Theater Review: Three Summers of Lincoln

This seems to be the year for U.S. history, especially the bloody, messy kind.

La Jolla Playhouse started it last week with the opening of the new musical “Three Summers of Lincoln,” which runs through March 25 at the Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre. Christopher Ashley directs the show.

This play, covering 1862-1864, describes the Civil War and how President Lincoln eventually ended it with help from abolitionist (and former slave) Frederick Douglass. 

It took only three meetings between the two men, but this version offers much more than that — a score that blends gospel, R&B and powerhouse anthems, and lots of dancing by a fine ensemble of 13 singers/dancers.

The music starts in 1862 with the company singing and dancing to “Ninety Day War,” which prepares the audience for a different interpretation of the event many think of as a literally bloody mess. 

President Lincoln (Ivan Hernandez, who actually resembles Lincoln) is frustrated by the fighting that has resulted in no wins. But as Joe DiPietro’s play progresses he will slowly shift from a rule-bound lawyer to a rule breaker and change-maker who sings “a liberal relies on ‘later’ but a radical shouts ‘now!’”

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass (played and sung brilliantly by Quentin Earl Darrington) is annoyed, too, that the fighting isn’t over. But how to end it?

They will end it when they get together and decide that it’s enough, already, of the fighting. That will happen a bit over two hours later, after both men have pushed each other to end it.

Douglass’ children — son Lewis (Magic Mosely) and daughter Rosetta (Naomi Tiana Rodgers) are also in the cast, as are Lincoln’s wife Mary (Carmen Cusack), her friend and dressmaker Elizabeth (Saigon Sengloh) and his valet William (John-Andrew Morrison).

There are some great scenes in this show, such as the song in which Mary Todd Lincoln helps Union soldiers write letters home, and another late in the show in which Douglass and Lincoln sing about how pleasantly surprised they were about each other as people.

Oh, and I mustn’t forget that pompous General George B. McClellan (played hilariously by Eric Anderson), who is a comic gem.

The score by Crystal Monee Hall is full of ensemble numbers, with many excellent lyrics. Some even use Lincoln and Douglass’ words. And choreographers John Rua and Daniel J. Watts have created evocative, sometimes African-inspired dances.

It all works together brilliantly. It looks great, sounds great, offers a terrific cast and settings. It’s a show not to be missed.

The details

“3 Summers of Lincoln” plays through April 6 at La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla.

Ticket prices: $30-137

For information or tickets: (858) 550-1010 or lajollaplayhouse.org

Theater Review: What The Constitution Means to Me

Whoa, this is a play like no other, speedy and fascinating and exhausting all at once. And how can there be a play about the U.S. Constitution that does all that and keeps you utterly enthralled at the same time?

Don’t ask, just get a ticket and get up there to North Coast Repertory Theatre, where you’ll see Jacque Wilke* take on the role of Heidi, an American woman who took it upon herself to analyze the U.S. Constitution almost word by word. 

David Ellenstein, NCRT’s artistic director, writes in his intro that writer Heidi Schreck took about ten years to write the play, performing it first on Broadway in New York in 2019, where he reports that it “took the city by storm” and became a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

It certainly fascinated the NCRT audience, especially this person who was lucky enough to get a second-row seat.

The most important word in the show is “shall,” which is used many times, and what comes after that word is what this show is all about. 

If you’re a woman, you know that “not” is one of the many words that often follow “shall,” and this show will tell you many of them that later became part of the U.S. Constitution.

On the way, woman’s right to choose will be discussed, as will “equal protection under the law” and the “due process” clause. There will be talk about mandatory and discretionary requirements.

Wilke shares the stage with Andrew Oswald, who plays the Legionnaire and shares the stage with her (from the other side). But mostly he just sits there and watches her talk. And she does it brilliantly.

Later, we will meet two young debaters, played by Genevieve Tai and EM Dance, who will amuse us with their own debate.

“What The Constitution Means To Me” is a terrific play. Don’t miss it.

Theater Review: WHITE

Note: Scripps Ranch brings us a wild, crazy show called "WHITE." Sorry, I couldn't make the photos behave, so try to make do with this review. 

Leave it to Scripps Ranch Theatre to come up with a piece that drives you crazy, makes you laugh and keeps you enthralled for the entire 90-minute, intermissionless piece.

Tonight it’s James Ijames’ “White,” which starts with a (caucasian) artist named Gus (Joey Landwehr) and a (black) actress named Vanessa (Mysia Anderson, who also plays two other characters) and their helpers/friends named Jane (Noelle Caliguri) and Tanner (Kevin Phantom), then blossoms into a much wider piece with so many characters that I lost track of who or what they are or want to be. 

