New Conservatory Theatre Center: ‘The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later’
(Rating: 4/5 » Highly Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young gay man, was brutally beaten, tortured, and left tied to a fence to die. He was discovered by a passing cyclist, who first thought Matthew was a scarecrow. Matthew was taken to the hospital in a coma and died six days later without waking up. It was a shattering event. At the trial, the murders attempted a “gay panic” defense, and other witnesses confirmed the role that hatred of gays played in the violence.
Shortly after, New York City’s Tectonic Theater Company, under the direction of Moises Kaufman, traveled to Laramie to interview local residents and create a theatre piece which they dubbedThe Laramie Project. That piece has since been produced more than 2,000 times, often by drama students in high schools or colleges. It continues to spark controversy.
Ten years later, in 2008, Kaufman and company returned to Laramie for a second set of interviews. The result wasThe Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, which receives its west coast premiere at the New Conservatory Theatre Center.
The dramatic interest here is in what the townspeople have come to believe is the truth about the Matthew Shepard murder. Many now deny that it was a “homosexual hate crime” and insist it was primarily a drug deal gone bad. Some feel that the tragedy has been used by unscrupulous “gay activists” to push a personal agenda. Other town residents are gay activists. The police who investigated the crime were interviewed (they believe it was a hate crime).
Although fascinating, moving, and stimulating, this material is more of historic than dramatic interest. It works well onstage, but is not really a conventional play.
Kaufman has done an excellent job in sequencing the material to build interest in suspense. How, we wonder, did so many townspeople come to believe that this was not a hate crime? It is gradually revealed that a 20/20 TV news special put forth the theory that it was a drug deal gone bad. In one of the more dramatic moments, the police investigator of the original crime describes being interviewed by the 20/20 crew and how he feels he was lied to and manipulated.
The evening builds to two dramatic jailhouse interviews with the young men who committed the heinous crime, Russell Henderson and Araron McKinley. Henderson. Ensemble members Alex Hero and Sal Maltos give extraordinary and unforgettable performances as Russell and Aaron, respectively.
Directory Sara Staley and an excellent ensemble have done an extraordinary job with this important and moving material.
Ron Gasparinetti’s functional set that evokes a rural fence to remind us of the scene of the crime and Christian Mejia’s typical outstanding light design serve the production extremely well.
The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later continues at New Conservatory Theatre Center through April 29. For further information, click here.
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The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, by Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber. Director: Sara Staley. Set: Ron Gasparinetti. Lighting: Christian Mejia. Costumes: Miriam Lewis. Sound: Ali Maggin.
Ensemble: Patrick Barresi, Timothy Beagley, Diana Brown, Alex Hero, Sal Mattos, Natasha Noel, Chris Quintos, Heidi Wolff
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PianoFight: ‘Octopus’s Garden’ brings a gay family to the stage
(Rating: 2/5 Stars » Somewhat Engaging)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
What makes a play stageworthy? I would say that a good play requires an interesting situation and dynamic characters so thoroughly invested in the circumstances that they respond with overwhelming emotional intensity. Characters and situation combined create an explosive result. Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire for example: A desperate woman, clinging to an elevated self-image, visits her newlywed sister and is raped by the sister’s low class husband. It drives her insane. Or Mamet’s American Buffalo: Three lowlifes plan a robbery. One of them is a control freak and when things don’t go his way, his world falls apart. Pressures mount unbearably to the point of violence.
My point? An interesting situation is not enough to make a successful play. Characters and situation must interact in such a way that the result is explosive.
In his first full length play, Scott Herman has given us a very interesting situation. Two lesbian lovers decide to start a family and are struggling with various issues on how to proceed. Is artificial insemination by a stranger the best approach? What about choosing a friend? Which partner should bear the child? Will the biological father be involved with the family?
This situation deserves to be written about. Audiences are interested in families, especially gay ones, as, for many, this is uncharted territory.
But, in this case, it is not enough to make a successful play. Although the situation of two lesbians trying to start a family is interesting in itself, playwright Herman has not created enough of a crisis to make it emotionally involving for the audience.
