HIGH ENERGY MUSICAL ON STAGE AT NORTH COAST REP THEATRE

L to R - Cynthia Thomas, Tony Perry, YVONNE,
Anise Ritchie and Ron Christopher Jones in
"Ain't Misbehavin'". Photos courtesy of North Coast Repertory

"Ain’t Misbehavin’", a sassy and toe-tapping tribute to the music of legendary piano-playing jazz musician, composer and all-round entertainer Thomas "Fats" Waller, is knocking the socks off audiences at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach.

The high energy show directed by award-winning actor-singer-producer-director Yvette Freeman, who is familiar to audiences for her roles in the popular and long-running NBC drama “ER” and "Orange is the New Black", deftly stitches together 20 Waller songs taking us on a nostalgic trip back to those radio days of the 30s 40s and 50s and the heyday of nightclubs like the Cotton Club in Harlem.

Waller was a real force in the jazz genre of the 1930s and 40s. His canon ran the gamut from his comedy songs like "Your Feet’s Too Big" and "This Joint is Jumpin’" to winsome songs like "Ain’t Misbehavin’", "Honeysuckle Rose", and "Keeping out of Mischief", being just a few among many.

Cynthia Thomas, YVONNE and
Ron Christopher Jones in "Ain't Misbehavin'"
at North Coast Repertory

Director Freeman has gathered her creative cast of singer/dancers from San Diego, Los Angeles and New York. There is very little that escapes her keen directing eye. Freeman herself was a cast member of the First National Company, of "Ain’t Misbehavin’" on Broadway and around the world.

Joining Freeman is choreographer Julia Lema - who was an assistant to the original Broadway choreographer Arthur Faria - and now has successfully met the challenge of remounting the dance numbers for the intimate stage of North Coast Repertory Theatre.

Anise Ritchie and Tony Perry in
"Ain't Misbehavin'" at North Coast Repertory

The talented and pizzazz-laden five member cast includes YVONNE as Charlaine, Cynthia Thomas as Ammelia, Ron Christopher Jones as Andre, Anise Ritchie as Nell, and Tony Perry as Ken. With 20 songs in the show each performer gets to shine. Stand out numbers include the title song, wonderfully performed by the company, Ron Jones then leads the company in the sly and entertaining number "T Ain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do", Cynthia Thomas delivers "Squeeze Me" to the delight of the audience, while Anise Ritchie’s smoldering "I’ve Got a Feeling I’m Falling" and her "Mean to Me" numbers are memorable, while a pert YVONNE really swings nautical in her "Yacht Club Swing" number.

Ron Christopher Jones and Tony Perry
in "Ain't Misbehavin'" at North Coast Repertory

Ron Jones and Tony Perry team up to explain about “The Ladies Who Sing with the Band" and Tony brings down the house with his hilarious rendition of "Your Feet's Too Big". The Company scores big time with two splashy numbers: "The Joint Is Jumpin'" and "Spreadin’ Rhythm Around".

The ladies look lovely in their costumes designed by Anastasia Paulova, and the gentlemen really get into their characters with some colorful, snappy and cool-looking Paulova-selected threads. And of course the music is terrific with a beat that makes it hard to keep one's toes from tapping, thanks to the five-piece band that features piano man and conductor Kevin Toney, along with drummer Danny King, bass player Greg McKinney, trumpeter Julian Davis and tenor sax and clarinet by Malcom Jones. Lanny Hartley serves as the Musical Director for the production.

The Company (YVONNE, Tony Perry, Cynthia Thomas,
Ron Christopher Jones and Anise Ritchie) in
"Ain't Misbehavin'" at North Coast Repertory

The sets and lighting by resident designers Marty Burnett (set) and Matt Novotny (lights) are always first rate and lend a visual appeal to all of the musical numbers.

"Ain’t Misbehavin’" at North Coast Rep Theatre is a delightful evening of song and dance from one of America’s iconic composers and performers. Don’t miss this musical tribute to the great Fats Waller.The show runs through August 7, 2016.

-- Jack Lyons

OLD GLOBE STAGES A SPARKLING MUSICAL GEM

Wayne Wilcox as Edward Ferrars and Sharon Rietkerk as Elinor Dashwood
in The Old Globe’s production of "Sense and Sensibility".
All photos by Liz Lauren, courtesy of Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

When it comes to precious stones, diamonds in particular, there are precious few that are flawless. However, when it comes to musical adaptations of classic source material, the field is wide open.

