Author Archive: Glamour

Little Women Ballet at Heritage Square Museum and Wilshire Ebell Theatre

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Little Women Ballet
Winter Site-Specific, Immersive Experience
&
Full-Length Ballet


WHAT:
Little Women Ballet returns with their winter site-specific immersive experience, the last in the Trilogy, with five unique performances, and the debut of a full-length Ballet with two performances. Pioneering more ballets about women and their stories, Little Women, is an original ballet, manifesting the coming of age of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they navigate an ever-changing world of war, poverty, love and loss as they learn to embrace their artistic gifts and share them with the world as a source of comfort. A delightful tale of family, friends, finding yourself, and growing up, Little Women will warm the hearts of audiences of all ages. Little Women Ballet returns with a winter site-specific immersive experience – the third in the Trilogy – where audiences enjoy being encapsulated within the beloved story of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Each immersive experience is entirely unique featuring a different season, different music, different desserts and refreshments, and different parts of the Little Women story told through dance. Audiences will venture into this classic tale for an immersive ballet experience.


WHERE / WHEN / TICKETS:

Winter Site-Specific Immersive Experience:
$60.00 (plus $4.00 service fee), includes complementary holiday beverages and desserts
Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031

• Friday, November 22; 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday, November 23; 3 p.m.; 6:30 p.m.
• Sunday September 24; 3 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Full-Length Ballet:
$28 – $40 (plus service fee)
Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90005

• Saturday, December 7; 2:30 p.m.; 7 p.m.


OTHER:
• Heritage Square Museum welcomes visitors who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs. However, traveling over long stretches of gravel is necessary to access all the structures on the property. In addition, only three buildings (Perry House, Palms Depot, and Colonial Drugstore) have ramps; all other structures on the tour have stairs.


• Appropriate for ages 12+ (Guardians must remain with children under 18 at ALL TIMES)


Little Women Ballet Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptz3HHRRSfk


HOW:
• https://www.littlewomenballet.com
• 626-792-0873
• info@littlewomenballet.com
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090956834889
• https://www.instagram.com/littlewomenballet

• Los Angeles Times article ‘Little Women Ballet’ Leaps into a historic L.A. site – and you’re part of the story: https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2024-10-10/little-women-ballet-heritage-square-museum

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG wins the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films

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The German-Iranian-French co-production THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  by Mohammad Rasoulof has won this year’s Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films, which is being presented for the fifth time by European Film Promotion (EFP) and Arab Cinema Center (ACC). The drama is also the German Entry for the 97th Oscars® in the “Best International Feature Film“ category.

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  by Mohammad Rasoulof was selected from a total of 22 European films, including nine Oscar submissions, and made it to the shortlist of the final three. 89 of the most prominent and influential Arab film critics from 15 Arab-speaking countries have now announced the winning film during the El Gouna Film Festival (October 24 – November 1, 2024).

The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who could not attend the festival in person, sent greetings to El Gouna. In his video message, he expressed his great regret not being able to be on site in person and thanked the jury and the festival for the prestigious award. The producer of the film, Mani Tilgner (Run Way Pictures), gratefully received the trophy on the director’s behalf at the award ceremony:

“I am deeply honored to accept this wonderful award here in El Gouna on behalf of Mohammad Rasoulof and the entire team. My heartfelt thanks go to European Film Promotion, the Arab Cinema Center and the El Gouna Film Festival, but above all to the jury of the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films who selected our’s from among all the films. This recognition assures us that we not only succeeded in producing a good film under difficult conditions but also in telling a story that moves people around the world-whether in the USA, Europe, or the Arab countries.”

The drama THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  revolves around Iman, an investigating judge in Tehran who serves his regime loyally. Public demonstrations on the streets of the Iranian city keep his daughters busy. These different dynamics upset the family. Anger and paranoia on both sides soon ensure that all boundaries are crossed …

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  had its world premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it received the Competition’s Special Jury Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize, the European Art House Cinemas Award (AFCAE), the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Prix François Chalais for Best Film. The film went on to win the Audience Award in Sydney and was then screened at other film festivals such as Locarno, Telluride, Toronto, San Sebastian as well as important autumn festivals in the USA. THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  has also been shortlisted for the European Film Award.

