THEATRE REVIEW: "Hands on a Hardbody" at La Jolla Playhouse

“Hardbody” Kicks Up Its Wheels:

Ten Texas desperados go neck-and-neck (and hand-to-hand) in La Jolla Playhouse’s exuberant musical ode to hope amid hard times

By Donnie Matsuda

La Jolla Playhouse may have finally hit the high road with its most recent vehicle-centric production of Hands on a Hardbody, a slick, splashy, and soul-stirring world premiere musical currently playing at the Mandell Weiss Theatre until June 17.

(L to R) Jay Armstrong Johnson, Keala Settle, Hunter Foster, and Keith Carradine in La Jolla Playhouse's world premiere musical "Hands on a Hardbody."  Photo by Kevin Berne.

While the Playhouse has certainly had its fair share of car-based creations (if this past season’s “The Car Plays: San Diego” and the VW-bug based “Little Miss Sunshine” are any indication), in this case, Hardbody is far more than just a musical about ten cash-strapped Texans vying for a brand new truck.  Sure, there is the peculiar premise of a grueling endurance contest – a shady sales gimmick at a struggling Longview, Texas Nissan dealership - in which these ten contestants must keep their hands firmly planted on the sleek blue truck until the last man standing wins it.  But, given the inordinate amount of time these ten devoted, working class strangers spend standing (and hand-ing) the truck, it’s no surprise that their heartfelt stories and quirky personalities start to pour forth as each participant pushes the limits of their own physical strength while doing everything they possibly can to keep their sanity from veering off the road.  

It doesn’t quite sound like the makings of a bold and brilliant musical, but in the more than capable hands of Phish singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio (his first stage musical) as musician/co-composer and Amanda Green (High Fidelity and Bring It On) as lyricist/co-composer, this rocking dynamic duo really get the wheels of this show turning.  The score they have carefully crafted features eighteen original songs that - in ways both ebullient and inspiring - bring out the best in classic American rock while also conveying the sad stories and gritty determination driving each of these competitors to the finish line.  

David Larsen (right) and the cast of "Hands on a Hardbody."  Photo by Kevin Berne.

The show gets off to a rousing start with a somewhat conventional opening number titled “Human Drama Kind of Thing.”  With a nice blend of rhythmic beats, country twang and good old fashioned rock, this compelling musical number gets things off the ground as we are introduced to each of the ten contestants (aging patriarch JD Drew played by Keith Carradine and previous winner Benny Perkins played by Hunter Foster look like early frontrunners), the rules of the contest, and the bang-up seven piece band lead by music director Zachary Dietz.  

That wave of powerful musical numbers continues with the beautifully haunting “Alone With Me” (sung with incredible pathos by Mary Gordon Murray as JD’s wife, Virginia), the gorgeously harmonized group anthem “If I Had This Truck,” the sexy and seductive “Burn That Bridge” (handled with sass by Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone as Heather Stovall and Jim Newman as dealership manager Mike Ferris), and the tuneful ballad “I’m Gone” between budding young lovers Allison Case as Keilli Magnum and Jay Armstrong Johnson as Greg Wilhote.  But it is not until the end of Act One that we are treated to one of the most creative and awe-inspiring numbers in the entire show – the rollicking and rafter-raising “Joy of the Lord.”  In this spectacular spiritual, contestant Norma Valverde (played with incredible verve by powerhouse performer Keala Settle) leads the cast in a rousing gospel-infused number that is driven mostly by Settle’s breathtakingly belty voice, the soul-stirring harmonies of the supporting cast, and the percussive antics of the hardbody truck itself, which plays along to the beat of its own hood slamming, hatch-hitting, and horn honking.  It’s a glorious number and one in which all the elements of musical theatre – music, lyrics, staging, and choreography - align perfectly and to stunning effect.

While many of the songs in Act Two are less praiseworthy – the obligatory title song “Hands on a Hardbody” is a bit of a stretch and the forced quartet “The Tryers” seems contrived at best – there are still some winning tunes here.  Most notable is “Born in Laredo” the breakout number for contestant Jesus Peña played with youthful exuberance by Jon Rua.  In it, he wars against the culturally insensitive cluelessness of contest manager Cindy Barnes (an appropriately prudish Connie Ray) as he sings with passion about the American roots that ground his Mexican heritage. Also outstanding is the finale number “Keep Your Hands On It.”  It is the perfect way to sum up the sentiment of an intense and exhausting 144 hour-long competition and provides an apt and appropriate musical theatre metaphor in the show’s closing lyric, “If you love something…keep your hands on it.”

Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone and Jim Newman.  Photo by Kevin Berne.

Director Neil Pepe (longtime artistic director of the award-winning off-Broadway Atlantic Theatre Company) knows how to tell stories well and does a brilliant job of handling Doug Wright’s homespun book with lots of humor and heart. (Wright, by the way, is a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner who grew up less than 60 miles from Longview, TX, the blue-collar locale for Hardbody.)  And choreographer Benjamin Millepied does excellent work here, allowing the show’s cast to move and breathe organically while also showcasing some finely tuned jazz sequences around the perimeter of the truck.