At the start of the play, we learn that Lilly and Claire are happy together with their daughter, Anna, to whom Lilly gave birth eight years before. Unexpectedly, Anna’s biological father, Grant, has shown up for a visit. Although he was once Lilly’s best friend, he has not been in contact at all in the eight years since Anna’s birth.
Lilly is happy to see Grant, but Claire is angry and frightened.
(l to r) Gabrielle Patacsil as Lilly, Nandi Drayton as Anna and Leah Shesky as Claire in the world premiere of Scott Herman's "Octopus's Garden". Photo Credit: PianoFight.
This is an interesting situation with many possibilities, but, inexplicably, the script does not fully explore them. The largest crisis in the play is when Claire is rude to Grant at the dinner table.
Instead of delving into the current crisis precipitated by Grant’s arrival, Herman’s script proceeds backwards in time, revealing the details of the relationships among these three. Lilly and Grant were best friends. Claire never liked Grant. Lilly and Claire struggled with the issue of artificial insemination. Lilly seduced Grant without telling Claire. The problem is, we know all this from the first scene, so there is no discovery or surprise. And the emotional payoffs just aren’t there.
The actors do their best with the material, and young Nandi Drayton as eight-year-old Anna is remarkably good.
PianoFight is to be congratulated for their commitment to produce original work, and their decision to take on a dramatic play instead of their usual comic shenanigans.
People for whom the issue of starting a gay family is personal and urgent will enjoy seeing their stories reflected on the stage. Others may leave less satisfied.
Octopus’s Garden continues as part of PianoFight’s Triple Threat on Saturday nights through April 28. For further information, click here.
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“Octopus’s Garden” by Scott Herman, produced by PianoFight Productions. Director: Devin McNulty.
Anna: Nandi Drayton. Lilly: Gabrielle Patacsil. Claire: Leah Shesky. Grant: Andrew-Hanson Strong.
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PianoFight’s Female Sketch Comedy Troupe ForePlays: “This American Lie”
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
I am embarrassed to say that I have never reflected on the absence of sketch comedy written by and for females. Never struck me. Many sketch comedy troupes have been sexually integrated. But where is the female equivalent of, say, Monty Python?
This is a scandal.
The producers of PianoFight love a good scandal and do not allow a taste for the (deceptively) low brow to get in the way of their social conscience and their commitment to new work. Hence, they bring us ForePlays — PianoFight’s female driven sketch comedy troupe. These performers have enjoyed ongoing success in the local comedy scene with regular Monday night shows. Currently, they have moved to Friday nights as part of PianoFight’s Triple Threat. If you haven’t seen them before, you should take the opportunity.
This American Lie includes eleven sketches, developed in ForePlays’ writing workshops. The quality varies, but the abundant laughs are more than enough to justify the cost of a ticket.
PianoFight's "Triple Threat" includes performances by comedy troupes MISSION CTRL and FOREPLAY as well as an original drama, "Octopus's Garden" by Scott Herman.
My favorite sketches included “Pass The Salt”, a very funny reflection on the tradition of multigenerational family dinners, with a hell of a beat to boot. Also very funny was “Certified” in which members of various ethnic groups must achieve certification for their ethnic identity before they are allowed to tell ethnic jokes which would otherwise be offensive. This is, of course, an excuse to let loose with lots of politically incorrect material at which we get permission to laugh. It’s a lot of fun.
At each Friday’s performance, ForePlays will include additional guest comedians and musicians. On Friday, the 13th, I had the good luck to see excellent songwriter Debbie Neigher as the musical act and the very, very funny Caitlin Gill as guest comedian.
ForePlays’ This American Lie continues on Friday nights as part of PianoFight’s Triple Threat. For further information, click here.
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PianoFight: Comedy sketch troupe Mission CTRL threatens to make you laugh till you hurt
(Rating: 3/5 Stars » Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Sketch comedy is not quite standup, not quite improvisational and not quite traditional theatre. It’s a goofy hybrid that was born of Vaudeville comedy routines, raised in the variety television series, and attained glorious maturity on The Carol Burnett Show and the early seasons of Saturday Night Live.
