Tag Archives: Laguna Playhouse

Musical Review: Honky Tonk Angels

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It feels as if Ted Swindley wanted to switch careers, from a celebrated playwright to an experimental DJ. Honky Tonk Angels seems like a list of catchy country songs, but not much dramatic substance in between.

Angela (Alexandra Melrose) is a housewife from Waxahachie, TX. She is married to a beer truck driver and they have six kids. She wants to sing and feel more appreciated, so she leaves for Nashville to follow her dreams. Sue Ellen (Shelly Regner) is from Texas, but she is now living in Los Angeles. She is tired of her job and her boss’ constant harassment. She loves country music, so she also leaves for Nashville. Darlene (Darcy Rose Byrnes) lives in West Virginia. A daughter of a coal miner, she lost her mom to a virus. To leave the depression behind, Darlene heads to Nashville.

Traveling by bus on their way to Nashville, the three gals strike a conversation and become best friends. They decide to become a singing trio called Honky Tonk Angeles. They start singing at The Honky Tonk Heaven in Nashville and become a hit.

Despite the talented creative team that staged this musical at the Laguna Playhouse, the script lacks depth and conflict to feel for the characters. Their backgrounds are interesting and could’ve been more meaty, but Swindley decided to go the easy route and write lackluster dialogue just to fill in the blank spaces between songs. He is an excellent and experienced playwright, not to mention his extensive knowledge on country music, but this play is just a plain collection of popular country songs.

That’s our opinion on the dramatic aspect of this musical. The production, however, is something else. It’s a spectacular display of light and color that connects with the audience. Director David Ellenstein and his team put on a display of excellent live music and fabulous fashion. With eye-catching sparkling boots, the lively trio break the fourth wall and engage the audience, singing and dancing all along. The whole show then turns into an interactive and entertaining spectacle. 

With Honky Tonk Angels, Swindley attempts to honor country music, showing the lives of the working class embedded in some of the songs like “Ode to Billy Joe”. Yes, you heard that right, the White working class who have also faced poverty and struggles in depressed areas. But the essence of the story gets lost in the vapid dialogue that seems to be written for a theme park show rather than the theatre.   

Honky Tonk Angels

Laguna Playhouse
606 Laguna Canyon Rd.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Sunday, August 3 – Sunday, August 17, 2025
Wednesdays at 7:30pm; Thursdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Fridays at
7:30pm; Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm.
There will be no performance on Sunday, August 3 at 1:00pm or Sunday, August 17 at 5:30pm.

Tickets: lagunaplayhouse.com

Written by Ted Swindley
Choreography by Jill Gorrie
Musical Direction by John Massey
Direction by David Ellenstein

Cast: Darcy Rose Byrnes (Darlene), Alexandra Melrose (Angela), Shelly Regner (Sue Ellen), Angelica Roque, Understudy (Darlene, Angela and Sue Ellen).

Creative team: Scenic design by Stephen Gifford; costume design by Dianne Graebner; lighting design by Jared A. Sayeg; sound design by Jesse Worley; props design by Kevin Williams; hair & wigs design by Peter Herman. The Production Stage Manager is Natalie Figaredo.

Musicians: Chris Dierl (Acoustic and Electric Bass), Thomas Dohner (Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Banjo), David Finch (Fiddle, Mandolin), Robert Marino (Drums), and Robert Scarano (Lap Steel, Acoustic Guitar).

Theatre Review: Peril in the Alps

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With his peculiar mustache and walk, Hercule Poirot (Omri Schein) solves another difficult case, this time in an exotic location up in the Swiss Alps.

Bella, the twin sister of Captain Hastings’ wife, gets kidnapped. At the same time, a new wealthy client reaches out to Poirot to help solve the strange abduction of her husband. Coincidently, the husband was seen with a woman that looks very much like Bella, right before his disappearance. Are both cases connected?

Playwright and Director Steven Dietz uses characterization, especially costumes and personal traits, as tools to deliver bombastic performances and excellent humor. The central character being Poirot, of course. It is not an easy task to repeat the successful portrayal of Poirot by David Suchet, who played the character for 14 years in Britain’s Channel 3 TV show. Schein, however, brings a fresh take on the Belgian detective. His accent and mannerisms seduce the audience in a way that only talented thespians are able to do.

