Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Curtain Calls
"Falsettos"
Through Nov. 8
St. Genesius Theatre
1049 Havenhurst Dr., West Hollywood
Tickets: $20
(323) 660-TKTS
Falsettoland is a self-proclaimed quirky little place. Actually,
it proclaims itself as "outrageous," but the concept of a man who
leaves his wife for another man only to have his wife fall for his
psychiatrist isn’t as earth-shattering as it may have been in 1981.
That’s when William Finn and James Lapine penned the second
addition to a trilogy of musicals about the argumentative Marvin’s
search for love.
Performing both "March of the Falsettos" and its 1990 one-act
sequel, "Falsettoland," One Step Productions nevertheless maintains
a timeless sense of family with its ensemble cast. If anything, the
seven earnest if neurotic characters seem at odds with the
enjoyably absurd sets (checkered floor, giant chess pieces and no
less than seven rotating doors, splashed with pink and green) and
unconventional format (at one point, the four male cast members don
glowing orange jock straps and tippy toe across a black lit stage
while singing in – you guessed it – falsetto).
Director David Galligan pulls it off for much of the lengthy,
sung-through show. The pacing is pleasant; the vocals are strong.
As ex-wife Trina, Kimberly Lewis elicits sympathy while still
commanding laughs, especially when she pantomimes her sexual
desires with a carrot and a few leafy greens during her solo, "I’m
Breaking Down." Bret Shefter lends more charisma to Mendel than the
script alone allows the slightly nerdy psychiatrist. And UCLA alum
Paul Green spars feistily as prettyboy boyfriend Whizzer. His big
brother-ish relationship with Marvin’s son Jason (Alex Mandelberg)
is especially touching.
The second act, which, confusingly, is set in the early ’80s
despite the fact that nine years elapsed in real time, opens
encouragingly. Marvin, his new neighbors (who announce themselves
as "the lesbians from next door"), Trina and Mendel, watch "Jewish
boys/ Who almost read Latin/ Up battin’/ And battin’ bad." The
energetic number centralizes the eclectic group’s one unifying
drive: their love for the confused almost-13-year-old who
repeatedly gets lost in the shuffle.
But somewhere between bar mitzvahs and the onset of AIDS, voices
get tired and characters get muddled. Green’s attempts at anger and
sorrow are overacted and unnatural. And while very much an ensemble
show, we can’t ignore the fact that Marvin is supposedly the main
character, and actor Michael Laun never gives us enough insight to
make his eccentricities likeable. Thus, otherwise heartfelt songs,
such as the poetic "Days Like This," seem isolated and empty.
AIDS never completely loses its sublime horror as an artistic
force, but if the show closes on a tearful note, it’s because of a
musically savvy director, a strong supporting cast and the
audience’s own associations with the disease. Marvin himself is
tough to hang a trilogy on.
Cheryl Klein
"Bad Sex With Bud Kemp"
Through Nov. 15
Tiffany Theatre
8532 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood
Tickets: $20-25
(310) 289-2999
To say that Sandra Tsing Loh is a firecracker onstage would be
incorrect. Rather, she is like a chain of firecrackers, one
exploding as soon as the last fizzles out. In her one-woman show,
Bad Sex With Bud Kemp, she explodes for 75 minutes without end and
takes the audience with her.
"Bad Sex With Bud Kemp" features a woman named Sandra, who, as
she gets older, finds it more and more difficult to find a decent
relationship. Sandra’s goals are not high. She does not expect the
perfect relationship, but she expects a relationship free of
humiliation.
The show, which premiered at Second Stage in New York, has been
altered slightly to fit Los Angeles by Loh who is a Southland
native. Stories involving Century City and Sherman Oaks make the
show more familiar, but it is Loh who truly reels the audience
in.
Loh is a master of glances much like Jack Benny. Also like
Benny, she delivers silent punchlines effortlessly but skillfully.
For her, a pause and a glance is as funny as the wittiest
one-liner. That expressiveness takes the audience into something
deeper than the stories of dating hell that Loh tells. She endears
herself to the audience with every glance that reveals paragraphs
of character.
Loh’s energy also runs similarly to Carol Burnett’s, bursting
with likability and charm. When she goes wild, relishing in her
single status, banging mercilessly on a piano and sporting a red
scarf that eventually becomes a headband, she achieves a childish
glee this is quintessentially liberating.
It’s Loh’s unique insight on love and dating that cannot be
compared to anything else. Her subject matter is common, but her
willingness to look bad (at times pathetic) connects her with her
audience. This incites the audience to ride along with her on her
tumultuous journey towards love.
Her imitations of herself are hugely unflattering, and they
underscore the awful realization that one is making a fool of
oneself, something most normal people endure at one time or
another. From her dutiful role as the once-a-week girlfriend to her
desperate attempts to impress the perfect man to her devious
pleasure in being a younger man’s "ho" to her inept fantasies of
being a lesbian, the audience at once empathizes, agrees, relates
but most importantly, laughs the whole way through.
Sam Toussi
"Lost In Yonkers"
Through Nov. 1
Colony Studio Theatre
1944 Riverside Dr.
Silver Lake
Tickets: $10
(323) 665-3011
The charm and eloquence of Neil Simon’s plays can draw an
audience on content alone. And that is often the saving grace of
the Colony Studio Theatre’s production of "Lost in Yonkers."
The fertile story of teenage brothers Jay (J. Michael Wright)
and Arty (Brendan Parent) sent to live with their cold grandmother
and child-like aunt during World War II is loaded with potential
for amazing drama and comedy. The actors fill their roles
adequately but sometimes lack the punch and delivery that define
Simon classics.
Wright and Parent lead the cast as the obedient boys, who agree
to live with their estranged Grandma Kurnitz (Sandra Kinder) and
Aunt Bella (Francesca Casale), as their father (Al D’Andrea)
travels the country in the business of selling scrap metal. While
both present their characters with spirit and enthusiasm, they
occasionally fall into overacting. When Arty agonizes over having
to relocate or squirms over Grandma’s mustard soup, the play takes
on the vague feeling of a high school production.
Casale shines as the love-starved Bella, playing her mental
immaturity with a delightful yet unpredictable sweetness. She
provides a nice contrast to Kinder’s inhibited, world-worn
character. Kinder performs beautifully with a dead-on, hard-nosed
strength that makes Grandma Kurnitz.
But despite individual high points, the cast lacks the cohesive
chemistry necessary to round out the show. Together, they do not
have an effective presence and fail to draw the audience in to
truly emote over the characters.
The only one to break the barriers is Gil Bernardy, who plays
gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold Uncle Louie. Bernardy infuses his
limited role into every scene in which he appears, sparking the
ensemble with a likable slickness and wit.
In all, the product is average and forgettable. The charm and
eloquence that captures audiences worldwide is not reflected in
this production.
Louise ChuMichael Lamont
Paul Green and Michael Laun co-star in, Falsettos.
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© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board