SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE

"CURTAIN CALLS" #277

By Pat Launer

www.sdtheatrescene.com

02/27/09

This is my final column,

My final “Curtain Call”

Six years and 277 times,

I’ve seen and said it all.

But you’ll be hearing from me soon

In a weekly column again

As I join the very exciting team

Of the new SDNN.

But for now, this week’s edition,

When Kingdom took us by fury,

And Lyric Opera premiered a new piece,

Alongside Trial By Jury.

Beau Jest was funny as ever,

Danton’s Death was all for effect

And you couldn’t help but get swept away

By the surges and waves in Shipwrecked!

A Story of Stories

THE SHOW: Shipwrecked!, An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as told by himself), the 2007 creation (premiered at South Coast Repertory Theatre) by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (who won for Dinner with Friends, but whose Collected Stories and Sight Unseen are far better plays). This is a far different kind of piece, exposing the workings (and magic) of theater as well as the power of storytelling. It confronts, as many of Margulies’ works do, the nature of truth and honesty in art, and the intersection of creativity and commercialism in artists.

THE BACKSTORY/THE STORY: The ‘artist’ here is a fabulist. Louis de Rougemont (né Henri Louis Grin, 1847-1921) was born in Switzerland but grew up in London, a sickly young child who was reared on the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens and the like. In the play, itself a performance very much like those Dickens famously engaged in during the Victorian era, de Rougemont tells us that, inspired by these exciting tales of daring and heroism, he left home at age 16, to explore the world. He meets a sea-captain and gets onboard a pearl-fishing ship headed for New Guinea; he rides on the backs of sea turtles, sees flying wombats, marries an indigenous Australian and lives in the Outback with a tribe that worships him as a god. When he returns 30 years later, he begins to write about his escapades in a London magazine, The Wide World. The story installments are wildly popular. The Queen bestows on him the Order of the British Empire (at least in the play she does). But when he presents the tales of his journey to the Royal Geographical Society, things fall apart, as the researchers, academics and scientists go on the attack. It seems there are no flying wombats, and one can’t ride a sea turtle. De Rougemont can’t even locate the site of his exploits on a map. He’s left disgraced, dishonored and destitute. But he sticks to his story. That’s pretty much how the play ends, the still-delusional tall-tale-teller insisting (and demonstrating) that one can ride a sea-turtle. He triumphs in his joy, in a bittersweet final image of fanciful flight.

In real life, Grin tried to distance himself from De Rougemont, asserting that it was all a big confusion. Yet in 1899, he travelled to South Africa as a music-hall attraction: “the greatest liar on earth.” When he tried the same in Australia two years later, he was booed off the stage. In 1906, De Rougemont appeared at the London Hippodrome and successfully demonstrated his turtle-riding skills. During World War I, he re-emerged as an inventor of an unsuccessful meat substitute. He died in London in 1921, penniless and all but forgotten. Until Margulies brought him back to life.

It’s a fantastic, fantastical story. And it makes for terrific entertainment. But it also calls up the question of the importance of unadulterated fact in narrative and memoir. Those concerns have reared their unruly heads again of late, in the tale of James Frey, for one, made extremely public on Oprah’s TV show. In the play, Louis says he’s just “daubing a little spot of color on the drab canvas of life.” And so he did. And does, onstage. And maybe, despite our demand for veracity and accuracy, that’s a worthy pursuit in itself.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: Ron Campbell is brilliant in the title role. He’s rubber-faced, wide-eyed, jubilant in his storytelling, which exploits his marvelous skills with physical comedy and sleight of hand. He’s a wondrous whirlwind of energy as he enchants us with his swashbuckling, death-defying derring-do. Behind him, providing props, sound effects, and all the other characters on this journey, are Yetide Badaki and David McBean. Badaki is engaging as Louis’ mother (though the Swiss Londoner inexplicably speaks with a Caribbean accent), the crusty, hoarse-voiced sea-captain and the loving, click-language-using tribal woman, among others. McBean is hilarious throughout, especially as Louis’ devoted dog, and an imperious, shaky-voiced Queen Victoria. The trio vividly welcomes us into “The Temple of the Imagination,” where we willingly worship at the twin gods of creative text and talent.

