SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE

"CURTAIN CALLS" #250

By Pat Launer

www.sdtheatrescene.com

07/11/08

My 250^th column; the time sure goes fast!

As in theater, present melds with past…

There’s trouble in Madagascar; Windsor’s way out West

While Guys and Dolls and R&J are once more put to the test.

It really doesn’t take a genius to concede

That, on our local stages, All’s Well, indeed.

A GRAND SLAM, MA’AM

THE SHOW: The Merry Wives of Windsor, a Shakespeare comedy first published in 1602, but believed to have been written prior to 1597. Some of the play’s elements may have been adapted from Il Pecorone, a collection of stories by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino; one of these stories was included in “The Palace of Pleasure” by William Painter (also the likely source of Romeo and Juliet and All’s Well That Ends Well).

THE STORY: This is the only Shakespeare play that deals exclusively with Elizabethan-era English middle class life. It features one of Shakespeare’s most beloved creations, portly John Falstaff, but much reconceived, and anachronistic. He previously appeared in the plays about the medieval King Henry IV, set c. 1400, but appears in Merry Wives, set c. 1600. Well, if Shakespeare can anachronize (is that a word??), why not Paul Mullins, the director? And he’s chosen not only the Old West, but also the new (music from “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” seeps into the mix at one dueling moment).

Falstaff arrives in Windsor short on cash. He decides, in order to obtain a little financial advantage, that he’ll court two wealthy married women, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. But when the women find out that he’s sent them both the identical love letter, they conspire to get revenge, and to repeatedly and remorselessly humiliate the big buffoon. Meanwhile, Mr. Ford, an insanely jealous husband, catches wind of Falstaff’s intentions (thanks to a ‘leak’ from Falstaff’s not-so-loyal followers) and tries to catch his wife in flagrante. At the same time, several men are suing for the hand of the daughter of Mistress Page, and there are further subterfuges afoot. All’s well at the end, more or less (but that’s another play for another time… see below).

THE PRODUCTION: Hamlet, this ain’t. So why not go to hell in a handbasket (actually, a laundry basket) and take the harebrained comedy over the top and way out West? I had trepidations; these updating ideas rarely succeed. But re-setting the silly piece in the American West works surprisingly well.

Ralph Funicello re-tools his unit set (for all three Shakespeare plays) in wondrous ways. The all-wood construction is bordered by banisters and balustrades, and festooned with old-timey signs advertising a range of businesses, from the Garter Inn to a tonsorial parlor, tack and livery to Dr. Caius’ surgery (he’s one of the characters). And swinging saloon doors, of course. Denitsa Bliznakova has costumed the company in bright colors and can-can dresses (less-than-exciting choreography by Wesley Fata), and York Kennedy has provided red tones for the saloon and an aptly dim nighttime cast for the midnight pagan ritual. The sound (Christopher R. Walker) was inconsistent on opening night (the Mistresses’ mics went in and out) but the music was lively – and often live (banjo, fiddle, harmonica onstage at times, with an upright piano that seemed fake-played).

The company is delightful, and every one of them handles the language in fluid, comprehensible, everyday style (of course, there isn’t much elevated, lyrical poetry here; it’s rather prosaic, for Shakespeare). As flabby, fulminating Sir John, Eric Hoffman is a hoot. A short but rotund figure in a big, fringed, buckskin jacket, he looks even funnier in the forest scene, when he’s dolled up in fuzzy chaps the size of sheep, with a huge rack of antlers on his head. His physical and linguistic comedy are pitch-perfect. Dark-haired, deep-voiced Katie MacNichol is wonderful as Mistress Ford, and an excellent counterpart of blonde, high-spirited Celeste Ciulla as Mistress Page.

There’s a host of character roles, each cleanly and comically defined: Jonathan McMurtry as Shallow, the justice who can’t shoot straight (everyone hits the ground every time he reaches for his guns); Sloan Grenz as his whiny nerd of a nephew, Slender; Charles Janasz as the bumbling Welsh parson; Wynn Harmon, hilarious as the heavily accented French doctor; Barbra Wingerd, compellingly earthy as the Hostess of the Garter; and Deborah Taylor amusing as the relentlessly meddling, garrulous Mistress Quickly. Nat McIntyre (an Old Globe/USD MFA student) is thoroughly credible as Mr. Page, and Bruce Turk is terrific as the antic, jealous Mr. Ford, who dresses up in an outrageous getup as the flamboyant, heavily mustachioed Mr. Brooke (whose huge fake lip-hair keeps slipping off, to comical effect).