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG  was produced by Run Way Pictures in co-production with Parallel45, ARTE France Cinéma and with the participation of ARTE France and in co-operation with Films Boutique. The film was supported by L’ Aide Aux Cinémas Du Monde, Centre National Du Cinéma Et De L’ image Animée, Institut Français and MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.

The German distributor Alamode will release the film in German cinemas on  December 26, 2024.  Films Boutique is handling international sales. In North America, NEON will release the film nationwide in US cinemas on November 27, 2024.

The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films was launched in 2019 by EFP and ACC. It is a spin-off from the ACC’s now well-established Critics‘ Awards to boost film diversity in the region and raise the interest of sales companies and the industry for outstanding European films. This initiative also aims to cast a spotlight on the distinguished film critics from 15 Arab-speaking countries and their important role in opening up new perspectives and bridging cultural idiosyncrasies. The previous four winners were God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya by Teona Strugar Mitevska (2019), Undine by Christian Petzold (2020), 107 MOTHERS by Péter Kerekes (2021), EO by Jerzy Skolimowski (2022) and FALLEN LEAVES by Ari Kaurismäki (2023).

‘La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin’ at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

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NEWS RELEASE

 Latino Theater Company’s free, annual holiday pageant
‘La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin’ is back in 2024

WHAT:
Latino Theater Company returns with La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin, the company’s signature holiday pageant that has been a Los Angeles holiday tradition since 2002. Join the tens of thousands who have become transfixed by the story of Juan Diego, a simple peasant to whom the Virgin Mary appeared on four occasions in the mountains of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531. Starring Esperanza América as the Virgin Mary and Sal Lopez as Juan Diego, the cast features over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers as well as children and seniors from the community. The City’s largest theatrical holiday pageant, La Virgen has been covered by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles HOY, Univision and Fox News among many others. Performed in Spanish with English supertitles.

WHO:
• Adapted for the stage by Evelina Fernández from the mid-16th Century text The Nican Mopohua
• Directed by José Luis Valenzuela
• Starring Esperanza América as the Virgin, Sal Lopez as Juan Diego, and featuring over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers, as well as children and seniors from the Los Angeles community
• Presented by El Gallo Giro
• Produced by The Latino Theater Company in association with the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

WHEN:
• Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.

WHERE:
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
555 W. Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

TICKET PRICE:
• General admission: FREE
• Premium seating: $45

HOW:
www.latinotheaterco.org
(213) 489-0994

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts

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To Life! To Life! L’Chaim!
 
Family, love, faith and tradition! A Broadway classic!  Overflowing with musical hits you know and love, including “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” and “To Life (L’Chaim!),” FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love, and laughter.  An all-new beautiful production will introduce a new generation to this uplifting celebration which raises its cup to joy!  To love! To life!

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Book by JOSEPH STEIN
Music by JERRY BOCK
Lyrics by SHELDON HARNICK
Original Broadway production directed and choreographed
by JEROME ROBBINS
Originally produced on the New York stage by HAROLD PRINCE
Musical Direction by ALBY POTTS
Choreography by LEE MARTINO
Direction by LONNY PRICE

OPENS: Saturday, November 9 at 8 pm (Press Opening)
and runs through Sunday, November 13 at 6:30 pm
PREVIEWS: Friday, November 8 at 8 pm & Saturday, November 9 at 2 pm
PERFORMANCES: Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm;
Saturdays at 2 pm & 8 pm; Sundays at 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm
There is no performance on Sunday, November 10 at 6:30 pm. The regular
Thursday performance on November 28 (Thanksgiving) has been moved to
Wednesday, November 27. There will be an added performance on Wednesday,
November 20 at 7:30 pm.
There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, November 23
at 2:00 pm.
Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Thursday, November 14 at
7:30 pm and Wednesday, November 27 at 7:30 pm.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada, CA 90638.

Arrive Early to Find Best Parking — It's Free!
Tickets range from $34 – $109 (prices subject to change).
50% off student tickets are available in select sections.
Children under 3 will not be admitted into the theatre.
For tickets, please call (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310 or buy online at
LaMiradaTheatre.com.  Group and military discounts are available.

