SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE

"CURTAIN CALLS" #235

By Pat Launer

www.sdtheatrescene.com

3/21/08

A world premiere, as anyone can attest,

Is like Dancing in the Dark in a Cuckoo’s Nest.

Jumping on The Band Wagon

THE SHOW: Dancing in the Dark, adapted from the classic 1953 MGM musical, “The Band Wagon,” which was based on a 1931 musical theater revue; both contained the superb songs of composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz

THE STORY/THE BACKSTORY: The Band Wagon revue had no plot to speak of, only skits written by playwright/humorist George S. Kaufman, to link the Schwartz & Dietz songs sung by Fred Astaire and his sister Adele, among others. Schwartz and Dietz added new songs for the film, including the show-stopper, “That’s Entertainment” (presented here with all its ingenious lyrics). The screenplay was written by famed lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who’d just penned “Singin’ in the Rain.” But MGM ran out of money, and they couldn’t finish the script. So the second half of the movie is just a mishmash pastiche, with a bevy of great Dietz & Schwartz songs crammed into a play-within-a-play musical revue in out-of-town tryouts. It only worked because of its stellar cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanan and Nanette Fabray. Nonetheless, the film garnered three Academy Award nominations, including Best Music and Best Writing (story and screenplay). It was rated #17 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 25 Greatest Movie Musicals.

Now along comes playwright Douglas Carter Beane (who hit paydirt last year with his stage adaptation of the trashy 1980 movie “Xanadu”), to take “The Band Wagon” back to its stage roots.

The plot (which is considerably expanded – and the second act even makes sense now!) focuses on Tony Hunter, a stage actor who went to Hollywood, made it big and then lost it all (except a few priceless paintings). He’s been lured back to New York, and is encouraged by the pompous, hammy, English actor Jeffrey Cordova to make a comeback in a musical that Jeffrey intends to star in and direct (his first musical!). Lily and Lester Martin, former stage partners of Tony’s, whom he hasn’t seen in 18 years, are set to write the script. Beane has added a youthful love-match between Tony and Lily, and he uses that to insert certain songs (like the hilarious “Triplets”) as flashbacks to their earlier sketch-musical-comedy performances. Meanwhile, Jeffrey takes the Martins’ lighter-than-air, frothy musical, and turns it into a dark, dour disaster, a musical riff on Faust. For a choreographer, he’s hired Paul Byrd, a pretentious, modern dance artiste who insists that Gabrielle, his leading lady on and offstage, play the lead. She doesn’t get along with Tony (though, in an odd/uncomfortable Beane addition, she was the former President of the Scranton chapter of the Tony Hunter Fan Club). So, this mess of a show, “The Band Wagon,” flops in out-of-town tryouts. Lily still pines for Tony. Tony’s attracted to Gaby, and Gaby is drawn to Tony. Jeffrey, whose eyes go in other directions, finally realizes he’s in over his head. Tony, formerly a loner, rejoins the human race, takes charge of the show, restores it to its original comic state, wins Gaby, loses Paul and rejoices in the loving reunion of Les and Lily. All’s right with the (theater) world, and everyone gets to sing “That’s Entertainment” again.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The production is great fun, and it begins, in true Broadway style, with a 4-minute overture, magnificently arranged (Eric Stern) and artfully played by a 12-instrument ‘orchestra’ (conductor/music director, Don York). The scenic design (John Lee Beatty) is aptly theatrical, too; it’s all about lights and curtains. Marquee lights frame the stage; curtains are repeatedly dropped and draped and beautifully lit (Ken Billington), magically changing our perspective from backstage to onstage to audience. The sound (Brian Ronan) is crisp and the costumes (David Woolard) are period-perfect, and over-the-top for a chorus-girl number, “Rhode Island is Famous for You.” That lobster costume, referred to in the script, is a killer, but the whole number can go; it’s more extravagant than necessary and doesn’t advance the story in any way. The plot of the play-within-a-play, as conceived by Lily and Les, is silly enough to justify two wacky songs that have no business being here: the Germanic beer-fest “I Love Louisa” and the tap-dancing, yee-haw “Louisiana Hayride.” Beane’s script makes all this a little less far-fetched than the film; it’s all so energetic and endearing, we’ go along for the (hay)ride (but why, oh why, is said hayride performed in formal attire? That looks so wrong).