San Diego’s venerable Old Globe Theatre is currently staging a vibrant, engaging and thoroughly delightful production of Jane Austen’s "Sense and Sensibility". Austen’s timeless classic tale of romance and manners in late 18th century England is lovingly re-imagined by Tony-nominated composer/lyricist/librettist Paul Gordon. Gordon also penned Austen’s "Emma", another smash musical production that was seen at The Globe in 2011. It appears that Mr. Gordon is going to be two for two in winning musical adaptations from the pen of the superbly talented and clever Ms. Austen.

This dazzling production brilliantly staged by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s founder and artistic director Barbara Gaines (who makes her Old Globe directing debut with this production) is vividly directed with assurance, style and elan. There is something refreshing and positive to be said about artistic directors like the Globe’s Barry Edelstein, who imports talented and creative theatre artists and acting companies in a cross-pollination exercise, like Gaines’ mainly Chicago-based actors now gracing the boards as cast members in "Sense and Sensibility".

Megan McGinnis as Marianne
Dashwood in "Sense and Sensibility"

Playwright Gordon’s musical re-imagining of Austen’s 200 year-old novel of the same name is not only faithful, but is beautifully realized with his rich and lush score along with many winning two-part harmony numbers sung by Megan McGinnis as Marianne Dashwood and Sharon Rietkirk as Elinor Dashwood, becoming almost Mozartian in its precision and clarity. Both leading ladies are wonderfully in-the-moment actors as well as gifted singers.

Sharon Rietkirk as Eleanor Dashwood
in "Sense and Sensibility"

The production is chock full of clever and insightful musical numbers. Stand-out crowd pleasers include: ‘Lavender Drops’, and ‘Somewhere in Silence’, both sung by Ms. McGinnis and Ms. Rietkirk.  ‘Elinor’, is nicely sung by Wayne Alan Wilcox as Edward Ferrars, a shy suitor to Elinor, who together with McGinnis and Rietkirk form a fine trio to sing ‘So the Poets Say’ later on.

Sean Allan Krill as Colonel Brandon delivers a haunting and an achingly poignant falsetto rendition of the song ‘Lydia’, in a tender memory moment to his late wife. Krill also scores again with his bittersweet lamentation concerning an older gentleman’s pursuit of a much younger woman (Marianne) with the song ‘Wrong Side of Five and Thirty’.

Sean Allan Krill as Colonel Brandon and Paula Scrofano
as Mrs. Jennings in"Sense and Sensibility"

‘House with a View’ sung by Lord Middleton (Brian Ray Norris) and Mrs. Jennings (Paula Scrofano) provide the lighter and comedic moments in a production that is full of deft directorial touches and performances.

This wonderful fourteen member cast/ensemble is a potent combination with nary a false move in its flawless execution. Not only are the performers strong and sure in their performances, they have the knowledge and the experience of working together many times for director Gaines at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. For this production, familiarity definitely ‘breeds success’ which is a big plus for Globe audiences.

Megan McGinnis as Marianne Dashwood
and Peter Saide as Willoughby
in "Sense and Sensibility"

In the technical department the creative team led by director Gaines is outstanding. The Old Globe Theatre has few equals when it comes to providing a large technical arsenal available to fulfill the director’s creative staging requirements.




Scenic Designer Kevin Depinet creates a stunning, eye-popping, and dominating architectural touch to his wide space-staging components that demand precise execution when flying various set pieces, including three large (8 feet by 8 feet) framed oil paintings, two chandeliers, an on-stage swing (shades of Sir Peter Hall), and a host of other clever designer and directorial touches that are a visual feast for the eye.

Megan McGinnis as Marianne Dashwood
in "Sense and Sensibility"

Complementing Depinet’s sublime visuals is the highly nuanced and mood-inducing lighting design by Donald Holder, who supplies just the right amount of light to see and appreciate the gorgeous period-perfect costumes designed by Susan E. Mickey.

The production is further enhanced by a nine piece orchestra under the baton of music director and conductor Laura Berquist. There is really no substitute for a live orchestra when presenting a musical; the audience likes it and the singer/actors respond to it. It’s a luxury worth every penny is costs to have live music. Musical theatre doesn’t get much better than this when it comes to entertainment.