The scenic design (Marty Burnett) has the appearance of simplicity, though like the play itself, there’s more than meets the eye. At the outset, reminding us of where we are, it resembles a backstage area, with a ghostlight centerstage. But thanks to Burnett’s imagination, and our own, it’s transformed into a house, a ship, an island, the sea itself. There are ornate, red velvet curtains (for the music-hall effect), a sail that raises and lowers, movable floor-slats that become gangplanks or sea-turtles. Combined with the enchanting, if sometimes (aptly) over-the-top sound (designed by Steven Cahill for the South Coast Repertory Theatre production) and lighting (Matt Novotny) and the quick-change, ragtag costumes (Michelle Hunt Souza), the piece has the feel of improv, or spontaneous tale-telling. We’re hooked. We’re riveted. We don’t want it to end. Guest director Matthew Wiener, producing artistic director of the Actors Theatre of Phoenix, does a masterful job of drawing us inexorably in and keeping the pace at a suitably whirlwind velocity. Theater is, after all, storytelling with artifice. And that’s just what Margulies’ play is all about.

THE LOCATION: North Coast Repertory Theatre, through 3/13

BOTTOM LINE: BEST BET

Whatta Musical!

THE SHOW: The Musical of Musicals: The Musical, a spoofy, 2005 Off Broadway show written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell (who starred in the original production). Each of the show’s five ‘acts’ is a short musical vignette, written and performed in the style of musical theater greats of the 20^th century: Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jerry Herman and Kander & Ebb.

THE STORY: Each segment features pretty much the same melodramatic plotline: ‘I can't pay the rent!’ The same archetypal characters feature in each musical-knockoff: Jitter, the villainous landlord; Willy, the Hero, who offers to pay the rent, whether he can afford to or not; June, the Ingénue, a rent-bereft damsel in distress; and Abby, the Matron she turns to for advice.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The original production was done very simply, with no costumes or props. But musical theater maven Dr. Rick Simas, who directs, decided to make the show much more elaborate -- and, as a result, a lot more fun. So he wrote himself into the setup, presenting a Special Lecture on “Broadway Musicals” for a Theatre 100 class, ‘Theatre and Civilization.’ This provides the audience with a little background on the musical creators (and gives Simas a chance to show off his musical theater album collection, which even includes old 78s!), but mainly is a stall technique, kind of like those front-of-curtain scenes in old musicals, to allow time for the malleable cast to change costumes and elaborate makeup.

The musical is a terrific showcase for the talented SDSU MFA students in musical theater, and a wonderful learning experience for them as well. It provides them with an opportunity to master the very diverse styles of these musical wizards (singing Sondheim is nothing like singing Kander and Ebb, for example). So this makes them more valuable when they get out into workplace after they graduate. Simas credits three of his performers as choreographers, and they do a splendid job of imitating the moves featured in the shows of these composers/lyricists: the signature angularity of Fosse, the symbolic Oklahoma dream ballet of Agnes de Mille, etc. The more you know the shows, the funnier it all is. Nearly every line, spoken or sung, is a reference to one of the shows. The lyrics are extremely clever, and it’s no mean feat to imitate Sondheim (Lloyd Webber’s lyrics-writing collaborators are a lot easier to spoof; one running joke in that section, in fact, is “I’ve heard that song before,” referring to the multiple times the central melody in any ALW musical is repeated). There are so many little delights, some people have seen the show more than once so they can catch every nuance. Simas even throws in a quiz, asking the audience to call out the show reference in various musical or lyric lines. Great fun.

Standouts in the cast (if you can call anyone out in this gifted ensemble) include smooth-voiced Brandon Joel Meier, who’s wonderful as the furry chaps-wearing Willy in the Oklahoma sendup, Corn!; the Ché-like, camo-sporting Bill in Aspects of Junita (the Webber spoof); and the androgynous, rouged, Germanic Jütter in Speakeasy, a parody of Cabaret and Chicago. Billy Thompson is a scene-stealer as the Sweeney-like Jitter in A Little Complex, the Sondheim parody, and Joe Joyce is delicious as the Phantom Jitter and the Carol Channing Dolly-in-drag, Mr. Jitters, in Dear Abby! The Speakeasy Girls are gorgeous in their sexy, Cabaret tatters and Chicago moves; each of the gals (Amy Fritsche, Kyrsten Hafso, Christa Pozzi and Nancy Snow) is also great in her solo parts. And undergrad Gracie Lee Brown, she of the belt-‘em out alto, is too too funny as a jaded Abby, Sondheim and Kander/Ebb style.

