70 San Diego Reader September 1, 2016


ANTI-REVIEW THEATER


pseudo-literati: Armado, the syrupy stylist; Holofernes, the pedant mired in a linguistic maze; hapless Nathaniel, a curate; the monosyllabic Cos- tard; and Dull, the dim-witted constable. They’re no match for the Princess, Maria, Kath- erine, dark-skinned Rosaline (often likened to the Dark Lady of the Sonnets), and Boyet, their attending lord and in-house critic of the “sweet smoke of rhetoric.” Marjorie Garber, astute


Shakespearean commentator, calls Love’s Labor’s Lost “a play about young lovers caught with their sonnets down.” At the Lowell Davies Festi-


val Theatre, John Lee Beatty’s gorgeous set is a perfect site for contemplation and come- uppance. It’s the King’s “royal park,” with Balboa Park in the background. Trees thick with coiling ivy — or rampant kudzu — shelter the stage from the outside world. They even blend with the towering eucalypti in the distance. An ornate, wrought iron gate, marble stairs, and lush lawn complete the portrait of a green sanctuary far from real- world concerns. Beatty complicates the


bucolic setting, however. A statue of a naked young woman stands upstage right, with a grabby little cupid close behind. The celibate lords of Navarre will study with this distraction in their midst? Michael Krass’s elegant


fashions suggest the 18th Century, though modern-day sunglasses and the occasional fist-bump yank one from the period (also, ownership of the Acquitaine, a key issue in the play, was long since set- tled by then). The costumes also march the vocal styles, from ornate (Triney Sando- val’s hilarious, over-the-top Armado), to stately (Kris- ten Connolly’s well-spoken Princess), to comical (Greg Hildreth’s always engaging Costard), to the terse (Patrick Kerr’s perplexed responses as Nathaniel), to the feisty (Pas- cale Armand’s attitude-rich Rosaline), and the ethereal (Stephen Spinella’s amazingly


GARRETT HARRIS Finally... some intellectual rigor!


“I FIND HAYDN’S MUSIC to be too formulaic.” “Ah, but he is the father of the


string quartet.” Tis brief exchange between


Marianne and Wil - loughby in The Old Globe’s Sense and Sensi- bility sealed the deal. I’ve been waiting for


what feels like an eternity for a new musical that has some intellectual rigor. The wait is over. Sense and Sensibility was the show I’d been waiting for. It’s not that other


shows haven’t tried to be intelligent it’s that they were trying to be intelli- gent. Sense and Sensibility need not try. It is effortlessly intelligent in the way an upstanding mem- ber of that society should be. How can I claim effortless-


ness? That little line exchange about Haydn runs deeper than we realize. First of all, it’s true. Haydn is


pedantic Holofernes, though they should cut the silly comic bit after he berates the lords — “This is not generous, not gentle, not humble” — for being jerks). Kieran Campion and


Jonny Orisini, as Berowne and the King, do not go gently from entitlement, and Kevin Cahoon’s artful Boyet earns laughs at every turn. Most of Shakespere’s com-


edies end with marriages. They were supposed to: the genre says that all conquering love must restore order. But many of the Bard’s marriages begin in haste, some even without courtship. One often wonders how many could out- live the honeymoon. With Love’s Labor’s Lost,


Shakespeare makes one of the most daring moves in drama. He puts a wintry cloud on the horizon from the beginning. In the end, he upsets the flow of his comedy — but rightfully so. The King, Berowne, Lon- gaville, and Dumain may — or may not — have learned how to talk the talk honestly. But are they ready to walk down the aisle and make what the Princess calls a “world-with- out-end bargain”? Only time will tell. And “that’s too long for a play.”


■ Marianne and Willoughby


enter the scene? In 1791, Haydn premiered the


first of his London Symphonies. Haydn was brought to London by an expatriate German named Salomon. Salomon’s tombstone in Westminster Abbey states, “He brought Haydn to London in 1791 and 1794.”


THEATER LISTINGS


Theater listings and commentary are by Jeff Smith unless otherwise noted. Information is accurate according to material given us, but it is always wise to phone the theater for any last-minute changes and to inquire about ticket availability. Many theaters offer discounts to students, senior citizens, and the military. Ask at the box office.


