A Noise Within (ANW) Theatre production of Arthur Miller’s powerful drama “All My Sons”, opened on the actual date and year of Miller’s 100 year annivesary. He was born on October 17, 1915. It was a good omen.

A Noise Within theatre company is one of California’s finest production companies that present, in repertory, mainly classic theatrical productions along with iconic American playwrights like Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O’Neill. ANW’s Fall 2015 Repertory Season consists of Feydeau’s classic farce “A Flea in Her Ear”, and Anouilh’s “Antigone” along with Miller’s “All My Sons”.

Arthur Miller is one America’s greatest playwrights and one who understood the term ‘experiencing the unique American dream’; along with its melting pot cultural contributions that are woven throughout his work. Miller and Paddy Chayefsky, arguably two of the finest writers with the greatest ‘ears’ for dialogue of working-class America, along with the argot and speech patterns of the immigrant populations that swept out Europe and into the east coast of America’s urban cities during the early 20th century. Where Miller and Chayefsky captured the flavor and speech of northern urban America, Williams understood and wrote his dialogue profiling the strength of Southern women.

America went to war in 1941, but not all of America. There were those who had to stay at home and man the war industries of building airplanes, ships and the weapons of war. “All My Sons”, nicely directed by ANW co-founder Geoff Elliott centers around the Keller family of a fictional Ohio city set in 1946.

Joe Keller (Geoff Elliott) a businessman and owner of a manufacturing company that supplied airplane engine parts to the government during the war is caught up in a scandal surrounding the deaths of twenty-one pilots whose planes crashed due to faulty engine parts. Keller during the investigation, blames his partner and next-door neighbor Steve Deever for knowingly shipping the faulty parts. Keller, is exonerated while Deever serves a long prison sentence.

Elliott delivers a finely judged performance as Joe. Some may come to the performance expecting to see a Lee J. Cobb interpretation (he created the role on Broadway) or Edward G. Robinson’s disciplined turn in the movie version. No matter your expectation, you will leave the theatre knowing you saw the plight of a real family in crisis mode.

Kate Keller (Deborah Strang) plays Joe’s wife and the mother of Chris (Rafael Goldstein) and older son Larry, a WW II fighter pilot who has been listed as MIA, and presumed dead by the government. She is living in a state of denial concerning her missing son Larry. She refuses to believe he’s dead. Family and friends know better but no one wants to be the one that sends Kate over the edge. Strang’s heart-rending final scene is achingly poignant and connects emotionally with every parent in the audience.

The Kellers are a flawed family with secrets that ultimately set in motion a series of confrontations between father, son, and mother, along with their neighbors, that even affect Ann Deever (Maegan McConnell) Larry’s old girlfriend. Chris wants to marry Ann who has accepted that Larry is never coming back alive. But the sticking point in accepting Larry’s death and Ann becoming a daughter-in-law to Kate, is the public acknowledgment and acceptance of Joe’s culpability in the death of his older son Larry. Neither parent can face or process that information. It’s just too painful.

Solid support comes from Rafael Goldstein as Chris, Maegan McConnell as Ann, and a nicely controlled performance from Aaron Blakely as George Deever (a role that can easily get too intense, if one is not careful).

Miller was heavily influenced by the great Greek playwrights Sophocles and Aeschylus, who dealt with the Gods and the tragedy that befalls the ‘common man’ when he steps out of line. Joe Keller is one of Miller’s common men, caught up in a situation that is of his own making, but whose actions set off a domino effect producing collateral damage to those around him.

“All My Sons” is realistically mounted on ANW’s thrust stage and is energetically and intensely performed by a talented company of actors. Even today, the story of the flawed Keller family dealing with deep-rooted conflicts still resonates sixty-nine years later. That sort of tells us that either we haven’t learned a thing about ourselves or that nothing in society has changed in the intervening years.

The technical team credits led by Director Elliott are first rate. Scenic Designer Frederica Nascimento provides a generous space for the actors to perform their magic under lights designed by James Taylor; allowing us to see the spot-on period costumes designed by Leah Piehl. Audiences, however, should be prepared to fasten their seat-belts while watching this potently performed production.

