SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE
"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
10/29/03
It's hard to think of performances and
plays
When the world around you is all
ablaze.
It's been a horrific time for all
With fear, cancellations, and the
breath-robbing pall
But theater's a thing we can't do
without
And what's 'Nu' is something to 'Honk'
about.
JUST DUCKY!
Get down, honky! It's great weather for
ducks! Or should I say, Honk if you love amusing, musicals? You just have
to grab a kid (or the kid inside) and waddle over to San Diego State University
for the local premiere of the Olivier Award-winning musical, "Honk!"
The show won the London Tony-equivalent in 2000, beating out "Mamma
Mia!" and "The Lion King" (those Brits just like to reward their
own!!). George Stiles (music) and
Anthony Drewe (book and lyrics) met at Exeter University in the late 80s and
have been collaborating ever since. They tend to revisit and tweak timeless
favorites -- Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Cinderella. But they hit paydirt when
they took another gander at The Ugly Duckling, originally told by Hans
Christian Andersen. The source material featured the usual fairy tale
complement of humiliation, masochism and misery. The poor unsightly fowl endures a plethora of hardships until he
grows into swan-nirvana, and at last, earns the respect of his former
tormentors. The show, with its bubbly, hummable tunes, punny lyrics and focus
on the joys and perils of being Different, is truly a tale for any time, any
age, anyone.
Although the other new duckies look
very yellow and furry and Beatrix Potter, Ugly looks like a bespectacled, suit-wearing
nerd. His father, the strutting Drake, can barely look at him, but his mother,
Ida (eider, as in down??), defends him, champions him, searches the barnyard
when he goes missing, and never gives up hope. That's the way a mother hen (uh,
duck) should be, right? Love conquers all -- including the audience. I defy you
not to get caught up in it. Especially as it's so delightfully, deliciously
acted and staged.
Director Rick Simas, a priceless staple
of the SDSU Theatre Department (now part of the newly-merged School of Theatre,
Television and Film), is an unsung hero about town. Hopefully, he'll get wider
and well-deserved exposure when he directs "The Fantasticks" at North
Coast Rep in late winter/early spring (a production which will then go even
further north, for a 3-week run at California Center for the Arts, Escondido).
Meanwhile, he's done a stupendous job with "Honk!" This is probably
the most technically elaborate production I've seen at SDSU -- all student
designed -- with whimsical and varying set (Torrey Hyman), seasonally changing
lighting (Craig Dettman) and the most wonderful, imaginative costumes (Jennifer
Hanson) since… "The Grinch" (which they vaguely resemble, with their
pear shapes and wild colors). The aforementioned ducklings are downy and
cuddly, and all the fowl have cute little (D.A.) tails… the Quail are
big-butted, drab brown; the Crows are black-clad, cigarette-smoking,
shade-wearing hoods; the Swans are in classy, all-white evening attire (gowns
for the gals, tails for the guys, of course); the fowl-feasting Cat is a
zoot-suit wearing pachuco; the Frogs are irresistible and hilarious…
green-clad (it's not easy being green, y'know) with inner-tube middles and
frog-fin feet. Marvelous! And thanks to MFA musical theater student Alison
Bretches, they all do the most adorable dances. I especially love the Frogs'
"Warts and All," a Busby Berkeley extravaganza (including lying and
standing kick-lines), which serves up the theme of the evening ("Someone's
gonna love ya, warts and all"). The singing is super, backed by the adroit
musical direction of Terry O'Donnell and a lively 7-piece orchestra.
All the performances are terrific, from
the adorably sad Caleb Goh as Ugly, to the solid, mellow-voiced Liz Terrel as
his ever-lovin' Mom, Ida; to Ryan McKinney (stronger of acting than voice, but
very seductive as Cat); Marc Ciemowicz uproarious as both the prancing,
persnickety, Drake and a hang-ten dude of a Bullfrog; Ivy Vela as
blabberbill/gossip-duck Henrietta and the beautiful swan, Penny; and the
well-matched duo, Jennifer Sowden and Kristen Mengelkoch, as Queenie the
pampered housecat and Lowbutt, the mollycoddled house-chicken, not to mention
the malleable, multi-character ensemble. There are plenty of laughs and even a
tear or two. We're all a little different, aren't we? And even if we don't all
turn into swans, there's some sort of transformation in everyone's
future.
IN THE NU…
Okay, let's
get naked. So said Sledgehammer Theatre artistic director Kirsten Brandt and
associate artist Jessa Watson. Well, figuratively speaking. Their latest
creation, "Nu," means 'nude' in French. As in, stripped down. But not
literally. They mean down to the bare-cones, stark naked truth. The essentials
of emotion. Which, at Sledge, invariably means anger, rejection, sadness,
depression.
Though these
three silent pieces are imagistically beautiful (thanks to graceful, sexy
lighting by David Cuthbert) the evening does not paint a pretty picture -- of
life, love, work, family, etc. etc. I'm no Pollyanna, but this is one dismal
American portrait. Well, what can you expect? One of the pieces is based on a
Sylvia Plath poem (the dark, suicidal one who is sooo much more famous after
death than she was when she was alive… just ask Gwyneth Paltrow. But that's
another story for another time). Here at Sledge, the female-folk are being true
to the roots of the theater, which emanated from Scott Feldsher and Ethan
Feerst's film training. It was always image uber alles. And so, reductio
ad silencium, there is no dialogue at all in the present production. It's
all in the body -- and the mind.