Mullins hasn’t made any attempt to take any of this seriously. It’s like one big old-fashioned sit-commy laugh-fest for him. And pretty much all the funny-business works just fine. It’s a great intro to Shakespeare (though it’s by no means the master’s best). But for lite summer, outdoor, frothy fare, it can’t be beat.

THE LOCATION: In repertory on the Old Globe’s Festival Stage, through Sept. 28

THE BOTTOM LINE: Best Bet

SECRETS AND LIES

THE SHOW: Madagascar, the final show of North Coast Repertory Theatre’s 26^th season, is a West coast premiere by J.T. Rogers, a promising young voice on the national theater scene.

THE STORY: Since this is a mystery, and a highly enigmatic one, not too much can be revealed. But the structure is fascinating (in the style of Jon Robin Baitz’s Three Hotels), a series of monologues told from different locales and perspectives, spoken directly to the audience. Rogers ups the ante by placing his three characters in different time periods: one is in the present; the other, a few days ago; the third, five years in the past. They leapfrog from one to the other, the actors jump into each other’s monologues as ancillary characters, and the audience has to be extremely attentive, to catch all the cross-references and try to untangle the plot. We aren’t ever completely successful. Perhaps that’s the point: that in life, we never fully know anyone or understand their actions, no matter how close we are. But there are so many loose ends at the conclusion, we’re left talking and pondering (a good thing) but also not totally dramatically satisfied (not such a good thing; enigmatic evenings work better in life than in theater). I love ambiguity in plays; I don’t need to be spoonfed and assuaged, by any means. But there were so many strings left hanging; I wanted Rogers to tie up a few more of them.

We learn, from the outset, that “people disappear all the time,” and that “less than two percent are victims of ‘foul play.’” But it takes more than half the play before we find out exactly who’s missing, and we never really find out why. But, the playwright tells us, in the person of June (Christy Yael), “what interests me most are those left behind. The ones forced to go on, never knowing if they said or did something that led to the vanishing.” And there you have it: the intention. From there, we get snippets of details of the past leading up to the dramatic ending, which features a shocking act that makes us re-think the entire play. We are shown pieces of a puzzle -- but never the whole picture. The drama has tragic elements, but certainly doesn’t meet Aristotle’s criterion for catharsis at the end. We’re left in that same gnawing limbo as the characters, with as many questions as when we began.

But along the way, we are titillated and intrigued, captivated, engaged and charmed. Rogers has a wonderful way with words. He paints beautiful, poetic pictures. He shows real, raw pain, as well as the abject helplessness of real people in a harrowing situation.

THE PRODUCTION: The production is wonderful. David Ellenstein has cast extremely well, and directed with a deft touch and a skillful hand. Marty Burnett’s set manages to be elegant or seedy, as required. The projections help define locale and the Roman statuary that so infatuates the lead characters. The action often takes place in a hotel room in Rome, above the Piazza di Spagna, looking down on the Spanish Steps. It’s the room where this dysfunctional and damaged family spent so much time. June has resided there for three years. She is living in the almost-present, reliving moments of the past. She’s become a guide in Rome, revisiting all the sites she saw all those times, with her mother and brother, looking at all the sculptures her mother tried to teach her to love. That mother (Rosina Reynolds) is a wealthy, privileged, opinionated, judgmental, condescending monster who’s wildly, unhealthily devoted to her son. And then there’s Mom’s lover, Nathan, an also-ran colleague of her economist husband who envied everything that husband had. Each haunted character feels desperately guilty and worthy of punishment.

The performances are outstanding. A great deal of regret runs through the piece, coupled with anguish, remorse, lack of communication and lack of understanding, secrets, recollections, falsifications, mingled memories (who did have that experience with the black fish, anyway?) and more. There are images and symbols galore, that we onlookers try frantically to piece together ourselves (like that big black fish – and Madagascar, a fantasy-land by description that turns out, like everything else in these lives, to be a lot less than imagined).