Valerie Larsen as Captain Hastings delivers an outstanding performance as well. Her pose and overall characterization add a new approach to the loyal sidekick. Larsen exhibits the oddity and smartness of the character effortlessly, catapulting the essentiality of Hastings in the story arc.

Dietz’s ambitious production is also boosted by the impressive scenic, lighting, and costume design by Marty Burnett, Matthew Novotny, and Elisa Benzoni respectively. These elements highlight the farcical and comical nature of the play, turning the stage into an amusing visual spectacle.

At the end of some of the TV episodes, Poirot would recap through flashbacks how the mysteries unfold and how he solves them. In theatre, this would take more resources, so to solve it, Dietz uses puppetry to convey the summary of events; a clever device to deliver a creative comedy effect.

With fast-paced blocking and exceptional acting, Peril in the Alps honors the quirky characters and fascinating mysterious worlds of Agatha Christie, one of the most successful and revered writers of mysteries of the last century.

Peril in the Alps

Laguna Playhouse
606 Laguna Canyon Rd.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Sunday, June 15 – Sunday, June 29, 2025

Wednesdays at 7:30pm; Thursdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Fridays at
7:30pm; Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm.
There will be no performance on Sunday, June 15 at 1:00pm or Sunday, June
29 at 5:30pm.

Tickets: lagunaplayhouse.com

Written and Directed by Steven Dietz
Based in part on “Poirot Investigates” by Agatha Christie

Cast: Gabbie Adner as “Woman Two,” Valerie Larsen as “Captain Hastings,” Brian Mackey as “Man Two,” Omri Schein as “Hercule Poirot,” Amanda Sitton as “Woman One,” and Christopher M. Williams as “Man One.”

Creative team: Scenic design by Marty Burnett; costume design by Elisa Benzoni; lighting design by Matthew Novotny; composer and sound design by Rob Witmer; props design by Rai Feltmann; hair & wigs design by Peter Herman. The Production Stage Manager is Vernon Willet.

Theatre Review: A View from the Bridge

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Surrounded by the danger and somberness of Red Hook, Arthur Miller created a gripping drama, relating the hardships of working-class Italian immigrants and the tragic consequences of a forbidden love.

The tight community of Italian immigrants serves as the background for one of the most iconic plays in American theatre. Eddie (Richard Baird), a longshoreman, lives with his wife Beatrice (Margot White) and his orphaned 17-year-old niece Catherine (Marie Zolezzi). Eddie is going through a middle age crisis, exacerbated by the bedroom issues with his wife and the disturbing sexual attraction towards his niece. As a good Italian man, he welcomes Beatrice’s cousins Marco (Lowell Byers) and Rodolpho (Coby Rogers). But the flirting between Catherine and Rodolpho triggers Eddie’s rage, building tension and conflict by the day.

Alfieri (Frank Corrado), a lawyer serving as a narrator in the play, tries to convince Eddie to get Catherine out of his mind and bless her relationship with Rodolpho. Eddie, however, is reaching the point of no return, his eyes like tunnels, lost in his madness. A presage of an unstoppable tragedy.

The illusions of the first love, the honorability within a tight community, and the hopes of a new life in America are shattered by Eddie’s perception of a challenge to his authority and his inability to control his emotions. The characters soon find out that these issues will become a hindrance to their happiness and a rupture of their mutual trust.

On stage, the cast and the experienced direction of David Ellenstein create a pulsating staging that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Ellenstein builds up the suspense scene after scene, invigorating the action to reach a dynamic and captivating climax. The actors explore the layers of emotions and conflicts that make this play such a rich ground on themes of sexuality, migrants experience, and the complexities of human relations.

At the epicenter of this memorable production is Richard Bair. His portrayal of Eddie is electrifying. Baird excels in exteriorizing the agony and devastation of a man who is about to violate the sacrosanct omertà, destroying everything and everyone around him, blinded by his uncontrollable passion. Baird goes all in, achieving a triumphant presentation, elating an audience absorbed by his riveting performance.

The lighting with the blue hues and the brownish tones of the set design highlight the intensity and roughness of life on the waterfront, an accurate depiction of the hardships of immigrants and their efforts to survive in New York in the 1950s.

This production succeeds in capturing the emotional distress of a character falling prey to his own demons, risking his reputation, his family, and his place in the world.

