Theater Review: The Other Place

                 Emily Jerez and Tina Machele Brown

Do any of us really have life under control?

When we meet her, scientist Juliana Smithton (Tina Machele Brown) seems to. She’s a researcher in her early 50s; her field, proteins. Lately she’s abandoned the lab for the huckster’s podium, where she shills for Identamyl, a memory improver invented by her company.

Juliana is married to 50-plus oncologist Ian (Nick Young). Ian has recently asked for a divorce. They have a daughter named Laurel (Emily Jerez), who ran off at a young age to marry a much-older man named Richard Stillner (Jaden Guerrero), and whom they almost never see.

But Playwright Share White hasn’t given us a standard family drama. Instead, she’s wound this taut 70-minute piece so tightly that we’re never quite sure whether we’re in real life, fantasy or some other reality altogether.

At some point, Juliana will tell Ian that she’d had an “episode.” I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll stop here. 

Duane McGregor’s set features pieces of white, not quite see-through white fabric put together, reflecting the enigmatic nature of the script. The unusual lighting (by Kevin “Blax” Burroughs) and sound (Jaden Guerrero) also add mystery.

The actors are all excellent, and though you may leave this show wondering exactly what it’s telling you, you’ll know you’ve seen important theater.

“The Other Place” runs through April 17 at OnStage Playhouse, 291 Third Avenue in Chula Vista.

Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets ($22-$25): (619) 422-7787 or onstageplayhouse.org

COVID PROTOCOL: Proof of vaccination required. Masks required at all times.

Theater Review: Water by the Spoonful

Most of the characters in Quiara Alegría Hudes’ “Water by the Spoonful” are living on the edge – of cocaine addiction, job insecurity, squalor or maybe even reality or the bounds of society.

The second play in Hudes’ “Elliot” trilogy, “Water” follows the life and times of 20-something Iraq war veteran Elliot Ortiz, seven years after his return from the war. He now makes sandwiches for the local Subway Hoagies, scores an occasional job as a model or actor, and is trying to get off crack cocaine. He’s also trying to avoid a Ghost (Kayvan Ameen Mohsenzadeh), who’s been haunting him since Iraq.

Elliot’s mom Odessa (Catalina Maynard) lives on the financial edge working janitorial jobs, and also (as Haikumom) runs an internet chat room for fellow recovering addicts. Here we will meet Fountainhead aka John (Christian Haines), a computer programmer and entrepreneur; Maine resident Orangutan (Emily Song Tyler), and IRS pencil-pusher and San Diegan Chutes&Ladders (Bryan Barbarin).

The action occurs in two worlds: a virtual one, where addicts meet, and the real one, but though you’ll see an occasional computer, the encounters take place as if in real time. Real time has several locations, and the cast is often seen moving furniture around. Got it?

Don’t worry about the logistics here. Just know that Director Meg DeBoard has it all under pretty good control, and let yourself sink into whichever reality it is at any given moment.

Elliot’s cousin Yazmin (Melissa Ortiz), a trained pianist and John Coltrane fan, would like to be playing jazz but instead teaches about it as an adjunct professor of music. She’s the only non-addict in the group.

These characters are all trying to make their lives better, which for some of them may be happening a spoonful at a time. That spoonful has other connections which I’ll leave you to discover.

This is a difficult play to produce, especially in the round and without microphones. The cast is excellent, but it’s frequently difficult to hear the actors when they’re on the other side of the room. I’m glad I read the play before I saw it.

Maynard anchors the cast with a lovely performance as Odessa, the mom figure who has her own problems but wants to make sure everyone else gets the help they need.

Lone is excellent as Elliot, haunted by both the war and the addiction that won’t let go of him. 

Haines’ Fountainhead is familiar as the addict who takes most of the show to even admit his problem.

Barbarin is fun to watch as Chutes&Ladders, though his diction could be crisper. But he gets some great lines. Here’s my favorite: “If you are eating a shit sandwich, chances are you ordered it.”

Tyler is adorable as community college graduate Orangutan, who wants to figure out what comes next.

Melissa Ortiz’ Yazmin can come play Coltrane for me anytime.

And Mohsenzadeh’s Ghost is fine in a small but important role.

Congratulations also to the excellent design team: Yi-Chien Lee, set design; MaeAnn Ross, sound design; Danita Lee, costume design; Minjoo Kim, lighting design, Blake McCarty, projections and Val Philyaw, props design.

Kudos to Cygnet for a fine production of this difficult play.

“Water by the Spoonful” plays through April 24, 2022 at Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs Street, San Diego.