As one might expect, the technical elements here are simple, but incredibly slick.  Christine Jones (designer of Broadway’s American Idiot and Spring Awakening) authentically recreates the Texas-based Nissan dealership with plenty of kitschy banners, office furniture, and a giant billboard that nicely frames the action center stage.  Add to that some incredibly vibrant hues designed by lighting designer Kevin Adams and some down-to-earth, rough and regular costumes by Susan Hilferty and you have the perfect setting for a good old fashioned Texas show-down.  But such a fierce competition would not be complete unless we can all feast our eyes on the prize, and the technical team does a bang-up job of crafting the show’s shiny blue centerpiece.  Billed as “the 16th character,” the sleek new pickup truck is something to behold as it spins on its casters and rolls around every corner of the stage, becoming a dynamic symbol for the Midwestern American Dream.   

Allison Case (seated on truck) and the cast of "Hands on a Hardbody."  Photo by Kevin Berne.

While the show runs a bit long at two and a half hours and could certainly use a few more tune ups for its next journey (no word yet on its Broadway ambitions, though this kind of show will unfortunately be a tough sell despite its many glimmers of brilliance and its mostly spot-on delivery), Hardbody still remains a remarkable piece of musical theatre.  It boasts real heartfelt American stories, features a cast of incredibly soulful characters, and packages it all together with a tuneful, toe-tapping score.

And who really wins the competition in the end doesn’t so much matter.  What matters is that Hardbody does the unthinkable – it’s the little truck that could take an unlikely concept and transform it into a real, rollicking, rock and roll musical.  And because of that, it’s already a winner.

Things to know before you go: Hands on a Hardbody plays at the Mandell Weiss Theatre at La Jolla Playhouse through June 17, 2012.  Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 15 minute intermission.  Performances are Tuesdays/Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm and Saturday/Sunday matinees at 2pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (858) 550-1010 or visit www.lajollaplayhouse.org.

THEATRE REVIEW: "Nobody Loves You" at The Old Globe

Keeping It Real:

The Old Globe’s “Nobody Loves You” a mostly cute and clever contemporary musical comedy

By Donnie Matsuda

As one of the contestants on the faux-reality TV dating show “Nobody Loves You” quips: “You can either perform or connect, but you can’t do both.”

That’s an honest observation that holds true for the Old Globe’s world premiere musical of the same title, a pop-rock flavored burst of musical exuberance set in the world of reality television as its sleazy cast of characters tries to find love (or at least a good lay) all while the cameras are rolling.  It’s an homage to the tried and true dating shows that have tainted the tube ever since The Dating Game premiered in 1965 as America has become fascinated by watching real people compete to find “true love” and “romance” in front of a national audience.  Over time, such dating shows have become less about happily-ever-after and more about happily-after-ratings, as producers have shamelessly relied more and more on voyeurism, exploitation, and cheap tricks to achieve their outrageous goals.  So now, it is probably no surprise that the reality TV watching phenomenon has slithered its way into the musical theatre genre with the Globe’s newest musical, Nobody Loves You, playing now though June 17 in the intimate Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre. 

(L to R) Heath Calvert as Byron, Adam Kantor as Jeff, and Nicole Lewis as Nina in the world premiere of "Nobody Loves You" at The Old Globe.  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

The musical – with a sassy book by Itamar Moses, a pop score by Gaby Alter, and lyrics by both - is everything you could possibly want in a reality-inspired, social-media savvy piece of theatre.  In it, a bookish and highly analytical philosophy student named Jeff (a clean-cut, silky voiced Adam Kantor) tries to win back his ex-girlfriend (a spunky Nicole Lewis) by chasing her onto a reality TV series in which highly attractive, sex-crazed twentysomethings must pair up and “fall in love” (i.e. make out gratuitously for the cameras) or be sent packing.  The problem is his ex-girlfriend doesn’t make the casting cut but he does, and he’s forced to participate in the awful antics and sitcom-style shenanigans he totally despises.  As we learn from his own on-camera confessionals, his plan is to turn his experience on the show into a research experiment in which he exposes its overly contrived nature from within.  But as fate would have it (or perhaps because this put-upon reality show must have a love story to ground it), he falls for the show’s production assistant Jenny (a frumpy and fantastic Jenni Barber) and they abruptly espouse their “real” love for each other in the show’s final ten minutes.  Cue finale.  Run end credits.