The overall topic here is privilege in the art world: who gets it, who wants it and how they do or don’t work together.

The overall idea is the presentation of diversity and our own individual biases, racial and sexual identities and LGBTQIA identities. Got it?

If it all sounds hopelessly confusing, don’t worry about it. Just sit down, relax and enjoy the crazy show you’re about to see. Cringe now and then if it feels right. I might have called the show “Lost in the Kerfufle,” but though I like that title I must admit that it’s just as possible that nobody (except me) was lost, so take that for what it’s worth. 

The cast is terrific, Yolanda Marie Franklin gets a lot of credit for directing this crazy show, and from my perspective a huge amount of credit also goes to Cassandra Crawford for her costume design(s), that seem to change almost on a dime and fascinate with each switch. Ted Leib’s sound designs, John Spafford’s set designs (and construction) and Deanna Trethewy’s lighting designs also deserve credit.

“WHITE” runs through March 9, 2025 at Scripps Ranch Theatre in Scripps Ranch. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

For tickets, call (858) 395-0573 or buy online at https://scrippsranchtheatre.org/showtckets/

Theater Review: Other Desert Cities

                     Cast of "Other Desert Cities"

       Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger, Alan Rust, Melanie Lora, Rosina Reynolds, Debra Wanger. Photo by Karli Cadel.

Families. Oy. Especially the folks who live in an upscale Palm Springs home in Jon Robin Baitz’s “Other Desert Cities,” called a “searingly funny drama” on the program cover of Cygnet Theatre’s latest theatrical offering.

It is just that, not to mention almost depressing, given the way they sometimes treat each other. Alan Rust* plays Dad Lyman Wyeth, trying to keep the family happy and functional. Lyman is a former actor who served as an ambassador in the Reagan administration.

Mainly, there’s writer Brooke Wyeth (played by a deliberate Melanie Lora*), home to celebrate Christmas with the family after a six-year absence. Brooke is about to write another book, this one a sad family memoir about a tragic event from the past. 

Brooke’s mom Polly (brilliantly played by Rosina Reynolds) used to be a screenwriter. Now she’s just a solid Republican who sometimes gets annoyed at “you indulged children of the ‘me’ generation.”

Brooke’s other sib is youngest son and reality TV producer Trip, played by Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger with the devil-may-care attitude of the young.

Then there’s elderly Silda Grauman (wonderfully played by Debra Wanger*), Jewish, bitter and alcoholic. She whines “I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and all I lost is 14 days.”

What’s going to happen? Oh, lots of things, some funny, some sad, some that will probably remind you of someone or something in your life. 

But it’s all done well, as is typical of Cygnet. 

* member of Actor’s Equity

The details

"Other Desert Cities" plays through March 2, 2025 at Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs Street in Old Town.

Shows Wednesday through Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

For tickets call the box office (619) 337-1525, open from 12-6pm or write them at boxoffice@cygnettheatre.org.

Theater Review: The Half-Life of Marie Curie

 

                            The Half-Life of Marie Curie

Let’s face it, ladies, it’s never been easy to be a woman. It’s tough now, and it was much more difficult in the early 20th century when Polish-born Marie Curie (aka Maria Salome Sklodowska-Curie) was a physicist and chemist who revolutionized the scientific understanding of radioactivity.

Curie’s work led to new cancer treatments and the discovery of radium and polonium. She was also the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, receiving the award in 1903 for radiation research. In 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating radium. 

Now New Village Arts Theater in Carlsbad presents playwright Lauren Gunderson’s fascinating play “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” a two-character piece that shows Curie and older scientist/electromechanical engineer Hertha Ayrton (portrayed by Leigh Scarritt) playing lickety split off each other in a 90-minute, no-stops-allowed piece that may wear you out as much as it surely tires them.

Frequently seen on the NVA stage, Actors’ Equity member Scarritt takes it upon herself to teach the young Curie how to survive in this environment, where women are not encouraged to work, let alone to, you know, SAY anything to the men with whom she shares the science.

Daughter of a Polish Jewish watchmaker and a seamstress, Ayrton gave herself freedom to dress and act much more flamboyantly than her younger counterpart (credit costume designer Claire Peterson).

The British Ayrton (full name Phoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton), was an electrical engineer, mathematician, physicist, inventor, and suffragette. Born Phoebe Sarah Marks, she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks in sand and water. 

Rachael VanWormer is also often seen on this stage, and never fails to perform magnificently. Her character Marie Curie got a doctor of science at the Sorbonne and was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for a study into spontaneous radiation. In 1911 she received a second Nobel, this time in chemistry, for her work in radioactivity. In 1921, President Harding of

the United States presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science.

Director Kym Pappas gives them plenty of time and space to show us how they  worked together.

