CV REP THEATRE STAGES “WHITE” AS ITS FINAL PRODUCTION AT THEIR ATRIUM VENUE

Franceli Chapman and Paul David Story star in "White" at CVRep in Palm Springs. Photos courtesy of CVRep.

When a theatre closes its doors for good that’s usually a cause for tears and lamentations.  The Temples and/or live theatre venues in the world can ill afford any more venue closings in the time of media cutbacks and their support for the Arts. Outside of hard cash, the media is the mother’s milk of continuing support for keeping the doors open.

But not to worry. CV REP, one of the finest Equity theatres in the Coachella Valley isn’t closing its doors but merely transferring from its cozy 88 seat venue location at the Atrium in Rancho Mirage, to their new home in the former IMAX Movie theatre in Cathedral City.

Producing Artistic Director Ron Celona’s dream of bringing Equity theatre productions to all of the Coachella Valley has been incubating for six years. On March 15, 2019, CV REP will debut its new 208 seat, state-of-the-art theatre, with the musical “Chess.” Stay tuned for more information. But first, we need to discuss the current production “White,” written by James Ijames, and deftly directed by Ron Celona.

It is a uniquely structured comedy with dark undertones that deals in how people relate to one another using the prism of skin color, sexual identity, racial diversity, privilege or lack of it. And that’s only part of the issues presented in this non-traditional comedy with a bite.

It’s intensely provocative to be sure.  The question for me is what is playwright Ijames trying to say to his audiences?   What are the audiences expected do with this information once they have processed it? Which by the way, is excellently performed by its outstanding four-member cast If the play’s dialogue hit’s one as a bit enigmatic, does the story even as it unfolds then remain an enigma? Things to ponder…

When the lights, cleverly and neatly positioned for maximum effect, by Lighting Designer Moira Wilkie Whitaker, come up, we’re at the prestigious Parnell Gallery, being welcomed by Gallery director Jane (Charlotte Munson).  The second scene takes place in a cozy apartment, designed by CV REP Emmy-winning resident designer Jimmy Cuomo.  It’s the home of mildly successful, young, gay, painter Gus (convincingly played by Paul David Story, and his schoolteacher partner Tanner (engagingly portrayed by Anthony Saludares).

Franceli Chapman, Paul David Story,
and Anthony Saludares in "White"

Gus is ambitious and looking to climb another rung upward to further his career as an artist. Tanner is quite happy with correcting his students’ papers and essays while enjoying the companionship of Gus. Ambition in creative artists is usually a good thing and necessary for success.  Gus’ friend Jane has been recently promoted to “New Visions in American Art” curator at the prestigious Parnell Galleries.   Jane has her Gallery’s mandate and intends to debut the necessary emerging artists that meet her goals of presenting artists of diversity, color, and gender, but must be relatively unknown.  Gus is confident that long-time friend Jane will present his latest canvases at the gallery opening.

Gus, yes, we're friends, but I’m not looking for more works from a white dude, Jane explains.  It’s a shattering shot across Gus’ bow which deflates him and his relationship with Jane for a while until he experiences an astral visit from a god-like figure that suspiciously resembles Diana Ross.  Hippies of the 60’s often claimed of experiencing such voices and visions after spending a session with Harvard Professor Thomas Leary of LSD notoriety or late night mushroom snacks spiked with unknown ingredients.

Gus ‘epiphany leads him to create a back-story, as cover, for his scheme of having his paintings appear in the exhibit at the Parnell Galleries by hiring Vanessa, an African American actress (a sensational Franceli Chapman) to submit his paintings, as her own.  There are echoes of Woody Allen’s 1976 comedy “The Front,” in Mr. Ijames’ plotline. Instead of blacklisted writers, we’re now dealing with reverse discrimination issues of white painters.

Paul David Story, Charlotte Munson in "White"

I admit it’s not a very strong line of attack to really have legislation do what common sense could easily accomplish.  But it does achieve what playwright Ijames and others have complained about all along – “whiteness” is a definite advantage.  Perhaps, he wrote his play to bring the issue of discrimination to more people’s attention.   It’s long been said that before you begin blankly condemning or tossing rocks, try walking a mile in the other guy’s or gal’s footsteps.

Vanessa at first demurs to Paul’s proposition to be his alter-ego.  But later decides it’s just another acting gig, so why not.  Paul introduces Vanessa to Jane as a painter with talent recommended by some of Paul’s friends.  Vanessa charms Jane who is excited with finding a talented woman of color that she can introduce as one of many that will appear at her upcoming “New Visions in American Art” exhibition.