Jenni Barber as Jenny and Adam Kantor as Jeff.  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

From start to finish, Nobody Loves You (or “NLY” as show groupies call it) gives off a very fake and superficial vibe.  Actually, that’s pretty much the whole point of a musical that exists to make a mockery of the very insipid institution it embodies.  We’re supposed to laugh at the vapid and ruthlessly shallow antics of the show’s host Byron (a slick and smooth voiced Heath Calvert) as he leads his gyrating, spandex-clad backup dancers in the show’s high-energy opening number, “Which Love is for Real.”  And as we’re introduced to the full cast via their tacky yet traditional on-camera confessionals in the musical number titled, you guessed it, “Confessional,” we meet Megan (a seductive Lauren Molina) who drinks till she blacks out and sleeps around most weekend nights, Christian (an upstanding Kelsey Kurz) who much like his name is an uptight religious fanatic who wants to play it “cool” for his “fans,” Samantha (a sassy Kate Morgan Chadwick) who wonders why the guys never stay with her for long, and Dominic (a Jersey Shore-ified Alex Brightman) who…well…’nuff said.   And then there’s Jeff who isn’t so much actively competing on the show as he is smarmily commenting on it in his own utterly urbane and overly academic way.  Taken together, it’s quite a motley crew of messed up fame whores, but isn’t that part of the fun – and intrigue - of reality TV?  

As these dim-wits fall in and out of “love” during the two hour long intermission-free musical, the full cast frequently gets to show off their sure-fire acting and singing chops.  And despite it all, there’s not a lot to grab onto as they babble about how they feel (“I Just Wanna Be Loved”) or why their lives suck (“The Obstacle Course of Love”) or what they want to do in the hot tub (“Come On In”/”You Let Me In”).  The nineteen songs in the show all carry the same generic pop-rock sound to them and the lyrics (while at times clever and funny) try to be a lot more serious and profound than they really are.  For instance, the following snippet from “I Just Wanna Be Loved” is pretty much representative of all the songs in the lengthy and monotonous score: “My heart is in chains I need someone to free it/The love of my life I need someone to be it/And when they do I need the whole world to see it/Oh, oh oh oh I just wanna be loved.”  

Lauren Molina as Megan (background) and Kate Morgan Chadwick as Samantha (foreground).  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

The one exception comes in the form of the show’s most hilarious number, “The Twitter Song,” delivered with power and pizzazz by NLY’s most fun, flamboyant, and faithful viewer, Evan (perhaps the ultimate tube-tied social media maven who religiously watches and tweets from his couch).  Filled with cute lyrical riffs involving hashtags, commas, and emoticons, the song provides some much needed exuberance at the show’s halfway point and does the trick in getting the audience re-engaged in (and dare I say, all a twitter about) the latest drama on the game show set. 

While there aren’t many breakthrough songs or remarkably moving moments in this musical (itself a winner of the prestigious Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award), director Michelle Tattenbaum does what she can to take a number of flighty, superficial elements and craft them into a somewhat cohesive whole.  Overall, she does an excellent job of keeping the flimsy scenes moving along at a brisk pace and weaves them as best she can into the generic yet serviceable score.  To her credit, her slick reality-show-within-a-show vision is appropriate for a musical of this size and small scope and she conveys her message without the use of any TV, video, or multimedia projections.  Meanwhile, choreographer Mandy Moore (of TV’s So You Think You Can Dance fame) works her magic in the incredibly intimate confines of the Globe’s compact, arena-style theatre, consistently giving an edgy, contemporary flair to the proceedings.

The company of "Nobody Loves You."  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

The technical elements of the show are absolutely first rate and frequently re-create the look and feel of the TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.  Michael Schweikardt’s set truly transforms the intimate space into a sleek game show set with its slick parquet floors, lit-from-below colored tiles, and a central circular platform that rises up for special occasions (and by “special” I mean such significant, life-altering moments as crush ceremonies and confessionals).  Tyler Micoleau’s bright neon lighting and Emily Pepper’s contemporary costume designs add an edgy rock vibe that is further enhanced by Vadim Feichtner’s outstanding five piece electric band.

So, getting back to that contestant’s comment about having to either perform or connect (and not both) on unscripted TV shows.  It is probably no surprise that Nobody Loves You is chock full of professional-grade performances delivered with plenty of panache by a uniformly game cast.  But what is sorely lacking here is a connection of any kind.  As a musical that prides itself on being “real,” Nobody Loves You keeps to today’s superficial standard, which means it doesn’t delve very deep or leave any sort of lasting impression on the viewer.  Instead, it comes and goes with the click of a remote and throws out enough drama and deviant personalities in the hopes that it will somehow be renewed for a second season, or better yet, get its own reality spin off show.

Whether or not this particular musical will have such long-term success is uncertain (and highly unlikely).  But one thing’s for sure: regardless of its contrived plotlines, outrageous personalities, and need for major streamlining, we’ll still keep watching.

Things to know before you go: Nobody Loves You plays at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre at The Old Globe through June 17, 2012.  Running time is 1 hour and 50 minutes without an intermission.  Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (619) 23-GLOBE or visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.