A View from the Bridge

Laguna Playhouse
606 Laguna Canyon Rd. Laguna Beach, CA

Runs: Sunday, November 3 – Sunday, November 17, 2024
Wednesdays at 7:30pm; Thursdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Fridays at 7:30pm;
Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm.
There will be no performance on Sunday, November 3 at 1:00pm or Sunday,
November 17 at 5:30pm.
There will be a post-show talkback following the Friday, November 8
performance.

Tickets: lagunaplayhouse.com

Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by David Ellenstein.

Cast: Richard Baird, Lowell Byers, Frank Corrado, Steve Froehlich, Coby Rogers, Matthew Salazar-Thompson, Margot White, and Marie Zolezzi.

Creative team: Scenic design by Marty Burnett; lighting design by Matthew Novotny; sound design by Ian Scot; costume design by Elisa Benzoni; hair and wigs design by Peter Herman; props design by Kevin Williams; fight coordinator is Christopher M. Williams. The Production Stage Manager is Vernon Willet.

Theatre Review: Don’t Dress for Dinner

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With splashes of commedia de’llarte—minus the masks—the cast delivers a tasty dinner made up of jealousy and mistaken identities.

Bernard (Brian Robert Burns) expects her wife Jacqueline (Kim Morgan Dean) to leave their house to visit her mother for the weekend. What Bernard really wants is to spend time with his mistress Suzanne (Katy Tang). Bernard also invites his friend Robert (Brandon J. Pierce) to spend the weekend with him and hires the services of the cook Suzette (Veronica Dunne). His plans, however, get derailed when Jacqueline answers the phone and finds out about both the cook and Robert’s visit. As Jacqueline and Robert are also having an affair, she decides to cancel the visit to her mother. That decision turns things upside down, creating a pressure cooker ready to explode.

An excellent Kim Morgan Dean delivers an astonishing performance as the jealous and cheating wife. She adds a hint of rage and animosity that make her character look like a protagonist and antagonist at the same time, all within the realm of comedy. Director Christopher M. Williams has the luxury of working with a superb cast that turns the characters into a menagerie of panicking individuals on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Brian Robert Burns, Katy Tang (Marry Me a Little), Brandon J. Pierce, Veronica Dunne, and Jared Van Heel all shine bright and loud on stage thanks to their commanding comedy skills. At one point, Pierce delivers a long and fast line without tripping at all; a testament of his speech qualities.

Framing the excellent qualities of the thespians, Williams uses a sophisticated set design to convey a French farmhouse. The high key lighting is a classic for these kinds of stories and is used effectively in this production. Also worth mentioning is the sexy and sophisticated costumes that serve the story and the traits of the characters.

The blocking allows the actors to navigate the stage in a way that highlights the intense physical comedy demanded for this story. This is a play that requires elevated skills in speech and action, making this production a highly dynamic performance that explores themes of infidelity, equality, and broken and amended relationships.

The fine visual details, the extraordinary script, the talented cast, and the creative direction make this production a real treat for the theatre lovers out there. It’s a gem within a gem. The Laguna Playhouse is celebrating its 104th anniversary. Its website lists the long list of productions staged in this iconic theatre, from the 1902s up to now, a very significant legacy in California’s rich theatre history.

Don’t Dress for Dinner

Laguna Playhouse

606 Laguna Canyon Rd.

Laguna Beach, CA

Runs: Sunday, September 8 – Sunday, September 22, 2024

Opening: Sunday Sep 8 at 5:30pm.

Wednesdays at 7:30pm; Thursdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Fridays at 7:30pm;
Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm.

There will be no performance on Sunday, September 8 at 1:00pm or Sunday, September 22 at 5:30pm.

There will be a post-show talkback following the Friday, September 13 performance.

Tickets: lagunaplayhouse.com

Written by Marc Camoletti. Adapted by Robin Hawdon. Directed by Christopher M. Williams.

Cast: Brian Robert Burns as “Bernard,” Kim Morgan Dean as “Jacqueline,” Veronica Dunne as “Suzette,” Brandon J. Pierce as “Robert,” Katy Tang as “Suzanne,” and Jared Van Heel as “George.”

Creative team: Scenic design by Marty Burnett; costume design by Elisa Benzoni; lighting design by Matthew Novotny; sound design by Chris Luessman; props design by Kevin Williams.  Additional casting by Michael Donovan Casting, Michael Donovan, CSA & Richie Ferris, CSA. The Production Stage Manager is Vernon Willet.