Shows Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

For tickets: (619) 337-1525 or boxoffice@cygnettheatre.com (open Tues-Sun from 11am-5pm).

 

Theater Review: Bhangin’ It: A Bhangin’ New Musical

            Cast of "Bhangin' It: A Bhangin' New Musical

Who’s gonna complain about a dance show? Especially one that’s as colorful, loud, and engaging as La Jolla Playhouse’s latest show “Bhangin’ It: A Bhangin’ New Musical.”

Title long enough for you? Words strange enough? Well, know this: the show takes place at a college in Michigan, which seems to have more students from India than the average American college (at least back in the Dark Ages, when I was in school).

There’s a dance form called Bhangra, which to outsiders is hip-hoppy and happy to watch, and you don’t need words to appreciate the joy you’ll see onstage, thanks to the cast’s sprightly interpretation of the book by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza, music and lyrics by Sam Willmott and additional music by Deep Singh.

The plot revolves around senior Mary (Ari Afsar), a member of the school’s Bhangra troupe who wants to leave school having changed the group at least a little. 

Mary is opposed by stick-in-the-mud perfectionist Preeti (Vinithra Raj). So she proposes to her bestie Sunita (Jaya Joshi) that they start their own troupe, with an eye toward competing for a spot in the upcoming national competition.

Various plot strands are hinted at but not followed through (like a few near-romances), but that’s not the point here. We’re talking about ethnic identity and how it is best preserved.

Banana bread muffins, Bollywood, pharmacology students, an artist who’s made a paper-mache uterus (you read it right) to “protest the exotification of Asian women” – this is a show full of surprises and with only one goal: to show that cooperation is better than competition and togetherness better than isolation, as the large cast representing different strains of Indian style dance finally learns to become a working whole.

The cast is enormous, and so is the list of designers and technicians who have worked on the show. A few of the latter are choreographer Rujuta Vaidja, Bhangra specialist Anushka Pushpala, set designer Robert Brill, costumer Linda Cho, lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker and sound designer Jonathan Deans. And I shouldn’t forget the six musicians in the orchestra.

“Bhangin’ It” won the Richard Rodgers Award (for new musicals). This show is likely on the way to New York. Better see it now.

Theater Review: The Great Khan

           Brian Rivera and Jerome Beck in SD Rep's "The Great Khan"

Racism, sexism, murder, attempted rape and political activism are just some of the topics that come up in Michael Gene Sullivan’s musical “The Great Khan,” now on the boards at San Diego Repertory’s Space Theatre.

The show is the first in a rolling premiere. It will also be produced by San Francisco Playhouse and Redtwist Theatre in Chicago. Locally, this show is also a farewell to artistic director Sam Woodhouse, retiring after 46 years at the helm of the Rep.

It starts with a bit of a shock. The set is a bedroom, where someone is sleeping. There’s a window, which is jimmied open by someone who enters. The entrance wakes the sleeper named Jayden (Jerome Beck), a teenage African American boy, who looks over to see a female African American teenager in black holding a pistol of some sort.

It turns out that this is Ant (Mikayala LaShea Bartholomew), a teenage feminist who is angry at Jayden for saving her from would-be attackers. 

“I don’t need no saving,” she says. “Shut your mouth and don’t tell nobody I was here.”

Not exactly a how-to-win-friends approach, but we get the point.

Jayden lives with his mother Crystal (Brittney M. Caldwell). Both were forced to move after threats from the boys who tried to attack Ant. She’s doing her best to bring her very bright kid up well, and figures the way to do that is to keep him to a schedule. 

She brings in fellow student Gao Ming (Molly Adea), and suggests that they work together on a project. Gao Ming is fascinated by Genghis Khan and his exploits. She is tasked with occasional appearances in which she gives us fascinating tidbits of information about the Khan.

Mr. Adams (Dylan John Seaton), Jayden’s teacher, recognizes his potential, but tries to insist that he play by the rules, stop wasting time on computer games and submit papers on time. “You have to write a paper about someone in history,” he says. 

“White people write history like that was all there was,” complains Jayden. Adams assigns him to write about Genghis Khan because the other possibilities are all taken.

In the second act, Genghis Khan aka Temujin (Brian Rivera) shows up and we’re off on yet another adventure. Temujin complains that “everything you heard about me was written by my enemies.”

Sound familiar? 

Since 2000, playwright Sullivan has been resident playwright for the “never, ever silent” (his words) San Francisco Mime Troupe, which at least partially explains his wacky (and most welcome) sense of humor. 

