The Cast L - R: Brad Simanski, Lyndsay Palmer, Ben Hess, Fiona Okida, Ariella Salinas Fiore, Elliott Santos, Jayla Bryant, Frankie Nieman, Rachel Richins, Ramón Garcia, Clara Darlington, Aydin Washington, Vivian Oxley, Sophia Joy, and Laura Loo -  Joel Castro - Photography 

 

By Joe Straw  

 

The air in Santa Monica was stale, and a man walking to the Morgan-Wixson Theatre took note of the non-existing ocean breeze around 2:00pm in the afternoon and the matter of his discomfort was not open for discussion. Best to leave him alone. He was just too hot, and it didn’t help his mood when he saw his ex standing in front of the theatre as he was walking toward the door.

His look was not quite what he anticipated with ill-fitting green glasses and a pocket square that never folded to his liking, stuffed into his sports jacket like a tissue coming out of an ill nostril, but there was pleasure in the air-condition lobby so relief would come in small increments.  

When he entered the theatre, the ticket maestro directed him to “door two” when door one would have easily been the better option. “Can people get better acquainted with the seating chart?” he mused to himself.

He sat down and regrettably noticed an extremely large, oversized ghastly mosquito landing on his shirtsleeve. After a brutal assault on said insect, the force of his swat just wasn’t to the speed he once had in his younger days and the large thing flew to another encampment, noting that he was probably off to torment another unsuspecting theatergoer for a rich supply of warm blood, possibly on the stage.  One could only hope that said monster was not carrying the dengue fever that Southern California has been hearing so much about. 

After all that, he definitively was not in a good mood when the show started.  Why? Well, it was anyone’s guess. He watched the production and shook his head when things were not going great.  Actors not wearing microphones and not having the strong voices to carry the 200-seat theatre. Words of the singers were lost (something that was desperately needed in a production such as this) – and at times, the pre-recorded music overpowered the performers. Some actors were caught singing in the dark - a lighting issue.  Other actors were positioned far upstage stage left to far down stage right while singing -  a director’s choice that doesn’t work on a good day.   

And not to be undone “Johnny B Next To Him” was vigorously clapping after each song, for three hours. Some people love everything and others don’t.  It’s all part of the drama before the dramatic storm. - Narrator

Morgan-Wixson Theatre presents Into the Woods music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, directed by Elija Green and produced by Julia Ribas running through October 18, 2026.

Morgan-Wixson Theatre is a community theatre, using a compendium of actors, that fits perfectly with this cast, exercising their resources and being the best version of themselves. 

And Santa Monica showed up on this day to an almost standing room only crowd.

Into The Woods, the musical, is based on various tales mostly from The Brothers Grimm’s “Ashputtle” or so they say.

So, the musical takes on Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk and the hopes and dreams of what these characters want to accomplish out of life.

The Baker (Ramón Garcia) and the Baker’s Wife (Rachel Richins) desperately want a child. They roll the dough kneading lives healthy and together.

A none too bright and star gazing Jack (Aydin Washington) is satisfied with living happily with his cow, Milky White, in the living room.   It is Jack’s Mother (Ariella Salinas Fiore) who wants more out of life and selling the milkless cow is their only hope for making it through one more day.

A mischievous Little Red (Fiona Okida) wishes to take care of her grandmother and if stealing helps to keep her grandmother (Laura Loo) alive, she is willing to do it. But, too late, grandma is sadly a figment in the imagination or already in the belly of the beast.

Cinderella (Jayla Bryant) is certainly not happy living with her Stepmother (Lyndsay Palmer) and her two stepsisters Florinda (Sophia Joy) and Lucinda (Vivian Oxley), and her exigency to reside elsewhere will only soothe her madness. But only expressing it in a kind way.

L - R:  Frankie Nieman and Brad Simanski

 

Cinderella’s Prince (Frankie Nieman) and Rapunzel’s Prince (Elliott Santos) each crave their beautiful wife to love, hold, and squeeze if they could only get beyond their agony and effete charm.  

And Rapunzel (Clara Darlington) requests out of her tower prison, and she wouldn’t mind being in love and having a haircut either.

But there’s always the Witch (Minque Taylor), The Wolf (Frankie Nieman and Elliott Santos) and the Mysterious Man (Ben Hess) who always presents an obstacle to the characters wanting something better in life.

And when life awards them the desires of their lives and living “happily ever after” is the mantra of the day the second act rolls around to change what everyone thought would bring them love forever in a very unflattering manner and that is topped with the colossal impertinence of the giant.

Elijah Green, the director, has set this fairy tale in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles graffiti art is on the theatrical poster and on the cast list but did not translate these visuals to the stage, a good thought but limitations may have prevailed. The characters may have had an opportunity to envelope the idea, and in retrospect it would creatively add to the notion that could have been.

