Spring Awakening: The Musical
With overtly sexual themes and a deeply disturbing outlook on growing up, the sublime title of Spring Awakening belies the dark thematic nature of the show. However, this century old story is so filled with honesty and emotion that, when performed well, it packs a mighty punch.

The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center has staged a strong and compelling version of this Tony Award winning play. Spring Awakening tells the tale of teenage love through the eyes of three main characters. They are archetypical figures now common in literature, but at the time, the good-looking and bold Melchior (Chrys Ryan), the sullen, confused and sexually inhibited Moritz (Nick Bernardi), and the ingénue with a thirst for sexual learning, Wendla (Chelsea Pitillo), were far less well-known to audiences. At the onset, we see Wendla as she stands at the edge of a sexual awakening, curious and dismayed at her own lack of worldly knowledge. Likewise, her male counterparts deal with their own young desires and fears as well as the social stigmas and pressures that surround them. As the show progress and culminates with an impassioned second act climax, it is clear that the story offers very little new in terms of revelations about young love or sexual growth. Rather, it is the characters and music that drive the production.

This production of Spring Awakening falls in the middle ground in terms of daring and pushing the musical envelope. However, under the expert direction of David Ralphe, the production delivers a strong show with a surprising amount of content given the theatre’s setting off the beaten path. The vocals are strong across the board under the musical direction of Matt Park. The movement and choreography are strong and avoid the common mistake of becoming derivative, as often happens with this successful work. The costume design (Gordon Seltzer and Areilla Seltzer) is effective and provides well for the cast that has to look both uniformed and be able to delineate the multiple roles they play. The auditory system in the theatre seems better suited for a much larger space, but the technical expertise of the sound design proves adept at walking the line of rock verses musical theatre levels. The set and colors of the show work well together, and the overall feel of the production’s technical elements holds up well. Minor gaffes with lines and props were likely a onetime happening, but the lengthy running time of the production could have been eased some with overall cohesion of the ruining crew.

Pitillo, Ryan, and Bernardi are all remarkable talents and give well-rounded performances as well as connect well with the material. Other standouts include Lori Lee Gordon and Sean Harrington, who take on the mammoth task of portraying a vast array of characters, and the vocal cast as a whole that are so well in tune that they seem a single entity in and of themselves. The cast is buoyed by the strong leadership here, and even more so by their own ability to embrace the full intentions of this work.
The people of Simi Valley should applaud the continual efforts of the theatre to keep a high bar in production value while all the time bringing in a vast number of projects that outlying areas rarely get to see in their full awakened form.

SPRING AWAKENING: THE MUSICAL runs at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center through December 2nd 805 583-7900

Halloween Tales From The Women's (& Men's) Locker Room.

 

In what can only be described as an odd venue for theatre, the farm storage turned, community hall turned performance space in Ojai blossoms with the fruit of Halloween Tales From The Women's (& Men's) Locker Room.

 

 

In recent years, a number of theatre troupes have sprung up in the isolated one-time artist colony of Ojai, California, each with varying degrees of success and resilience. Halloween Tales From The Women's (& Men's) Locker Room offers a rare chance to see original works that are seasonal as well as thematically linked. The four fast-paced works are presented in repertory style with a touch of down home fun that is unique to Ojai. Constructed out of the works of three local playwrights; Elixeo Flores, Gloria De Leon, and Tom Eubanks. Halloween Tales From The Women's (& Men's) Locker Room is a compilation of four short works, each geared toward the Halloween season. Dressing (Flores) is presented as a tongue in cheek retrospective of a Southern Drag Queen looking back on life with humor and a touch of heartbreak. Grave Concerns (Flores) shows the grief and quirks of an offbeat Italian family brought together by the death of a relative. Sharing Is Caring (De Leon) touches on themes of sibling rivalry, secrecy, and reformation in the search for higher understanding. How To Make God Laugh (Eubanks) touches on sexuality, religious allegory, and morality with humor and editorial commentary. The four pieces work well together with Flores’ characters and situational drama standing out. De Leon’s allegory and propensity for hidden meaning pairs well with her story structure, despite the brevity of the work. Eubanks’ technical writing is the best of the group, though the seasonal theme is least apparent in his work.