"Sense and Sensibility" is a splendid musical production not to be missed by Jane Austen lovers; it’s just one more example that quality live theatre is alive and well at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park.  The production performs at the Donald and Darlene Shiley stage through August 14, 2016.

GREY GARDENS AT THE AHMANSON IS A RICHES-TO-RAGS MUSICAL DRAMA

Rachel York as "Little Edie" and Betty Buckley as Edith
Bouvier Beale in "Grey Gardens" Photo by Craig Schwartz

“Grey Gardens”, the musical currently on stage at the Ahmanson Theatre, received ten Tony nominations in 2007, going on to snare three wins: Christine Ebersole for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Mary Louise Wilson for Best Actress in a Featured Role, and William Ivey Long for Best Costume Design.

It was such an immensely popular production that it was re-imagined in 2015 for a short run in Seattle by playwright Doug Wright, Scott Frankel the composer, and Michael Korie the lyricist, and then into a new 2016 production now in Los Angeles.

“Grey Gardens” is once again being staged by the award-winning director Michael Wilson who helmed the production back in 2007. His cast in this 2016 production stars a sensational Rachel York as ‘little’ Edie Beale/Edith, and a terrific Betty Buckley as Edith Bouvier Beale.

Sarah Hunt and Rachel York in "Grey Gardens"
Photo by Craig Schwartz

In short, “Grey Gardens” is the story of an alpha female mom, Edith Bouvier Beale played by Betty Buckley and her daughter Edie Beale played by Rachel York and the odd assortment of friends and eccentric relatives. It’s the classic tale of a love-hate relationship between a celebrity mother and her daughter who happen to be very prominent people in New York society. It is also an inverse study of the ‘rags to riches’ story so popular in American culture. The Beales of tony East Hampton, Long Island, lived in a 28-room mansion and led a life of luxury, until the Wall Street crash of 1929 reduced the family to a lifestyle bordering on poverty and squalor behind their mansion walls.

Bryan Batt and Rachel York in
"Grey Gardens" Photo by Craig Schwartz

The production boasts a supporting cast of solid performers led by Bryan Batt as George Gould Strong, Edith’s staunch, supportive and effete piano-playing companion and friend, along with a wonderful Sarah Hunt as ‘little Edie’ in Act I. Josh Young portrays Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK’s older brother) in in this show who is about to become engaged to ‘little Edie (a creation of playwright Doug Wright that never took place in real life).

Davon Williams, Peyton Ella, Katie Silverman
Simon Jones and Sarah Hunt in "Grey Gardens"
Photo by Craig Schwartz

In Act II, Young plays Jerry, a neighbor who helps around the crumbling house. Simon Jones plays JV ‘Major’ Bouvier, the curmudgeonly father of Edith who arrives to deliver some of the funnier lines like, “marriage is for the tax codes and Mormons.” Davon Williams plays the redoubtable butler Brooks Sr. and Brooks Jr. while Katie Silverman as the young Jacqueline Bouvier and her little sister Lee played by Peyton Ella, round out the cast.

Rachel York in "Grey Gardens"
 Photo by Craig Schwartz

Betty Buckley in "Grey Gardens"
Photo by Craig Schwartz

Speaking earlier about love-hate relationships, I harbor some misgivings about the production as to its overall impression.

Yes, it’s a ten Tony nomination production, and yes, audiences lap it up. However, if I had to sum up this musical show it would sound something like this: It’s a show that definitely has a Broadway successful look and feel to it. But it is way over produced; the producers didn’t leave out one single cliché. Despite the music and lyrics which are necessary for a musical, the production is too long.Two hours and forty-five minutes including one intermission with 24 musical numbers tests the audience’s staying power.

Betty Buckley and Rachel York in the decaying
mansion "Grey Gardens" Photo by Craig Schwartz

Director Wilson leads a creative team that includes Scenic Designer Jeff Cowie, who delivers a stunning visual stage space for the actors. In Act II the aging of the once luxurious mansion is almost worth the price of admission itself. The costumes by Ilona Somogyi are pitch-perfect for two time periods that span 32 years; the lighting design by Howell Binkley (he designed the lights for “Hamilton”) and the sound design by Jon Weston are first rate. The production design is by Jason H. Thompson, with choreography by Hope Clarke. The music direction is under the baton of Kevin Stites.

“Grey Gardens” performs at the Ahmanson Theatre through August 14, 2016.

