Jeff and I attended closing night of this show:  the very first long-form improv show I've ever seen.  I generally enjoyed it, although as someone who has observed Renaissance/Dickens Faire "theatre" for years, there was a definite flashback element.  All of the actors were in faire garb, they spoke in BFA, and the general phrasing and tone had that faire-y quality.

In general, the show was hilarious.  It dragged at the end, mostly due to one actor's slow thinking, and the other's low energy with picking up the plotline.  The key to success in improv, longform or not, is the willingness of every actor to say "YES, AND..."  Unfortunately the second hour of this show was comprised of a lot of waiting for someone to do just that...watching the floundering of 6 poor actors in the meantime.

This sort of theatre scares the crap out of me, and this translates to an empathetic blush emanating from my face during these awkward moments.  This may in fact be an over-indulgence of empathy - maybe the other audience members weren't as fundamentally bothered by the rough patches of the show (Jeffie?  I defer to your thoughts on this).

While I applaud the entire cast, Christian Utzman and Trish Tillman were consistently funny and fabulous throughout the show.  Clay Robeson had a few shticks that were hilarious, but they often stopped or interrupted the action, rather than moved the story forward.  The entire ensemble worked hard to create a cohesive two-hour story (with improv'd songs!!) and made me wonder the whole time just how fun being a fly on the wall backstage would be.

I'd recommend checking out Un-Scripted Theatre Company's offerings anytime you're looking for a fun night (with free popcorn!)

I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Wolf and Tommy Shephard a year or so ago at a staged reading, attended by only 6 people.  It was the most exciting reading I've been to - Tommy is a kick-ass beatboxer, and he and Dan rapped and sang their way through an original co-written piece.  I was in a beautiful space (The Artaud, which has poetry graffiti in the back halls and giant industrial-dirty mullioned church-like windows. ) A well-known director I've admired for years was there, and Tommy and Dan were entertaining, polite, and grateful for feedback.

But I digress.  Angry Black White Boy is Dan Wolf's adaptation of Adam Mansbach's book of the same name, and explores race and identity, particularly in the Hip Hop Culture of America.  Dan Wolf plays Macon, a white man obsessed with hip hop, black culture, and righting the wrongs that white America has levied against African-Americans in the past few centuries.  He becomes a taxi driver, and one night he robs a white man as punishment for his racism.  When the news reports put out that the purpetrator is a black man, he becomes even more enraged.  Eventually the play culminates in his arrest and a "national day of apology," which proves to be as awkward and trite as it seems.

The multi-disciplinary aspects of this show were phenominal.  All four men beatboxed, rapped, sang, acted, and danced.  The choreography (by company member Keith Pinto) is machinelike, repetitive, and completely effective.  Keith, being the only other white man besides Dan, plays easily 6 characters, mostly jerky white stereotypes.  Tommy, a huge teddy bear of a man, and Myers play several roles as well, stereotypes and truths both.  The costume changes are quick and close between, helping to create the characters these men embody.  Several playing areas became a dorm room, a party house, a jail cell, a radio studio, a tv studio, and the scene of a riot with few chances.  The back wall of the set featured a deconstructed mosaic-like screenprinted image.  Was it Obama, or Malcolm X?  I'm still wondering, and probably will forever.

The show has been likened to a remix, and I think this is quite fitting.  Beats, poetry, songs, scenes, and monologues all weave together to form a spectacle, one with a message worth hearing.  While the second half seems a mess, it is all forgiven in the end.

This show was extended to Novemer 23, I highly recommend catching it!  I may even go a second time, myself.

Angry Black White Boy at Intersection for the Arts
Directed by Sean San Jose
Featuring: Myers Clark, Keith Pinto, Tommy Shepherd & Dan Wolf
Collaborative Team: Sharif Abu-Hamdeh, Mia Baxter, Josh Begley, Duncan Cooper, Robert Hampton, Chinaka Hodge, Joshua McDermott, & Christopher Studley

Twelfth Night (California Shakespeare Company)

Most of the reviews of this play were pretty harsh.  Most of the theatre professionals I know HATED this show.  I, however, enjoyed it.  Why not try something different?  Why not be irreverent to the bard?  Sheesh.

A studio-54-ish set provided an interesting backdrop to the play, and yeah, it was rife with gay themes.  Duh.  A super-fey Danny Shea in a tutu and rollerskates provided clownish entertainment, a man in a bunny suit was in a cage most of the show, and Viola and Sebastian (the twins separated by a shipwreck) were played by the same MAN, Alex Morf.