“All My Sons”, performs in repertory at A Noise Within theatre through November 21, 2015.

Dysfunctional families have always been low-hanging fruit as subjects for stories, plays, movies, TV series, and novels for centuries. And why not. It’s reflective and resonates everywhere as to the foibles of families and a continuing fascination with the human condition.

Broadway and the movies for years made hefty profits off the behavior of flawed families and their secrets. The darker and quirkier the secret the more audiences clamored for tickets to watch avatars of themselves or, perhaps, someone they knew.

One has to go back only a few Broadway seasons to remember the awards heaped on “August: Osage County”, a comedic-drama that celebrates: alcoholism, drug addiction, adultery, incest, and a few lesser venial sins; all within one family who hurl more than 50 f-bombs from the stage, by its various characters, into receptive audiences.

The Mark Taper Forum is currently presenting “Appropriate”, a dark comedic drama written by Obie Winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Eric Ting. For some audiences watching the play it must feel a little like driving past a roadside traffic fatality. We know we shouldn’t stare at the tragedy, but it’s so damn fascinating and riveting that it’s difficult to take one’s eyes away from the mayhem.

In the case of the Taper’s production it’s all about how each family member reacts to secrets revealed following the death of the family patriarch. It’s an old reliable format that allows the audience to see those dysfunctional family foibles up close and personal; where all get to ‘gunny sack’ one another over real or imagined slights that go way back and where all get to play the blame game.

I was reminded of the deliciously rueful comedic line delivered by Eleanor of Aquitaine, in James Goldman’s brilliant comedy drama ‘The Lion in Winter’, when she deadpans to the audience: “What family doesn’t have it ups and downs?” The formula worked in “Dividing the Estate”, “Daddy’s Dying Who’s got the Will”, and to some extent “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. The first two being comedies, and the latter a drama.

Playwright Jacobs-Jenkins is a storyteller who has a great ear for 21st century dialogue in America. In the hands of a very talented ensemble cast and its director, the play transforms a dense and very talky play into one that makes sense, despite that fact that we know where this story is going. Yet, we’re still intriguingly on board to the end.

When it comes to a brief overview of the story and what takes place on stage, perhaps, one word may be helpful in understanding the main characters’ shenanigans and actions: Baggage. Everything flows from their baggage. We all have it but only the flawed Lafayette family has it spades. Spoiler alerts make it difficult to summarize. But as I said before, we know where the narrative threads are headed, now it’s a matter observing these flawed people flail and wail. They don’t have a clue as to how traditional families function.

That’s one of the interesting and appealing aspects of “Appropriate”; that, and the stellar performances of the eight member ensemble cast. One gets to appreciate the exhilarating display of individual brilliance within a team framework. Ensemble casts need generous actors to pull it off. With that said, special mention must go Melora Hardin as Toni Lafayette, the titular head of the family who must run everything without being challenged. Everything is always all about her. She’s the sort of character audiences love to hate. She gets on everyone’s nerves with her irritating superior attitude including her brother Bo Lafayette (David Bishins), who isn’t that confident about challenging her on touchy family issues. Robert Beitzel as Frank, her flaky son, and his outlier girlfriend River Rayner (Zarah Mahler), who is not buffaloed by Toni’s bellicose attitude and. manner, and Missy Yager as Bo’s fiesty wife Rachel, are outstanding. Solid support comes from Will Tranfo, Grace Kaufman, and Alexander James Rodriquez (the performance I attended; the part is rotated with Liam Blair Askew).

It’s been some time, however, since I’ve seen a three-act production. They just don’t write that many anymore. Our millennials have short attention spans which producers normally understand, but hope springs eternal when trying to capture audiences for the future.

The technical team led by director Ting features a picture–perfect southern plantation home which has the look and feel of a lived-in home wonderfully designed by Mimi Lien. Lights by designer Christopher Kuhl; costumes designed by Laura Bauer, with sound by Matt Tierney, lend a ring of authenticity to entire production.   I was puzzled however, by the opening of the play, which begins in darkness preceded by a prolonged loud buzzing sound lasting about 30 to 40 seconds, and is repeated and the end of each scene and at the end of every act. (humm?) The audience (and me) could benefit from a program note clueing us in. Is it playwright dictated or director’s POV.

