THEATRE REVIEW-LETS: "TWO BY PINTER" at NORTH COAST REP and "CALIFORNIA SUITE" at SCRIPPS RANCH

The “Pinter” Plays and a “Suite” of Neil Simon Play-lets

By Donnie Matsuda

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing a collection of short plays packaged into two neat-and-tidy productions – “Two by Pinter” at North Coast REP and “California Suite” at Scripps Ranch Theatre.  In response to these short, easily digestible, bite-sized theatrical confections, I decided my review of these two shows should take on the style and structure of the pieces themselves.  So, here is my attempt at producing review-lets that tell you all you need to know in one brief, compact critique.

Elaine Rivkin as Sarah and Mark Pinter as Richard in Harold Pinter's "The Lover."  Photo by Aaron Rumley.

 

First, two plays by Harold Pinter – “The Lover” and “The Dumb Waiter” – randomly paired together and directed by North Coast REP’s artistic director, David Ellenstein.  It must first be said that Pinter is best known and admired (and sometimes avoided) because of his uncanny ability to create dramatic poetry out of everyday speech.  His plays generally take place in a single room and his works, which blend comedy and drama, often focus on jealousy, betrayal, power, and sexual tension.  But with Pinter, it is more about how he says things than what he says that makes his dizzying dialogue so utterly intriguing.  Pinter's language, an oddball mix of lower-class vernacular and high class wit peppered with tons and tons of pregnant pauses, has been described as “Pinteresque,” and suggests a cryptically mysterious situation that is undermined by unspoken intrigue and imbued with hidden menace.  If that last line didn’t tickle your fancy or get your theatrical adrenaline flowing, then perhaps Pinter isn’t the playwright for you.

“The Lover” introduces us to an elegant, middle class couple who live in a detached house near Windsor. On the surface, they seem to have it all – a nice home, comfortable careers, and great chemistry – until we learn that their marriage is rather lacking in the bedroom.  The play begins with them openly bantering back and forth about their sexual (ahem) indiscretions as husband Richard (a winning Mark Pinter) nonchalantly quips, “Is your lover coming today?” and his wife Sarah (a fetching Elaine Rivkin) replies dreamily, “Yes.”   But don’t worry about potential inequality in this 1960’s adulterous arrangement because Richard has his own “slut” that he’s been seeing on the side.  It is all talked about with such flippant flair and anchored with underlying ambiguity and ambivalence that it makes one stop and think about what roles reality and fantasy play in intimate relationships.  And, of course, this being Pinter, there is a juicy twist that cinches the ending and puts a decided denouement on this hour-long pedantic and playful pas-de-deux.

(L to R): Frank Corrado as Ben and Richard Baird as Gus in Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter."  Photo by Aaron Rumley

After intermission, we are immediately transported to a completely different time and place (thanks to Marty Burnett's masterful set design that transforms from upscale English country manor to dark and dank basement in a matter of minutes).  Here, in "The Dumb Waiter," we meet Ben and Gus (a formidably amusing Frank Corrado and Richard Baird, respectively), two hit men who, while trapped in said basement waiting for their next hit, talk back and forth about a number of seemingly insignificant topics, including the latest newspaper headlines, the existence of an Eccles cake, the identity of cricket players in a photo on the wall, and whether the appropriate phrase is "put the kettle on" or "put the gas on."

And this being Pinterland, there are deeper and darker themes at work here, the most potent of which is the idea of political terror masquerading as stuffy murder melodrama.  As actor Frank Corrado states in his program notes, "What makes 'The Dumb Waiter' all the more intriguing is that the political terror has as its inscrutable operative a mechanical conveyance that seems to take perverse pleasure in making capricious sport of those who dumbly await their marching orders and those who unsuspectingly await their fate."  And here, as we sit though the play's maddening and discomforting dialogue until we reach a point where we can barely take the tedium anymore, the general sense of menace and absurdity grows to a surprising and most telling conclusion.  To top it off, it is all delivered with spot-on accuracy by Pinter pros Corrado and Baird whose comfortable chemistry and in-depth understanding of the playwright inform a most intriguing and thought-provoking piece of theatre.

(L to R): Bernard X. Kopsho, Teri Brown, and Susan Clausen Andrews as visitors from Philadelphia in Neil Simon's "California Suite."  Photo by Daren Scott.

