THE GEFFEN'S "INVISIBLE TANGO" INVITES THE AUDIENCE ON A MAGICAL, MYSTERY TOUR WORTH TAKING

Helder Guimarães in the world premiere of Invisible Tango at Geffen Playhouse.
Directed by Frank Marshall. Original music composed by Moby. Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Ah, sweet mystery of life at last I've found you...in the form of an unassuming yet brilliant close up magician named Helder Guimarães whose one man show is currently gracing the Audrey Skirball Kenis stage at Westwood's Geffen Playhouse. The small theater has been transformed into a mid-century modern apartment with an elegant bookshelf back wall filled with fascinating items that look innocent, but...one never knows in this tour de force, ably directed by Frank Marshall. Yes, that Frank Marshall, the award winning producer and filmmaker, who helped bring "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and other Spielberg hit films to life.

But, I digress. From his enigmatic first appearance, where he tells a story of his first car accident in Los Angeles, to his final philosophical musings 80 uninterrupted minutes later, Guimarães lays out the premise for the show, for his life and maybe yours too: Everything happens for a reason.

     Bernard Buffet "Tête de Clown" ca. 1960s

Borrowing from the time-honored tradition of close up magic that engages audience members in the sleight of hand tricks, Guimarães charmingly interweaves personal stories about his discovery of a hand-written journal he finds in an antique store that pulls him into a multi-year quest to discover the identity of the author, himself a magician. We also hear about his enigmatic friend Gabriel, a retired clown once painted by famed portraitist Bernard Buffet in the 1960s.

If you have ever been amazed and confounded by the magical disappearance/reappearance of a card, or by the prestidigitator's uncanny ability to be able to read an audience member's mind or predict their action in advance, this is the show you must see.

Kudos to the Geffen for bringing Guimarães back to the Playhouse. His previous show for them, "Nothing to Hide", was one of the most popular shows in Geffen history. This is a finely tuned vehicle for its star who also wrote the book with help from Dramaturg Amy Levinson. Moby contributes a sensual, atmospheric original score, recorded and performed by him and the East Side Jazz Monkeys. Scenic Designer Francois-Pierre Couture, Lighting Designer Elizabeth Harper, and Sound Designer Alex Hawthorn are all integral players in this production and their work is outstanding yet understated.

Part memoir, part prestidigitation, "Invisible Tango" is lovingly underpinned with a philosophical motif that what is life without mystery. At one point, Guimarães offers the audience a chance to find out exactly how he pulls off each of his unbelievable feats; director Marshall says that no one has taken him up on the offer so far. Perhaps we still need to believe in magic in a world that is desperately seeking to reclaim its soul.

Invisible Tango is performed with no intermission, 80 glorious minutes long. The show runs until June 30. For more information on tickets, please visit www.geffenplayhouse.org.

-- Lisa Lyons

PALM CANYON THEATRE PRESENTS THE MUSICAL “BIG RIVER”

Ryan Holmes as Huck Finn and Jonathan Hatsios as Tom Sawyer
in Palm Canyon Theatre's "Big River". All photos by Paul Hayashi.

America’s most famous and favorite humorist of the late 19th century and early 20th century was renaissance man Samuel L. Clemens, who authored his own real-life adventures, stories, essays, and novels under the pen name of Mark Twain.

He was born in 1835, the year of the arrival of the celestial body known as “Halley’s Comet”; which only makes an appearance in American skies every 75 years. He died 75 years later when Halley’s Comet returned in 1910.  What Mark Twain accomplished in his storied literary career lives on.

Twain’s legacy of rich tales and stories celebrating the rugged individualism and spirit of the era reflected the country’s culture of the times. Society west of the Hudson River of New York was considered to be too brash, brawny and adventurous for snobbish East Coast elites. Ohio was considered to be end of civilized America with St. Louis, Missouri, the gateway to the Pacific.

America has come a long way since it lawless days of the wild-west. However, there’s still a lot of work to do culturally; we’re in the 21st century now in an evolving and ever-changing world.

The musical “Big River” debuted on Broadway in 1985 and toured the nation in the years 2004 and 2005, nabbed regional theatre awards wherever it played is now on stage in a limited run at the Palm Canyon Theatre (PCT)in Palm Springs.  Written by singer, songwriter, musician, and actor, the late Roger Miller, and librettist William Haulptam, is winningly directed and choreographed by PCT co-artistic director Se Layne.

Ms. Layne assembles a huge cast of thirty-one performers to tell Twain’s beloved 1884 American novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”    The musical production follows the characters of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, runaway slave Jim, The Duke, The King, Alice the slave, Mary Jane and others, on their journeys; and those of the slaves escaping to the North to their freedom. It’s been a beloved American classic novel and has been an entertaining American musical production for over thirty-five years.

To mount a rambling and sprawling story like “Big River” for the PCT stage is no mean feat.
The set design by co-artistic director and resident set and lighting designer J.W. Layne, provides clean and clever multi-level performing spaces for the large cast to perform their magic.  There are no seats with blocked views of the stage action.

Dan Tullis as Jim the Slave and Ryan Holmes as Huck Finn

The costumes designed by resident designer Derik Shopinski, and his assistants Kathryn Ferguson, Virginia Sullick, and Colleen Walker never disappoint. They always bring the ring of authenticity and are spot-on as to the period or to contemporary settings. The Sound designed by Jean Rodriguez, and Props by director Layne complete the creative team.  The production is stage managed by Derik Shopinski.

