SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE

"CURTAIN CALLS" #225

By Pat Launer

www.sdtheatrescene.com

1/18/08

The year’s kicking off in a really fun way:

With pearls and a ring and a taste of Patté.

PATTÉ FEVER!

To quote the Jersey Boys, Oh, What a Night! There were 500 people at the 11^th annual Patté Awards for Theater Excellence, bathed in purple light, surrounded by flowers and encircled in a communal spirit of good will. The energy and passion in the room were palpable. In this first year of producing the event independently, I was thrilled to be able to perpetuate this San Diego tradition. The past four months proved quite a journey, but what a spectacular destination! So many people came forward to help, to volunteer, to contribute time, money, energy, goods and services, it touched and moved and humbled me. And I was, as always, so happy that, through the event, people were introduced to new theaters and theatermakers. Several told me their faith in theater (as insiders or outsiders) was renewed. It was more gratifying than I can say. And having County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price declare January 14 Patté Awards Day was extra icing on an already-elaborate cake.

The full list of winners is below, but a brief note on the Special Awards.

The Patté Angel Award went to Dea and Osborn Hurston, who are not only angels to the entire theater community, but were especially important to this year’s Pattés: she as Chair/gatherer of the esteemed Honorary Committee, he exerting his influence to bring in Union Bank as the title sponsor of the event. They are incredible friends of the arts, and Friends of Patté.

The Shiley Lifetime Achievement Award was happily presented to Don and Bonnie Ward, who got their start at Starlight Theater and went on to direct and choreograph more than 170 shows, at San Diego Junior Theatre, Starlight, Moonlight and around the world. They were so gracious and grateful in receiving the award, and so touched that two of their three children came in unexpectedly to help them celebrate! Don even gave me a little dance turn (since he’d just watched me making my entrance with dancing with my winning partner from the Malashock Thinks You Can Dance competition). Sweet!

The John Guth Award for Behind-the-Scenes Brilliance was presented to Ree and Maurice Miller, who have served as tireless volunteers at so many theaters around the county -- welcoming guests, handing out programs, manning the concession, assisting in any and every way. I called them ‘the Wal-Mart greeters of the theater community.’ Lovely and deserving folks, who received a standing ovation.

This year, I inaugurated the first annual Patté Scholarship for a Promising Young Theatermaker, and presented it in honor of Dr. Floyd Gaffney, the father of African American theater in San Diego, a teacher, mentor and director who influenced so many young people to pursue their theater dreams. The $500 award (+ plaque) was presented by Yvonne Gaffney, Floyd’s wife, and Monique Gaffney, his daughter, to 18 year-old Luke Marinkovich, who wrote a very touching and personal essay in his application. You may remember Luke virtually stealing the show in the Moxie Theatre production of Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen. This gifted young actor has just been accepted into the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, so we know he’ll be pursuing his dreams. He’s a charming and talented young man.

Interspersed among the awards, the musical performances were terrific: “The Joint is Jumpin’” from the San Diego Rep production of Ain’t Misbehavin’; “Officer Krupke” from Moonlight’s West Side Story; “We Dance” from the currently-running Once on This Island, presented by the California Young Actors Conservatory (through Jan. 20 at the Lyceum); and “Luck Be a Lady” from the upcoming San Diego Musical Theatre production of Guys and Dolls (the start of their first full season, Jan. 25-Feb. 3, at the East County Performing Arts Centre).

All the musical jokes I wove into the evening were played superbly by our newly expanded house band. In addition to the long-time ‘regulars’ – Kevin Cooper on bass (electric and standup!); Danny King on drums, and music director Cris O’Bryon at the piano – we added multi-instrumentalist Rik Ogden, whose flute, clarinet, sax and lead guitar opened up whole new musical vistas.

Everything was taken to a higher level, as you can see in the TV broadcast of the event, which airs on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 at 7pm on CHANNEL 4. Don’t miss it; even if you saw it live! This will be an entirely new experience (especially given the editing expertise of the wizards at JM Digital Works!).

My most heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and helped to make this the best Patté Awards event ever, by far!

