Theater Review: A View From The Bridge

 

                        A View from the Bridge

Playwright Arthur Miller is back, this time in a splendid if depressing “View from the Bridge” that runs through Oct. 6 at North Coast Repertory Theatre. 

The Tony Award-winning play, set in a tight-knit Italian-American community in 1950s Brooklyn, illustrates how difficult family relationships can be when love, desire and obsession intrude.

Richard Baird* plays Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman married to a perfectly fine lady named Beatrice (Margot White*). They have a niece named Catherine (Marie Zolezzi), of whom Eddie is jealous. He accuses her of “walkin’ wavy,” and she wants to leave home and apply for a job near the Navy Yard.

When two new Italian longshoremen named Marco (Lowell Byers*) and Rodolpho (Coby Rogers) show up, they’re invited to stay, but Eddie will get nervous about that very soon because Rodolpho is blond and takes a liking to Catherine when he sees her. 

The story will get more complicated, but is explained from time to time by the lawyer Alfieri (Frank Corrado*), who lives in the neighborhood and enters the scene now and again to explain it all to us.

Will Catherine eventually get away from the family and find her own life? Will Eddie stop trying to run everybody’s life and become a reasonable husband to his wife?

You’ll have to see the play to find out. NCRT’s David Ellenstein does a fine job of directing this difficult and yes, depressing play. 

Ellenstein is helped by his usual coterie of helpers. Marty Burnett gives us a simple but effective set and Matthew Novotny’s lighting design is effective. Elisa Benzoni* has designed timely-looking costumes, and Ian Scot does a fine job on the sound design. Congratulations also to props designer Kevin Williams and Peter Herman for the hair and wig designs.

“A View From the Bridge” is a tough one to watch, but Arthur Miller has written a gem of a story and North Coast Rep does it proud. Congratulations, tutti.

• The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association/United Scenic Artists

The details

“A View From The Bridge” plays through October 6, 2024 at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.

Shows Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Added matinees at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13 and Wednesday, Oct. 7. A talkback session with the director and cast is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Tickets: (858) 481-1055 or boxoffice.northcoastrep.org

Theater Review: Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

                       Horrors! A dead person!

Ah, Agatha Christie. Can’t get much better than Christie if you’re looking for a great mystery.

Her output: 66 detective novels and 14 short-story collections – have sold over two billion copies and been surpassed only by the Bible and the works of Shakespeare. She’s also the most translated author in the world, whose books have been translated into more than 100 languages.

She may be best known for the play “The Mousetrap,” which opened in the West End in 1920,  but she’ll likely be best remembered here for “Murder on the Orient Express,” first published in 1934, and now playing on The Old Globe’s Shiley Stage.

“Murder on the Orient Express” is about those old-fashioned trains that everybody took then. The Orient Express is the name of a train that carries some 13 passengers. They are all different, some richer than others, and going to their destinations together.

They each have a separate room, and each is the size it needs to be for the size of its inhabitant. On this night, there are six women and seven men, though not all the men are passengers.

It’s great fun to watch this gang as the story unfolds. This version has eliminated a few excess characters and changes some of the scenes, but is still a delight to watch.

The train in this case is going from Istanbul to Paris, and when the murder occurs, the famous mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot (wonderfully played by Andrew Sellon) is asked to solve the crime.

The set, designed by Paul Tate DePoo III, rotates amazingly and the projections and pre-filmed scenes added to the action onstage almost make it seem like a movie.

Sellon’s Poirot is wonderful, as are some of the real scene-stealing female passengers like Mylinda Hull, who sings (unasked) like the American divorcée she plays.

Other excellent cast members are Ariella Kvashny as the Hungarian countess Andrenyi, Karole Foreman as the Russian princess Dragomiroff; David Breitbarth as Monsieur Bouc, the train company director, and Sam Ashdown as Col. Arbuthnot.

Though the accents aren’t always consistent, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that the show is funny and a delight to watch.

The details

“Murder on the Orient Express” plays through Oct. 13 on The Old Globe Theatre’s Shiley Stage, 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. 

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

Tickets start at $47 and are available at theoldglobe.org or (619) 234-5623

Theater Review: Tootsie

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’ve never seen the 1980’s film this show is based on (David Yazbeck’s “The Band’s Visit”), so yeah, I was a little bit nonplussed at Moonlight Amphitheatre’s “Tootsie.” It runs through Sept. 27.

The idea is fun, though: A wanna be successful actor (male) is having trouble getting to that exalted level (as are all the other wannabes in the cast) – and there are eleven of them, including usual director Steve Glaudini, who gets to act here – and an ensemble of 13.

And let’s not forget the 12 orchestra members honking, tooting and strumming away to keep the songs going, to Dr. Randi Rudolph’s fine musical direction and conducting.

Tired yet? Me too. The person to remember here is Michael (Michael Paternostro*), fired from a Broadway gig and now trying to get back into the fold and hired for other shows. He decides the way to do that is to pretend to be a girl (yeah, I know, told you I was nonplussed), so he tosses on a voluminous dress, calls himself Dorothy Michaels and…well, there isn’t much more you need to know, you just have to watch him/her/them as they cavort around the stage trying to be a star.

Got it? Okay, that’s really all you need to know except that this show has a lot of changing backgrounds (by Christine Peters and Austin Dices) and goofy costumes (thanks to William Ivey Long) and songs with titles like “Whaddya Do,” “I Won’t Let You Down” and “Who Are You.” 

Never mind. Just sit back, relax and watch all those people cavorting around and trying to amuse you. And then wonder how you can review it.

Good try, gang. Now let’s get back to “regular” musicals, okay?

Tickets: (760)724-2110 or moonlightstage.com

Theater Review: Fully Committed

                          Dennis Peters in "Fully Committed"

The program cover tells it all (well, nearly all). It says “1 actor, 40 roles,” and it features eight photos of the sole actor – Dennis Peters – in various stages of phone conversations.

Peters plays “Sam and everybody else” – including a wannabe actor (currently making a living as a reservations clerk), various clients who want the “best table” and other staffers like the famous chef (who rates a red phone).

It’s a 70-minute nonstop challenge for both Peters and the 70 or so characters he voices, including wannabe diners like Gwyneth Paltrow (she wants an all-vegan tasting menu).

The show is Scripps Ranch Theatre’s fabulous version of Becky Mode’s “Fully Committed,” which stars wannabe actor Peters answering the phones of a fine Manhattan eatery and being forced to deal with the picky, the weird and the just plain hungry *right now.* And even that last group knows exactly where they want to sit, don’tcha know?

This is a crazy show, but Peters is cute as can be. My advice is to get yourself up to Scripps Ranch Theatre (ha! I just typed “Scripps Rant,” which tells you maybe it’s too early for me right now, or (more likely) too hot.

Peters the current reservations clerk also has a dad who comes in and out, and now and then still tries to figure out how (or whether) he will manage to become a full-time actor.

It’s fun, funny and short. What could be better on a hot summer evening? Get yourself up there and see the show.

The details

“Fully Committed” plays through Sept. 29, 2024 at Scripps Ranch Theatre, 10755-F Scripps Poway Parkway #187, on the campus of Alliant International University.

Shows Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets: (858)395-0573 or boxoffice@scrippsranchtheatre.org