Tanya Saracho
NEWS…The American Theatre Wing has awarded South LA-based Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) a 2011 National Theater Company Grant. WVTC was one of 10 theater companies from across the nation selected for this honor. WVTC managing director David Mack and board member David Catanzarite attended the Oct 24 event, held at the Glass House Tavern in Manhattan. The 2011 grant provides $10,000 for general operating support…A plethora of celebs are gathering at Topanga Canyon’s Mountain Mermaid, Nov 20, for the Theatricum Botanicum fundraiser, The Stars Come Out for Theatricum. Participants include: Edward Asner, Hector Elizondo, Ed Harris, Piper Laurie, Amy Madigan and Amanda Plummer. Asner will perform his acclaimed one-man show, FDR…Sally Shore’s New Short Fiction Series, in partnership with the City of Santa Monica’s Beach Culture series and Otis College of Art and Design, is presenting Telling Stories, performances of work by authors and founders of The Woman’s Building Writers Workshop, Nov. 14, at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica. Works include fiction and essays by Bia Lowe, Deena Metzger and Terry Wolverton, performed by Jesse Holcomb, Barbara Keegan and Sally Shore, moderated by Cheryl Klein, director of Poets & Writers, Inc. West…Finally, on Apr 21, 2012, members of Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA set sail aboard the Crystal Serenity for Crystal Cruises’ 2012 Film and Theatre Experiences of Discovery theme cruise from LA to NY. Also cruising are CTG’s Michael Ritchie, producer Chuck Fries, thesps Tippi Hedren, Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy), Broadway star Christine Pedi and Susan Claassen, who can instantly morph into her alter ego, designer-to-the-stars Edith Head.
PREMIERES…Carrie Hamilton Theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse is hosting the premiere of Prison Is Where I Learned to Fly, scripted by Rochelle Duffy, helmed by Debra De Liso, opening Nov 19. Based on the collective memory of a family of 17 siblings, the production “is Duffy’s personal story as seen through her eyes and those of her siblings.”…Fountain Theatre in Hollywood is presenting the West Coast premiere of El Nogalar (“The Pecan Orchard”), scripted by Tanya Saracho, inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, opening Jan 21, 2012. Helmed by Laurie Woolery (dramaturgy by Luis Alfaro), the production “charts a Mexican family’s experience as their way of life is threatened by encroaching drug cartels, violence and economic upheaval.”…Studio City-based Two Roads Theatre is debuting The Second Coming: A One Woman Comedy Of Biblical Proportions, scripted and performed by Sherry Glaser, author and star of one of LA’s favorite solo shows, Family Secrets, which left LA to become “the longest running one-woman show in Off-Broadway history.” Helmed by Gail Feldman, it opens Nov 11…The previously announced premiere of the tinseltown comedy Thanks For Coming and Thanks For Waiting, co-scripted by Elizabeth Noel Donovan and Milania Austin Henley, co-helmed by Joe Filippone and Joelle Arqueros, has been postponed until Jan.18. Two of the thesps are being replaced. Such is show biz…
Diana Son
ENCORES…Well-traveled Stop Kiss, scripted by Diana Son, has graced a few stages since premiering at the 1998 New York Shakespeare Festival, including a 2009 run at Rogue Machine. Now co-helmed by Ken Barnett and Larry Biederman, this six-character dramedy lands at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood, opening Nov 12…Also at the Lounge, the indefatigable “Cultural Herstorian” Amy Simon returns for two performances of her ever-evolving solo turn, She’s History! The Most Dangerous Women In America, Then And Now, Nov 5 and 6, helmed by Richard Kuhlman…Having premiered at Write Act Repertory Theatre in July, Bridge, by novelist/playwright/journalist Will Manus, is moving to Hollywood’s Ruby Theatre at the Complex, Nov 11, helmed by Kelly Galindo.