Mission CTRL ranks with the best of sketch comedy troupes: think Second City and early SNL. These guys can hold their own as writers and performers. They are sure to be more than a footnote in the comic history of San Francisco—they will be around for a long time. Trust me, you should catch their act now so you can say, “I saw ‘em when….”.
Their current performance, Mission Ctrl Goes Public: The $7 Billion IPO, is a set of thematically linked sketches (very loosely linked) that are as carefully constructed as one act plays. Although they never get too serious, they have taken the time to polish these pieces and it shows.
The writing is impressively intelligent, informed by keen social insight, and manages to include a full range of emotional undertones. While we laugh, we are still moved by intimations of loneliness, genuine friendship, social satire and more.
PianoFight's "Triple Threat" includes performances by comedy troupes MISSION CTRL and FOREPLAY as well as an original drama, "Octopus's Garden" by Scott Herman.
High points include the “Beatbox Exorcism” as a young priest tries to save a teenager who has been possessed by “the devil’s beat”. Hilariously referencing the classic movie, the troupe milks the theme for everything its worth.
In “Carl v. The State of Paranoia” the troupe creates a psychedelic trip involving an elf, a minotaur and a courtroom drama that rivals Alice In Wonderland.
The evening is comprised of a total of ten polished sketches, some more successful than others, all of them delivering the funny.
Best of all, the company does not overly rely upon the titillation value of dirty words and smarmy double entendres, which, happily, doesn’t stop them from getting the most out of a prop dildo and a sequence involving a very elaborate sex machine.
The sketches are intermingled with short films that are as funny as the live performance.
This is a winner all the way down the line. Go. Drink. Laugh. Tell your friends.
Mission CTRL continues as part of PianoFight’s “Triple Threat“, Thursday nights through May 3. For further information, click here.
Magic Theatre: U.S. premiere of Scottish playwright Linda McLean’s moving ‘Any Given Day’
(Rating: 4/5 Stars » Highly Recommended)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
It is a commonplace sort of observation to consider that on any given day, something might happen to change our lives for better or worse. But Linda McLean‘s gentle exploration of this simple theme is anything but commonplace. It is glorious.
McLean’s play delivers what we most hope for in the theatre: a full emotional roller coaster ride from delighted joy to shocked horror and despair and back again. An astonishing range of human experience is encountered in this simple tale of a day in the lives of two couples.
Bill and Sadie (Amy Kossow and Christopher McHale) live in an impoverished but cozy public housing apartment. We quickly realize that they are developmentally disabled. But this does not keep them from loving one another and their intimate relationship is beautifully delineated in McLean’s sparse but poetic language. They are awaiting the visit of someone named Jackie, whom they clearly love, and about whom they are very excited. As they chatter and prepare, we learn of Sadie’s many fears (she is even afraid to open the freezer) and Bill’s protective nature. Somebody throws a stone at their window. Bill must go out to buy a loaf of bread. It is an ordinary day. Soon, they will experience a devastating life changing event. It happens, but we do not see the after effects. And so ends Act I.
In Act II, we see a contrasting scene played out in another location, the Glasgow pub where Jackie works as a bartender. We learn that she is Bill’s neice whose visit Bill and Sadie were awaiting in Act I. Jackie flirts with her boss, Dave, and in the course of their conversation we learn many details of her life. She has been a professional nurse. She has an invalid son, from whom she has been estranged. She is afraid to respond to Dave’s flirtation, but she does anyway. Perhaps it will change her life.
Christopher McHale as Bill and Amy Kossow as Sadie in Magic Theatre's American premiere of Linda McLean's "Any Given Day". Photo credit: Jennifer Reilly.
That’s it. Good things happen. Bad things happen. It could be any given day. The wonder of the play is the way in which the unexpected depths of emotion and spirit that inform the commonplace are revealed and made accessible for the audience to share.
Under the coordinating hand of director Jon Tracy, all of the performances are excellent, but Amy Kossow’s Sadie is more than that. Although Sadie obviously has severe mental disabilities, her emotional life as written by playwright McLean is wide and deep and Kossow captures every nuance. It is wonderful work.
