The Desert Hot Springs City Council met at the Carl May Center on Tuesday night, April 16, 2013.

DHSPD Crime Scene Technician Terry Sherman received the “Golden Bear Award” for the seventh year in a row for his success in gathering field evidence by use of fingerprints in apprehension of criminals. According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Scott Madden who presented the award, there are many millions of fingerprints on file through the state and federal data bases. Running a fingerprint for a match only takes 30 seconds to two minutes.

Presentations were also made by Chris Cunningham for the Desert Valley Disposal, College of the Desert board trustee Mary Jane Sanchez; Code Enforcement Officers Jack Leonard and David Williams; and an update on Development Activities and Marketing Efforts by Michael Bracken, Economic Development Consultant.

The Kentwood Players is one of the oldest community theatres in Los Angeles.   Now in their sixty-third year, the Westchester/LAX-based theatre group boasts a long and distinguished, award-winning track record; presenting over 300 productions at their permanent home, The Westchester Playhouse, just since 1961.

The production of “Ragtime” written by Terrence McNally, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty is based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same name.  The musical is brilliantly directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, and, thanks to her musical director and creative cohort Bill Wolfe, this impressive production just soars with 43 voices and performers on Kentwood’s somewhat undersized stage (the theatre seats 115 patrons).  But oh what magic doth appear when good source material, creative talent and inspired direction abound.  Not many community theatres have the ambition, talent or the gravitas to even think about mounting a production as daunting as “Ragtime”.  But the Kentwood Players have always been a company of players and creative talents that thrive on challenge.  The result from producers Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi is a triumphant evening of sublime theatre.

“Ragtime” tells the story, in song and music, of three groups in early 20th century America:  African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia.

Breathing life into the main characters within each group are: handsome leading man Deus Xavier Scott as Coalhouse and Joanna Rose Burwell as Sarah.

Their on-stage chemistry produces moments when their singing voices have the poignancy that is reminiscent of “Porgy and Bess”.  Jennifer Sperry as Mother, is not only lovely to look at, she has a lovely, sweet soprano voice to enjoy.  Rocky Miller as Father lends his lyric baritone along with a solid portrayal as Father and epitomizes white suburbia at the dawn of the 20th century.  Logan Gould as their son brings an appealing quality as the narrator who sets the stage story and begins the musical show.  Bradley Miller as Tateh, the immigrant from Latvia, compellingly embodies the work ethic of the old world, and the desire of the country’s new citizens to build a life based on their own efforts.   Making sure new citizens aren’t being exploited by “capitalists” are the watchdog Emma Goldman’s of the world.  In the Kentwood production, Emma Goldman is fiercelyl played and sung by Joanna Churgin.  With 43 performers in the show, to list them all would not be possible.  Suffice it say this stunning production artfully captures the essence of the period.

In the technical department, a great deal of the show’s success and appeal is due in part to Set Designer Jim Crawford, whose creative design allows for 43 performers to sing, dance, and act in a space that would challenge the best of designers.  Lighting designer John Beckwith, provides just the right amount of light allowing for the full appreciation of Costume designers Maria Cohen, Sheridan Cole Crawford and Jayne Hamil’s impressive efforts.  The costumers created, not only accurate costumes of the period, but costumes that have wonderful functionality and color.  As a result, Choreographer Victoria Miller has full sway to put her dancers through their paces without having to worry about restricted movement due to costumes.

Director Weisbarth and her creative team can take credit for a visually appealing cast that elevates “Ragtime” at the Westchester Playhouse, well beyond the level of “community theatre”.  If you find yourself in Los Angeles on a Friday, Saturday, or a Sunday, during this summer, by all means plan on catching one of their productions.  You won’t be disappointed.

The machine-gun like staccato of David Mamet dialogue, along with a load of coarse language and tons of f-bombs being hurled from the stage, is evidence that  “Mamet-speak” is alive and well on the stage of LA’s Geffen Playhouse.  “American Buffalo”, the dark, absurdist, comedy about a trio of inept burglars and a heist gone bad is considered one of Mamet’s best early plays.

Directed by Randall Arney, the Geffen’s Artistic Director, “American Buffalo” features three marvelous actors: The burly and physically intimidating Bill Smitrovich plays Don Dubrow, the owner of a resale junkshop; a wonderfully gifted Freddy Rodriguez who plays Bobby, a young man whom alcohol and drugs has reduced to a shell of a man living in a continuous, semi-detached state of reality; and Ron Eldard as Walter Cole (called Teach), a small-time, wanna be crook and a bipolar manic depressive, whose violent nature and reaction to frustration propels him into fits of destructive behavior.  In other words, when these three characters get together, dark comedy and mayhem can’t be far behind.

Here’s the caper/heist plan dreamed up by Don:  They rob the coin collection from a customer of Don’s.  In the collection is a rare American buffalo nickel that Don sold him a short while ago.  Don finds out the customer will be away for the weekend, which then becomes the perfect time for the anxious, but inept, trio of misfits to complete the job and split the profits when the rare nickel is sold.  We’re not dealing with brain surgeons here, and this simplistic plan looks to everyone like a slam-dunk.   If only plans and life were that easy and simplistic.

The actual heist, which everyone is so keyed about, keeps being postponed, much to the frustration of Teach.  He’s not long on patience and can easily explode at any moment.  Also, he wants to edge Bobby out of the plan.  He keeps saying to Don, we need a man to do the job for the break-in, not a young drugged out kid.  Don is not moved.  He likes Bobby; telling Teach that Bobby will be fine for the job. Their relationship has tones more like a father-son feel to it.

Mamet works on more than one level as a playwright.  His sub-text is as important in understanding his characters as the dialogue they spit out at mind-boggling speed.   In Arney’s production of “American Buffalo”, after one peels away all of the f-bombs, we are left with a gritty study of three American men who are unable to understand their role in a society, which views them as losers and permanent bottom-feeders.   In Mamet’s most successful play “Glengarry Glen Ross” his theme of hard- scrabble businessmen constantly trying to beat the system, is what resonates with American audiences.  Enough, however, cannot be said of the splendid ensemble cast of  “American Buffalo”.  They grab Mamet’s absurd black comedy story and elevate it to a gritty, but engrossing evening of theatre.

Randall Arney has retold and seamlessly directed a classic American play, one that when it debuted in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 1975 went on to Broadway in 1977 and just blew away both audiences and critics alike.   His 2013 Geffen creative team includes Set Designer Takeshi Kata who provides one of the messiest looking sets I’ve ever seen, and one where grunge creatively oozes from every corner of the set.  The Costume design by Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, and the Lighting design by Daniel Ionazzi are also first-rate.

“American Buffalo” performs at the Geffen Playhouse, and runs through May 12, 2013.

[easyembed field=”code1″]