‘A Behanding In Spokane’ at SF Playhouse: laugh till your sides ache but beware of flying body parts
(Rating: 4 Stars » Highly Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Carmichael (Rod Gnapp) is on a quest. Many years ago, outside Spokane, a group of drunken “hillbillies” kidnapped him, tied him to a railroad track, and watched as an oncoming locomotive severed his hand. They absconded with the hand and used it to wave goodbye at the hapless boy as they stumbled away, laughing, into the woods. That’s Carmichael’s story and he’s sticking to it.
There is no doubt, however, that he is missing a hand. And he has spent the past twenty years tracing down hand dealers in hopes of finding his own. Will tonight be the night? Alex and Melissa, loser drug dealers stumbling into the missing hand business, have promised to deliver the goods.
The premise is peculiar, but the humor that playwright Martin McDonagh develops from this setup is classic situation comedy and farce. There’s mistaken identity, unlikely twists of fate, peculiar characters, and physical mayhem.
If this were Neil Simon, we would have flying linguini splattered against the wall. With McDonagh its bullets and body parts, but the laughs are the same.
Rod Gnapp as the one-handed Carmichael in SF Playhouse’s production of Martin McDonagh’s “A Behanding In Spokane”. Wait’ll you get an eyeful of what’s in the suitcase! Photo Credit: SF Playhouse.
As the play opens, Carmichael draws a gun and steps into the closet of a dingy hotel room (perfectly realized by set designer Bill English). We hear the frightened voice of a hostage followed by a gunshot. Has Carmichael committed a murder? There is a knock at the door. The reception desk guy wants to know about the gunshot. He thinks there may have been a drug deal gone bad.
“Come on,” asks a plaintive Carmichael. “Do I look like I’m involved in the drug business?”
“Totally,” comes the deadpan reply.
Later, Mervyn the reception desk guy (a pathetically bizarre Alex Hurt) delivers a show stopping comic monologue about his longing for adventure that includes this gem: “I always used to hope they’d have one of those shooting massacres at my high school, y’know? Didn’t you? Nothing ever happened at my high school.” Funny with an ache of reality.
Before we’re through, we’ll also hear Carmichael in a hysterical phone call with his mother: “I AM a racist Mom, really, no, I DON’T have a Black friend. He’s lying!”
This is surely one of the most offbeat black comedies you’ll ever see, playing like the result of a mad coupling between Neil Simon and Quentin Tarantino. It is a beautifully designed clockwork comic construction and you will likely laugh your head off (not literally, one hopes, given the gruesome body part count).
This well-balanced four hander spreads the comic gold equally among four excellent actors, each of whom delivers show stopping moments of laughter.
A Behanding In Spokane continues through June 30, 2012. Click here for further information.
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“A Behanding In Spokane” by Martin McDonagh, produced by SF Playhouse. Director: Susi Damilano. Set: Bill English. Lights: Michael Palumbo. Sound: Cliff Caruthers. Costumes: Miyuki Bierlein. Properties: Jacquelyn Scott.
Toby: Daveed Diggs. Carmichael: Rod Gnapp. Mervyn: Alex Hurt. Marilyn: Melissa Quine.
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Related articles
- Review: ‘A Behanding in Spokane’ at SF Playhouse (mercurynews.com)
A.C.T. faces up to Samuel Beckett with ‘Endgame’ and ‘Play’
(Rating: 3 Stars » Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Samuel Beckett was not a playwright who catered to audience whims. His works are difficult to understand, bizarre, wordy, repetitive, yet riveting. Nobody else writes like Beckett, and, with effort, nobody satisfies in quite the same way either. He deals with existential questions and does not believe in sugar coating his bitter pills. Yet, paradoxically, few playwrights are as wickedly funny as was this dogged Irishman.
Carey Perloff’s production of two Becket plays, the rarely seen Play and the widely known Endgame does not achieve the full potential greatness of these works, but gives us some fine performances, intelligent staging and a satisfactory time at the theatre, especially for Beckett aficionados.
