Theatre Review: No Place Like Gandersheim

Posted on May 26, 2023May 26, 2023 by Glamour

Skylight Theatre Company’s 40th season celebrates the World Premiere of No Place Like Gandersheim. Written by Elizabeth Dement. Directed by Randee Trabitz. Produced by Gary Grossman for Skylight Theatre Company. Associate Producer: Tyree Marshall.

Roz (Jamey Hood) has written a sex comedy to be performed by the nuns at her abbey. Mother Superior Berga (Shannon Holt) and nun Madlen (Lauren Gaw) are excited about their performance. It’s their opportunity to experience something they cannot do in real life. It is now time to present the play to the Roman Emperor. How will he react?

Playwright Elizabeth Dement explores the historical role of women in different periods. As a time-warping journey story, Roz experiences the frustrations of living in a male-dominated society. Roz lives as a nun in medieval Germany, as a successful Hollywood TV writer in the present, and as an aspiring writer pitching a project in the future to 75-year-old Vita (Charrell Mack), who thanks to advanced treatments, looks way younger than her real age.

In all of the three periods, Roz is supported by other women. However, that support is also limited. In the case of Mallory, a funny and superb Shannon Holt, her position as the head of the studio is contingent to hitting all the quadrants to satisfy the investors and advertisers. As Roz’s show is hitting only one of the quadrants, Mallory decides to cancel it. It is in Hollywood as a TV writer that Roz also experiences another aspect of womanhood. She is the mother of Thea, her teenage daughter. The play presents the challenges of parenthood, specially for working writers, who live with the constant anxiety of getting their shows canceled in very short notices.

The stage design and the lighting create a fantastic mood that enhances the time periods depicted in the story. Director Randee Trabitz translates the script into a hilarious and touching production that presents the reality and the frustrations that women have suffered throughout history. At the end, Dement and Trabitz ask the question: Has anything changed for women?

No Place Like Gandersheim

Skylight Theatre
1816 1⁄2 North Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90027
Parking information: https://skylighttheatre.org/plan-your-visit/

Opening: 8:30pm Saturday, May 20, 2023
Schedule: 8:30pm Saturdays, 3:00pm Sundays, 7:30pm Mondays
(No performance on Monday, May 22 & Monday, May 29)
Closing: June 25, 2023

Tickets: skylighttix.org

Written by Elizabeth Dement. Directed by Randee Trabitz. Produced by Gary Grossman for Skylight Theatre Company. Associate Producer: Tyree Marshall. Cast: Lauren Gaw, Shannon Holt, Jamey Hood, Charrell Mack. Creative Team: DeAnne Millias (Scenic Design), Shannon Barondeau (Lighting/Video Design), Mylette Nora (Costume Design), Alma Reyes-Thomas (Sound Design), Joyce Hutter (Properties Manager), Victoria Hoffman (Casting), Cedes Sifuentes (Production Manager).

Theatre Review: La Egoista

Posted on March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 by Glamour

Skylight Theatre Company Presents the West Coast Premiere of La Egoista. Written by Erlina Ortiz. Directed by Dr. Daphnie Sicre. Produced by Gary Grossman for Skylight Theatre Company. Associate Producer is Tyree Marshall.

Almost like a sinister coincidence, La Egoista opened up a few days before the tragic event in Germany. Of course, the comparisons will be inevitable and they might trigger strong reactions both positive and negative to the story. But the main focus on Erlina Ortiz‘s play is the challenging balance of following one’s dreams and finding the time to take care of a family member in need.

Josefina (Lys Perez) is a rising stand-up comic, always on the move, trying to book more gigs. Her sister Betsaida (Chanel Castañeda) suffers from a debilitating medical condition that requires spending time at the hospital. One of the conflicts of their relationship is the fact that Betsaida is a Jehova’s Witness. Josefina left the religion and the house to pursue her own dreams while her mom was sick, something that comes up as they argue about family responsibilities. The passing of their mom and Betsaida’s condition become stressful experiences that can either strengthen or weaken their relationship.

Dr. Sicre delivers a creative and less passive play that turns experimental at times, allowing the audience to participate and become more invested in the characters and story. On Friday, this worked out as a hilarious scene in itself. Another interesting aspect of the play is the set (Scenic Design: Stephen Gifford), the downstage is the stage where Josefina performs, while the center upstage becomes the hospital and the sisters’ house. The puppets (Puppet Design: Christine Papalexis) are turned into characters in various scenes and serve as comedic elements as well. The cross-cutting scene highlights the contrasting personalities and realities of Josefina and Betsaida, a hint of the inevitable drifting away from each other.