(As an example, Graffiti art did wonders in Graffiti Pete’s opening dance number of “In the Heights” setting the time, the mood, and the place.)  

Naytheless, the characters, an entangled mass of Angelenos, representing the urbanity of a defined place, set a dramatic tone to this musical. Although, it’s tough to find woods in central Los Angeles the director Green made the landscape a fairy tale land.  And on the second performance of the run, the task of finding the through line to the production is still a work in progress.  The second act works better than the first finding the relationship of the characters soaring with meaning and a better understanding. 

L - R: Jayla Bryant, Sophia Joy, and Vivian Oxley

 

On stage characters can take focused liberties with actions to implement a creative truth and objective. Finding a little more creativity were Sophia Joy as Florinda (in the hair scene), Fiona Okida as Little Red (in the bun stealing scene), Frankie Neiman and Elliotts Santos in the Agony song is remarkable, and Ramón Garcia has a strong grasp and understanding of his character and takes a very nice turn as the Baker. 

L - R: Rachel Richins, Ramón Garcia and Fiona Okida

 

Timing and movement are critical in this musical and actors are still growing in this production to find what works and doesn’t and that is part of the journey of the creative self.   

But, despite one’s musings, one can say the second act had a dramatic pulse, the relationships were defined, and beautiful in ways that loving relationships are constructed and deconstructed almost in a disorderly formality. Even though, on this day, early in the run , enough joy and happiness and outright wackiness are presented here to fill the woods, the theatre, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles with this delightful presentation. 

The Musical Director was Will Nazareno and the Choreographer was Danielle Jensen.

Ramón Garcia  - Baker                                       
Rachel Richins  - Baker's Wife
Aydin Washington  - Jack
Fiona Okida - Little Red
Jayla Bryant - Cinderella
Minque Taylor - Witch
Frankie Nieman  - Cinderella's Prince/Wolf
Elliott Santos  - Rapunzel's Prince/Wolf
Clara Darlington - Rapunzel
Lyndsay Palmer - Cinderella's Stepmother
Vivian Oxley  - Lucinda
Sophia Joy - Florinda
Ariella Salinas Fiore  - Jack's Mother
Laura Loo  - Cinderella's Mother/Granny
Brad Simanski - Cinderella's Father/Steward
Ben Hess  - Narrator/Mysterious Man

Morgan-Wixson.org, 310-828-7519, 2627 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA. 90405

Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter

Tim Cummings and Jeff LeBeau

 By Joe Straw

Oh, we’re doing that kind of presentation. – Narrator

The Ruskin Group Theatre presents Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by John Perrin Flynn, and Produced by John Ruskin and Michael R. Myers through July 25^th, 2026.

The trailer was an intangible mess.  The door possibly sealed shut because no one went in or out and truth be told the look made one feel that no one was going to come out now or forever. Sure, there was an exit and an entrance but not through that flap and we’ll leave it at that.

She, with a capital S, had to be kept in because She was in no condition to come out.  She was having trouble. Age. After her second stroke things just went haywire what with the bill payments and personal management, and that’s when signs of life started to slowly move toward the hereafter.    

And, in life, death was all just a matter of time.

The outside of the trailer was also in shambles held together by cardboard cutouts attached to this beast to keep the warmth in or to keep the cold out.  Their trailer lifted like a prehistoric monster that seem to stretch to infinity, up and down, north and south, east or west which ever you preferred, sitting on a dry piece of darkened land near a highway in Grangeville, Idaho. (Beautiful Scenery Design by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz)

Jerry (Jeff LeBeau) her son, knew she was in trouble.  He was in well over his head if he had any sense in that Idaho brain of his.   His desire superseded his abilities necessitating a call to his younger brother Arnold (Tim Cummings), - well half-brother for help - who is now an artist living in Amsterdam.

Arnold was a sentient being when applicable, rather morose, quiet, ubiquitous and wasn’t in the mood to talk or offer any loving inflections to his older brother. He was still mad and stayed that way for the duration of his conversation. Still, there was a glimmer of hope.

Jerry gave a complimenting smile over the video, a dry smile, with just a wisp of an upturned grin. His eyes displayed another story – albeit a self-induced forgotten one - that dismissed all their history and all the trouble he was having knowing to bring it up would only incur the wrath that he knew would be coming.

And all Arnold could do was to stare into the phone, or speak to his partner in another room, and then come back with that same dry sense of worth forgetting for a moment the indissoluble alliance he had with his brother and his mother.  

Arnold said he would take care of all the medical bills, at least investigate it, to see if he could handle that medical quagmire of the hospital accounting department.  

