2011 Tony Awards

What was the most interesting thing about the 2011 Tony Awards ceremony? Perhaps Mark Rylance’s acceptance speech takes the cake. Rylance, who won for best leading actor in a play for his performance in Jerusalem, took to the microphone with a strange dialog about walking through walls. After an evening of heartfelt but long-winded acceptance speeches, Rylance was certainly refreshing albeit confusing. Unlike flying or astral projection, walking through walls is a totally earth-related craft, but a lot more interesting than pot-making or driftwood lamps," he said.

After much “google-ing” it seems this is not the first time Rylance gave an unconventional awards speech. In 2008 he spoke of carrying a fishing pole while accepting his award for Boeing-Boeing. Both time, Rylance was quoting works by Louis Jenkins, an obscure prose poet from Minnesota.

Now the REAL event of the evening was the win of War Horse for best play: A visually stunning piece that brings full scale horse puppets to the stage with life-like movements. With 5 tony wins, it should not be long before this exquisite play begins touring. Keep your fingers crossed!


The Winners:

Best Play
War Horse

Best Musical
The Book of Mormon

Best Book of a Musical
The Book of Mormon

Best Original Score
The Book of Mormon

Best Revival of a Play
The Normal Heart

Best Revival of a Musical
Anything Goes

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Frances McDormand, Good People

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon

Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse

Best Direction of a Musical
Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon

Best Choreography
Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes

Best Orchestrations
Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Rae Smith, War Horse

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Scott Pask, The Book of Mormon

Best Costume Design of a Play
Desmond Heeley, The Importance of Being Earnest

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Also, check out the article "12 things you didn't know about the 2011 Tony Awards".

Hand to Hand with Meryl Streep

This picture was taken of me in front of the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. I decided that even though I have lived near Los Angeles for decades, I would be a tourist for the night. Meryl Streep is not only iconic to the world and probably the greatest living actress, but she is also someone I strive to be like as an artist. As I stooped over her impressions in the cement I felt the energy of my surroundings – the eager tourists rattling off names picked up from the sidewalk, street performers calling for tips, and even a wisp of Meryl Streep herself rising from the pavement. Yes, it was quite a lovely day.

Invalid & August take the cake

A few words regarding The Imaginary Invalid…


Oded Gross and Tracy Young have adapted and re-imagined Molière's 17th century comedy "The Imaginary Invalid" as a musical with mixed results. Picking up a French Restoration satire and placing it in the 1960s is not an easy task.

David Kelly (last year’s Fallstaff and a brilliant comedic actor) plays the wealthy Argan, a hypochondriac and father of two mod daughters Angelique (Kimbre Lancaster) and Louison (Nell Geisslinger). The play is generally classified as a comedy of manners, as it deals with tactless characters and romance among other various subject manners.

The production seems to highlight the efforts of a remarkable maid, Toinette, as she tries to keep the rumpus household in check and at peace. K.T. Vogt's smirking servant shines in every way as she manipulates the household for the betterment of the family.

The main action involves Angelique's suitor Cleante (Christopher Livingston) as he attempts to disrupt Argan's plan to have his daughter marry medical student, Thomas Diafoirus (the comically skilled Daisuke Tsuji), so there will always be a doctor in the house. At the same time, Argan's life-loving brother Beralde (Jeffrey King) wants to dispose of all the medicine in Argan's life, while maintaining a secretive love-affair with the household servant Toinette.

Large musical numbers, gross and physical comedy bring two hours of entertainment to the stage. A visual pleasure!

Some thoughts about August: Osage County…

August: Osage County, is a Pulizer Prize winning show that I have previously mentioned in my blog. It centers around the dysfunctional dynamics of a family coping with a father's suicide, a mother's addiction to pills, divorces, scandals and incest against the backdrop of Oklahoma.

OSF’s production certainly invokes the atmosphere of a midwestern setting: presenting the audience with an almost full scale house on the Angus Bowmer stage. It is clear from the talented ensemble cast of actors, the OSF has tremendous acting company.

Caesar & Henry meet at last

I arrived in Ashland, Oregon, for the Shakespeare Festival late last night. On a Monday evening there is little to do in Ashland. The theatre is dark and most of the businesses are closed. However after a light meal in Medford I nourished my body and looked forward to nourishing my mind with the next day’s activities.

The first event of the day was the official Backstage Tour. However, this turned out to be less of a “tour” and more of a history lesson regarding the origins of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The only backstage area really visited was backstage on the Elizabethan Stage and the underground common Green Room. I would have liked to have seen the facilities in the Angus Bowmer as well, but alas! Onward to Julius Caesar!

A few words about Julius Caesar…

Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Julius Caesar is stripped down to the raw element. It is a new revisioning, spare, and fast-paced production. The director, Amanda Dehnert, took great care to create a show which involved the audience as part of the action (the citizens of Rome) and highlights the humanity of the play. Through political manipulation a would-be tyrant is toppled only to be replaced by civil war and the rise of yet another sole power.

Is Caesar, the conquering hero, propelling Rome from a republic into a monarchy? That is what Cassius claims. Brutus, close friend of Caesar, is not quite sure. He is disturbed by how Caesar has filled the power vacuum and he's wary of Caesar's popularity. But Brutus is reluctant to cast Caesar as a tyrant.

Most interesting is the choice to cast a woman, Vilma Silva, in the role of Julius Caesar. What does this say about the play? How does this redistribute our vision of power? Does this create a platform for which Caesar is more of a victim? All valid questions as the play unfolds before its audience.