Special mention should be made of Michael Locher’s remarkable set design. The transformation between the settings of Act I and Act II presents true theatrical magic, including an on stage rainstorm and a convincing transition between two dramatically different interiors that takes place right before our eyes. Indeed, the entire design team does exceptional work here.
Clearly, Linda McLean is a playwright in the midst of a distinguished career and she will no doubt be well-known to American audiences before long.
Any Given Day continues through April 22 at the Magic Theatre. For further information, click here.
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“Any Given Day” by Linda McLean, produced by the Magic Theatre. Director: Jon Tracy. Set Design: Michael Locher. Costume Design: Christine Cook. Lighting Design: York Kennedy. Sound Design: Sara Huddleston. Dialect Coach: Deborah Sussel. Fight Direction: Dave Maier. Technical Director: Dave Gardner. Props Design: Angela Nostrand.
Dave: James Carpenter. Sadie: Amy Kossow. Bill: Christopher McHale. Boy: Patrick Alparone. Jackie: Stacy Ross.
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PianoFight Productions: WTF?
PianoFight*: what kind of a name for a theatre company is that?
When I asked this of Rob Ready, cofounder of PianoFight Productions, he responded cryptically: “Most people think it’s Piano Flight.” He offered no further explanation.
When I first met Mr. Ready, he was dressed as Santa Clause, with requisite twinkle in eye. This was not a costume party, but took place at a performance of PianoFight’s annual Christmas production: Merry Forking! Christmas. You’ll find my review here, in which I noted I had not heard so many bad and funny jokes come at me since first seeing the movie Airport!
Another quote from Mr. Ready: “Theatre without beer is ridiculous.”
That is why PianoFight promotes a BYOB (bring your own booze) policy and on occasion passes out bottles from the stage.
Have you caught on that these cats are a bit unusual in their approach?
Most theatre companies talk a lot about art, and the purpose of theatre, and other high falutin’ stuff that is important and valuable and not to be hissed it. But it does tend to encourage the supposition, by hipsters and the like, that theatre is not exactly exciting stuff. PianoFight skips the high culture promotion in favor of some rather startling alternatives: the audience judged playwrighting competition, for example, or (my favorite) “Throw Rotten Veggies At The Actors Night”, or the aforementioned Merry Forking! Christmas show during which audience members vote on how the play will proceed at key turning points in the plot (that, of course, is what the “forking” refers to).
So do you think I’ve established that Piano Fight is kind of low brow? Not a bit! This is a company of such originality that they have been featured in the national edition of the New York Times. In four years, they have produced an impressive total of over 200 original short and full-length plays. Artistic director Rob Ready studied theatre at no less an institution than New York University, one of the premiere theatrical schools nationwide. In addition to co-founding PianoFight, Ready works full time for the Oberlin Dance Collective, one of the most respected cultural institutions in the Bay area.
PianoFight currently has plans to open what Executive Director Dan Williams has called “the holy grail of theatre hubs” to include a theatre, bar and restaurant at the site of the famous Original Joe’s in the middle of the tenderloin. Williams has announced that the company is on track for consideration to receive money from the Cultural District Loan Fund (CDLF) administered by the city. The CDLF is a HUD-backed loan fund with a primary emphasis on financing businesses and development projects that will enhance the area’s cultural arts and entertainment functions. Recently, PianoFight successfully completed the highly competitive process to obtain pre-application approval.
This weekend, PianoFight will open another one of its unusual experiments: the “Triple Threat”. This project takes the unusual approach of opening three shows simultaneously, to be performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. On Thursday nights, comedy troupe Mission CTRL takes the stage. Friday nights will feature This American Lie presented by the popular female-driven sketch comedy and variety troupe, Foreplay. Rounding out the trio on Saturday nights is an original drama by Scott Herman, Octopus’s Garden, about a lesbian couple exploring their options as they try to start a family.
The productions of the “triple threat” will continue each weekend through April 28. For further information, click here.
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*PianoFight is a TheatreStorm sponsor. For further information on TheatreStorm sponsorship, click here.