The principals are all terrific, though alas, there’s no Fred Astaire at the center. As Tony, Scott Bakula is an engaging performer, and he can acquit himself acceptably in a tap number. But he’s no dancer, and he’s outshone by his triple-threat compadres. Big-voiced, high-kicking Beth Leavel, Tony Award-winner for The Drowsy Chaperone, is a knockout as Lily; she’s got superlative comic, dancing and vocal chops. As her partner, Adam Heller gets some of the best lines, which are also suitably chewed (like the scenery) by funnyman Patrick Page (whom Jack O’Brien directed as the Grinch on Broadway, where he also played Scar in The Lion King and Lumière in Beauty and the Beast). Mara Davi (also from the Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone) has a lovely voice and presence as Gabi. And Benjamin Howes gets one poignant backstage moment as Hal, Jeffrey’s adoring assistant, wishing he were onstage dancing, too. Director Gary Griffin and choreographer Warren Carlyle put them all through their paces, with the help of a versatile ensemble. The outrageously oversexed modern dance number is especially delicious.

You could try to impose some gravitas, consider it a tale of a prodigal son, or a loner becoming a team player, reconnecting to his roots and his heart. But there really isn’t very much there there. It’s bubbly, it’s frothy, it’s a good old-fashioned light-hearted musical that’s sheer entertainment.

THE LOCATION: The Old Globe Theatre, just extended, through April 20

BOTTOM LINE: Best Bet

A Night in the Nuthouse

THE SHOW: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, based on the 1962 cult novel by ‘Merry Prankster’ Ken Kesey. The best-seller was adapted as a play in 1963, by Dale Wasserman (Man of La Mancha), at the request of Kirk Douglas, who starred in the original Broadway production, along with young Gene Wilder (as Billy Bibbitt). A decade later, Wasserman, very unhappy with the ‘written by committee’ outcome of his initial effort, revisited the play, decreasing the cast and the length (from three acts to two); the revival ran for more than 1000 performances in 1971. In 1975, the film version was released (Wasserman was not involved) and close on the heels of “Easy Rider” and “Five Easy Pieces,” became another star vehicle for Jack Nicholson. According to Wasserman interviews, Kesey thought Nicholson was wrong for the lead role, “and stuck to that opinion even after the movie was released.” Kesey was also reportedly so incensed by the change in the storytelling perspective (away from Chief Bromden’s first-person narration) that he sued the producers. Nonetheless, the movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.

The title comes from a nursery rhyme Kesey’s grandmother used to recite to him:

Vintery, mintery, cutlery, corn,

Apple seed and apple thorn.

Wire, briar, limber lock,

Three geese in a flock.

One flew east, and one flew west,

And one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

THE STORY: We’re in the day-room in the ward of a state mental hospital. In this production, in fact, we’re ushered in by hospital Aides, through a ‘locked’ gate. Inside, we meet the residents of this particular loony bin (based on real patients Kesey encountered during his late ‘50s night-job in a psychiatric ward). Our some-time narrator is the oversized, ostensibly “deaf and dumb Indian,” Bromden (aka Chief Broom). But the centerpiece is Randle Patrick McMurphy, an ex-con (arrested for statutory rape) who declares himself insane so he’ll be transferred to a mental institution, which he believes will be better than a prison work-farm. A swaggering, rebellious non-conformist, his nemesis on the ward is the tyrannical Nurse Ratched. McMurphy does everything he can to ‘liberate’ the pathetic, beleaguered inmates, most of them voluntarily committed. He succeeds in some ways, but fails dismally in others, with disastrous results.

On the surface, the play may be viewed as a trenchant social commentary on the state of mental health care in America. On the other hand, some see it as a religious parable; playwright Wasserman called McMurphy “half Christ, half con-man.” But for others, it’s a highly political piece, which has grave relevance for our own time. It’s all about individuality versus conformity, free will vs. subjugation. Chief Broom, a paranoid schizophrenic, speaks of a “Combine,” an all-powerful, all-seeing bureaucratic ‘machine’ designed to foster complete social integration, squelch all independence and create a compliant society. And we know all too well that the key to accomplishing those goals is fear. Nurse Ratched rules her little symbolic roost with false, do-gooder maternalism that masks an emasculating sadism.

THE PRODUCTION BACKSTORY: The Theatre, Inc. opened their production at their home at the Ark Theatre space in downtown San Diego. But before they could commence the second weekend in production, they had a major contract dispute and founder/artistic director Douglas Lay was forced to scramble for another space. One dark weekend went by, and then he announced that he’d found another venue that would allow him to continue the run at the California Ballet Theatre. But before that could happen, he shifted gears again and staged the play in the tiny, intimate 35-seat Twiggs Coffee Lounge in Hillcrest, which proved a perfectly confining space for this claustrophobic play.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The production values are very minimal, but the space, spare in its whiteness (design by Vince Sneddon), features those lockable entry gates and a little ‘closet’ with a window into the main room, from which Ratched can endlessly spy on her charges, and speak to them through a P.A. system (sound design, including the nerve-jangling buzzer that demarcates patient activities, by Eusevio Cordoba). The creepy eeriness of a Big Brother mentality is thoroughly achieved. The costumes (coordinated by director Douglas Lay) are mostly PJs and underwear, but the varieties of same fit the characters to a Tee.

