The Importance of Being Earnest at Lakewood

Éclat, élan, and earnest elegance

by Michael Dresdner

The cast                                                                                                          Photo by Dean Lapin                                  

The Importance of Being Earnest, which opened last night at Lakewood Playhouse, is undoubtedly the best of Oscar Wilde’s biting satires. It is, by any reckoning, an outstanding and completely enjoyable play to watch; flawlessly written, hilarious, and just dripping with those questionable British values Wilde saw as the underbelly of Victorian society, and skewered mercilessly.

I adore this play so much that I watch or read some iteration of it several times each year, both to bolster my own moral turpitude and to remind myself to always keep a sharp tongue in my head.

Or is that civil?

Whatever. The point is that a play of such perfection demands a director and cast equal to its brilliance. That is precisely what director Marilyn Bennett and her superb cast have given to us lucky Lakewood Playhouse patrons; a shiny, perfect apple of a comedy just bursting with juicy delight.

Ah, yes; you need a short synopsis, right? Trust me, it’s the amazing characters and gleefully funny dialog that makes this play, not the plot, but here goes.

Two elegant bachelor pals discover that they both engage in elaborate fictions to allow them to escape societal demands and instead pursue pleasure. They both pine for well-born young ladies, and thanks in part an inexplicable allure of the name, both insist they are called Ernest.

There are some serious obstacles, beyond the obvious fact that neither is actually named Ernest. One yearns for the cousin of the other, who is saddled with a gorgon of a mother blocking the way because of the suitor’s lack of any apparent parentage. The other yearns for the young, pretty ward of the first, but unless both are happily paired, neither will be. A lost cigarette case, a lost satchel, a lost novel, a lost baby, and a once careless former nursemaid help make a complete scramble of this Mexican standoff, but don’t worry. At the end, all is resolved in a comically unlikely manner, and everyone ends up happy.

Now for the good stuff; the lead actors.

The Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax (Deya Ozburn) is the daughter of Lady Bracknell, the inamorata of John Worthing (Bryan K. Bender), and the cousin of Algernon Moncrieff (Andrew Kittrell), who in turn pines for Worthing’s ward, Cecily Cardew (Cassie Jo Fastabend).

Ladies first, gentlemen!

Ozburn is amazing, adroitly donning the imperious, duplicitous mantle of Gwendolen with flawless timing, an unerring balance of coy sweetness and cutting innuendo, and a set of postures and mannerisms that make her the very best Gwendolen I’ve ever seen, on stage or screen. It was an absolutely perfect performance.

Did you catch all that? Good, because I am about to repeat exactly the same thing three more times, for Fastabend’s Cecily, Kittrell’s Algernon, and Bender’s John Worthing. Each actor crafted the epitome of Wilde’s characters with the same flawless timing, balance, delivery, and physical mannerisms.

Fastabend (L) and Ozburn spy on a seated Kittrell                 photo by Dean Lapin

Fastabend gave us a Cecily bursting with both kittenish enthusiasm and womanly wiles, her sweet innocence hiding the razor sharp claws of cutting verbal retort. Kittrell was a joy to watch as the suave, slightly foppish, thoroughly hedonistic Algernon. And last, though anything but least, was Bender, an actor who has consistently created some of the best performances we’ve seen on these local stages (Mozart, Benedick, Macbeth). His John Worthing was simply perfect; the ideal balance of refined, responsible landowner, and earnest, love-struck suitor.

The rest of the cast, Lady Bracknell (Syra Beth Puett), Rev. Chausuble (Aaron J. Schmookler), the butler, Merriman (Tony Onorati), manservant Lane (Michael Sandner), Miss Prism (Lee Ryan) and the housemaid, Felicity (Laura Shearer) are also quite good and definitely hold their own, but the leads set the bar impossibly high, and to be honest, those four love-struck leads both steal and make this show.  

It is a credit to both director and cast that every word, every nuance, and every bitingly funny line was crisp, clear, and perfectly understandable. That should be taken for granted, but becomes a problem surprisingly often. The director’s pacing was so wonderful that the time flew by, and as it should be, we were left wanting more.

Let’s not forget the splendid costumes by the always excellent Alex Lewingon, a cleverly simple set by Robin Dean, Larry Hagerman, and Hally Phillips, lighting by Alex Smith, sound by John Burton, and props by Patrick Casados. And, because they invisibly keep things running like a well-oiled machine, a nod to the stage manager, Kali Raisi.

