SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE
"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
08/18/04
There was bigotry and malice
On 'Saturday Night at the Palace.'
But a tuneful 12th Night
And a Fritz Blitz delight
Traded comic and cool for callous.
AN EVEN 2-DOZEN
Question: If you attend two "12th
Nights," does it add up to 24 evenings of theater? A pair of quite
distinct productions in town right now, but they do have commonalities. Let us
compare them to a summer's eve.
Silliness? Check. Both the Poor Players
and New Village Arts productions go for the belly-laughs, often aiming below
the belt (and sometimes, that's Borscht).
Pathos? Yes again. Sympathy is aroused
for both Malvolios (a slicked-down, mannered Richard Baird at Poor Players and
a pompous, patronizing Tim West at NVA), after he is badly abused by Sir Toby
Belch (a slovenly, Fat-Jack-Falstaff
portrayal by Max Macke versus a well-tailored, rather subdued and fairly
stately Walter Murray -- drunk though he frequently may be, he's never out of
control).
Sexiness? Nope on both counts. Maria is
smartly, saucily played in both productions (Crystal Verdon at PP, Lisell
Gorell-Getz at NVA), but she isn't much of a "wench" in either.
The antics of Aguecheek? On that one,
NVA wins hands-down. Francis Gercke is at his uproarious, pratfall best, making
the errant knight, the antic Sir Andrew, a boffo buffoon whose every
flamboyantly klutzy exit is accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.
Melancholy? Poor Players wins on that
one. Their Illyrian Duke, Orsino (Brandon Walker) is absolutely Hamletian in
his lovesick dejection. Capable and dapper-looking Nick Cordileone comes out of
his despondency a lot faster, since it was never that deep to begin with. Both
productions have homoerotic intimations, what with two 'supposed' men bonding very
closely, and two real women getting it on (though in each case, one's in drag).
Beauty and infatuation? A dead heat. As
Olivia, the object of Orsino's rejected affection, both Tara Denton (at PP) and
Jennifer Austin (NVA) are lovely. Denton plays her attraction to young Cesario
like an adolescent in heat. Austin, draped in gorgeous gowns, is more
sophisticated, less nubile, but equally effective. She's submerged in much
deeper mourning, black-clad handmaidens serenading her with "Agnus Dei.'
Clowning? Feste isn't played for big
laughs in either production. Nick Kennedy's wise-fool is a ragtag beggar in a jester's
cap. At NVA, Matt Davis is nattily attired in a white suit, pink tie. He's
definitely got the graceful, Gatsby look, and he's the glue that holds the
production -- and the concept -- together. A statuesque presence, he cavorts,
sings repeatedly (and extremely well) and plays piano like crazy, giving the
'20s feel to the piece that director Brendon Fox was shooting for. It's really
only the costumes and the music (amusing insertions from ballads to Charlestons to Keystone Kops) that carry the
conceit. It doesn't add much to the play, but it looks divine (costume designs
by Leslie Malitz).
And the cross-dressing? Both women
manage the Viola/Cesario switch with polish and grace. Beth Everhart is both
beautiful and handsome. Julie Jacobs is just a wonder. She manages to make a
truly convincing young man and a very
appealing one at that. She also looks incredibly like her twin Sebastian
(Brennan Taylor). It was amusing to think of Diep Huynh (also onstage) and Julie
trading secrets and swapping moves; he played a man/woman in "M.
Butterfly" in the spring and she does the woman/man thang here.
And the language? Close call. Poor
Players, who devote themselves to the Bard, specialize in making the text
crystal clear. There still are a couple of actors who manage it less well, but
by and large, clarity is their hallmark. And they didn't even have the benefit
of the award-winning Shakespearean scholar/actor, Dakin Matthews, as their
dramaturge. At NVA, most, but not all, the language is handled well. There are
some speedy moments that elude articulatory precision. Julie Jacobs is
especially adept and all her speeches sparkle with the wit, wisdom and poetry
of the Master.
So, you be the judge. Two 12ths, one
weekend. 24 for the price of one (NVA's production is free). See 'em both and
compare. Bardolators, unite!
Oh, What a Night…
In the 1980s, South Africa was
seriously under the sway of a monstrous political and social system. An
Afrikaans word meaning "separation" or more literally,
"aparthood," apartheid was a policy of racial segregation and
discrimination enforced by the white minority; it lasted from 1948 to
1990.