All the excellent design was created by MFA students: the costumes (Lauren Hailey) are a hoot, and the sets (Virginia Provencher) and lighting (Kelli Jean Groskopf) change amusingly by the minute. There’s even a tiny falling chandelier. The musical accompaniment is pitch-perfect throughout. The score is solely geared for piano and vocals, but Musical Director/keyboardist Steven Withers, with assistance from fellow keyboardist Tim McKnight, went back to all the original cast recordings in order to recreate the sound of each of the shows, to delectable effect. There’s a lot of improv in the evening, which makes it even more lively and unpredictable. (I recently learned that Brandon Maier, who was featured in the latest issue of the SDSU magazine, formed an improvisation team on the campus, which has grown from 5 to 55 participants. He also noted that Simas has been the professor who’s influenced him most, through his undergrad and graduate training. It shows).

So, if you’re a musical theater aficionado, or just a lover of musicals, this is a show you absolutely cannot miss. Guaranteed you’ll roll in the aisles.

THE LOCATION: SDSU, in the Experimental Theatre, through 3/1

BOTTOM LINE: BEST BET

QUICKIES (productions that are now closed)

… Rumpelstiltskin and Trial By Jury, an operetta double-bill at Lyric Opera San Diego: one a world premiere, the other a classic, an apt past/future celebration of the company’s 30^th anniversary. The delight was watching one cast capture the very different sensibility of the two works. The 27-piece orchestra, under the baton of Kelly Kuo, sounded lively and robust for both productions.

The 1875 Gilbert and Sullivan satire, about a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit, boasts a ludicrous plot, though the characters behave as if the events were perfectly reasonable. This typical G&S narrative technique blunts some of the pointed, satiric barbs aimed at the hypocrisy of authority, the foibles of the legal system, and the sometimes base motives of supposedly respectable people and institutions. The music is sprightly and Gilbert’s lyrics are endlessly clever and comically superb. The extreme nature of the satire was outstandingly captured in this production, whose costumes, hair and makeup (Pam Stompoly-Erickson) were totally over the top. Very funny, stylized moves for the chorus (which had a slighter role in Rumpelstiltskin). Lots of individual character created, and lots of fun was had by all.

The new work, with music by the San Diego Opera’s education director, Nicolas Reveles, and libretto by Lyric Opera’s artistic director/set designer J. Sherwood Montgomery, isn’t yet sure exactly what it wants to be. Part fantasy, part musical-hall entertainment, part musical theater spoof, it’s a stylistic pastiche waiting for a unifying vision. Reveles, in his online Opera Talk presentation, related how he was influenced by ‘Popeye’ cartoons, the ‘Wedding March,’ ‘The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,’ Tin Pan alley and 19^th century poet Christina Rosetti. No wonder there’s such a mix. The opening looks and sounds like Cabaret (replete with a sinister ’emcee’ and two sexy sidekicks) and the ending, with its Les Miz in-place marching and direct-to-the-audience singing, retells the tale à la Sweeney Todd. There’s also a tango (Rumpelstiltkin’s wonderful solo), and a honky tonk number. It’s not really clear that this is meant to be a satire. So what exactly is it? The jury (to borrow a little from its fellow operetta) is still out. There are some engaging moments, both musically and dramatically, but the music-hall/cabaret conceit doesn’t work consistently. And the moral or meaning of the story is not fleshed out. What’s it really about? Retribution for bragging? Both the Miller and the dwarf are guilty of boasting; Rumpelstiltskin is ultimately punished for his hubris, but the Miller is not; it’s his daughter who takes the rap. In the narrative, she actually plays a minor role, crying for help and getting it from the titular monster, but she seems to mean little to the King beyond the wealth and children she’ll bring. There is the sense of a love interest here, though, which makes the piece lighter than the Grimm Brothers’ grim tale, but there’s still room for a deeper significance to be brought to the fore.

The very best thing about the production was the central performance. The magnificent tenor Enrique Toral, currently on the voice faculty at SDSU’s School of Music and Dance and the School of Theater, Television and Film, was simply splendid as the nasty, conniving, greedy, hunched-over Rumpelstlltskin. He was enjoyably amusing as the also not-so-nice Defendant in Trial by Jury. Bass Walter DuMelle was fine as the King in Rumpel, funny as The Usher in Trial, where his cavern-deep, resonant voice really shone. Scott Gregory was difficult to understand in the new work, but his diction was clear and precise, and his actions were side-splitting, when he portrayed The Learned Judge in Trial. Lisa Archibeque brought a strong, lilting soprano to both pieces. The twins Shelly Hart Breneman and Shauna Hart Ostrom provided humor in both operettas, as did Brian Imoto (the emcee Alastair in Rumpel and Counsel for the Plaintiff in Trial).