But this show doesn’t stop at a great script and excellent acting. “The Great Khan” also offers fine direction by Jess McLeod, a workable and quirky scenic design by Yi-Chien Lee, imaginative costumes by Faith James, and a whole host of technical greatness. Rebecca Jeffords’ lighting, Blake McCarty’s projection design (with consultant Caroline Yao) and Tosin Olufolabi’s unusual and often surprising sound design make excellent contributions.

Oh, and the music? Get ready for some gangsta rap.

“The Great Khan” is political theater at its finest and funniest. Don’t miss it.

   

“The Great Khan” plays through March 27 in San Diego Repertory’s Space at Horton Plaza, downtown.

Showtimes: Wednesday at 7 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m,; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Ticket prices: $25-$91.

For tickets:  sdrep.org or (619) 544-1000

Proof of vaccination and the wearing of masks are required.

 

Theater Review: The Homecoming

 

                           Cast of "The Homecoming"

If you’ve never observed the ugliness of the all-male household in operation, it's on full display in Harold Pinter’s scathing 1965 play “The Homecoming,” onstage through March 27 at North Coast Repertory Theatre.

David Ellenstein directs this Tony-winning family horror show involving only four British men and the American wife of one of them. 

The older generation is represented by two brothers: 70-year-old patriarch Max (Frank Corrado) and his 50-some brother Sam (James Newcomb). They argue about, you know, power.

Also on hand are Max’s three sons: Lenny (Richard Baird), a pimp in his early 30s; mid-20s Joey (Justin Gordon), currently working in demolition but training to be a boxer; and mid-30s Teddy (Bruce Turk), the somewhat stuffy Ph.D emigré who’s been living and teaching in the U.S. for some years.

The action is prompted by the arrival of Teddy and his wife Ruth (Melanie Lora), visiting the old homestead for unknown reasons.

It’s a top-notch cast, and the look of the show is spot-on (thanks to Marty Burnett’s set and Elisa Benzoni’s costumes). Aaron Rumley’s sound design is excellent, Phillip Korth contributes appropriate props, and Victoria Hanlin’s dialect coaching has them sounding properly British.

Pinter isn’t known for jolly comedies, but this is extreme even by his standards. The verbal ugliness never stops, and the appearance of Ruth gives the guys yet another outlet for meanness.

When the talk gets down to “a good bang on the back seat,” and Joey calls Ruth a “tart,” Teddy the academic gets ticked and decides it’s time to get back home to his normal life. He packs their suitcases. Then something even more incredible happens.

Pinter is one of the most influential of English dramatists, and the New York production of this play earned four Tonys. If you’re looking for a play about one-upmanship that questions our notions of family and marriage, “The Homecoming” isn’t a bad place to start. It’s just extremely difficult to watch.

Theater Review: Love Song

“Love Song” is an offbeat story about love – real or imagined – and its effects on people. It plays through March 20 at Scripps Ranch Theatre.

Playwright John Kolvenbach posits a quartet: a married couple named Joan and Harry, Joan’s manic depressive brother Beane, and Molly, who meets Beane when she breaks into his apartment – or may not even exist.

Sound strange? It is, and it’s also amusing and fascinating. The story plays out on Alyssa Kane’s do-it-yourself set, which includes several movable pieces used by the cast to indicate time and locale shifts. The quirkiness of the play is heightened by interesting lighting and sound designs by Jared Jacobs and Robert May, respectively. And Bernice Brosious’ costumes add to the atmosphere.

Joan has taken it upon herself to keep tabs on Beane, who lives in a tiny apartment with only a dilapidated sofa and a spoon.

Joan and Harry think Beane needs to talk to a psychiatrist, and she tasks Harry with getting answers to a psychological survey from Beane (Paul Eddy), but Beane questions the wording rather than the meaning of the questions too much for Harry to make any headway.

Things get really strange when Beane’s apartment is burgled by a woman named Molly (Claire Kaplan), who is disappointed that he has nothing worth stealing, but she does seem to rather like Beane (Paul Eddy). And he instantly falls in love.

And when Beane announces to the world “I think I met someone” (meaning Molly), his depression suddenly lifts and he seems almost normal. At least until we begin to suspect that Molly is imaginary.

Along the way, Joan and Harry decide that their relationship has fallen into a bit of a rut and it’s time to spice it up a bit by making out on the couch, which turns out to be so much fun that they plan to continue it to the extent to playing hooky from their jobs.

The secret to this play is in the catch phrase of the play: “Death to literalism!” And not much that you hear is literally true. But the whole idea of truth vs. imagination may spark interesting conversation on the way home. And those steamy verbal scenes are great fun to listen to.

“Love Song” plays Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through March 20.

For tickets: https://scrippsranchtheatre.thundertix.com/events/191052 or (858) 395-0573.