Tag Archives: Julia Rodriguez-Elliott

Theatre Review: DEATH OF A SALESMAN

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The American Dream, an aspirational state captured in the Declaration of Independence, gets a reality check in Arthur Miller‘s Death of a Salesman. In a superlative performance, A Noise Within delivers a moving and powerful production to remember.

Willy Loman (Geoff Elliott) has to travel 700 miles to try to make a sale. Empty-handed and exhausted, he comes back home to his supporting wife Linda (Deborah Strang) and his two sons Biff (David Kepner) and Happy (Ian Littleworth), who don’t seem to understand the depression of a defeated man on the brink of a mental breakdown. Biff feels he has lost his North Star, unsure whether to stay in New York or move West. Happy encourages him to start a business together selling sporting goods.

Willy’s only friend is his neighbor Charley (Bert Emmett), who lends him money on a regular basis. Charley’s son Bernard (Kasey Mahaffy) is now a successful lawyer. Bernard and Biff went to school together. Bernard made it to the top, Biff drifted away after failing math in high school despite a promising football career, unable to get into college.

Old, tired, and with a troubling mental instability, Willy tries to negotiate with his boss Howard (Michael Uribes) a local position in New York to avoid the long sale trips. He even asks for less money. Instead, Howard fires Willy on the spot, dismissing Willy’s 34 years of service. Depressed, hopeless, and with memories tormenting him, Willy is pushed to the limit.

Even though Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1949, almost 80 years ago, he saw something in the system, implying that the American Dream wasn’t for everyone. Willy is not just a human character, it’s a representation of the failed ethos of America’s aspiration to be the land of opportunities for all. Director Julia Rodriguez–Elliott ensures to capture the very essence of the symbolic representation of the play. It’s a masterful example of how to lead a story to an emotional and captivating finale, reverberating the message in a powerful and meaningful way. The result is an audience rooting for Willy and feeling the pain of his broken dreams. We get it, Willy’s failures have seeped through to reach our current generations; the American Dream looks like the horizon, it’s there, but out of reach.

Elliott is magnificent in this role. He embodies the nuances of a character whose life is moving towards a dead-end street. The last stretch of his life is a blend of reality and flashes of the past, talking to his deceased brother Ben (David Nevell). It’s a meaty role, a challenge that only actors of Elliot’s caliber can pull off. He offers a vivid representation of utter defeat, holding on to the hope of reconnecting with his son.

The supporting cast add excellence to this staging. As usual, Mahaffy delivers a quirky and entertaining character, peppering the play with some comedic relief to counter the tragic nature of the play. The whole cast turns into a cohesive presentation that makes justice to this masterpiece. Strang’s performance is touching as the devoted companion who offers reassurance and loyalty, defending Willy’s dignity to the very last moment. Likewise, Littleworth and Kepner give their characters depth, showing the difficulties of trying to reconnect with a delusional father. Elliot and Kepner give us a heartwarming scene that highlights a silent pain haunting Willy for a long time.

The lighting by Ken Booth turns the stage into an emotional canvas, illuminating both the characters and the impressive scenic design by Frederica Nascimento. These artistic elements show the attention to detail and the dedication of A Noise Within to offer an exceptional visual experience.

Do yourself a favor and witness what artistic excellence is all about. That’s the beauty of live theatre, no cell phones, no cameras, just the now and the enduring vision of long-lasting memories.

Death of a Salesman

A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Performances March 28 – April 19:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no Saturday matinee on March 28)

Tickets: anoisewithin.org

Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by Julia Rodriguez–Elliott. Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors.

Starring Jacob Cherry, Geoff Elliott, Bert Emmett, Rachel K. Han, David Kepner, Ian Littleworth, Kasey Mahaffy, Cassandra Marie Murphy, David Nevell, Dominique Razón, Deborah Strang, Michael Uribes.