AN INTERVIEW WITH HUNTER FOSTER AS "HANDS ON A HARDBODY" PREMIERES AT LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE

Hunter Foster Gets His “Hands” on a New Role in a New World Premiere Musical

By Donnie Matsuda

Hunter Foster.  Photo courtesy of BroadwayWorld.

North Carolina native Hunter Foster first broke onto the Broadway scene as an understudy in Les Misérables.  He went on to play Roger in the 1994 revival of Grease and Bickle in the original Broadway cast of Footloose in 1998.  After touring nationally as Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and performing the role of Martin Guerre in the Cameron Makintosh production of Martin Guerre, Foster landed his breakthrough role as Bobby Strong in Urinetown, the irascible tongue-in-cheek musical comedy that opened on Broadway in 2001.  The show won Tony Awards for best book, best original score and best direction of a musical and Foster himself received nominations for an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Lucille Lortel Award.  Since then, Foster has tackled many more roles in the musical theatre canon, including Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (for which he received his first Tony Award nomination), Leo Bloom in The Producers, Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Sam Phillips in Million Dollar Quartet.  

And recently, Hunter Foster has taken to San Diego and the La Jolla Playhouse stage.  Last year, he originated the role of Richard Hoover in the Playhouse’s world premiere of Little Miss Sunshine (which had its sights set for Broadway this season, but has since been put on hold).  Now, he gets his hands on the role of Benny Perkins in the Playhouse’s current world premiere musical, Hands on A Hardbody, which is currently playing at the Mandell Weiss Theatre through June 17.  What follows is my pre-premiere interview with Foster as we chatted about his involvement in the development of Hands on A Hardbody, his thoughts about the show’s score and mass appeal, and his own musical writing endeavors. 

DONNIE: We last saw you in San Diego playing Richard Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine.  What have you been up to since then?

HUNTER: Well, I'm also a writer and two musicals that I wrote premiered last year right after Little Miss Sunshine.  The Hollow, based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, opened at the Signature theatre in Arlington, VA last September and Clyde and Bonnie: A Folktale opened at the Aurora Theatre in Atlanta in March.  In between working on those shows, I went back to acting and did an Off-Broadway play at The New Group called Burning.

DONNIE: How did you get involved with Hardbody?  Were you a part of the musical though its many readings and workshops or did you just join for its La Jolla staging?

HUNTER: I was not involved with any of the workshops or readings, but in November, 2010, when we were doing a 1-week reading of Little Miss Sunshine before we came to La Jolla, Hands on A Hardbody was also doing a 1-week reading right across the hall from us.  I kept hearing really great things about it, so when I got a chance to be a part of it, I was thrilled. 

Keith Carradine, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Case, Jarrod Emick, and Hunter Foster in rehearsals for "Hands on A Hardbody" at La Jolla Playhouse.  Photo by Terri Rippee.

DONNIE: How would you describe the energy and general spirit during rehearsals for Hardbody?  Is the approach to this musical different than what you experienced during Little Miss Sunshine?

HUNTER: Every musical process is different, and this is no exception.  Little Miss Sunshine was more of a traditional musical, and Hardbody is more rock and roll, and very unorthodox structurally -- which I think is great.  I think it will surprise people because it's not something they would have seen before.  We've definitely had a lot of fun during the Hardbody process and it's been exhausting.  I think we calculated that we've been on our feet around the truck for more hours than the original contestants were in the documentary.

DONNIE: Tell me more about Benny Perkins, the character you play in Hardbody.  Do you relate to him personally on any level?  And do you have the opportunity to contribute to his growth and evolution as a character since this is a musical in development?

HUNTER: I'm from the South.  I grew up in Georgia so I knew a lot of guys like Benny, so I draw a lot on that.  What I've loved about this process has been the creative input that's allowed us to make the characters come alive in a way that is not a caricature of what's in the documentary.

(L-R) Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Case, and Hunter Foster in "Hardbody."  Photo by Kevin Berne.

DONNIE: How would you describe the Hardbody score crafted by the eclectic team of Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green?

HUNTER: They are really quite a pair.  Amanda has really found the heart and soul of these characters with her lyrics, and nothing that we sing ever seems false.  Trey is just a musical genius.  The way he hears things and crafts things musically is really something to see.  The score is "real" rock and roll and that's so rare to hear in musicals these days. 

DONNIE: What do you think audiences will like most about the show?  Does it have a certain mass appeal or do you think it caters more to a specific niche?

HUNTER: I think it's a show that relates to the heartland of America, and to working class people that seem to get ignored by our government and Hollywood.  And whether you live in New York or California, I think we all know someone or have family that are blue collar, working class people. 

(L-R) Jay Armstrong Johnson, Keala Settle, Hunter Foster, and Keith Carradine in "Hardbody."  Photo by Kevin Berne.

