SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE
"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
09/10/03
They seek him here; they seek him
there.
They're thoroughly in the dark.
But don't you know
The Pimpernel is right in Balboa Park!
Now the Beehive comes down, Billie's
back, and the Graduate is here
And a tragic Greek Vox is coming
through, loud and juxtaposition clear.
THE RETURN OF MADAME GUILLOTINE
Okay, swashbucklers… gird your loins, draw your swords and buckle
your swashes….the Pimpernel is back. It's the return of the Frank Wildhorn
musical, "The Scarlet Pimpernel," now at Starlight Musical Theater in
Balboa Park.
The story
began as a novel, by the Hungarian-born English Baroness Emmuska Orczy, a 1905
potboiler set during the French Revolution. The show has undergone so many
revisions since its 1997 Broadway opening that the 2000 tour that came (via
Broadway San Diego) to the Civic Theatre was called Version 4.0.
It's the tale
of a British aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, who, at home in England, acts the
part of a superficial society fop, in order to conceal his secret identity as
the dashing Scarlet Pimpernel. In case you didn't know, a pimpernel is a flower
of the primrose family. It also happens to be Sir Percy's family crest, and he
leaves it behind as his mark, whenever he swaggers into France to rescue
various and sundry from, as one song puts it, "Madame Guillotine." The
story is pretty treacly at times, and Frank Wildhorn's schmaltzy, pop-music
score is often pedestrian and derivative, and frequently smacks of his dreadful
"Jekyll and Hyde."
Starlight
artistic director Brian Wells has capably shepherded both musicals at Starlight,
and he's brought back some of the same cast. He gets the lavishness and high
drama just right, though he tends to encourage actors to come downstage and
belt out their songs concert-style, directly to the audience. This is
especially accentuated in the performance of golden-voiced Annie Berthiaume,
who plays the love interest Marguerite. A pop star in her native Canada, her
bilingualism is a wonderful boon to her portrayal of the star of the Comédie
Francaise. But it also furthers the tendency to put aCelinie Dion-like pop spin
on all her songs. Sometimes, when she's immersed in a duet with Edward
Staudenmayer (who plays her husband Percy, the Pimpernel), they seem to be
singing in two completely different styles. He's in musical theater and she's
still in Vegas.
The Pimpernel
is an 18th century comic-book superhero; he's selfless and
blustery, serious and comical; he gets the girl and he also gets a great
wardrobe. The charismatic Staudenmayer rises to the occasion on all counts, and
he has a gorgeous voice. His bio, amusingly, said, 'Just can't wait for the
planes; bring 'em on!" Hope he got what he wanted!
As Chauvelin,
the villain of the piece (who resembles Javert in "Les Miz"), T. Eric
Hart, magnificent as Jekyll/Hyde last summer at Starlight, seemed to be
channeling Hyde at times. His dark intensity, rich baritone and tendency toward
histrionics worked well most of the time. But it was a bit disconcerting that
the most French of all the characters had no French accent whatsoever, though
Manchester-born Ron Choularton did as the dread Robespierre and of course,
Berthiaume did as Marguerite. Dialect coach, anyone?? In another comic cameo,
James Saba was humorous as the Prince of Wales.
The costumes
alone are worth the price of admission (they were rented in for this
production). The huge company cavorts and dances (clever choreography by David
Brannen) to the excellent accompaniment of a robust 18-piece orchestra
(directed by Parmer Fuller) that sounded twice that size. Overall, this is an
impressively extravagant production, very well sung, if uninspired musically
(thanks to Wildhorn). The musical may be melodramatic, but it isn't totally
mindless. After all, it venerates brains over brawn…. and in its mawkish way,
it delivers the glitzy goods.
UNDER-GRADUATE
Turns out she doesn't need Mick after all. Jerry Hall is actually
the best thing in the touring production of "The Graduate" -- except
for the lighting. She isn't the soft, come-hither Mrs. Robinson of Anne
Bancroft, or the sultry-voiced Kathleen Turner. But as a classily brittle seductress, she does just fine. The
rest of the cast seems to be yelling and/or over-acting, and the entire
proceeding (imaginative sets and costumes by Rob Howell; dazzling lighting
design by Hugh Vanstone) keeps making you think of the movie ("How did
Dustin say that line that made it so funny, when it's falling so flat
now??" etc.).
This production (recreated by Peter Lawrence from the original
adaptation and direction of Terry Johnson), is just too on-the-nose; it's
played completely for comedy, and lacks the dark undertones, the subtle
cynicism of the film. But, on opening night, it rated a standing O nonetheless.
Rider Strong (whatta name!!) is okay as Benjamin Braddock, the 1963 college
grad who's a little nihilistic and a lot aimless and lost, as he's sucked into
bed with his parents' best friend. He has some credible scenes, but he never
seems as smart or clever as the character is supposed to be. As Elaine, Mrs.
R's daughter, Devon Sorvari is shrill-voiced and kind of ditsy (no drop-dead
gorgeous Katharine Ross she). Each of the parents has o convincing or comic
scene, and the wedding (sans crucifixion symbolism) is actually kinda funny. If
you don't remember Mike Nichols' remarkable film that well, you'll probably
love this sitcom-y show. It's diverting, but it doesn't plumb undergraduate
angst; this is pure surface sheen…. Why else would the audience laugh at the
confrontation between two men, one of whom has been having an affair with the
wife of the other? Go figure.
(at the Civic Theatre, courtesy of Broadway/San Diego, through
Sunday).
