A Marvelous Party, Boys Will Be Boys and God's Ear Also see Richards reviews of five productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
I was fortunate to know Noël Coward when I worked in Hollywood. There was never a showman/composer like him and there never will be again. He was a one-man British theatre tradition prior to the "angry young men" who took over the control of West End theatre. As a Los Angeles Times critic said: "A talent to amuse, in abundance." A Marvelous Party features more than thirty of Coward's songs, along with observations of the songwriter on life and the theatre. The gifted Mark Anders, Molly Bell and Carl J. Danielsen work their magic in song and dance in this seamless production. Opening with "Together with Music" from the TV special with Mary Martin in 1955, the insanely talented trio gets the 2-hour stylish show off to a great start. They segue into the side-splitting skit of actors auditions which leads to the 1936 song "Mrs. Worthington (Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington)". Carl J. Danielsen is a "little bit of all right" singing and soft-shoe dancing to "London Is a Little Bit of All Right," while Mark Anders is fetching singing "The Stately Homes of England" and delivers a surreptitiously madcap "Mad Dogs and Englishmen." Danielsen does a winning performance of "Mrs. Wentworth-Brewster." Molly Bell is a firecracker in the marathon six-song re-creation gathered into "The Coconut Girl" from the musical The Girl Who Came to Supper (which I saw in 1963 with Tessie O'Shae doing the number). Also, Carl has choice vocal cords singing "What Ho, Mrs. Brisket" from the same musical. Carl and Mark do a bang-up version dressed in British Navy uniforms singing "Has Anyone Seen Our Ship?" from Red Peppers (part of Tonight at 8:30). Act two brings out the best of Noël Coward, opening with Molly singing the poignant "Mad About the Boy" from the 1932 production of Words and Music. Mark does a hilarious version of "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" with some of the drollest lyrics of the 20th century. There are the lovely melodies and songs like "Sail Away" from the show of the same name sung by the trio, and Mark beautifully singing "Someday I'll Find You" used in Private Lives. Carl and Molly are heavenly singing "Dance, Little Lady" from the 1928 revue This Year of Grace followed by the sublime Molly on "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" from Conversation Piece. The trio brings down the house with "Nina" from Coward's World War II wartime concerts (I saw the show when I was stationed in New Guinea briefly in '44). The revue ends with an uproarious rendition of Cole Porter's "Let's Do It" for which Noël Coward wrote dozen of versions to use as his finisher in his sole performances. The trio adds a modern twist to the last chorus that includes many of today's celebrities. This keeps the audience in stitches. The set design by Bill Forrester has an elegant ornate splendor, with potted plants and drapes. Musical direction by Brandon Adams is right on the mark as he leads the trio. Everything is perfect for a grand night of transcendent entertainment by the Master himself. Marvelous Party plays through June 26th at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Civic Drive at Locust, Walnut Creek. For tickets call 925-943-7468 or www.lesherartscenter.org. Photo: : www.kevenberne.com
New Conservatory Theatre Center is currently presenting the West Coast premiere of a sweet little revue called Boys Will Be Boys with four boys and a girl doing the honors. Boys Will be Boys, with music by Kenneth Kacmar and lyrics and dialog by Joe Miloscia, made its debut at the legendary Duplex Cabaret Theatre in New York where it was an instant success with the gay crowd. There is a thin storyline that involves Ishmael Gonzalez (not seen) who suffers from Gay Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD), a condition that renders some gay men unable to stay focused on any trend for more then a few weeks. Five friends present a fundraiser to fight GADD. They decide to take the tour on the road with what they call "Round the World in 80 Gays." This revue now takes place in the VFW Hall in Colma, California (known for its cemeteries). Unfortunately, they can't get the main hall since there is a bar mitzvah going on, so they do the fundraiser in the basement. You can get the idea of what you are going to see in the 90 minute show, which turns out to be a wacky plot with a bunch of crazy and wild people. The five cast members have passable singing voices and a little dancing ability. What they lack in both is made up in energy and a will to entertain the audience. Sometimes the revue reminds me of those little gay musicals one would see in clubs in Los Angeles in the '70s and '80s. All four boys do a lot of mincing and