While the venue cannot be considered a strength with difficult acoustics and seating that would suggest a high school band concert, the producers have given the show an audience friendly running time and provided a setting that seems to fit well the art of original works and shared artistic goals. The performances by mostly local community performers are, for the most part, strong, and the direction by Francisca Beach is efficient in highlighting the creativity of the work and individual abilities of each performer. Perhaps Beach’s largest accomplishment is in creating a successful performance with elements that fit the story both through performance and technical know-how.

Halloween Tales From The Women's (& Men's) Locker Room deserves its greatest acclaim for reaching a community through works that are local, interesting, and supported with the talents and abilities that original works rarely receive in Ventura County.

DARK HEART OF POE

The works of Edgar Allen Poe have been presented in many forms, but seldom find true success in the theatrical world due to their brevity and difficult performance elements. The Elite Theatre Company’s current production of Dark Heart of Poe proves, however, that when the right talents are in place, Poe on stage can be extraordinarily effective.

Edgar Allen Poe is considered perhaps the first and greatest American master of the suspense short story and gothic poetry genre. He is credited with spreading the new “American” English across the young country, and his themes of revenge, hopeless love, and death are engrained in our national literary makeup. His most revered works are read by school children in every state and although his tragic and short life ended in 1849, his body of work has continued to be among the most read of any author in modern history. His timelessness and universality are apparent both in the characters that he built and in the feelings and macabre situations with which he instills them.

Dark Heart of Poe, conceived by director Andrew James, presents four of Poe’s best-known works: Annabel Lee, The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Cask Of Amontillado) staged in the format of a one hour, one act play. A cast of two (Austin Miller and Travis Winterstein) performs the works, sometimes together and sometimes alone, in the dramatic style of an 1800s symposium with the audience seated in the round. Miller and Winterstein also perform the scene changes in an imaginative style that adds a unique performance dimension, giving the show a continued impetus and making the one hour running time leave you wanting more.

Starting with Poe’s ode to a lost love, Annabel Lee, director James crafts a fluid and swift style of storytelling using sound and movement to drive the action and convey an unusual but exhilarating momentum that builds through Poe’s best-known works The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart and culminates with the least known of the group, but most well suited for the stage, The Cask of Amontillado. With the audience seated on all sides, the uncredited set design draws you back into the 1840s and creates a fishbowl feeling as the events of these four classic works unfold. The sparse and, at times, insinuated set fits well the stylized feeling of the production accentuated by a number of impressive props that are featured within the stories. The costume design (Allison Williams) impressively conveys both the time and feel of the show and adds a rare seamless and enchanting look to the show. The sound and lights are used effectively to further build a haunting theatrical world in which Poe himself might have dwelled.

With the abundance of technical knowhow surrounding them, Miller and Winterstein deliver evocative and compelling high-energy performances across the board. Under James’ agile direction, the performers thrive, executing passionate portrayals consisting of both humor and drama in a connected and artistic manner. They exude confidence and ooze character, while displaying a deep understanding of the language and underlying meaning of each piece.

This production by the Elite successfully sidesteps the common pitfalls associated with other Poe performances by featuring both the exposition and the dialogue within the format of the presentation. The addition of quotes from the master himself bookends the show and effectively encapsulates this beguiling and unusual work. While not a large-scale production, this work shows both artistry and talent used to its best end and makes for an exciting night of theatre.

Dark Heart of Poe may consist of well-known works, but it has never been seen in this light before.
Dark Heart of Poe runs through Nov 18th. At the Elite Theatre in Oxnard. www.darkheartofpoe.com

PRIVATE LIVES

Private Lives is by no means an unknown work, but it holds up well when performed as it was intended. The Rubicon theatre accomplishes that well with this production.

Since 1930, Private Lives has been a staple in the seasons of theatres large and small. Its plot has been played over and reformatted so many times that it seems like the main themes of conflicted love and second chances have always been a part of us, and the characters have become permanently engrained in our being. The now-divorced Elyot (Joseph Fuqua) and Amanda (Julie Granata) are honeymooning abroad in the carefree and loving arms of their new spouses Sibyl (Alyson Lindsay) and Victor (Matthew Floyd Miller). Tossed by the winds of traditional Coward fate, they again come face to face on the balconies that their newlywed suites conveniently share. Almost at once, they are made quickly aware that their new marriages fall well short of their still-smoldering love for one another. In a reluctant fit of passion, they flee together to Paris. Lo and behold, their second chance together is filled with pitfalls as they are soon joined by their abandoned better halves. The insults and sometimes bits of furniture fly as the difficulties of lovemaking in the modern world are brought to bear in hilarious fashion.