Rosina Reynolds is stunning (physically and dramatically) as the well-coifed, bejeweled and supercilious mother, who stands erect, moves with a genteel grace and oozes a sense of entitlement. When she turns to June, after the daughter has spent two years steadfastly searching for her brother, and hisses, like some Edenic reptile, “I’m sure you did the best you could,” it says everything you need to know about this mother-daughter relationship. Blood-curdling. As that damaged, heartbroken offspring, Christy Yael has a perpetual sadness in her eyes, as if she’s lost a part of herself. And indeed she has. Her final moments are heartrending. Caught between them, always an appendage, is Frank Corrado’s convincingly hapless, clueless Nathan, a man who never seems quite in control of his life or destiny. But then, as this play so sharply intimates, who is?

THE LOCATION: North Coast Repertory Theatre, through Aug. 3

THE BOTTOM LINE: Best Bet

LOVE’S LABORS LOST, AND WON

THE SHOW: All’s Well That Ends Well, one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” so-called because they can’t be easily classified as comedy or tragedy. Probably written in the middle of Shakespeare’s career, between 1601 and 1608, it’s based on one of the 100 tales in Boccacio’s “Decameron,” a classic of early Renaissance literature, written in the mid-14^th century. Two hundred years later, the stories were translated into English by William Painter as “The Palace of Pleasure.” Painter seems to have been the source for all three of this summer’s Shakespeare plays at the Globe. For All’s Well, Shakespeare added to the original some of the more interesting and/or colorful characters: Parolles, the Countess and Lafew. Probably due to its cynical view of human nature and relationships, the play is one of the Bard’s least popular and least frequently performed.

THE STORY: The tragicomedy centers on Helena, the smart, accomplished daughter of a recently deceased physician who’s the ward of the Countess of Rossillion. Helena is obsessively in love with the Countess’ roguish son, Bertram, and she’ll do anything to get him to marry her. She goes fearlessly before the King of France, puts her life on the line; if she can’t cure his “fistula,” she’ll accept a penalty of death. But if she does effect the cure no other doctor has achieved, she requests the husband of her choosing. The kindly King accedes. She succeeds and selects, of course, Bertram, who does nothing but disdain and berate her. She doesn’t stop there; she follows him to Italy, tricks him into sleeping with and impregnating her and then goes on to fake her death and then make a triumphant return to Rossillion. Bertram’s heinous acts include abandoning her on their wedding night, giving a cherished family ring to a virtual stranger in Florence, and lying to Helena about his extracurricular exploits. This is not a portrait of humans at their best; but it is a genuine, unjaded view of human nature. For comic relief, Shakespeare added the bombastic fool, Parolles, who is seriously humiliated (like Merry Wives’ Falstaff and Twelfth Night’s Malvolio), but is somewhat redeemed at the end. The title, spoken by Helena, suggests that ‘the ends justify the means.’ But with all this pretense and deception, we’re not so sure. Nor are we convinced that Bertram’s last-minute turnaround will last or will indeed, end well for Helena.

THE PRODUCTION: Once again, Globe and Shakespeare Festival artistic director Darko Tresnjak has lovingly turned a potential ‘problem play’ into sheer magic, creating a glorious production -- marvelously, meticulously directed, beautifully articulated, decisively dramatic and comical. There is so much detailed stage business, that even the most minor character has a well-defined personality.

The cast, to a one, is outstanding.

Kandis Chappell, James R. Winker and Charles Janasz imbue the proceedings with the wisdom, equanimity, forgiveness and gravitas of age (as the Countess of Rossillion, the King of France and Lord Lefew, respectively). Their patience, good will and sage advice contrasts sharply with the rash and reckless actions of the younger characters. Slightly below them in class, but no less prudent and astute, is the Widow Capulet (Celeste Ciulla, in a strong performance), mother of the lovely Diana (engaging Vivia Font). They’re the Florentines who help unite Helena with the unworthy object of her affections.

At Rossillion, Jonathan McMurtry is the perfectly perceptive steward, and as the servant Lavatch, Eric Hoffman puts in another broad comic performance (reminiscent of his Falstaff in Merry Wives, but of lower and coarser station – though nearly as witty). Bruce Turk (the marvelous Mr. Ford in Merry Wives) once again shows his terrific comedic skills as Parolles, the preening, strutting blowhard who gets his comeuppance, and then some.