And as the time slipped by Jerry was not forthcoming.  There was much to do, information to impart with, but that tempered relationship would be appropriated later, if that was even a possibility.  

There was a point in this production, under John Perrin Flynn’s direction where one was completely lost, for about two minutes. The dialogue of two characters supposedly Arnold and Jerry were speaking an almost incomprehensible language until the mind focused, the eyes narrowed, and one discovered that one person was a completely different character. And with the two players, in the same space, speaking to each other, this wasn’t a videoconference from thousands of miles away.

Hense: “Oh, we’re doing that kind of presentation.”

An indefinable quality that left an indelible impression and maybe a moment to be further explored. One can understand why Samuel D. Hunter, the writer, creatively chose a smelting of the minds, perhaps needing a reason of having characters become the partner of the other, to further enhance the theatrical conclusion and/or gaining another perspective within the character.  Whether the scenes are real or a figment of someone’s heightened imagination have yet to be determined.  

Those scenes are not the writer’s choice of theatrical economy but rather a reason for moving Jerry and Arnold’s relationship to a favorable outcome.  Naytheless, these scenes required a defining action that resolves the brother’s issues and propels the audience toward the end on the play.   While guided exquisitely under John Perrin Flynn’s direction perhaps another viewing is in order to completely grasp a better understanding.

Samuel D Hunter’s writing is infinitely alarming and at times subtle to the tune of tearing your heart out. The brothers have got a lot of life to iron out, the brutalities, the lies, and betrayals before they can claim a personified relationship. But understanding each other’s position requires a tad more exploration.

We know how it starts and how it ends but we don’t know the intellectual mechanism that truly got them to their destination.  (Life isn’t the quick and easy answer, and theatre sends you out questioning the resolution.)  But, more than likely, the answers are in their relationship with their partners that may be the gateway to resolving Jerry and Arnold’s relationship.  

Tim Cummings (Arnold) is back on the boards after a lengthy hiatus.  It couldn’t have come at a better time. His work is fascinating, sometimes measured, in small increments, and his concentration superb. The inebriated scene wasn’t as focused and physically didn’t move the character toward his objective. Finding the answer in this scene is a tricky one. Still, the work is outstanding.

Jeff LeBeau (Jerry) conveys the weight of the world on his shoulders. Aside from his mother, and the trouble she’s having, he must make up to his brother, something that he is not willing to do.  Perhaps this might make an uneducated Idaho man weak and injudicious. There’s too much to be forgiven. Jerry’s way, although misbegotten, is his way. LeBeau’s Netherland accent as Bram was terrific and his manner on stage was exquisite.

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s costume design sets the dark somber moods throughout the play giving us a glimmer of hope throughout the darkness.

Keith Stevenson, sound designer, provides excellent sound of cars traveling along a stretch of highway.  

The trailer plays a significant role and exemplifies myriad ideas of confined human sufferings. Whether it is intentional or a figment of one’s imagination one can’t say.

A lot of time, money, and effort went in to create this production and it could not have happened without the creative team listed below.

Nicole Millar – Production Stage Manager

Dan Weingarten – Lighting Designer

Deirdre O’Connor – Assistant Stage Manager

Jan Bryant & Dan Speaker – Stunt / Fight Coordinator

Ryan Wilson, Drew Wilson, Jeff Pratner & Nick Yusi – Set Builders

Jenny Flack & Samatha Reynolds – Scenic Painter

Tuffet Schmelzle – Dialect Coach

Judith Borne – Publicist

Amelia Mulkey Anderson – Graphic Designer & Photographer

The new Ruskin Theatre is a wonderful space.  On location are two beautiful theatres and one doesn’t hear the airplanes flying overhead from the small airport across the street.  The theatre is a couple of buildings west of their old location and there is plenty of free parking.

Los Angeles needs its theatre arts and supporting The Ruskin Group is one way for the community to thrive with theatrical presentations. Just follow the link https://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com/ for additional information and please make a recurring donation.

A Little Night Music – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler

  

By Joe Straw

In the twilight hours, where the sun never sets, a madness of sorts infects the wandering mind.   And in those hours, a heightened sense of smell and taste provokes tangential thoughts while the world slowly moves and changes in unimaginable ways.  

And in the twilight, perhaps at a dance, a progression of ideas feeds those first thoughts - to see it is to feel it; to feel it is to live it, to live it is to love it.  - Narrator

Santa Monica Collect Theatre Arts Department Spring 2026 presented A Little Night Music, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, and directed by Perviz Sawoski through May 31, 2026.

