HELLAS (review)

 Spoilers ahoy! 

Remember that movie 300 about the Spartans fighting the Persians, all sepia toned and awash with testosterone?

This is not that story.  But is based on the history behind that story, told by School of Night which is responsible for some of the most dazzling bits of original theatre in Los Angeles during the past decade.  Masks and dance, ritual and music, costumes and puppets and truly stunning combat scenes make up the meat and wine of their shows.

Hellas is their latest, and frankly, their best so far.  The time is the fifth century BCE, and the mighty empire of Darius the Great (Thomas Bigley) has sent ambassadors to the two most prominent city states of Hellas (Greece)--Sparta and Athena (Athens).  Here we have our three points of an epic story.  I do not use that word lightly, for this is "epic" the way Game of Thrones and House of Dragons is epic, even if we meet zero dragons.

In the capital of the Medean Empire, the wives (Dawn Alden, Angelika Giatras)  of the King of Kings plot to have their sons declared heir to Darius.  Far off, in Sparta, the half (or more) insane King Kleomenes (Sebastian Sage) is aggressively flirting with his daughter Gorgo (Sara Gorsky) while threatening to violate her husband Leonidas (Daniel Adomian).  Interrupted by his co-Monarch Demaratus (Rich Dally III), he sets things in motion when killing a Medean Ambassador in a fit of rage.  

Meanwhile in Athena, the poet Aeschylus (Mathias Blake) has words with his patron Themistokles (Colin A Borden) who soon becomes a crucial figure in the city's democracy, especially after the city executes the Medean Ambassador sent there.  

When Darius learns of these events, he orders an attack on Hellas.  His son Artobazanus (Anand Mahalingam) is in command, and by failing to heed the advice of Admiral Artemisia (Jen Albert) suffers a great defeat.  Disinherited, he soon sees his father suddenly die and his seemingly more fragile, more intellectual brother Xsyarsa (Scott Bartling) ascend the throne, known to history as Xerxes.  The new King has a vision, one of conquest, of moving west and "bestowing civilization" onto first Hellas then all of Europa.

At this point all the major players are in place for the epic that follows.  In fact what I've just described is a Cliff Notes version of plot of the first of two plays that together make Hellas the epic it so clearly is.  Not just in scale of things like combat, the clash of armies, navies, even civilizations--although it certainly is that--but a conflict between hopes and dreams, loyalties and fears, between ideologies vying against uncomfortable facts no less than individuals trying to get others to agree with them, usually succeeding sometimes and failing others.

I watched the premier of these two plays together, along with three (!) intermissions across over five hours--yet I never felt restless once.  I felt intrigued from the first moment we saw the characters.  Does it sound as if there are too many characters to follow?  Yes it does.  Are there too many characters to follow?  No.  Just as one understands events, amid the whirl and clash of every single element from the fierce rivalry between two Greek city states, the startling love story of a Queen who genuinely loves her King, the madness of someone who should never have been given power, the messy (and often funny, often heart-rending) ebb of politics.  All there, all woven into a fantastic experience.  We see entire armies fight and die, as in a dance.  We see complexities of hope and hatred weave together like music.  Everyone dons clothes of another age, wearing masks t soon become as expressive as any "real" face (somehow), while interestingly the language remains very simple, very easy to understand, and so very powerful.

This is T H E A T R E in all caps and very bold, and if some really shrewd producer with some cash attends may we all pray Dionysus, the patron of wine and theatre, bestows upon this production the chance to be seen by thousands and thousands and thousands in these troubled times.  They will be the better for it.  So shall we all. 

Fridays at 7:30pm will offer performances of Part I of Hellas on 4/18 and 5/2; Part II runs on 4/25 and 5/9. Saturday and Sundays at 2pm offer the complete saga. The Broadwater is located at 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90038. 

Jane Eyre (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

Begin with a disclaimer.  I have seen pretty much every English language film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's most famous novel.  So I had to make myself not compare performances.  More, the poster (seen here) frankly gives a somewhat wrong impression, or at least my reaction to it proved inaccurate.  

I was expecting a very surprising adaptation, one that would make startling choices forcing me to look at this familiar story with fresh eyes. 

What greeted me on opening night was a very straightforward adaptation, faithful almost to the extreme, with a very clear theme in mind (major kudos for this btw), some dazzling production values, and just a generally enjoyable version of Jane Eyre, one of the most famous novels in the English language so far!  I sat there enjoying myself, and felt the rest of the audience swept up in the story, up to and including the famous climax of lovers coming together at long, long, long last.

Does it seem like I'm about to include a "but" in here?  Well, the production had a few problems, and I think anyone would be absolutely justified in calling me picky. 

I like to be surprised, to see something new even in a old story.  Twice in this production, that happened.  When Jane (Jeanne Syquia) all but tore off her wedding dress on stage, my breath caught.  Also when Grace Poole (Trisha Miller) quietly warned Jane to keep her door latched at night, suddenly I saw this character in a totally new light.  Both these actors brought a lot to their parts, the former frankly all but carrying the show on her shoulders for over two whole hours.  

Earlier I mentioned theme, and I really want to praise playwright Elizabeth Williamson for maintaining focus on this.  Many don't realize how shocking this novel was in its time, because the title character and object of such a vast romantic passion is explicitly described as plain (okay Miss Syquia maintains the tradition of casting very attractive women in the role, but she played Jane as someone who knew she was not pretty, a very nice feat).  She also has a job, which young ladies of good society did not.  Today neither is quite so strange.  This play re-focuses on the plight of women in general, making this one of the most topical such adaptations ever in my view!  Director Geoff Elliott clearly understood this!