Even the seating deserves an honorable mention. Lakewood is partway through the process of replacing the seats in the entire theatre, and we had the good fortune to sit in the new ones. They are sinfully luxurious and unjustifiably comfortable. Patron sponsorship is helping to pay for them, so we dutifully “bought” a seat, which will now sport a plaque with our august names engraved on it. Fairly few seats are left unsponsored, so if you want to be a theater immortal, talk to the box office.

The Importance of Being Earnest is the final play of the season, and I can think of no better way to go out in a blaze of glory than with a production that is so superb, so funny, and so thoroughly delightful. Go see it; I can confidently guarantee you an evening of pure, unadulterated pleasure. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

June 14^th to July 14^th, 2013

Lakewood Playhouse

http://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/

The Laramie Project at TLT

Tolerance  is not enough

by Michael Dresdner

Photo by Galen Wicks 

“There are stories we love to tell, and there are stories we have to tell.”

That’s what actor Mark Peterson wrote in lieu of his bio in the playbill for The Laramie Project at Tacoma Little Theatre, and as is often the case with Mark, he aptly summed up just why this play is and should be on the TLT stage. 

The Laramie Project surrounds the murder and torture of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was brutally beaten and left to die tied to a fence outside Laramie in 1998. However, that is only a small part of the very real story this play tells.

The writers, Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, went to Laramie and conducted hundreds of interviews of the people there. With that they crafted not a slanted piece of propaganda or a shock tale, but rather an astonishingly even-handed revelation of what really happened and how the locals responded in both words and actions. It is that very honesty and lack of bias that makes this play so powerful.

Make no mistake; it is powerful. It’s the sort of theatre that does its job; to bring you to a very real place that you have not been before by taking you inside the minds of those who witnessed reality. For that reason alone it is well worth seeing.

Of course, if you are going to experience this, and you should, thank your lucky stars if you can see it with a cast of this caliber. Director Brie Yost deserves the accolades for that. Her genius began with assembling the ideal cast, then continued as she led them to create true éclat.

Jen Aylsworth, Russ Coffey, Mike Cooper, Rachel Fitzgerald, Marty Mackenzie, Jefri Peters, Mark Peterson, Tiffani Pike, and Jeremy Thompson each took on an average of ten roles apiece, flipping effortlessly between wildly divergent characters. They did it, to an actor, flawlessly. I could endlessly call out exceptional scenes for each and every one of them. Instead, I’ll just say this is as fine an ensemble cast as one can imagine.

What also comes across is the distinct feeling that the cast has bonded with one another well beyond the normal realm of what a production requires. Perhaps because of that, they adroitly become the close-knit Tectonic Theater Project, then become the varied and sundry Laramie denizens, all with gratifying proficiency.

Rounding out the experience was the support of an equally fine production and design staff. Sets are by Lex Gernon, costumes and props by Jeffery Weaver, lighting by Niclas R. Olson, and the stage manager is Bethany Bevier.

Don’t be put off by what sounds like a depressing subject. The Laramie Project is, in spite of its general subject matter, a thoroughly moving theatre experience. Go see it, for this is a show whose seats should be filled every night. Yes, Tacoma Little Theatre deserves your support for making this available, but far more than that, as a living, breathing human, you deserve to experience this sort of emotional fulfillment.

The Laramie Project

June 7 to June 23, 2013

Tacoma Little Theatre

www.tacomalittletheatre.com


For Alec Clayton's take on this play, make sure you read the review at his blog: 

http://alecclayton.blogspot.com/2013/06/tacoma-little-theatre-takes-on-laramie.html

Little Shop of Horrors at TLT

Little slice of heaven

by Michael Dresdner

photos by Galen Wicks

L to R, back: Deshanna Brown, Alexandria Henderson, Kenya Adams. Front: Benjamin Cournoyer.

Laurels are definitely in order for Tacoma Little Theatre's current offering of Little Shop of Horrors, a high camp, over-the-top musical comedy that hides its dark side with exaggerated stereotypes, impossible situations, and flat out gaudy silliness. It’s a wonderful, lively romp with a sterling cast, an inventive set (Micheal O’Hara), great direction (Maria Valenzuela), superb musical backing (Terry O’Hara), and of course, the delightful puppets comprising Audrey II, in all their growing iterations.