The stage
pictures are often stunning, but there are long dry spells, when you're just
wondering exactly what you're supposed to be getting/seeing/thinking/feeling.
And then you might start looking around at the audience, or rolling your
program, or making your non-union shopping list. Like Eveoke Dance Theatre,
which comes at it from the other perspective, Sledge is blurring the line
between theater and dance. Movement, bodily interaction and facial expression
alone are used to express mood, story, sentiment. These are accomplished actors
with disciplined bodies. Those are dancers who are politically and socially
motivated to act. The two companies have even collaborated ("Sweet
Charity," 1998), though each artistic director (Brandt, Gina Angelique)
pretty much stuck to her own métier. Brandt has often virtually choreographed
the moves of her actors, but they also had language to propel the action. Now,
it's all in the moves. It doesn't always work -- as theater or dance -- but
when it does, it soars. Or should I say, in keeping with the intended theme,
it's raw and exposed? Naked emotion.
Brandt's
direction bookends the trio of 30-minute pieces. "Mr. Phosphorescent" concerns The New Girl on the job
(vibrant, agile Janet Hayatshahi) aka The Supplicant, trying to figure out the
'drill' in a mind-numbing workplace. Amid the fake smiles, masked sameness,
assembly-line action and scowling impatience, there are the usual suspects embroiled
in office politics: the Corporate Climbers (Diana Sparta & Nicole Monica),
the Brown-noser (a deliciously one-upping Jason Waller) and The Office Romance
(Sara Plaisted). But it is The Man (wonderfully anguished David Tierney) who
struggles under the weight of this crushing, energy-sapping, soul- destroying
employment. His silent, agonized scream is gut-wrenching… but he manages to
make his escape and survive. Not much new in the way of theatrical storyline,
but an imaginative way to tell it. Some gorgeous images, projected in front of
and behind a huge backlit screen (set by Anthony Gutowski).
After a
brief pause (no intermissions here), we view Part II, "Echoes
Traveling," conceived and directed by Watson. All six actors are clad in
white, a sad violin (sound design by Paul Peterson throughout) accompanies a
woman trying to break free from a constraining past but finding no great solace
in her future. She is whispered about, rejected, her life (represented in
strips of paper) is torn to shreds and dropped like petals around her. She
finds and loses love, friendship. She breaks down and cries. She claws her way
out. She nearly drowns in blue-gray light. But something tells us she will
emerge stronger for the experience. If this piece parallels Watson's own life
path, she is heading in a very good direction -- both personally and
professionally.
Brandt's
final piece, "Wintering," inspired by a Sylvia Plath poem of the same
name (also the name of a new Plath biography by Kate Moses), has all the Plathian
elements: the bees she loved, as had her father, and the honey (in Bell Jars --
wink, nudge); her abandoning father (a dapper guy in a picture frame high above
the action, smiling down but moving slowly out of her life); the dictatorial
Mother, the push-pull husband and of course, the dark despair, which drives her
repeatedly under the table into a fetal position. Nicole Monica plays the Woman to distraction, struggling,
suffering, dragging us down with her. "This is the room I could never
breathe in," says the poem (though you'd have to look it up and read it on
your own to know that; it's not provided). After awhile, we get to feel the
same. The bees, Plath says, "are all women… they have got rid of the men/
The blunt, clumsy stumblers, the boors." The deep, rich cello recordings
and the slow, rhythmic, recurring moves lull us into the somnambulance the
Woman probably longs for. It's a dark end to a disturbing evening; we've
definitely seen a different view of life and of theater. And perhaps it makes our
little lives look that much better by comparison.
THE 'DON'T MISS' LIST
NOTE: If you're planning to see ANY
shows this week, be SURE to check with the box office about cancellations,
postponements or added performances.
"Oedipus Tyrannus" -- lyrical, crystalline translation by Marianne McDonald;
outstanding performances; at 6th @ Penn through November 2
"Homebody/Kabul" -- well worth the trip to L.A…. Tony Kushner is the genius -- and
conscience -- of the American theater; politics, humor and introspection,
beautifully done in this Steppenwolf production; at the Mark Taper Forum
through November 9
"The Boys Next Door" -- wonderful performances, touching and often humorous play; at
Lamb's Players Theatre; EXTENDED through November 23
"Proof" -- thought-provoking Pulitzer Prize-winning play; at San Diego
Repertory Theatre; EXTENDED to November 2
"Annie Get Your Gun" -- delightful production with two great leads and wonderful
costumes; at the Lawrence Welk Resort Theatre, through November 8
"Beehive" -- one of San Diego's longest-running musical hits, is closing
soon; all those great girl-group songs; irresistible! At the Theatre in Old
Town, through January 4 only.
I hope we all can get back to some
semblance of a normal life soon -- where high drama is only onstage.
Stay well, stay safe and don't breathe
too deeply,
©2003
Patté Productions Inc.