I wish I could write faster and remember better (or at least have gotten hold of the script) so that I could quote accurately how the women deal with each other and some of the often-amusing things they say. These were two very special women, and Gunderson gives us a wonderful glimpse of two extraordinary women.

But never mind, be aware that this is a play like none you’ve ever seen. It is also one you should not miss, especially if you are a woman and have lived through some of the problems we still have with the male of the species, though mostly to a lesser degree.

The details

“The Half-Life of Marie Curie” plays through Feb. 23, 2025 at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center, 2787 State Street in Carlsbad. 

Shows are Thursday through Sunday. Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; 2 pm Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Approximate runtime: 90 minutes with no intermission.

Tickets are available through the box office at info@newvillagearts.org, or by calling (760)433-3245. Box office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12-5 p.m.

                                     The real Hertha Ayrton

    

                                            The real Marie Curie

Theater Review: The Heart Sellers

                    
                       Jin Park and Marielle Young

Immigration has taken a bigger slice of the journalistic pie since that American president (who shall remain nameless) won the last election and appears to be planning to take out his vengeance on those who wish he hadn’t won.

Though Playwright Lloyd Suh wrote “The Heart Sellers” in 1973, the play (which takes place on Thanksgiving Day in that year) certainly seems relevant today. And thanks to director Kat Yen, fine stage management and two terrific actresses, it makes for a fascinating, often funny, sometimes poignant 90-minute play without intermission. It runs through Feb. 2 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach.

The title is a play on words of the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, which reformed U.S. immigration policy by lifting strict quotas on immigration from Asia and Africa and prioritizing family reunification over national origin, which opened the door to a new wave of immigrants. That legislation, signed by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, decreed that national origin could no longer be a barrier to immigration.

As the show opens, American Jane (Jin Park) is busybeeing around in her kitchen, tossing a frozen turkey in the oven and apparently considering that proper cooking practice. She seems to be having a wonderful time when the second character, a Filipina immigrant named Luna (played by Marielle Young), rings the doorbell.

Jane isn’t sure why Luna is here, but she tosses out some Ritz crackers and dip, noting that she watches Julia Child on TV every day, and thus begins a friendship that will amuse the audience for the rest of the show. It only takes a little patience and a bit of wine.

There’s no great profundity here, and no great length either. It’s a simple show about people who can become friends despite coming from utterly different backgrounds. And after all, the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. As President Johnson put it, “Our beautiful America was built by a nation of strangers. Those who do come will come because of what they are, not because of the land from which they sprang.”

Kudos to NVA’s usual winning team of designers (Marty Burnett’s set, Matthew Novotny’s lighting, Grace Wong’s costumes and Audrey Casteris’ props), along with newcomer Daniela Hart Uptownworks, who did the sound design.

“The Heart Sellers,” originally commissioned by Milwaukee Repertory Theater, was first performed in 2023. It’s different from what one usually sees at NCRT, but it offers food for thought.

The details

“The Heart Sellers” plays through February 2, 2025 at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.

Shows: 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets: ($52-$74) available at 858-481-1055 or online at northcoastrep.org

Theater Review: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: a Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays

                  Jefferson Mays telling Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

Some people can play anybody (and maybe even anything). Actor Jefferson Mays is one of those. 

The Old Globe Theatre presents Mays through Dec. 22 in his inimitable version of Charles Dickens’ famed “Christmas Carol.” But this isn’t just any old Dickens.

This is “A Christmas Story” told as a ghost story, in cooperation with writers Susan Lyons (Mayo’s wife) and Michael Arden.

We all know the story, but we don’t all get the chance to see an actor of Mays’ ability play all of those parts in a 90-minute one-act extravaganza.

I’d love to know how many voices we heard (it’s more than 50), but I couldn’t help being not just inspired but delighted as he continued through the show. Working from a red-covered book that is presumably his script, he brings us everybody from Tiny Tim to old grandpa (and of course Scrooge), with only an occasional slurp of water as relief. 

He giggles, chortles, snorts, laughs and talks like grandma without a hitch, spreading his joy (and Marley’s ghost, attempting to change Scrooge’s bad behavior) around the Globe’s theater-in-the-round.

There isn’t a lot to say about this show, except that it goes by in a hurry and you will be delighted with Mays as he morphs into all of those famous literary characters.

I haven’t seen Mays live onstage for some years. I’m thrilled to see him back in this new version of his famous show and hoping to see him again soon.

The details

“Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays” plays through December 22, 2024 at The Old Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Evening shows are at 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices start at $64 and can be obtained Tuesday through Sunday at the box office (619) 234-5623) or online at theoldglobe.org.

Free parking is available in the park. Valet parking is available at $22 for pre-purchase or $25 for drive-up, evenings only.