The Liebesileder Singers: Mr. Linquist (Max Montgomery), Mrs. Nordstrom (Sophia Joy Martin-Straw), Mrs. Anderssen (Leah Hurst), Mr. Erlanson (Ziare Rene), and Mrs. Segstrom (Arabella Passeri) lead us in song, into the night, they are wandering about as omnipotent storytellers, infinitely enlightening, filling us in on the backstory and relaying the unspoken details that has transpired. They know the players and are willing to impart their information into the accepting minds to all willing participants.  

And as the curtain rises, the players in all their 1900’s finest, (wonderful costume design by Val Miller) waltz prophetic dreamlike about the room setting the stage with defined relationships that will take us through to the end of the musical.

Anne Egerman (Emily V. Blustajn) 18-year-old stepmother to Henrik Egerman (Noah Hosfeld) (not much younger), who has just returned home from schooling, teases Henrik in ways that go one step beyond a mother and stepson relationship.

Fredrik Egerman, a lawyer arrives shortly thereafter to tell his young wife they have tickets to see Desiree Armfeldt (Hannah Hayes) in a theatrical production near them.

Truth be told, the bubbly Anne is infatuated with Desiree and can’t wait to see her performance. And, as they retire for the afternoon Fredrik wonders out loud if they should consummate their 11-month marriage or take a nap. Anne tells Fredrik that she is not quite ready and as Fredrik naps he calls out the name of Desiree in his sleep much to Anne’s annoyance.

Later that night at the theatre and five minutes into the performance Anne, in a fit of jealously, rushes out of the theatre followed by Fredrik.  When they arrive home Henrik has unsuccessfully not consummated his relationship with the maid Petra (Sofia Koutouras) much to the slightly confused delightfulness of his father.

Moments later Fredrik tells Anne that he is going out for a walk but instead visits Desiree at the theatre.  He hasn’t seen her in fourteen years but happens to glance at a photograph of Desiree’s 13-year-old daughter Fredrika (Isabella Gutierrez) now living with her grandmother Madame Armfeldt (Sara Kaner).

Desiree is sympathetic to Frederik’s thoughts of the unconsummated marriage and decides to “help” Fredrik.  They are caught by Desiree’s “friend” Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Angel Salas), a dragoon who wants revenge against the man who has unfairly taken his mistress! And the count later tells his jealous wife Countess Charlotte Malcolm (Nina Halimi) all about it.

Taken as a whole director and choreographer Perviz Sawoski has directed a fascinating vision of this timeless 1973 classic from the spectacles of the home to the theatre, to the country house, the birch trees, (Beautifully designed by Tom Buderwitz.) and the wonderful idiosyncrasies of all the inhabitants living through the long midnight sun of a Sweden night.  It all just melds so seamlessly. It highlights the chaotic struggles of human life, the overwhelming feeling of making reparations, the true meaning to lovingly fix what was broken. Oh, the life of a Swede!

Hanna Hayes is exceptional as Desiree Armfeldt capturing the character life of an actor that may be at the pinnacle of her career.  Send In the Clowns is an emotional highlight in this show and her performance, richly voiced, deserved to be seen by everyone in Los Angeles.  It is a performance so enchanting it warms the coldest heart.  

Jeremy Ohta Lee is also incredible as Fredrik Egerman. There are the simple expressions from him that carry the day in this role.  There may be some things to add, the discovery of Fredrika, and the uncertainty of that discovery that provides an impulse for a stronger objective that pushes the character to win the day.  

Sara Kaner’s performance as Madame Armfeldt is also truly amazing.  Her voice is rich and satisfying filled with the remembrances of past lovers and the one that mistakenly got away.

Noah Hosfeld (Henrik Egerman) with his lugubrious presence and a bubbly Emily V Blustajn (Anne Egerman) have wonderful voices that carry them throughout the night. More could be made of their relationship as stepmother and stepson and the infatuation they have with each other that holds true from the first moment they appear together on stage.

Isabella Gutierrez (Fredrika Armnfeldt) has a delicious voice and one thing to add to her performance would be to find out who her father was. This gives the character a stronger objective and opens tremendous relationship possibilities with the other characters on stage.

Angel Salas (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm) appears and hardly takes notice of a man, with his mistress, in his bathrobe. How odd. One is sure that this entrance must work given the manner he conducts himself in the rest of the musical. That aside Salas has a strong voice that easily projects in the backrow of this beautiful 258 seat theatre.  

Nina Halimi (Countess Charlotte Malcolm) is trying to find the tiger in the man that is her husband. That would have been fine if that had been her objective throughout. But she is given other things to do to get to that point and those other things are distractions that doesn’t bring back her husband. Her opening requires that want when her husband tells her that his mistress is not faithful. (Are Swedes okay with this?) She sits, morally discontent, having little or nothing to do when she should be physically finding ways keep her husband.  That aside, Nina has a lovely voice and there are a lot of other things that did work in this production.