Airline Highway


Ruby, erstwhile burlesque queen, wants her funeral before she dies. Wants to see her extended family at the Hummingbird Hotel. These include strippers, prostitutes, drug addicts, poets, and ex-lovers Krista and Bait Boy, who has made it — or has it made — in Atlanta with a “sugar momma.” Lisa L’Amour’s sprawling play documents the lives of the denizens in ways no socio- logical labels can. Though, unlike her more subtle Detroit, she also coaches the audience on a take- home interpretation. The at times uneven Ion Theatre production has a splendid set, by Claudio Rayboza, and strong performances by Dana Fares, Kevane La’Marr Coleman,


and Beverly Baker. Worth a try. TENTH AVENUE ARTS CENTER, 930 TENTH AVE., EAST VILLAGE. 619-920- 8503. 8PM THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, & SATURDAYS.


American Rhythm


Lamb’s Players Theatre presents “a journey into the heart of America through 100 years of great music!”, conceived by Robert Smyth, writ- ten and arranged by Kerry Meads & Vanda Eggington Meads directs. Note: due to popular demand,


Lamb’s has extended the run. LAMB’S PLAYERS THEATRE, 1142 OR-


the father of the string quartet, and his music does trend toward the formulaic. Yet why would these charac- ters be speaking of Haydn as they


Haydn’s impact upon English


society was significant enough to warrant being mentioned on the tombstone of the impresa- rio who arranged. According to haydn107.com, “An enormous uproar was caused by the fact that during a royal court ball at St. James’s Palace, Haydn was greeted by the Prince of Wales with a noticeable bow.” I’m making a big


deal out of two lines that exist only in pass- ing, but I’m doing it to illustrate the point that the creator of this Sense and Sensibility musical,


Paul Gordon, knows his stuff. Tis was evident throughout the


entire show as references to Vol- taire, Rousseau, Byron, Shelley, and the like all felt as if the characters actually knew what they were refer- encing as opposed to actors saying the names of people they may have heard of but don’t understand.


■


ANGE AVE., CORONADO. 619-437-0600. 7PM THURSDAYS, 8PM FRIDAYS, 4PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS, 7PM TUESDAYS, 2PM & 7PM WEDNESDAYS.


The Cocktail Hour


North Coast Repertory Theatre presents A.R. Gurney’ Jr.’s comedy about the time upper class New Englanders extended their tradi- tional hour — and, in cocktails


veritas. Rosina Reynolds directs. NORTH COAST REPERTORY THE- ATRE, 987-D LOMAS SANTA FE DR., SOLANA BEACH. 858-481-1055. 7PM WEDNESDAYS.


Disney’s The Lion King


Broadway/San Diego presents the six Tony Award-winning musical, by Elton John and Tim Rice and directed by Julie Taymor, about coming of age on the African plain, with animated movie ani- mals brought to life and making an indelible statement of what live


theater can do. SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE, 1100 THIRD AVE., DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO. 619-570- 1100. 7PM WEDNESDAY.


Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas


The Old Globe Theatre presents its popular Christmas show. Once again the Green Meanie will try to ruin the holiday sea- son for the citizens of Whoville. This is the Globe’s 18th staging. This time, will he succeed? James


Vasquez directs. OLD GLOBE THEATRE, 1363 OLD GLOBE WAY, BALBOA PARK. 619-234-5623. 7PM TUESDAYS.


Duck Hunter Shoots Angel


Lamplighters CommunityThe- atre stages Mitch Albom’s com- edy about a “once prize-winning journalist who resorts to working for a supermarket tabloid, where everything is made up, and facts don’t matter.” Now he must cover another absurdity — the play’s title — but CNN’s there too! Fox and Mark Loveless co-direct.


LAMPLIGHTERS COMMUNITY THEATRE, 5915 SEVERIN DR., LA MESA. 619-303- 5092. 8PM FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Free Speech (While Supplies Last)


The touring company of Chica- go’s famed Second City uses skits, stand-up, and improv to exercise their First Amendment right, in this election season, to say what’s on their mind. The results (often based on audience suggestions) varied on opening night (as did the audience suggestions). The hits — like the one about Bang, a New Age firearms boutique in Brooklyn — were huge; the misses, sometimes by a mile. The line “when politics end, people begin” ran through the evening. And to its credit, the show felt like an open forum, where people could speak their minds directly and not in the confines of


a chat room. Worth a try. LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE, 2910 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR., UCSD. 858-550-1010. 7PM SUNDAYS.


Gutenberg! The Musical!


The person sitting next to you, in Scott Brown and Anthony King’s heartfelt spoof of backer’s audi- tions, could be a rich Broadway producer! That’s because Doug and Bud are doing a staged read- ing/singing of their new musical. It’s based on the life of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press. They didn’t find much about his life, so they treat fictions as facts, often funny ones at that. The songs vary in quality. But Anthony Methvin and Tom Zohar’s perfor- mances, as exhausting as they are entertaining, sustain a high level


throughout. Worth a try. DIVERSIONARY THEATRE, 4545 PARK BL., UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS. 619- 220-0097. 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS.