WINNERS OF THE 11^th ANNUAL PATTÉ AWARDS FOR THEATER EXCELLENCE

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Yellowman

Cygnet Theatre Company

Punks

ion theatre

Come Back to the 5 & Dime,

Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

6^th @ Penn Theatre

The Magic Fire

Moonlight Stage Productions

Crimes of the Heart and

Three Sisters

New Village Arts Theatre

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN

Nick Fouch

Yellowman

Cygnet Theatre Company

Sailor’s Song

New Village Arts Theatre

Sean Fanning

Zombie Prom

SDSU School of Theatre,

Television & Film

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Jennifer Brawn Gittings

Don Quixote

San Diego Repertory Theatre

Bunbury,

Diversionary Theatre

Kelley Convery

Zombie Prom

SDSU School of Theatre,

Television & Film

OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY

A Hundred Birds

Dale Morris

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

M. Scott Grabau

Dracula

North Coast Repertory Theatre

David F. Weiner and

Jason Bieber

Cowboy versus Samurai

Mo’olelo Performing Arts

Company

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN

Chris Luessmann

Dracula

North Coast Repertory Theatre

Toby Algya

Medea

UCSD Department of Theatre

and Dance

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION

Jennifer Eve Thorn

Victoria Martin: Math Team

Queen

Moxie Theatre

Kristianne Kurner

Sailor’s Song

New Village Arts Theatre

Eric Bishop

Electra

Mira Costa College Performing

& Media Arts

Lisa Berger

The Long Christmas Ride Home

Diversionary Theatre

THE JOHN GUTH AWARD FOR BEHIND-THE-SCENES BRILLIANCE

Ree and Maurice Miller

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

Rosina Reynolds

Wit

North Coast Repertory Theatre

Matt Scott

The Treatment

Moxie Theatre

Matthew Weeden

Torch Song Trilogy

Diversionary Theatre

Ron Choularton

St. Nicholas

Cygnet Theatre Company

Jim Chovick

Desire Under the Elms

Cygnet Theatre

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION

Communicating Doors

Cygnet Theatre Company

The Farnsworth Invention

La Jolla Playhouse

Bell, Book & Candle

The Old Globe

The 1^st Annual PATTÉ SCHOLARSHIP for a PROMISING YOUNG THEATERMAKER

Presented in Honor of

Dr. Floyd Gaffney

Luke Marinkovich

PATTÉ THEATER ANGEL

Dea and Osborn Hurston

SHILEY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Don and Bonnie Ward

THE ONE-TWO PUNCH

THE SHOW: In This Corner, a world premiere by Steven Drukman that provides the backstory and conjectured re-match of the fabled boxers Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, who met in the ring in 1938, and met again (so this story goes) in a psych ward in 1970.

THE STORY: It was an international incident, the sporting event of the century. The American nicknamed the “Brown Bomber” (Louis), in the ring with the über-Aryan German (Schmeling), on the eve of World War II. The fight would elevate Louis to the status of African American hero and all-American idol. Drukman hypothesizes a later meeting, when Louis has descended into alcohol, drugs and possibly, inherited mental illness. And Schmeling comes to visit him for one last go-round.

THE PLAY: More history than dramatic narrative, the drama (with occasional comedy tossed into the ring) is more cautionary tale than anything else, especially now, in the midst of the hotly contested fight we call the Presidential primaries. It’s not just about race, it’s also about the crafting and creation of a superstar. In the play (and presumably, in real life), the trainers and sportswriters took a hayseed Mama’s boy from Alabama and transformed him into a bombshell. There’s a funny scene where the ‘handlers’ riff on various alliterative names that might work to promote the young fighter (the Sable Cyclone, the Chocolate Chopper, the African Avenger, the Sienna Savage). Think spinmeisters, image-makers. The stardom they offer, of course, comes with a hefty price.

The kid’s coach, Jack Blackburn, even sets out a few racially-sensitive, unassailable rules for Louis to live by, including ‘Don’t speak. Never have your picture taken with a white woman, and Never smile.’ Oh yes, and ‘Remember your ABCs: Always Be Clean.’ It’s these ‘wholesome’ and self-effacing behaviors that helped make an African American more palatable to white sports fans. But they still didn’t gain him admission to white clubs (another potent scene in the play).

The piece sheds some important light on the racial divide in the early years of sports (and the situation was far worse before Louis came along). The play paints an interesting picture of Schmeling who, though he was an emissary of Hitler (who makes a brief appearance onstage), is also revealed to have harbored two Jewish children during the War, saving their lives. He has the potential for becoming a multi-dimensional character, but all we really get is sketches of the two powerhouse punchers. And there doesn’t really seem to be a moral or point to the story, though it creates a compelling portrait of a man whose breaking down of the racial barrier was earth-shattering in its time, but who somehow didn’t become as much a household name as Jackie Robinson. We do come to feel for the two men, both trapped in the national issues of their day, driven by forces beyond their control and their natural talents.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The pre-show diversion is a show in itself. The theater is configured as a boxing ring (scenic design by Lee Savage). And in it, we watch hunky John Keabler, a student in the Old Globe/USD MFA program, warming up. It’s quite an entertainment. He works the bag, jumps rope double-crossed, double-time. And then he does it all over again, for an extended period of time. Impressive. The whole show builds up the steam and suspense of a real boxing match.

