Tag Archives: Marilyn Fox

Theatre Review: Fostered

Posted on by

Remember the 60s? Peace and love, togetherness, sexual freedom, etc.? Chaya Doswell brings back some of those characteristics in Fostered, a family saga with lots of shenanigans.

Karen (Terry Davis) and Sandy (Tony Pasqualini) are planning to sell their house and retire to Hawaii, thinking that their four adult kids are fully independent to be on their own. But their plans change, as one by one, the kids return home, all of them with either stagnant careers or broken relationships, or both.

Maggie (Jillian Lee Garner) is broke and has been kicked out of her apartment. Alice (Katy Downing) is married to a man she doesn’t love and she’s now drinking heavily, especially vodka, straight from the bottle. Jeremy (Taubert Nadalini) is married to a woman, but he’s gay. Rachel (Hope Lauren) is a successful lawyer, trying to make partner at the law firm. She’s having a major nervous breakdown, including a suicide attempt, over a fight with her partner Daniel (Hiram Murray).

Just like that, the four kids are back to the family home, trying to figure out their lives. And just to spice it a little bit more, a Syrian/Lebanese refugee, Shafeek (Satiar Pourvasei), comes out of the blue, explaining that he has been adopted by Karen and Sandy. Shafeek is willing to give a hug, a kiss, and anything else to anyone, anywhere. A refugee, an adopted son, or an escort?

Doswell turns the family into an eccentric Wild West of ménage à trois, cheatings, and revelations. To blend all of these elements into an entertaining staging, Director Andrew D. Weyman brings out the rhythm of the script with a mastery display of movement and dialogue, creating an excellent blocking that delivers the comedy with a punch. Weyman comes from the world of TV, having spent his career working on some of the biggest shows of the last decades. Even though the mediums are different, he shows his talent on timing and physical comedy to create a visually entertaining spectacle.

Another aspect of the success of this play is the cast. Executive Producer Marilyn Fox continues to select talented actors that offer stellar performances. The eight actors deliver their lines with excellent timing to create the hilarious absurdity of the story. In this case, there is a fantastic recipe, mixing script, direction, and performance to give this play an irresistible allure.

Like in many instances art, Fostered was also conceived out of a place of pain and loss. But laughter is, after all, a good start to begin the healing process.

Fostered

Pacific Resident Theatre
703 Venice Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291

Opened: 8pm Saturday, April 26, 2025
8pm Thursdays – Saturdays; 3pm Sundays
No performances on Thursdays after June 25 or on 4th of July weekend. 2pm matinee added on Saturday, June 28
Closing: July 20, 2025

Tickets: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=277723

Playwright: Chaya Doswell
Director: Andrew D. Weyman
Executive Producer: Marilyn Fox
Assistant Director: Lily Brown
Presented by Pacific Resident Theatre

Cast: Terry Davis as Karen Foster, Katy Downing as Alice Foster, Jillian Lee Garner as Maggie Foster, Hope Lauren as Rachel Foster, Hiram Murray as Daniel, Taubert Nadalini as Jeremy Foster, Tony Pasqualini as Sandy Foster, and Satiar Pourvasei as Shafeek.

Creative team: Rich Rose (Scenic Design), Michael Redfield (Lighting Design), Keith Stevenson (Sound Design), Audrey Eisner (Costume Design), Bianca Martucci Rickheim (Stage Manager).

Theatre Review: The Bespoke Overcoat

Posted on by

Pacific Resident Theatre presents The Bespoke Overcoat. Written by Wolf Mankowitz. Directed by Marilyn Fox and Dana Jackson.

Fender (Harry Herman) is a poor Jewish clerk working in a cold clothing warehouse. He wears an old coat that is falling apart. He asks his boss, Ranting (Bruce Nozick), to let him purchase a coat from the warehouse and pay in installments. Ranting refuses and tells Fender that he would never be able to pay the coat. Fender then decides to ask his Jewish friend Morry (Robert Lesser), who is a tailor, to make him a bespoke overcoat. They agree on the cost and Morry starts working on the overcoat. Unfortunately, Ranting fires Fender after 43 years of service. Fender tells Morry to cancel the order for the overcoat as he no longer has money to pay for it. Feeling sorry for Fender, Morry agrees to finish the overcoat.

Before Morry can finish the overcoat, Fender dies of cold. When Morry comes back from the funeral, he finds Fender’s ghost sitting on his bed. The ghost tells Morry that he wants to go to Ranting’s warehouse at night and take a sheepskin overcoat as payment for all the years of service. They leave and enter the warehouse.

Wolf Mankowitz adapted the play from Nikolai Gogol‘s The Overcoat, a short story written in 1842 and set in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia at the time. Mankowitz adapts the story to the impoverished East End of London, a neighborhood where many Jews worked in the clothing industry. In the play, a simple necessity becomes a symbol of the hardships of the poor. The overcoat, an essential item to survive the cold weather, represents the struggles and the dreams of those living in precarious conditions. Fender succumbs to the weather and dies without a new overcoat.

Directors Marilyn Fox and Dana Jackson recreate in great detail the grittiness and scarcity of the living conditions portrayed in the script. The extraordinary acting also projects the simplicity of the story, but also the depth of the characters. Herman is excellent as Fender. He explores poignantly the misery and the humble dreams of an old man at the twilight of his life, suffering the indignities of the working class. Lesser as Morry is exceptional as well, capturing the friendship and the regrets represented in his character.

Both Herman and Lesser transport the audience to a time of adversity for the Jewish community in London. The Jews living in London when Mankowitz wrote the script were still facing blatant and inconspicuous antisemitism by the British society, even when the Jews were contributing to the advancement of England’s culture and economy. Fender coming back to life to take a coat from Ranting’s business is a symbol of the right to demand a fair deal in life, whether by the Jews or the working class in general.

The story seems simple, but it contains a deep meaning when the historical context is taken into account. Ranting represents more than just an abusive boss. Fender represents more than just an old clerk. And Morry represents more than just a friend. Fox and Jackson stage a production that brings forward the humanity and hope of the characters and the resilience of a whole community living under adverse conditions in uncertain times.

The Bespoke Overcoat

Pacific Resident Theatre
703 Venice Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291

Opening: 8pm Saturday, March 9, 2024
Schedule: 8pm Thursdays – Saturdays; 3pm Sundays
Closing: June 2, 2024

Tickets: pacificresidenttheatre.org

Playwright: Wolf Mankowitz. Directors: Marilyn Fox and Dana Jackson. Presented by Pacific Resident Theatre. Cast: Harry Herman, Robert Lesser, Bruce Nozick, and Tobias Echeverria. Creative team: Rich Rose (Scenic Design), Leigh Allen (Lighting Design), Audrey Eisner (Costume Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Doug Prazak (Prop Design), Jody Fasanella (Assistant Director), Teak Piegdon-Brainin (Stage Manager).