The evening’s opener, Play, gives us three actors (a man and two women) in what appear to be funeral urns, with only their heads visible. They begin to speak simultaneously, incomprehensibly, full of emotion. After a moment, the light goes out. Then each actor is picked up by individual spotlights that rapidy shift from one to another. They deliver brief speeches, at an astonishingly rapid pace, gradually unveiling the story of a marriage torn apart by adultery. The details are difficult to grasp, particularly given the high speed performance. The language is elusive, repetitive, poetic, communicating as much by sound as by content. We are left with the impression of three people locked together forever (are they in the afterlife?) in a replay of their emotional interdependency, repeatedly going around in circles, never arriving. And then it stops.
This is not typical fare, of course, and some will find it merely puzzling. But for those who have a taste for the obscure and a tolerance for poetic language that may obfuscate as much as it reveals, this packs a solid emotional wallop. The three actors (René Augesen, Annie Purcell and Anthony Fusco) are all excellent.
Hamm (Bill Irwin, left) and his servant, Clov (A.C.T. core acting company member Nick Gabriel), in Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame”, performing together with Beckett’s one-act “Play” at the American Conservatory Theater through Sunday, June 3, 2012. Photo credit: Kevin Berne.
Endgame is more accessible, but equally eccentric. Hamm (Bill Irwin), bitter and bound to a wheelchair, is cared for by his servant Clov (Nick Gabriel), barely able to walk himself. These two also care for Hamm’s extremely aged parents, Nell (Barbara Oliver) and Nagg (Giles Havergal) who are kept in lidded trash cans and only occasionally permitted to poke their heads out for food. As these four absurd figures banter and abuse one another, we gradually realize that they are living in a post apocalyptic world. There are no other people and the food is nearly gone. Their personal deaths, the death of the world, the end of time—all this is imminent. They have no choice but to play out their Endgame with one another.
In Beckett’s hands, such desperate extremes are opportunities for comedy. Really, the absurdity and horror of bickering, demanding old folk kept literally in trash cans and fed dog biscuits cannot fail to evoke embarrassed laughter. In “Director’s Remarks”, Carey Perloff says that, “There is something hilarious and heartbreaking about the enormous longing embedded in Beckett’s characters. Trapped in frustrated lives, seemingly devoid of meaning, they long (like all of us) for escape, for love, for release, for transcendence, for amusement, for a better way to pass the time.”
Few actors are as capable as Bill Irwin to distill comedy from these unlikely circumstances. His eccentric Hamm will definitely make audiences laugh and squirm. He is more than ably supported by the other cast members. This is a true ensemble.
Audience appreciation will be greatly enhanced by the publication “Words On Plays”, available at the theatre, which includes several enlightening essays by director Carey Perloff and A.C.T.’s dramaturgical staff.
Play and Endgame continue at A.C.T. for a limited run through June 3, 2012. For further information, click here.
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“Play” and “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett, produced by A.C.T. Director: Carey Perloff. Scenery: Daniel Ostling. Costumes: Candice Donnelly. Lighting: Alexander V. Nichols. Sound Design: Fabian Obispo.
CAST OF “PLAY”
W1: René Augesen. M: Anthony Fusco. W2: Annie Purcell.
CAST OF “ENDGAME”
Clov: Nick Gabriel. Nagg: Giles Havergal. Hamm: Bill Irwin. Nell: Barbara Oliver.
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Hillbarn Theatre: ‘The Producers’ will make you chortle with delight
(Rating: 3/5 Stars » Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Mel Brooks came to the startled attention of the American public with his 1968 debut film, The Producers. Critic Roger Ebert recalls encountering Mr. Brooks in a New York elevator shortly after it opened and hearing a lady announce, “Mr. Brooks, I think your film is vulgar.” Brooks replied, “Lady, my film rises below vulgarity!” That year, Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
The Producers are Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, who set out to make a fortune by finding the worst possible play, overselling stock, and absconding with the money when the play inevitably fails. The worst possible play, however, “Springtime For Hitler”, is an unexpected hit. The film, which featured a chorus of goose stepping Nazis, a Hitler under the influence of L.S.D. and a stage director in drag who is astounded to learn that “the Third Reich was Germany!” has been called a cult classic since the day of its release.