The character of Josefina drives most of the story and Perez shows her comedic and dramatic skills on every scene, delivering a touching portrayal of hope in the face of uncertainty.

La Egoista

Skylight Theatre
1816 1⁄2 North Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90027

March 4 – April 9

Opening: 8:30pm Saturday, March 4, 2023
Schedule: 8:30pm Fridays, Saturdays, 3:00pm Sundays, 7:30pm Mondays
(No performance on Monday, March 6)
Closing: April 9, 2023

Tickets: skylighttix.org

Written by Erlina Ortiz. Directed by Dr. Daphnie Sicre. Produced by Gary Grossman for Skylight Theatre Company. Associate Producer: Tyree Marshall. Cast: Chanel Castañeda and Lys Perez.

Scenic Design: Stephen Gifford. Lighting Design: Karyn Lawrence. Costume Design: Mylette Nora. Sound Design: Cristian Amigo. Prop Design: Michael O’Hara. Puppet Design: Christine Papalexis.

Theatre Review: Lavender Men

Posted on August 8, 2022August 9, 2022 by Glamour

Playwrights’ Arena and Skylight Theatre Company present the world premiere of Lavender Men. Written by Roger Q. Mason and directed by Lovell Holder.

In Roger Q. Mason’s Lavender Men, history is rewritten to include the LGBT community, largely ignored in the US history books. This play is a fantasia about a gay Abraham Lincoln (Pete Ploszek) and the people around him. The character Taffeta (Roger Q. Mason) invades Abraham Lincoln’s personal space to give history a spin.

The rumors about Abraham Lincoln’s sexuality play a central role in Lavender Men as much as his relationship with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln (Roger Q. Mason). By some historians’ accounts, although never really proven, Lincoln had romantic relationships with Joshua Fry Speed and Captain David Derickson, often sleeping with them in the same bed—this was a common practice in those days though without any sexual overtones. In Mason’s script however, Lincoln has a sexual relationship with Elmer Ellsworth (Alex Esola), a soldier and Lincoln’s law apprentice.

That relationship ignites Mary Todd’s jealousy and, at the same time, her envy as she is overweight and feels powerless before the passionate bond between her husband and his apprentice. This disconnection between President Lincoln and his wife in the play also reflects the apparent discord between both figures in real life. Mary Todd was wealthy, educated, refined, and her family owned slaves. Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, grew up in a farm, self-educated, and disliked slavery, not to mention his lack of skills on the dance floor.

In real life, Mary Todd’s misery was due to the death of her children and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln before her eyes. She had episodes of depression, not fully understood at the time. In the play, Mary’s misery stems from the lack of attention from Abraham Lincoln towards her and his relationship with Elmer.

In the meantime, Taffeta continues to be amused by the vibrant relationship by Abraham and Elmer, but also revealing the insecurities and struggles of the undeserved communities the play represents. Taffeta also fights back the apparent innocuous reasoning of those who excluded the people of color and queer from the history books: “There is some beauty being lost in a sea of nothing”.

Mason’s writing is able to connect overweight, queer, and people of color with such fluidity within the story that they all become a coherent and powerful testament of the resilience of those underserved communities who are not willing to be silenced anymore. This is why Lavender Men, a smart, funny, and engaging play resonates in this era where society is trying to make amends for past mistakes.

In addition to the performances of the three thespians and the excellent direction of Lovell Holder, the artisans working on this production deserve a special recognition. Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design) displays an impressive and elaborate collection of colors, intensities, and textures in such a way that the lighting itself becomes a character throughout the story. Sound Designer is Erin Bednarz, Scenic Designer is Stephen Gifford, Costume Designer is Wendell Carmichael, Original Music by David Gonzalez, Choreography by Jobel Medina, Properties Design by Michael O’Hara, Casting by Raul Clayton Staggs, and the Production Manager is Cedes Sifuentes.

Lavender Men

Presented by Playwrights’ Arena and Skylight Theatre Company.

Playwright: Roger Q. Mason. Director: Lovell Holder. Producers: Gary Grossman and Jon Lawrence Rivera. Associate Producers: Tyree Marshall and Michael Kearns.

Skylight Theatre

1816 1⁄2 North Vermont

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Opening at 8:30 pm on Saturday, August 6
Schedule: Saturday 8:30 pm, Sunday 3 pm, Monday 7:30 pm
Closing: Sunday September 4, 2022

Tickets: LavenderMenPlayLA.com