BEEHIVE COMES UNDONE
The tease is over. After more than 600 performances over a
successful span of two years, "Beehive" is letting its hair down… and
closing, as of January 4, 1004. Nearly 100,000 people have seen the show here,
including award-winning actor/director Gary Sinise (twice!), a founding member
of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre (famous for his film roles in "Forrest
Gump," "Of Mice and Men," and onstage in "The Grapes of
Wrath," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," etc.). He's seen it
-- Have you? Last chance to relive the
'60s and to get down with some amazingly talented women singin' their hearts
out… making you laugh and weep and relive your past. And if you weren't alive
then… don't worry. With all these knockout performances, there's something here
for everyone.
LATE NIGHT/LADY DAY
I'm thrilled to report that the
spectacular (but short-lived) performance of Anasa Johnson as Billie Holiday is
available for viewing again…. so don't miss it this time. "An Evenin' with
Billie," a production of the Ira Aldridge Repertory Theatre, began as a
black dinner theater show downtown at Caesar Café. It was a brief but
successful run -- just not long enough for everyone who should've seen it to
see and hear it. "Billie" will be performing late nights at 6th
@ Penn theatre(10:30 Friday and Saturdays, 9:00 Sundays). It's the perfect
nightcap… and everyone knows a little blues/jazz is good for the soul.
The piece was created by Aldridge
founder/director Calvin Manson, a former member of the San Diego Commission on
Arts & Culture.
Here's some of what I had to say about
the when I first caught it in July:
…The show t isn't much of a play --
just a bit of bio between songs. The setting is a small Las Vegas jazz club,
where Billie is recording a documentary of her music and life. There are a few
unforgettable factoids, like this one: Billie called herself "a big fat
healthy broad," who weighed more than 200 pounds by age 12 and who
"usedta couldn't sing unless I had flowers in my hair." Well, that
explains the ever-present gardenia.
Beyond a few snippets, we don't learn too much, only that "singin'
is livin'" to Billie.
Anasa Johnson nails all the famous
numbers -- from the gut-wrenching "Strange Fruit" to the signature
"God Bless the Child." She isn't trying to imitate Billie; she puts
her own stamp and spin on the songs, whether she does them a capella
("Gimme a Pig's Foot," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do") or
with the fantastic band. Johnson has a glorious, silken voice, supple and
expressive. She may not have had as much pain as Billie (in her life or her
voice); she seems much more upbeat, but she can make you weep with the way she
delivers a lyric or a melodic line. The band is amazing: musical
director/keyboardist Harry James Williams is so good, he deserves to play a
robust, grand piano; keyboards just don't do justice to the music, his skill or
his style. He interacts (or musically converses) wonderfully with alto sax-player
Martin Murphy, who never seemed to look at any sheet music, even when Johnson
changed the order or came back for an encore. Ross Renner played a mean bass
guitar, and the trio's act-opening numbers ("Take the A Train,"
"Have Mercy on Me") were terrific. It was a great evening of music
all around -- less theater than the
club date it was written to be. The audience was rapt, and loving every minute
of the show…. As I did. You'd be a fool to miss this Lady sing the blues.
VIVA LA VOX!
The 'Vox Hellenic” series got off to an auspicious start this week,
with two readings of "Agamemnon (a translation by Robert Fagles and an
adaptation by Steven Berkoff), part one of the Oresteia the story of the
returning King of Argos from his victory at Troy, a triumph that was assured by
his sacrificing his daughter, after which his wife, Clytemnestra, takes
revenge.
This is an exciting collaboration between Sledgehammer Theatre and
Grass Roots Greeks, which you really shouldn't miss, if you're at all
interested in drama, its roots, or why we are who we are (in and outside the
theater). The Berkoff adaptation, which
I first saw in its original mind-boggling form at the 1984 Olympic Arts
Festival in L.A., was wonderfully well done by Sledge, excellently directed by
Megan Keleher and extremely well-executed for a reading. The language of the
text is rich, sensuous, muscular, gorgeous. And the oblique references to the
(pointless) Vietnam War ring equally true today. The performances were
gripping, and the language well handled, particularly by David Tierney (as
Aegisthus)., Walter Ritter (Glaucus), Anthony Hamm (as Agamemnon) and most
especially, Janet Hayatshahi, who made a chilling Clytemnestra.
The Fagles version proved a fascinating juxtaposition, with its
intensity, emotional outbursts, and enhanced role for the seer Cassandra,
captive priestess of Troy. Cxonvincingly portrayed by Celeste Innocenti. David
Cohen was a compelling Agamemnon and Linda Castro a marvelous Clytemnestra. But
the rest of the cast needed a lot more rehearsal. Some of these folks seemed to
be reading the words for the very first time.
There are three more presentations of these translation/adaptation
readings, and they're really quite intriguing: "The Trojan Women"
(9/15) is up next, followed by "Alcestis" (9/20), and
"Electra" (9/27). All three translations are by our own resident
scholar, Marianne McDonald. Like the production title 'Vox Hellenic,' (which
McDonald says mixes Latin and Greek), the series itself is a lovely linguistic
challenge.
And now, for THIS WEEK'S 'DON'T MISS'
LIST
"An Evenin' with Billie" -- late-night reprise of downtown's fantastic performance by Anasa
Briggs, singing the glorious songs of Billie Holiday; at 6th @ Penn;
through 11/2
"Love! Valour! Compassion!" -- the boys are back in town! And what fabulous company they are.
Through 10/11
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" -- Jeremiah Lorenz is fabulous, and the band, though ultra-loud, is
killer. The Cygnet is hatched, and it soars; through 10/12.
"Sight Unseen" -- provocative play; well crafted, well acted production; through
9/7
"Private Lives" -- the most deliciously Cowardly lines! Smart, funny production @
Lamb's Players Theatre; through 9/21
Put a little blues, comedy or drama in your
life!
Pat
©2003
Patté Productions Inc.