In the 1970s, Athol Fugard, Barney
Simon and Paul Slabolepszy, among others, formed the Market Theatre in
Johannesburg. All of the influential and political South African playwrights of
that time (and since) were produced there. Fugard introduced many of his works
at the Market, including the disturbing "Master Harold… and The Boys"
(1982). About that same time, Slabolepszy wrote "Saturday Night at the
Palace," which won the Amstel Award for playwriting and was
later made into a film (1987). Surprisingly, the play didn't make its American
debut until 2002. Both Fugard's and Slabolepszy's plays paint a darkly
disturbing, microcosmic picture of South African society, showing how even
seemingly "civil" whites could get caught up in the discriminatory
groundswell.
"Saturday Night" was based on
a real incident, a few paragraphs Slabolepszy read in the newspaper about a
roadhouse tragedy. He set his play in 1982, eight years before the demise of
apartheid, at a remote, rundown diner (Rocco's Burger Palace) on the outskirts
of Johannesburg. Two young white
Afrikaners, still reeling from a night of partying, haul their broken-down
motorcycle up to the eatery, just as the sole Zulu waiter is closing up for the
night.
After a good deal of playful -- and
bigoted -- banter, we learn that Vince (Andrew Kennedy) has been unemployed,
rejected by his housemates, and kicked off the soccer team. Drunk on booze and
racist venom, he blames the blacks (kaffirs) for everything that's gone
wrong in his life. His hapless buddy, Forsie (Paul Araujo), is less angry, less
intelligent and more reasonable. He's witnessed Vince's arrogant, loutish
behavior before, and he tries fruitlessly to keep the conflict from escalating.
The waiter, September (Quardell Scott), socially powerless but seething beneath
the surface, becomes the target of Vince's hatred and wrath, with fatal
results.
Although the build is slow at first,
the black-white hostility reaches an explosive peak under Claudio Raygoza's
muscular direction. His cast is exceptional. Scott, in his small but pivotal
role, is mostly silent and stoic, a victim of these thugs and of his society.
Araujo's Forsie is pitiful, ineffectual, and in his own way, contemptible. He's
both awed and intimidated by Vince; his ultimate ineptitude is staggering.
Kennedy, a newcomer to San Diego, is astonishing. And terrifying. He is the
bully's bully. Casually cruel, ruthlessly amoral. His relentless debasement and
devastation of both stranger and friend are excruciating. The play is so brutal
and intense, it makes you squirm. But the performances are so riveting, you
can't even force yourself to turn away. This isn't just a piece of history;
abject intolerance and hate crimes are alive and well all over the world. You
can't ignore it when you're up this close to the devastating action.
The extremely talented Raygoza, who did
so well last year with Beckett's "Endgame" (as actor and director),
has scored another triumph. Here, he also designed the set, an authentically
funky, rundown diner in the wilderness, with wood shutter-flaps and slender
fingers of grass thrusting out of the parched brown earth.
This co-production of Raygoza's newly
renamed Ion Theatre (formerly Iris Theatre), and Floyd Gaffney's Common Ground
Theatre, is a terrific collaboration. If you can take it, it demands to be
seen.
BLITZ-KRIEG
Nothing is on the fritz in the 11th
Fritz Blitz of New Plays by California Playwrights. The first two weeks
have been knockouts. This week's single, evening-long offering was "Viburnum,"
by Doug Field, who's had several plays produced Off Broadway and in regional
theaters. And one at the Fritz two years ago -- the wild and wacky "Down
South." Field has a wonderful way with words, and a pitch-perfect sense of
women -- and men. My friend thought his title was a liability; it refers to a
flower in the honeysuckle family, purported to have "the most fragrant
scent on earth." We learn this from Verne, a late middle-aged woman who
still laments the loss of her beloved, long-dead mother and the cold distance
of her inattentive father -- both of whom, she later realized, were depressed.
She's never been married, she doesn't
have a clue how to interact with males. She seems to live in the past, with her
old phonograph and recordings of her mother's favorite piano pieces. Soon, we
meet her companions, an effervescent teenage playwright; a still-hopeful,
effusive, 20-30-ish kewpie doll; and a hungover, 40-something derisive cynic.