Little Shop started out life in 1960 as a B movie reputedly based on a 1932 short story about a man-eating (person eating?) plant.  It was shot for only $30K and laced with enough Jewish humor that some saw it as anti-Semitic. Much of the Jewish humor remains. For instance, owner Mushnik’s top customer is the Shiva Funeral home, a not at all subtle reference to sitting shiva, the traditional Jewish seven day mourning practice.  

L to R: Andrew Fry, Benjamin Cournoyer, Gretchen Boyt 

Seymour (Benjamin Cournoyer), who is the spitting image of Toad from American Graffiti, works for Mr. Mushnik (Andrew Fry) in his skid row NY flower shop. Just after an eclipse, Seymour finds and buys an odd plant that seems to thrive only on human blood. He names it Audrey II after his beautiful but ditzy co-worker, Audrey (Gretchen Boyt), the secret love of his life who is in an abusive relationship with a sadistic dentist (Justin Michael Thornton) . As Audrey II grows ever larger, the plant brings fame and fortune to the shop, eventually sorting out all the personal issues afoot, though not necessarily in a good way.

Cournoyer is wonderfully nerdy as Seymour, though admittedly, his singing does not quite come up to his acting chops. The same is true of Fry’s gruff, decidedly Jewish Mushnik. Boyt is delightfully slinky as the lower east side denizen Audrey, replete with great singing voice and convincing accent. Thornton , as her dentist boyfriend, sings, dances, and struts magnificently, doing yeoman service not only in that role, but in three other smaller ones as well. Unseen but just as vital is James Wrede working the series of oversized Audrey II puppets, all voiced by Carmen Brantley-Payne. Both work mostly behind the scenes but also have bit parts on stage.  

Shining through this overall excellent cast is an amazing doo wop trio. With names reminiscent of the “girl groups” of the 60’s, they act as a Greek chorus to fill in background and story lines with sixties era style song and dance. Crystal (Alexandria Henderson ), Ronnette (Kenya Adams), and Chiffon (Deshana Brown) are a most endearing triple threat in both senses of the term, separately and together delighting the audience with their considerable singing, dancing, and acting skills. In many ways, they are both the glue that ties everything together and the high point of the play.

All the support work is equally noteworthy. O’Hara’s rotating, two-sided sets, convincingly aged with Brie Yost’s noteworthy painting skills, create just the right mood when amplified by Niclas R. Olson’s lighting. Michele Graves’ costumes, as usual, are excellent, especially the doo wop trio, who are also aided by Jimmy Shield’s fine choreography. Unseen but definitely worth kudos was a terrific band, whose names are unfortunately omitted from the program. I don’t know who you are, but my hat’s off to you.

Taken as a whole, it’s fun, it’s boisterous, and it’s silly, but it’s definitely worth your time. Go see Little Shop of  Horrors while it continues its run at Tacoma Little Theatre. It’s a worthy musical finale for this season’s main stage offerings.

Little Shop of Horrors

May 3 to 26, 2013

Tacoma Little Theatre

www.tacomalittletheatre.com

The Rainmaker at Lakewood Playhouse

Rainy day people

by Michael Dresdner

L to R: Mason Quinn, Elliot Weiner                           Photo by Dean Lapin 

  

Lakewood Playhouse, apparently set on making us forget about how wet it is this April, has brought the arid, depression-era play The Rainmaker to its stage. This 1954 property is not to be confused with the Grisham lawyer novel/movie of the same name.

A traveling con man named Starbuck (Bruce Story) blows into a drought- crippled town and promises rain in 24 hours in exchange for $100, at the time a serious sum. Insinuating himself into a cattle-raising family, he insists they each engage in a variety of somewhat embarrassing and pointless acts. It’s part distraction and part technique to make them have skin in his game of believing, and intentionally or not, he becomes a catalyst for change.

Sparked either directly or inadvertently by his actions, those he touches overcome their fears. The untrusting learn to hope, the timid become brave, and the self-doubting learn to love, both themselves and those they yearn for but believe are out of reach.

If this sounds like a darker, less melodic version of The Music Man, you’re on the right track. (For what it is worth, The Rainmaker opened on Broadway three years before The Music Man.)

