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Regional Reviews: San Francisco A Doctor In Spite of Himself, A Steady Rain,
Many scenes are brilliant, with sharp and funny spiels, while some seem to be forced humor. The opening scene of the playwright Steven Epp and Julie Briskman as fighting partners, then being cleverly replaced by small puppets in an outhouse located in the center of the stage, was written with all of the compassion and subtlety of a Punch and Judy show. A Doctor in Spite of Himself has allusions to The Music Man, West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof. I even heard portions of "Dancing Queen" coming from the two-piece band on the stage. There is a lot of raunchy humor and references to today's headlines—current politics, for instance. Molière wrote the piece as a throwaway, dashed off as a quick moneymaker to keep him afloat after The Misanthrope bombed. It's the story of woodcutter Sganarelle (Steven Epp) who is at war with his wife Martine (Justine Williams). Martine is outfitted by costume designer Kristin Fiebig with a drooping chest that bobs and flops as they spar about the stage. He is forced to assume the identity of a doctor when his wife coordinates a plan to get back at him for his bad behavior. She tells everyone that he has come up with a cure for most anything. Sganarelle is asked by parents Lucas (Liam Craig) and Valère (Jacob Ming Trent) to find a way to cure their daughter Lucinde (Renata Friedman) who is suffering from loss of speech. The main reason this "mute" woman does not speak is that her father wishes her to marry the elderly wealthy Géronte (Allen Gilmore) whom she despises. Her eyes are only for the youthful Léandre (Chivas Michael). What happens in this comedy you will have to find out. Steven Epp is excellent as the uncouth woodcutter pretending to be a doctor who can cure any ailment (Molière played the role). His mock Latin and wisecracking zingers are gems. Allen Gilmore is exceptional as the spherical Géronte and plays the role as if he were in a Victor Herbert operetta. As Lucinde, Friedman looks like a goth girl pretending to be an invalid. She and Chivas Michael as Lêandre, her real love, are first rate in their roles. Julie Briskman, charming as the "turned on" wet nurse, and Justine Williams as the Sganarelle's irritating wife give good account of themselves. Liam Craig and Jacob Ming-Trent are entertaining as Géronte's servants. The visuals are stunning on Matt Saunders' inventive set. Aaron Halva composed the music and directs Craig C. Powers and Robertson Witmer on an assortment of instruments just right of the action on stage. Kristin Fiebig's array of 17th century and crazy colored costumes are gorgeous. A Doctor in Spite of Himself runs through March 25th at the Berkeley Rep's Roda Stage, 2015 Addison Street, Berkeley. For tickets call 510-647-2949) or visit www.berkeleyrep.org Also running through April 9th is John Logan's Red. Photo: kevinberne.com
Two men playing frustrated Chicago patrolmen dominate the compelling drama of Keith Huff's A Steady Rain recently at the Boyer Theatre of Marin Theatre Company. Under Meredith McDonough's spare and precise direction, Khris Lewin and Kevin Rolston were most enthralling, even when the drama stretched thin. Keith Huff, best known as a film and television writer, has written a taut 90-minute series of overlapping monologues interspersed with dialogue exchanges. It is reminiscent of gritty cop shows like "NYPD Blue," "The Wire" and "Southland." The playwright recharges these elements with the penetrating eye of a forensics investigator and a psych profiler combined. A Steady Rain premiered at Chicago Dramatists in 2007 and transferred to a successful run in the city. The play became a hot ticket on Broadway in 2009 with the star power of Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. A Steady Rain is about a pair of Chicago officers whose jobs are on the line. Both are seasoned cop stereotypes who have seen the worst of the Chicago underworld. Joey (Kevin Rolston) is the gloomy, unmarried Irish-American who likes his drink and his seclusion. He is accustomed to being subjugated by his Italian-American partner Denny (Khris Lewin) who has bullied him since kindergarten. Denny is a hot-blooded family man who smacks his wife around and skims cash from the hookers on his beat. However, he is devoted to his friend, invites him over to dinner most nights, and has saved Joey from becoming a complete alcoholic. Both have been passed over several times for detective. The piece occasionally loses focus and you might wish the playwright had constructed a conventional play, since many of the stories are interesting in their own right. This is the kind of play that would work well in a small theatre. Khris Lewin (New York Fetes de la Nuit) completely disappeared into the role of the volatile Danny, the angry cop. His body language was splendid as he aimed to deflect or avoid perceived criticism. He was all talk and reckless action. Kevin Rolston was perfect as Joey, the foil of the uncontrolled Danny. He successfully showed Joey was reflective, wary and plagued by an all-seeing conscience. Meredith McDonough's direction was rigid, effectively showing the grittiness of the drama. He cunningly increased the cinematic tone with elusive touches from the set design by Andrew Boyce of a brick wall and steel background on the proscenium stage. Lighting by Lucas Krech was a great asset to the drama with two lights directly over the heads of the actors, which evolved into an interesting shadow play with Chris Houston's rumbling sounds. A Steady Rain played through February 26 at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley. Coming up next is Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice starring Aldo Billingslea and Craig Marker opening on March 29 and running through April 22nd. For tickets call 415-388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.