Only occasionally do the ropes get in the way (making entrances and exits in a skirt is a little cumbersome at times for the sole female in the cast, Katie Barnes). But nothing else impedes her outstanding array of secondary characters, from a hard-boiled Noo Yawk journalist to a bathing-suit-clad beauty. She’s a knockout in every one of her multiple portrayals. T. Ryder Smith, last seen at the Globe in a splendid performance in Lincolnesque, is also fine in a number of roles, including Hitler. David Deblinger provides most of the comic relief, as a cigar-chomping Jewish manager, and a shirt-sleeved, rough-and-tumble, purple-prose-writing reporter. Al White is solid and credible as Louis’ sensible, no-nonsense trainer, though he seems to be channeling Morgan Freeman as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris in “Million-Dollar Baby.” In the central roles, Dion Graham as Louis and Rufus Collins as Schmeling are both compelling. They make the men and their relationship believable. But the ‘takeaway’ isn’t that clear. The performances and the story itself are riveting. Ethan McSweeny’s direction is superb. But it’s not clear what Drukman wants us to get or know. His rat-a-tat repartee is thrilling at times, but it also wears out its welcome; a few overwritten alliterations go a long way, and the humor deflates after awhile. The characters could be more sharply etched, and the point of it all could be clarified. Still, you won’t be sorry you spent some time in this very specific, confined world, roped into this ring.

THE LOCATION: The Old Globe’s Cassius Carter Centre Stage, through February 10

BOTTOM LINE: BEST BET

STRINGING US ALONG…

THE SHOW: String of Pearls, a 2004 dramedy by Michele Lowe, who wrote the airy comedy The Smell of the Kill, which also premiered locally at North Coast Repertory Theatre.

THE STORY: It’s a fine idea, though not an original one: tracing an item through its history and many owners. Kind of like the 1999 novel, “The Girl in Hyacinth Blue” (about a hypothesized, long-lost Vermeer) or the 1998 Canadian film “The Red Violin” (about a perfect instrument, traced over three centuries and five countries). Lowe uses pearls, a symbol of culture, elegance and perfection, to introduce us to myriad women. Coincidences abound; the proceedings often feel forced and predictable, until the end, but by then, we don’t really care that much. Lowe creates excellent roles for women, but her stories and theirs don’t dig very deep.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The play is a great showcase for four talented actresses, each of whom gets to play more than a half-dozen characters. Director Karen Carpenter, former associate artistic director at the Old Globe, has cast well. The set (Marty Burnett) and costumes (Michelle Hunt) are simple but defining. But the conceit feels unnatural, the sequence sags in the middle (it’s a long 90 intermissionless minutes), and though the characters are marginally interesting, we’re not really with them long enough to develop a relationship or genuine concern for them. They span the age, social and economic spectrum, ranging from a 3 year-old (Christy Yael, cute) to a septuagenarian (Kwana Martinez, touching), from a research scientist (Jennifer Seifert, aptly brittle) to a 300-pound gravedigger (Crystal Sershen, poignant). The final relationship, which brings the piece full circle, strains credulity. And the direction doesn’t render the separate stories as an interrelated whole; it all seems more like the titular strand of pearls, each little gem existing on its own. The resulting necklace, to continue the metaphor, doesn’t quite hang together.

But the actors are engaging and the performances noteworthy. It would be nice if there was something to come away with, besides watching a little snapshot of various individual journeys of personal growth and self-discovery.

THE LOCATION: North Coast Repertory Theatre, through February 10

NEWS AND VIEWS ….

… Just another reminder: Don’t forget to watch 11^th Annual Patté Awards for Theater Excellence on Saturday, February 2 at 7pm on Channel 4. It’s gonna be one hot show!

