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| Pete Caslavka - photos by Jessica Sherman |
By Joe Straw
This show needed some wry – sandwiched between the white loaves of irony
– and with just a dash of didactic time. – Narrator
He couldn’t help but want to go to Titan after seeing three
of the most voluptuous ladies that would cater to his every need. Yes, I said, every need.
The question, for him (and for me), is how will he get there?
When he stares at the photo he is encumbered by other
thoughts and disregards the technical concerns of how. The how is almost forgotten as he envelops their
colors: white, gold, and brown. Captured
by their seductive smiles, and the perfect way their form calls.
One can immediately sense that a particular insanity drives this
being, standing there and salivating for want. In some circles, and some
cultures this is a natural process of procurement. Yes, before electronics, salivating for need was
indeed a national pastime. The how, for this man, and for one brief moment is
on the mental backburner.
But, why wouldn’t anyone
want to go there? A little secret here: Titan is not for the peons, the
uneducated, and the unduly crusted earth wanderers of this god-forsaken planet.
And maybe this is all just a fanfaronade but the question isn’t “Why?” it is
“Why not?”
So, when you go to Titan, a moon of Saturn, go prepared, and
take your “A” game. No artificial
stimulus required or needed.
Sacred Fools Theater Company presents The Sirens of Titan adapted by
Stuart Gordon from the novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., directed by Ben Rock and produced
by Shaela Cook through May 6th, 2017 at 1076 Lillian Way in Los
Angeles, CA 90038.
There is a lot to enjoy from Sacred Fools Theater Company
and especially this troupe of thespians that manage a lot of frivolity in this
fun filled night. The acting is superb and conveys the message that Vonnegut,
Jr. may have had in mind.
In space, things can change in a heartbeat, and so it was
with wealthy New Englander Winston Niles Rumfoord (Eric Curtis Johnson) and his
dog Kazak (Tim Kopacz).
It must be said that Winston left all personal things to the
wayside to have a spaceship constructed on his property. Taking a man’s best friend, Kazak, with him was
a personal option, and a message to his wife, as they blasted off into space. The two of them shook, like the escaping images
of a fifties movie, a mashed potato face, fighting the groans of speed and
gravity mixed with the escape velocity, and all in the effort to reach zero solemnity.
But something goes predicatively wrong in reaching their destination,
Mars. Their rocket ship plows into the chrono-synclastic
infundibulum and now they have lost touch with reality, and most importantly with
ground control. Their lives are now further
complicated because they are pulsating drips that travel between the sun and
Betelgeuse. Not all that complicated when you think about pulsations. It means that Winston and Kazak will come
back to earth intact every 59 days, back home to his neglected and virtuous
wife, before disappearing back into the chrono-synclastic infundibulum once
again.
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| Eric Curtis Johnson |
One of the advantages of moving back and forth in space is
that Winston Niles Rumfoord can now predict, no, see the future. He is able to
rattle of a series of truths, a hypozeuxis of thoughts, and mind readings, if
he chooses to do so. And that’s why
everyone is trying to get a piece of Winston Niles Rumfoord.
But, Rumfoord has an ulterior motive, one that necessitates
a coverup, by offering a wry sense of humor, and coyness about his actions.
His wife, Beatrice Rumford (Jaime Andrews), doesn’t think much
of those attributes. She doesn’t think much of him or his dog either and thinks
less of him now that he is just a 59-day phenomenon. In her eyes, he is a
rebarbative figure.
But let’s get to the now. Winston is here today to speak
with the ultra rich, ultra boastful, “Somebody up there likes me” Malachi
Constant ((Pete Caslasvka) dismissing all the reporters in the process.
Winston, a predictor of the future, says that Malachi Constant
will marry his wife, they will live on Mars, and they will have a child, his
name will be Chronos. Chronos will find and carry a tool that is very
important. Winston tells Constant that his final destination is on Titan.
“Why would I go there?” – Constant
“The climate, women.” – Winston
Winston hands him a picture of the women of Titan and
Constant falls into the seat in love.