Things appear to be coming along as the exhibition nears.  Jane is super-excited with her project.  Paul is uneasy because of subtle twists in Vanessa’s behavior of late.  Signs begin to creep into the ploy about the paintings and their origin. Also, Paul’s relationship with Tanner is becoming strained because of Paul’s plan, and Vanessa’s strange behavior.  To divulge any further details about “White” won’t be coming from me. No spoiler alerts here. This I can say; however, this is a production that shouldn’t be missed.  It’s performed without an intermission and runs about 90 minutes.

When it comes to the actors in “White” and just how they grab hold of their characters and how they interact with one another, is terrific.  For example, they are always in the moment, always reaching and stretching their talent to draw the audience toward them. Always generous toward one another yet work as individual professional actors, who blend and work as a unit.  It’s good stuff.

The technical credits over the last eight years at the Atrium have always been outstanding. For the “White production:” Sets by Jimmy Cuomo, Lighting by Moira Wilkie Whitaker, Costumes by Aalsa Lee, Sound by Kate Fechtig, Hair and Make-up Designs by Lynda Shaeps, along with  Associate Designer Doug Morris, and Louise Ross, as stage manager, complete the creative team led by director Celona.

This the last CV REP production that will be performed in the Atrium. I’ve seen and reviewed most of them. It has been a wonderful run with many outstanding productions and many memories to be savored from the last eight years. So, Goodbye Atrium.  Hello, CV REP in their new home in Cathedral City beginning March 15, 2019.

-- Jack Lyons

DESERT ROSE PLAYHOUSE STAGES A BLISTERING COMEDY STARRING JUDITH CHAPMAN AS TALLULAH BANKHEAD

Judith Chapman and Mark Fearnow in "Looped" at Desert Rose Playhouse. All photos by Matthew McLean.

Residents of the Coachella Valley are very fortunate that we share our desert paradise with several National Treasures of the Arts. We lost, however, one of America’s iconic performers with the passing of the legendary 97 year old Carol Channing last month.

But we are still blessed with National Treasure performer-extraordinaire, stage actor, comedienne, TV and movie star now “retired” at 93, Kaye Ballard (never really retired from the business; she is just resting between gigs). Her film documentary “Kaye Ballard – The Show Goes On” was screened at the 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) to rave reviews. The third National Treasure star residing in our valley is a much younger TV star, film actress, stage actor and director who is known for her one-woman shows: the “Belle of Amherst”, a portrait of Emily Dickenson, “Vivien”, her tour de force effort as the beautiful, brilliant but troubled English actor Vivien Leigh, along with other personalities that she recreates. Ms. Chapman has toured her shows across the country.

And, of course, Ms. Chapman is listed by some as the Queen of the Soaps. She was brought back by popular fan demand last season to once again play the scheming and formidable Gloria Bardwell, of the “Young and the Restless” TV show. Theatre audiences now have the opportunity to see her perform locally in the Desert Rose Playhouse’s sensational comedy production of “Looped”, hilariously and cleverly written by Matthew Lombardo, and brilliantly directed by former Desert Rose Playhouse artistic director Jim Strait.

“Looped” is based on a true incident that involved stage actor and Hollywood star Tallulah Bankhead in 1965. Ms. Bankhead was already infamous for being, shall we say, difficult as a performer. Punctuality and following the norms of show business rules were definitely not her strong suit. Alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity is what fueled her world.

America dearly loves its rebels. They’re the ‘Peck’s bad- boys and girls who flout the rules of society and drown themselves in public and private hedonism much to the delight of the tabloid readers. They may be colorful and quotable but they usually flame-out early in life.

The story of “Looped” revolves around a key line of additional dialogue that has to be recorded by Ms. Bankhead in a recording studio and then reinserted into the film. It’s a simple request that all film actors are required to do when necessary. But the movie producers forget they are dealing with Tallulah Bankhead.

The job of meeting and having her record the line falls to Danny (Mark Fearnow, in a nicely judged performance), a film editor who is unprepared to deal with the whirlwind star and ego of Tallulah Bankhead; a performer who never suffered fools easily. Miquel Arballo as Steve is the recording director in the studio booth who lends just the right amount of quiet professional frustration, in trying to do his job and then take his son to a LA Dodger baseball game afterwards.

If this story sounds prosaic and not very engaging, you had better “fasten your seat-belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night”, to quote Bette Davis as Margo Channing, in “All About Eve”. Judith Chapman’s towering comedic portrayal as Tallulah Bankhead, will loom large as a Desert Theatre League Best Performance by a Leading Female candidate, come the 2019 Desert Star Awards ceremony this Fall.

The beauty of her performance lies in her overall professionalism, talent, and the inventiveness she brings to the task of recreating Tallulah Bankhead’s insecurities, salty language, warts and all style, and still have the audience in stitches with her impeccable timing, pacing, and stage business, that makes for a deliciously, sublime evening of theatre entertainment for adults (strong language).