This was an auspicious occasion: a celebration of longevity and the creation of a new light opera. Lyric Opera is to be congratulated for both.

… Danton’s Death, the first play by Georg Büchner (1835), written when he was just 21, was lost for more than 60 years; it didn’t receive its (posthumous) premiere until 1902. The drama is a long political tract, heavy on words, ideas and characters -- some 40 of them. The focus is Georges Danton, a hero of the French Revolution, and his confrontations with the demonic Robespierre, who had him put to death, though Danton bravely comforted his fellow, guillotine-bound innocents in prison. The play is quite challenging, and rarely done. So I was excited to see this production, helmed by the brilliant director Dominique Serrand, former artistic director of the late, much-lamented Théâtre de la Jeune Lune. It was a very high-concept production that overreached its grasp. The set, for one, was absurd. The entire trap was exposed, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the stage. All the actors had to walk (often, run) around it, which seriously limited the playing space and grew extremely tiresome. The lighting (Stephen Sakowski) and some of the stage pictures were stunning. The costumes (Rachel Shachar) were intriguingly varied in style. Most of the cast wasn’t up to the task, though, and their articulation of this language-heavy piece was frequently garbled, rushed or imprecise. The main exception was 2^nd-year MFA student Ross Crain, who took his time, and perfectly conveyed the icy assurity of the hypocritically pious and truly evil Robespierre. As Danton, Bowman Wright, a first-year MFA actor, had moments of credible courage, but he needs more work on articulatory clarity and precision. Jessica Watkins, Lorene Chesley, Maren Bush and Sara Garcia were notable, but the overall production was disappointing, turgid and protracted.

… Kingdom, a new hip hop musical/drama, received its first full production in a brief appearance at the Old Globe… and at Lincoln High School, as part of the Globe’s new tech center in East San Diego, and its promise to engage the nearby community. The show’s writer, Aaron Jafferis (with music is by his former classmate in the NYU musical theater MFA program), took part in the Globe’s Residency Project at the high school. The piece started as a hip hop poem Jafferis wrote about two teenage friends who meet tragic ends. In Kingdom, they’re facing rejection from family and friends, and are lured into a gang, the Latin Kings and Queens.

The show, a gutsy effort on the part of the Globe, featured raw themes and violent language and acts. But that’s what real high school (unlike the Disney version) is really like. There was a murder on the Lincoln campus last year; this world of gangs, swearing and weapons is what kids are actually experiencing every day. The students in the audience were enthralled; the adults, often appalled, but no less rapt and engrossed. In its earlier incarnations, the piece was showcased at the National Association of Musical Theatre, and won a prestigious Richard Rodgers Award for new musicals. This production, directed by Ron Daniels, a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company who likens hip hop’s poetry to the work of The Bard, featured a 10-member cast and a four-piece onstage rock band. The music is a hard-driving mix of rock, hip hop and Latin beats, with a few lyrical, poetic interludes. The performances were gripping, especially Gerardo Rodriguez as Cano, the charismatic leader of the Kings. Cedric Leiba, Jr. and Kyle Beltran were compelling as the best buds, a lost man-child who wants to get ahead, and a slacker wheeler/dealer who’s changed by his lust for power and revenge. What’s most memorable is theplay’s potent argument against the never-ending cycle of violence. What would seem to be the most effective use of this powerful story is a national tour to all American high schools. But in an age when the student version of Rent is being rejected by many high schools (as close as Newport Beach, as reported in the New York Times this week), it’s highly unlikely. But it sure would be an awesome way to get the message across. I hear that some Lincoln students saw the show 4-6 times.

Bravo to the Globe for taking the risk, for exposing the community to reality. Too bad it wasn’t around longer, so more students – and their relatives – could’ve seen it and had their eyes opened and their hearts pumped.

