THE MONKEY JAR
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
STUDENT BRINGS GUN TO SCHOOL; THREATENS TEACHER
An everyday occurrence in inner-city high schools, yet in Richard Martin Hirsch’s
The Monkey Jar, now in its world premiere engagement at Theatre 40,
Bienvenida Charter School is not in the inner city but rather in an upscale West
Los Angeles suburb, and the child involved is just 10 years old.
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DEPARTURES
Friday, February 1st, 2008RECOMMMENDED
Departures is a theatrical experiment that works. Seven playwrights each
independently wrote a 10-15 minute one-act about an airline passenger or
group of passengers gathered in an airport waiting area. Open At The Top’s
artistic director James L. Mellon then compiled and condensed the playlets,
“composing” them into a fluid hour and twenty minutes of intertwining stories.
The result is an entertaining and often moving dramedy that feels for the most
part like the work of a single writer. We meet, in order of appearance:
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ORSON’S SHADOW
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
The year is 1960. The place is Dublin, Ireland, more specifically the Gaiety Theatre,
where renowned film critic Kenneth Tynan has just arrived on a mission. He plans
to ask Orson Welles of Citizen Kane fame to direct “the greatest actor in the
English language” in a production of Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. The actor in
question is, of course Lawrence Olivier, fresh from his stage and screen triumph in
The Entertainer. There is one hitch to Tynan’s plan, however, and that is Welles’
belief that “Olivier destroyed me in Hollywood in 1948.”
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BACHELORETTE
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
The night before bride-to-be Becky’s wedding, her maid of honor Regan arrives
at Becky’s hotel suite accompanied by two young women, neither of whom is
particularly close to Becky. In fact, Regan tells Katie and Gena, “Becky has no
friends. She has to invite her myspace friends. I’m surprised she didn’t post a
bulletin.” Rather harsh words to come from Becky’s maid of honor, but that’s
just the start of an often very funny, and sometimes quite shocking glimpse into
the ugliness that can hide behind pretty faces.
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IL BIDONE
Saturday, January 19th, 2008RECOMMENDED
“Aging small-time con man Augusto, who swindles peasants, works with two
younger men: Roberto, who wants to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and
Bruno, nicknamed Picasso, who has a wife (Iris) and daughter and wants to
paint. Augusto avoids the personal entanglements, spending money at clubs
seeking the good life. His attitude changes when he runs into his own daughter,
Patrizia, whom he rarely sees, and realizes she’s now a young woman and in need
of his help to continue her studies. His usual partners are away, so he goes in with
others to run a swindle, and they aren’t forgiving when he claims he’s given the
money back to their mark. They leave him beaten, robbed, and alone.”
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THE COMMON AIR
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
One superb actor. Six fascinating characters. Ninety minutes of compelling
and thought-provoking drama. This is The Common Air, sure to be
remembered at year’s end as one of the finest solo performances of 2008.
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KERR PACKAGE
Sunday, January 13th, 2008NOT RECOMMENDED
Kerr Package is a program of one-acts by Kerr Seth Lordygan, the best of which is
entitled List, directed by Kevin Fabian. In it, a married couple, Georgie and
Rendell, make a list of celebrities they give each other permission to sleep with.
Georgie’s list includes Steve Carell and George Clooney, while Rendell selects
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlize Theron, and a fictitious rock star named Lana
Lenore. When Rendell happens to meet the sexy (and available) Lana, he
makes good on their agreement, only to find that Georgie cannot forgive him.
List moves quickly and cinematically from scene to scene, makes good points
about the differences between the ways men and women regard love and sex,
and could easily be expanded into a full-length one act or even two act play.
Kylie Delre and Kevin Blake are excellent actors who give believable
performances as Rendell and Georgie, and Rachel Castillo has the right sexy
looks and “whatever” attitude to bring Lana to sultry life. Mason Halberg and
Bob Simpson also score in supporting roles, and share a great “surprise!” moment.
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A FEMININE ENDING
Saturday, January 12th, 2008
Amanda is a 25-year-old oboist and aspiring symphonic composer, though these
days she’s settled for a mundane job writing jingles that are deliberately
annoying because those are the kind that stick in your head. The oboe, she tells
us in one of her many asides to the audience, is “the Hamlet of musical
instruments.” If played poorly it sounds like a dying duck. If played well, it is the
instrument which best approximates the human voice. It is the oboe which
tunes the entire orchestra, Amanda informs us.
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