Creative team: Scenic designer Frederica Nascimento; costume designer Angela Balogh Calin; lighting designer Ken Booth; sound designer and composer Robert Oriol; wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; properties designer Stephen Taylor; fight choreographer Kenneth R. Merckx, Jr.; dialect coach Andrea Odinov; intimacy coordinator Sasha Smith; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Angela Sonner, assisted by Samantha Millette.

Theatre Review: One Man, Two Guvnors

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Led by a sensational Kasey Mahaffy, One Man, Two Guvnors brings the fun with a flamboyant display of physical comedy, witty dialogue, and an evocative touch of retro style.

Francis Henshall (Kasey Mahaffy) gets lucky enough to land two jobs the same day. But that also means that he has two bosses, Rachel Crabbe (Christie Coran) and Stanley Stubbers (Ty Aldridge), so he needs to be careful not to mix things up. Francis tends to forget things and get easily distracted, especially thinking about food. The first half of the story is his pursuit of food, the second half is his pursuit of his love interest, Dolly (Trisha Miller).

As a subplot, a local wealthy mobster, Charlie “the Duck” Clench (Henri Lubatti) wants to marry his daughter, ingénue Pauline Clench (Cassandra Marie Murphy) to Rachel Crabbe, who is in a male disguise as her murdered twin brother Roscoe. But Pauline is in love with Alan Dangle (Paul David Story), an overdramatic amateur actor who, facing the impossibility of his relationship with Pauline, wanders the streets as a dude in distress, with a Shakespearean flair, of course.

Playwright Richard Bean places the story in 1963 in Brighton, England, the same city where more than 1,000 Mods and Rockers initiated a famous fight a year later, in 1964. For One Man, Two Guvnors, Bean uses the city as a bustling background for the hectic action of the play. To complement the tone of the story, Bean brings back the atmosphere of the swinging 60s with a live band that uses a variety of instruments, including a washboard.

Of course, a 60s story can’t be complete without dazzling costumes. Costume designer Garry Lennon and wig/make up designer Tony Valdés contribute with their talents to enhance the story and characters with a combination of Mod dresses for the ladies and slick-dressed attire for the gents. Even the set design (Frederica Nascimento) and lighting design (Ken Booth) make a striking statement about the geometric and fun patterns of that period.

Directors Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott capture the slapstick quality of the script with vaudeville-like kinetics that turn into a visual spectacle of humorous madness that keeps the audience fully engaged. Talking about the audience, the fourth wall disappears at times to make the play more interactive, catching the audience off-guard in a playful exchange of jokes and actions.

The cast is a stellar combination of resident and temporary actors. They all do a splendid job in bringing the comedy and movement to new heights. Mahaffy, as the leading actor, continues his ascending career showing his superb skills as one of the best in the industry. His timing and quirkiness are a perfect match for these energetic and unconventional characters. He keeps getting the opportunity, and he continues to shine.

With so much talent on display, this is for sure one of the best plays staged this year. It won’t be a surprise if A Noise Within adds more accolades to their long list of awards with this extraordinary production.

One Man, Two Guvnors

A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Performances Sept. 6 – Sept. 28:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no Saturday matinee on Sept. 6)

Tickets: anoisewithin.org

• Written by Richard Bean
• Adapted from The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
• Original songs by Gary Olding
• Directed by Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott
• Music director Rod Bagheri
• Presented by A Noise Within, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, producing artistic directors

Cast: Ty Aldridge, Lynn Robert Berg, Christie Coran, Luis Kelly–Duarte, Henri Lubatti, Evan Lugo, Kasey Mahaffy, Josey Montana McCoy, Trisha Miller, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Paul David Story.

Creative team: Scenic designer Frederica Nascimento; lighting designer Ken Booth; projection designer Nicholas Santiago; sound designer Jeff Gardner; costume designer Garry Lennon; wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; properties designer Stephen Taylor; fight choreographer Kenneth R. Merckx, Jr.; dialect coach Andrea Odinov; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Angela Sonner, assisted by Hope Matthews.