Largo Desolato

Reviewed by Emily Hawkins
City Garage Theatre
Through March 1

He’s waiting for something. That’s what we know. An anxious apprehension plagues Professor Leopold Nettles (Troy Dunn) as the lights rise on City Garage’s pertinent-to-our-time production of Václav Havel’s play Largo Desolato, translated by Tom Stoppard.

Havel was released from prison in Czechoslovakia in 1984 and hastily wrote this play in a matter of four days. Its urgency and fear remain prominent in Frédérique Michel’s adaption, as the audience observes the Professor circling his apartment, downing medication, and checking the peephole for his impending visitors. A professor of political philosophy, he’s caught in that ever-relevant human conundrum, to choose bravery or safety. The professor had never intended for his poignant works to get him into to trouble, but they have. Now, struggling to live up to the momentum of his “greatness,” he is forced to confront the power of his words through the throngs of visitors that come through his door.

Unfortunately, the potential of this carefully constructed script is not fulfilled. Anthony Sannazzaro and Aaron Bray struggle to embody their roles as clowns of the Beckett and Pinter variety. Their performances as the Two Sidneys, who wish to motivate Leopold to lead a revolutionary movement through his writing, are too similar to their portrayals of members of the secret police, who entice the professor to disown his influential “Ontology of the Human Self.” None of the other performers display the specificity required to perform convincingly within this absurdist style either.

As Professor Leopold, however, Dunn captures the nuanced characteristics of the paranoid man who clutches a pillow in fear, while speculating on the human need for love. His apartment, which he hasn’t left in months, is a bit anachronistic given the 1980s world we’ve entered. Designed by Charles Duncombe in a Frank Lloyd Wright art deco style, its vibrant colors and sparse décor seems of another time, while Josephine Poinsot’s costumes are noticeably uncomfortable and disjointed.

Whatever the shortcomings of the production, the play itself speaks to our present obsession with “fake news” and our constant fear for our privacy. Havel struggled to accept the importance his words held for those who leaned on them during the troubled times of the Cold War; it might startle him to learn that they have transcended time and are still relevant.

City Garage Theatre at Bergamot Station, T1 Space, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Mar. 1. www.citygarage.org. Running time: one hour and 45 minutes with an intermission.

Gifted

Reviewed by Emily Hawkins
Sacred Fools Theater Company
Through February 29

RECOMMENDED

It’s often thought that if everyone is special, then nobody is. But what if we refuse to recognize our special gifts — or even choose to actively reject them? Convinced that her special gift — the ability to see the romantic fate of any couple she comes across — is her curse, Ash (Kacie Rogers) fights to overcome her own insecurities to reach a place of acceptance and understanding. Sacred Fools’s new production of Bob DeRosa’s Gifted explores what it is that makes us special through the cleverly crafted direction of Rebecca Larsen.

In the play, Ash recalls her visit to her hometown a year earlier. As Ash, Rogers needs to exhibit more vulnerability in intimate moments; on the other hand, she confidently leads us through the retelling of Ash’s journey, in which “visions” of the couples’ fates are illustrated through unique dances. Scenes flow from one to the next as the ensemble fluidly reconstructs the space with the simple shifting of metal frames and boxes.

All of the actors expertly transition from their roles as half of a random couple to customers in bookstores and cafés to members of Ash’s newfound community of fellow gifted persons. They share amusing anecdotes about their special talents and how these have affected everyday interactions. The group maintains a lighthearted atmosphere, aided by Matt Richter’s unique lighting. Richter has carefully constructed a distinctive design using uncommon lighting instruments such as neon bar signs and Moroccan lamps. Jaime Robledo’s sound doesn’t quite keep to the same rhythm throughout the production, but the show’s familiar pop tunes, mixed with the instrumental interludes, don’t detract from the action.

While many characters are charming and interesting — Ash’s new boyfriend Randy (Ross Philips) and Lisa (Madeleine Heil), the café server who knows what everyone’s going to order before they even look at the menu — others are not as developed. As the hostess of the gifted people salon, Libby Baker’s Marla comes across as a one-dimensional TED talk speaker, whose sole purpose is to move the plot along. Carrie Keranen’s Charlotte overextends, probing, in her own existential journey, for unattainable emotional depth.

