Tag Archives: Beverly Hills

Theatre Review: Goldfish

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Playwright John Kolvenbach combines college, love, and addiction to build an endearing story that shows the conflicting nature of human connections.

Albert (Neo Barnes) is about to start college, but he needs to ensure his dad Leo (Will Kane) doesn’t spend the tuition money on gambling. They’re African Americans from a poor neighborhood. Once in college, Leo meets Lucy (Jillian Lee Garner), a White privileged girl whose mother Margaret (Lynne Mannino) is an alcoholic. Albert and Lucy fall in love with each other.

Eventually, Albert’s tuition is delayed due to Leo spending it on the tracks. To make things worse, Margaret doesn’t approve of the relationship between Albert and Lucy. Margaret doubts Albert can support Lucy, just like her husband couldn’t support the family.

Despite Albert’s tuition problems and the opposition of her mom, Lucy stands by his side, expecting him to rise to the occasion. But Albert worries about his dad losing the battle against his gambling addiction. Feeling defeated, Albert returns home and thinks about giving up, leaving college and Lucy behind.

A distinctive feature of the Noisy Nest is the rectangular stage with the audience seating on both sides inside the stage. This layout allows the audience to experience the play in an intimate setting, really close to the actors, so close that we could even smell Garner’s perfume as she walked by.

As for the story and dialogue, they appear simple, but they have a relatable essence, connecting with the audience at a raw and personal level. Goldfish delves into the core of society, the sacred space where our first impression of the world takes shape. Families can build or destroy. Sometimes kids can be a disappointment, but what happens when it’s the other way around? Kolvenbach shows both the fragility and strengths of the family members when they try to mend what’s been destroyed. What does it take to start over again? Are second chances possible, even for disadvantaged individuals? Is love enough of an engine to keep us going?

Director Amanda Bird extracts the power of human connection from the dialogue to create moving scenes that reinforce the importance of family in our development and how far some humans will go to take care of their own. The blocking makes great use of the intimate and unique space.

This production is still in the previews stage. The actual performances start on Sep the 12th. For what we saw in one of the previews, the writing, direction, and acting are creating an intimate and engaging play that adds a special touch to the theatre offerings this season.

Goldfish

Noisy Nest
148 S. Doheny Drive
Beverly Hills CA 90211

Previews: September 5th – 7th, 2025
Friday, Saturday performances 8pm
Sunday Matinee 2pm

Performances: September 12th – 28th, 2025
Friday, Saturday performances 8pm
Sunday Matinee 2pm

Tickets: thenestla.org/goldfish

Written by John Kolvenbach
Directed by Amanda Bird
Produced by The Nest

Cast: Neo Barnes, Jillian Lee Garner, Will Kane, Lynne Mannino, Enrike Llamas, Avery Bebon, Joshua Loren, and Paige Clark.

Creative team: Stage Manager – Katrina Zbegner. Set Design – Amanda Bird. Light Design – Isa Perez-Flores. Sound Design – Amanda Bird. Wardrobe + Prop Master – Amanda Bird. Production Manager – Lynne Mannino. Special Effects Design – Amanda Bird.

Dance Theatre Review: Gatsby Redux

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Walking through the manicured landscapes of the Greystone Mansion, Mixed eMotion Theatrix recreates the extravagance and class struggles depicted in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s famous novel published in 1925, exactly 100 years ago.

Since this is a dance performance with no dialogue, the audience should be familiar with the novel or the films, otherwise, the scenes won’t make sense. This is a brief description of the story:

Nick relocates to New York to work as a bond salesman. He rents a bungalow next to the mansion owned by Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant parties. Gatsby is in love with Nick’s cousin, Daisy, but she is married to Tom, a white supremacist millionaire. Tom has an affair with Myrtle, a woman married to George, a mechanic. In the story, Nick lives in the wealthy neighborhood of West Egg, where he is trying to fit. George and Myrtle live in the poor neighborhood of East Egg.

I hope my three readers get the condensed version of the story. Likewise, Gatsby Redux is a short version of the novel. Due to the changing of locations from scene to scene, the whole story has to be shortened. The Greystone is also a large state, so it takes time to go from one location to the next. Part of the experience is to walk around and enjoy the breathtaking architecture and green areas this mansion has to offer, so every scene is set in a different area of the house.

One of the most spectacular numbers is where Goddess (Jaqueline Hinton) and company start the lavish soirée in the opening ceremony, a dazzling flow of dance and movement.

With a combination of dance styles such as Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and burlesque, this production offers a sizzling display of sexiness and kinetic storytelling. At times, the dancers are right next to you, making this staging a truly immersive experience. With the skills of the dancers and experience of the creative team, Gatsby Redux achieves to convey the complicated nature of human relationships depicted in the novel. Even a dog in the audience reacted when Tom (Andrii Strelkivskyi) slapped Myrtle (Sarah Wines)—the canine was on a leash, fortunately.

In this production, the audience helps to move the story forward, literally. With spectacular city views as a background, the change of scenes becomes a shared experience between performers and audience, adding an air of complicity to the ambiance.

Colorful birds, playful geckos, and other creatures hiding behind the lush vegetation of the Greystone Mansion observe from a distance the exciting recreation of the roaring 20s, an era that offered both great hopes of the American Dream and a reality check of the insidious effects of class struggle.

Gatsby Redux

Greystone Mansion
905 Loma Vista Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

June 5 – June 14, 2025 @ 7:00 PM
Thursday, June 5; Friday, June 6; Saturday, June 7; Sunday, June 8; Wednesday, June 11 (special “Pride Night” performance); Thursday, June 12; Friday, June 13 & Saturday, June 14, both inside and outside of the historic Greystone Mansion.

Tickets: beverlyhills.org/1327/Gatsby-Redux

Mixed eMotion Theatrix creative team: Janet Roston, Artistic Director/Choreographer. Ryan Bergmann, Executive Director. Joe LaRue, Producer. Sarah Mullis, Marketing Director. Kate Coleman, Associate Choreographer. Mixed eMotion Theatrix.

Dancers: Tiffany Wolff (Daisy Buchanan), Timothy Lewis (Jay Gatsby), Andrii Strelkivskyi (Tom Buchanan), Sarah Wines (Myrtle Wilson), Donny Collinson (Nick Carraway), Alana Gregory (Jordan Baker), Natalie Oga (Catherine, Ensemble), Jaqueline Hinton (Goddess, Ensemble), Melissa Barrow (Ensemble), Nick Young (Ensemble), Deven Fuller (Nick/Tom Swing).