DONNIE: You seem to wear many hats in the theatre world.  Not only have you risen through the ranks to become a Tony-nominated Broadway actor, but you’ve also taken to writing musicals yourself.  Tell me more about your latest effort, Clyde ‘n Bonnie: A Folktale.

HUNTER: We recently premiered it at the Aurora Theatre in Atlanta, and it went great down there.  The audiences really seemed to love it and I was so proud of that production.  Probably one of my favorite experiences.  So, we are hoping to do it again … somewhere.  

DONNIE: And I do have to ask, what is lil’ sis Sutton up to these days – is she still tapping up a storm in Anything Goes on Broadway?  And how about your wife, Jennifer Cody?

HUNTER: Sutton is currently in LA filming a new TV show called “Bunheads” for ABC Family.  I am so proud of her.  It should start airing in June.  My wife, Jen, is doing a new Charles Busch play in New York called “Judith of Bethulia.”  They both should be here for opening!   

Hunter and Sutton Foster.  Photo by Jenny Anderson.

You can preview Hardbody’s “real rock and roll” score here:

And, for more information about Hands on A Hardbody and La Jolla Playhouse visit: http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/

THEATRE REVIEW: "The Scottsboro Boys" at The Old Globe

“Scottsboro” Mostly a Snoozefest:

The Old Globe’s well-sung revival lacks pizzazz and panache

By Donnie Matsuda

Musicals about racial prejudice and injustice seem to be all the rage this year in San Diego.

And that can be a very good thing as the sorry stories and largely unwritten (and unacceptable) chapters of American history are finally given their chance to be heard by a mainstream audience.  However, it’s a very tricky thing to musicalize such tragic tales, as they don’t easily lend themselves to bright and bouncy song-and-dance numbers and the pain of the past is hard to take in and enjoy as broad-based entertainment.  Not to say that it can’t be done and be done incredibly well (as Cygnet Theatre’s powerhouse production of Parade proves with its evocative re-telling of the 1913 Leo Frank trial), but it has to be brilliantly inspired and masterfully executed if it is to gain a grand following.  While the Old Globe’s regional revival of The Scottsboro Boys has some of the former, it is somewhat sorely lacking in the latter.

(L to R): Jared Joseph as Mr. Bones, Ron Holgate as The Interlocutor, and JC Montgomery as Mr. Tambo in "The Scottsboro Boys" at The Old Globe.  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

The Scottsboro Boys details the trials and tribulations of nine young African American men as they are wrongly accused of raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931.  Given the bigotry bred in the South, it is perhaps no surprise that these nine young men – aged 13 to 19 – found no safe harbor in the all-white, racially charged legal system as they were jailed and then tried and re-tried for crimes they never committed.  In the end, it took 45 years before these boys were exonerated (some had died before seeing any semblance of justice), but their ongoing fight for freedom did spark changes in the legal system and eventually became a catalyst for the emerging Civil Rights Movement. 

And now their stories are being given the musical treatment in The Scottsboro Boys, a sardonic blend of old-fashioned razzmatazz and historical fact, all framed within the context of a modern-day minstrel show.  With a strangely satiric tone, David Thompson’s book tries to lampoon the whirlwind of colorful characters that surrounded the boys’ tragic journey for justice, while the modest ragtime-rich score by the legendary songwriting team of Kander and Ebb (a far cry from their edgy, more contemporary creations for Chicago, Cabaret, and Curtains) is much more subdued than its broad-based vaudeville scheme might suggest.  The show has a little history of its own as it originally opened Off-Broadway in March 2010 and went on to a brief Broadway run (49 performances) which garnered it 12 Tony nominations and no wins.

JC Montgomery as Samuel Leibowtiz and the cast of "The Scottsboro Boys."  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Currently in its West Coast premiere, the Old Globe’s regional production (which is co-produced by SF’s American Conservatory Theatre and essentially reunites the entire creative team of the Broadway show) is appropriately slick and well-sung as any professional mounting should be, but it is hindered by both its ineffectual central conceit as well as its tragic, tortuous historical underpinnings.  It is a challenge to try to make this story stay true to its historical roots while also keeping it intriguing and entertaining to modern-day audiences, but it needs a fresh format and some creative constructs to make this bitterly unjust pill easier to swallow.  Unfortunately, the production here has decided to go in the opposite direction and employ the archaic and potentially offensive motif of an old-timey minstrel show in order to frame the stories of these nine wronged men.  

It is an idea that was born out of the actual 1930’s court cases of the Scottsboro Boys in which these men – some of whom were too young to know what “rape” even is - were innocent victims of the media circus and the showy shenanigans of the “white is right” justice system of the era.  But when applied to tell the musicalized version of the Scottsboro story (with a few 20th century performance styles thrown in for good measure), the minstrel motif that frames the show quickly begins to wear away the impact of its own storytelling and in fact begins to work against it – by constantly presenting stereotypical stock comedy in the guise of a story about racial injustice.  Actually, the comedy – which is mostly juvenile and unfunny – is presented in sidebars (or rather, side-shows) by two narrators, Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo, who are played by the most light-skinned of the black actors.  It’s a counterintuitive study in ethical and racial contrasts and it’s one that doesn’t make one compare as much as it makes one uncomfortable. 