OLD GLOBE DEBUTS ‘MACBETH’ FOR 2016 SUMMER SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

Marsha Stephanie Blake as Lady Macbeth and Jonathan
Cake as Macbeth in the Old Globe production of
Macbeth - All photos by Jim Cox

It’s been said that there are only 36 plot lines for even the most brilliant and inspired playwrights to render. The progenitor and genius for English speakers in this regard is Shakespeare. The master of plot, the conductor and orchestrator of emotions, the person most responsible for inspiring playwrights over the last 400 years.

There are four great tragedies from the pen of Shakespeare that are considered the bedrock of English literature: ‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’, “Othello’ and ‘Macbeth’. All deal with flawed individuals who fall victim to their own ambitions and search for power in all its forms.

Jonathan Cake, Marsha Stephanie Blake

San Diego’s venerable Old Globe theatre complex (three venues), launched the 2016 Summer Shakespeare Season in the Lowell Davies Outdoor Festival Theatre with a stunning and powerful portrayal of ‘Macbeth’ by acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) actor Jonathan Cake in the title role. The production also stars Marsha Stephanie Blake as Lady Macbeth. Despite her petite stature, this Lady Macbeth is a formidable schemer and partner in crime with her husband as both are driven by the intoxicating and lethal cocktail of ambition and power during the age of the Divine Right of Kings.

Hollywood over the years has glamorized the Middle Age period in history, taking a lot of dramatic license in the process. In reality, life was a harsh existence with a life expectancy of between thirty and fifty years of age. The driven and ambitious had to make their marks early to succeed. Remember, Alexander the Great was just twenty-one when he sat down and wept because there were no more countries to conquer.

Jonathan Cake

‘Macbeth’, in short, is a story of ambition on steroids, by a man who believes through prophecy that he is destined to become the King of Scotland. To ensure that the prophecy becomes a reality Macbeth, together with his wife, hatches a plan that includes deceit, betrayal, and murder as a way of obtaining the ultimate adrenaline rush and power trip – becoming the King and Queen of Scotland.

Under the deft direction of Shakespeare scholar Brian Kulick, this ‘Macbeth’ production has been updated to a visual setting more or less around the time of World War I. However, the language, spirit, and murderous intrigues that Shakespeare loved so dearly are still present. It’s a clever way to update the core story that is familiar to all without sacrificing any dramatic elements or story points as conceived by the Bard.

Kulick also spices up his vision of ‘Macbeth’ with an outstanding and diverse company of players. The company boasts twenty-one actors. Standouts include: Timothy D. Stickney as a strong Banquo, Clifton Duncan as a grieving Macduff, Daniel Petzold as Malcolm, Jerome Preston Bates as Duncan, King of Scotland, Brian Keane as Ross, James Joseph O’Neil as Lennox, Ally Carey as Lady Macduff, Talley Beth Gale as Gentlewoman, and those three troublesome Nurse/Witches; Makha Mthembu, Amy Blackman, and Suzelle Palacios who deal in prophecy, mystery, and paranoia.

The cast of "Macbeth" at the Old Globe

It’s a splendid ensemble cast that generates enough energy and on-stage chemistry to light half of San Diego. The potent performance of Ms. Blake and the towering performance of Mr. Cake is just the icing on this blood-soaked Scottish pastry that makes this dark and villainous tale so compelling. And just as in Emile Zola’s ‘Therese Raquin’, the lovers are haunted by visions of their dead victims that prevent them from enjoying the fruits of their crimes.

Jonathan Cake, Clifton Duncan

The creative team for ‘Macbeth’ led by director Kulick has Scenic Designer Arnulfo Maldonaldo create a large space stage that encompasses a hospital setting, a large dinner party area and strategic spaces for other scenes that move the story along. The Lighting Designer Jason Lyons (no relation) nicely paints Maldonaldo’s set in nuanced, mood-inducing lights, and Sound Designers Sten Severson and David Thomas supply the appropriate sound effects.

Costume Designer Oana Botze creates beautiful costumes for Lady Macbeth, Lady Macduff, and the other women; however I was struck by the blandness of the male military costumes created by a lot of designers of late. They all appear to resemble the dark gray look of WW II German soldiers, and I’m perplexed as to why the style appears to be the standard for new designers. All, that is, except for that magnificent Field Marshall coat draping the shoulders of Jerome Preston Bates as King Duncan. That costume had better be under lock and key every night. It’s a beauty.