Theatre Review: Stone Heart

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In a style resembling Latin American literature, Playwright Georgina Escobar presents a story set in the bordertown of Juárez in the late 80s, where drugs, alcohol, addiction, and suicide corrode the cohesiveness of a family facing the ravaging effects of the drug trade.

Hector Zermanis (Markuz Rodriguez) is reluctant to accept money from narcos to buy his ranch. His wife Birdie (Valeria Vega) is experiencing mental issues. His daughter JoJo (Vanessa Flores Cabrera) is in a bitter relationship with her cheating husband. His other daughter, Mage (Adriana Cuba Cuentas), is getting addicted to Quads. Witnessing the tension is Samara (Lourdes Arteaga), a native exchange student staying at the Zermanis’ home.

The Zermanis belong to the upper class, so their attitudes toward Samara reflect the pervasive opinions on race and class. As the money runs out, Hector faces the pressure to accept money from the narcos. Their economic tribulations are especially hard on the family, as they are used to a privileged position. Despite her elitist perspective, Birdie starts to develop an intense attraction to Samara, who gets caught up in the intrafamilial drama.

One of the most intriguing symbols of the story is the relationship between the Zermanis and the Mesoamerican figure of Chac Mool, a representation of the rain spirit which holds a container believed to be used to place human hearts in it. Escobar connects the human sacrifice aspect of the ancient rituals with the brutal bleeding of Mexican society as a result of the turf war among the various cartels vying for the control of the lucrative drug corridor of Juárez-El Paso.

Stone Heart also explores the role of women in the family and society. The women in the play experience the tragic consequences of the Zermanis’ implosion. This is significant in the context of the multiple rapes and murders of women in the border region. Unnerving and devastating, those cases served as an example of the moral decay of a society left to cope with the violence and impunity of the criminal organizations running the region.

Birdie’s mental decline and her family’s deterioration represents the decadence of the social fabric of a city as a result of the drug trade.

Persecution, forbidden love, drugs, alcohol, suicide, addiction, and curses are effectively displayed in this production helmed by Director Daniel Jáquez. For this staging, he used non-professionals actors from the San Diego-Tijuana area. Even though they’re amateurs, Jáquez manages to bring the best of them to capture the tension and sense of danger implied in the script.

Stone Heart is presented as part of the Encuentro 2024: We Are Here – Presente!, a theatre festival presented by the Latino Theater Company.

Stone Heart

The Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Oct 25 – Nov 9, 2024 ( see link below for schedule)

Tickets: latinotheaterco.org

Written and translated by Georgina Escobar. Directed by Daniel Jáquez.

Cast: Valeria Vega (Birdie), Lourdes Arteaga (Samara), Vanessa Flores Cabrera (Josefina aka JoJo), Adriana Cuba Cuentas (Magdalena aka Mage), Markuz Rodriguez (Hector), Lester Isariuz (Cowboy/Ricardo), Andrea Agosto (Voice Over Narrator).

Creative team: Original sound design Salvador Zamora, Co-sound designer Estefania Ricalde, Lighting designer Elba Emicente, PSM/Co-sound designer/Video designer Estefania Ricalde, Assistant director/Company manager Laura Reynoso Jimenez.

Theatre Review: Four Top

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In a mostly linear style, except for scene 3, Playwright Michael B. Kaplan presents the romantic lives of five characters who are charming, insecure, and can’t seem to figure out the meaning of life.

If you like romantic movies and dating shows, then seeing Four Top should be in your to-do-list. Brian (Jack Menzies) and Liz (Jackie Shearn) engage in an intense hookup, meet puke included, only to break up the same day. A year later, Brian has moved on and is in a relationship with Megan (Rosie Byrne), whose work husband is Tony (Luke Rampersad). Tony is now dating Liz. Brian is suspicious about the platonic relationship between Megan and Tony. Megan doesn’t know about Brian’s hook up with Liz a year prior. The four meet for food and drinks, but insecurities, jealousy, and the feeling of missed connections make the two couples rethink their respective relationships. While this is happening, the server (Cassidy LeClair), an aspiring writer, introduces her own story to the audience. The server is a motif throughout the play, interacting with the couples and instigating discord among them to amuse her creative bent as a writer.

The couples navigate their love lives going back and forth, hooking up, breaking up, and just trying to find themselves while experiencing the thrill of romance and the challenges of adulthood. Nihilism? Could be. Projection? Maybe. Alternate reality? It’s possible. Therapy might help. But it’s expensive. Just be careful with the ferret. 