“Appropriate” performs at the Mark Taper Forum and runs through to November 1, 2015.

Films about high school music concerts, choral groups and choirs have been around for years. “Mr. Holland’s Opus”, starring Richard Dreyfuss, as a music teacher aspiring to compose just one great piece of music, and the TV shows “Glee” and “Fame” come quickly to mind. But documentaries about music departments, teachers, and high school students on the subject vary; depending on the vision of the documentarian and the willingness of real students and adults to participate.

The film “Big Voice”, made by award-winning filmmaker Varda Bar-Kar, receives its World Premiere screening at the Heartland Film Festival of Indianapolis, Indiana on October 18th. It makes its local festival debut at the LA Femme International Film Festival on October 17th in Beverly Hills, CA.

As with many things in life, big events often have small beginnings. Filmmaker Bar-Kar was attending a Santa Monica, California, High School music concert one year and was moved to tears by the beauty of the choir’s ‘voice’. “I wanted to find out how Santa Monica High School music teacher and Choir Master Jeffe Huls did it. I realized that a documentary film that told the story of a dedicated teacher (Huls) who makes a profound difference in his student’s lives and to reveal how valuable arts education can be [in our society]”, became a reality in a year-long filming effort chronicling events that became the film “Big Voice”; now playing on America’s film festival circuit.

Huls is not only a charismatic and articulate teacher, he is also a creative, caring, and understanding person. High school teenagers, some feeling their oats from time to time or coming to grips with their real or perceived inadequacies, can be challenging to convince that they all possess talent. Huls is a gifted leader who understands his role as one similar to that of a military drill instructor during basic training. He teaches his raw recruits. He shapes them turning them into a polished unified choral group that gives each student a sense of self-worth and a purpose and a place in the world.

There are several of scenes of Huls either in repose, thinking, or planning that poignantly will resonate with teachers. Teaching is truly a noble profession, but at times one also can sense the feeling of what it must be like to feel the loneliness of the long distance runner/teacher. They can never really be your sons or daughters. They belong to society. But like parents everywhere, we worry and are concerned about their futures.

But it’s all up to these eager youngsters as Huls continually counsels them. The class and a year-end choral presentation by the students demand discipline, hard work, commitment and dedication. That’s the matra they hear from Huls. To watch the young choir grow in skill and self-confidence is what makes “Big Voice” so compelling a film.

Obviously, the star of the documentary is Jeff Huls, but director Bar-Kar wouldn’t have so compelling a film without the cooperation of the students who feel pretty comfortable being trailed around by a camera crew. Their articulate observations and commentary is most impressive when one considers they’re just high school youngsters. But, on the other hand, it all takes place in Santa Monica, near Hollywood, where the living is easy and laid-back.

“Big Voice” is easy on the eyes and is very technically proficient documentary thanks to the director of photography Keet Daron and editor Robert McFalls, who know how photograph and edit all the footage being shot over the course of an entire high school year

This is a film that needs to be seen on PBS and screens all over America. And by the way, our education system and our society now more than ever needs the Jeffe Huls of this world.

Before the Civil Rights movements of the 1960’s there were organizations and individual leaders in the 1950’s who were pushing the civil rights envelope; energizing those who would ultimately follow and become its leaders.

One such early civil rights activist was the brilliant, openly gay, avowed atheist and strategist Bayard Rustin. Rustin preferred to achieve his goals by championing non-violence as the best method of changing the social landscape in America during the 50’s and 60’s. He admired the tactics of Mahatma Gandhi in achieving his goals for the Indian people. Unfortunately, Jim Crow laws still in place in the American South of the 1960’s made many demonstrations for equality extremely dangerous and difficult.

