the youthful feisty arrogance, but somehow holds back on the distinctive Hepburn voice, giving merely an essence of those patrician vocal intonations. That aside, everything else is fine. The look, the stride, leg up on the sofa, sitting down and leaning forward like a truckdriver... her impetuousness, impatience and insecurity are totally convincing. This was the very private Hepburn that we did not know but had only heard about: bold, abrasive, brazen, yet girlishly unsteady and not fully aware of who she was or where she was going.

In Act II we get the retired Hepburn, about mid seventies, who is being wooed by Warren Beatty to play his grandmother in the remake film Love Affair. This is a far more fragile Hepburn, limping around the living room (great detailed set decorations) with a broken ankle in a cast, due to an automobile accident...and head and hands shaking and voice quaking due to Parkinson's- although she denied having it. She was stubborn and headstrong, but loveable: the Hepburn we had come to trust and admire. Due to her television interviews and increased TV special movie appearances, Hepburn had made herself more accessible to the public. Here Zimbalist is in her glory playing the aged Hepburn to the hilt. Hair now mixed grey & up in a bun, wearing slacks, turtle neck and over it a man's long-sleeve work shirt and characteristic outer red sweater tied around her shoulders, Zimbalist brings out Hepburn's brutal sense of honesty, wisdom, eccentric humor and extreme sensitivity. Her monologue about brother Tom and his suicide at age 15 is heartbreakingly rendered.

Lombardo's script is crisp and well written, laced with abundant humor, and clearly separating the young fiery, insecure Hepburn from the older more stable one. However, there is no reason for the play's existence - Is she being interviewed for a memoir or documentary? No! - other than to present Hepburn the curiosity to an inquisitive audience.

Sullivan's direction of Zimbalist is admirable. The pacing is brisk and she keeps the actress in perpetual motion. Zimbalist is a miraculous actor, who immerses herself fully in the characterization, never fearing to dig deep. Apart from needing to make her voice moreHepburnish in Act I, her performance is nothing short of brilliant.

4 out of 5 stars

Zimbalist opens the play at the Falcon this Friday, October 22. Here are her current ACT 1 photos:

2010 OVATION AWARD NOMINATIONS

2009/2010

OVATION AWARD
NOMINEES

 BEST SEASON

Cabrillo Music Theatre
The Andrews Brothers
Cinderella
Guys and Dolls
Little Shop of Horrors

Fountain Theatre
The Ballad of Emmett Till
Opus
Shining City

Reprise Theatre Company
Carousel
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC)
1951-2006
Dementia
Solitude

The Production Company
Amadeus
Copenhagen
The Diviners
How I Learned to Drive
Sweeney Todd

The Theatre @ Boston Court
God Save Gertrude
The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder
Oedipus El Rey
The Twentieth-Century Way

Troubadour Theater Company
CHiPs The Musical
Frosty The Snow Manilow
Oedipus The King, Mama!

 PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

Project Wonderland
Bootleg Theater

The Women of Brewster Place
Celebration Theatre

The Story of My Life
Havok Theatre Company

The Who’s Tommy
The Chance Theater

Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

 PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

The Ballad of Emmett Till
Fountain Theatre

Four Places
Rogue Machine

Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Opus
Fountain Theatre

Shaheed The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto
Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre

Something Happened
Pacific Stages

 PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
(LARGE THEATRE)

Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

The Marvelous Wonderettes
Musical Theatre West

Oedipus The King, Mama!
Troubadour Theater Company

Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum



 PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
(LARGE THEATRE)

Awake and Sing!
A Noise Within

Doubt
Rubicon Theatre Company

Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Grace & Glorie
The Colony Theatre Company

Through the Night
Geffen Playhouse

 BOOK FOR AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL

Scott Martin
Children of the Night
Katselas Theatre Company

Rick Batalla
CHiPs The Musical
Troubadour Theater Company

John Caird
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Dakin Matthews
Liberty Inn: The Musical
Andak Stage Company

Robert Prior
Project Wonderland
Bootleg Theater

 LYRICS/MUSIC FOR AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL

Henry Phillips
CHiPs The Musical
Troubadour Theater Company

Paul Gordon
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Bt Ryback & Dakin Matthews
Liberty Inn: The Musical
Andak Stage Company