She likes to be called Miss Della Reese, and this legendary singer and actress made a night to remember at the Rrazz Room on February 23rd. For two hours to a capacity crowd she took her fans on a chronological journey from her earliest memories growing up in Detroit and singing gospel songs to the present. She talked about her early internship with renowned gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and starting her own influential gospel group the Meditation Singers. This was matched with a beautiful rendition of "His Eye on the Sparrow." There were recollections of touring with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra in the '50s, and she sang several songs from that era. Miss Della Reese talked about then segregated Las Vegas when an African-American singer like Sammy Davis Jr. could not stay or even eat in the big hotels where he starred. She told how Frank Sinatra broke down these barriers of segregation and she got a room next to "old blue eyes" when she played the hotel. There were wonderful stories of Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt. The inimitable diva talked about her near death experience and then went into a sublime singing of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Trouble Waters." She also talked about her TV series that ran for nine seasons, "Touched by an Angel," following her singing the inspirational "I've Been Touched By an Angel." She is the ultimate performer. She still has an incredible, powerful voice, communicative with flawless articulation. She sang everything from gospel to blues to jazz. She was inspiring singing "Wade in the Water" a capella. This wonderful woman was backed by the great trio of TC Campbell, her musical director, Bill Pitman on bass, and Tom Sala on drums. TC Campbell shone on the piano with "One in a Million." Della Reese was at the Rrazz Room, 220 Mason Street, San Francisco for three nights starting February 16th. For a line of upcoming events go to www.therrazzroom.com or call 415-394-1189.
Talented singer and actor Craig Jessup was the perfect Valentine gift to lovers and married folk on February 13 and 14th at the Eureka Theatre. This gifted singer entertained the audience with love songs from Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins and Stephen Sondheim in a laid back 70-minute concert aided by Ken Muir on piano in a program called It's Got to Be Love. Craig Jessup has been entertaining Bay Area audiences for 30 years with appearances in musicals and his own show portraying Noël Coward, presented around the world. He has one of the coolest voices and is one of the best Bay Area cabaret artists around. Jessup entered the stage dressed in a tux and went immediately in a swinging arrangement of Rodgers and Hart's "This Can't Be Love" and segued into another Rodgers and Hart classic, "It's Got to Be Love." There were a lot of great songs by these composers, including "Nobody's Heart," "My Romance," "Isn't It Romantic?" and a sublime dramatic rendition of "I Married an Angel." The Gershwins were represented when the crooner sang with pitch perfect resonance "They All Laughed" and with a cool voice "Our Love Is Here to Stay." Craig Jessup is a great interpreter of Stephen Sondheim's songs. He told the audience that he second acted Company 30 times when living in New York in 1970-71. He turned vaudevillian in a bright red sequined jacket singing "Buddy's Blues" and showed a soft side on "Sorry, Grateful." He belted out "Being Alive" and did a great arrangement of "Good Thing Going." It would not be Valentine's Day without Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine" and indeed he did it with his soft crooning voice. Craig Jessup performed this fast-paced show at the Eureka Theatre, Jackson Street, San Francisco.
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