As the mismatched lovers at the center of the action, Kimberly Parker Green (a student in the Old Globe/USD MFA program) brings a lovely, centered intelligence to Helena. Graham Hamilton (doing double duty as Romeo), makes Bertram a lot less insufferable than he could be. Bertram’s behavior is so odious, his comments to the adoring Helena so excruciating that we could easily detest him. But this Bertram seems more callow than fiendish. And we sincerely hope, at the end, that he has matured into understanding and appreciation of what he’s got in Helena, even if she wasn’t born of his class.

The pre-WW I update works well, and allows the masterful Linda Cho to design an array of strikingly attractive costumes. Ralph Funicello’s set is festooned with elegance, teal furnishings and draperies, wall sconces, statuary and up-lit plants (dramatic lighting by York Kennedy). The transition to Florence bathes the stage in color and light, and a larger-than-life statue of Michelangelo’s David looms on the upper level (but, unless it was my position in the house, looks startlingly disproportionate, and doesn’t make sense in the final scene, except symbolically).

With Tresnjak’s vision, skill and sensitivity, it all comes together with a fragile beauty.

THE LOCATION: In repertory on the Old Globe’s Festival Stage, through Sept. 28

TEEN ANGEL

THE SHOW: Romeo and Juliet, often called ‘the greatest love story ever told. Shakespeare’s early tragedy was based on an Italian tale that was translated into verse by Arthur Brooke as “Romeus and Juliet,” in 1562. Two decades later, the story was retold in prose, in “The Palace of Pleasure,” by William Painter (also a likely source for The Merry Wives and All’s Well). R&J is believed to have been written some time between 1591 and 1595.

THE STORY: The “star-cross’d” teenage lovers (Juliet is just 14 years old) meet at a masked ball (though only Romeo and his friends wear masks in this version) and fall instantly and desperately in love. They vow to be together forever, even though one’s a Montague and one’s a Capulet, descendants of two feuding Verona families. Everyone onstage, as director Rick Seer has pointed out – friends, family, the Nurse, the Friar -- is somehow culpable in the couple’s death: instigating arguments, fumbling their attempts at assistance, making demands or refusing requests.

THE PRODUCTION: It’s a fine but not stellar production, certainly not a definitive one. The director who, true to his name, often sears into characters, seems to have focused more on speed than depth. Many of the actors race through their lines. This is most noticeable in James R. Winker’s portrayal of Friar Laurence, and also in UCSD-MFA alumnus Owiso Odera as Mercutio, especially in the seminal “Queen Mab” speech. Later, Odera brings out more than a bit of the bawdy in the comical but impetuous character, to fine effect. But I can’t get Richard Baird’s Mercutio out of my head, nor Lynne Griffin’s Nurse (in North Coast Repertory Theatre’s 2005 production). Both made the characters imposing and unforgettable. Odera grows with his role and offers more consistent comic relief than does Deborah Taylor as the Nurse. In the small role of Peter, Sloan Grenz is amusing (as he is in Merry Wives).

As Romeo, Graham Hamilton also grows into his role and character. As Juliet, Heather Wood noticeably grows with the character. She evolves from a flighty young girl (blowing bubbles at the outset, a nice touch), skipping, fairly flying about the stage, to a determined young woman and doggedly devoted wife. It’s a lovely performance, the most nuanced in the production.

Some of the stage pictures are stunning: the wedding in the chapel above, backed by stained-glass windows and Gregorian chants; the upstage, silent party when the lovers meet; the dimly-lit, ethereal tomb; the final freeze. The use of ‘washing women’ at the outset seems unnecessary. Ralph Funicello’s bi-level, all-wood set provides a sense of affluence. Anna R. Oliver’s costumes mostly maintain a signature color for each family, so we can distinguish the two ‘houses,’ but the multi-toned tights on the men don’t always work as well. The death of the hot-headed Tybalt (Anthony von Halle) is highly dramatic. On opening night, the sound (sound design and original music by Christopher R. Walker) was inconsistent, particularly on Juliet’s mic. But some of the score, especially the drums pounding at Juliet’s death and the dripping water in the tomb, is very effective. There’s a heart-stopping moment in the mausoleum when, as Romeo drinks his poison, turned away from his love, Juliet stirs on her bier, beginning to awake. And we think, if he could just wait one more minute… But the conclusion, alas, is always the same.