Gypsy


Cygnet Theatre has done full jus- tice to “the mother of all musicals.” It’s the largest show Cygnet’s done in its 13 seasons. But you’d never know it. The evening flows. Linda Libby’s first-rate Mama Rose, in oversized, homemade coats and desperately optimistic, could have been, as someone says, “a pioneer woman without a frontier.” Allison Spratt Pearce moves Louise almost imperceptibly from her mother’s Ugly Duckling to the headliner at Minsky’s. The entire cast contrib- utes, especially Katie Whalley Ban- ville as June (later to become June Havoc) and Manny Fernandes as passive-until-crunch-time Herbie. Critic’s Pick. CYGNET THEATRE, 4040 TWIGGS ST., OLD TOWN. 619-337-1525. 7PM THURS- DAYS, 8PM FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS.


Interactive Murder Mystery Dinner Show


This show is different from tra- ditional murder-mystery dinner shows — non-costumed actors are hidden in the audience, pretending to be regular guests. The shows are set during the present day and take place in real time. Over the course of the night, the costumed detectives will uncover clues, inter- rogate audience members that may or may not be part of the show, and help everyone get closer to solving the mystery. The audience member that gives the best correct answer of “whodunit?” before the killer is revealed gets a prize package.


COURTYARD SAN DIEGO DOWNTOWN, 530 BROADWAY, DOWNTOWN SAN DI- EGO. 619-446-3000. 6PM SATURDAYS.


Love’s Labor’s Lost


Reviewed this issue. Critic’s Pick. OLD GLOBE THEATRE, 1363 OLD GLOBE WAY, BALBOA PARK. 619-234-5623. 8PM THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS, SUN- DAYS, TUESDAYS, & WEDNESDAYS.


Meteor Shower


In Steve Martin’s world premiere, things fall apart, but in different versions of the same event, as if the hosts and guests at a dinner party in Ojai slip in and out of parallel universes — or different versions of themselves. Norm and Corky are conventional to the max. Guests Gerald and Laura are so unrepressed they could be Norm and Corky’s subconscious in the flesh. Or not. It’s not clear. The play unfolds as if someone else wrote the script about a dull Yuppie cou- ple caught in the Twilight Zone. Then they brought in Steve Martin to punch up the dialogue. Make no mistake. The play is wild and crazy entertaining. It just doesn’t add up, and the take-home’s the most


absurd of all. Worth a try. OLD GLOBE THEATRE, 1363 OLD GLOBE WAY, BALBOA PARK. 619-234-5623. 8PM THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, & SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS, 7PM TUESDAYS & WEDNESDAYS.


Oklahoma!


Director Teddy Eck has assembled a talented cast and instilled in them a sense of rugged country folk. The production reflects a rural spirit in a natural, homespun way rarely seen in this particular piece. As Curly, Jack French performs with a highly trained operatic voice that doesn’t match the style of the show. As Laurey, Charlene Koepf is well cast as the young country girl longing for a man, and Chris- topher Lesson executes the part of Jud with appropriately evil tones. Worth a try. NEW VILLAGE ARTS THEATRE, 2787 B STATE ST., CARLSBAD. 760-433-3245. 8PM THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS, 3PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Seussical the Musical


Coronado Playhouse presents the popular musical based on Dr. Seuss’s characters. “Horton the elephant discovers a speck of dust that contains the Who’s, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to mili- tary school for thinking too many ‘thinks.’ Horton faces a double chal- lenge: not only must he protect the Who’s from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by


the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird.” CORONADO PLAYHOUSE, 1835 STRAND WAY, CORONADO. 619-435-4856. 7PM FRIDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Sweet Charity


The Welk Resort Theatre presents this rarely done musical (Cy Cole- man, music, Dorothy Fields, lyrics) about “the girl who wants to be loved so much she has lost sight of who she is.” Songs include: “Hey, Big Spender,” “I’m a Brass Band,” “If They Could See Me Now,” and “Rhythm of Life.” Ray Limon


directs and choreographs. WELK RESORT THEATRE, 8860 LAWRENCE WELK DR., ESCONDIDO. 888- 802-7469. 8PM FRIDAYS, 1PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 1PM SUNDAYS.


Titanic the Musical For Moonlight Stage, director


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96