Also, Winston says his wife is still a virgin.
Constant is not curious on that matter. He can have any woman on the face of the
earth, why would he want someone's wife?
Still, he’s inquisitive, how this will all happen. So he meets with Beatrice,
to get an idea, a spark of how the future will play out. Their brief meeting is tenuous at best,
fraught with conflict, and without a meeting of the mind.
Malachi Constant goes about his carefree life unaware of
troublous times. He lies partially unclothed, next to a young maiden (Jax
Ball), after a night of partying when Ransom K. Fern (Dennis Neal) informs him
that his cigarette company has manufactured a product, MoonMist Tobacco, that
causes sterility in men and therefore Constant has lost everything.
Broke, Constant hops on a spaceship to join the Martian
Army, Beatrice joins him and suddenly everyone forgets everything, a formula
induced to all who pledges allegiance to an alien power (a metal plate attached
to the head).
Now, 11 years later, they are all under the power of Boaz
(K. J. Middlebrooks), a nicely dressed military man with no discernible rank,
who by pressing a remote causes excruciating pain to those who get in his way.
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| L - R K.J. Middlebrooks and Pete Caslavka |
Constant, whose brain has been cleaned out by the Martian
Army, goes by the name Unk now. But that
brain-wiping thing does not work that well, and especially with Unk whom has a
tape recorder hidden with all of his notes, refreshing his memory that says he
has a wife and kid.
There is a lot going on in this production. I went on opening night and actors are still
settling into their roles. Still there
is a lot to enjoy, and enough fantasy to lift you to that special place, into
the chrono-synclastic infundibulum, that only theatre can do and do well.
If you have read the book, you’ll be able to follow the
play. But if you have not read the book,
you might have some problems, albeit minor ones that I will address later.
Still, there are a lot of wonderful things in this production.
The video animation of the Mars attack by Kays
Alatrakchi and the character Salo by puppet/creature designer Russ Walko, make it a wonderful evening
of theatre. Jennifer Christina DeRosa
also does a wonderful job as the Costume Designer.
Okay, so what are the notes?
Ben Rock, the director, requires
a stronger through line. In the way that Dorothy finds her way home in the
Wizard of Oz, so it must be that Malachi Constant must find what he is looking
for. And, in search of what? A
suggestion might be the Sirens of Titan. The desired objective is to find a way
home, wherever home may be. In the book,
it is Indianapolis, Indiana. I wasn’t so sure what it was in the play. That
also holds true for the other places that Constant travels to: Earth, Mars,
Mercury, all with Titan and the beautiful women in mind. The objective to find the place is important for
the actor to keep in mind.
Another thing. There
were times where the audience (me) lost sight of the locations, where the
characters were, be it Mars, Mercury, Massachusetts, California, because Constant
was all over the place. The doors placed
on the upstage walls were not enough to suggest another place, another planet.
Also, the crowd scenes are extremely important in his play. It gives us a sense of being swept up in the
fervor whether it is social (the reporters) or the religious (parishioners). Those
scenes did not work to full effect. The reporters were dismissed with a wisp
and the parishioners did not grasp the significance of the space traveler.
Pete Caslavka
appears in a yellow suit with a question mark on it as Malachi Constant, a man of greed and avarice, a
space traveler, and suddenly, unless you’ve read the book, the suit makes
little sense. The suit is made for
him. He is the chosen one. It will only fit one. We see little of the reasoning of what
significance the suit plays, with the church, and beyond that. Perhaps the Rev.
Redwine and church should dress him, there on stage. That aside, Caslavka does some really fine
work on stage playing the billionaire who cares for little except his own self-gratification,
like someone in office right now.
Jaime Andrews is
Beatrice Rumfoord and has a solid presence on stage. It is difficult to determine what Beatrice
wants both in the play and in the book but whatever Andrews choice was, it was
someone who had a strong moral code, and un-withering backbone that stood for
the principle within her. The work was excellent Andrews has an authoritative
presence and manages to hold her own.