The play analyzes the ups and downs of romantic relationships and the desperate search for deeper and more meaningful connections. To translate those engaging themes on stage, Director Kathleen R. Delaney adds sexiness and physical comedy to the production, adding dynamism to the story and pushing the characters out of their comfort zone for an effective comedy effect. Her five actors are engaging and they all deliver their lines with excellent timing, highlighting the cleverness and hilarity of the script. 

Love always triggers an interesting conversation. If you add heartbreaks and comedy, then you have a winning combination. This play’s production is not extravagant, but it’s probably that simplicity that makes Four Top a hit with the audience. The only drawback is that it feels too short. But, hey, with a younger audience’s attention span, shorter might be better.    

Four Top

Lonny Chapman Theatre – Upstairs Stage (Second Floor)
10900 Burbank Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601

October 17 – November 17, 2024
Thursdays at 7pm, Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 7pm
“After the Show Talkbacks with cast, author and staff” Sundays 10/20 and 10/27

Tickets: thegrouprep.com

Written by Michael B. Kaplan. Directed by Kathleen R. Delaney. Produced by Denise Downer.

Cast: Rosie Byrne (Megan), Cassidy LeClair (Server), Jack Menzies (Brian), Luke Rampersad (Tony) and Jackie Shearn (Liz).

Creative team: Daisy Staedler (Set Designer), Nick Foran (Lighting & Sound Designer), Clara Rodríguez (Scenic Painter), Caleb Aaron (Assistant to the Director), Karla Menjivar (Stage Manager).

LOS ANGELES NEW PLAY PROJECT’S ANNUAL GRANT

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LOS ANGELES NEW PLAY PROJECT ANNOUNCES 2024 RECIPIENTS

OF THE 4th ANNUAL GRANT 

Los Angeles, CA (October 22, 2024) – Celebrating outstanding talent in the Los Angeles theater community, the Los Angeles New Play Project (LANPP) is thrilled to announce this year’s grant recipients whose work pushes boundaries and engages audiences in profound conversations. This will be the fourth annual grant ceremony, which to date has supported thirteen new plays.

Playwright Winners of LANPP Grant 2024.jpgThis year’s recipients are Shualee Cook for CERCLE HERMAPHRODITOS, to be produced by After Hours Theatre Company (Graham Wetterhahn, Artistic Director); Roger Q. Mason for HIDE AND HIDE to be produced by Skylight Theatre Company (Producers Gary Grossman and Armando Huipe); Ankita Raturi for नेहा & NEEL to be produced by Artists at Play (Marie-Reine Velez – Producer); Amy Tofte for RIGHTEOUS AMONG US to be produced by Little Fish Theatre (Suzanne Dean and Stephanie Coltrin, Co-Artistic Directors).

CERCLE HERMAPHRODITOS by Shualee Cook: Set in 1895, a trans man enters an famed underground social club for trans femmes, with the goal to find a wife in order to play the roles expected in public while pursuing the life they want in private. A wry and compelling love letter to the trans community based on true historical events (Scheduled for production in Spring 2025 at LGBT Center in Hollywood).

Shualee Cook has a wide range of work including full-length plays, musicals, plays with music, and opera.. Shualee is the recipient of 2023 Nancy Dean Lesbian Playwriting Award, the 2021 Chesly/Bumbalo Award, The 2020 RAC Artist Fellowship, and the 2019 Parity Commission. She has been a resident playwright in the Confluence Regional Writers Project, Stage Left Theatre, and Tesseract Theatre,  a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Her work has been developed by About Face Theatre, Breaking the Binary Festival, The New Coordinates, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, Mustard Seed Theatre, The Road Theatre, The Idle Muse Athena Festival, Campfire Theatre Festival, National Queer Theatre, and the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, among others.

HIDE AND HIDE written by Roger Q. Mason: Along the Coast of California, two lost souls collide while chasing freedom and the right to be an American… a queer rent-boy on the run from Texas police meets Constanza, a Filipina immigrant with a visa about to expire. Hide and Hide is a Homeric Odyssey that disrupts and rebuilds the American Fantasy, an Ironic, funny and dystopian odyssey. (Scheduled for production in Spring, 2025).