Clifton Duncan as Haywood Patterson (center) with C. Kelly Wright as The Lady and Eric Jackson as Clarence Norris in "The Scottsboro Boys."  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Fortunately, we can almost forget about the underdeveloped and uninspired concept, thanks to the potent performances of the Globe’s uniformly first-rate cast.  Most noteworthy is the powerfully-voiced Clifton Duncan as Haywood Patterson, who is the most clearly defined character in the entire show and who leads the band of boys with his passion for integrity and honesty.  Duncan helms the cast in many of the musical numbers and blends a captivating presence with a booming baritone in such numbers as the jaunty and tuneful “Commencing in Chattanooga” (easily the best number in the show), the bluesy ballad “Nothin’,” and the angst-filled and emotional 11-o’clock number, “You Can’t Do Me.”

Jared Joseph and JC Montgomery as Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo, respectively, are brilliant caricaturists who pull out all the tongue-in-cheek stops they can to win the audience over with their all-knowing winks and mile-wide smiles.  As they seamlessly embody a wide range of white supporting characters – from abusive guards to chauvinistic sheriffs to the boys’ Northern Jewish lawyer Sam Leibowitz – they do what they can to make the broad comedy of their cartoonish characters more palatable to modern-day minds.  And equally exciting is the versatile acting of Clifton Oliver and James T. Lane who portray two of the Scottsboro Boys while also doubling as Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, the white Southern belles who make the life-altering allegations of rape.  With high pitch squeals and batting eyes, these two men induce more than a few chuckles in their silly, simpering ode to maidenhood in “Alabama Ladies” and “Alabama Ladies (reprise).”  

And as the white ringleader of the show, Ron Holgate (almost a spitting image of Uncle Sam himself) is appropriately commanding and clueless as The Interlocutor.  His attempts to rally the boys to gather round and perform the cakewalk provide the show’s most obvious metaphor for the changing tide of public opinion, as does the cameo stint by C. Kelly Wright as The Lady (an homage to Rosa Parks) as she sits silently perched on her chair watching the entire show from the side.  Rounding out the cast are the rest of the Scottsboro Boys, all of whom are magnetic performers and enact their powerful historical counterparts with appeal and aplomb.  They are: David Bazemore as Olen Montgomery, Nile Bullock as Eugene Williams, Christopher James Culberson as Andy Wright, Eric Jackson as Clarence Norris, Shavey Brown as Willie Roberson, and Clinton Roane as Roy Wright.

Ron Holgate as The Interlocutor (center) and the cast of "The Scottsboro Boys."  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Director and choreographer Susan Stroman uses every creative inch of her imagination to try and fit the saggy storytelling and caricatured characters of Thompson’s ragamuffin script into more refined musical theatre conventions.  She stages this piece with as much vibrant verve as she possibly can and showcases some brilliant work in the show’s energetic opening number “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!” a fun yet not very functional shadow puppet play in “Make Friends With the Truth,” and the ebullient toe-tapping tambourine dance, “Shout!”  And if her tap-savvy choreography in Broadway’s The Producers and Young Frankenstein were not fresh enough in our minds, she reminds us of her penchant for high-stepping hoofing in the truly electrifying tap trio, “Electric Chair.” 

The technical elements of the Globe’s production leave much to be desired, but perhaps that’s an attempt to stay true to the stripped-down minstrel show format.  Beowulf Boritt’s barely-there set consists of three raked wooden arches and a dozen or so mismatched chairs (which Stroman uses in a number of innovative ways to form boxcar bottoms, courtroom benches, and jail cells).  Toni-Leslie James’ costumes and Ken Billington’s lighting are serviceable but not spectacular, while sound designer Jon Weston ensures that the excellent yet eclectic 9-piece orchestra - under the baton of Music director Eric Ebbenga – doesn’t miss a beat. 

(Foreground, from left) Clifton Oliver as Victoria Price and James T. Lane as Ruby Bates with the cast of "The Scottsboro Boys."  Photo by Henry DiRocco.

All things considered, the creative team behind The Scottsboro Boys should be commended for taking such a controversial yet creative approach to dramatizing this sad chapter in American history.  It’s a story that deserves to be told and perhaps with a little more savvy added to its script, a more in-depth exploration of its full cast of characters, and a lot more glitz and glamour, it will have a long-standing run on the regional circuit and finally do justice to the legacy of the nine Boys who most deserve it.

Things to know before you go: The Scottsboro Boys plays at the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage at The Old Globe through June 10, 2012.  Running time is 1 hour and 45 minutes without an intermission.  Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (619) 23-GLOBE or visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.

