KSDS Jazz 88
Your Connection To The Arts In San Diego
In the Beginning, was the Word. And it was good. Then the Old Testament begat the New Testament. And Andrew Lloyd Webber offered a "Superstar" version. And still it was good. More or less. If you like that sort of thing. And Mrs. McNally begat Terrence, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. And he was good. But he was gay. And he wanted to tell the story his own way. As if Jesus were gay, too. And the world went wild. And darkness was upon the land. Death threats were made against the playwright. Pickets swarmed the theater. But that was ten years ago. And yet... this past week, when the play opened at Diversionary Theatre in Hillcrest, the marquee was defaced. And the irony is, most of the protesters, then and presumably now, had never seen the play.
So, what's all the bluster about? "Corpus Christi," which won three New York theater awards as Best Play of 1998, uniquely dramatizes the story of Jesus, from birth to crucifixion. And though there is harsh language and sexual innuendo, and perhaps it's not for everyone, but the play is extremely respectful. And it conveys an unmistakable message, the same one Jesus expounded: love your neighbor, be accepting of others. Turn the other cheek. And have faith. Would that those who revolted against the production did the same.
There's something kind of '60s about this passion play, which presents a sort of ragtag bunch of actors, talking to the audience as they set up the stage and take on their roles, each symbolically baptized with a new name.
The action begins in the playwright's hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. Heavy on the rednecks, who ridicule and deride the gentle Joshua. He knows there's something more out there for him and he's hounded by the sound of hammering, which turns out to be a premonition of the nailing of the cross. Nice touch.
At Pontius Pilate High School, Joshua is an outcast who's befriended by a seductive bad-boy named Judas. The two become close, emotionally and physically. But Judas is embittered by envy. Then, as in the original story, Joshua disappears for awhile, and when he resurfaces, he's able to perform miracles. He attracts a devoted following. He re-encounters Judas. And the rest, as they say... is religious iconography.
What's most enjoyable about this production is its sheer theatricality. It's fascinating to watch how Los Angeles director Nic Arnzen, a veteran of numerous "Corpus Christi" productions, makes it all seem so organic and spontaneous. His talented, pliable cast assumes multiple roles with alacrity and aplomb. At the center, there are two especially robust performances. High school senior Trevor Bowles is numinous as Joshua, and Rich Carillo is both winsome and dangerous as Judas. The production is inventive and engaging. And touching, truly touching at the end.
["Corpus Christi" runs through June 1 at Diversionary Theatre in Hillcrest]
© 2008 Pat Launer
For Cinco de Mayo this year, put a little Latin drama in your life. Try "La Gaviota," which means "The Seagull," a brand new adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic. Written by Claudio Raygoza, the co-founder and executive artistic director of ion theatre, this world premiere is set in coastal Veracruz in 1910, on the eve of the Mexican Revolution -- a tumultuous time, with storms brewing and the electricity of change in the air.
The plot hews close to Chekhov's 1895 original, and also reflects a bit of Raygoza's own ancestry. But the focus remains on a large and mostly-loving extended family, which is rife with artistic clashes and romantic conflicts. Almost everyone is a victim of unrequited love. In the realm of art, youth and daring are contrasted with the safe and conventional.
The fading leading lady confronts the upcoming ingénue; the famous, middlebrow novelist is juxtaposed with the brooding, experimental artist -- in Chekhov, an avant-garde playwright; in Raygoza's version, a budding filmmaker, exploring a new and innovative medium. In either case, he's ridiculed and reviled for his creativity. He loves the young actress; she longs for the older novelist, who's the lover of the temperamental diva. The dapper country doctor worships the older actress. The housekeeper loves the doctor, with whom she had an early affair, the result of which is a depressive daughter who pines for a secret love, probably the filmmaker. In the end, alas, youth does not triumph over age; it succumbs to the torments of life.