Shotgun Players ‘Voyage’: this ship is not quite seaworthy
(Rating: 2/5 Stars » Somewhat Engaging)
This reviewer is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)
Tom Stoppard‘s The Coast of Utopia is an extraordinarily ambitious three play trilogy on the intellectual background of the Russian revolution, consisting of Voyage, Shipwreck, & Salvage. Covering a massive amount of historical material, the entire trilogy is a nine hour marathon of intellectual drama. When it played in repertory in New York in 2007, it won seven Tony Awards, the most ever given to a play. It ran for 124 performances and was characterized by Ben Brantley of the New York Times as “the season’s ultimate snob ticket”.
Shotgun Players‘ West Coast premiere of the first of the trilogy, Voyage, is an unwieldy mass of information, with some lovely moments in the midst of confusion.
The play revolves around the family Bakunin, of the Russian nobility. All of the members of the family are under the influence of the intellectual foment that will eventually lead to revolution. They are educated and culturally sophisticated and their conversations and friendships reflect the changing world in which they live.
The performances in this production, however, fail to capture the wit, charm and high culture reminiscent of Chekhovian drama that Stoppard surely intended. It is difficult to believe that this loudmouthed family, shouting everything and clarifying nothing, possess much insight at all. Very little is communicated other than that these people are rich. Instead of giving us genuinely charming and educated aristocrats, we get a great deal of indicating in an unsatisfactory imitation of the style of “Masterpiece Theatre”. It seems as though much more attention has been given to the body language of the servants and the details of the table settings and linens and how they are managed than to the difficult and complicated text. It is mostly symbol with little substance.
(L to R): Christy Crowley, Leanna Sharp, Nesbyth Rieman, Caitlyn Louchard as the Bakunin sisters in Tom Stoppard's "Voyage" at Shotgun Players. Photo Credit: Pak Han.
There are occasional glimpses of what might have been. Zehra Berkman as matriarch Varvara Bakunin has many lovely moments with her husband Alexander Bakunin (played by John Mercer) and several particularly telling interactions with the household servants.
Late in the evening an excellent Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appears as the young Ivan Turgenev. His performance is natural and specific. He appears to have wandered in from another, more successful production. Unfortunately, he arrives too late in the Voyage to save this sinking ship.
The tone of this production is too general and lacking in clarity to successfully educate an audience about the intellectual issues raised and the interesting historical figures portrayed.
However, fans of Tom Stoppard who are willing to look past the flaws of this production will be interested in this opportunity to view the West Coast premiere of this famous play, and serious students of the intellectual history of the Russian revolution will be fascinated.
Otherwise, this Voyage may leave audiences feeling altogether too much at sea.
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“Voyage” by Tom Stoppard, produced by Shotgun Players. Director: Patrick Dooley. Technical Director: Anne Kendall. Set: Nina Ball. Fight Consultant: Dave Maier. Costumes: Alexae Visel. Sound: Matt Stines. Lights: Ray Oppenheimer.
Ivan Turgenev: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Nicholas Stankevich: Adrian Anchondo. Varvara Bakunin: Zehra Berkman. Baron Renne/Polevoy/Ginger Cat: Kevin Clarke. Liubov Bakunin: Christy Crowley. Miss Chamberlain/Katya: Britney Frazier. Masha/Mrs. Beyer: Anne Hallinan. Alexander Herzen: Patrick Jones. Nicholas Ketscher: Chris Kristant. Stepan Shevyrev: Matt Lai. Sazonov/Dyakov/Pavel/Assistant Director: Ben Landmesser. Tatiana Bakunin: Caitlyn Louchard. Natalie Beyer: Casi Maggio. Vissarion Belinsky: Nick Medina. Alexander Bakunin: John Mercer. Alexandra Bakunin: Nesbyth Rieman. Peter Chaadaev: Richard Reinholdt. Michael Bakunin: Joseph Salazar. Varenka Bakunin/Dance Consultant: Leanna Sharp. Semyon: Alex Shafer. Ogarev/Sergei/Assistant Director: Sam Tillis.
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