Indira Stefanianna
Project Wonderland
Bootleg Theater

Richard Levinson, Larry Herbstritt & Tom Campbell
Savin’ Up for Saturday Night
Sacred Fools Theatre Company

 PLAYWRITING FOR AN ORIGINAL PLAY

Donald Freed
1951-2006
The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC)

Jeffrey Hatcher
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

David Schulner
Forgiveness
Black Dahlia Theatre

Luis Alfaro
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

L Trey Wilson
Something Happened
Pacific Stages

Tom Jacobson
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Del Shores
Yellow
Jd3atrical

 DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL

Nick Degruccio
The Andrews Brothers
Cabrillo Music Theatre

Michael Michetti
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

John Caird
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Matt Walker
Oedipus The King, Mama!
Troubadour Theater Company

Robert Ashford
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Oanh Nguyen
The Who’s Tommy
The Chance Theater

Michael Matthews
The Women of Brewster Place The Musical
Celebration Theatre

 DIRECTOR OF A PLAY

Shirley Jo Finney
The Ballad of Emmett Till
Fountain Theatre

David Esbjornson
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Robin Larsen
Four Places
Rogue Machine

Jon Lawrence Rivera
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

L Trey Wilson
Something Happened
Pacific Stages

Charles Randolph-Wright
Through The Night
Geffen Playhouse

Michael Michetti
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court

 MUSIC DIRECTION

Lloyd Cooper
The Andrews Brothers
Cabrillo Music Theatre

Michael Borth
The Marvelous Wonderettes
Musical Theatre West

Tom Murray
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

David O
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
Overtone Industries

Michael Paternostro
The Story of My Life
Havok Theatre Company

John Glaudini
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

Richard Berent
Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

 CHOREOGRAPHER

Roger Castellano
The Andrews Brothers
Cabrillo Music Theatre

Ameenah Kaplan
The Ballad of Emmett Till
Fountain Theatre

Lee Martino
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Janet Miller
The Marvelous Wonderettes
Musical Theatre West

Lili Fuller, Joe Sofranko, Matthew Krumpe
& Juliana Tyson
Neverwonderland 2010
Etc - Ensemble Theatre Company

Robert Ashford
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Ameenah Kaplan
The Women of Brewster Place
Celebration Theatre

 ACTING ENSEMBLE

The 25Th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
La Mirada Theatre for The Performing Arts

The Ballad of Emmett Till
Fountain Theatre

The Marvelous Wonderettes
Musical Theatre West

Oedipus The King, Mama!
Troubadour Theater Company

Opus
Fountain Theatre

Something Happened
Pacific Stages

The Women of Brewster Place
Celebration Theatre

 LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Josh Grisetti as J. Pierrepont Finch
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Reprise Theatre Company

T.R. Knight as Leo Frank
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Brendan Hunt as Eldridge
Savin’ Up for Saturday Night
Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Chad Borden as Alvin Kelby
The Story of My Life
Havok Theatre Company

Robert J. Townsend as Thomas Weaver
The Story of My Life
Havok Theatre Company

Norman Large as Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

Kurt Andrew Hanson as Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

 LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY

Bruce French as Andrew Crocker-Harris
The Browning Version
Pacific Resident Theatre

Dakin Matthews as King Lear
King Lear
The Antaeus Company

Alan Mandell as Spooner
No Man’s Land
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Justin Huen as Oedipus
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Daniel Beaty
Through The Night
Geffen Playhouse

Will Bradley as Brown
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Robert Mammana as Warren
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court

 LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Alexandra Silber as Julie Jordan
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Teri Bibb as Ellen Terry
Children of the Night
Katselas Theatre Company

Megan Mcginnis as Jerusha
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Lara Pulver as Lucille Frank
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Debbie Prutsman as Mrs. Lovett
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

 LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Robin Pearson Rose as Sister Aloysius
Doubt
Rubicon Theatre Company

Anne Gee Byrd as Peggy
Four Places
Rogue Machine

Roxanne Hart as Ellen
Four Places
Rogue Machine

Beth Grant as Grace
Grace & Glorie
The Colony Theatre Company

Agatha Nowicki as Susie
Parasite Drag
Elephant Theatre

Anna Khaja
Shaheed - The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto
Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre

Eve Sigall as A
Three Tall Women
West Coast Ensemble

 FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Andy Taylor as Enoch Snow
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Sam Zeller as Jud Fry
Oklahoma!
Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities

