Sunday, October 26, 2014

TRI VALLEY REP - SCORES WITH Q - 
R RATED HAND PUPPETS LOVE LIVERMORE
Tri Valley has staged two musicals this season that have been on a few stages here in the Bay Area - Shrek was all over the Bay this past summer and spring,and now the Puppets of Ave Q have invaded Regional stages this past fall and winter. With 
Les Miz in the shadows - that will make three productions over produced on Bay Area Stages.  But the good news - Tri Valley brings it to Livermore with a great talent and staging. 

The Puppets of Ave Q have a Tony in the can - and of course the talented Robert Lopez (Book of Mormon) brings his witty Music and Lyrics to this 2003 hit.

Sean McGrory is cast as Princeton along side Jennifer Stark as Kate Monster both have great comic timing and work well with their puppet selfs.  Its noted that from past productions I have seen of this musical - the Tri Valley Muppet cast was imported from Sierra Stages in Nevada - and they are a bit smaller. With the smaller puppets the cast have more of opportunity to shine and not be upstaged by the Muppet button faces.

Wendy Amador s power house voice behind Lucy the Slut, is a stand out along with Scott DiLorenzo, Mia Sagan, Mario Rappa and Kevin Hammond. Sam Leeper an Abby Peterson easily steal the show at times as the two Bad Idea Bears. The weak link was the casting of Christmas Eve - the single Asian character in the cast. With such a talent pool of Asian actors in the Bay Area,  I was surprised to see this character on the low end.

On that topic - Tri Valley is about to mount THE KING AND I,  and rumor is a buzz that it was hard to find an Asian talent to come out to Tri Valley.  Lets hope that is not the case for KING in 2015. 

Q is not a family show - But a great date night night out in Livermore at the Blankhead stage. The show runs through Sunday Nov 2nd 

                                    

AVENUE Q - PRESENTED BY THE TRI VALLEY REP
Through: Nov. 2 /Where: Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore
Running time: 2 hours,
20 minutes, one intermission
Tickets: $19-$39,
925-373-6800,
www.trivalleyrep.org










BERKELEY REP - BEST STAGE 2014 SHOW

PARTY PEOPLE - West Coast Premier
Shines with Oakland Pride and History - 
at the Berk Rep.

Black Panthers, Young Lords Oakland Ca

The Berk Rep has a sure hit this fall with the brilliant production of PARTY PEOPLE 
on their smaller more intimate trust stage.  The space puts you right on stage and in the room when this company powerhouse their message. 
Created by Universes Ruiz, his sister Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and her husband, Steven Sapp with director Leiesl Tommy for the Oregon theatre festival’s ongoing American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle, it was work-shopped this summer the Rep’s Ground Floor program. The result is a tighter production on a more complicated set and a mix of dance rap and performance that will leave breathless and thinking.


The intense well performed numbers - based from local history to New York and Chicago, the show stopping pace of the musical by the excellent cast - including Ruiz-Sapp, Amy Lizardo, C Kelly Wright, the amazing Reggie D. White, Michael Elich, Sophia Ramos and Bernard Calloway. 

Of course I could use the iconic catch phrase "Power to the People" - but I rather pitch  "Party to the People" - don't miss this production.

Docudrama. By Universes (Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, William Ruiz). Directed by Liesl Tommy. Through Nov. 16. Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. Two hours, 40 minutes. $29-$89, subject to change. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org.



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

YEAST NATION The Triumph of Life FINDS SALT OF LIFE AT THE RAY OF LIGHTS WEST COAST PREMIER. 



THE ROAR OF THE YEAST
The Victoria theatre hosts earth's first life forms much like the characters in Urinetown, these single-celled, singing yeasts in Ray of Lights production of Yeast Nation  deal with a drought of salt that keep them alive. Its a night of amazing vocals that seem to be at 100% the whole 2.5 hours we get to live with these new life forms.
Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis created “Urinetown” probably the biggest success of the indi fringe festival grown musical genre.  The team returns with their second new work “Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life).”