Under Lay’s assured, tragi-comic direction, the ensemble is excellent, each actor carving out a discernible and pitiful character. Tim Waggoner is wonderful as the stuttering, virginal Mama’s boy, Billy Bibbitt. Fred Moramarco projects a semblance of sanity as the rationalizing intellectual, Harding, an ineffectual shell of a man, completely overpowered and intimidated by his wife and his nurse (the women don’t come off too well here overall). Bryant Hernandez is crazed, slobbering Martini; and Brian Hayes is bomb-obsessed Scanlon; Chris Fonseca is the insecure neurotic Cheswick; and Steve Jensen is the inadequate and clueless Dr. Spivey. Melissa Hamilton blows in as the blowsy tart McMurphy sneaks into the ward for a wild, second-act party, staged to encourage Billy’s deflowering.

Brian Abraham has all the hulk and gravitas of the Chief, though his lyrical, hallucinatory monologues fall flat at the outset. He grows in stature along with the character, and he towers in the potent, shocking finale. Bonnie Stone underplays Nurse Ratched, and that’s a powerful choice. This is no whip-wielding harridan (at least, not externally); she says she’s doing what’s right for these men, even as she shreds any sense of self they may retain. She’s ruthless in her calm, which is devastating.

All these idiosyncratic planets rotate around the galvanic fireball at their center, the scintillating Giancarlo Ruiz. He’s a swaggering, wise-cracking, roaring, snickering provocateur. He commands the stage; he devours the space. We like his Mac, we root for him, but we also can’t help seeing how dangerous he can be. We hope he’ll succeed, that he’ll liberate these victims, but we know, we dread, how it usually turns out for rebels in an authoritarian state.

Kesey (and Wasserman) can still pack a wallop. And if this one doesn’t give you pause and make you think, you’ve chosen the wrong evening activity.

THE LOCATION: The Theatre, Inc., at Twiggs Coffee Lounge, through March 29

BOTTOM LINE: Best Bet

NEWS AND VIEWS ….

… Back on the air… I’ll be on KUSI-TV Saturday morning, March 22, talking about Dancing in the Dark, A Little Night Music, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Bluebonnet Court. Tune in and check it out! “Good Morning, San Diego,” 3/22 in the 9-9:30am segment, KUSI-TV, Channel 51/cable 9.

… Back on the airwaves… My weekly radio reviews are back -- at KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM, 9am every Friday. If you miss the broadcast or web-stream, you can read or listen to the reviews, any time, at www.jazz88.org

…Our loss, their gain… Knowledgeable, affable, talented Jerry Patch, recently named co-artistic director at the Old Globe Theatre, will be leaving San Diego to become Director of Artistic Development at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York. Patch, nationally acclaimed for his skill in attracting, facilitating and shepherding new work, a job he did for decades at South Coast Repertory Theatre, came to the Globe in 2005 as resident artistic director. He helped bring us the creations of stellar playwrights such as Amy Freed, Richard Greenberg and Donald Margulies. His work on the Globe’s play development program culminated in one world premiere commission, In This Corner (2007). MTC, renowned for presenting new works on and Off Broadway, would seem to be a perfect fit for him. But this is a crucial time for the Globe, on the cusp of the building expansion and the 75^th anniversary season, coming up in 2010. Jerry’s departure represents a big loss for the Globe and for San Diego.

… On the subject of new works… The San Diego Repertory Theatre is presenting a “developmental reading” of Kingdom of the Shadows by Barbara Chronowski, a 2003 play that focuses on the birth of cinema and how it sparked the Russian Revolution of 1917. The reading, directed by John Anderson, is part of the Rep’s “New Play Initiative.” The free-admission presentation is March 26 at 7pm in the Lyceum Space.

… Singing (not sour) Grapes… Southwestern College, in association with Teatro Máscara Mágica, is presenting the college premiere of a new musical, Let the Eagle Fly: The Story of César Chavez, created by Chicagoans John Reeger (book) and Julie Shannon (music and lyrics). The show was part of the 2004 International Latino Theatre Festival at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. William Virchis directs what’s described as “one of the great David-and Goliath battles in American history,” tracing the arc of Chavez’s life and his courage, determination and non-violent tactics in his campaign against California Agribusiness to achieve economic justice and decent working conditions for farm workers. The musical focuses primarily on the five-year nationwide grape boycott that culminated in 1970 with the first-ever union contracts for farm workers. Over the course of their writing, the creators enjoyed the active involvement and support of members of the Chavez family, and the musical mentorship of the legendary lyricist Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof). March 27-April 6 at the Mayan Hall Theatre on the Southwestern campus. www.swccd.edu/~pva.

