The Man Who Came to Dinner at Coronado Playhouse
He was Alexander Woollcott (1887-1943). In his time more people may have admired, and feared, him than even knew about Alexander the Great. As drama critic for various newspapers, he was always the star of his reviews, praising and damning …
Inherit the Wind at the Old Globe
Director Adrian Noble set the Jerome Lawrence/Robert E. Lee courtroom drama in two places at once. Reconfiguring tables and chairs and Deidre Clancy's tan and brown costumes (matching the shades of unvarnished wood) suggest the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial" of …
Acting in the Moment (of Uncertainty), Part Three
The night the lights went out. Scripps Ranch Theatre's new play program, "Out on a Limb," had its inaugural opening last Friday. Led by Producer/Program Director Robert May, actors did full productions of three one-act plays.. "The theater seats 118," …
As You Like It at the Old Globe
Run to it! Dana Green's doing a spectacular Rosalind, one of Shakespeare's smartest women, and the Adrian Noble-directed production's a wall-to-wall charmer. The play begins upside-down. Conniving Duke Frederick banishes his brother, Duke Senior. The scene's portrayed vividly at the …
Pseudo-Wars
J.T. Rogers' Blood & Gifts- at the La Jolla Playhouse - evolves into an intricate saga about the Russia-Afghanistan War. Though Rogers presents the information clearly, I suggest reading the program notes first. They give a useful timeline for the …
Out and About in Julian, 1925
A hundred years from now, students may study the movies of the past not for the plot or techniques but to comb the backgrounds for details from the period. We probably have no idea what they'll find important: technology, density …
Harmony, Kansas, at Diversionary Theatre
The premise of the world premiere musical sounds formulaic: gay men gather on Monday nights to sing choral music and find respite from their rural neighbors. And the story's slow to take shape, since Anna K. Jacobs (music) and Bill …
Joe vs The Volcano, The Musical, at Lamb's Players
John Patrick Shanley's 1990 movie script has a Scrooge-like, shocked into living arc. Joe Banks drags through his days under harsh fluorescent lights as an "advertising librarian." His only signs of life are aches and pains. Hypochondria? Maybe not. A …
Maybe Not Never Again
Six years ago Brian Salmon moved to Sacramento. He was on to new adventures and - owing to several negative experiences - told friends he would quit acting forever. "Thoughts of acting never leave you. I was a season subscriber …
Never Again
Through this weekend, Brian Salmon plays Sidney Cochran in California Suite at Scripps Ranch. For over a decade he was one of San Diego's "name" actors. Audiences went to see him perform. Six years ago, Brian left San Diego, changed …
Hoodoo Love at Mo`olelo Performing Arts
An actress asked Anton Chekov if he could make her an artist. "Yes I can," said the great Russian writer, "but first I must break your heart." In Katori Hall's "play with blues music," Toulou wants to sing the blues. …
Pride Cometh Before The Bogey
Golf's most treacherous shot may be the one right after a hole-in-one. You'd swear the Powers That Be validated your parking sticker. You glide in a state of grace and sense radiant unity with the universe. But maybe the Powers …
California Suite at Scripps Ranch Theatre
Neil Simon set his 1968 comedy, Plaza Suite, at New York's Plaza Hotel. As if the Left Coast demanded equal time, Simon wrote California Suite (1976). In four one-acts, guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel unravel amid elegance. "Visitor from …
(Late) June Is Busting Out All Over
As predictable as June Gloom. Between the first and the fifteenth of this month, few local theaters open a new show. Then, as if a starter's pistol goes off, everyone does, and suddenly t'is the summer season. Here's a list …
A Play is Born
It's easy to assume that plays - and novels, for that matter - begin with some grand idea. But many grow not from the intellect but with a tap on the shoulder: an image or a vague mood the author …
Coming Attractions at Moxie Theatre
Dee Dee Windom may have been a "slut of Olympic proportions," but like Hyman Roth in Godfather II, she always made money for her partners. Back in the 50s, she handled the famous and not so famous movie stars. All …
Lewis
I mentioned Lewis Brown in a recent blog entry about Cygnet's Dirty Blonde. Years ago, he told me that contrary to popular belief, Mae West, unclothed, was "petite." He saw her measurements at Western Costume, and she was no where …
Dirty Blonde at Cygnet
Mae West became such a fixture in pop culture the military named the first vest-sized life preserver after her. The yellow B-3, used throughout World War II, got its name because when someone inflated it, they grew as endowed as …
Behind the Grand Drape
During the Restoration era, two of the reigning actresses, both named Elizabeth, couldn't hate each other enough. They played a scene in which one would wave a knife - a prop, the audience assumed. But in what came to be …
Nobody Loves You at the Old Globe
TV's most damning expression reigns when the jobless rate's rarely been higher. Viewers wait an hour to hear what's-his-hair shout "you're FIRED!" Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter's featherweight musical comedy freatures an expression even more damning. When contestants get voted …