Next to Normal Soars at the Ahmanson!

The national tour of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal, begins in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre. Next to Normal won three 2009 Tony Awards, including best score, best orchestrations and best actress in a musical for Alice Ripley as the mother. It received 11 nominations overall.

This self proclaimed rock musical breaks the boundaries of conventional musical theatre by diving in to heavy subject matters typically reserved for drama. In the wake of similar modern musicals like Spring Awakening and American Idiot, Next to Normal soars above its contemporaries with inspiring insight into the effects of mental illness.

The music is splendidly original with its story telling quality, even though it is not as catchy as typical show tines. The story-line is emotionally terrifying with just enough humor to defuse the overall tragic tone and inspire hope.

It is a given that actress Alice Ripley as Diana is spellbinding. Her vocal talent and emotional availability is truly touching. She has had ample time to profect her role, and relives her award winning performance every time she steps on the stage.

Curt Hansen, protraying Diana's son, is equally memorizing. He commands attention as he negotiates his way around the complexly leveled set, holds his ground and belts his heart out.

Asa Somers plays the father, desperate to hold on to his family. His portrayal of the head of the household is level-headed, yet aids in the dysfunction that surrounds him.

Tickets are on the expensive side, but this show really is a must see for theatre lovers.

Next to Normal, Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles Music Center. 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays (call for exceptions). Ends Jan. 2. $20 to $95.

The 39 Steps - A Parody

Claire Brownwell, Ted Deasy, Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson portray over 150 characters in the Ahmanson’s production of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Based on the 1935 film, The 39 Steps is a fun filled parody of Hitchcock’s suspenseful telling of an unlikely bachelor’s adventure into espionage. Richard Hannay begins in his simple apartment, fed up with “elections and wars and rumors of wars.” He longs for “something mindless and trivial. Something utterly pointless.” Deasy delivers a handsome and suave Hannay, as he discovers the solution to his boredom; “I know!” he says. “I’ll go to the theater!” At the theatre, he meets a mysterious woman (Brownwell) claiming to by a spy. When she ends up murdered in his apartment, Hannay is sent on a mission to clear his own name and save England from a plot to destroy the county. The action is non-stop, filled with clever allusions to Hitchcock’s many films and heightened physical comedy. Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson seamlessly slip between characters at lightning speed. The simple set becomes complex destinations as ladders are transformed into bridges, chairs into vehicles and trunks into train cars. Maria Aitken cleverly mounts this ridiculous comedy under the concept of a small repertory theatre to bring Patrick Barlow’s version to the stage. The program details her vision in her own words: “I envisioned some small rep company in the 1950s in England where this leading man wants to play the Richard Hannay character... This leading man can only muster a leading lady if he gives her three parts to play. And there are two old annoying vaudevillians that are left over from some other production at the theatre. He tells them they have to play all the rest of the roles, all 150 of them, and play them straight. But they don’t always behave like they are suppose to.” This combination creates one of the best slap-stick comedies to grace the Los Angeles stage in some time. A comedy for young and old, The 39 Steps vibrates with energy and laughter on the Ahmanson stage. Keep an eye of for a special appearance of Hitchcock himself!

The 39 Steps at the Ahmanson Theatre: 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Tuesday-Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 & 8 pm; Sunday at 1 & 6:30 p. Plays through May 16th, 2010. Tickets start at $20-$80.

Remembering Lynn Redgrave

Yesterday, May 2nd 2010, Lynn Redgrave passed away from cancer in her home in Connecticut, surrounded by her three children. Redgrave made her professional debut as Helena in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1962 at the Royal Court Theatre, and soon thereafter became a founding member of the Royal Nation Theatre. In addition to being a talented actress, Redgrave also wrote 4 plays, including Shakespeare for My Father, which explored her relationship with her father Sir Michal Redgrave and earned her a Tony Award nomination for best actress. I met Lynn Redgrave at a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest presented at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, in the spring of 2006. Redgrave shined as Lady Bracknell, commanding the stage with her imperious behavior and resonating vocal quality. After the show I waited patiently in the downstairs hallway of the backstage area. Redgrave was all smiles and elegance as she gently took my hand and introduced herself as “Lynn”. She was graceful, tall, humble, beautiful and demure in the dimly lit hallway – her makeup perfect and her hair slightly disheveled from being buried under a wig for two hours. I could barely speak, letting others congratulate and compliment her performance. I just wanted to watch her, and listen to her – taking everything in. I will never forget her, or the lasting legacy she made for herself on the stage.

What if Violet was your mother?

When Aristotle described theatre in his Poetics, he said tragedies must include opsis (Greek for spectacle). The Elizabethans also believed in creating spectacle, though too much could be seen as witchcraft. In this regard, the Ahmanson Theatre’s production of August: Osage County did not disappoint. The detailed 3-storied Oklahoma home sitting on the premium stage like a giant doll house was a spectacle in itself, but was not to be outdone by the performance of Estelle Parsons as Violet Weston. Encompassed in a sea of painkillers, alcohol and cigarettes, Violet summons her immediate family to her home after the mysterious disappearance of her husband, Beverly. The first indication that something is seriously wrong with the Weston family comes with Violet, played by the 82 year old actress, tromping down the stairs like a lightning speed bobble-head. With insanity and chaos swarming the house, eldest daughter Barbara attempts to take control of the house. The show is funny, tragic, horrific, engaging and utterly brilliant. Among the pill popping matriarch, missing patriarch, sexual infidelity, incest, drunken brawls, and betrayal is a potent truth that spoke to me on multiple levels. And you thought your family was dysfunctional? The characters are sharp witted with biting tongues. They dealt insults with epic Shakespearian-like power. The 3 hours performance flew by in a flash and standing ovations were to be had for all.

Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; No performances on Mondays. September 9 through October 18, 2009. Tickets are $20-80. The Ahmanson: 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A.. For more info call (213) 972-4400 or visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.

My name is Inigo Montoya so don't cry for me Argentina

When I attended An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin at the Ahmanson Theatre, I was naïve to the impact these two performers have had on musical theatre. Let’s face it; my first memory of Patinkin was not his Tony Award winning performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, but his portrayal of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. I only discovered Yentl last year when I became obsessed with watching Barbara Streisand movies, although I did buy his self titled album and knew him to be a strong vocal talent. As for LuPone, well when my roommate attempted to describe who she is the only pop culture reference I knew was playing Harrison Ford’s sister in Witness. Now, since I have been so honest in my failures as a musical theatre historian, let me remind my readers that I was not born when LuPone played Evita Peron or originated Fantine in Les Miserables. I do however remember her Tony win for Rose in the 2008 revival of Gypsy, as I had visited New York earlier that year and cursed myself for not buying a ticket. I also have in my possession the original cast recording of Evita, which I have been listening to for years. That being said, I have three words to describe this show: AMAZING, AMAZING AMAZING! Mandy Patinkin’s voice is 20 times better than it is on his album, and his handling of the Sondheim... Wow! They sparkle together, know each other like the back of their hands, and their energy is illuminating. When LuPone sang “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” I had chills running up my spine, and when they rolled out in office chairs to grace us with an original dance I almost gave them a standing ovation before the show had concluded. My roommate and I talked about it all the way home, well at least until we got off the freeway in Long Beach and started belting out “Buenos Aires” with Patti.