‘Macbeth’ is one of Shakespeare’s masterpiece plays that is not mounted very often. It would a pity to miss it. This splendid production is performing in the Lowell Davies Outdoor Festival Theatre and runs through July 24, 2016.

AYAD AKHTAR’ POWERFUL/FUNNY/ANGRY PLAY ON SOCIAL DISCOURSE

L-R: Hari Dhillon, Emily Swallow, Karen Pittman
and J Anthony Crane-Photos by Craig Schwartz

One can get away with a lot when the weapon of biting social discourse is comedy. Remember, ‘God of Carnage’? Yazmina Reza’s four seemingly-intelligent adults meet to sort out a schoolyard incident involving their young sons, only to have the meeting explode into hand-hand combat when a casual remark sets off a firestorm of recriminations.

In playwright Ayad Akhtar’s blistering comedy, “Disgraced” the playwright explores the dark underbelly of the politically correct subject matter of anti-semitism and Islamophobia that is simmering just beneath the surface at first only to boil over later on, dragging its five characters into open verbal warfare. “Disgraced”, directed by journeywoman (see; politically correct) director Kimberly Senior, first premiered in 2011 in Chicago, then transferred to New York’s Lincoln Center, then onto Broadway capturing a Pulitzer Prize for Akhtar and a Tony nomination for director Senior in the process.

The play written in 2012 is eerily prescient for events unfolding in 2016. The action is set in New York City during 2011 and 2012 takes place over a nine month period.

Hari Dhillon and Emily Swallow
Photo by Craig Schwartz

Pakistani-American lawyer Amir (Hari Dhillon) at the urging of his American painter wife Emily (Emily Swallow) reluctantly agrees to offer ‘assistance’ to a local Imam who has run afoul of the law for comments he made about the “9/11” attacks. Emily has come to know the Imam while gathering research into Islamic art for a series of her paintings she will be showing at a fashionable art gallery.

At a hosted dinner party for friends Issac (J. Anthony Crane) a curator friend of Emily and Amir – has more than a business interest in Emily – and his wife Jory (Karen Pittman) who works at the same law firm as Amir settle in for an evening of cocktails, pleasantries and a delicious dinner prepared by Emily. After consuming too much alcohol the conversation turns to office business talk and then to the hot button issues of the day: politics, religion, and whatever other alcohol-fueled deep feelings held by all, begin to surface during the inevitable moments of truth.

Amir, a self-proclaimed apostate from Islam makes a case for secularism saying” The Koran is like one long hate-mail letter to humanity”. Which prompts Isaac to calm the waters with a sincere assessment saying “Islam is rich and universal (as viewed through his curator lenses), part of a spiritual heritage we can all draw from.” Amir then admits “… to having felt some pride on September 11th.” Which produces gasps from the audience. Now the stage is set for the infidelity slings and arrows when Amir and Jory returning from an errand, find Isaac and Emily in a close encounter.

The play may be full of predictable clichés and the direction of the story, but no one can deny the talent and solid performances of the actors working on the stage. Sometimes the situations get overcooked with everyone yelling. But, after all there are a lot of truths being hurled all about, with each character making a case for his or her position.

Behzad Dabu- Photo by Craig Schwartz

There is one last character that demands our attention. Abe Jensen played by Behzad Dabu, is an angry young man. Abe is Amir’s nephew who in an effort to assimilate, changes his name from Muslim to Anglo. Further frustration and disappointments prompt him, however, to change it back again at the end of the play. He gets to summarize, at least for me, the driving ideology and role Islam plays in the overall scheme of things on this planet. The ending of the play is deliberately left ambiguous, however, I felt an uneasy, gnawing feeling that there is more in store for the characters and for a secular society as we know it.

In the technical department, director Senior leads her creative team headed by Scenic Designer John Lee Beatty who fashions an attractive one-set New York City apartment, with costumes designed by Jennifer Von Mayrhauser, Light Design by Christine A. Binder, and Sound design by Jill BC Du Boff. The Fight Direction choreographed by Unkledave’s Fight House, is one of the best fight design efforts is so authentically executed, I had some concern for Ms. Swallow’s safety. But, of course, I shouldn’t have worried.

“Disgraced” is a powerful play that delivers a potent message, yet is funny and enjoyable at the same time. It is performed without an intermission at the Mark Taper Forum through July 17, 2016.

