"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
01/06/06
2005 was a watershed;
Time to look backward -- and ahead
As
the song goes, ‘It was a very good year.’ There were many terrific productions,
superb ensembles, excellent new plays and more readings (staged and otherwise)
than ever. And there were all those anniversaries (theaterfolk
are a tenacious lot!!).
Celebrations
The
Globe turned 70 and Craig Noel, 90. The Opera celebrated 40 years, Lamb’s, 35
and the San Diego Rep, 30. Moonlight turned 25, and Sledgehammer and
Diversionary both reached the two-decade mark. No wonder we have such a toehold
on Broadway – persistence and longevity. Oh yes, and very high quality.
Out with the Old, in with
the New
We
ushered in high-profile, high tech new spaces, too – the state-of-the-art Potiker Theatre at the La Jolla Playhouse, centerpiece of
the
But
you win some, you lose some. Our greatest loss was the beloved former funeral
chapel, St. Cecilia’s, former home to the San Diego Rep and, for the past ten
years, Sledgehammer Theatre. Co-founder and acting artistic director Scott
Feldsher staged a tuneful, rueful elegy for the space, A/Wake: A Theater De-Installation
with Choir and Soloists which
included, over the course of four nights, the dismantling of the entire place. Heartbreaking. Now, Sledgehammer will join the ranks of our
other homeless, nomadic (and in their case, site-specific) theaters: Sushi
Visual and Performing Arts, the Fritz Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre (gearing
up for a resurgence this month) and Asian American Repertory Theatre
(undergoing extensive reorganization). Adams Avenue Studio of the Arts also
closed its doors at the end of the year.
Another
great loss to the theater community: Jack Banning, who was ailing when he took
his final bow in Renaissance Theatre’s Of
Mice and Men. He was loved by all,
and will be sorely missed. Almost gone, but not forgotten, is
Best of the Best… a bit of
Patté…
On
the brighter side, there were many stellar theater moments last year, but I
won’t enumerate them all here, since I’ll be giving out the 9th
annual Patté AwardsTM for Theater Excellence on
Monday (Jan. 9). If you don’t have a ticket, so sorry; we’ve been sold out for
weeks. But good news! It’ll be
streaming live on Monday night, 6:30-9pm. Surf over to: kpbs.org/Patte.asx. Or, you can catch the KPBS-TV broadcast on Sunday, January 15 at 10:30pm (channel
15/cable 11).
Honorable Mention
I
would like to mention a few noteworthy productions that weren’t eligible for
Patté Awards, since they weren’t “San Diegans making theater for
Then
there was the scintillating production of Naomi Iizuka’s 36 Views at Laguna Playhouse. And a thrilling vocal evening at
Orange County Performing Arts Center, seeing/hearing two of musical theater’s
greats: Brian Stokes Mitchell (a San Diego guy, veteran of Junior Theatre) and
the legendary Barbara Cook, pushing 80 and still going/singing strong.
Tovah Felshuh was brilliant at the Geffen Theatre
in
Look
for
We
were graced, once again, with the incomparable performance of Jefferson Mays in
I Am My Own Wife, which won its very
first award, a Patté for Outstanding Performance -- before it garnered the Tony
or the Pulitzer -- as
a Page to Stage production at the La Jolla Playhouse (2001). And of course,
‘we’ won two Tony Awards in 2005 – for Jack O’Brien’s Old Globe production of
the musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
and Billy Crystal’s autobiographical 700
Sundays, directed by the La Jolla Playhouse’s Des McAnuff.
Read to Me, Baby!
Dark theater nights on Mondays? Fuggeddaboudit. Last year,
there were more off-night readings than ever. And they were great! Some of the
Best: just about everything at Carlsbad Playreaders,
especially The Tale of the Allergist’s
Wife, Dinner with Friends, The Clearing, Private Lives and Crimes of the Heart. There were also all-star readings of Rosetti’s Circle and Talking With (North Coast Rep) and Tiger at the Gates (Actors Alliance On
Book OnStage, at Lamb’s Players Theatre). And we
can’t forget
Coming to a
Theater Near You (if you’re lucky)….
Here are a few Faces to Watch
and talents to watch for:
Actors: Sonya Bender, Chris Bresky,
Mark Emerson, Ari Lerner, Zev
Lerner, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, Amanda Kramer, Kristen
Mengelkoch, Henry Metcalf, Dana Pacheco
Playwrights: Ken Weitzman, Tim J. Lord, Patricia
Ash
Mother Nature may have taken her revenge worldwide
in 2005 – with storms, floods, fires and quakes – but San Diego theatermakers
fought back, with resilience, verve, politically relevant plays and sheer
unadulterated talent.
As
I said, it was a very good year.
HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENIN’…..
… I’m baaaack (as you may have noticed); well, the column is… thanks
to the supportive assistance of Osborn Hurston. At the 11th hour of
2005, sdtheatrescene snagged a generous grant
from the Tippett Foundation. Many thanks to Osborn and sincere gratitude to the Foundation, for their
end-of-year munificence. ‘Curtain Calls’ rises again….