Sofia Koutouras (Petra, Anne’s maid) delivers a haunting song The Miller’s Son.  It is a song that stays with the theatregoer long after the performance.  A song of a working-class girl, who dreams of having a better life but settles to marry to her station.

Damara Powell and Maryan Leon had some very amusing moments as the First Lady and the Second Lady.  Sando Sylla and Julie Duclos filled the night with their interpretations of the Sad Clowns.

Other players making significant contributions to the night were Tangbung Be (Frid), Caroline Duclos (Malia), Julie Duclos (Osa), and Carlo Barberi (Bertrand, Page).

The Main Stage is a beautiful theatre with an orchestra pit filled with wonderful musicians and under the direction of Conductor Gary Gray.  The sound was impeccable compliments to Helyx Belew, (Sound Design) and marvelous for each performance.

The following musicians performed in this production.

Violins: Coleen Coomber, Concertmaster, Madison Leinster, Yushen Sun

Violas: Loura Jesson, Greg Notiass, Corinne Olson, Matt Witmer

Cellos: Max Mueller, Kelly Picton, Camila Wilson

Bass: John Graves

Flute/Clarinet: Emily Senchuck

Bassoon: Leslie Lashinsky, Christin Webb

Percussion: Anthony Barbarotta

Piano/Celesta: Frank Basile

One witness the performances on three separate occasion and each performance got better.  There were problems in the beginning, and they were mostly problems with defined relationships that didn’t quite work, actors relating to the fourth wall rather than their counterpart, and moments that missed their mark.  But as the production grew the actors grew, hitting their moments and richly defining their characters.

Santa Monica Theatre Arts program is a viable necessity for art and life in Los Angeles, California.

Wild Son and Then Some the story of me and my dad by John Mese

  

By Joe Straw 

 

John Mese has a southern drawl and it’s noticeable when one speaks directly to him.  On stage it’s slightly different apart from a couple of sentences – “He said sumptin to me.” and “Idonknowwhy” a phrase which comes out as a one-word transfer of thoughts rather than four separate words and, one supposes, a trace of Cajun in his Baton Rouge accent. Naytheless, it is delightful and one more reason for venturing out on this Friday night.

Without going into too much detail, everyone loves a comeback story, the anticipation leading up to the moment when triumph overcomes adversity, and ends in the final resolve, the curtain call gathering with friends and family.   

Mese is dedicated master craftsman and a physically gifted actor. In fashionable southern charm, Mese entered the theatre and addressed the fourth wall (the audience). He shaded his eyes from the light, appreciatively took stock of the sold-out house, drew a rectangle, and took an imaginary photo.  And in a rarity, especially in Hollywood, he thanked everyone for coming and then started the show.

The one thing that leads home.

The stage at the Whitefire Theatre is sparsely set, a chair, a desk, and a flask of water. The work (or pleasure if you prefer) is to transform this empty darkened space into his home first in Los Angeles and then Baton Rouge. And then subsequently filling that space with the engrained images of those that were significantly loved and the ones that made all the difference.  

His vision starts in Los Angeles and slowly moves back in time to Baton Rouge remembering his dad and his family life, his inescapable journey, brought out from the wings if you will - to the place he now calls home.

And as the years passed; he found success in Hollywood and finally settles into a family life culminating in the moment alone on stage here tonight.  

In Los Angeles, Mese paints the picture of a 1934 Philco radio cabinet, now weathered by time and space, the one rather large item he squeezed into his car on the journey here, a solid weight, an anchor of remembrances, and one that reminds him of his father and more importantly, home.   

There are three things that ring a dramatic truth in this one-man play.   The first is the Philco radio cabinet, gutted now, but merriments from the south, and an object so loved that it plays a significant part in his journey.

The second is his father’s sailboats, they got bigger as he got older, possibly a metaphor of the incremental progression of time, growing up, and finally finishing, when sadly, all things must pass.

The third are the memories sometimes filled with obstinate gestures of youthful indiscretions. The ravages from non-saintly pursuits that could have drastically changed his career goals. And the subtle ways his father, a renowned town dentist, did help in the unimaginable ways he showed his love.

This is a tearful love story, lessons of unabashed love, of being a father, of doing fatherly things, and having a father who was willing to go the extra mile for his son.  

The night was filled with emotional moments dedicated to the power of his words and movement. There’s enough here to satiate the night absorbing those moments to one’s own life experiences. And, finally, one more reason to go to all the small theatres that Los Angeles has to offer.  

There may be more to add, a little more, if one must supply notes to this grand occasion. The first is a metaphorical dash of color against the wall of this black box. Baton Rouge needs that addition as it relates to his father.