In 2001, Brooks successfully reintroduced The Producers as a Broadway musical.
Hillbarn Theatre, a renowned community theatre in Foster City, has revived the musical to close its 71st season. After 71 years, Hillbarn knows how to deliver the goods and The Producers is delightful. Director Bill Starr (himself a veteran of many Broadway performances) knows how to handle his cast of talented amateurs and choreographer Gary Stanford, Jr. does a clever job creating dances that entertain without overtaxing the company.
(from l to r) Dan Demers and Luke Chapman are Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in “The Producers”. Photo Credit: Hillbarn Theatre
The leads are all working at a professional level and featured professional Raymond J. Mendonca as Roger DeBris is excellent. His performance-within-a-performance as a comical Adolph Hitler leaves nothing to be desired.
Dan Demers is fine as Max Bialystock, and especially funny in the tour-de-force “Betrayed” musical number in which he retells the entire plot of the show.
Most impressive, however, is a knockout performance by Luke Chapman as Leo Bloom. Mr. Chapman is a Foster City native and graduate of the theatre program at UC Santa Barbara, on the verge of a successful career. He is the proverbial triple threat (singer, dancer and actor) and obviously ready to hit New York. The Bay area is lucky to have him.
Every true theatre lover should occasionally make a visit to a community theatre. Professional resumes aren’t everything. Where else will you see the likes of ensemble performer Kay (Kiki) Susanne Arnaudo who has performed or assisted (on a volunteer basis) in over 200 Hillbarn productions since 1964? You can’t beat that.
The Producers continues at Hillbarn Theatre through May 27. For further information, click here.
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“The Producers”, a musical by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan, produced by Hillbarn Theatre. Director: Bill Starr. Musical Director: Greg “Suds” Sudmeier. Choreographer: Gary Stanford, Jr. Set: Gary Wong. Lighting: Don Coluzzi. Costumes: Mae Heagerty-Matos and Shannon Maxham.
Max Bialystock: Dan Demers. Leo Bloom: Luke Chapman. Franz Liebkind: Ron Lopez, Jr. Carmen Ghia: Greg Lynch. Ulla: Kate Paul.
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Cutting Ball Theater’s ‘Tenderloin’ is a gem of empathy and compassion
(Rating: 3/5 Stars » Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
When the company of Tenderloin, working as an ensemble, recreates the look and feel of the city streets outside the theatre doors, the effect is uncanny. The sounds, the gestures, the body language, the dress perfectly recreate the neighborhood. This is theatre absolutely rooted in its community and it is an impressive accomplishment. You can practically smell the sidewalks.
The evening doesn’t quite hold together dramatically, as the series of monologues and occasional conversations that comprise the show are loosely linked and there is a lack of plot. Granted, there is some tension generated in the exploration of the recent political history of the Tenderloin and the conflicts that have arisen between real estate interests and activists but this is not the main point of this show.
That point is to sympathetically bring to the stage the real life personalities who live and work in the Tenderloin and on that account the production is an unqualified success. Based on actual interviews with local residents, the monologues are true-to-life, funny, touching, enlightening and lovingly crafted by a fine company of actors who have paid attention to detail.
Kathy and Leroy Looper (Rebecca Frank and David Sinaiko), owners of the Cadillac Hotel and Tenderloin community activists, describe the Tenderloin as a “containment zone”. Photo Credit: Cuttingball Theatre
Acting across genders and generations, the company of six actors create an astonishing array of nearly two dozen characters, each clearly differentiated. These folk range from tough, angry, yet compassionate Police Captain Gary Jimenez, played by Michael Uy Kelly (who reminds us that “…the Tenderloin is the best part of the cut”) to soft spoken Vietnamese immigrant social worker Tony Nguyen, also played by Mr. Kelly. Long time community activists Leroy B. and Kathy Looper are brought to life in striking gender bending performances by Rebecca Frank as Leroy and David Sinaiko as Kathy. The well loved Mr. Cooper passed away last September, and the play is dedicated “to the residents of the Tenderloin and to the memory of Leroy B. Cooper.”
All of the characters in this play are real people; you can meet them on the streets of the Tenderloin and many will be immediately recognizable.