Breathing life into the character stories are: an energetic Ryan Holmes as Huck Finn, who brings just the right amount an earnestness and a slightly mischievous quality to his Huck performance and to his song numbers that work well for the audience.


Dan Tullis, Jr. as the runaway slave Jim, brings down the house with a basso-profundo voice to die for.  His range is amazing and his acting even more so. He has loads of movie and TV acting credits and it shows in this production.


Jonathan Hatsios as Tom Sawyer, Donald Kelley as The Duke, Ron Coronado as The King, Keisha D as the slave Alice, shines with her stunning gospel singing voice, Terry Huber as Judge Thatcher/Silas Phelps, Alan Berry as Counselor Robinson, Anna Grace Wallace as Mary Jane Wilkes, Mado Nunez as Pap Finn, and when he’s not on stage, is the resident wig designer for PCT productions; all deliver fine yeomen support as do the eighteen ensemble members. Also,  It’s a joy hear to two and three-part harmony singing in this musical.  We need more productions with harmony voices. Well done singers!

The music accompaniment is led by Musical Director Michael Reno on piano, David Bronson on drums, Larry Holloway on bass, and John Pagles on guitar. There are eighteen musical numbers in this production.  Act I features songs “River in the Rain” and “Muddy Water”, both numbers sung by Ryan Holmes and Dan Tullis Jr, respectively, and “The Crossing” sung by Keisha D and the slaves.

Act II features such songs as “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine” (in Reprise), “Free at Last”, emotionally sung by Mr. Tullis and Ms. Keisha D and the slaves. The rousing reprise of “Muddy Water” in the finale number by the entire company brings the audience to their feet in a series of standing ovations.

“Big River” is a crowd-pleasing musical production that performs at the Palm Canyon Theatre through May 19, 2010.  For reservations and ticket information call the box office at 760-323-5123.

DESERT ROSE PLAYHOUSE OF RANCHO MIRAGE SCORES IN “PAGEANT”, THE MUSICAL

The cast of "Pageant" at the Desert Rose Playhouse

The Desert Rose Playhouse located in Rancho Mirage, Ca is the only theatre venue dedicated to serving the LGBTQ community of the Coachella Valley It has an excellent track record of presenting both gay-themed and straight productions over the years.
Quality writing with solid performance is an equal opportunity employer and is the goal of what really matters to any theatre audience.  As the Bard of Avon says “The plays the thing,” which is really the name of the game.

When the IRS and the Census Bureau counted noses of Coachella residents, it discovered that various election results over the years find the gay community of the Coachella Valley to be the dominant demographic.  Thanks to the valley’s vibrant theatre scene there is plethora of theatres to enjoy stage productions in all its forms and styles.

The Desert Rose Playhouse recently underwent a passing of the “management torch,” so to speak, from founders Paul Taylor and Jim Strait to Robbie Wayne, the new artistic director and to Kam Sisco, the new producing manager.  Paul and Jim now prefer the trade winds, beaches, and luau dinners as residents of Hawaii, our 50th State in their golden years of retirement.

However, when visiting the mainland and the desert they still attend Desert Rose Playhouse performances when available.  Messrs. Taylor and Strait set the bar high, and now Mr. Wayne and Mr. Sisco are dedicated to raising it even higher.

“Pageant,” a send-up musical about the world of beauty pageants everywhere, is created by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly and directed by artistic director Robbie Wayne.  According to director Wayne, the show is strictly a satiric comedy presentation intended to be just fun for the audience.  There is no hidden agenda message being delivered by its cast or the writers.

The story, such as it is, unfolds in a series of quasi-sketches performed by the cast that reflects the various judging categories in which the “ladies” compete on the road to becoming crowned “Miss Glamouresse” (think Bert Parks and the old Miss America pageants).

The faux Glamouresse beauty pageant is hosted by Franky Cavalier (Michael Pacas) who introduces the contestants and puts the ladies through their paces.  There’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek intro’s that the ladies endure before they get to strut their stuff. And it’s all done in the name good fun.

The contestants for Miss Glamouresse in alphabetical order are: Noah Arce as Miss Industrial Northeast; Larry Martin as Miss Great Plains; Timm McBride as Miss Texas; Ben Reece as Miss Bible Belt; Brian Keith Scott as Miss Jersey Shore; and long-time professional “drag diva” performer Miss Rusty Waters as Miss Deep South.  There’s no ‘camp turns’ or moments in this entertaining show.

The production could be sub-billed as “Seven Guys and a Gal.”  The single female, however, doesn’t appear on stage in this “Pageant” production.  Jaci Davis, is the musical’s piano accompanist and a fabulous actor in her own right; makes sure the singer/actors on stage stay on key – which they do!

“Pageant” is a glittering, gorgeously produced, costumed musical that is a crowd-pleasing production. The technical credits of set design by Bruce Weber, and lighting design by the redoubtable Phil Murphy, along with glittering costumes created by director Wayne and Ruth Braun.

“Pageant,” is the final production of the Desert Rose Playhouse 2018-2019 season. Their traditional summer season show is “Ruthless the Musical,” which will perform from June 21st to July 14th, 2019.  The Fall season kicks off with Charles Busch’s comic melodrama “Die, Mommie, Die! “ inspired by the 1960’s movies of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Lana Turner, as aging Hollywood divas who refuse to grow old as performers. Playdates for “Die, Mommie, Die!” are October 4 through October 27th, 2019.

The box office for Desert Rose Playhouse will be accepting reservations for “Ruthless the Musical” and season subscription tickets beginning the week of May 27th.