An upbeat production, Gifted explores the gifts of ordinary people in everyday life. A skillfully developed plot and purposeful direction lead the audience to see that “the book is more interesting than the cover.”

Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 2 & 16, 4 p.m.; Mon., Feb. 17, 8 p.m.; through Feb. 29. www.sacredfools.org. Running time: two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.

Troy

Reviewed by Emily Hawkins
Hero Theatre/Rosenthal Theater
Closed

RECOMMENDED

Not being able to provide for her children is a mother’s greatest fear. The constant worry and stress about their safety and happiness are present from the moment they are brought into the world. These universal anxieties are on full display in Hero Theatre’s current production of Troy. As part of their Stories through Classics series, Hero has tasked three playwrights with reimagining classic tales and putting them into a modern context — specifically, tackling an issue that affects our communities.

Amina Henry’s premiere of Troy transposes the tale of the Trojan women to the ghettos of Los Angeles. At the theatre’s downtown location, it’s not difficult to picture the impending fate awaiting Holly, a widowed mother, as she struggles to collect enough money to pay for her two months past–due rent. Arriving at the Inner City Arts Rosenthal Theatre, audience members would likely pass a few tents and sleeping bags under freeway overpasses and on street corners. This play portrays what might occur to one of the people living in those tents.

April Nixon’s captivating performance as Holly is a nuanced depiction of a mother putting on a brave face, not just for the sake of her children’s happiness, but for her own survival. As she recounts the deaths of her sons to Andie (the equally compelling Mildred Marie Langford), she cloaks her anger and disappointment in the guise of acceptance and humor. Langford’s caring demeanor evokes sympathy, underscored by her own challenging circumstances as a new mother dealing with absence of her alcoholic boyfriend. In spite of her own problems, she manages to comfort Holly and her daughters.

The musical numbers, which include a mailman’s three-minute song about writing letters and a child’s lament — she doesn’t understand why they’re poor when she’s a “good girl” — could be dispensed with. While occasionally compelling, they unnecessarily extend the running time and become a bit tedious.

Troy’s technical elements usher the audience into Holly and Andie’s world of metal wire chairs and secondhand wardrobes. Maggie Dick’s costumes capture the essence of each character. Manny’s (DeForest Taylor) thuggishness is accentuated by his oversized Lakers Jersey and baggy sweats. Christopher Scott Murillo’s apartment building façade, Anthony Aguilar’s lighting and Jeremy J. Lee’s sound add heightened reality to the story, with their simulation of an impoverished neighborhood.

Leaving the theatre, Cesar Cruz’s quote, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted,” resonated in my mind. Perhaps this production has brought comfort to the women from local shelters who have seen it free of charge. And for those of us lucky enough not to have worry over where our next meal might be coming from or if we’ll be able to sleep in the same bed every night, it evokes an uncomfortable awareness of others’ plight. Troy makes an impact that lingers long after the show has ended.

The Rosenthal Theater – Inner City Arts, 720 Kohler St., Downtown L.A.; Closed. https://www.herotheatre.org/. Running time: two hours with one 15-minute intermission.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Reviewed by Emily Hawkins
Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group
Through September 28 

A nondescript, unassuming storefront in North Hollywood, advertising an upcoming production of Urban Death Tour of Terror seems a suspicious venue for the Shakespearean classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a tale that encapsulates fairies, a company of actors and misbegotten love triangles — so you’d think an extravagant set would be employed to aid in the storytelling.

At Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, however, the play is set in an empty black box theater, with the ensemble effectively using their bodies to frame the scenes. The choreographed movements, while somewhat interesting, pull focus away from the text and plot. Although condensed into a tight 60-minute performance, some moments nonetheless seem to drag on as the actors busily weave under and around each other’s limbs while simultaneously trying to deliver important bits of dialogue. This complex ensemble work does not aid in the storytelling. And the distracting sound — drumbeats and elevator-esque piano music playing at random intervals, along with sporadic light changes — also misses the mark.