There are some exceptional performances afoot here. Elliot Weiner does a wonderfully subtle job as the father, H. C. Curry, who, after his wife’s death, became a softer, more guiding parent. He accepts and loves his children for exactly who they are, and gently tries to steer each to what he or she needs.

Elder son Noah (Jacob Tice) has taken over running the ranch, and by extension, the family. It’s a burden, but also a bulwark to support his cynical pragmatism, and an excuse to influence his siblings. Younger brother Jim (Mason Quinn), whom Noah sees as rather stupid, is instead a delightfully realistic chap who wins us over with his trusting, energetic hopefulness.

Anchoring it all is a superbly cast sister, Lizzie (Tanya Barber), who believes herself to be too plain to ever land a man, a self-doubt Noah encourages. Her catharsis is at the root of the play.

Rounding out the small cast are the very believable deputy File (Jed Slaughter), emotionally crippled by a divorce he can barely admit to himself, and his constant and stalwart Sheriff (Ernie Heller.) While Story’s Starbuck is not the spellbinder that Preston’s Harold Hill was, he does bring a dose of enthusiastic self-assurance, and does a credible turn in his seduction scene with Lizzie.

All this takes place on an beautifully clever stage designed by Judy Cullen. There are actually three sets; a house, an office, and a barn. All are hidden in plain sight when not being used, thanks in large part to excellent lighting (and dark) effects by Niclas R. Olson.

Diane Runkel does a fine job, as usual, with appropriate costumes, and sound designer John Burton adds another dimension both with accurately subtle sound effects and with superbly chosen musical interludes between the scenes. I can’t say the same about the fight scenes; the fight choreography definitely needs work, and perhaps that will improve during its run.

In the final analysis, I came away feeling that in spite of a lot of great actors and characterizations on that stage, at least as far as opening night was concerned, the whole fell short of the magic that it could be. Perhaps it will improve with age, but even in its nascent state, there’s enough to make it worth seeing.

The Rainmaker

April 19^th to May 12^th, 2013

Lakewood Playhouse

http://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org

It's a Good Day for Miss Peggy Lee

Postscript

by Michael Dresdner

In case you were wondering, the one night show It’s a Good Day for Miss Peggy Lee at Centerstage turned out to be all that I had hoped for, and a good deal more.

As usual, David Duvall both led his stalwart band (Bruce Carpenter, Rich Cole, Paul Baron, Bud Jackson, Bill Branvold, Don Miller, Jon Miller, Don Dieterich) and crafted an absolutely delightful evening that would rival the best of Las Vegas.

But what really put it over the top was headliner Lindsey Larson.

With a cool, sweet, bell-like voice and a superb on-stage demeanor, she charmed the audience and adroitly made Peggy Lee’s music come alive (again.) It was not just a great voice, mind you, but straightforward delivery coupled with a wonderful range of expression. True to the scope of Miss Lee’s long and varied career, she zipped fluidly through a wide pantheon of musical styles, and I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job of it.  

In short, a brilliant impresario led an excellent orchestra behind a vocalist that was perilously easy to adore.  

Hey, I told you not to miss it.

IT’S A GOOD DAY FOR MISS PEGGY LEE

Putting on the dog

by Michael Dresdner

Lindsey Larson                  Photo: Jason Ganwich

I’ll admit it; my first real awareness of Peggy Lee was as Peg, the sultry lhasa apso in Disney’s classic Lady and the Tramp who sings “He’s a Tramp” to her fellow dog pound inmates. That’s after she voices the film’s two evil Siamese cats, Si and Am, and Lady’s owner, Darling.

No matter; whether animated or live, any way you discover Peggy Lee is a good way.

For those of us who’d like to rediscover, or at least revisit, this amazing icon of songwriting and performing, there’s good news. David Duvall and his Purple Phoenix Productions will be offering a ONE NIGHT ONLY tribute concert of Peggy Lee songs at Centerstage.  

Doing the vocal honors will be Lindsey Larson, a local Seattle singer with a more than respectable performance pedigree. She’ll be backed by the Purple Phoenix Orchestra, replete with Duvall’s own arrangements.