Gregory Linington's Cassius perfectly embodies a man with a "lean and hungry look," the type of man that Caesar explains "thinks too much." It is difficult to tell at time whether Cassius is driven by visions of a new democracy, or his own ambition. In contrast, Jonathan Haugen's Brutus is tortured by his thinking. He is a sophisticated thinkers, but not impenetrable to the plots of Cassius. Danforth Comins as Mark Antony plays are much larger role in the play then typically presented, as he recants the dialog of Calpurnia, who has been removed from the play. In a scene normally between husband and wife, Caesar and Antony council each other friend-to-friend moments before Caesar is assassinated.

In this new, cut, and remolded edition of Shakespeare’s play there is much to debate. Julius Caesar proves a truly thought-provoking afternoon at the theatre.

A few reflections of Henry IV part 2...

I had the pleasure of seeing the last “preview” performance of Henry IV, Part Two, directed by Lisa Peterson. Part Two is the middle play between Part One and Henry V, a lesser known play and certainly less popular. However it is much needed and as Peterson calls it "the meat of the sandwich”. This is the play where Prince Hal makes his final transformations into King Henry V and Fallstaff falls out of favor.

Many of the actors from last year's Part One have returned, with John Tufts as Prince Hal, Richard Howard as King Henry IV, Christine Albright as Lady Percy, Howie Seago as Poins and Brent Hinkley as Bardolph. However, we are given a new Fallstaff, Michael Winters, and a new Mistress Quickly, Kimberly Scott. Both attack their roles, but were not as vibrant to me as last year’s players.

A combination of modern and period dress presented itself on the stage, making it difficult to dercern time and place. Yet, in comes Rumor to set us straight…. Or not. After all, rumors cannot be trusted, as is suggested many times throughout the play.

Mmmm...Hmmm... Mr. Marmalade!

Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade, directed by Olivia Trevino for the Garage Theatre evokes laughter, pain and a greater sense of imagination. What begins as innocent make-believe transforms into a dark horrific exploration of adult relationships.

Cali Dunaway plays Lucy, a 4-year-old with a vivid adult imagination. The audience follows this bold and fearless young actress into a twisted version of childhood pretend. Her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade presents himself as a self-indulgent scoundrel, generally destroying Lucy’s perfect world with his cocaine habits, porno, abuse and alcoholism. Angel Correa attacks the role of Mr. Marmalade with vigor and humor in his over-the-top performance.

Performances are 8pm, Thur. - Sat. The show runs until May 21. Tickets are $15-20. The Theatre is located at 251 E. Seventh Street, Long Beach. For more info call (866) 811-4111 or visit http://www.thegaragetheatre.org/

'Chili Con Carnage' Opens 5/3/11!

Chili Con Carnage opens tomorrow night! This has been a very emotional journey for me, entering into the world of dark sadistic comedy. I am eager to share this production with an audience.

Working on this original play has proved to be a very valuable learning process for me. I haven’t done an original piece since college, and revisiting such artistry has brought many challenges to my attention. Most important in the process is the conceptual marriage between the playwright and the director. In a premiere production the playwright is still very much involved in the process, which is lovely in many ways, but also challenging when trying to communicate two points of view: that of the playwright and that of the director. Luckily we have all pulled our artistic choices together in what I hope will be a pleasing production for audiences.

With that said, I implore you to come down to Write Act Repertory and join us for tomorrow night’s festivities and a meet and greet with the actors after the show!

Lots of Laughs in Waiting for Godot!

The Long Beach Playhouse is currently presenting their Studio Theatre production of Samual Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. This is probably Beckett’s best known works among his Irish avant-garde plays and poems. It was somewhat surprising to me to see so few people in the audience. Almost as surprising as the myriad of questions I had after reading this play in college. After all, what the heck is this play all about?

In short Waiting for Godot is about waiting, friendship, the human condition & faith. Vladimir (Anthony B. Cohen) and Estragon (Karl Schott) wait in a nondescript desert-like setting characterized only by the presence a lonely bare tree and large rocks. Andrew Vonderschmitt’s stylized set design is reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting and provides a perfect setting for the surreal nature of the play.

The two men are waiting for a character named Godot. To pass the time, Vladimir and Estragon create various trivial activities talking, eating, and arguing through their day. They constantly tease each other and when the boredom becomes overwhelming, they contemplate suicide. However, the most entertaining part of the play is when Vladimir and Estragon receive a bizarre visit from what appears to be slave owner Pozzo (Steven Biggs) and his servant Lucky (Kyle Bryan Hall).

Surprisingly, considering Beckett is the source of this madness, there is never a dull moment in this production. It is as funny as it is thought provoking. All the actors involved give energized full-throttle performances, including Kyle Bryan Hall who doesn’t speak for what seems like an eternity, but communicates his character with gesture and facial expression, until the moment when he is asked to “think” and cannot be persuaded to shut-up.

There are a million ways to interpret this play (none of which are right or wrong) and LBPH does an excellent job letting the play speak for itself. This is a must see production for any theatre artist, student and theatre admirer. Waiting for Godot is a classic piece that does not come around nearly as often as it should. So please support Southern California theatre and purchase a ticket today. You will not be disappointed and you will be talking about the play with friends for hours upon hours.

Waiting for Godot at the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre through May 7. General admission tickets are $22; $20 for seniors. Student tickets are $12 with valid student ID. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. at 5021 E. Anaheim St. Call (562) 494-1014 for reservations and information. Tickets are also available online at http://www.lbplayhouse.org/.