Yet it bothers me only the major players get much of an arc, which is not at all true of the novel.  The plot is streamlined in an extremely able and intensely intelligent manner (remember this is not a short book).  I personally feel the monologues to the audience did not work, and some of the dialogue was too faithful to the novel--because words read and words heard are subtly different.  One side effect of this it seems is creating some comedy, which to be fair was a welcome surprise and added to everyone's enjoyment of the performanc!

Told you I was being picky.

Frederick “Freddy” Stuart portrayed Mr. Rochester, with lots of energy and sometimes clearly having so much fun it was infectious--especially in the fortune-telling scene, a magnificent entry so often cut!  

The whole cast (Deborah Strang, Riley Shanahan, Bert Emmett, and Julia Manis) did very well but in some ways the biggest standout apart from the leads and Miss Miller was Stella Bullock, most especially when in flashback she portrayed a very young Jane Eyre. 

Jane Eyre will be performed Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. plus Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. until April 20, 2025 at A Noise Within, 3352 E Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91107

Are You the Last Bite? (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

I caught this (almost) one woman show on its last performance here in Los Angeles.  The creator, Yixin Wang, told me this piece is very personal and "very much a work in progress."  Have zero idea when or where you might have a chance to see this work, but when such an opportunity arises, go.  Just go.

Are You the Last Slice? proved to be a magnificent example of what I call "theatre of dreams."  Rather than a tale told about the world in which we live--with or without some kind of style (such as a musical, puppets, verse, etc.)--the play is more akin to a dream.  A dream performed on stage, to be taken (and understood) that way.  

In this case, though, it felt not so much a dream to watch, but a dream I myself was having.  It literally began the moment I walked into the theatre, as we the audience were welcomed, informed this was an upcoming bride's apartment, and given things with which to adorn the bride.

We had become part of the dream.

Soon, after we'd explored the space, gotten some hints as to the bride and her identity (subtle but clear hints of strong dichotomies at play), we all sat down and two men brought Wang onto stage.  Carried like a mannequin.  Unmoving.  Almost unblinking.  Posed as they examined her exactly like an object, decorated with a wedding dress and silver shoes.  I say decorated because this was done much the same way one mounts curtains, or puts ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Then we were invited to do the same.  

Rarely have I felt so sucked into a world on stage, so much so at one point I genuinely felt the urge to go on stage!  As Wang at one point struggled to push this wedding gown off her body, a garment clearly designed to need help either donning or exiting, I very nearly stood up to help her!  Only my belief this was part of the show made me stop--and at that it was a near thing!  

At just about one hour, Wang's performance mesmerized me.  Everything seemed without rhyme or reason, even to the point of eating a piece of red velvet cake at one point (a close up of her face doing so projected against the back wall).  Yet it all seemed perfect, the way every tiny shade of color seems vital in a Rothko painting or every note in an instrumental work of music.  At the end I was left shaken, and haunted, and full of curiosity as well as hope for this character I barely knew, yet had exposed so much.

If you get a chance, my advice remains.  Go.  See this. 

This performance was at the Actor's Company, 916 A North Formosa Ave West Hollywood, CA 90046, which is also a venue for the upcoming Hollywood Fringe Festival.  

The Feast (review)

 Spoilers ahoy!  

Anyone who knows me probably can guess my reaction to the whole idea of a play in which the audience are guests at a dinner party thrown by Grendel's Mother.

For those who don't know, Grendel is the monster whose slaying is the central incident in Beowulf, the only remaining epic poem of Anglo-Saxon.  Feast by Megan Gogerty and directed by Laura Covelli, functions as a sequel of sorts, but with a strong commentary about today, this era, this year, even this hour.  Personally I love this sort of thing, have even written such myself, and last year had the great good fortune of seeing something similar comment on The Odyssey at City Garage.  I could at this moment go on and on about the subject of re-imagining forms of mythology...

But I won't.  You're welcome.

Instead allow me to hopefully stir your imagination about meeting of all creatures Grendel's mother, portrayed with nuance and skill by Erin Schlabach.  What is she?  Well, that is not really clear.  Not at all clear, not in the play nor the original poem nor the various adaptations of such.  She and Grendel are magical beings more or less bound/connected to the land in ways that echo trolls, ents, Yeti, and probably a dozen other mythological creatures.

Beowulf himself was the subject of the poem, and a fair amount of time ends up devoted to discussing him.  After all, he slew Grendel.  Why did he do that?  Ah, therein hangs a tale, and a central point.  Schlabach's character rightly asks that very question.  Did Grendel kill one of Beowulf's kinsman?  Did he stand in the way of a great project or hope for Beowulf's?  Had Grendel offered Beowulf some terrible insult or injury?  Was he threatening Beowulf?  

No.

From the answer to this question a cascade of issues and ideas as well as regrets pour forth.  Century after century of contemplations have brought forth this invitation, this dinner party, in which we the audience--and by that I mean the specific individuals in the room during each performance--are the guests.  Which implies another question--why has Grendel's mother invited us here?

The answer proves not only interesting, but compelling.  Not merely compelling but touching.  More than touching, in many ways profound.  

Being a one person show Feast sinks or swims based on the cast of one.  Schlabach does indeed carry it all the way to its end, in the process re-enacting who Grendel's mother has been, what she became, what she now desires, and more, what might follow.  Her status as a mythological creature, as a monster (at least in some eyes) has everything and nothing to do with all these revelations.  The performer faces a serious challenge, and in the case threads those needles straight into our hearts.  Well, my heart at least.  I doubt I am alone in that. 

Feast runs Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm until April 6, 2025, at The Count’s Den, 1039 S. Olive Street, Los Angeles CA 90015.