Michael Berresse as Governor Slaton, Britt Craig,
Mr. Peavy
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

David St. Lewis as Newt Lee, Jim Conley, Riley
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Dan Callaway as Anthony Hope
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

Rob Herring as Tobias
Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

R. Christofer Sands as Pirelli/Fogg
Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

 FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

John Prosky as Hector Hulot
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

Patrick J. Adams as Sharpe
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Harry Groener as Richard
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Brian Henderson as Armin
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Connor Trinneer as Nate
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Morlan Higgins as Sam
Forgiveness
Black Dahlia Theatre

Matthew Scott Montgomery as Kendall Parker
Yellow
Jd3atrical

 FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Jane Noseworthy as Carrie Pipperidge
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Sally Struthers as Fairy Godmother
Cinderella
Cabrillo Music Theatre

Vicki Lewis as Smitty
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Reprise Theatre Company

Deidrie Henry as Minnie Mcknight, Angela
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Sarah Bermudez as Johanna
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

Michelle Duffy as Beggar Woman
Sweeney Todd
Musical Theatre West

Jenny Ashman as Johanna
Sweeney Todd
The Production Company

 FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Jan Sheldrick as Etta Poore
Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins
West Coast Ensemble

Amanda Detmer as Missy
Extinction
Red Dog Squadron

Lee Garlington as Penny
Forgiveness
Black Dahlia Theatre

Lisa Rothschiller as Barb
Four Places
Rogue Machine

Deirdre O’Connell as Judy
The Wake
Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre

Danielle Skraastad as Laurie
The Wake
Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre

Susan Leslie as Timothea Parker
Yellow
Jd3atrical

 COSTUME DESIGN
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

Vicki Conrad
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Actors Co-Op/Crossley Theatre

Joyce Ferrer
Black Coffee
Theatre 40

A. Jeffrey Schoenberg
Children of the Night
Katselas Theatre Company

A. Jeffrey Schoenberg
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

Kerry Hennessy
Gogol Project
Bootleg Theater

Teresa Shea
Project Wonderland
Bootleg Theater

Erika C. Miller
The Who’s Tommy
The Chance Theater

 COSTUME DESIGN
(LARGE THEATRE)

Julie Keen
Awake and Sing!
A Noise Within

A. Jeffrey Schoenberg
Celadine
The Colony Theatre Company

Sharon Mcgunigle
Frosty The Snow Manilow
Troubadour Theater Company

Christopher Oram
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Shigeru Yaji
Peace
The J. Paul Getty Trust

Ann Closs-Farley
The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Aeg Live

Snezana Petrovic
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
Overtone Industries

 LIGHTING DESIGN
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

Leigh Allen
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

Steven Young
God Save Gertrude
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Brian Sidney Bembridge
The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Jeremy Pivnick
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Elizabeth Harper
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court

KC Wilkerson
Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter
The Chance Theater

KC Wilkerson
The Who’s Tommy
The Chance Theater

 LIGHTING DESIGN
(LARGE THEATRE)

Christopher Ash
1951-2006
The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC)

Steven Young
Carousel
Reprise Theatre Company

Scott Zielinski
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Mason Barker
Neverwonderland 2010
Etc - Ensemble Theatre Company

Neil Austin
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Jeff Croiter
The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Aeg Live

Alexander Nichols
Through the Night
Geffen Playhouse

 SCENIC DESIGN
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

Desma Murphy
As White as O
Road Theatre Company

Jeff G. Rack
Black Coffee
Theatre 40

Tom Buderwitz
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

Susan Gratch
God Save Gertrude
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Brian Sidney Bembridge
The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Katie Polebaum
Gogol Project
Bootleg Theater

John Binkley
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

 SCENIC DESIGN
(LARGE THEATRE)

John Iacovelli
Cave Quest
East West Players

Stephen Gifford
Celadine
The Colony Theatre Company

David Farley
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Jeff Mclaughlin
Grace & Glorie
The Colony Theatre Company

David Korins
The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Aeg Live

Snezana Petrovic
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
Overtone Industries

David Korins
The Wake
Center Theatre Group: Kirk Douglas Theatre

 SOUND DESIGN
(INTIMATE THEATRE)