some sound like Vera Charles in Mame. Boys Will Be Boys features parodies of Broadway show tunes, like the chorus singing "Our Opening" sounding like something from Oklahoma!, or "Some Gay Boys" sounding like it came from Gypsy. There are clever attempts at choreography in "You Lift Me Up" with a fairy with Viagra in rhinestones on the shirt. Price Troche Jr. (Zanna, Don't!) has a very distinguished voice in his number. It has a certain brass sound like a male Ethel Merman. He is excellent singing "Some Gay Boys." Christopher M. Nelson (Dames at Sea, Ben Franklin in Paris) has good vocal cords singing the serious "Giant" about a young man being killed by homophobes. He is also exceptional singing "Balls" about the fact that he throws a ball like his sister but finds out in later life that he is adapt at playing with balls that don't need throwing. Brian J. Patterson (Zanna, Don't!) camps it up singing "Girlfriend" aided by a mincing Price Troche Jr. Both are fun to watch, bitching at each other with both being "sisters." Timothy Barnes (Guys and Dolls) nicely sings the clever "Something Obscene," a take-off from Phantom of the Opera. Stephanie Temple (Mae West in Dirty Blonde) booms out "All the Cute Ones," stating that all of the cute ones are gay. Brian J. Patterson does a nice arrangement of "You Lift Me Up" to the fairy played by Stephanie Temple. Brian and Price are charming in their duet "A Gay-Fashioned Wedding" with Price in drag. G. Scott Lacy ably assists the group on the piano. Boys Will Be Boys plays through June 26th at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Ave off Market, San Francisco. For ticket call 415-861-8972 or visit www.nctcsf.org. Running through July 11 in the Decker Theatre is Paul Rudnick's The New Century, and Marga Gomez is playing in the intimate theatre through June 26th.
God's Ear is the story of a couple whose young son has just died. Ted (Ryan O'Donnell) does a lot of traveling to forget the loss while Mel (Beth Wilmurt) is close to a nervous breakdown. She still has six-year-old daughter Lanie (Nika Ezell Pappas) to look after as best she can. The whole production is dream-like and in the mind of Mel as she enters near madness. Jenny Schwartz's dialogue is free flowing. Sometimes the characters say nothing important to advance the play, but there is a wonderful crazy energy about them. It is the merging of a dream and a real world, and comes off beautifully. The edgy dialogue has a lot of colloquialisms and sometimes the words unfold at a frenzied pace. They are often repeated and disconnected, and sometimes the characters break out in clever songs by Michael Friedman. It is almost like a David Mamet play on speed. The playwright's linguistic style is fascinating. God's Ear has a lot of strange characters coming into the mind of Mel. They include a tooth fairy (Melinda Meeng) who wears blue tasseled wings, a G.I. Joe action figure (Keith Pinto) who comes out of trap doors, the child who likes Helen Keller (Nika Ezell Pappas), a transvestite stewardess (Keith Pinto), and a sexual lady named Lenora (Zehra Berkman) whom Ted meets in an airport bar. God's Ear has a crackerjack cast who mine the humor and overwhelming sadness of the drama. Beth Wilmurt is superb in the role of Mel. She captures the jittery but indefatigable mood of the wife. She masters the sharp, well-developed dialogue of the playwright in several scenes, and the ending when she finally collapses is awesome. Ryan O'Donnell gives an excellent performance as the husband, Ted. He is admirable in the role as a rudderless man traveling the world in a work-related position and talking in a repetitive language, mostly by phone, to his wife Mel. There is a delightful scene that takes place in an airport bar where Lenora, played wonderfully by Zehra Berkman, flirts with Ted. Ms. Berkman is uniquely fetching in the role of the dim-witted sex pot. Keith Pinto is hilarious as a transvestite fight attendant and changes character to a robust G.I. Joe. Joe Estlack give a great performance as the crude man that Ted meets in an airport bar. Nina Ezell Pappas does well as the precocious daughter Lanie. Melinda Meeng is entrancing as the very glittery Tooth Fairy. Lisa Clark's set is breathtaking, full of lovely white clouds surrounding the stage with very few props. Lighting by Allen Willner is very effective. Erika Chong Shuch's direction is wonderful. She uses a great number of techniques, including different ramps to separate reality and dream-like sequences. She has the actors deliver their lines almost eagerly, stressing the rhythms and duplications of the playwright. God's Ear plays through June 20th at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave, Berkeley. For tickets call 510-841-6500 or visit www.shotgunplayers.org. Photo: Jessica Palopoli
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