Monday, June 15, 1998
Wide variety
of L.A. venues attracts many kinds of shows
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Subscribers at the Ahmanson, Schubert and Pantages theaters have
plenty to sing about. The past four years have witnessed "big
theater," for the most part, at its best. Such is the nature of
multi-tiered venues. Their rarity makes them elite, though hardly
risk takers. Thus Los Angeles’ giants have housed giant productions
that have followed trends on Broadway, if a year or two behind.
There’s the popularity and safety of revivals such as 1996’s
"Carousel," 1997’s "Show Boat" and this season’s "The King and I."
Though the Tony Award-winning "Show Boat" lavishly revamped the
social forwardness of the original, while making the ’20s roar with
its sheer theatricality, other smaller tours haven’t always been so
successful.
Last year’s "West Side Story" made the poignant classic flat and
at times laughable. We saw the lighter side of the ’50s with
"Grease’s" national tour stop last spring. Unfortunately, familiar,
singable songs and costumes that sparkled with cartoon camp
couldn’t quite disguise dull acting and uninspired
choreography.
The lesson here is that revivals can’t rely merely on what made
the originals hits. Audiences change and theater should be
correspondingly organic. This fall’s revival of the early ’80s
motown musical "Dreamgirls" scaled back the set when needed, yet
cast a lead who could rival Jennifer Holliday’s ovation-provoking
lung power.
"Dreamgirls" was one of a growing number of productions to open
off-off-off-Broadway (as in Los Angeles). "Ragtime" is the best
case in point. Opening in Toronto, it enjoyed a lengthy run at the
Schubert before taking its lead actor and moving to the Great White
Way where it proceeded to win multiple Tonys.
This may alert theatergoers to keep their eyes on Los Angeles as
an increasingly respectable venue. And perhaps even more indicative
of this is the number of local productions that have garnered
attention in their own right.
Westwood’s own Geffen Playhouse (under the direction of UCLA
Theater, Film and Television Dean Gil Cates and converted several
years ago from the Westwood Playhouse) plays mid-sized host to
daring, thoughtful productions – both original and borrowed. Its
inaugural "Four Dogs and a Bone" momentarily lured Martin Short and
Brendan Fraser away from their film careers. Actors got naked in
last year’s "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and avant garde in the
currently running "All in the Timing."
An extremely talented cast of two told the story of a volatile
music student and his even more volatile mentor in this fall’s "Old
Wicked Songs." An only slightly larger cast expertly lent a darker,
more magical feel to the puppet show rendition of "Peter and
Wendy." The ivy-shrouded playhouse is, without a doubt, one of
Westwood’s few treasures, second only to perhaps Diddy Reese.
Yet equally strong productions ran quietly in the
99-seat-and-under theaters lining Santa Monica Boulevard and its
neighboring streets. Current UCLA theater students can take comfort
in the number of alumni working and creating locally.
At the forefront is the Bruin-driven Actors Gang whose witty,
bizarre musicals and straight plays have garnered Ovation Awards
and secured a large following. And the Buffalo Nights theater
company gives alumni working in film and television a chance to
nurture their theatrical roots.
Even smaller companies such as Emerald Rain and Lost Dog
Productions offer the stage up to current and recently graduated
UCLA students, honing promising talent albeit in annex venues with
minimal resources.
After all, if it’s hard to be a thespian in Los Angeles, it’s
even harder to be a young one. But such companies are the best hope
and a few youth-oriented larger productions support their
struggling brethren. I speak, of course, of "Rent," the colorful,
irreverent musical that gave Bohemians a voice on Broadway and
garnered its own set of loyal groupies during its four months at
the Ahmanson.
Probably less seen but equally powerful was Danny Hoch’s one-man
show this year in Schoenberg Hall. Though many actors stage solo
works, few are deserving. Hoch, however, had the stage presence,
versatility and originality to hold an audience for the entire
duration. Though consistently hilarious, his series of monologues
was also saturated with politics – touching on gang violence, media
culture, AIDS and poverty. Much of the strong subject matter
(appropriately) made the audience squirm, but Hoch never broke
character, aware that personal testimonies are inherently more
moving than soap box essays.
Is this the future of theater? Let’s hope so.