Club27 (review)

 

Spoilers ahoy!

I sometimes go on and on--in fact will continue to--about how revered the Los Angeles theatre scene deserves to be. 

Club 27 at the Jaxx Theatricals is one overwhelming example for this view.  Written, directed and choreographed by Jeremy Lucas, with music arrangement by James Lent, this premiere will remain a powerful memory methinks for the rest of my life.  

Imagine if you will a blend of Cabaret, Pippin, and The Phantom of the Paradise (if you have not seen this last, correct this oversight ASAP).  Such was my impression ten minutes into the show.  Perhaps you've heard of this term, "Club 27"?  Or not?  It refers to the disturbing coincidence of just how many brilliant young musicians died at that age.  Has little or nothing to do with the plot, but in context makes all the sense in the world.

The plot.  Essentially two people arrive at a Club.  Neither can recall how they got here nor for that matter who they themselves are.  Bobbie (Sam DV Jones) at least recalls their name.  Which is more than their companion can--although soon enough someone names him "Jolly" (Diego Huerta-Gutierrez).  Rojo (Graham Kurtz) is the equivalent of the Club Own/MC, although even that is not clear.  KC (Erin Lee Smith) is the current Headliner, although others have held that title before--up to and including Val (Cierra Watkins), Lizard (Brennan Eckberg), BJ (AJ Sear), Foxxy (Kyler Wells), and Pearl (Katrina Negrete) among many, many others.  What follows proves a deeply personal yet universal journey through self-destruction, self-hatred, self-love (in fact all kinds of Love), pride, addiction, tragedy, passion, as well as both sacrifice and hope.  

Including the Audience, who are definitely included as members of the cast.  Along with Ethan Mullen, JD Morabito, Brian Whisenant, Jill Marie Burke, Collyn Taylor, Jackson Landreau, Olivia Stipo, and Trinity Pedant.

Despite the disclaimer at the top, spoilers would seriously impede on enjoyment of this amazing musical.  Let me instead note two things:  First, one theory about musical theatre says a song exists because it expresses something which cannot be expressed with mere ordinary words.  Club 27 follows this notion, precisely, with in effect pretty much every single character opening their mouths as well as their souls sooner or later, often several times.  Second--towards the end of Act II, I felt an impulse.  Not a vague inclination or a charming, fun idea.  For a few minutes my heart swelled with a desire to stand up and walk up on stage, to sing a specific song to one specific character.  

Honestly, a greater compliment to the show, the performers, and the production is difficult for me to imagine. 

And I absolutely mean it.  

Club27 must close its limited engagement on October 30. Previews are 10/1, 2, 3, 8 & 9. The show runs 10/16-18, 23-25 & 28-30. Cheyanne Taylor plays Val on Friday nights. Sara Bunge* plays Jolly on 10/18 & 28. Amy Melendrez plays Terry on 10/23 & 25. All Wednesday-Saturday shows are at 8PM with Sundays at 7PM. The lobby, box office and bar open one hour prior to showtime and feature show-themed cocktails and mocktails.  The Jaxx Theatre is located at 5432 Santa Monica Blvd. in East Hollywood, 90029. Parking is available at 1110 N. Western Ave. 

 

Enemy of the People (review)

Spoilers ahoy! 

Henrik Ibsen was by all accounts a curmudgeon of the first order.  The story goes on his sickbed an annoyingly chipper nurse greeted him one morning with the words "Are we feeling better Mr. Ibsen?" whereupon he snarled "On the contrary!" and died.

The lead character in Bart DeLorenzo's adaptation of Ibsen's Enemy of the People feels as if made from the same cloth.  He is an honest man, a scientist with a streak of integrity a mile wide and one of stubbornness at least the same size.  Dr. Jay Stockmann (Jay Paulson) finds himself in the deeply unpleasant position of learning a terrible truth, one that inconveniences/threatens the livelihoods of a large community--that the natural springs upon which his town now depends are contaminated and will soon start making all who use them sick.

He faces an uphill battle at best, with his own brother (Jason McBeth) leading the charge against him, hurling charges and libels and bribery as well as much emotional blackmail as he can muster defending the status quo.  Jay's wife (Cara Mitsuko) remains staunchly by his side, even as she increasingly sees this man she loves in a starker light.  He is correct, and honest, and perceptive in the extreme about the world--but he is not really the man she thought he was.  While standing up against even friends and former allies, played by a generally stellar cast (Lauren Campanelli, DeJuan Christopher, Dennis Dun, Clay Hollander), very few people seem either as complete villains nor heroes.  All are flawed, which makes the tale nuanced, feeling very truthful. 

To be honest, though, the play comes across sometimes as less of a human drama and more of a strident complaint about everything we might agree is wrong with our society in toto.  Message plays often have to thread a lot of needles to work, and this one might be failing a few of those needles.  It feels odd saying that, because the arguments made seem valid in the extreme.  But it does diffuse the story by turning into a polemic.  At least that is how it feels.  Which need not be a bad thing, at all!  The sense I got in the end was was nuance--the sheer scope of issues addressed distracted.  Writing as much makes me feel a bit like a coward, since every point raised seems more than valid, seems vital.  

At the play's end, I felt weary and somewhat hopeless.  Which may have been the point, the goal, in order to motivate me and the rest of the audience.