THE LOCATION: In repertory on the Old Globe’s Festival Stage, through Sept. 28

SEVEN COME ELEVEN

THE SHOW: Guys and Dolls, one of the musical theater greats, that opened on Broadway in 1950 and ran for 1200 performances. Subtitled “A Musical Fable of Broadway,” the show is inspired by characters from the Damon Runyon story, “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown.” Runyon (1884-1946) wrote about the New York underworld of the Prohibition era, spinning entertaining tales of gamblers, hustlers, actors and gangsters, who spoke in a distinctive vernacular style, peppered with colorful slang, typically in the present tense, always devoid of contractions. The musical’s memorable score is by Frank Loesser and the hilarious book is by comedy writer Abe Burrows (contractually, Jo Swerling always gets top billing on the libretto, though just about everything he created was re-written by Burrows).

THE STORY: It’s a two-pronged love story: the unlikely match between the gambling high-roller, Sky Masterson, and the Salvation Army-type “Mission Doll,” Sarah Brown. The comic secondary characters are Nathan Detroit, the perpetually harried organizer of “the oldest established permanent floating crap-game in New York,” and his 14-year fiancée, the Hot Box dance-girl and frustrated, psychosomatic sneezer, Adelaide.

THE PRODUCTION: Delightful from start to finish. Director John Vaughan really has a handle on the material; his actors masters the Damon Runyon speech and mien, and they consistently nail the humor and laugh-lines.

Lance Arthur Smith is superb as Nathan; really, really funny, and a great match with Tracy Lore’s sneezy, dopey Adelaide. They’re a knockout together, comically and vocally, and their “Sue Me” is one of the best I’ve seen. David S. Humphrey brings a smooth elegance to Sky, and his baritone is beautiful. As Sarah, Beth Obregon displays great chops and fine dramatic flair. Her love duets with Humphrey (“I’ll Know,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before”) are as moving as her turn with Lore is amusing (“Marry the Man”). Brett Daniels makes for a droll Harry the Horse, James Gruessing, Jr. is ideal as Nicely-Nicely Johnson and Michael Hill is the best Big Jule I’ve seen since I directed 10 year-old Michael Chertoff (now the Director of Homeland Security!) in summer camp 100 years ago. Actually, Hill’s a lot better than Chertoff could ever be (and he could probably have done better post-Katrina, too!). Ralph Johnson is solid as Sarah’s grandpa, Arvide, and does a nice job with the soppy ballad, “More I Cannot Wish You.”

Vaughan’s extensive choreography is high-spirited and inventive (the men are better dancers than the women overall, though Lore acquits herself quite well in Adelaide’s cleverly-outfitted Hot Box numbers: “Bushel and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink”). The show-stopper is “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” which is so sharp, well-sung and energizing it’s Broadway caliber. The singing is wonderful throughout. The rented sets and costumes (uncredited) are bright, colorful and well lit (Christina L. Munich). The 18-piece orchestra (musical direction by Elan McMahan, conducted by Kenneth Gammie) captures the era and the Big Band sound, with plenty of brass (in both senses of the word).

This is the ultimate in outdoor summer musicals -- great to look at and listen to, and fun for the whole family.

THE LOCATION: Moonlight Stage Production, through July 20

NEWS AND VIEWS ….

… Globe Flash! … playbill.com has revealed that Going Hollywood, the Broadway-bound musical version of Kaufman and Hart’s 1930 Broadway comedy, Once in a Lifetime, will be produced at the Old Globe early in 2010. The project will be helmed by director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, whose prior work at the Globe includes The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (besides those Broadway hits, he also directed Hairspray, Legally Blonde and La Cage aux Folles). The book will be by Joe Leonardo and Tony-winner David Zippel, who’ll also pen the lyrics. Music by Jonathan Sheffer. The show has been in development for two decades, changing directorial hands numerous times. Ironically, director Mitchell was in the chorus of the original workshop production in 1983. A May reading of the current version of Going Hollywood earned a highly enthusiastic response last May and featured, in addition to two-time Tony-winner Christine Ebersole, Leslie Kritzer, recently seen at the Globe and on Broadway in A Catered Affair. The story focuses on three ex-vaudevillians who travel to Hollywood to give elocution lessons to silent-screen stars who are worried about the impending changeover to talkies. According to the new musical’s creators, artistic director emeritus Jack O’Brien, who collaborated with Mitchell on Monty, Dirty Rotten and Hairspray, has been this musical’s “guardian angel.” More details to come.