John Zalewski
Absinthe, Opium & Magic: 1920S Shanghai
Grand Guignolers

David B. Marling
The Ballad of Emmett Till
Fountain Theatre

Jason Duplissea
Blood and Thunder
Moving Arts

Cricket S. Myers
Cousin Bette
The Antaeus Company

Mark Wilson
Neighborhood 3 : Requisition of Doom
Sacred Fools Theatre Company

Rob Oriol
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Peter Bayne
Opus
Fountain Theatre

SOUND DESIGN
(LARGE THEATRE)

Jonathan Burke
Daddy Long Legs
Rubicon Theatre Company

Jon Gottlieb
Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse

Cricket S. Myers
Grace & Glorie
The Colony Theatre Company

Cricket S. Myers
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

Jon Weston
Parade
Center Theatre Group: Mark Taper Forum

John Zalewski
Solitude
The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC)

Lindsay Jones
Through the Night
Geffen Playhouse

LA STAGE ALLIANCE | 2009/2010 OVATION AWARD NOMINEES

OVATIONS
HONORS


VIDEO DESIGN

KC Wilkerson
The Who’s Tommy
The Chance Theater


MUSIC COMPOSITION
FOR A PLAY

Ego Plum
Gogol Project
Bootleg Theater


PUPPET DESIGN

Lynn Jeffries
Project Wonderland
Bootleg Theater


FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY

Edgar Landa
Oedipus El Rey
The Theatre @ Boston Court

Miss Salome Jens - What class!

I interviewed Salome Jens at Group rep re her upcoming appearances there November 19 and 20 in her very special one-woman show About Anne. (Pulitzer Prize winning poet, the late Anne Sexton) What a lovely lady and what a delightful experience!

Interview will be up next week @ Grigware Interviews and @ BWW!

Callie Carson a Spectacular Performer

Callie Carson is one of those rare performers that possesses all the gifts. You can't afford to miss her when she performs! (Top photo: another musical genius actor/musical director Michael Paternostro)

see review below!

review - When Garbo Talks!

RECOMMENDED
(with limitations)
When Garbo Talks
music by Mort Garson; book & lyrics by Buddy Kaye
directed by Jules Aaron
ICT  in Long Beach
through November 7

Sweden's great beauty Greta Gustafsson, later renamed Greta Garbo has been the subject of several plays, but, to my knowledge, When Garbo Talks is the first musical to recount her fascinating career. ICT's world premiere production in Long Beach is well directed, has an excellent cast, but at best comes off disconnected and unduly and unclearly satirical. If parody is the intent, it is far from apparent at the beginning.

 It's a curious treatment, indeed, very much a somewhat, at first glance, realistic biography set to music, which quickly seems to divide itself right down the middle as to style and presentation. Whenever Garbo (Jessica Burrows) and her mentor Mauritz Stiller (Michael Stone Forrest) are center stage, the book is serious and straightforward with rather operatic/discordant sounding music, but when Louis B. Mayer (Matthew Henerson) and his cohorts (Nick Rogers and Teya Patt) hit the spotlight, it's a parody of old Hollywood and the tunes become fast patter and camp. Showing a divergence in musical styles here: "My Winter Tree" is a beautifully poignant ballad sung by Garbo in Act II, as she longs for her homeland; "The Great Garbo Must Go" is a darkly entertaining fast paced number right out of vaudeville or burlesque.

There seems almost to be two shows in one, bumping up against each other. Are we to be amused or do we sympathize with the gentle, graceful Garbo and what is happening to her? It is  an unseemly fit throughout, but at least Act II plays somewhat better.
When Stiller is unfairly dismissed by Mayer, Garbo stays with the silent picture reluctantly (The Temptress, 1925), at Stiller's request. Tragedy eventually ensues for the pair, but Garbo meets and falls in love with costar, matinee idol John Gilbert. (Flesh and the Devil, 1926) Gilbert wants to marry Garbo, she unwillingly accepts and then does not show up for the wedding. They live together for a while, but when talkies become the rage (1929), Gilbert is out of the studio and her life; Garbo, however, remains queen of MGM
.

