Archive for April, 2010
Loving the Wabi of Theatre
The Japanese word “wabi” is a very mercurial thing. Often paired with “sabi” to create the lovely “wabi-sabi”, in it’s purest form it means “quiet of tranquil”, but I have heard a better definition. “Wabi” is that imperfection in something or someone that makes it or them unique, unlike anything else that has come before [...]
The Song and Dance of Tony V and the Happy Raigosa’s
Check out Don Shirley’s razor sharp dissection of Tony V’s latest fiasco over at LA Stage Watch. We touched on it here at the Lemon, but Don takes it up a notch, basically accusing Tony V of playing favorites and warning of the dangerous precedent he could be setting. Check out this de-boning of one [...]
ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS: 85% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Tony Award nominated Director Maria Aitken has successfully transplanted the brilliance of the Broadway production to the incarnation currently running at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The production utilizes a sparse collection of set pieces and then challenges the imagination to engage in the world created by the quartet’s tireless Pantomime, a [...]
MY SISTER IN THIS HOUSE: 100% – Sweet
SWEET “My Sister” is an absorbing, often oppressive study of class and codependency. Or, as an audience member put it as we filed out of the theater, “Too much estrogen under one roof.” Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times SWEET Bray and Zion are lovely and expressive in communicating the sisters’ bond, forged ever more tightly [...]
An Old School Editor in a New School Medium
One of our erstwhile contributors, Trevor Thomas, once referred to me as “an old school editor in a new school medium”. It was a fair and rather erudite description. I took it as a compliment and I have since gladly embraced the title. Unfortunately, as of late, I have not entirely lived up to that [...]
The Thursday Thought
No one swears like a Scotsman. And I should fuckin’ know, because I’m fuckin’ one of ‘em, ya fuckin’ Lemon-Headed Bastards! Sorry. Enjoy one of my brethren, Malcolm Tucker, in all his full-throated brogue-ish rogue-ish glory.
ALTAR EGO: 50% – Bitter – UPDATED
BITTER James Lyons’ world premiere, directed by Audrey Moore and Leila Vatan, is a series of monologues parceled out to eight wannabe actors performing, it would seem, for their peers in an acting-class environment. As such, it might be acceptable, though undeniably coarse and beyond vulgar, as a hypersexual statement of “Who I am: the [...]
Ah, Innocence
Every now and then it’s nice to be reminded that it still exists. And should always be protected. Especially in ourselves.
Colin around the Block – the Awards debate
John: One of the fantastic Bitter Lemons editors, who I’m honored to have here, is substituting for Jesse today. This episode is “Colin around the Block”… Colin: “Colin around the Block”… Very nice! John: Thank you! (laughs) I thought that was good. Colin, welcome to the blog. Colin: Thank you very much. Why exactly am [...]
No More “Free Rent” for Those Freeloading Los Angeles Arts Organizations
More brilliance from Tony V. Check out this article in the Times. Again, I understand that everyone has to take their lumps during these troubled financial times, but the near-sightedness of this administration is pathetic. Non-profits run on the barest of budgets to begin with, you ask them to kick in for half the rent and [...]
Kino’s American Film Theatre set preserves great plays on DVD
Jean Genet’s “The Maids” will spruce up Los Angeles next month courtesy of the Eclectic Company Theatre in Valley Village (May 29-June 27). Meanwhile, you can see Glenda Jackson and Susannah York in a stylish film adaptation of this offbeat psycho-drama now on DVD; the ladies are deliciously theatrical in the title roles, as the [...]
NYLACHI
I wasn’t aware of this term, but now I am. NYLACHI. Coined by Professor Scott Walters. It’s basically the “false” dream instilled into theatre students that the promise land resides in NY, LA and Chi-Town. Check out this video below from Dennis Baker, posted on the TACT (Theatre Arts Curriculum Transformation) site. The site, I [...]
Johnny Rotten vs. Judge Judy
Just because. If you’re stuck at your desk and have about 8 minutes to kill and you’d like to slide into utter surreality…here ya go. Hat tip Lee Wochner.
BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO (TAPER REVIVAL): 100% – Sweet
SWEET Derek McLane’s Middle Eastern sets are as spare as they are atmospherically rich. The scenic design may have worked better on a more compact stage, but the magical sense that anything can occur has been vitally left intact. David Lander’s pockets of lighting certainly enhance this quality, as do David Zinn’s simple yet transformative [...]
SICK: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Playwright Erik Patterson admits to personal hypochondria in the program notes for this resplendently twisted effort—yet another in his string of hilariously wicked and glaringly contemporary plays gloriously sending up the communal sickness that affects us all as our country becomes progressively more immune to wellness. Sandra Burns’ clever design uses every corner and [...]