…Beau Jest, James Sherman’s 1989 gut-busting comedy, was presented as a knockout reading at Carlsbad Playreaders, directed by Charlie Riendeau. Wendy Waddell was spot-on as the neurotic daughter who is so busy worrying what her parents are going to think or like, she lies about everything. Mostly her boyfriend, who’s not Jewish. So, she invents a Jewish one, and hires an actor to impersonate him. Only he turns out not to be Jewish either. (Thank God he was in Fiddler on the Roof in dinner theater, though!). The situations are sooo funny that the family shenanigans become universal. Frankie Regal, who read the stage directions, later told me it’s all pretty much the same in her Chinese family. Greg Wittman, Wyatt Ellison and Daniel Kosoy were appealing as the two suitors and the skeptical brother, and Allan Salkin and Rhona Gold were very funny as the beleaguered parents (‘It took an hour to park!,” the father repeatedly kvetches). The belly-laughs from the audience suggested that it’s high time for another full production; the last local mountings were in 1994 (Lamb’s Players Theatre) and 1997 (North Coast Rep). Any takers? It sure is a great comic escape.

NEWS AND VIEWS

… Movin’ Out, Movin’ On… As poetically noted above, this will be my last column on SDTheatrescene. It’s been a really good run: 6 years, 277 columns. Whew! We’ve been through a lot together! Thanks for all your wonderful comments of support, and your faithful and unflagging readership.

Now, I’m off on a new adventure: SDNN (San Diego News Network), a new media model, the future of journalism, multimedia style. The new site, which launches on March 18, is slick and very well supported (by venture capitalists, investors and 25 media partners). It will update by-the-minute, with breaking news available from channel 6, which is in the same building as the SDNN offices. It features many of the fabulous (laid-off) writers you knew and loved from the U-T, including film critic David Elliott, classical music critic Valerie Scher (the new arts and entertainment editor), food writer Maria C. Hunt, book editor Arthur Salm (now writing a weekly Neil Morgan-type column) and many many more. I’ll be writing a weekly column of reviews and news, as well as features, previews and interviews, creating podcasts, videocasts and other fun things. Check it out… now and often! (that’s how the model works; the more ‘views, clicks and visits’ we get, the more we all earn). www.sdnn.com. Launching March 18. Be there!

… And while you’re online, don’t forget to watch The 12^th Annual Patté Awards for Theater Excellence -- on The Patté Foundation website (www.thepattefoundation.org) and on my Facebook page.

… Too many shows, too little time… Monday, March 9. A red-letter day in local theater. The kind of day that makes me wish they’d gotten a whole lot further on this cloning thing. Here are the options on that evening, all one-time-only events.

a. “Stephen Schwartz and Friends,” a live appearance by the Broadway composer (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell), who’s in town working on a newly reconceived version of his musical, Working, based on the book by the late, great Studs Terkel. A benefit performance, with three singers, at the Old Globe. 3/9 at 7:30pm. www.theoldglobe.org.

b. The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a reading of Martin McDonagh’s brutal mother-daughter confrontation, with a killer cast, directed by Joshua Everett Johnson: Annie Hinton, Kristianne Kurner, Joshua Everett Johnson and Daren Scott. Carlsbad Playreaders at the Carlsbad Library. 3/9 at 7:30pm.

c. The Skin of Our Teeth, reprise performance of Scripps Ranch Theatre’s staged reading of the wild and wacky Thornton Wilder classic. The cast, directed by Esther Emery, includes Sandy Campbell, Alex Chernow, Jason Connors, Jill Drexler, Melissa Fernandez, Craig Huisenga, Aimee Nelson and Charlie Riendeau. Presented as part of Moonlight Stage Productions’ Words Works Community Outreach Program, at the Avo Playhouse. 3/9 at 7:30pm. www.moonlightstage.com

… Speaking of readings, the Chronos Theatre Group is presenting a staged reading of Portraits of Women: Short Plays by Alice Gerstenberg, an innovative early 20^th century feminist playwright. Harrison Myers directs Teale Bossen, Miranda Halverson, Justine Hince and Rena Lyan. March 2 at 7:30pm in the Lyceum Theatre. www.chronostheatre.com.

… Great time to take in a Museum… Three Balboa Park museums – the Mingei International Museum, Museum of Man and Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) – just announced a three-month reduced admission program. From March 1 through May 25 (Memorial Day), all three will offer half-price admission on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon.

… The Old Globe invited the press to a sneak preview of their upcoming production of Working, based on the book by the beloved author/historian/broadcaster Studs Terkel. The 30-year old show is being revisited and revised, with new songs by creator Stephen Schwartz and additions by recent Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights). Schwartz, Miranda and director Gordon Greenberg have updated the piece to reflect the concerns and jobs of the modern working-person, but they found that some things haven’t changed much at all: the kinds of people who do the various jobs and the personal stories that get at the heart of working -- and Working. These days, many folks, for many reasons, are asking the show’s basic question, What does work mean to us? You just might find out, when the musical opens on 3/12.