At first, we think they may be loony-bin inmates. But we gradually realize that
they are her former selves, who chide and demean her like bitchy sisters, but
whom she can't seem to let go. This dramatic setup for inner monologue and
late-life stock-taking was also used by Joe Pintauro in "Beside
Herself" (1989, mounted last year at 6th @ Penn) and Edward
Albee in "Three Tall Women" (1994; at the San Diego Rep in 1997).
Here again, that dramatic structure is used effectively and provocatively.
Katie Rodda (our new Ph.D.!) proves her
mettle again with a wonderful cast, superbly directed. Rhona Gold is
outstanding (this may be her very best performance ever) as the aging spinster Verne,
who can't seem to escape from her past. She's warm and wistful, regretful and a
bit pathetic, but still hanging on to a shred of hope -- and the real
possibility of what the teenage writer quaintly calls "a gentleman
caller." Rachael Van Wormer is delightful as that sprightly adolescent,
and Wendy Waddell is bubbly and comical as the youngish woman who has
"read about" and "studied up" on how to behave on a date.
Her anxious, earnest advice is hilarious.
Clearly, by the time age 40 was reached, this woman hit her nadir (as so
many do), a dark episode of her life glumly captured with amusingly acerbic
sarcasm by D. Candis Paule. Terrific ensemble work! And even after its
deliciously bittersweet ride, the play won't let us go. It has a tantalizingly enigmatic
ending. Of the four or five people I spoke to, each had a different
interpretation of what happened in the post-blackout moments. Now that's
high drama!
Field was reportedly tweaking the
script up to the opening; it's a wonderfully sad-funny creation that deserves a
full production somewhere. Soon. Theater producers, take note!!
NEWS UPDATE: UCSD DOES NYC.. and
"LOVE" is eternal….
UCSD alums take a bite out of the Big
Apple, as recent grads Mat Smart and Christine Albright begin to make their mark.
Smart, you may remember, penned the spectacular "The Hopper
Collection" for the UCSD Baldwin New Play Festival last spring); now, his "Shoes"
is premiering on 45th Street (in the theater district!) by way
of the Slant Theatre Project. The piece is set in the not-too-distant future,
after "a disastrous, unexplainable event" has prevented people from
going out of doors. The luminous Albright performs with four other actors;
Emily Pepper (UCSD 2005) designed the costumes.
"I
Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" just celebrated is 250th performance at the
Theatre in Old Town. The long-running musical comedy, about romance at all ages
and stages, has been produced in 150 cities around the world. The current cast
includes three multi-talented SDSU alums: Nick Spear, Rebecca Spear and Susan
DeLeon. Rock on!
NOW,
'DON'T MISS':
"Saturday Night at the
Palace" -- intensely brutal play about South
Africa during apartheid. Tautly directed by Claudio Raygoza, with outstanding performances
by Paul Araujo, Quardell Scott, and -- especially chilling -- Andrew Kennedy.
Don't miss it -- if you can take it. At 6th @ Penn Theatre, through
September 11.
"Twelfth Night" -- The Globe's Brendon Fox directs a local all-star cast in a lovely
outdoor production set in the 1920s.
And -- Bonus! -- it's free!! At the David H. Thompson Performing arts
Center at La Costa Canyon High School; through August 22, with benefit
performances on August 28 and 29 at "The Folly" in La Jolla.
"Twelfth Night" -- Poor Players' bare-bones production makes light of the highs and
underscores the lows -- while highlighting the language at all costs. A
delight! At Adams Ave Studio through 8/22.
The Fritz Blitz -- so far, so fab; this year's Blitz is shaping up to be the best
ever! Two more weekends of amusement, talent and entertainment. At the Lyceum
Theatre, through August 29.
"Las Meninas" -- Sean Murray does it again! Gorgeous production, wonderfully
designed, acted and directed. Comic but unsettling, a fact-based, historical
tale. At Cygnet Theatre, through September 12.
"Art" -- a lovely pas de trois from a trio of Lamb's favorites, in an
intelligent, thought-provoking play. At Lamb's Players Theatre, through
September 19
Don't look now, but the summer is waning (are these the infamous Dog Days??). Make the most of it… at the theater. Ruff!
Pat
©2004
Patté Productions Inc.