The mood is much lighter over at Scripps Ranch, where Fran Gercke directs a whirlwind of four hilarious Neil Simon play-lets under the auspices of "California Suite."  Taking place in rooms 203 and 204 of the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel, "Suite" chronicles various couples as they visit from New York (Scene 1), Philadelphia (Scene 2), London (Scene 3), and Chicago (Scene 4).  While none of the scenes are related, the sextet of actors frequently does double duty to portray the five couples featured in the play's mixed bag of scenes that adroitly unfold over the course of two hours.

The six actors here - Susan Clausen Andrews, Teri Brown, Bernard X. Kopsho, Julie Anderson Sachs, Eddie Yaroch, and Brian Salmon - are all superb and incredibly funny in their over-the-top characterizations and off-the-wall actions.  In Scene 1, Sachs and Yaroch are particularly compelling as Hannah and William Warren, a divorced couple from New York who bicker and banter back and forth as they are forced to decide what living arrangements are best for their daughter Jenny.  Not only do these credible actors handle their difficult dialogue with ease, but they share a very crude chemistry that is both mind-numbing and heart-breaking to watch.  Contrast that with the slapstick antics of Scene 2, in which conservative middle-aged businessman Marvin Michaels (a panicked Kopsho) awakens to discover an unconscious prostitute in his bed with his wife Millie (a wholesome Andrews) on her way up to his suite.  It's a comedy of errors as Kopsho pulls out all the side-splitting, physically comedic stops in order to conceal all traces of his rather obvious indiscretion.

Teri Brown and Brian Salmon as visitors from London in Neil Simon's "California Suite."  Photo by Daren Scott.

The two scenes in Act Two are perhaps a bit less satisfying - and they drone on a bit too long - but they are still solidly acted and amusing enough as written.  Scene 3 gives us the pompous British actress Diana Nichols (played with aplomb by Brown) and her once-closeted husband Sidney (played with suave smoothness by Salmon) as they prepare to head out for the red carpet at the Academy Awards.  Nichols is understandably nervous about the evening, as she is a first time nominee for Best Actress and this accolade could re-energize her dormant acting career, but we see in a sort of post-awards epilogue how things actually turn out.  (I won't spoil it here, but let's just say it's not pretty.)  It all comes to a comedic head in Scene 4, as we meet two tennis-playing couples from Chicago - Mort and Beth Hollender (Kopsho and Sachs) and Stu and Gert Franklyn (Yaroch and Andrews) - as their mixed doubles match ends with more than just a broken ankle.  It's a menagerie of verbal repartee that rather slowly devolves into a match of bangings and bruisings as the scene goes out with more of a whimper than a bang.

As is to be expected from the always excellent Scripps Ranch Theatre, the technical aspects here are uniformly outstanding with a spiffy two-room hotel suite designed by Chad G. Dellinger, dramatically diverse lighting by Mitchell Simkovsky, and regionally appropriate costumes by Melissa Coleman-Reed.  Overall, the pacing of the production is zippy and zany (thanks to spry staging by Gercke) and it all comes together rather seamlessly in one fun and funny collection of playful play-lets.

Things to know before you go: Two by Pinter plays at North Coast Repertory Theatre through June 17, 2012.  Running time is 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.  Performances are Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm and Sunday evenings at 7pm.  Tickets are $32-49 with discounts available for students and military.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (858) 481-1055 or visit www.northcoastrep.org.

Things to know before you go: California Suite presented by Scripps Ranch Theatre plays at the Legler Benbough Theatre at Alliant International University through June 24, 2012.  Running time is 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.  Tickets are $25 with discounts available for students, seniors, and military.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (858) 578-7728 or visit www.scrippsranchtheatre.org.

THEATRE REVIEW: "In the Wake" at San Diego REPertory Theatre

"Wake" Up, America!

Lisa Kron’s smart and stimulating Bush-era play is less about politics and more about our own myopic-mindedness

By Donnie Matsuda

It is hard to see things we cannot see.

But that’s the thing about blind spots, as Ellen, the energetic, obsessive-compulsive political activist at the center of Lisa Kron’s provocative play, In the Wake, reminds us. By their very definition, they are things we cannot see – other people can see our blind spots and we can see the blind spots in others – but sadly, we remain oblivious to those crucial details that lie just outside the bounds of our myopic minds. Perhaps the genius of Kron’s play is that with its blend of provocative dialogue and heady characters, it gets us thinking individually and collectively about those blind spots that exist in our own American lives – spots that keep us from fully seeing ourselves and realizing our full potential.

Aubrey Saverino as Ellen in San Diego REP's "In the Wake." Photo by Daren Scott.

