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Regional Reviews: San Francisco Assassins, Tiny Alice and The Pride
Ray of Light Theatre Company recently brought to life nine humble Americans who sought to (and in four cases succeeded) assassinate four United States presidents. I have seen five productions of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's controversial musical over the years, including the original Playwrights Horizons production in 1990 and the revival at Studio 54 in 2001. This production ranks with the best of them. The 90-plus seat Eureka theatre provided a suitably claustrophobic atmosphere in which to meet the assassins. Assassins is not a musical for the masses but for open-minded musical aficionados. The show meticulously examines killers from John Wilkes Booth and Charles Guiteau to the duo of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, ending with Lee Harvey Oswald. There are impressive tunes in this brief score, such as the lovely ballad "Unworthy of Your Love," which John Hinckley sings to a photo of Jodie Foster before going out to shoot President Ronald Reagan. The upbeat countrified "The Ballad of Guiteau" and the exhilarating "Everybody's Got the Right" are showstoppers. Michael Scott Wells gave an outstanding performance as the all-American Balladeer and the mentally destroyed Lee Harvey Oswald. He never hesitated in this very difficult role. His voice was faultless and intentions clear as Oswald. You could see his innocence being torn away, with the help of the ghost of Booth edging him on to kill Kennedy. Following this effective scene, Marisa Cozart and the ensemble beautifully sang "Something Just Broke," a chance for the chorus to express their pain at what has just happen. It was a heartbreaking moment. Joel Roster gave an electrifying performance as Leon Czolgosz. He was brilliantly disturbing as the man who assassinated President McKinley on behalf of the "good working people." His rendition of the gun song with the rest of the cast was fear-provoking. Greg Sottolano came into his own portraying the nut job Charles Guiteau. He was terrific in "The Ballad of Guiteau." Anna Smith as Emma Goldman and Alex Rodriguez as Giuseppe Zangara carved out charismatic sensitive space for the revolutionary author to innocently encourage her follower's actions. Alex Rodriguez sported an authentic accent as the man who attempted to assassinate Roosevelt. He gave good account of himself in the song "How I Saved Roosevelt." Lisa Marie Newton as the zany housewife Sara Jane Moore and Eliza Leoni as the satanic Manson urchin "Squeaky" Fromme were a hoot in their attempts to kill President Gerald Ford, played wonderfully by Tom Orr. Derrick Silva gave an ardent performance as John Wilkes Booth. Charles Woodson-Parker looked and acted like the lovesick John Hinckley. Danny Cozart's performance was seamless as the frightening loud-mouth Sam Byck who was obsessed with Richard Nixon. Steve Hess gave a gratifying performance as the Proprietor. Seven-year-old Deucalion Martin provided a terrific natural performance as the son of Sara Jane Moore. Michael Doppe was first rate playing various characters in this fast-paced musical. Jason Hoover directed the big musical on a small space such that the ensemble numbers fit as easily as the two-actor scenes. The eight musicians led by David Moschler were excellent playing Sondheim's multifarious melodies. Maya Linke designed a very effective set for the small stage that included photos of presidents who were assassinated. Bobby Brice's choreography was terrific for this small stage. Margaret Whitaker's costumes were excellent and in line with the period the assassins represented. Anton Hedman of Sound Design Company devised excellent sound for the voices of the singers in this theatre that has poor acoustics. Cathie Anderson's lighting was very effective in all of the scenes. Assassins played through June 25th the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco.
Edward Albee once said that only British actors could handle his play's difficult language, but the Marin Theatre Company proved him wrong. Tiny Alice was superbly accomplished recently by a distinguished group of Bay Area actors. I first saw this controversial play at the Billy Rose Theatre during the winter of 1965 with John Gielgud playing Brother Julian and Irene Worth playing Alice. The New York critics were not enthusiastic about the production. Brooks Atkinson of the Times called it "a preposterous allegory, signifying something portentous about the vulnerability of human beings." I disagreed with the critic. I saw the American Conservatory Theater production in 1967 and found that production mesmerizing. It all made sense to me. Tiny Alice is a debatable and confounding contemplation on faith and religion. Lawyer (Rod Gnapp) has been instructed by his client Miss Alice (Carrie Paff) to offer an enormous grant to the church, which is $100 million a year for 20 years. There is one prerequisite for the grant: the go-between must be the Cardinal's simple and spiritual secretary Lay Brother Julian (Andrew Hurteau). The opening scene between sinister Lawyer and an arrogant Cardinal (Richard Farrell) is a brilliant confrontation of words between the two protagonists. Julian arrives at Alice's palatial estate and encounters a cynical butler (Mark Anderson Phillips) who shows him a giant model of the estate (J.B. Wilson designed an awesome model that dominated the wall of the stage). Inside is a model of a model and so forth. What happens to Brother Julian becomes a fascinating trip for the lay brother. We find out that the lawyer, the butler and Alice are not what they seem. It becomes evident that the naïve brother has been brought there for his body, his soul and his faith. It can be