The second is Jená and how that relationship plays deeply with his father. We move away from the father as the story moves away in another direction.  The day, at the door ponderously ajar, in his underwear, needs an emotional jolt that pulls his father in closer, defines the moment, and makes the relationship that much stronger.  

The sincerity of the play rings a dramatic truth, displayed by a great big hug on stage, that you are the man now, the father now, all while affectionately remembering the father who loved you without cause along the way.  

The Little King of Norwalk by Israel López Reyes

 

L - R Randy Vasquez, Xavi Moreno, and Ruth Livier 

 By Joe Straw

Just when one thinks their political life is over, a small stature of a man rising, from the east, arrives unexpectedly, grows exponentially, and enters the fray to save someone’s political ass.

The Latino Theatre company presented The Little King of Norwalk by Israel López Reyes and directed by Geoffrey Rivas ran from September 25 through November 2^nd, 2025.

Juan Perez (Xavi Moreno) is in a whole lot of trouble living vicariously in a section of Norwalk, fighting with his twin sister Wendy Perez (Esperanza América) a grass roots activist about trying to stay ahead of the game, keeping up with the house payments, and taking care of his nephew so they can stay off the streets.  Their mother has recently died, and, to that end, they have lost a family member that contributed to childcare so that the supposedly two “adults” could find work and support the house.

Juan, a UCLA graduate, doesn’t take his work life seriously, but promises his sister that he will find work and takes her car to look.  But, after the day of job hunting, Juan takes a respite, consumes alcohol, and now inebriated before stepping into his car to drive home. But as events would have it, he is arrested for being under the influence, his car is impounded, and he is beaten senseless by a dispirited law enforcement officer in jail by The Law (Richard Azurdia).

Crawling mindlessly on his cell floor Juan is visited by the apparition of his mother telling him that he is needed for something more important in his life.  And as apparitions are want to do, they are not very specific, and it is up to Juan to figure it all out.

 

L - R Randy Vasquez, Ruth Livier, Richard Azurdia, and J. Ed Araiza 

Now, a quartet of government officials, Mayor Alvarado (Randy Vasquez), City Manager Nancy Juarez (Ruth Livier), School Superintendent Alex Ayala (J. Ed Araiza) and Chief of Police Ricky Ortiz (Richard Azurdia) effectively cower behind the long windows of Norwalk’s city hall, afraid to meet their constituents who are protesting a city law of a ban on the homeless.  The crowds are growing, and the uproar is getting stronger. But the Mayor, aware, but not that concerned, knows that Governor Newsom or his cronies are going to come down hard on the City of Norwalk and send someone who will report on them.

This band of Norwalk officials don’t know who that someone will be but will probably be someone in a yellow tie and a cheap suit.

Meanwhile a lugubrious Juan, complete with moral imperfections, tells his sister that he will turn his life around, start going to AA meetings, and try to find work.  His attire, compliments of the Goodwill store, have him in a cheap suit and a yellow tie, and on his journey to AA he is lost, manages to walk into the mayor’s office, by mistake, and is mistaken for that person that Newsom was going to send.

There are moments of magic in Israel López Reyes play moving from sophisticated dialogue through the course of family relationships, and finally the darkened noir that The Latino Theatre Company is famous for. There is a slight tribute to Nicolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector, the underpinnings and manipulations of an overzealous governmental reach all in the name of wanting more. The beautiful dialogue rings an emphatic truth that strikes chords in today’s everyday political life.

Geoffrey Rivas, director, gives us everything one usually sees in a LATC production, a spiritual life, a lyrical one, a non sensical extravaganza, and familial one but, at times, the production felt like three different plays rather than having the one strong through line, the comprehensive want of every single character that works seamlessly throughout the play to reach the director’s desired conclusion.  The political plan lacks focus that does not move the characters in a justifiable direction to reach that goal.  

Naytheless, sometimes the movements on stage are like a ballet with actors making transitions of time and place by moving twelve-foot walls at various angles to form a new time and a new space - compliment of Maureen Weiss’ beautiful Scenic Design. And with those movements the Projection Design by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh solidifies the place with a solid presentation.

Claire Fraser Walsh’s work as the Costume Designer was very colorful and made everyone look good for the period. John A. Garofalo, Lighting Design, had the night very noir, and made the night of time and place very accessible.

John Zalewski, Sound Design, gives the place and the night an edge and always works wonders on this stage.   

Well into the run, the actors in this production are a bit of a mixed bag with a kaleidoscope of various acting styles contributing to the whole of the production. There is a family drama.  There is a political perspective with actors behaving as though they were in a semi-madcap farce.  Then there is an actor that performs in a way reminiscent of commedia dell’arte moving away from a structured reality, or a representation the director might have first envisioned.     