The predominantly female cast is, overall, charming, with Rosalie Alspach easily transforming from a mischievous Puck to the enthusiastic Snug. Other standouts are Laura Fodera as the bigheaded Nick Bottom and Samantha Gordon as a passionately defiant Hermia. Incorporating a puppet into the ensemble of players seems out of place from the start; when the puppet pulls out its own puppet, the device becomes stylistically incoherent.

In keeping with the company’s classic aesthetic of a minimalist set and costume design, this Zombie Joe production leaves much to the imagination, allowing audiences to be swept up in the storytelling. A non–theater goer might be put-off by their simple designs and complex choreography, but if audiences enter with open minds, the floral face painted company can be engaging.

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; through Sep. 28. (818) 202-4120 or ZombieJoes.Tix.com. Running time: one hour with no intermission.

Eurydice

Reviewed by Emily Hawkins
City Garage Theatre
Through September 15

Going to the ends of the earth for love? It might seem a bit drastic — yet consider that the ancient Greek myth about Orpheus traveling to the Underworld to retrieve his bride, Eurydice, has been fascinating audiences for centuries. There have been many renditions of Orpheus’s ordeal, his struggle to “not look back” as he leads his love from the depths of Hades’ realm; by contrast, in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, audiences get a glimpse into Eurydice’s side of the story. This meticulously woven play explores not just the allure of finding love (in many forms), but the power of language and memories. Frédérique Michel’s production at City Garage Theatre, however, leaves much to be desired.

Ruhl’s epic, poetic narrative is brought to life on Charles Duncombe’s straightforward industrial set, with black metal platforms framing the projections on the upstage wall. This simple setting holds the potential to push the elusive script to endless bounds in the audience’s imagination, while focusing in on the characters’ relationships and Ruhl’s lyrical language. These possibilities, however, are not fully realized, as the actors often seem static and at a loss for intention.

Taking place on a beach pier, the scene where Orpheus (Johanny Paulino) proposes to Eurydice (Lindsay Plake) is a bit off beat. The pair can’t seem to keep on the same rhythm; Orpheus gazes off into the distance while Eurydice skips and giggles around him, trying to draw his attention. As the stoic, egocentric musician, Paulino appears apathetic at times, while Plake’s Eurydice is reaching for a genuine connection. We see the strain in their relationship, as Eurydice worries that Orpheus’s love for her is nowhere close to his passion for music. It’s clear from the onset that they want and expect different things, but continue on to the wedding all the same. Eurydice’s father, played by a tentative Bo Roberts, watches from the underworld. Wishing he could share his love of his daughter, he goes through the motions of walking her down the aisle.

Following an unfortunate encounter with a mysterious stranger, Eurydice’s descent into the underworld is straight out of an early 90’s MTV music video (think Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam”). A scattering collage of brightly colored images and words are projected to the beat of a techno, high energy rhythm as the three “stones” march back and forth in uniform patterns. Providing live sounds of clocks ticking and water dripping, along with cadenced warnings and instructions for Eurydice, Marissa Dubois, Emily Asher Kellis, and Brandon Reed deliver the necessary structure, humor, and intensity this show requires.

Despite the stones’ cautions, Eurydice’s father attempts to rekindle his relationship with his daughter, who can’t even remember her own name. Slowly but surely, they come to know each other again, but to what effect? When it comes time for Orpheus to lead Eurydice out of the underworld, we see her struggle with the decision to abandon her dad — but the climaxing moment, when Orpheus turns around, losing Eurydice forever — falls flat. As the actors pace back and forth on the upper platform, it’s difficult to foster any sympathy for the doomed couple when they mournfully part ways. Although charming and intimate, this production misses the urgency and sincerity the script commands.

City Garage Theatre at Bergamot Station, T1 Space, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Sep. 15. (310) 453-9939 or www.citygarage.org. Running time: 85 minutes with no intermission.