Eric Curtis Johnson
was Winston Niles Rumfoord, a man with an ulterior motive, and a man who knows
everything, with an almost God-like religious fervor. He has a reason for doing what he is doing. Rumfoord’s
movement is in line with his direction, his force, whether it is economic reasons
or religious reasons one is not quite sure.
Jax Ball does
some fine work in the ensemble and as Young Chrono.
K. J. Middlebrooks
has a very distinctive look, a calm and natural presence on stage as Boaz. Certainly there’s more to be had with his
relationship to the harmonium creatures on Mercury, the relationship with his
partner, and his music, which is his reason for wanting to stay on Mercury.
Jesse Merlin
plays a number or characters in the show and does extraordinary work. His role as Salo, a tangerine looking robot
with three arms protruding every which way, was the highlight. But Salo should
also tie into all of the other characters on earth in some likeness or
mannerism to show there is a connection. Salo is another character that has
been diligently watching everyone. Merlin is an actor who appears everywhere on
stage in Los Angeles. The work is always
impressive, and his craft is inspiring.
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| Dennis Neal |
Dennis Neal is notable
as The Reverend C. Horner Redwine the minister of the Church of God the Utterly
Indifferent and other roles. This is a character that should embody exuberance
when he discovers the space wanderer, in the way he finds him, and in the way
he controls his flock.
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| Tiffanie McQueen |
Tifanie McQueen
was Mrs. Peterson, a woman who appeared to be a lecturer, or schoolmarm who
describes the Martian attack in detail.
I missed that she was a character from Boca Raton who killed four
Martians with her son’s .22-caliber rifle. McQueen shows a tremendous amount of
poise on stage, and she has a wonderful voice.
Tim Kopacz is
wonderful as Kazak, the dog. Kazak
doesn’t say much but gets his point across. Also Kopacz plays Stony Stevenson,
a mysterious man who dies under mysterious circumstances (somebody kills him), and
then is used as a tool to control another.
Stuart Gordon
manages to capture the flavor of Vonnegut, Jr.’s, work, a lot of words and
dialogue in the play are pulled directly from the book. But the book goes into enormous detail that
is lost in the adaptation from book to play.
But when the translation from book to play hits the right notes, it is a
very beautiful thing. And so, this is a work of art that demands to be seen, and at any
cost.
The understudies in the show are as follows: Curt Bonnem, Libby Baker, Paul Plunkett,
Adriana Colón, Gabriel Croom, Corey Klemow, Brendan Broms and Missy Mannila. They
did not perform the night I was there, but will perform later in the run.
Other members of the crew are as follows:
Bo Powell – Associate Producer
Scott Golden – Assistant Director
Maggie Marx – Stage Manager
Alicia Conway Rock – Dramaturge
Krystyna Loboda – Scenic Designer
Hillary Bauman – Key Scenic
Matt Richter & Adam Earle – Lighting Designers
Ruth Silveira – Assistant Costume Designer
Hat & Suitcase – Projection Designer
Jaime Robledo - Sound Designer
Lisa Anne Nicolai – Prop Designer
Emily Donn – Assistant Prop Designer
Michael Teoli – Score Composer
Angela Santori Merritt – Hair and Make-up Artist
Cj Merriman – Choreographer
Chairman Barnes – Military Advisor
Bob DeRosa – Marketing Associate Producer
Brian Wallis – Projection Tech
Nathan Shoop – Lead Builder
Tor Brown & Joshua Benton – Builders
Marian Gonzalez, RebeccaSchoeriberg, Maggie Marx and Anthony
Backman – Electricians
TJ O/Bien, Alyson Schultz & Joshua Benton – Assistant
Stage Managers
Annette Fasone – Casting Coordinator
Jessica Sherman Photography – Performance Photography
Gabe Leonard – Poster Art
Jack Townsend – Title Text
Run! Run! And take
someone who loves Vonnegut, Jr., not senior, Jr!
Sacred Fools Theater Company
1076 Lillian Way
Los Angeles, CA 90038
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