Xavi Moreno as Juan Perez gets progressively better with each performance at The Latino Theatre Company. He has created a strong character life confused by the elements of his existence trying to understand the events that are thrust upon him. He falls into place guided by the actions of others around him until he can set the tone for himself and that leads him farther down the rabbit hole so far that it’s almost impossible to pull himself up.

Esperanza America does well as Wendy Perez, a twin to Juan Perez, their relationship plays well together. Wendy is a bit righteous in her activist duties but at some point, must recognize that her actions are not helping her, her brother, or her son. Still a performance that rings true.

Randy Vasquez looks the part of small-town Mayor Alvarado with patent leather shoes, a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  Alvarado, is not too smart, has convinced the voters, that he served his country proudly in the military and therefore deserves to be Mayor of Norwalk.  But even in a little community, banning the homeless in Norwalk, California is just bad form. Vasquez gets to sing in this play, and his voice was outstanding. Missing is what the character wants, a bigger political future, the girl, or a bag of money in small, unmarked bills.

Ruth Livier is Nancy Juarez, a character angry about something, needing something, wanting something but one could not grasp this character who didn’t move in a direction of support, personal initiative, or an objective that moves the character forward.  Livier has a good voice, a nice look, and has been better in other productions.  One just did not get this character or how the character envisioned herself in a year.

J. Ed Ariza is Alex Ayala an idea giver, but not an implementor. He shimmies around city hall hoping to come up with that one big idea that leads this political team to grandeur. Not a bad performance but could have gotten a lot more mileage from the makeup of this character reaching for his objective and never stopping until his goals are implemented or destroyed.

Richard Azurdia as The Law starts the production in the audience seats. Although lit, the voice came from the speakers, and the first part of his performance was lost as eyes were on the stage.   It was the voice of a first-person narrative, voice noir, and hardboiled.  Azurdia had a tan mic coming down from his hat, (Could that have been painted black?) a slight echo, wearing sunglasses at night that conveyed a darkness, possibly defining the intricacies of a corrupt city government.  But this character seemed to come from a different time and place other than a 2024 setting.   As Ricky Ortiz he was very expressive, a stylized character with ingratiating affability trying to find a place for himself and his family and in another production. the performance would have made sense, but this night the action was overkill, too broad, and definitively without a clear objective that benefits him and the path he is making for himself.   Not all was lost as Azurdia has a very good look.  He’s very expressive with huge eyes and maybe this was not the right project for him.

Valerie Rose Vega and Ulysses Montoya were understudies that did not perform on this night.

Other members of the crew are as follows:

Marissa Herrera – Choreographer

Jesus Hurtado – Assistant Scenic Design

Yaesol Jeong – Stage Manager

Alexa Mora - Assistant Stage Manager

Rey Hoffman and Hannah Creighton – Wardrobe Supervisors

May Fei (Congxiao FEI) – Production Manager

The Latino Theater Company is in its 40^th year!  Happy Anniversary! It is a welcoming theatre company and the service there, from top to bottom, is most remarkable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame a New Musical based on the Victor Hugo Novel and Songs from the Disney Film – Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by Peter Parnell

Bimei Flores and CJ Cruz - Photos by Steve Moyer

By Joe Straw

“A jest is always understood in Paris, and, consequently, always applauded.”  The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo

In June 2010 Ojala! by Jennifer Berry was the first show I saw at Casa 0101. The theatre was located on the north side of the street then, basically a store front, a crammed space with folding chairs on a level floor for the audience. The stage was set higher, and the actors squeezed in their performance into that tiny space. Notably, the acting was at a level higher than what is normally seen in smaller theatres. That was then.

It’s been almost 15 years and Casa 0101 has come a long way. And on this night one can only marvel at the beautiful voices in the opening number setting off a cascade of stunning performances in this standing room only production.

Casa 0101 Theater Presents The Hunchback of Notre Dame a New Musical based on the Victor Hugo Novel and songs from the Disney Film, Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by Peter Parnell, directed by Rigo Tejeda and Produced by Emmanuel Deleage in the Gloria Molina Auditorium through December 22, 2024.

Quasimodo (CJ Cruz) was introduced as a normal man, a man without question that could fit in anywhere and at any time in a public forum.  Then, he is fitted with a prosthetic feature that deforms his back. And suddenly the newly painted black on his face gives him the appearance, in the eyes of those who gaze at him, of a wretchedly disfigured man. He is cast aside, hidden in the attic, a stain glassed window among the rafters permeating various light refractions, depending on the time of day, and illuminating the stone-cold grey gargoyles (Jude Monge, Sol Joun, and Kong Vang) in the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Simply put, Quasimodo’s job is to be the bell ringer, to be out of public eye, and out of communal mind. And finally, there is that one someone who is telling his story.  

