The Glass Menagerie, The Soldier's Tale,
Marin Theatre is giving audiences a surreal production of Tennessee Williams' autobiographical "memory play" The Glass Menagerie which should be seen by all devoted admirers of Williams' writing. This production is certainly different from what I have seen over the years, starting with the legendary Laurette Taylor at the Playhouse Theatre in New York in 1946. I also worked on Robert Burke's cinematography crew for the Warner Brothers film version in 1949. This version of the play has the fidelity of the original notion of an expressionist piece. Its point is effective since it focuses on the lyricism and poignancy that are Williams' enduring strengths. Narrator Tom (Nicholas Pelczar) introduces his family which includes his excruciatingly shy and barely fluent, crippled sister Laura (Anna Bullard) and their overbearing, nonstop talking mother Amanda (Sherman Fracher). Tom is a ruminating, exasperated, short-fused poet who desperately wants to escape from his domineering mother. He tells the audience this is a memory play that has taken place in his early life: "I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." The audience sees on the upper level of the incredible steel frame set the father, played by trumpeter Andrew Wilke. He takes the place of a photograph of the long departed father and is the interpreter of Chris Houston's softly melancholy score. The second act introduces us to the dashing Jim O'Connor (Craig Marker), a possible "gentlemen caller" for Laura, who arrives with Tom, setting Laura's delicate heart aflutter and turning Amanda into a preposterously affected old Southern belle. The mother flutters around with a coy flirtatiousness that makes you feel she is reliving her amorous triumphs. In the end, Jim reveals the attachment preventing him from ever being Laura's lover. Amanda replies, "Yes I know—the tyranny of women!" in a voice edged with steel. Director Jasson Minadakis focuses this version of Tom's memory on his fixation on his crippled sister getting a "gentlemen caller" and hopefully someday getting married to escape the clutches of the heavy-handed mother. Even Kat Conley's set is minimal, containing a bare wood-slat table holding a solitary glass unicorn, four chairs, a couch and phonograph within a large two-story steel frame set that looks like a prison. The moody lighting by Ben Wilhelm adds to the loneliness of Laura. Jasson Minadakis has assembled a brilliant cast of four for two hours and twenty minutes of intense drama. Sherman Fracher adds an edge to the role of Amanda. She depicts her self-centeredness, wistfulness and instinctive fear for her unfit children. She paces about the stage spying, interfering, pressuring and consoling. Words tumble from her at lightning speed, to the point that you wish she would just shut up. There is no saving grace in this Amanda. The scene in which she motor-mouths the gentlemen caller is intense. (Williams patterned Amanda after his own mother, whom he called "a little Prussian officer in drag.") Anna Bullard is excellent in her portrayal of Laura. She stunningly captures the quality of hope disenchanted. When Jim takes her off her feet in an unexpected dance, her features fill with glowing joy. When Jim tells her the truth, she edges away like a wounded animal. It's a luscious, gentle performance. Nicholas Pelczar gives an engaging performance as the gloomy and unsatisfied Tom. He is constantly on stage, even when not in the scene, watching things unfold from a fire escape above. His eruptions with Amanda are powerful, such as when she parries intrusive questions about his late night disappearances: "I'm going to opium dens! Yes, opium dens, dens of vice and criminals' hangouts Mother. I've joined the Hogan gang," ... "I'm a hired assassin". He even takes on the appearance of Williams' alter-ego wearing a thin mustache. Craig Marker perfectly delivers as Jim, with his belief in money and influence, and also an outsider in a house of misapprehensions. He is properly boisterous and self-centered and his scene with Laura in the second act before three lighted candles is brilliant. The Glass Menagerie runs through December 18th at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley. For tickets call 415-388-5208 or visit marintheatre.org. Their next production will be Keith Huff's A Steady Rain opening on Febuary 2nd and running through February 26th.