It’s pure Judith Chapman totally immersed and completely in command within the skin, body movement, quirks, and tics of Bankhead that reaches out and grabs the audience turning them into acolytes of an actor who knows how to take the stage and perform her special magic. This is what the great Noel Coward called having “Star Quality”. It’s reserved for only a few but when we’re in its presence, it is a golden moment in the theatre.

A special kudo goes to Desert Rose Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Robbie Wayne, for obtaining the services of Ms. Chapman for “Looped”. The creative team led by director Strait features a small, intentionally cramped recording studio set design by Bruce Weber and a lighting design by the redoubtable Phil Murphy, with costume design by Ruth Braun and Robbie Wayne, along with sound design by Jim Strait and Miquel Arballo, and Paul Taylor, assistant to the director, complete the creative team.

“Looped”, performs at the Desert Rose Playhouse Friday and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 10, 2019. This is a Must See production. For tickets call the Box Office at 760-202-3000.

-- Jack Lyons

NEIL SIMON IS STILL RELEVANT AT DESERT THEATREWORKS WITH BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS AT IPAC

The cast of "Brighton Beach Memoirs at Desert Theatreworks. Photos by Paul Hayashi.

One of the enduring joys of seeing Neil Simon plays even 40 years after being written, is they’re still relevant when it comes to observing the foibles and folly of humans as viewed through the lens of America’s late comic genius playwright.

Simon was a big family oriented playwright. He wrote mostly about what he knew best – working class American immigrant families, which back then in the 1930’s, most families had immigrant roots and stories. Simon’s plays were always up-beat. Never depressing. And he infused all his work with comedy. If people laughed with his characters, not at them, then he felt there was hope that things would get better for everyone. And America of the 1930’s, deep in the Great Depression, needed all the comedy help it could find.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” now on the stage of Desert Theatreworks, located in the Indio Performing Arts Center (IPAC) in Indio, CA is producing the first play in Simon’s “Eugene Trilogies”. “Memoirs” was written in 1983, followed by “Biloxi Blues” in 1985, and the last of the “Eugene Trilogies” was written in 1986. This poignant comedy is lovingly and sensitively directed Rebecca Havely.

This semi-autobiographical comedy explores life in the Jack and Kate Jerome household along with their 19-year-old son Stanley (Lee Padick) and 14-year-old Eugene (Angus Feath), a dreamer and a budding writer who plays Eugene, as well as the narrator who keep’s a diary. Eugene’s entries help the audience keep up to date with his keen observations and comical comments concerning the jam-packed Jerome household in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach section. Eugene has just experienced puberty and is now eager for larger adventures.

Everything revolves around family. Beginning with his ailing, strict, father Jack (Stephen Blackwell), his morose older brother Stanley (Lee Padick) and his relationship with his two teenage female cousins: older Nora (Bella Oden), and asthma suffering, young Laurie (Cameron Trubee), and their widowed mother Blanche wonderfully and sensitively played by Leanna Rodgers. It may be Eugene’s story but as they say it takes a close-knit family village to grow up back in the 1930’s as well as it takes today.

The play is a veritable Neil Simon gold mine of witty dialogue and poignant stage moments. It boasts a nicely nuanced and grounded performance by Ms. Ryan, as the nurturing earth mother Kate Jerome. Kate is the glue that holds the Jerome family together during the trying economic and social times of pre-World War II America.

As was common in the days of the Great Depression, families who had a home or a spare room took in relatives and extended family members. Growing up in a small or cramped house, however, left precious little space for privacy for sexually awakening 14-year-old Eugene.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” is an American story that has been replicated all over the country. It’s just the family names and their ethnicity that has changed. Everyone has contributed to what the country has become and what it stands for today – a beacon for freedom and democracy for all. Remember, we have been a nation of immigrants since 1607 when the first English settlers set foot in the Virginia colony of Jamestown. Simon’s play is layered with themes and memes that are still relevant a half century later. He never goes out of style. We need his comic genius touch more now than ever.

Technical credits for the production’s creative team led by director Havely include: set designer Lance Phillip-Martinez, lighting designer Phil Murphy, Costume and Props designer Michelle Mendoza, lighting operator Maddox Martinez, Follow Spot operator Kaylyn Bernal, sound designer Miguel Arballo, , sound operator Laura Martinez, Hair and Makeup design by Art Healey and the two story set Builder is Miguel Gomez. Tresa Oden stage manages the production.

The comedy production performs on the Desert Theatreworks stage in the Indio Performing Arts Center (IPAC), Indio, CA and runs through January 27, 2019. For tickets and reservations call the box office at 760-980-1455.