The entire cast is winning under Jules Aaron's expertise, with Burrows a striking presence throughout. Looking more like Sophia Loren, with her stunning cheekbones, her Garbo, nonetheless, is alluring and forever sad and mysterious. Forrest is marvelous as Stiller, the acclaimed Swedish director who taught Garbo everything, only to be shunned and abandoned by Mayer in typical Hollywood fashion. Matthew Henerson is delightfully entertaining as the hypocritical tyrant Louis B. Mayer as are Rogers and Patt as his assistants. Within the confusing style of this play, they come off, through no fault of their own, like villains in a theatrical melodrama. Chris Carothers makes an affable Gilbert, who ended up a dismal failure due to Mayer's conniving ways. Alexandra Ackerman as Garbo's Swedish coach Signe and possible lover is very good in a rather thankless role, and versatile Scott Kruse completes the ensemble in a variety of smaller roles.

Garbo had a complicated personality. She had many lovers besides Gilbert, but did not believe in the confinements of marriage. She was also touted as having several lesbian liaisons without being labeled bisexual. What remains undoubtedly clear is that she was a strong woman who struggled for her art. She knew what her star power meant to MGM and stood up to Mayer to get what she was entitled to monetarily. Through her letters to Signe, she makes us aware of how unhappy the Hollywood system made her. Having determined in Sweden to become a true cinematic artiste, under Stiller's tutelage, she therefore never lived up to her true potential, although becoming involuntarily an American screen icon.
Within the confines of Kaye's book, When Garbo Talks is in many ways engaging, but are the Hollywood stooges presented the way Garbo really saw them? The cartoonish glimpse of them is just off kilter with the heartfelt Garbo star-making story. Once Kaye decides on the appropriate mood and texture for the show, a  rewrite is in order. Until then, When Garbo Talks will be classified as a somewhat weirdly mysterious take on a mysteriously elegant and unique Hollywood star.

Recommended for its cast, direction and overall intriguing endeavor.
3 out of 5 stars

CABARET review - Callie Carson

Actress/singer Callie Carson made her cabaret debut @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's Sunday October 17 and wowed the SRO house with her super-talent, beauty and glowing charm. It is hardly pretentious to say it, so let's proclaim it loud and clear: this gal has it all. Her height and wholesome good looks have already made her a very successful model. If being offered role after role in musical comedy productions like Little Shop of Horrors and Happy Days the Musical isn't enough proof of her fine singing and acting abilities, then this Sterling's supper club gig should help to pave her way to stage stardom. She is that good.

Highlights of the evening included: a riveting "Home" from The Wiz, "To Sir With Love", the sexy, alluring "Peel Me a Grape", with great bass accompaniment, a very touching "Hello In There", sung to a 90 year-old friend in the audience, Scott Alan's beautiful "Say Goodbye" and "Until Now" her brilliantly dynamic encore. Musical director extraordinaire Michael Paternostro and director Richard Hochberg have penned Scary the Musical which provided her with two extremely funny tunes "The Last Girl" and "I'm Just a Girl", which she followed with the big and bold Earth Kitt arrangement of "I Wanna Be Evil". No limitations for Carson, who ran the gamut from slow ballads and torch songs to upbeat comedic pop tunes with breathtaking ease, polish and flair. She also held the audience in the palm of her hand in between numbers with humorous anecdotes about her hometown in North Dakota and her riveting love story before, with and after her boyfriend Chad. Her emotions were genuine and overflowing, and there was not a dry eye in the house. Titled Until Now the show charted Carson's psychological journey through her heartbreaking romantic breakup to her present state of happy self-awareness. Every song she chose helped to enhance her story.  In one number Carson's father joined her jubilantly on stage for string accompaniment.

Don't miss a single performance of Miss Callie Carson, who, thankfully for us, has carved out a richly deserved niche in the LA musical theatre spotlight! Join her for Cabrillo's Happy Days the Musical opening at Thousand Oaks' Kavli Theatre this Friday, October 22!

review - FDR

RECOMMENDED
FDR
by Dore Schary
Pasadena Playhouse
through November 7

It's great news that the Pasadena Playhouse has reopened its doors, less than a year from the time that it filed Chapter 11. The first entry into the current season is unusual for this venue, a one-person show, written in 1977 by Dore Schary as a sequel to his 1958 popular hit Sunrise at Campabello. The Pasadena stage is too large for this play, but due to the present state of the economy and the playhouse's tight budget, FDR will have to suffice, and with octogenarian favorite Ed Asner as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it becomes a wholeheartedly valuable and enjoyable experience.