If so, bravo.

If not, this remains a compelling and thoughtful piece of powerful theatre.

As of this writing, performances of Enemy of the People are available on Friday September 25 and Saturday September 26 at 8pm, with performances 3pm and 7:30pm on Sunday September 27 at the Odyssey Theatre 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.

 

Green Corridors (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

The title of the current production at City Garage, Green Corridors, refers to a path through the war-torn regions of Ukraine where refugees might find safe passage abroad.  The play,  by Natalka Vorozbhyt  translated by John Freedman with Natalia Bratus, focuses on a group of such.  

Interestingly, here is a play about the Ukraine War almost entirely set outside that nation, following some refugees who find their way into Western Europe.  Such echoes a classic story line made most famous as either The Odyssey or maybe Lord of the Rings.  It is about people called abroad by need, who find their hearts and events call them back home.

We all want a home, after all.  All of us long for a place, a history, a group of people we call our own.  Invasion and war, organized human violence in other words, force us away yet call us back.  

The cast--including such regulars with this theatre as Angela Beyer, and Martha Duncan, as well as Ricky Lee Grove, Alicia Ivanhoe, Dennis Kimmel, Georgia Orchid, Cruz St. James, and Eric Trosch--do a splendid job of showing us this collection of individuals trying their very best to live, to love, to deal with rage as well as humiliation.  Frankly I felt an eerie sense of deja vu throughout, of every single time my own life has turned topsy turvy in some way.  From living through hurricanes, weathering the passing of friends and family, to enduring the frankly ever-growing terror of recent events (at my own home as well as abroad), the emotional strings of memory felt drummed upon again and again. 

I am a big fan of CityGarage, and have been for years.  Honestly this production is among the most powerful I have ever seen from them, which please believe is very high praise indeed.

As of this writing, Green Corridors has one more weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 4pm on September 27, 2026 at Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Ave. T1, Santa Monica, Ca, 90404.

Limonade Tous les Jours (review)

Spoilers ahoy! 

We are living in a time of great tumult, great stress, great events hurtling toward tragedies of vast size.

Hence this show, Limonade Tous les Jours (Lemonade Every Day), by Charles L. Mee proves rather more than a mere distraction. 

Yes, it is a love story (directed by Frederique Michel) between two people--a middle aged Andrew (David E. Frank) and the much younger singer YaYa (Nicolet Anton), each trying to recover from respective failed marriages in Paris.  He's about twenty years older, but she likes older man.  Just as he likes at least more vivacious, unpredictable women.  An never seen friend is the reason they meet, and the chemistry is electric almost at once.

But--here is the thing.  A typical romcom (and I quite like a good example of that genre) involves all sorts of plot elements keeping the lovers apart.  Not so, here.  Absolutely nothing is in their way.  No prior commitments.  Both are in the same city.  Neither has another love interest.  Do they have some secrets they share and/or are trying to keep from each other?  No!  Is there some countdown, spelling some kind of disaster if they don't hook up by a certain hour?  Again, no.  Are other characters tying them up with their own complex storylines, forever interfering with our lovers declaring they feel?  Yet again--NO.

So what is their way?

Each other.  Sincere belief this is a bad idea becomes the center piece of one fascinating conversation after another.  They tell each other all kinds of uncomfortable truths.  Both agree completely the age difference is too much, each has habits that doom any hope of love between them, neither one can ever change enough to ever achieve happiness partnered with them--even as chemistry, the communication, the trust grows by the minute!  Neither of them give one inch to their mutually agreed upon certainties.  At the same time Andrew and YaYa don't walk away--although they never stop insisting they will!  No matter how much he annoys her, she frustrates and insults him, their declarations increasingly mean nothing.

What they feel is love.  Obviously.  Even they know that, but reject it as foolish at best.  Which could be hilarious!  Yet instead it feels equal parts lovely and heart-breaking.  No small feat!

Part of all this lies in a third actor (Cruz St. James) who in turn plays several waiters, at least one dancer, a dress designer, and other roles--a singing, dancing Greek Chorus full not with pronouncements of doom but rather rather wry, gentle, piercing yet somehow kind observations about the human heart.  Again, sung and danced as well as spoken.  

What emerges from all this proves a startlingly kind as well as hopeful portrait of a relationship.  One where a lonely older man and lonely young woman, each living way too much in their words,  yet at the same time are vividly alive.  Especially when together.  Which is a damn fine symptom of love.  Amid so many worries, so many fears, so very many reasons to despair of what they want--in the end, they act.  Not with cynicism.  Not even a little bit.  Looking at each other, touching each other, Andrew and YaYa show themselves as full of hope.  In deed if not in words.

But not only in deed, also in song.  Did I mention in many ways this is a musical?  Most of the songs are in French, but don't worry.  You don't need to under stand a single word.  This is not about words.  

All three performances are as quietly glorious as a perfect haiku, or maybe a simple but exquisite bouquet of flowers.  Or maybe something else exquisite.  Because that word defines this specific play. Exquisite.  Like a drink of something icy and perfect on a hot summer day, or a magnificent blanket in a winter night.

Limonade Tous Les Jours runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 4pm until June 28, 2026 at City Garage, 2525 Michigan Ave. Building T1, Santa Monica, CA 90404.