You can look forward to a host of great Peggy Lee tunes, like “Why Don’t You Do Right?” (yes, that’s the one Jessica Rabbit sang in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), “I Don’t Know Enough About You”, “Mañana”, “Just For A Thrill”, “Where Or When”, “I’m A W-O-M-A-N”, “It’s A Good Day”, “Big Spender”,

“The Folks Who Live On The Hill”, “Don’t Smoke In Bed” and her trademark hit “Fever”.

Luckily, you don’t need to be a “Big Spender” to enjoy this concert, but you do need to act quickly. Duvall has done a number of similar outstanding one night tributes (Patsy Cline, Lena Horne, Nat “King” Cole, Bobby Darin, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Rosemary Clooney) and they tend to sell out completely. That’s for good reason; they are amazingly well produced and performed, superbly paced, and generally a sheer delight.

To quote another great Peggy Lee tune, you may well leave the theater humming “Is That All There Is?” and wishing the wonderful experience could go on and on.  

In any case, if you, like me, are a lover of Peggy Lee, don’t miss it.

IT’S A GOOD DAY FOR MISS PEGGY LEE

Saturday April 13, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.  

ONE NIGHT ONLY

Centerstage Theatre  

http://www.centerstagetheatre.com/

The Joy Luck Club at TLT

Red dragon

by Michael Dresdner

It must have felt like going out on a limb for Tacoma Little Theatre to tackle the daunting but superbly written play The Joy Luck Club, based on the deservedly best-selling book by Amy Tan. If so, it was a gamble that paid off handsomely, for the result is astonishingly good and very moving theatre.

The story revolves around four women who formed a mahjong club shortly after emigrating from China to San Francisco, and the complex and often troubled relationships they share with their American born (and Americanized) daughters. Beyond a mere club, the mahjong game reflects both the glue that binds the women and a framework for their life lessons.  

Breaking the fourth wall, both generations of women tell a series of captivating stories directly to the audience. The histories and scenes they describe are cleverly amplified by other actors in small vignettes, or as crisp silhouettes we see moving across a back-lit scrim as they narrate.

Through the mothers’ and daughters’ tales we learn of their often painful pasts, the varied and sometimes convoluted routes that brought the mothers to America, and how their history shaped both who they are and how each generation relates to the other. Thanks to cultural differences in their styles of communication, there is often misunderstanding. The older women expect their daughters to correctly infer their feelings and lessons from what, to the daughters raised around American straightforwardness, often seems a confusing and contradictory set of cryptic signals.

The stories go back three generations and are told in fits rather than with linear continuity. It may seem a bit disjointed at first, but by the end, all the story threads come together to reveal a tightly knit tapestry of history that spans over 80 years, linking two countries and four extended families. Ultimately, the younger generation comes to understand both where they fit as Americans, and how deeply they are still tied to their Chinese roots.

A large and universally excellent ensemble cast plays over 100 different roles in this intricate exercise in compelling storytelling. It would be folly to try and call out each for the myriad of excellent performances they turned in, so I’ll just say they all deserve serious accolades. Admittedly, I was particularly taken with Leilani Berinobis’ Lindo, Ruth Yeo’s Waverly, and all the American boyfriends played by Dan Theyer, but believe me, they were just a few high spots in a very elevated playing field.

Behind the fine acting was brilliant direction by David Hsieh, who crafted a varied and visually compelling tableau from a series of intricate narrations. With spot-on pacing and blocking, he grippingly illuminated the pain, confusion, and joy that the stories revealed.

All this took place across a visually stunning and rather clever multi-level set designed by Burton K. Yuen. It was made up of both horizontally and vertically placed gigantic mahjong tiles that acted as walls, doors, and seating areas bordering the aforementioned scrim, which was trimmed out to look like an Asian-style screen.

With so many stories portrayed by so many actors, there was a seemingly endless parade of superb costumes by Michele Graves, and an equally dizzying array of lighting effects beautifully designed by Niclas R. Olson. In short, it was an outstanding cast led by a terrific director and backed up by an inspired support crew.

Both as a cultural stretch and as first-rate theatre, The Joy Luck Club should not be missed. This is a rara avis even among the many fine theatre offerings in this area. Do yourself a favor and make time to see this outstanding production, which truly is a joy to behold.

The Joy Luck Club

March 15 to April 7, 2013

Tacoma Little Theatre

http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/