The Rubicon Theatre has long been a strong artistic venue. They strive to appeal to a wide range of audiences and consistently produce shows that tend to be in the upper tier among Ventura County Groups.
Private Lives fits well with that reputation. The acting is strong, fast paced, well-timed, and the cast has a strong understanding of the Coward style. The set is effective and well thought out, starting with the balcony of the two hotel suites making use of one half the stage during the first act. After intermission, the wall of the hotel suite was taken down and the sprawling Paris plat takes over the full stage. Each location is imbued with the proper feel and nuances of the period. The costumes show not only time and place, but class as well, and do a fine job of contributing to each individual character. The palette of both the set and the costumes fit well the overall tone of frivolity in the show.

The first act was marred by a few line stumbles that, though well covered, remain obvious when performing this well-known Coward work. Likewise, the ill-placed railing of the first act balcony set blocked the view from the first two rows and is typical of the consternating decision-making processes that have hampered numerous Rubicon productions in the past. Other oversights such as inconsistencies in the physical confirmations, noiseless slaps, and a general haughtiness among the theatre staff combined to leave one with somewhat of a feeling of carelessness in a production that otherwise was very enjoyable.

The cast contains many L.A. favorites in roles that fit them well. Joseph Fuqua is at home in his role and seems as if he might have stepped directly out of the time period, delivering every inch the droll society gentleman archetype. As Amanda, Granata is as fiery as she is ferocious and delivers especially well during her numerous the yelling bouts. Lindsay conveys perfectly Sybil’s sweet and innocent ingénue demeanor while maintaining a great depth of humor in defending and berating her beloved Elyot. Miller’s Victor was appealing and original, discovering new laughs and lending a gentlemanly air to the role. The performances across the board from the entire cast display a keen eye in casting and strong talent in performance.

Director Andrew Barnicle is deserving of considerable praise for creating a world of which Coward would approve. Each moment seems to lead into the next and the somewhat stilted and dated pitfalls that are inherent in any script of this time period are deftly side stepped here. The lighting and sound give strong ambiance, as do the well-selected props that are tossed about with reckless abandon.

The greatest judge of any work should be the audience, and with numerous bursts of laughter, they gave this production of Private Lives a very public vote of approval.

Grease is among the most well-known and successful musicals of all time. The sheer number of times it has been seen on local stages is daunting and keeping it fresh can prove to be a challenge.

The Ojai Arts Center Theater’s current production of the 1971 classic musical Grease is staged in the typical fashion and makes use of the inherent strengths of the script and musical numbers that have made this work a favorite of small theatres across the country for decades. However, it also falls victim to the pitfalls of the notoriety and familiarity that come with a work that is so often performed.

Grease tells the story of bad boy Danny Zuko (Kieran Culliton) and his band of brothers who wreak musical havoc on their 1959 adolescent community. The angelic Sandy Dumbrowski (Kytriena Payseno) provides the love interest as well as the cultural conflict that is the motivating force behind the show. Written in more than a decade after the year in which it is set, the story is made more appealing by the iconic images of leather jackets, high school lockers, hot rods and drive ins that have instant meaning to those of us who fondly remember the era. As Danny and Sandy navigate the waters of young love, the secondary plot lines focus on the sometimes silly and sometimes important themes of growing up, gang affiliations, lost loves, and teen pregnancy.

This local production profoundly misses the full potential that the show holds, but there is some strength within the individual performances. The production elements are less than ideal with an odd color palate selection that seems to be more high school production than high school ambiance. The singers in the cast often lacked character, and major line flubs left the audience at times confused and underwhelmed. Pockets of family members appeared to cheer the songs sung by their loved ones and larger production numbers, but there was very little through line to keep the audience involved over the course of the action. While much if this may be contributed to a lack of artistic daring, some of it was simply due to a lack of performance energy from the cast.

The voices and harmonies showed glimpses of promise, as did the lighting design and some tech elements. The overall tone of this production, however, fails mightily to reach anything past toe-tapping pleasantry. Grease has always been an audience favorite, but when dated themes meet with apathetic presentation, there is no way to catch the lighting in that bottle.

Theatre on the Coast

Seeing shows in Oxnard, Santa Monica, and Ventura this weekend!