And always roiling under the surface is the encroaching Revolution, though it could be given more color and regional specificity. 20th century Mexico, like Chekhov's 19th century Russia, is steeped in class distinction. The country estate belongs to the wealthy; the foreman and housekeeper are working-class, and here we see a bent, silent Yacqui Indian, but not enough is made of this socioeconomic hierarchy.
What's most striking about this new creation is the language. The play is long and complex, and still a work-in-progress. But Raygoza is an exciting, galvanic writer, drawing deeply on his bilingual background, crafting lines that leapfrog from gritty and muscular to poetic and lyrical.
Director Glenn Paris, ion theatre co-founder, helms an excellent ensemble, with charismatic Linda Castro at the center, as the casually cruel actress. Sara Beth Morgan is heartbreaking as the struggling young muse. The multi-talented Raygoza, who impressively plays the callous novelist, also designed the eye-catching set, along with fellow actor Matt Scott. The brightly colored adobe house, draped in flowers, sits on the edge of an expanse of sand. In ion's intimate Lab theater, we're inexorably drawn into this evocative world that is, like our own, in a state of agitation and instability.
["La Gaviota" runs through May 17 in The Lab at the Academy of Performing Arts near SDSU]
© 2008 Pat Launer
There's a stifling airlessness about "The Glass Menagerie," set in a cramped, shabby St. Louis tenement. But not on the Cassius Carter Centre Stage. The set conveys an airy openness, with its multiple steps and levels, a hazardous environment for a daughter with a lame leg. That's not the only part of the Tennessee Williams masterwork that's ill-conceived at the Old Globe. Director Joe Calarco did a fine job a couple of years ago, with the Globe premiere of the politically cynical "Lincolnesque." But Williams' autobiographical play is as delicate as the animals of the title. This heavy-handed, over-directed production begins gracelessly, at a simultaneously hyperactive and glacial pace. There's a flurry of unnecessary stage business, which slows down the action. Tom, the narrator, normally played as a frustrated depressive, here bounds across the stage like an angry, overanxious puppy. First-time actor Michael Simpson gives him little subtext or complexity, and he lacks the soul or sensibility of a poet. Tom's beautifully lyrical lines, relayed as reminiscence, are often presented as voiceovers, which distances the audience and leaves us staring at the static image of a man writing in a book.
Tom's mother, Amanda Wingfield, is often portrayed as a harridan. The former Southern belle lives in the past, relentlessly recalling her youth of endless suitors. But she made a bad choice, and her charmer of a husband abandoned the family long ago. Now, she smothers her children in overprotective zeal, desperately hoping to shield them from her unhappy fate. But it's too late. Tom is terminally restless, like his father. Laura, here with an inconsistent limp, retreats further into her fantasy world of tiny glass figures. As played by convincingly Southern-sounding Emmy Award-winner Mare Winningham, Amanda is neither vicious nor desperate; she's an earthbound realist misplaced in a dreamy play. She hangs all her hopes on a "gentleman caller" for Laura, and she badgers Tom until he reluctantly brings someone home from his dead-end job at the warehouse. The second-act scene between Laura and Jim is the high point of the evening, though staged in candlelight, it's barely visible. Kevin Isola keeps assuming the spread-leg stance of a policeman, but his attention to Laura brings her alive for one fragile moment, when Michelle Federer, with her fluttering hands and dashed hopes, succeeds in breaking our hearts. It's the single still, aching instant in a sadly misguided production.
But at some of our small, intimate theaters, you can have a more fulfilling experience. Consider the intense drama of "Terra Nova" at 6th @ Penn Theatre, a harrowing tale of heroism, folly and death in the race to the South Pole. Or the modern-day fairy tale, "Prelude to a Kiss," at New Village Arts, a magical romantic comedy about the meaning of true love. Great theater isn't always where you expect it.
"Terra Nova" runs through May 11 at 6th @ Penn Theatre.
"Prelude to a Kiss" is at New Village Arts through May 18.
"The Glass Menagerie" continues at the Old Globe through May 18.
© 2008 Pat Launer
For an archive of all of Pat's reviews, going back to 1990, use the 'search' function at www.PatteProductions.com.