likened to Christ's 40 days in the desert where he is tempted by the Devil. The very last scene, when Brother Julian lies dying on the stage, is symbolic of the last days of Christ on the cross. The whole three-hour drama with two intermissions is laden with visual and verbal metaphors. Jasson Minadakis was the ideal director for this production. He was able to steer the cast through the grand operatic events of the drama. It was like a Wagner opera without the music. If you really didn't understand it, you could just let it flow over you like an opera. I was again caught up in the puzzling play. Andrew Hurteau gave a brilliant performance as the Lay Brother Julian. His scenes as the earnest young naïf sucked up into the grandeur of the mansion and the allure of his mistress was beautifully accomplished. His last "crucifixion" scene as he lay dying was a tour de force of "operatic" acting. Carrie Paff was wonderful as Alice. She was commanding one moment, open and sociable the next, and always playfully sensual. It was an engrossing performance. Rod Knapp gave a gripping performance as the menacing lawyer. He fiercely played the role as an unctuous and amoral attorney, simply named Lawyer. Richard Farrell as the Cardinal gave a performance that was a perfect blend of religiosity, haughtiness and compromising ambition with a beautiful, crystal clear stage voice. Mark Anderson Phillips was ideal as the butler who added a cunning, campy humor sacrificing the sense that he was part of the approaching evil. His line about the play, "This is an endless metaphor," was right on. Tiny Alice designer J. B. Wilson mounted a magnificent set that was ethereally lit by Lighting Designer Kurt Landisman. Adding sound design for the evening's big speech was Sound Designer and Composer Chris Houston. Costumes by Fumiko Bielefeldt, especially the gowns worn by Alice, were wonderful. Edward Albee's play was an intriguing night of excellent theatre, even if the playwright keeps the solution too far out of reach for the average theatregoer. Tiny Alice ran through June 26 at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley. Coming up next is August Wilson's Seven Guitars opening on August 11 and running through September 4th. For tickets please call 415-388-5208 or on visit www.marintheatre.org.
New Conservatory Theatre Center is presenting Alexi Kaye Campbell's The Pride through July 10th. The British playwright has come up with an ingenious structure in which three actors play different characters, blessed with identical names, across a chronological divide. This is a fascinating drama played by a cast of superb actors with impeccable British accents. The Pride premiered at the Royal Court in London in 2008 and transferred to New York, produced at the MCC Theatre, in January 2010. It was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and awarded Best New Play at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2011. Alexi Kaye Campbell's smart script starts in 1958 with Philip (Michael Cassidy) a very upper crust estate agent, and his wife Sylvia (Maura Halloran) entertaining a closeted young novelist Oliver (Joseph Salazar). The dialogue sounds like a Noel Coward or Terence Rattigan play with very droll language. It becomes gradually evident that Phillip has a repulsion about men with a certain somewhat effeminate style, since something is awakening in him that can't be denied. The two are soon entangled in an ardent affair that produces shattering results. The next scene is 2008 and Oliver (Joseph Salazar) is a smart, sex-addicted journalist temporarily deserted by his lover Philip (Michael Cassidy) and nursed through this crisis by his loyal friend Sylvia (Maura Halloran). Oliver just can't break the habit of having sex with total strangers. The scene opens up with a hilarious, sadistic and masochistic scene involving Oliver with a paid companion who is dressed in a Nazi uniform and wielding a riding crop. Oliver's longing for love is paralleled by a search for self-knowledge. He just does not understand his feelings, even though he loves Philip. It's a wonderful scene. Arturo Catricala skillfully overcomes the imbalance between past and present with the help of Kuo-Hao Lo's set (especially the details of the elegant 1950s living room) and costumes by Keri Fitch. The scenes in 1958 are more fascinating, reproducing the social tensions of the era. One excellent scene shows Phillip going to see a doctor about destroying his aversion to homosexual sex. The contemporary segments contain many humorous moments with Phillip becoming a minor character. The director has assembled a dazzling cast. Joseph Salazar is unquestionably brilliant in his dual portrayal. He employs precise body language even when listening to the other characters speaking. He subtly contrasts the two Olivers and suggests uninhibited excess can cause as much guilt as required restraint. Maura Halloran gives an excellent performance as Sylvia. She actually becomes a romanticized oracle in all of the scenes. She stunningly conveys the strains of female trustworthiness. Michael Cassidy is particularly good as the uptight 1950s Philip, and he is outstanding conveying Phillip's inner turmoil over his true nature in the 1958 scenes. Shane Fahy gives perfect performances as the hustler in a Nazi uniform, a magazine editor looking for a piece on "the whole gay thing" in a contemporary scene, and the soft-spoken '50s psychiatrist who will try to destroy Phillip's homosexual feelings. The bottom line is that this is one the year's best acting ensembles. The Pride plays through July 10 at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness off Market, San Francisco. For tickets call 415-861-8972 or visit www.nctcsf.org.
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