The Monday Moment
“But it doesn’t happen. Something doesn’t click. We realize, about ten minutes in, that the story is undeveloped and that the emotional connection (remember Showboat?) just doesn’t connect. In any really moving theatrical piece, we must be pulled “inside.” We leave the ordinary world and enter a new space where we “feel” someone’s loss, someone’s [...]
BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY: 100% – Sweet
SWEET There is no one too old to enjoy Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story, and no one too young to be enraptured with the timeless music of this much lamented legend. Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is marvelous entertainment for anyone who’s got the music in them, and that’s just about everybody, right? [...]
My Day at the Irwindale Renaissance Pleasure Faire
Rabbit’s Foot Mead, Cleavage and Fish! Huzzah! Yes, it’s true. I went to the annual – and apparently ORIGINAL - Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale yesterday – and you know what? I had a really good time. For all of you out there who have thought, “You know I’d really like to check out the Ren [...]
L.A. NOIR UNSCRIPTED: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Imagine walking on stage facing an audience full of people that you don’t know, taking on the character of another person, turning it into a performance with six other actors that are as equally unprepared without embarrassing yourself should you fail and you have Impro Theatre and Combined Artform presentation of L.A. Noir UnScripted. [...]
Critique of the Week
ALTAR EGO Review by Madeleine Shaner – Backstage A play is generally defined as one or more players acting out a story in front of an audience of one or more. Interaction between the players is implied, and some degree of conflict leading to a resolution is required. James Lyons’ world premiere, directed by Audrey [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Review by K. Primeau – LA Theatre Review When Pierre Beaumarchais wrote The Marriage of Figaro, the satirical social-commentary was considered so scandalous it was censored for nearly six years. A seminal text in the lead-up to the French Revolution, Figaro reprised The Barber of Seville and was also composed into [...]
Oh, No You Didn’t!?!
Well he might. If his particular version of the budget goes through. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is planning on, well, basically, TAKING BACK Arts Grants that the City has already awarded to organizations that won them fairly through a competitive application process. What the…? Here’s a piece of the LA Times article: Garay also [...]
Sometimes Playwrights Say the Darndest Things
Like playwright Kenneth Lin in this interview with blogger and playwright Adam Szymkowicz. Theater really reminds me of an organic food store that just closed in my neighborhood. When I first moved here, I thought, “Wow, there’s an organic food store here. This is a great neighborhood.” But I never shopped there because everything was [...]
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO: 50% – Bitter – UPDATED
BITTERSWEET This new translation, by director Frederique Michel and Charles Duncombe, is serviceable and fairly traditional. It is also a tad overlong, and a bit of discreet editing would not be amiss. Michel has pitched her production as broad farce, with sometimes-obtrusive stylized movement, which can be distracting. Playing artificial comedy artificially seems like overkill. [...]
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD: 88% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Elliot’s pacing is just right, gentle enough to catch the emotion and the beauty of the language yet brisk and smart enough to serve the comedy. Among the lovely performances are Jill Hill’s Widow Quinn (who shares the dainty, word-wise qualities of Mance’s Countess in Figaro); the eccentric and idiosyncratic William Dennis Hunt’s Philly [...]
NIGHTMARE ALLEY: 27% – Bitter – UPDATED
BITTER Although Jonathan Brielle does a neat job of compressing the action into two hours onstage, he fails to capitalize on the terrible implications of falling from grace into a hell beyond the reaches of spirituality or religion, and neither his lyrics nor music is memorable. Laurence Vittes – Hollywood Reporter BITTER But mystery and [...]
CANNIBALS: 100% – Sweet
SWEET The toxic admixture of personalities is good for laughs but doesn’t quite offset the play’s lack of action, leading to tedious stretches. A ray of light emerges when a “notable” director (Ray Abruzzo) taps the gals for a documentary, but the project is threatened when he brings his accomplished wife (the stellar Robin Riker) [...]
LANGSTON & NICOLAS: 75% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET A gripping and historical true story, a huge and colorful multi-racial cast, hot blooded music, dance and poetry, and lots of heartfelt emotion… This is a fabulous and exciting journey! In development for many years by the dedicated Towne Street Theatre folks, they hope to eventually produce it in a larger Equity theatre (…and [...]
Powerhouse Theatre and Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble to Read All of Shakespeare’s Work Continuously Until They Keel Over and Die
Well not exactly. But almost. Or more appropriately, the opportunity is there for a “Death by Shakespeare” moment. And not the kind we’re used to. What the hell am I talking about? This. Here’s the blurb I’ve stolen from Steven Leigh Morris’ Stage Raw blog: I’VE BEEN READING SHAKESPEARE MY WHOLE LIFE And if you [...]