This decision was intriquing, but ultimately unsuccessful.  I think the obvious problems with this casting were dealt with as well ould be (as at the end of the play Viola and Sebastian are reconciled, meaning Alex Morf had a bit of a schitzophrenic few minutes) but Morf walking off into the (painted tacky 70's style) sunset with Olivia and Orsino on each arm made for some weird "wait, are they having a threesome with some dude with a multiple personality?" feelings.

The stage, set in the Orinda hills, was framed by a full moon and oak trees, and the crowd was lively.  It felt like a picnic, since me and my "dates" were bundled in a blanket, sipping wine and snacking on cheese.  We sat in the same row as the designers, and I found myself jealous of the gelled clip-lamps and Oxford scripts they were following.  But that's just me.

The music was GORGEOUS.  A bluegrassy band, onstage most of the time, rotating from musicians and actors onstage, led usually by Shea, gave a welcome respite to the usual oh-so-Renaissance-Faire-lute playing.

The final song brought goose bumps - one by one, the lights turned off, finally leaving Shea in a single beam of light.  Eventually the light fades with Shea's final note, leaving only the song of the wind through the trees. 

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Marin Theatre Company): 

This play, set in 1988 New York, opens in near-dark in a tiny apartment in New York.  Frankie is a waitress in a diner, Johnny is the diner's cook, and the two are having sex at the end of their first date.  Terrance McNally's stage directions read, "As the lights come up, Frankie and Johnny come together."  This very intimate act turns out to be the LEAST intimate of their encounters through the course of the night, as Johnny tries to convice Frankie to give Love a chance, and Frankie tries to keep her jaded shell intact.

This was the first time I've realized that design can be for the sake of the actors as well as the audience.  Since I work at MTC, I had the ability to stand on the stage, something most audience member would not be able to do.  Now, the set for Frankie and Johnny was pretty cool from the audience's perspective - imagine a teeny tiny New York apartment.  If it's roughly a square, you'd imagine the "fourth wall" facing the house - as per usual.  The set designer on this show rotated that square (oh crap!  I need geometry! um, something like 45 degrees? so that the corner of the apartment was jutting off the stage a bit.  The square (diamond?) of the apartment was raised 6 inches or so off the deck, and raked (meaning it was higher off the ground at the back of the stage).  OK, it looked cool, and gave a huge proscenium stage a more intimate, studio apartment-like feel.

NOW FOR THE COOL PART:  From onstage, the "corner" of the apartment created an optical illusion that makes you feel like you are inside a room.  This further separates the audience from the stage (while somehow keeping from separating the actors from the audience).  This detail played a very important part in the show - the actors spend a good portion of the show naked.  The illusion of privacy while being on a stage helped keep the actors comfortable during the intimate scenes of the show.  

The story was well-told, although Rod Knapp, the actor playing Johnny tended toward Shakespearean "AHK-Tor" speeches which got old quick, and Terry McMahon, playing Frankie, hit a few weird Not-New-York dialect bumps.  But the chemistry was real, the staging was well-done (particularly one moment when Frankie was "cornered" in the kitchen - her back against an invisible and imaginary wall, allowing the audience to share her moment while feeling her claustrophobia).  On a bit of a petty note:  I think the director chose actors too "pretty" for the roles - while middle aged, they were both muscular, thin, and good looking.  Keep in mind, the original Frankie on Broadway was written for and performed by Kathy Bates. 

Due to lack of date, oh and also, moving all my crap.  Catch y'all on the flipside, up in the next week or two:

A review of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Marin Theatre Company)
A review of The Best Man (Aurora Theatre Company)
A review of 12th Night (Marin Shakes)

In the next week or two, I'll be seeing and reviewing Rock 'n Roll at ACT, Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep, and Tobias Wolff Stories at Word for Word.

So it looks like this week I'll only be able to see one show - I think it'll end up being  Z Space/Word for Word's More Tobias Wolff Stories.

Sounds less exciting than it is, I'm sure!  Some of you know, I worked for Word for Word last year, and I actually typed up the sides for the actor's auditions.  Tobias Wolff is a local writer specializing in short stories, and is Word for Word's biggest fan, probably because of the mutual success of his stories a few years ago.

The reviews of this have been great, most notably the "guy out of his chair" from the Chronicle - always a good thing.

Looks like I'll be going Thursday night or Friday night.  I can take one person.  First come first served, let me know if you'd like to join me!

Welcome to my attempt at starting a theatre info and review blog.  I'm as much of a Drama Queen as anyone else, but let's do our best to save it for the stage, yes?

I'll be updating as much as possible - I have dozens of plays to see, and much reviewing to do!  Comments, discussions, debates, suggestions, questions, it's all welcome.