The Drama King's TOP 5 Theatre Productions of 2011

As 2011 comes to an end, it is time to reflect back on the best and brightest in San Diego theatre this past year. While I didn’t get to see every theatrical production that graced our local stages, I did see enough to compile a list of my five favorites.

So, here are my TOP 5 picks (in no particular order) along with excerpts from my reviews of these top-notch productions:

1. Cabaret at Cygnet Theatre:

“Director Sean Murray should be commended for not producing a carbon copy version of the original 1966 Broadway production, the 1972 Bob Fosse film, or the 1998 Sam Mendes revival. Instead, he has shied away from all these various interpretations and re-imagined the show from the ground up. He has kept the compelling book by Joe Masteroff and the delicious Kander and Ebb score intact, but has found creative ways to twist the staging so that the material feels fresh and relevant.”

2. August: Osage County at The Old Globe:

“As skeletons are ripped out of the closet, no topic is off limits and arguments about incest and infidelity are just the tip of the branches in the twisted and tangled Weston family tree….Despite the play’s roller coaster of heightened, raw emotion and volatile personalities, there is still an incredible amount of unexpected humor and wit. It is comedy of a sarcastic, biting nature. And every single line of it is brilliantly written and brilliantly delivered.”

3. Lend Me A Tenor at North Coast REP:

“Director Matthew Wiener’s spry staging hits all of the right marks at exactly the right time. That is no easy feat given a farce of this magnitude being performed on a stage the size of a postage stamp. However, Wiener imbues his seasoned comic actors with a pace and timing that is as close to perfection as possible. Nowhere is this more apparent than the show’s curtain call in which the entire cast comes out and re-enacts the plot of the nearly two hour play in 90 seconds or less (and every door slam and sight gag is right on the mark, all the way up until the play’s end).”

4. Of Mice and Men at New Village Arts Theatre:

“New Village Arts’ Of Mice and Men is one of those rare productions in which all the theatrical stars align perfectly to create a memorable and magical theatrical experience. As gritty and gripping as it is real, this sublime revival gives new hope to the potential of live theatre, proving its power to transport us to a different time and place to tell us a tale that touches our hearts as well as our minds.”

5. The Servant of Two Masters at Lamb’s Players Theatre:

“If you are in the mood for a delightful and delicious evening of screwball comedy, then Lamb’s Players Servant is a must-see. It is a fresh and vibrant new musical filled to the brim with broad physical comedy, laugh-out-loud lines, and some tour-de-force performances that will have you laughing (or at least chuckling) all the way home.”

Photos courtesy of (from top to bottom): Daren Scott, Henry DiRocco, Aaron Rumley, Daren Scott, and J.T. Macmillan.

CONCERT REVIEW: Gary Morris at the Birch North Park Theatre

“Gary Morris: One Man, One Guitar, One Night”

By Donnie Matsuda

Photos Courtesy of www.garymorris.com

While I’m not a fan of country music, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the long list of accomplishments noted in Gary Morris’s biography. He won both the County Music Association and the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year Awards for his legendary rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings,” he played opposite Linda Ronstadt in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of La Boheme, and he won a Drama Desk nomination for his heroic portrayal of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway. In addition, Morris has had a prolific 30-year career in the country music industry, having produced twelve albums that generated sixteen Top 10 singles and five No.1 hits, including “Baby Bye Bye,” and “Leave Me Lonely.” To top it off, he’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry, for every U. S. President since Jimmy Carter, and even for the Queen of England. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to see him perform live in San Diego with his one-man concert simply titled, Gary Morris: One Man, One Guitar, One Night.

For all his accolades and impressive career highlights, Gary Morris can’t help but be himself (a humble Texas-born county singer/songwriter with a “let’s get down to business” attitude) during his casual one man concerts. Looking like a scraggly version of Kenny Rogers, Morris started his concert at the Birch North Park Theatre by moseying onto stage, nary a nod of acknowledgement of the roughly 250 cheering fans in the audience, slung his guitar (or “gee-tar” as he calls it) over his shoulder, and started in on a few of his bluesy country ballads.

He then addressed the audience, nonchalantly noting that he was in New York the night before and will have to catch a 6am flight out of San Diego to travel to Oregon and then back to New York, stating with a look of bitter discontent: “Welcome to my world.” He went on to joke about how the temperature in New York was 57 degrees (unusually warm for New York) and the temperature in San Diego was 57 degrees (unusually cold for San Diego). He then quipped, “When planning my San Diego trip, I didn’t know if I should pack a parka or a swimsuit.” Finally, he explained how the rest of the evening would go: he’d take song suggestions from the audience and sing whatever songs they wanted to hear and whatever songs he could remember the lyrics to. For the next hour and a half, he tackled a long list of audience favorites, including “South December Road,” “Finishing Touches,” “100% Chance of Rain,” “Velvet Chains,” and concluded the first act with his most well-known song, “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

After a brief break, he opened Act Two with a soulful rendition of “O Holy Night.” He called his sound guy onto the stage to sing a powerful and rousing “Bread and Water,” and then Morris took the stage again singing a lovely holiday medley of “My Son”, “Away in the Manger,” and “Silent Night.” He also sang his signature “Bring Him Home” with a hauntingly evocative high tenor and concluded the concert with a slow and sweet “Amazing Grace.”

This concert was no doubt a great evening for Gary Morris fans and the audience was filled with his most ardent and appreciative followers. Many of the audience members knew his songs by heart and tried to help him out when he forgot his lyrics (which happened quite a few times during Act One).

Regardless, there was definitely no shortage of song requests throughout the evening. If the audience had their way, he would still be crooning his county hits all the way till 6 in the morning.

Gary Morris: One Man, One Guitar, One Night played at the Birch North Park Theatre on December 16th, 2011. Running time was 2 hours 20 minutes with one intermission. For more information about Gary Morris, visit his website at www.garymorris.com. For more information about upcoming events at the Birch North Park Theatre, visit http://www.birchnorthparktheatre.net.