… Prohibition is Back… well, sort of. At least the Speakeasy part of it. Chronos Theatre Group continues its summer Speakeasy series with a 1950s update, featuring music, stories, poetry and visual art of the era. Staged readings will include material by Jules Feiffer, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. It all beings a 7pm at The Hole, 2820 Lytton St. in the Pt. Loma are. Reservations and more info are at: 619-615-8929 or www.chronostheatre.com.

… Audition Tuneup… Courtney Corey, who performed the role of that infamous flying witch, Elphaba, in both the L.A. and Chicago productions of Wicked, as well as the wacky/wonderful Maureen in the first and second national tours of Rent, will be in San Diego to present a half-day intensive workshop for actors and musical theater performers on “Audition Techniques.” Justin Gray, musical director at the Welk Resort Theatre, will provide accompaniment. At the Actor’s Alliance, on Monday, August 25. For reservations, call 760-294-2393.

…Long-term audition assistance… Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company founder/artistic director Seema Sueko is offering a six-week workshop on “Audition Strategies for the Professional Actor,” July 28-September 1 (Mondays, 6-9pm) at NTC Dance Place. For registration or information, call 619-342-7395; classes@moolelo.net.

… Shorties… New Vision Theatre Company presents its 3^rd annual ‘Summer Shorts’ Playwriting Festival, comprising eight short plays (10 minutes each) chosen from among hundreds of submissions. The finalists come from as far afield as MA, TX, MO, IN, NY and WA. Only two are from CA, one from San Diego (Frank Ritter of Oceanside). Check ‘em out, at the Sunshine Brooks Theatre in Oceanside, through July 27. 760-529-9140, www.nvtheatre.com.

… Don’t Forget the Fritz…The 15^th (and probably final) Fritz Blitz of New Plays by California Playwrights begins four weekends of the Best of the Blitz on July 31. Don’t miss it! Lyceum Space Theatre. 619-544-1000. Passes at www.fritztheatre.

…Ragtime revisited… Remember that story I reported on last week… about the production of the musical Ragtime being canceled by the Wilmette Park District in suburban Chicago -- because of racial epithets in the script? Well, The Wilmette Theater has come to the rescue, inviting the cast of 40 to perform a scaled-down, concert version of its production. So the hard-working actors still get to strut their stuff in this important American musical. At least there’s still some sanity out there.

… The Write Stuff… The Ink Spot Café – A Writer’s Salon is a monthly opportunity for writers of all stripes to gather in a casual atmosphere to chat about writing while mingling and socializing. Salon hosts change each month. The next get-together is July 28, hosted by professional storyteller Sarah Saulter, who’ll talk about “The Elements of the Well-Told Tale.” In the Art Center Lofts
on 13th Street, downtown San Diego. http://www.sandiegowriters.org/programs_writers_salon.htm

'NOT TO BE MISSED!' (Pat’s Picks)

All’s Well That Ends Well – marvelous production, wonderfully directed and acted; lucid, funny and touching

In repertory on the Old Globe’s Festival Stage, through September 28

Guys and Dolls - colorful, fun, energetic; well directed and choreographed and excellently sung

Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista’s Brengle Terrace Park, through July 20

Madagascar – a mystery, a puzzle, an enigma; there’s definite payoff in the performances, but we end up with as many questions as when we began

North Coast Repertory Theatre, through August 3

The Merry Wives of Windsor – Shakespeare’s silly love comedy transfers amazingly well to the Old West. A funny, fun-filled production. Yee-haw!

In repertory on the Old Globe’s Festival Stage, through September 28

Golden Boy - excellent ensemble work in a moving American classic

New Village Arts, through July 13

Robert Dubac’s Male Intellect: The 2^nd Coming – smart and funny, political and often provocative

Miracle Theatre Productions at the Lyceum Theatre, EXTENDED through July 27

The Hit – clever, fast-paced, fluffy and fun; well written, acted, directed and designed

Lamb’s Players Theatre, EXTENDED through July 20

It’s almost July 14; if you can’t storm the Bastille, sally forth to a local theater.

Pat

© 2008 PATTÉ PRODUCTIONS, INC.

For nearly 25 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 and celebrates the broad diversity of San Diego theater.