The San Francisco Playhouse’s artistic director Bill English has described theatre as “…an empathy gym where we come to practice our powers of compassion.” With Cutting Ball Theater’s production of Tenderloin, audiences and actors get a heck of a satisfying workout.
Tenderloin continues at Cutting Ball Theater through May 27. For further information click here.
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Tenderloin, a play of transcribed interviews from San Francisco’s Tenderloin, produced by Cutting Ball Theater. Director: Annie Elias. Dramaturg: Erin Moro. Scenic Designer: Michael Locher. Lighting Designer: Stephanie Buchner. Costume Designer: Michelle Mulholland. Sound Design: Matt Stines. Technical Director: Frederic O. Boulay
Ensemble: Tristan Cunningham, Slobhan Doherty, Rebecca Frank, Michael Kelly, Leigh Shaw, David Sinaiko
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11th Annual Bay One Acts Festival: punking the theatre in a celebration of new work
(Rating: 5/5 Stars » Outstanding)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Hipsters: LISTEN UP.
A couple of evenings at the Bay One Acts Festival will change everything you think you know about going to the theatre in San Francisco. Eleven companies present nine short plays in two programs. This is work you will not see at A.C.T., or The Berkeley Rep or Aurora or any of the other mainstream theatre companies with which our community is blessed. Please don’t get me wrong. These larger, more “acceptable” (and funded) companies do wonderful work and TheatreStorm supports and encourages them. But let’s face facts, younger hipper audiences just aren’t going, for the most part. When I recently asked a young friend (just turned 30) why I see so few of his peers at the theatre, he replied, “Well… it’s theatre.” His tone said it all: boring, old-fashioned, irritating, irrelevant, snobbish. Now, this particular fellow is hardly a cultural know-nothing. He is a poet, a journalist, a music promoter, a literary promoter and an unrepentant and enthusiastic scenester. But theatre? Not on your life. I myself am deeply involved in the SF literary scene as well as the theatre scene and it is my impression that they meet no more than Kipling’s East and West.
Another conversation, this one with Rob Ready, one of the producers for PianoFight Productions and executive producer of Bay One Acts. The gist: what is needed are Theatre Punks. Punk The Theatre, we agreed, should be our rallying cry.
My friends, if anything is PUNKING THE THEATRE in San Francisco, it is the Bay One Acts Festival. If you are culturally engaged, but have no time for the theatre, and are willing to reconsider, this is the place to do it.
Here is the full honor roll of eleven local theatre companies of whom you may not have heard but who deserve your attention (and your $$$): 11th Hour Ensemble, Instrumental Theatre, No Nude Men, PianoFight, Playwrights Foundation, Precarious Theatre, Ragged Wing Theatre Ensemble, San Francisco Theatre Pub, Sleepwalkers Theatre and Threshold.
The plays on display at the Festival range from very good to very brilliant. The festival consists of two programs, which can be seen on alternate nights, each lasting about two hours. The plays are performed one after another, back to back, with no introductory matter or long pauses (except for a brief intermission mid-evening). It is as far from boring and irrelevant as you can possibly imagine. Progam One features the highlight of the festival: 11th Hour Ensemble’s The Seagull Project based upon Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, imagined and directed by James Mayagoitia and Megan Trout. This piece is a shining example of “devised work”, which refers to collaborative creation by a group of artists working with a theme, rather than the composition of a single playwright. It is the current avant garde. Working with Chekhov’s script as a jumping off point, the company set out to explore the theme of what it means to be a young artist, to find one’s voice and struggle to make good art. It is fifteen minutes of perfection.
The standout piece in Program Two is Amy Sass’s Maybe Baby, produced by Ragged Wing Ensemble and directed by the playwright. This piece, based on real life interviews, explores the efforts of several young couples trying to start a family in the midst of various challenges. It is funny, authentic, well written and does a superb job of incorporating dance and movement into its storytelling.
All the pieces presented are worthwhile and rewarding. Your time and money will be well spent if you manage to make it to the Bay One Acts Festival. Very highly recommended.
The Bay One Acts Festival continues through May 12th. Be there. For more information, click here.