Playwright/actor Michael Benjamin Washington had zeroed in on Bayard Rustin, back in 2013 as an interesting person and subject for a future play. He brought his idea for a workshop reading to La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Chris Ashley to see if Ashley and the playhouse had any interest. Two years later “BluePrints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin” debuted as a World Premiere production with the playwright/actor in the lead role as Rustin on September 20th at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

The provocative and insightfully written drama by talented playwright/actor Michael Benjamin Washington is crisply directed by Lucie Tiberghien, opens a window into the life story of an individual not many are familiar with: Bayard Rustin, the chief organizer of the 1963 ‘March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom’.

The sponsoring organization for the event headed by A. Philip Randolph (Antonio T.J. Johnson), the leading African-American labor union president, socialist and champion of Rustin, is in need of the highly principled, intelligent, organized strategist to be his organization’s number one man.   However, Randolph is concerned that Rustin’s sexual orientation (still a taboo stigma) and his avowed atheism will dampen the support of the straight community and money donors in the long run.

He asks that Rustin keep a low profile, in fact, Randolph prefers that Rustin doesn’t make any public appearances or statements concerning the march and subsequent meetings and press conferences; going so far as to tell Bayard to run everything from his office indicating that he, Randolph, will be the public face of the march. Bayard chides him saying “I thought all you Baptists feel uneasy when speaking in public?” These are close friends. Rustin, however, sublimates the hurt of being demeaned and shut out from any recognition for his work on the march. He bites the bullet, and soldiers on.

Rustin’s tiny office where he plans and directs the logistics of the march is in desperate need of a secretary and general factotum. When recent college graduate Miriam Caldwell (Mandi Masden) knocks on the office door looking for an internship, she’s hired on the spot. Rustin now has the beginning of a core group.

When old friend Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ro Boddie) walks into the office to meet and chat with Rustin, Miriam gets all flustered and is now really impressed with her new boss. Washington’s play, to his credit humanizes both Rustin and King, Jr. Neither men are saints, nor do they claim to be. One day Davis Platt, Jr. (Mat Hosteteler) and former lover of Rustin walks into the office asking to see Bayard.

Davis still longs and aches for Rustin to begin again, but both men really know that whatever sent them in different directions before, will probably happen again. It’s a very poignant scene between two former lovers that resonates with the audience whatever one’s sexual orientation might be.

Washington the actor, renders a powerful, nuanced and riveting performance as Bayard Rustin, which no doubt definitely pleases Washington the playwright, thanks to the ever watchful eye of director Tiberghien. Lots of nice directorial touches enrich this overall production.

Offering solid support in this stellar production is Ro Boddie as MLKing, Jr. Boddie shapes and shades his character; letting us see the famous preacher and the private man away from his pulpit as very few ever saw him. It’s a finely judged performance.

Mandi Masden as Miriam, Antonio T.J. Johnson as Randolph, and the aforementioned Mat Hostetler help illuminate Bayard Rustin, the man that some have called the ‘lost prophet’ of the civil rights era.

As a side bar: it is promising to see more talented and gifted playwrights of color like Washington and Alvin Terrell McCraney, Katori Hall, and Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage being produced. The theatre is in the arts vanguard of the era of ‘diversity’. It’s been a long time getting here, but the wait has been worth it.

In the technical department the creative team led by director Tiberghien is solid thanks to Scenic Designer Neil Patel, who recreates the Washington, D.C. and New York City office settings, and the Lighting Design by Lap Chi Chu, along with costumes by Beth Goldenberg, and Sound Design by Joe Huppert, and the Projection Designs of John Narun.

‘Blue Prints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin’ is a 90 minute, no intermission, splendid evening of theatre for discerning audiences. The powerful and engaging drama performs on the Shelia and Hughes Potiker stage at The La Jolla Playhouse through October 4, 2015.

Some people think golf is a silly game played mostly by aging, white seniors who are struggling with their ‘arrested development’ syndromes and plunging testosterone levels.   Mark Twain said it best with the pithy observation: “golf is a good walk spoiled.” There is a lot of truth in that lament, however, the people who keep trying to master the game make great ‘characters’ for plays, movies, and nove

Ken Ludwig, one of America’s great practitioners of the art form known as farce is keenly aware of the foibles and folly of human behavior has written a comedy/farce set against a golf background that should please his legion of fans.