Roger Q. Mason (they/them) is a writer who satirizes and revises history to disrupt the biases that separate rather than unite us. Their playwriting has appeared on Broadway; Off/Off-Off-Broadway; and regionally, garnered five Barrymore Award nominations in Philadelphia, a Jeff Award Recommendation in Chicago and the San Francisco Chronicle’s prestigious Datebook Pick. Mason’s Lavender Men, first produced by Playwrights’ Arena & Skylight Theatre Company, was lauded by the Los Angeles Times as “evoking the mingled visions of Suzan-Lori Parks, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael R. Jackson.” They received 2024’s Playwrights’ Center McKnight National Playwright Commission, the inaugural Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Grant Award, a Hermitage Residency, a Lucille Lortel commission, a Kilroys List nod, and the Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award.

नेहा & NEEL written by Ankita Raturi: Neha (नेहा) is a single woman raising a son, now 17, in America, who seldom speaks their native Hindi or caring about India’s famed past.  On a cross country college tour, both confront the differences between them and who they want each other to be. B, नेहा and Neel asks what is lost with every generation in America and is it ever too late to connect to one’s roots (Scheduled for production at Latino Theatre Co. in downtown Los Angeles).

Ankita Raturi (she/her) writes hyper-theatrical works in Hindi/Urdu, English, and Bahasa Indonesia, about living between cultural identities and contending with the ongoing legacies of colonization. She grew up in capital cities, pediatric gastroenterology offices, and the bisexual closet. New play development: Theater Mu, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout, Ma-Yi Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, Berkshire Theatre Group, Cygnet Theatre, Artists at Play, The COOP, Atlantic Pacific Theatre, Theater Masters, Fresh Ground Pepper, Hypokrit Theatre Company, New York Shakespeare Exchange, Pete’s Candy Store. She is 2022 Ollie Award Winner.

RIGHTEOUS AMONG US written by Amy Tofte: An African American researcher working at a civil rights museum collecting oral histories from ancestors who saved Jewish children during the Holocaust has to set straight a hero legend,coming to terms with the urgent need to follow the truth and her own need to find heroes among regular people. (Scheduled for production in Spring 2025 at Shakespeare by the Sea, in Redondo Beach).

Amy Tofte received a Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her play Righteous Among Us (2020 Todd McNerney Award) had a staged reading at Urban Stages (off-Broadway) in 2023. She was recently a playwright with the Evolving Playwrights Group at Circle X Theatre (Los Angeles) where she completed a new play, Rain Dog War, about the climate crisis. Amy is currently developing her new play, BloodSuckingLeech, at Nashville Repertory Theatre as part of their Ingram New Works Project.  Residences at the Autry Museum of the American West, Brush Creek, Monson Arts, The Kennedy Center, Headlands Center for the Arts, and Yaddo with work produced and developed throughout the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and twice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Los Angeles New Play Project supports new and original works presented on small stages within Los Angeles County. Each playwright receives a grant of $20,000. Each of the submitting producers will receive an additional $20,000 to help offset the cost of producing. But there are many steps in between that rely on the facilities and input of the various theatres within the LA theatre community. Clearly, it takes a village!

By helping to support new and original work with the financial grants, LANPP is hoping to help usher in quality new writing for the vibrant and evolving Los Angeles small and midsize theatre community, and to encourage the production of exciting, untried plays.

LANPP was founded in 2021 by director Paula Holt. For information regarding the Los Angeles New Play Project please consult the website: http://lanpp.org/

Theatre Review: The Importance of Being Earnest

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Oscar Wilde‘s The Importance of Being Earnest is a captivating comedy and a clever social commentary. Bunburying around town, John (Alex Barlas) and Algernon (Jay Lee) use a fictitious name, Earnest, to hide their real identities in an attempt to avoid social responsibilities. But falling in love is complicated, and fake identities just make things worse.

The characters reflect Victorian England, a transformative period when the upper class saw their status challenged by the expansion of education and the possibility of a revolution. In that respect, Director Gigi Bermingham turns the stage into a faithful representation of the English aristocracy and the pressing issues afflicting them. The actors nail their roles and create a delightful expression of tea time with the characteristic wit of British comedy.