… A coupla
plugs: Don’t miss a sneak preview of The Patté Awards (well, after the
event, but before the TV broadcast) when I appear on two KPBS shows on Thursday,
January 12: “These Days” on KPBS radio (10am hour) and “Full Focus” on
KPBS-TV (channel 15/cable 11; 6:30 and 11pm). I’ll be talking theater and
playing/discussing the Patté highlights. Then you can feast on the whole
enchilada, the Patté Awards broadcast, on Sunday, January 15 at 10:30pm.
Set your clocks and TiVos and Be There!
….Look for my
new arts previews every month in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine.
Starting January, there’ll be a profile of a visual artist, a preview of a
special Night Out (particularly alt music) and a feature on the ‘Lively Arts’
(which could be theater, dance, opera, comedy, improv, whatever) every month in
the newly expanded Lifestyles section of the magazine. I’m recruiting ideas for
the May issue (!), so if you have an event to tell me about next summer, pitch
away! Till then, buy the magazine and see what it’s all about!
…Read a
feature about local legend and nonagenarian
… Making a
comeback….San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre is proud to honor the late,
great August Wilson, one of the country’s most admired and prolific
playwrights, by opening its 2006 Playreading Series
with a staged reading of Two Trains
Running. Set in
.. This is Our Youth, the play that
established the reputation of Kenneth Lonergan (The Waverly Gallery, Lobby Hero) will be
presented as a staged reading by three talented young locals. These are our
youth: Brandon Walker, Rachael Van Wormer and Tom Zohar,
directed by Joey Landwehr. The piece follows three
very lost, disillusioned souls on the Upper West Side of
… Local
playwright Kristina Meek is inviting other aspiring writers to join a
new group, Aspire Playwrights Collective, which will meet every second
and fourth Thursday at 7pm in
… Speaking of
readings and religion, Scripps Ranch Theatre is presenting a special
staged reading of John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God, a
murder mystery about a devout, naive nun accused of infanticide. The reading, on Jan 13 and 14 at 8pm, is produced
by Jill Drexler and directed by Marjorie Mae Treger. The cast features Tiffany Loui as Agnes, Glynn Bedington as the psychiatrist and
Sandra Ellis-Troy as the Mother Superior. Not suitable for children or young
teens. No reservations; $5 donation suggested. Talk-back discussion following
the performances. On the campus of
… Don’t miss
the 21st annual Plays By Young Writers
’05, featuring five full productions and four readings. These
playwrights, age 11-18, winners of the statewide competition, have created
characters that range from an obsessed lover to an immature tomato. Six of the
nine writers are local. For the first time, the inspiring presentation,
produced by Deborah Salzer (the Playwrights Project’s ever-encouraging
executive director), will incorporate dance into a couple of the productions. January 12-22 on the Globe’s Cassius Carter Centre Stage. 619-239-8222; www.playwrightsproject.com.
… The Bard
meets The Bardlets…. Mark your calendar now for the 1st
annual San Diego Student Shakespeare Festival, sponsored by the San
Diego Shakespeare Society. The day-long festival, designed to make Shakespeare
come alive for elementary through high school students, will feature scenes and
sonnets, as well as dance, music, juggling, puppetry and fencing. It all
happens in
...When in
doubt… Improvise!….The Fun House (with its resident acting company
San Diego TheatreSports) will produce three different
shows through February: “Bonus Round – The Improv Game Show,” Fridays at
7:45pm, wherein players compete in improv comedy; “TheatreSports
– The Improvisation Competition,” Saturdays at 7:45, comprising two competing
teams; and “The Really Really Big Big
Improv Comedy Show Show,” Saturdays at 9:45pm – about
which the players say: “This ain’t your grandma’s improv!” -- long-form, avant garde, anything-can-happen improv which can
be, shall we say, out-of-the-box or even blue. Recommended
for ages 16 and above. More info at: 619-465-SHOW, www.improvise.net.
… Follow the
bouncing egg to… Eve’s Tail, Laura Bozanich’s
hilarious one-woman show. Back by popular demand for two performances
only: February 6 and 7, 8pm at Cygnet Theatre. Ten characters face sex, love,
life, loss; it’s all there – and it’s all Laura! Call 619-337-1526,
www.cygnettheatre.com.
… And you
thought GMC was a truck! The Gay Men’s Chorus of
.. and if music is your food of love.. you
won’t want to miss the year-long, county-wide celebration of Mozart’s 250th
Birthday. Mainly Mozart is spearheading the amazing array of events,
which include theater productions, dance, art and of course, concerts. In
January, the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra performs in 18th
century costume! See all the year’s details at www.mainlymozart.org. or read more about it in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles
magazine!
'NOT TO BE MISSED!' (Critic’s
Picks);
(For full text
of all past reviews, use the Search engine at www.patteproductions.com)
“The
Lion King” – better, and
more heartfelt, than the original
At the Civic Theatre, through January
15.
“Pete ‘n’ Keely - A funny,
silly revue with knockout performances by Randall Dodge and Kristen Mengelkoch, two of our most delightful and talented musical
theater comics.
At the Ramona Mainstage
Theatre, through January 22.
“Too Old for the Chorus, But Not Too Old To Be a Star” – if you haven’t had your fill of
menopausal musicals, this is great for a date (the guys remind us it’s called MENopause). Excellent performances, some cute/clever bits and
songs.
At The
Theatre in
Now, wasn’t one of your Resolutions
about seeing More Theater? That’s a promise you can easily keep…. Make it so.
©2006 Patté
Productions Inc.