Self-directed, Asner plays most of the 100 minute piece either in a wheel chair, as Roosevelt was crippled due to polio, or sitting at his desk in the oval office, or walking stage center on two canes and leaning against the desk or moving stage right to a chair or stage left to a podium. His blocking is limited, and the play, covering the four terms of the Roosevelt Presidency from 1933-1945, deals primarily with events leading up to WW II and the war years themselves. Schary was an FDR fanatic, and spent a great part of his writing years composing plays and films about the icon, considered a tightwad by many - a man, who, in spite of his physical deficiencies more than made up for them by his intensely tireless intellectual and emotional struggles to save our country from depression, unemployment and world war. Sound familiar? Not much has changed in the last 75 years.

Roosevelt, a people's President, literally took on the pain of the entire world, feeling deeply for the losses in France and England, as well as at home. FDR had integrity to spare, and a tremendous sense of humor; for a fairly quiet man, he loved an audience, granting 100s of press conferences during the course of his four terms. Although low-key as to his affiliations, he relished every opportunity he had to rake Republicans over the coals. He was known to have had an extra-marital affair but the media kept it under wraps, and he and Eleanor (affectionately nicknamed Babs) fought fiercely to preserve their marriage, family and to stay together at all costs. He was what he was, upfront, with few deceptions or lies, as was Eleanor. Asner creates her by either conversing with her in person or by phone, as he does with chum Louis Howe and other officials in his cabinet. Asner, like FDR, possesses great integrity and a strong, contagious sense of humor in essaying any character, making him ideal for this role. He is ageless, extremely likable and the audience might even have elected him to higher office (he was a SAG official) during his prime and given the right opportunity. The marriage of actor to role here is a terribly reliable one.

The politics are familiar, so the play bogs down every now and then, but Asner's wicked humor, spunk and overall positive energy in depicting FDR's unique charisma keep it flowing along smoothly.

4 out of 5 stars

Red Hot Mama Sharon McKnight

McKnight shined as Sophie Tucker in Red Hot Mama @ the Inner Circle of the Magic Castle Sunday and will repeat the show Monday October 11. (Photo credit: Brian Putnam)

After Party in Laguna for I Loved Lucy

(bottom two photos: Chris Trela)
Top photo: Carole Cook, an old chum of Lucy and her husband Tom Troupe and friends; below that: Diane J. Findlay as Lucille Ball; below that, playwright Lee Tannen and bottom: Jeffry Denman as Tannen in the world premiere of I Loved Lucy, based on Tannen's best-selling book from 2001.

Roz Kind Sparkled

Roslyn Kind @ Catalina Jazz Club

(Top: Bobby Bennett with Roz; below Bobby,  saying hello to the legendary Miss Linda Hopkins, and bottom, Stan Mazin and I with the one and only Roz Kind)

CABARET review - Sharon McKnight in Red Hot Mama

Sophie Tucker, "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas", was an iconic American singer, though Russian born, who had her early successes in vaudeville, burlesque and the Ziegfeld Follies in the early part of the 20th century. She sang risque songs about a stout woman with a hearty sexual appetite and was frequently censored, even jailed once for being accused of performing a lewd 'cuchi' dance on stage.
Actress/singer Sharon McKnight has been performing as Tucker for years in a gloriously and uproariously sturdy night club act, which, more than an impersonation, becomes a loving tribute to the great lady. McKnight is Tucker in voice and form and doesn't hold back for an instant. Her sense of comic timing, like that of Tucker, is impeccable, and her voice a powerhouse instrument. Chatting about her background, career and men, McKnight as Tucker sings the Red Hot Mama's greatest hits and tells some hilarious anecdotes in the thoroughly entertaining 70 minute set, which plays one more show Monday October 11 at the Inner Circle of the Magic Castle at 8:30 pm.

Highlights include: a tantalizing "Hula Lou", "There'll Be Some Changes Made", the heart-tugging "My Yiddishe Mama", "Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love". a dynamic "The Man I Love", "Some of These Days", "After You've Gone" and of course, "Last of the Red Hot Mamas". Comedy rings supreme with "I'm Living Alone and Like It" after putting down 3 failed marriages, and "I Don't Want to Get Thin", in which McKnight has a field day with Tucker's weight and how she gracefully 'tossed it around' to full sensual advantage.

