Theatre Review: Arrowhead

Posted on February 14, 2024February 14, 2024 by Glamour

The World Premiere production of Arrowhead is presented by IAMA Theatre Company. Written by Catya McMullen. Directed by Jenna Worsham. Produced by Quinn O’Connor and co-produced by Katharine Means for IAMA Theatre Company.

Gen (Amielynn Abellera) has a problem: She got drunk, had sex with a guy, and got pregnant. But she’s a lesbian. Well, she decides to abort. It is during this time that Gen and a group of friends get together. Everything looks relatively normal until Levi (Nate Smith) and his friend Brody (Adrián González, Celestial Events, Kiss of the Spider Woman) arrive.

It doesn’t take long for some drama to unfold and turn things upside down. Gen and Levi had a romantic relationship in the past and seeing each other again complicates things even further, as Gen is currently dating Lily (Kathleen Littlefield). Maggie (Kacie Rogers, Celestial Events) is straight. Well, kind of. Cam (Lindsay Coryne) is lesbian and sees the group of friends as family. Stacy (Stefanie Black) is Levi’s sister and develops a special relationship with Brody.

Playwright Catya McMullen creates a world where a reunion of friends unveils the complications of love, sex, and identity. Taking from her own experiences, McMullen gives each character a world of possibilities. Identities, labels, and the struggles to cope with feelings, specially after a breakup, are explored in this play. It is a comedy that presents different points of view of some controversial issues around queerness and feminism.

One of the most valuable aspects of Arrowhead is that the seriousness of the topics exposed in the play are actually presented as a delightful comedy. The writing offers dialogue that gives the actors plenty of opportunities to shine. With the excellent direction of Jenna Worsham, the script is turned into a web of comedic situations that deliver entertainment on every scene.

Each character has a background that reflects the experiences of most of the people in the audience. The play is a journey of self discovery. A leap into the unknown. But you’re not alone—the characters are your co-pilots. They may not have all the answers to your questions, but they make you laugh all the way till the end. Lindsay Coryne, specially, delivers a phenomenal performance. We hope she/him gets nominated for an award this year; it’s a performance to be remembered.

The attention to detail is always a reflection of the professionalism of the director, and for Arrowhead, Worsham uses the set design, lighting, and special effects as a menagerie of creative elements to enhance the comedic mood of the play.

A love letter to queerness, Arrowhead is a play that grabs your attention and inspires to ask questions about identity, sex, love, and friendship. With humor, surprises, and a cat lady, what else can you ask for?

Arrowhead

Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039
• FREE parking in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) lot one block south of the theater.

Performances: Feb. 8 – March 4
• Thursdays at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 ONLY (Opening Night)
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Feb. 16; Feb. 23; March 1
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Feb. 17; Feb. 24; March 2
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Feb. 18; Feb. 25; March 3
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: Feb. 19; Feb. 26; March 4 (dark Feb. 12)

Tickets: iamatheatre.com

Written by Catya McMullen. Directed by Jenna Worsham. Starring Amielynn Abellera, Stefanie Black, Lindsay Coryne, Adrián González, Kathleen Littlefield, Kacie Rogers, Nate Smith. Produced by Quinn O’Connor and co-produced by Katharine Means for IAMA Theatre Company. Presented by IAMA Theatre Company, Stefanie Black, artistic director. Creative team: Scenic designer Carolyn Mraz; sound designer Eliza Vedar; associate lighting designer/programmer Erica Ammerman; costume designer Danae Iris McQueen; properties designer Nicole Bernardini; intimacy director Celina Surniak; and casting director Jordan Bass. Rosalind Bevan is associate director; Daniel Cyzpinski is the technical director; and Zaira Paredes–Villegas is the production stage manager alongside assistant stage manager Isabella Gomez and wardrobe supervisor Athena Saxon.

Theatre Review: LOVE…or Best Offer

Posted on February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 by Glamour

The Group Rep presents the world premiere of LOVE…or Best Offer, written by Phil
Olson, winner of the Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence. Director: Doug Engalla. Producer: Aly York.

If online dating is already challenging, imagine dating at an older age, when divorces, kids, and emotional scars have taken a toll on our lives. Despite all of that, the protagonists in LOVE…or Best Offer make looking for love an exciting game worth trying.

The characters show the insecurities that older people face when trying to start a romantic relationship all over again in a digital world. In addition, trying to replace someone else while dealing with grown-up kids might be more complicated than expected.

The play takes us on an emotional trip to the lives of Cheryl (Stephanie Colet) and Stan (Doug Haverty) and their respective friends Lori (Kathleen Delaney) and Dave (Marc Antonio Pritchett). Stan, a millionaire, needs to find someone who won’t go after his money. Cheryl wants a stable guy who is not a weirdo, like a serial killer or a foot fetish aficionado.

Once Lori and Dave set them up for an online session, Cheryl and Stan start a series of Zoom meetings that will test their willingness to lower their guards and give themselves another chance at love. Their challenge will be to overcome insecurities, misunderstandings, and the fear of vulnerability that comes with falling in love.

The play is well written with great character development. Phil Olson adds elements that make the play more dynamic by including characters that inflict stress to the protagonists, like Cheryl’s son and Stan’s ex-wife. Those characters are never seen, only referenced, but they contribute conflict and resolution to the story. The four actors have an amusing sense of comedy that is infectious and engage the audience from beginning to end, a perfect gift for the month of love.

LOVE…or Best Offer

The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre – Second floor
10900 Burbank Blvd
N. Hollywood, CA 91601

Free street parking. The Upstairs is not handicapped
accessible.