Lee and Barlas are a terrific duo that add depth and dynamism to their characters. Barlas as the gentle aristocrat John Worthing and Lee as the charming dandy Algernon Moncrieff. Their female counterparts, Jules Willcox as Gwendolen Fairfax and Alessandra Mañón as Cecily Cardew infuse vivacity to their charming and bitchy frenmity. The supporting cast also do a great job capturing the conflicting social norms prevalent during Wilde’s life. Bo Foxworth plays Rev. Canon Chasuble, a man who tries to uphold British morality while suppressing his own romantic feelings for Miss Prism (Julia Fletcher). And to satirize Victorian society even more, Wilde uses Lady Bracknell as the figure that represents the selfishness of the upper class. Anne Gee Byrd plays the role with hilarious wickedness, an attribute that complements the heart of the play and Wilde’s biting animosity towards a vain and conservative society.

The sumptuous costumes and creative set design are in themselves an attraction to enjoy. The tailored Victorian dresses and the elegant suits add an air of sophistication to the production that match perfectly with the decoration of the set design. The china sets reveal the attention to detail, a characteristic of real professionals.

With attractive visual elements, a group of extraordinary actors, and excellent direction, this production honors the conflicting feelings of a playwright who defied conventions and advocated for free will in a time when doing so would result in ostracism and the loss of freedom.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Antaeus Theatre Company
Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center
110 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91205
(between N. Brand Blvd. and Artsakh Ave.)

Oct 13, 2024 – Nov 18, 2024

Tickets: antaeus.org

Written by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Gigi Bermingham.

Cast: Alex Barlas, Anne Gee Byrd, Julia Fletcher, Bo Foxworth, Jay Lee, Alessandra Mañón, Jules Willcox, and Michael Yapujian.

Creative team: Scenic Designer Angela Balogh Calin. Lighting Designer Ken Booth. Properties Designer John McElveney. Dialect Coach Paul Wagar. Production Dramaturg Rachel Berney Needleman. Costume Designer Julie Keen. Sound Designer Salvador C Zamora. Intimacy Director Jen Albert. Production Stage Manager Talya Camras. Assistant Stage Manager Casey Collaso.

Musical Review: ¡Pasaje!

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In a Hallmark or La Rosa de Guadalupe style, ¡Pasaje! brings a story of identity and self-discovery to the stage. Playwright J Quiroz sets the characters and story in South El Monte.

18-year-old Andy (Seth Keller) was raised by his single mom Angela (Sandra Dar) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Angela has never told him anything about his father. Believing they’re White, Andy decides to find out who his father is. Finding a letter and an address, Andy ends up in South El Monte, California, where he comes across a series of peculiar characters that help him find and embrace his newfound relatives and identity, once the family secrets are revealed.

The musical deals with topics of race, identity, and culture assimilation. Marcelina (Ixchel Valiente), Andy’s love interest, explains the discrimination she experienced when trying to become a ballerina. Hustlers Uno (Karol Avila) and Dos (Daniel Moises) pull tricks on people to survive, although their surprising goals are revealed at the end. Don Miguel (Joshua Duron) turns out to be the piece that links Andy to his past.

¡Pasaje! is a developmental work, so it’s a musical that still needs some work. The imagery, the costumes, and some of the attitudes exhibited by the Hustlers and Huicho (Noah Peralta) come off as trite and derogatory, especially for an educated Latino or Hispanic audience—the play also mentions the controversy around which term is the accurate one.

The musical might divide opinions in its current form. For a non-Latino audience, we’ll use Latino for simplicity, the production might seem like a light comedy with a happy ending. For a Latino audience, however, the story might be just another production with the never-ending stereotypes, although with some positive depictions: Angela is a lawyer, Marcelina doesn’t give up, and the Hustlers are not simple thugs.

Director Benjamin Perez works with what he has available and tries to present a positive message. Again, this is a developmental work, so is expected to have some flaws. The tense situations have a quick resolution without much conflict, like when Huicho and Freddy (Maximiliano Garcia) are arrested. Such scenes require more elaboration to get the audience invested in the characters and their perils. According to the information provided, the musical is on its way to Broadway. With this in mind, it is understood that J Quiroz will go back to the drawing board and rework the details. The intention is honest, and bringing South El Monte to Broadway would be a phenomenal achievement, so depicting a relegated community in a more developed manner will be far more meaningful and have a greater impact for sure.