… One Big Zero… The man was as prodigious as his talent. The late, great, Zero Mostel, star of Fiddler on the Roof and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and “The Producers” (the movie). To see him perform live was to experience abundance; he was The King of Comedy, an antic, frantic, larger-than-life presence, overflowing with joie de vivre (and perspiration). All this, plus Mostel’s heartfelt response to the 1950s anti-Communist witch hunts of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and his tragic fate, is brought to life by Jim Brochu, who wrote and performs the one-man, Broadway-bound show, Zero Hour. At the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, March 22 only. www.powayarts.org

… Opera News/New Opera… Mice and Beans: The Opera is a world premiere by New York composer Cary Ratcliff, commissioned by the San Diego North Coast Singers, a 15 year-old Encinitas performance and educational organization. Based on the award-winning children’s book, “Mice and Beans,” by San Diego author Pam Muñoz Ryan, the story is a rollicking birthday tale featuring a a 7 year-old birthday girl, her Spanish-speaking grandma, a long list of party preparations and a band of enterprising mice. The new work will feature North Coast Singers’ children’s chorus (grades 2-12) in “an innovative, audience-friendly format.” April 26-27 at the Birch North Park Theatre. Info at www.northcoastsingers.com. Tickets (half-price for kids 5-17) at www.birchnorthparktheatre.net.

… RE-View… In honor of its eighth anniversary, Butterworth Dance Company presents a one-night performance that founder/artistic director Traves Butterworth is calling “Re/Work,” a showcase of past dances that have been “revamped, re-constructed and re-worked” to become “a feast for the eyes, ears and soul.” Among the 11 pieces (some by guest choreographers) are “Deconstructing Betty,” a satiric glimpse into the gender roles and sexual constraints of the 1950s American housewife; and “Trance,” an intense work about the fear and pain of someone living with HIV. The evening begins with a performance by BINARY, BDC’s youth company. April 18 in the Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla. www.butterdance.org

…Don’t miss the 25^th anniversary of the SDSU Design/Performance Jury, which will pay special tribute to Edward Albee, on the occasion of his 80^th birthday. Once again, as he has so many times, Albee will be on the jury panel, interacting with student groups (two for theater, one for film) who assay his 1959 one-act, The Death of Bessie Smith. Friday, March 28, SDSU Experimental Theatre, 9:00am-2:30pm. Admission is free.

… Good Fences Make Good Neighbors… Great minds work alike. Just as Cygnet Theatre concluded its marvelous production of August Wilson’s Fences, winner of four Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize when it premiered in 1987, Broadway is getting ready for a revival of the master’s masterwork. No cast announcements yet (James Earl Jones won a Tony for his star-turn in the original), but playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is set to direct. More as it happens.

… People and Places: Richard Baird, founding artistic director of the much-lamented Poor Players, is now, at the ripe old age of 27, the associate artistic director of the Southwest Shakespeare Company in Mesa, AZ (where he played Cyrano and Petruchio to great acclaim). He’ll be directing two Shakespeare productions this season, and playing Iago in Othello. That news came from North Coast Repertory Theatre artistic director David Ellenstein, who’s off to Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where he’ll direct Rocket City, a world premiere by Mark Saltzman. The plan is for the play to make a tour of the South and then a trip to New York. Immediately after that opening, Ellenstein moves on to Laguna Playhouse for another world premiere, Alexandros by Melissa Lopez. Then he races back to Solana Beach to helm the NCRT production of Madagascar in July. In the interim, North Coast Rep will present the exclusive West coast premiere of Maguire, written by renowned sportscaster/Emmy Award-winner Dick Enberg. The play is a tribute to sports legend Al Maguire, who led the 1977 Marquette basketball team to the national championships. A benefit performance, two nights only. April 21-22. www.northcoastrep.org

'NOT TO BE MISSED!' (Pat’s Picks)

Dancing in the Dark - world premiere musical, based on the MGM classic; wonderfully done; great fun

Old Globe, EXTENDED through 4/20

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - enter the loony-bin at your own risk! Excellent ensemble; still frighteningly relevant

The Theatre, Inc., at Twiggs Coffee Lounge, through 3/29

Dancing at Lughnasa – lovely production of a beautifully written play

New Village Arts, through 3/30

You Never Can Tell – all the wit and humor G.B. Shaw – or anyone -- could want

Moonlight at the Avo, through 3/23

The American Plan – flawed but intriguing play, gorgeously designed and performed

Old Globe’s Cassius Carter, through 3/30

The Clean House – quirky comedy, with dark undertones and fine performances

San Diego Repertory Theatre, through 3/22

A Shayna Maidel – poignant play with a star-turn at its center

North Coast Repertory Theatre, through 3/23

Tick, Tick… BOOM! –energetic, rock-infused identity angst, from the creator of Rent

Stone Soup Theatre Company at the Academy of Performing Arts, through 3/30

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

May the Easter Bunny bring you baskets of theater tickets!

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.