NORTH COAST REP PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE TRANSLATION OF HENRIK IBSEN’S POWERFUL "HEDDA GABLER"

Mhari Sandoval stars as Hedda in "Hedda Gabler at
North Coast Repertory Theatre. All photos by Aaron Rumley

Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler may be a 19th century gal but she could easily fit into the machinations of any 21st century society with a tweak here and a left turn there.Then as now, Hedda Gabler-wannabes show up with regularity.Take any Bette Davis or Joan Crawford movie, or Lillian Hellman’s ‘The Little Foxes’ Regina character - all alpha females, all with their agendas.

The difference between the plight of 19th-century European women then is they didn’t have the law on their side, but they do now. Patriarchal society rules have always been rigged in favor of men who like it that way. No changes are required or need fixing, thank you.The fair sex doesn’t see it that way, never has and never will.They look upon it as payback for all those centuries of indentured service to men and rightly so.

Ibsen, considered by many to be the father of modern dramatic realism, was a man who wrote plays often deemed scandalous by his peers and society in general. But he created wonderful roles for women (much like Tennessee Williams) such as Nora in “A Doll’s House” and Hedda Gabler. Next to Shakespeare, Ibsen is the most produced playwright in the world.

Bruce Turk and Cristina Soria in
NCRT's "Hedda Gabler"

David Ellenstein, the artistic director of North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT), has a keen eye and ear for the classics and for plays that explore the human condition. “Hedda Gabler was on his radar screen for selection in their 34th season after an acclaimed production of the Ibsen play “Ghosts” with a new translation by Professor Hanes Harvey back in 2010 received strong audience praise.

Ellenstein then sought out, once again, the translation gifts of dramaturg and playwright Professor Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey, a recognized Ibsen and Strindberg scholar and translator, with a request to produce a new translation of "Hedda Gabler"for North Coast Rep. The new translation can now lay claim that this production is a bona fide world premiere event. Another unique aspect of the production is that the actors had input into the script as to character traits, motivations and dialogue suggestions, making the production a true collaboration by all of the creative artists involved in the production.

Mel House and Richard Baird in
NCRT's "Hedda Gabler"

The cast assembled by director Ellenstein is a who’s who of award-winning San Diego-based and award-winning regional actors that include NCRT favorites: Bruce Turk as Jorgen Tesman, Hedda’s husband; Mhari Sandoval, as the scheming, headstrong Hedda; the elegant Cristina Soria as Aunt Juliane Tesman; Richard Baird as former hell-raiser Eilert Lovborg, a writer and former lover of Hedda who now claims he has been re-born; Ray Chambers as Judge Brack, a roue, blackmailer and seducer of women. New York based-actor Mel House makes her NCRT debut as Mrs. Thea Elvsted, the lover of Eilert Lovborg, and Rhona Gold as Berte the maid.

Long before TV soaps made their debut in America, Henrik Ibsen was scandalizing the patrons of Europe’s theatrical stages with similar themed plays.There’s no doubt about it. We human beings are a complicated, conflicted and a fascinating lot.

Mhari Sandoval and Bruce Turk in
NCRT's "Hedda Gabler"

Ellenstein’s smooth and seamless direction keeps everything moving with first rate technical credits from master set designer Marty Burnett and his lighting designer and creative side-kick Matthew Novotny. They never disappoint.The costumes of Elisa Benzoni are gorgeous and the sound design by Melanie Chen is pitch-perfect.

Ray Chambers and Mhari Sandoval in
NCRT's "Hedda Gabler"

With regard to Hedda’s black outfit in Act II: Perhaps a trim of Hedda’s train might be in order. She looks as if she’s struggling to avoid falling when she moves. When this occurs the audiences focus then shifts from the action within the scene to where we are concerned for the actor’s safety. Thus we are visually and mentally distracted by something that can easily be fixed before it occurs. We want the audience to be fully engaged during the entire play. Just a suggestion…

“Hedda Gabler” is a splendid production with a stellar cast that performs at North Coast Repertory Theatre through June 26, 2016. Don’t miss it!

OLD GLOBE STAGES A DELICIOUS COMEDY ABOUT THE ART OF SUSHI

Tim Chiou as Takashi and James Saito as Koji
in "tokyo fish story" at the Old Globe
All photos by Jim Cox

Japan as an island country had been insulated, by choice, from outside influences for centuries. Its culture and customs were relatively unknown to Westerners until the 16th Century.