… For more info and a few backstories about the Pattés, you can check out my January 16 interview on Art Rocks! Internet radio (www.wsradio.com/artrocks) and I’ll be talking about the Pattés with Leo Cates on KSDS radio, Jazz88, this Sunday Jan. 20 at 6pm at 88.3FM

…Get some Direction in the New Year: The Pasadena Playhouse is staging its 9^th annual Directors Lab West, May 17-24. The Lab, modeled on the one at Lincoln Center, is intended to develop and nurture up-and-coming theater artists. A week-long series of workshops, panels, roundtables and symposia, with some of the nation’s leading theater artists, provides an intensive laboratory environment where “mid-career directors” can inspire, challenge and educate each other. There is no charge if you’re accepted. The deadline for applications (available at www.directorslabwest.com) is 3/21/08.

… Come to the Cabaret… Jean Isaacs Cabaret Dances, that is. This weekend only, Jan. 17-19 at the San Diego Museum of Art. Always a really fun and engaging evening! This year’s theme is “Imagenes Latinas/Latin Images.” Should be hot hot hot. Wine and appetizers available. Free salsa lesson on opening night. www.sandiegodancetheater.org

… Don’t cry for me…. Cry-Baby, the world premiere musical, based on the 1990 John Waters film, that premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in November, is about to drop its tears on Broadway. The paper-thin love story about greasers and squares in 1954 Baltimore will move into the Marquis Theater in March. When the piece opened here, the direction (Mark Brokaw) was colorful and energetic, but Rob Ashford’s choreography stole the show. As a special New York bonus, preview tickets will be priced at $54, in honor of the 1954 setting. No tears about that.

… Color Me Kid-Friendly: The California Center for the Arts, Escondido is inviting kids of all ages to participate in its “Flat Stanley Coloring Exhibition,” which will coincide with the two performances of The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley (Jan. 27, 2 and 4pm) .In the show, the title character, the ultimate exchange student, sings his way around the world, trying to find a way to become a three-dimensional boy once again. Based on the popular children’s book series by Jeff Brown, the show is geared toward children age pre-K through grade 5. Coloring sheets (and tickets) are available at www.artcener.org

READING UP ON READINGS …

… “ion’s intimate ibsen,” ion theatre’s year-long series of readings by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, begins with Pillars of Society, directed by Claudio Raygoza. January 27 at 1pm in ion’s new space, The Lab at the Academy of Performing Arts in Mission Valley.

… Scripps Ranch Theatre presents a reading of Jean Giroudoux’s 1950 comic fable, The Madwoman of Chaillot, with a killer cast that includes Jill Drexler, Jim Chovick, Charlie Riendeau, Manny Fernandez, Amanda Sitton, Tom Andrew, Wendy Waddell, Sandy Campbell, Allan Salkin and Priscilla Allen. January 25-26, on the campus of Alliant University (formerly USIU). www.scrippsranchtheatre.org.

…Plan Ahead… There are three intriguing theater events happening on Monday, Feb. 4. Something old, something new, something classic. Your choice. Too bad you can’t clone yourself and catch all three:

1. Cygnet Theatre and the San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre open this year’s series of readings of the influential plays of August Wilson, with Jitney, February 2 (3pm at the City Heights Performance Annex) and February 4 (7:30pm at Cygnet Theatre).

2. Chronos Theatre Group presents the timeless collection of Persian poems, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, as a staged reading with musk, dance and magic. 7:30pm, the Lyceum

3. Handbag is a collaboratively written performance piece, created by Lisa Berger, Annie Hinton, Allyson Collins, Sandra Ellis-Troy, Jeanette Horn, Michelle Livermore, Li-Anne Rowswell and Anahid Shahrik. Directed by Lisa Berger (recent Patté Winner!), with music composed by Bridget Brigitte. A great group of women, who probably have some very interesting things in their handbags. Free admission; info at 760-750-4366.

'NOT TO BE MISSED!' (Pat’s Picks)

In This Corner – interesting, if flawed play, wonderfully acted; more history than character, but it’s a knockout boxing story

Cassius Carter Centre Stage, through 2/10

(For full text of all of Pat’s past reviews, going back to 1990, use the Search engine at www.patteproductions.com)

It’s climatic and climactic… The winter theater season really heats up this weekend. Don’t miss all the cool happenings.

Pat

© 2007 PATTÉ PRODUCTIONS, INC.

For more than 20 years, Pat Launer has been the only regular broadcast theater critic in San Diego. An Emmy Award-winner with a Ph.D. in Communication Arts & Sciences, Pat sees and reviews more than 200 local theater productions every year. For the past decade, she has hosted and produced The Patté Awards for Theatre Excellence, a gala community event that honors local theatermakers (“San Diegans making theater for San Diego”) and celebrates the broad diversity of San Diego theater.