¡Pasaje!

Sierra Madre Playhouse
87 W Sierra Madre Blvd
Sierra Madre, CA 91024

October 4, 2024 – November 3, 2024

Tickets: sierramadreplayhouse.org

Written by J Quiroz. Music by Asdru Sierra. Directed by Benjamin Perez. Music director is Greg Porée.

Cast: Itzel Ximena Gonzalez, Lisa Rodriguez, Andrew M. Garcia, Sandra Dar, Ixchel Valiente, Seth Keller, Joshua Duron, Maximiliano Garcia, Daniel Moises, Karol Avila, Luzma Ortiz, Pablo Milla, and Noah Peralta.

Creative team: Choreographer is Tania Possick. Costume Designer is Diana Gomez. Set Designer is Tiffany Anguiano. Lighting Designer is Grace Berry. Script Doctor is Alex Luu. Vocal Director is Rae Shrum.

Band: Greg Porée (guitar), Joey Navarro (keys), Adan Alonso (bass).

Theatre Review: Heading Into Night

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Boxing and unboxing your brain, one memory at a time. Daniel Passer delves into the onset of dementia using the figure of a clown.

With music, projections, and pantomime, Passer symbolizes the disruptive changes in a person’s brain when the sense of time and space start to fade. There are repetitive behaviours, memories that come and go in a matter of seconds, and the usual risks associated with mental decline. For God’s sake, don’t forget the popcorn in the microwave!

Synapse loss leads to hoarding, sleep disturbance, and withdrawal into a world of confusion and fantasy. And yet, there is joy in that world. The forgetness of misery, the hopeful sympathy of the people around, the realization that is time to go, with flashes of childhood and loved ones. The memories are still there, just disorganized. Heading Into Night is a visit to that mysterious space, it’s a journey to the final destination, bumping into objects, humanizing the demise.

Inspired by the Hogeweyk model of dementia care villages in some countries, Passer explores the intersection between clowning and dementia. As irrational as it might sound, clowning is about repetition, a common behaviour of people living with dementia, thus the connection. But it’s also a confirmation that, sometimes, humor comes from a place of pain. Despite the challenges, Passer validates the sense of joy triggered by the cherished memories that come back in sporadic moments of lucidity. In the Hogeweyk model, the patients enjoy a more compassionate care in a community that emphasizes a more independent lifestyle, while keeping them safe in the hands of relatives and professional caregivers.

Passer and Director Beth F. Milles communicate the intricacies of a devastating medical condition with cleverness, removing the stigmatization associated with dementia and allowing the audience to see the character as a human being rather than an obstacle.

The play is abstract with little words. It’s a unique style to tell a story, relying mainly in Passer’s ability for pantomime and the emotional atmosphere provided by the music and the projections. In that sense, this production feels more like a silent film. There is poignancy in the simplicity when talent and conviction express a serious subject matter with comedy and the musicality of movement.

Heading Into Night

Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025

Performances: Oct. 5 – Nov. 17

Wednesdays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 16 and Nov. 6 ONLY
Fridays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 18, Oct. 25; Nov. 1, Nov. 8, Nov. 15
Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 5 (opening), Oct. 19, Oct. 26; Nov. 2, Nov.  9, Nov. 16
Sundays at 2 p.m.: Oct. 6, Oct. 20, Oct. 27; Nov. 3, Nov. 10, Nov. 17

Tickets: odysseytheatre.com

Devised by Beth F. Milles and Daniel Passer. Directed by Beth F. Milles. Produced for the Odyssey by Beth Hogan. Presented by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. Ron Sossi, Artistic Director.

Cast:  Daniel Passer, Peter Mark, and German Schauss.

Creative team: Costume designer Márion Talán de la Rosa; lighting designer Jackson Funke; projection designer Gabrieal Griego; video designer (Amazing Race segment) Wei-Fang Chang; aerial designer and rigger Bianca Sapetto; sound designer (additional sound) Christopher Moscatiello; production coordinator Jenine MacDonald; technical consultant Pierre Clavel; and graphics designer Luba Lukova. The assistant directors are Taylor Bazos and Samantha Occhino, and the stage manager is Katie Chabot.