David Krumholtz
AROUND TOWN…Because it will be another 10 months (Aug 1, 2012) before he reprises his role as tortured abstract painter Mark Rothko in the Mark Taper Forum’s production of John Logan’s 2010 Tony winner, Red, Alfred Molina is currently occupied. He is inhabiting the persona of physicist Niels Bohr, opposite David Krumholtz’s portrayal of Bohr’s fellow scientist Werner Heisenberg in the LA Theatre Works staging of Michael Frayn’s 2000 Tony Winner, Copenhagen, helmed by Michael Jarvis, six performances only, beginning Nov 17 at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater. Jane Kaczmarek portrays Margarethe Bohr…Now that A Noise Within (ANW) has launched itself in its spacious new digs in Pasadena, it continues its 2011-12 season with a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s 1924 drama, Desire Under the Elms, helmed by Damaso Rodriguez, opening Nov 19. ANW offers a comprehensive study guide to this and every production this season, available online at http://www.anoisewithin.org/education_studyguides.html…The acclaimed lounge duo, Mack & Poppy, the alter egos of thesp Christopher Michael Graham and longtime LA Gay Men’s Chorus vet Tod Macofsky, are bringing their holiday tuner show, It’s Christmas!, to Hollywood’s M Bar, Dec 9 & 10, accompanied by pianist Buzz Ricotta…The Sierra Madre Playhouse staging of Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, helmed by Michael Cooper, is extending its run until Nov 19. Then it must make way for the James W. Rodgers’ stage adaptation of Frank Capra’s holiday film classic, It’s A Wonderful Life, based on a story by Philip Van Doren Stern, helmed by Christina Harris, opening Nov 25…And the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Project revival of Jane Chambers’ 1980 dramedy Last Summer At Bluefish Cove, helmed by Dee Jae Cox, has extended its run at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood until Nov 11…
Amanda Mauer in "Monkey Adored"; Photo by John Flynn
THE THING IS… “This is my first speaking role in a play at Rogue Machine. I had a very small role in a short play last year, but I didn’t have to say anything. This is my first bona fide acting gig. When this play came along, this character was so out there, so entertaining, I had to audition. And I got it. Henry had the script in the works for about 30 years. We went through several drafts during the rehearsals, but the framework was already there. We did do a lot of editing during the rehearsal process; but Henry promised us no script changes after opening night. Now I can just go out there and do it. To get within the body of my character, I did a lot of animal physicality stuff, but nothing really specific. I’ve always had cats, and just watching them gave me pretty good advice on how to be. But right from the beginning, the cast was made aware that all this ridiculous banter and sexiness between characters was taking place within a horrific war-torn environment. That colored everything we did, even though that plot point doesn’t come in right away. I came up with a backstory for my character. She is a woman of mystery, a little needy as a young creature in captivity. I don’t consider her a loose woman even though others may think so. Now that I’ve had this great experience playing her, it would be hard to go back to only being behind the scenes. I may have to start auditioning for things once in awhile.”- Rogue Machine staff member Amanda Mauer portrays Madeline Kahn the cat in the premiere of Henry Murray’s Monkey Adored, helmed by John Perrin Flynn, premiering at Rogue Machine, until Nov 20…
Gene Dynarski
INSIDE LA STAGE HISTORY…Born in Brooklyn in 1932, Eugene Dynarski grows up with no career aspirations, working numerous dead-end labor jobs in and around New York. In 1962 he moves to Los Angeles with the vague idea of getting a job in the entertainment industry. While doing part-time work during the day, Dynarski begins performing in small theaters throughout the Hollywood area. His first professional job, as Gene Dynarski, is on the small screen in a 1965 episode of Ben Casey. By the early ’70s, Dynarski is a well-established character actor, with a wide range of film and TV acting experience. What he misses is the opportunity to work more in live theater. In 1979, he takes a leap of faith, buys a failing performance space at 5600 Sunset Blvd., renames it the Gene Dynarski Theatre and even builds a residence for himself upstairs. Throughout the ’80s and into the ’90s, the venue is quite active with Dynarski performing as an actor/producer and quite often, landlord, renting out the space to a number of independent productions. Highlights include Jean Anouilh’s Waltz of the Toreadors (1981), Oliver Hailey’s Who’s Happy Now (1982), Charles Fuller’s Zooman and the Sign (1983), Band Dreams and Bebop, starring Doors drummer John Densmore (1988), Murphy Guyer’s Eden Court (1989) and Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind (1993). One production that does not meet expectations is Passing Game by Steve Tesich (1985), designed and helmed by up-and-coming TV/film thesp Tom Hanks, co-produced and starring his wife Samantha. The production is not well received and, by year’s end, the marriage closes as well. By the mid ’90s, Dynarski is no longer performing on stage, his film and TV appearances become less frequent, and he closes the theater. In failing health, Gene Dynarski retires from the entertainment industry in 2003…
…The Julio Martinez-hosted ARTS IN REVIEW, broadcast Fridays (2 to 2:30 pm) on KPFK (90.7FM), spotlights the best in live theater and cabaret in the Greater LA area. Upcoming on Nov. 4, KPFK continues its 2011 fall membership drive…