Instead of instructing us or regaling us with some specific kind of polemic, Kron provides us with a case study of sorts in the central character of Ellen. A well-educated, exuberant, and opinionated freelance writer, Ellen has no doubts about anything in her life and remains steadfast in her staunchly liberal beliefs, as she passionately speaks out against the Supreme Court, the war in Iraq and the atrocities perpetuated by the administration of George W. Bush. She convinces herself that she is blessed with the perfect life: a boyfriend (they are not married) named Danny who dotes on her in his own aloof way, Danny’s sister Kayla and her wife (they are married) Laurie who live in the same apartment building and run in similar social (though not political) circles, and her good friend Judy, who along with mixed race niece, Tessa provide some stark wake up calls about the real America we live in.

As we follow Ellen’s life amid the political backdrop of 2000-2005 (presented throughout the play in video vignettes by projection designer Victoria Petrovich), including Bush’s 2001 inauguration, the fateful events of 9/11, declaration of the war in Iraq, Bush’s re-election, and the destruction that was Hurricane Katrina, we begin to sense the devastating effects of her own blind spot as her emotional affair with another woman and her unbending political tirades drive all her close friends farther and farther away. And in the grander scheme of things, Ellen becomes somewhat of a metaphor for an America that keeps pushing blindly forward without any sense of awareness of the destruction that lies in its wake. Yes, those blind spots can be tricky, but they are oh so important.

Fran Gercke as Danny. Photo by Daren Scott.

In the Wake had its world premiere in Los Angeles in March 2010 and went on to be staged at the Berkeley REP before opening Off-Broadway in the Fall of 2010. Now being presented in its regional premiere by the San Diego REPertory Theatre in a deeply affecting and simply sublime staging, In the Wake is one of the most remarkable and important modern American plays you will ever see. Admittedly, it is not perfect: there are a few too many winding diatribes by our talkative leading lady, there are too many scenes that try too hard and push the play’s long-ish two hour and 30 minute run time, and there isn’t a whole lot of genuine soul-searching at the end of the day. But, as a character driven piece, the writing is sharp and smart, the themes are utterly relevant, and the play serves up some food for thought in ways that are both fresh and delectable.

Stephanie Dunnam as Judy and Aubrey Saverino as Ellen. Photo by Daren Scott.

And San Diego REP boasts an all-star cast of some of the best actors in the region. San Diego-trained and New York-based actress Aubrey Saverino is simply stellar in the difficult role of Ellen. With a breezy exuberance and an unrelenting stamina, she fits so comfortably in the skin of a woman who is guileless in her staunch political and personal stances, yet she also credibly swings up to the character’s manically obsessive highs and down to the character’s deeply depressive lows. Local favorite Francis Gercke plays the lackadaisical Danny to perfection. His role is a tricky one, as there’s not a whole lot of substance written into the script for him, but Gercke nonetheless mines his one-liners for all they are worth and manages to come across as a likeable, if not truly loveable, character. Jo Anne Glover as lipstick lesbian Kayla and DeAnna Driscoll as her butch wife Laurie are outstanding in their finely tuned roles, as is Stephanie Dunnam as Judy, who gives a tour-de-force performance as she seamlessly transforms from devilishly deadpan observer to full-fledged, strongly-opinionated realist. Sixteen-year old Alexis Louise Young delivers a genuine, heartfelt performance as Judy’s Republican-leaning, not-so-gay-friendly niece Tessa. And last but certainly not least is the incomparable Karson St. John who wows with her earthy and deeply moving turn as Amy, Ellen’s secret lesbian lover.

Karson St. John as Amy and Aubrey Saverino as Ellen. Photo by Daren Scott.

And at the helm of it all is deft director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg. Sonnenberg is the master of extracting riveting and real performances from her actors and she paints her plays with bold, broad strokes before honing in on the delicate details of each of her well refined characters. The result is always stunning to witness and her fresh, vibrant vision here is what takes this production to another level. She is aided in bringing this edgy play to life by set designer Victoria Petrovich (whose sleek and sophisticated East Village Apartment set with its many rotating parts is pure genius) and costume designer Kate Stallons (whose contemporary creations are right on the mark).

Overall, In the Wake is more than just a liberal-leaning, feminist-themed story about one woman’s search for her blind spot. It is a thought-provoking piece of theatre that urges all of us to take a closer look at our lives and see what legacy we leave behind in our own individual wakes.

When we can finally see, we all might be a bit surprised at what we find.

Things to know before you go: In the Wake plays at San Diego REP’s Lyceum Space through March 4, 2012. Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Performances are also scheduled on selected Saturdays at 2pm and selected Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at 7pm. Ticket prices are $32-$51 with discounts available for groups, seniors, and military. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (619) 544-1000 or visit www.sdrep.org.