The Soldier's Tale is based on a Russian folk tale and is set in a scaled version of the 1918 Stravinsky piece. I saw the opera version several years ago presented by the San Francisco Opera Company and I found it to be a blend of fascinating avant-garde music, theatre and dance. It was originally written for seven pieces but the cutting edge Earplay uses the written suite arrangements for the piece. There is a wonderment of imaginative delights on the Aurora's intimate stage. The 85-minute production has puppetry, live music and dance. Muriel Maffre is captivating as the puppeteer. She appears unbroken as she employs her body and brings to life a four-foot tall puppet known as The Soldier Joseph. She moves with the soldier, wearing a slate gray dress that matches the soldier's grays. She actually becomes him as she gracefully moves about the stage. The Soldier's Tale is about a soldier who makes a deal with the devil, trading his fiddle for a book that foresees the future. The narrative is an anti-war Faustian fable, making the piece appropriate for today. The story is narrated by L. Peter Callender with the wonderful Joan Mankin playing the devil in various demonic masquerades. With his convincing physical presence, L. Peter Callender gives a rich performance in a flourishing bass-baritone voice. It is done mostly in rhyming verses. The Soldier's Tale runs through December 18 at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley. For ticket call 510-843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org. Their next production will be Annie Baker's Body Awareness opening on January 27 and running through March 4, 2012. Photo: David Allen
Russ Lorenson unveiled his classy new Bobby Darin tribute show show called As Long As I'm Singing at the Rrazz Room on November 15 to an enthusiastic packed house. This cool singer who has been compared to Tony Bennett, Chet Baker and Mel Torme is his own man. Russ's technique has roots in "crooning" and he has a creamy quality in ballads; but in this two-hour production he breaks out with pitch-perfect resonance in many of Bobby Darin's songs. The between-song patter describes Bobby Darin's life and career. He tells of Darin's birth name which was Walden Robert Cassotto, of his ill-fated romance with Connie Francis, and of meeting Sandra Dee on his first film from Universal called Come September. He later married the actress. (Darin had a contract with Warner Brothers and I met him several times in the 1960s.) There are great stories about his later travels with Robert Kennedy during the campaign for the nomination for President and how Darin was devastated when Kennedy was assassinated. The show opened with a video on both sides of the stage showing Ed Sullivan introducing Bobby Darin, and then Russ Lorenson entered the stage looking very suave, quickly establishing a relationship with the audience. The songster opened the show with an upbeat arrangement of Newley and Bricusse's "Once in a Lifetime," segued into Darin's big pop hit "Splish, Splash" (self-penned by singer in 1958), and then went into "Queen of the Hop" and finally "Dream Lover," also written by Darin. Lorenson informed the packed house that he would be singing 20 songs either written or sung by the legendary Bobby Darin. He announced that Darin's first big single was "Mack the Knife"; however, the crooner said he would sing the flip or B side of the record, which was a lovely Woody Harris/Marty Holmes song called "Was There a Call for Me?," with a terrific sax solo by Tony Malfatti. Russ then launched into a stunning reading of "Mack the Knife" backed by a swinging ten-piece orchestra. Next was a swinging version of Charles Trenet and Jack Lawrence's "Beyond the Sea," just as Darin did it on his recording. There were sleek presentations of "Multiplication" and "Have You Got Any Castles, Baby" a song that Richard Whiting and Johnny Mercer wrote for the 1937 Variety Show. A great duet took place with Kelly Park on piano and Russ singing "If I Had My Druthers" from Li'l Abner. There was a country western phase for Bobby, and Russ crooned the songs "Things," "You're the Reason I'm Living" and "Eighteen Yellow Roses," all written by Darin. One of the great stories of the evening was about Bobby Darin recording on the Atlantic Record label. He was approached by his agent about a song that would revive his singing career. Darin listened to the song and said it would be better for a new recording artist who was with Atlantic. The song was given to Wayne Newton and the song was "Danke Schoen." Russ concluded the evening with songs that Darin recorded for the Capital label, including Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn's "Call Me Irresponsible," a jived arrangement of "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady, his own "Simple Song of Freedom" and "As Long As I'm Singin'." The crooner also sang Richard and Robert Sherman's "That Darn Cat," a song first recorded in 1965 but never released. (Bobby Darin sang the song in the Disney film, but when the album was released Bobby Troupe did the singing.) Russ Lorenson had tremendous backup from Kelly Park on piano, Daniel Fabricant on bass, Kent Bryson on drums, Brendan Getzell on guitar, Tony Malfatti on sax, Max Perkoff on trombone and Rich Armstrong on trumpet. The singer also had two terrific back-up singers Alyssa Stone and Sheelagh Murphy. On a cold, wet November Sunday afternoon the elegant Sony Holland captivated the audience at the Rrrazz Room, with a great back-up band of Benny Watson on piano, Seward McCain on bass, Bob Blankenship on drums, and Sony's husband Jerry Holland on guitar. Sony Holland keeps getting better and better. She is the quintessential artist. Her calling cards are flawless phrasing, sultry tonality and bright energy. Her vocals shine on the slower and languorous ballads. Sony has been called a female Tony Bennett. Dressed in a basic black cocktail dress, she opened her 90-minute show with an upbeat arrangement of a song her husband wrote, "I'll Remember Paris." She sang several of his songs about San Francisco, including "Chestnut Street" and "A Lively Polk Street Bar," as he accompanied her on guitar. There was a melodious South American beat to her singing Bonfá, Duby and Gimbel's "Non-Stop to Brazil" and Sony captured cool jazz at its finest with Burton Lane and E. Y. Harburg's "Old Devil Moon," Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke's "Misty," and a hypnotic rendition of Arlen and Harburg's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with a striking piano solo by Benny Watson. Sony held down a breezy, lilting groove in her interpretations of Alter and Mitchell's "You Turned the Table on Me" and Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love." There was the laid back, soulful rendition of Jones and Schmidt's "Soon It's Gonna Rain" and Weill and Nash's "Speak Low." The chic singer sang these songs effortlessly and members of the quartet had their own solos on some of the selections. Sony came out for one encore, her husband's upbeat "A Man in Manhattan" ("I've covered every mile/Of this overcrowded isle/And danced with men of every style and kind/Through I've made a lot of pals/In theatrical locals/A guy who goes for gals is hard to find."). Sony Holland appeared at the Rrrazz Room on Saturday November 19 and Sunday November 20.
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