Catching Up With

… Sandy Campbell, whose new CD, “Crazy World,” is sheer delight. Sandy’s in marvelous voice, and her pure, clear soprano does wonderful justice to the many touching ballads, including “I Won’t Mind,” “Why did I Choose You?, “I’d Give it All for You” (a luscious, romantic duet with ace pianist G. Scott Lacy) and “Pink Taffeta Sample Size 10.” Spend some time with Sandy; you’ll be glad you did.

... Arianna Afsar, another local singer, who started out with the lead role (Gabriella) in the J*Company production of Disney’s High School Musical. Now, she’s gone on to “American Idol,” where you can check her out, and vote for a San Diego star.

… David Wiener, whose one-act, Feeding Time at the Human House, was presented as part of the Challenge Theatre events at 6th @ Penn Theatre last year, just received notification that the play was accepted into the New York 15-Minute Play Festival at the American Globe Theatre. The original cast of this comedy about two baboons, watching and commenting on the crazy, animalistic humans who go by their zoo enclosure, featured Michelle de Francesco and Ivan Harrison, directed by Jessica Seaman.

… Rhoda Auer, wife of Student Shakespeare Festival artistic director Mike Auer, is chairing the English Speaking Union Shakespeare Committee, which is about to hold the 24^th annual Shakespeare Competition. Since the Festival’s inception, nearly 250,000 students nationwide, from public, independent and parochial high schools, have participated in the competition, exploring Shakespeare’s monologues and sonnets through study, interpretation and performance. This year, 26 local schools are participating, a 36% increase from last year. The San Diego winner will compete against 59 other branch winners in the National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center in New York. The ultimate winner gets a four-week trip to Oxford, to study at the British American Drama Academy’s ‘Midsummer Conservatory Program.’ The public is invited to the local competition, which is quite a thrill (I’ve served as a judge several times). Sunday March 8 at 1pm, in the Mandell Weiss Theatre on the campus of UCSD. Free admission.

… Eric Bishop, chair of the Performing & Media Arts Department at Mira Costa College, and winner of a 2007 Patté Award for Outstanding Direction, brought his world premiere production of Heartland (written by locals Anita Simons and Lauren Simon) to the American College Theater Festival. The drama, a regional finalist, is still in the running for the national Mark David Cohen Award. Bishop’s all-student company became semifinalists for an Irene Ryan award for acting, and they also won a prestigious load-in award, an Excellence in Education Award, and Bishop himself snagged the Gold Medallion of Excellence. All in all, the community college did better than most four-year universities. Next up for Bishop is directing the comedy Moon Over Buffalo at Moonlight Stage Productions (opening 3/5), then the sultry Anna in the Tropics on the campus (opening 4/17) and this summer, he’ll be getting back onstage, in a production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the PCPA Theaterfest in central California. Busy boy.

… Bill Virchis, long-time San Diego arts educator and director, was honored this week with the CABE Visual and Performing Arts Award, presented by the California Association for Bilingual Education, which has 5000 members and over 60 chapters/affiliates. Virchis, an actor, activist, author, director, producer, professor, composer, motivational speaker and arts administrator, adds this to his shelf and wall-full of other honors and awards, including a 2000 Patté Award, the Shiley Award for Lifetime Achievement.

'NOT TO BE MISSED!' (Pat’s Picks)

The Musical of Musicals: The Musical – hilarious show, uproariously presented. An absolute must-see for any musical theater lover

SDSU Experimental Theatre, through 3/1

Shipwrecked! , An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) – a rip-roarin’ good time!; the magic of theater, the splendor of storytelling

North Coast Repertory Theatre, through 3/15

Red light Winter – dark and hip, and very well done

Triad Productions at the 10^th Avenue Theatre, through 3/1

Room Service – fast-paced, side-splitting, screwball comedy

Lamb’s Players Theatre, through 3/22

Bulrusher - intriguing if not wholly satisfying play; excellent production

New Village Arts, through 3/1

Pippin – exciting, inventive, bilingual production (English and American Sign Language)

Mark Taper Forum, L.A., through 3/15

March is coming in like a lion (devouring our economy). But you can do something to soothe artists and your own troubled soul -- Go to the theater!

© 2009 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.