THEATRE REVIEW: "Brownie Points" at Lambs Players

Minority Matters:

Its race relations around the campfire in Janece Schaffer’s intelligent and insightful “Brownie Points”

By Donnie Matsuda

In all honesty, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the Southern California premiere of Brownie Points at Lambs Players, as I assumed the play would essentially boil down to a sappy, feel-good celebration of motherhood as five women from all walks of life gather together to gab about…well… the things that women gab about.  

In fact, I even started to roll my eyes during the first few minutes of the play as four of the five women burst onto the stage – a rustic and cozy North Georgia cabin interior designed by Michael McKeon and earthily backlit by Nathan Peirson – and began passing out yellow kerchiefs with each woman’s name embroidered on the back.  “How kitchy and unsophisticated is this female-centric, Midwest-minded gaggle of middle aged moms going to get?”  I wondered.  

(L-R) Kaja Amado Dunn, Cynthia Gerber, and Karson St. John in "Brownie Points."  Photo courtesy of Lambs Players Theatre.

Well, I didn’t have to wonder very long, as in a few minutes time the fifth mother – a strong-willed, pompous and imposing black surgeon named Deidre – stormed into the cabin and turned the entire warm and fuzzy camping trip into a wicked war of words concerning the sensitive subjects of race, religion, and regret.

This bitter battle begins when exasperated Deidre (a tour de force performance by Monique Gaffney) is several hours late to the girls camping trip, which doesn’t sit well with obsessive/compulsive “Type A” troop leader Allison (a tightly wound Karson St. John) who has the entire weekend’s festivities scheduled in perfect 15-minute increments.  Then, when it is revealed that Allison has put Deidre and Nicole - the only two black women on the trip - on kitchen duty for the entire weekend while the white women get off relatively scot-free, the entire topic of race relations gets blown wide open and it becomes quite clear that there’s no salvaging this kind of hurt with a simple band-aid and a motherly kiss.  

What follows is a somewhat forced series of scenes in which the women begin to open up to each other about their racial baggage (“For you to say you don’t see color negates everything I am” and “You think we start at neutral, but we don’t.  We start at white”), their overt prejudice (“the only thing worse than calling a liberal white woman a racist is calling her a pedophile.  A fat pedophile.”), and their incredibly heart-felt insecurities as they struggle to raise their little Girl Scouts the best possible way they know how.  And as these den mothers start to confront issues and tackle topics they never had voiced before, it becomes quite refreshing to watch them grow, empathize, react and commiserate in ways they (and I as a skeptical male theatre critic) never thought possible.      

Cynthia Gerber and Kaja Amado Dunn.  Photo courtesy of Lambs Players Theatre.

In time, we learn the real reasons why Deidre is late and why Allison is so anal-retentive (they are much more poignant than you think), and we also delve deeper into the hearts and souls of the other women in the quirky quintet.  While the fierce fighting between Deidre and Allison is the centerpiece of the show, there are three more “real housewives” thrown in to balance out the perspectives and the personalities of the drama-filled, reality-inspired cast.  As each carefully constructed scene unfolds, we learn a little more about who they are, what makes them tick, and how they fit into the racially and religiously diverse scheme of things.  There’s wealthy stay-at-home mom Nicole (a bright Kaja Amado Dunn) who brings a certain calm and sophisticated demeanor to the table, which is balanced out by the harried, people-pleasing antics of poor Jewish mother Jamie (a daffy Erika Beth Philips) as she unabashedly wears her heart on her sleeve.  And then there’s struggling single mom Sue (a winning Cynthia Gerber) who constantly grounds the piece with her sardonic wit and earthy sensibility as she tries to find the heart and humanity in every situation she’s in. 

Atlanta-based playwright Janece Shaffer deserves major brownie points for turning out a pseudo-comedic, but mostly smart and serious look at what contemporary American women think of race, religion, and above all, their roles as mothers just trying to do the best they can to provide for their families.  While Shaffer’s scenarios can seem a bit contrived at times and her 90-minute one act play sometimes suffers from an unnatural ebb and flow, it does provide an interesting platform from which to spark debate and discussion long after one has left the theatre.  And in Lamb’s Players top-notch production, director Deborah Gilmour Smyth does what she can to tone down the play’s rough patches and highlight the compelling stories of her uniformly spot-on cast, so that every quip, slight, and emotion comes across as naturally as possible.

(L-R): Kaja Amado Dunn, Cynthia Gerber, Monique Gaffney, Erika Beth Philips, and Karson St. John in "Brownie Points."  Photo courtesy of Lambs Players Theatre.

In the end, Brownie Points does not offer up any artificial, overly simplified, neat-and-tidy conclusion.  Instead, things remain as messy and complicated as real life itself (with a final gesture that suggests hope for their future friendships), as these five Midwestern mothers continue to understand their own emotional insecurities and unleash their perspectives about some very sensitive subjects.  But whether or not what they say hits some frayed nerves or pushes some buttons, their honest dialogue definitely provides some important food for thought and hopefully sparks some equally-honest discussions about color, creed, and compassion long after the last burnt marshmallow is devoured.