“Fox on the Fairway”, helmed by Director Matthew Wiener, has a stellar cast who try to bring this lightweight comedy/farce to life, however, this Ludwig effort isn’t up to level of his blockbuster plays that took home two Best Play Tony Awards for “Lend Me A Tenor” and “Moon Over Buffalo” several seasons ago.

The story is set at the fictitious Quail Valley Country Club where the annual country club challenge tournament between Quail Valley and Crouching Squirrel Country Club is being held. It’s a glittering evening for the ladies and it’s a heavily wagered event by the two club presidents. This time the bet is $100,000 to the wining club president. Henry Bingham (Kevin Bailey) of Quail Valley and Dickie Bell (Brian Salmon) of Crouching Squirrel, Bingham’s obnoxious, Malapropism quoting, bloviating rival are both looking for any angle that will give them an edge in the golf tournament.

Bingham hires a new assistant Justin Hicks (Kyle Sorrell) and is counting on new Quail Valley member and ‘ringer’ named Tramplemaine to play for the team. The trouble begins when Bingham learns the morning of the tournament that Dickie has lured Tramplemaine to play for Crouching Squirell instead. What’s an outmaneuvered fellow to do? Why, just let the silliness and the madcap and zany farce antics begin. Other players in the scenario are: Louise, clubhouse waitress and Justin Hicks’ new fiancée, and Pamela, the Board Vice President (Jacquelyn Ritz), who is always on the lookout for a new toy to play games with, and at the moment Henry Bingham is in Pamela’s cross-hairs and Muriel Bingham (Roxane Carrasco) the screeching, battle-axe wife of Henry.

Directors usually bring their personal visions to the productions they oversee; which at times, can either enhance or impede the success of a production. We’re dealing with a wild and wooly farce here. Yes, the action calls for broad on-stage action: slamming doors, improbable situations, ridiculous solutions, etc. If everyone is trying to move story along, would it be too much ask that it should be at least within the zip code of believability? It’s difficult to buy ‘the various bits’ when the premise is flawed from the get go. All the laughs in the world can’t win the day or the $100,000 wager if there isn’t a scintilla of believability in the whole ball of wax.

One should never be surprised, however, when good actors make something out of nothing. Kevin Bailey, Jacquelyn Ritz and Ashley Stults give it their best and come off as having a good time as well as giving good performances.

The set design by Marty Burnett is picture-perfect for a golf club Tap Room. The lights designed by Matt Novotny are always right on the money. The costumes by Elisa Benzoni are appropriate for the farce underpinnings, but anachronistic knickerbockers! They went out of style in the 1940’s. That’s either stretching credulity or pandering for laughs. Whatever happened to controlled subtlety?

“Fox on the Fairway”, now on stage at North Coast Repertory Theatre, runs through October 11, 2015.

Don’t be surprised to discover that there are less than a half-dozen scripted words of dialogue spoken in the entire production of “In Your Arms”, the World Premiere dance-theatre-musical production that debuted at The Old Globe Theatre on September 24th.. This magical production, however, doesn’t need help of any kind in order to dazzle its audience.

It’s an exhilarating and enthralling production as rich in visual imagery and emotion as any 1000 page Victor Hugo novel, and it’s all accomplished without a single word of dialogue.

“In Your Arms” is the brain-child of brilliant choreographer/director Christopher Gattelli and Broadway producer Jennifer Manocherian.  Serendipity often plays a key part on how theatrical ideas become creative realities.  In 2007 a chance phone call from producer Manocherian to dancer/director Gattelli led to a collaboration for a then unnamed dance show to be developed.

Gestation periods for new show ideas can take up to years before giving birth.  Money, performer availability and schedules, and other variables always impact the project.  In the case of “In Your Arms” the co-conceivers bit the bullet and forged ahead anyway, contacting playwrights and writers asking them to create stories that would then become a series of free flowing vignettes; running less than ten minutes each and performed by a company of top-tier dancers.  Ten of Broadways finest and renowned writers made the cut with stories they wanted to share using just music and dance.