As the Yeast rises in this simple story of survival and rebirth includes some great songs including --- “let us rise” and “life goes on”  with strong greek type chorus and many songs in the Urinetown MO - they are funny to serious that take us on a semi social romp that could be Euripides influenced.
Heather Orth as Jan-the-Unamed is one of the power house leads, blind on stage she leads her cast of Yeast through an amazing tour of so many past musicals -- boy yeast meets girl yeast, they lose each other and evolve into a multiple celled organism. The set design by Angrette McCloskey is looming and 3,000,458,000 BC primordial. It fills up the Victoria's stage with images deep under the sea of pre historic earth.


Director Jason Hoover does a great job filling the Victoria stage with a talented cast, taking on this new musical, after he asked the creators if he could add this production to his 2014 season. Hoover claimed his current season a year of new shows that SF has never seen.  Yeast Nation has yet to have its red carpet NY opening other than the Fringe fest fan fare. This West Coast Premier of the musical  could well lead the Hollmann and Kotis back to NY.
“Can it really be true, mistress, that there were no stories before this one?” asks a chorus member of the Elders blind oracle. “None worth musicalizing,” she responds.


I recommend this new musical - its in the right city for these single cells to grow and take this show on to other venues and cities - Its sure to return to Broadway very soon and its a pleasure to see it begin its journey back home - The Ray of Light is on course this season sharing these new works wth SF Bay area audiences.

Yeast Nation Cast


Teresa Attridge (Jan-the-Sly)

Joshua Beld (Chorus 1)
Melinda Campero (Ensemble)
Jesse Cortez (Chorus 6)
Danny Cozart (Jan-the-Elder)
Roy Eikleberry (Jan-the-Wretched/Ensemble)
David Glazer (Jan-the-Youngest)
Celia Jones (Chorus 4)
Mary Kalita (The New One/Ensemble)
Juliana Lustenader (Jan-the-Famished)
Courtney Merrell (Jan-the-Sweet)
Lizzie Moss (Chorus 5)
Heather Orth (Jan-the-Unnamed)
Kevin Singer (Jan-the-Second-Oldest)
Lindsay Stark (Ensemble)
Mischa Stephens (Jan-the-Wise)
Aaron Vanderbeek (Ensemble)
Vanessa Vazquez (Chorus 2)
Ted Zoldan (Chorus 3)
West Coast Premiere
tickets http://rayoflighttheatre.com/
5 Week Limited Engagement
WHEN: October 3 – November 1, 2014
WHERE: 2961 16th St. (at Mission), San Francisco, CA, 94103

Monday, October 6, 2014


DO I HEAR A WALTZ? EMILY SKINNER SAYS "YES"
42ND STREET MOON - 22ND SEASON OPENER

Emily Skinner is a welcome delight here in San Francisco - off her recent Tony nominated SIDE SHOW broadway run. She is in town to kick off #42nd street Moon Players 22nd season that opened Oct 4th at the Eureka stage in downtown SF. - Theatre icons Richard Rogers, Stephen Soundheim, and Arthur Laurents, created the 1965 love story that Katherine Hepburn made famous in the film version of Summertime.




As talented as Skinner is - its very difficult to bring this lack of a musical back to a stage - Yes the 3 icons of Broadway have their names attached - but it wasn't their high point in their careers. This was one of Rodgers first works after the passing of Oscar Hammerstein. Director Greg MacKellan's “Waltz” falls flat. With a competent cast of local players including Tyler McKenna, Taylor Bartolucci, David Naughton, Nikita Burshteyn and the young Jonah Broscow.



Sondheim once described this musical as perfectly respectable but labels it a “why?” musical – why, if the creators were not passionate about the adaptation, does the musical need to exist?  One of the highlights of the score is “Moon in My Window" along with ”Someone Woke Up”



Actor Andrea Martin, is in SF for Pippin dropped by to see this production - Which could start rumors that this old lug go be a broadway bound comeback - A perfect roll for Martin would be older character Edith Mc IlHenny.  And I feel certain with some work and a great cast this could once again have a broadway life. But this local SF production is moderately the best we have for this theatre season.  Its worth a night out to see the talent of Emily Skinner - with the perfect ticket price in the perfect nook off the city's MacArthur park a few feet from SF's historic Barbary coast.



 Do I Hear a Waltz? Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents. Directed by Greg MacKellan. Continues through Oct. 19. 42nd Street Moon, Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St., San Francisco. Two hours, 20 minutes. $25-$75. (415) 255-8207. www.42ndstmoon.org.