February 18 – March 19, 2023

Saturdays at 4:00
pm. Sundays at 7:00 pm. Talkback Saturdays after matinees Feb 18 and Feb 25.

Tickets: thegrouprep.com

Written by Phil Olson. Director: Doug Engalla. Producer: Aly York. Starring: Doug Haverty, Stephanie Colet, Kathleen Delaney, and Marc Antonio Pritchett.

Theatre Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Posted on February 17, 2023February 17, 2023 by Glamour

A Noise Within presents Much Ado About Nothing. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos.

Much Ado About Nothing is an English Renaissance comedy by the Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare. It was written in 1598, ten years after the defeat of the Spanish Armada and one year before the construction of the Globe Theatre.

This version of the play takes place in the same region mentioned in Shakespeare’s original play, the city of Messina in Sicily, but set during WWII after the island’s liberation from the fascists by the US troops. This is a brilliant detail to make this story more relatable. Director Guillermo Cienfuegos, The Beautiful People, even allowed the actors to keep the diversity of their Queens, Texas, and Appalachia accents to better connect with the American audience.

The play has two stories about two couples, Claudio (Stanley Andrew Jackson, Animal Farm) and Hero (Alexandra Hellquist, On The Other Hand, We’re Happy), and the story of Benedick (Joshua Bitton) and Beatrice (Erika Soto, Metamorphoses).

A victorious army commander, Don “The Prince” Pedro (Frederick Stuart) is received by Leonato (Tony Pasqualini, A Great Wilderness), Governor of Messina. Don Pedro brings along two of his soldier friends, Claudio and Benedick. Claudio immediately falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero. Meanwhile, Benedick, a bit loud and a bit arrogant, is disliked by Beatrice, Leonato’s niece. In the background, we see John (Rafael Goldstein, Metamorphoses, Animal Farm), Don Pedro’s half-brother, with a disengaged look. With this scene alone, Cienfuegos shows most of the exposition and the character’s conflicts—the love, the tension, and the resentment.

As the story goes, Claudio is trying to marry Hero, while Benedick and Beatrice continue with their verbal jousts despite being deeply in love with each other. The roadblock for Claudio and Hero’s happiness is John’s jealousy and dark disposition. With help from Borachio (Michael Uribes, Detained, Three Tables), John will devise a ploy to stain Hero’s reputation. For Benedick and Beatrice, the impediment is their pride and their fear to vulnerability. However, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato come up with a plan to make Benedick declare his love for Beatrice. Likewise, Hero and her two servants, Margaret (Jeanne Syquia, Hamlet) and Ursula (Nick Petroccione) prepare their own scheme to trick Beatrice into opening up her heart to Benedick.

This production is so impressive that even the secondary characters are delightfully comedic. Dogberry (Wesley Mann), Verges (Rafael Goldstein), and the other two watchmen (Alejandro Hernandez) and (Arely Vianet) contribute memorable dialogue and physical comedy.

A director worth his salt pays careful attention to all of the moving parts of a play. Cienfuegos does it like no other. He curated the elements of Shakespeare’s dramatic structure in a playful and entertaining way scene after scene. Claudio’s rejection of Hero, the transition from dislike to love between Benedick and Beatrice, and the resolution are all cleverly displayed with powerful acting and creative staging to generate an impressive production in only five weeks.

The selection of the technical aspects are worth noting. Lighting Designer Ken Booth, Metamorphoses, Animal Farm, paints the stage with amazing hues and intensities that are a pleasure to watch. The scene where Hero is posing as a sculpture surrounds the stage with a special mysticism, something of a religious experience. The WWII costumes (Christine Cover Ferro, Costume Designer), the beautiful set (Angela Balogh Calin, Scenic Designer, Animal Farm), and the amazing music by the very active and experienced Chris Moscatiello, Sound Designer, Salvage, This Wonderful Life, On The Other Hand, We’re Happy, Wakings!, The Beautiful People, A Great Wilderness, Fam And Yam and The Dumb Waiter) add an exquisite sensory experience to this production. The music includes a tarantella, swing, and 40s hits to give a nostalgic and innovative feel to this updated version.

Erika Soto is a tour de force, delivering a masterpiece of a performance to embody the witty and independent Beatrice. Soto’s convincing stage presence is ideal to portray a woman who has a mind of her own and defies the expectations placed upon women in Elizabethan society. In addition, Soto and Bitton’s chemistry create an irresistible romanticism that energizes the reinvention of a classic love story.

Endearing, playful, and romantic, Cienfuego’s take on Much Ado About Nothing is a gratifying theatre experience not to be missed.

Much Ado About Nothing

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

Performances February 11–March 12
• Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.: March 9 ONLY
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Feb. 17**; Feb. 24**; March 3**; March 10**
• Saturdays at 2 p.m.: Feb. 18; Feb. 25; March 4; March 11
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Feb. 11 (Opening Night); Feb. 18; Feb. 25; March 4; March 11
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Feb. 19**; Feb. 26; March 5; March 12

Tickets: anoisewithin.org

Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos. Starring Joshua Bitton, Rafael Goldstein, Alexandra Hellquist, Alejandro Hernandez, Stanley Andrew Jackson III, Wes Mann, Tony Pasqualini, Nick Petroccione, Erika Soto, Fredrick Stuart, Jeanne Syquia, Randy Thompson, Michael Uribes, and Arely Vianet. Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors.

The creative team includes scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin; lighting designer Ken Booth; composer and sound designer Christopher Moscatiello; costume designer Christine Cover Ferro; wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; properties designer Stephen Taylor; choreographer Joyce Guy; text coach Susan Wilder; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Chloe Willey.