The evening opens with a classically performed ‘Prologue’ danced by Spencer Clark and Lyrica Woodruff, as the star-crossed young lovers in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

“Love” is a leitmotif thread that is creatively woven and embedded into the tapestry of love won, and love lost, as danced by the company in all vignettes.

Broadway veteran and dance legend Donna McKechnie leads off the evening’s signature number “In Your Arms”, with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and performed with the company.

Let me list, in no particular order, the ten authors and the titles of their pieces brought to life by the gifted artists that comprise the company.

“The Lover’s Jacket” by Nilo Cruz features high-energy Flamenco dancers and lovers Glenda Sol Koeraus and Oscar Valero who become separated by political events set in Franco’s Spain.  If there is one dance that stirs the blood and the emotions to a boiling point; flamenco has to be it.  The vignette just sizzled.

“Lowdown Messy Shame” by Carrie Fisher is a screw-ball comedy (naturally) tale danced by Jess LeProtto and Samantha Sturm with Jenn Harris and the company.

“Love with the Top Down” by Alfred Uhry vibrantly celebrates young love and jalopies in Midwest America by perky Haley Podschun and energetic Brandon Stimson.

“A Wedding Dance” by Lynn Nottage takes place in Africa where two lovers: Marija Juilette Abney and Adesola Osakalumni exchange their wedding vows partly performed with an intricate shadow sequence; then seen in full creative choreography along with the company.

“Artists and Models, 1929”  written by Douglas Carter Beane, is a throwback number to the famous ‘drag show performers’ of the roaring 20’s; who let their hair down and camped it up at their annual glitzy A & M Ball.  Jonathan Sharp and Ryan Steele along with the company take charge with some fancy footwork.

“Life Long Love” by Marsha Norman is a bittersweet tale of three lovers who part only to meet again.  The poignant vignette features dancers Henry Byalikov and lithe Karine Plantadit with Stephen Bienskie who, not only recall their memories through dance but now realize each must make a difficult choice for their futures.

“White Snake” by David Henry Hwang, is an ‘East meets West’ vignette that is gracefully, lyrically, and traditionally danced by Alex Michael Stoll and Erica Wong.

“Intergalactic Planetary” written by Rajiv Joseph is a futuristic tale about an astronaut who meets an Alien female on a mission to a distant planet; who then desires to get closer to find out more about this statuesque creature. The space odyssey dance number is amusingly performed by Claire Camp and Jeremy Davis.

One will have difficulty in finding a more exciting and energy-filled 11 o’clock spot than “The Dance Contest” written by Christopher Durang, with lyrics by Durang.  The number is a beautiful, creative, exercise in precision movement with style and flair as the dancers perform the various prescribed genres required in all dance competitions.  The pairs are: Stephen Bienskie and Jenn Harris, with Henry Byalikov and Haley Podshun, and the company.

The penultimate vignette “Sand Dancing” by Terrence McNally is a sweet tribute to growing older, but still remaining true to one’s passion and one’s life long lover.  George Chakiris and Donna McKechnie perform this tender vignette with the company.

The signature number “In Your Arms” is reprised by McKecknie, with the entire company; bringing to a close a memorable and mesmerizing evening of music and dance that produced a standing ovation and several curtain calls.

Theatre in all its forms is a collaborative team effort.  A scintillating production like “In Your Arms” would be impossible to stage without the music which provides the dancers the precise timing they need to execute their steps and routines.  The pit orchestra under the baton of Music Director Steven Malone and Orchestrator Michael Starobin, play major roles in making the onstage magic happen.

The creative team led by the brilliant and innovative choreography/director Gattelli has Scenic Designer Derek McLane, render a large dance area that Lighting Designer Donald Holder, generously illuminates in order to see the costumes of Jess Goldstein.  One gets and appreciates the wide technical ‘tapestry effect’ that fills the stage with movement, color, and enchantment.

This astonishing and dazzling production performs on The Old Globe’s Shiley stage and runs through October 25, 2015. And by the way, one doesn’t have to a dancer to enjoy the production.  Don’t miss it.