Things to know before you go: Brownie Points plays at Lambs Players Theatre through May 27th, 2012.  Running time is 90 minutes without an intermission.  Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays at 7:30pm and 8pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (619) 437-6000 or visit www.lambsplayers.org.

THEATRE REVIEW: "Stepping Out" at the Welk

The Welk Theatre Looses Its Footing with Lithe Yet Lackluster “Stepping Out”

By Donnie Matsuda

The Cast of "Stepping Out."  Photo courtesy of the Welk.

In 1974, Michael Bennett conducted a series of taped workshop sessions with a handful of Broadway dancers as they opened up about their personal lives, their fears and hopes for the future, and their passion for dance.  What emerged was the blockbuster Broadway musical A Chorus Line, which was an unprecedented hit at the time, receiving 12 Tony Award nominations in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  It went on to become one of the longest-running productions in Broadway history and has become nearly synonymous with the word “dance” in America.

Ten years later, British television writer Richard Harris visited his wife’s modern dance class in a dingy North London church basement and happened upon a beginning tap dance class across the hall.  There, he saw a gaggle of goosy middle aged gals having fun and indulging their delusional dreams of one day being decent dancers.  What emerged was the West End play Stepping Out, which ran for three years in London (from 1984-1987) before transferring to Broadway for a short-lived three-month engagement.  It has since fallen into obscurity as a play and is rarely (if ever) produced.  However, the Welk Theatre in Escondido has decided to dust off this old-fashioned play and has done the very best they can to breathe some life into its broad and mostly boring cast of characters.  Their current revival is a valiant effort with some stalwart actors and they do an incredibly impressive job of trying to salvage this lackluster play from stepping out and stepping off into la-la land.  

Tracy Reynolds as Vera and Megan Carmitchel as Sylvia in the Welk's "Stepping Out."  Photo courtesy of the Welk.

Without a doubt, the major culprit here is the humdrum writing and shallow characterizations of Richard Harris’s script.  For most of the play’s two hours and fifteen minutes, we are stuck listening to the agonizingly asinine quibbles of the eight students – seven middle aged women and one old man – as they enroll in their first-ever tap dance class taught by oh-so-patient dance teacher Mavis (a lithe Brenna Fleeman).  There’s Vera (a perfect Tracy Reynolds) who is “meddlesome,” Sylvia (a vulgar, gum-chewing Megan Carmitchel) who is “not in dance shape,” Andy (an appropriately meek Deidra Mohr) who is “shy,” and Dorothy (an anxious Jenny Powell) who is “uncoordinated.”  The rest of the cast is less clearly characterized and includes laid back Geoffrey (Steve Owsley), native Trinidadian Rose (Crystal Burden with a credible West Indies accent), good-natured Lynne (Lauren King), confident Maxine (April Henry), and crotchety piano player Mrs. Frazer (Susan Boland).

As the play captures the idle chitchat of these ladies as they assemble for each beginning tap class, we are treated to nothing more than boring back-and-forth banter and a handful of unfunny, juvenile wisecracks.  The conversations might be more entertaining if they focused on each character’s hopes and fears for the future or if the characters involved were more fleshed out with more clearly defined – and far more compelling – character arcs.  Instead, we are left with silly chatter and intentionally bad tap dance sequences (in mock rehearsals) that end up being less entertaining and more embarrassing than anything else.   

Crystal Burden (front) as Rose surrounded by the cast of "Stepping Out."  Photo courtesy of the Welk.

      

The one redeeming element comes in the play’s final five minutes, as these middle aged klutzes are magically transformed into polished, high stepping hoofers as they perform the number they have been practicing in their dance class all year.  Yes, they are still amateur dancers, and yes, their number is as hokey and as kitschy as it gets, but it is here that they manage to engage and entertain the audience with their bright smiles and fun, cleanly executed tap steps (thanks to veteran tap master Jon Engstrom who both directs and choreographs this Welk production with style and flair).  

While Stepping Out lacks most of the amazing qualities that made A Chorus Line a mega-musical success, it does introduce its audience to the world of middle aged British women who have the courage to step out of their busy day-to-day lives – as mothers, wives, and working women - and indulge their fantasies of one day becoming tap stars. 

Whether it’s a premise worthy of stage time (or a full fledged revival at the Welk), well that’s another story entirely.

Things to know before you go: Stepping Out plays at the Welk Theatre through May 20th, 2012.  Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes with one 15 minute intermission.  Performances are Wednesdays at 1pm, Thursdays at 1pm and 8pm, Saturdays at 1pm and Sundays at 6:30pm.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (888) 802-7469 or visit www.welktheatresandiego.com.