This is the kind of club act that grabs hold of you right from the start, never lets down and then manages to blow you away at least three or four or five times. The women - Tucker and McKnight, they become one and the same - pull you in and take you on a sumptuous ride that is sizzlingly satisfying. Much praise to Ron Snyder at the keys who essays the role of Ted Shapiro, Tucker's musical director.
One more show tonight only at 8:30 pm at the Magic Castle!

(bottom photo: Brian Putnam)

review - I Loved Lucy

RECOMMENDED
I Loved Lucy
written by Lee Tannen
directed by Todd Weeks
Laguna Playhouse
through October 31

Based on his 2001 best seller about his relationship with the late great Lucille Ball, I Loved Lucy by Lee Tannen is now a one-act two character play, receiving its world premiere at Laguna Playhouse. It's a somewhat witty, but mostly bittersweet look at an aging star and how she deals with the emptiness of her later years.

Ball had such a colorful career in the 30s and 40s at MGM before becoming a TV megastar in the early fifties with I Love Lucy, a Desilu Production, created by her and Desi Arnaz. Her private life with children Lucy Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. was an open book and we got to know them almost as well as the lady herself in The Lucy Show in its various incarnations in the 60s. Her tumultuous marriage to Arnaz which ended in divorce and her second marriage to comic Gary Morton were also items of much public scrutiny. She was not only a true legend but a household phenom. In her later years while married to Morton, Lucy became a diehard backgammon player - 5/6 hours a day, and Lee Tannen, distantly related to Morton and a lifelong fan of Ball, became her game partner/close friend for over a decade.

The play is based on Tannen's time with Lucy and so we are seeing her through his eyes. It's a fairly sharp portrait, and as played by Diane J. Findlay, a right-on-target portrayal as to stance, posturing, mannerisms and as to the overall essence of the feisty, outspoken, complicated woman. Her cold stare in his direction speaks volumes. Tannen as played by Jeffry Denman is energetic, life-affirming, devoted and caring to a fault. Lucy's life, even with Morton as her comfort and security, became tedious, empty, often morose, as he often hung out with his chums, but she refused to give in and kept herself as socially engaged as possible in spite of the circumstances of older age and less visibility amongst Hollywood's upper echelon. According to Tannen, she would prefer to lounge around her Beverly Hills house all day in a robe and slippers, playing backgammon, drinking slushies and eating grilled cheese sandwiches and spam, as opposed to dressing to the nines and attending a fancy party or awards ceremony.

What seems to be missing from the play in this, its initial stage is a colorful look back at Lucy in her heyday. Young audiences, only used to seeing her in I Love Lucy, know little or nothing about her early film classics, her attempt at a Broadway musical Wildcat in the early 60s and her private social life and marriages. It would be nice to have an occasional flashback scene with Lucy and Desi - happy and unhappy - and to catch a glimpse of  the real Gary Morton. There's talk but no action except the interchanges between Tannen and Ball. There's also a large screen on stage which gets little use except to show the exterior of the Roxbury Drive home and an occasional referral to the passage of time. After the show there are a raft of visuals on the lobby screen of the real Lucille Ball and her life and career. May I suggest that this be shown onstage before the play and briefly in between scene changes. Seeing the real Ball onscreen will not destroy Findlay's richly textured portrayal and will add greatly to the amusement and mystique. Brief song and dances with Tannen and Ball are most pleasurable.

As is, the play is satisfying because of Findlay and Denman's peformances, which are both laudatory and because of the humor and fervor that the gay Tannen brought to Ball's otherwise boring later life. Always the star, she relished the rare occasions of being recognized, like at the movies, and being asked for an autograph. Another asset of the play is its unsparing look at how one star hated growing old and how her survival was at times quite miserable. Not all stars were as independent as Garbo who 'vanted so desperately to be alone'. One interesting aspect of Ball's demeanor, as noted by Tannen's torrid accusation, was not wanting her grandchildren around. Maybe this explains her lack of warmth in playing her screen auntie Mame, so often called Maimed.

Scenic and costume design by Bruce Goodrich are simple, functional and serve the play admirably. Todd Weeks' direction is skilled with a good sense of pace.

This is overall a very enjoyable evening for Lucy fans that will grow even better with a few changes here and there.

4 out of 5 stars