The Japanese people have always taken pride in their more measured lifestyle with its appreciation for patience, regimentation, introspection, and discipline along with a respect for periods of silence and reflection both at work and at home.

When it became time for East to meet West in the modern era, food as usual was the vehicle that crossed the cultural bridge bringing people closer together. Which brings us to the just opened Old Globe production of “tokyo fish story”, insightfully written by Kimber Lee, and creatively staged by May Adrales.

James Saito as Koji
in "tokyo fish story"

The story is set in present day Tokyo and centers around Master Sushi Chef Koji who carefully and methodically built his successful career on respect for tradition, fine ingredients, and the legends of master sushi chefs who came before him. But now his once famous restaurant is losing its customers to newer and glitzier sushi eateries. Here as everywhere, it’s time for the new and younger generation of restaurateurs to take over. But tradition in Japan dies hard.

Koji (stoically but solidly played by James Saito) is having a crisis of aging in a modern society that seems indifferent to his personal business philosophy and work ethic. He misses the respect and the attention to detail required that present day sushi chefs cavalierly fail to bring to their profession. The pursuit of money, not deserved at the expense of his customers, is not a factor that consumes Koji’s days and nights. Now if only his small staff could embrace that philosophy.

Takashi, his assistant sushi chef (wonderfully played by Tim Chiou) has been a sushi chef-in-training, mentored by Koji for years. However, he has not been allowed to create his own sushi delicacies. Koji feels the time isn’t quite right (even after 20 years of loyal service).

Tim Chiou as Takashi
in "tokyo fish story"

Takashi, however, knows he is ready to step up but doesn’t quite know how to broach the delicate subject with his mentor/boss. It’s a familiar problem in small or family owned businesses worldwide.

Raymond Lee as Nobu
in "tokyo fish story"

Pecking order for employees in restaurants everywhere are rigid and fixed; in Japan even more so. Just as Takashi must wait, so must Nobu, a hip-hop-talking assistant, winningly played by Raymond Lee.




According to the director’s program notes, Ms. Adrales’ vision for the comedy/drama has staged the action of the play into areas: The restaurant where the chefs prepare and serve food and the fish market where owners and chefs come every morning to inspect and test the fish for quality, freshness and taste before purchasing what will become that evening’s sushi entrees.

Raymond Lee as Nobu and
Tina Chilip as Ama Miyuk in
"tokyo fish story

Tina Chilip, portrays two roles: Ama Miyuki, an experienced sushi kitchen staff employee, and a mysterious female sea siren seen only by Koji. As a female, she is subject to deferring to less skilled male employees when opportunities for promotions come along.

Jon Norman Schneider
as Daisuke in
"tokyo fish story"

Jon Norman Schneider plays six roles performing yeoman duty in all six. As the clutzy busboy-dishwasher comic relief on Koji’s staff, Schneider’s character is like a fish out of water. Woe betide the restaurant that hires this eager but clumsy server.

The beauty and enjoyment of this richly and inventively staged production lies in the supremacy of style over the prosaic substance of narrative. Ms. Adrales’ decision to have 99 percent of the action in the restaurant, when it comes to food preparation and clean-up duties, mimed by the actors in sync with a technically-pure sound design by Charles Coes and Nathan A. Roberts, is touch of genius.

James Saito as Koji with Tina Chillip as
The Woman in "tokyo fish story"

The audience becomes not only fully engaged in the story but is also fascinated and mesmerized by what takes place in a sushi kitchen, further enriching the visual experience (at least for this audience member).

There is nothing better than watching talented actors working with an experienced director who brings his or her personal vision to the production, and then allows the talent of the actors to take flight. “tokyo fish story” is a ‘small’ story beautifully realized with tender loving care.

Raymond Lee as Nobu, Tim Chiou as Takashi and
James Saito as Koji in "tokyo fish story"

The technical and creative team, led by director Adrales, features an eye-catching glistening kitchen set design by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, along with spot-on, authentic, costumes designed by David Israel Reynoso that shine under a lighting design by Jiyoun Chang. The terrific sound design team of Charles Coes and Nathan A. Roberts, was highlighted above earlier.

Artistic Director Barry Edelstein’s program notes stating he guarantees that after you see the ninety-minute show you’re going to want eat sushi is prophetic.

“tokyo fish story” is a splendid production that performs without an intermission on the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre Stage and runs through June 26, 2016.