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AlterTheater: High quality professional theatre presented in a storefront
(Rating: 4/5 Stars » Highly Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
AlterTheater does an excellent job with Jose′ Rivera‘s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, a surreal play full of dream like images that explore the effects of war on the marriage of a young Army officer and his wife. This very moving play won Rivera an Obie when it premiered in 2001 and it is easy to see why.
In the magical opening sequence, a house cat (Jeanette Harrison) is seduced by a coyote (Sean Wesslund), a housewife (Carla Pauli) is seduced by the moon (a very amusing Marvin Greene), and a teenage boy (Marilet Martinez, playing convincingly across gender boundaries) desperately pleads with the housewife for his first taste of love. These surreal stories are communicated with grace and wit by a sexy, passionate cast of actors.
As the play progresses, we realize that we have been watching the frustrated dreams of the housewife, who is awaiting the return of her soldier husband (Matt Jones) from the field. When he does arrive, ready for love, he finds his wife less than welcoming as she confronts him with her frustrations as an army wife. In the intimate scene which follows, he defends his choices, but also reveals the extent to which he has been damaged by war. Rivera’s passionately exposed dialog captures oceans of feeling in these two young people, and we are carried gently through their laughter and tears. It is a touching exploration of a loving marriage under intense pressure.
Matt Jones as Benito and Carla Pauli as Gabriela in AlterTheater’s production of José Rivera’s “References To Salador Dali Make Me Hot”. Photo Credit: Benjamin Privitt.
Designers Wiljago J. Cook, Norman Kern, Aviva Raskin and Selina G. Young have done an amazing job transforming a storefront space into a theatre. The result is uncompromising in its success. There is real theatrical magic in the moments at the top of the evening when the lights change and the storefront is mysteriously transported to the desert. In an astonishingly risky and quite brilliant decision, the windows opening on the street are left without curtains. One can look out the window at passing pedestrians and traffic, and they can look in. The effect of making both audience and performers hyper aware of the theatrical situation is unnerving and highly effective, especially for this surrealistic play. It makes for quite a remarkable experience.
All of the performers in this production shine, but Matt Jones as the husband, Benito, brings a particularly thrilling stage presence. Mr. Jones, an Associate Artist with AlterTheater, has been very active the past year throughout the Bay area and always seems to deliver the goods.
AlterTheater is a remarkable company, creating work of high quality in a very unusual setting, and supporting the efforts of new playwrights. It is well worth the drive to San Rafael to keep tabs on their activities. Highly recommended.
References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot continues through May 20. For further information, click here.
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References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by Jose′ Rivera, produced by AlterTheater. Director: Wilma Bonet. Space Designer: Wiljago J. Cook. Sound Designer: Norman Kern. Costume Designer: Aviva Raskin. Lighting Designer: Selina G. Young. Fight Choreographer: Marilet Martinez.
Gabriela: Carla Pauli. Moon: Marvin Greene. Cat: Jeanette Harrison. Coyote: Sean Wesslund. Martin: Marilet Martinez. Benito: Matt Jones.
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Please write your state representative! This is important for theatre folk.
As a theatre professional, I am very concerned about Assembly Bill No. 2540 that would impose a tax on the purchase of live theatre tickets.
This tax will unfairly burden smaller theatres and have a really chilling effect on the viability of the theatre community. It may be that some people view theatre as a high-ticket, luxury item, enjoyed by folk who could well afford to pay a nominal sales tax on their tickets and that this would be a good revenue source. This may be true for large, well-established for-profit theatres with huge budgets and a substantial subscriber base.
However, for small theatres it would be the kiss of death. Attendees at these theatres are often younger, less affluent audiences made up of students and recent graduates or just relatively poor theatregoers. These individuals have to sacrifice to attend the theatre, as ticket prices are already high, and many of them would have to stop going if faced with this tax.
Furthermore, no similar tax is being proposed for other types of live performance. It is extremely unfair to burden live theatres with this.
Readers, please write your California State Representative and ask him or her to vote NO on Assembly Bill No. 2540. You can find the e-mail address of your Representative by clicking here.