Stepping back in time Dom Claude Frollo (Jack Bernaz), now a priest, discovered that his brother Jehan (Sammy J. Kohler) has fallen in love and will leave the abbey to make his life. Frollo loves his brother, doesn’t agree with his choice, but sends him off. Later he reunites with Jehan now very sick, his wife has just given birth and has passed away with Jehan soon to follow. Frollo, in grief, decides to take care of Quasimodo but upon looking at him for the first time in horror, he decides to throw him off a high place before having a change of heart.

Quasimodo, older now, has grown tired of speaking (in his imagination) to the gargoyles and wants human contact outside the Cathedral.  In a disguise of sorts, he comes upon an acting troupe headlined by Clopin (Christopher J. Thumé) a wacky physical specimen of a thespian. Quasimodo also finds Esmeralda (Bimei Flores) and has become enchanted with her singing and dancing in the Festival of Fools but both Phoebus (Drew Maidment) and a ubiquitous and sinister Frollo have set their eyes on her as well, with Frollo having unpriestly like thoughts and ideas.

Rigo Tejeda, the director, manages to do well with this “cast of thousands”.  The night moves smoothly along, and the singing is outstanding. The remarkable thing about this production, and especially the performances of this mostly Latino cast is that Casa 0101 has elevated its game to a level nearing the larger production houses and that, in itself, is a remarkable achievement.

Thinking about the overall production one wonders how to elevate the production with a little more creativity. The show is about someone telling a story.  That someone is the character Clopin.  He is the character that relates Quasimodo’s life. He is the observer, the notetaker, the man who remembers everything. In a larger house, he would probably get a spotlight, and the audience would understand that he is ultimately the storyteller. How that translate to stage is the director’s choice with needed input by the actor.

 

L - R CJ Cruz, Jack Bernaz and Sammy J. Kohler

Jack Bernaz play Dom Claude Frollo from top to bottom all encased in his evil, wicked, ways. A promising humanitarian who munched the core of the wicked fruit and that has turned him quite rancid. Bernaz is wonderful in the role and manages to bring an exciting backstory to the character’s life.

The best thing one can say about CJ Cruz’s performance as Quasimodo is his developed relationships on stage with every character.  It is perfection.  Eyes wide open and curious makes for a marvelous performance.

Bimei Flores has a very sultry singing voice as Esmeralda.  Her manner on stage is excellent. Flores is beautiful and mesmerizing, in keeping with the character, but there may be more to add to her objective to give that character strength and a willful intention to do what she needs to do to make her way through the men that want to control her life. 

Sammy J. Kohler does well as Jehan and has a terrific presence on stage. His manner and movement on stage is fluid and his concentration is excellent.

Bomei Flores and Drew Maidment

 

Drew Maidment is terrific as Phoebus a man who truly falls in love with the love of his life.  The Victor Hugo novel describes him as a lustful man, but in the musical, he is a different kind of being. Maidment has a level of concentration that incorporates the two ideas of the man into one character. Whatever he was thinking it worked on so many levels giving Phoebus a rich depth of character.  His performance was marvelous.

Center Christopher J. Thumé

 

Every director’s dream is to have an actor like Christopher J. Thumé as Clopin who will give 150 percent of a physical life to the character.  And there was some wild and wacky stuff going on, on stage. Thumé also has a wonderful voice.

Sol Joun, Jude Monge, and Kong Vang all with wonderful voices did well as the gargoyles but didn’t have fixed places in the rafters of the Cathedral.  They moved around a lot through Quasimodo imagination but seemed more like props rather than gargoyles hanging from the rafters.

A lot of effort went in to make the music as rich and wonderful throughout the night thanks to Gabrielle Maldonado the musical director. The members of the choir that made it all possible were Briana Bonilla, Chrissi Erickson, Anthonly Galand, Stormi Raii, Andrea Lare, and Ethan Trejo. Members of the incredible ensemble were Rachel Aspyn, Angelica Orenelas, Alyssa Rojas, Kong Vang and Dian Yu. André Heimos has a grand stage presence that radiates throughout his performance. 

Marco De Leôn, Set Designer, created a beautiful multi-level set that worked in so many ways and for the actors to create their magic with the help of Lorenzo Tambriz, set builder, and Jeremiah Ocañas and Victor Calderon as set building assistants.

Alejando Lechuga, Costume Designer, performed miracles to create a time and a place for this lavish production with the help of Maia Melendez, Wardrobe Supervisor and Costume Assistant.

Alejandro Parra’s work as Lighting Designer worked on many levels.

Tania Possick’s work as Choreographer kept the action moving through song and dance and was exceptional in many numbers.

Other members of this crew are as follows:

Abel Alvarado – Associate Producer

Joaquín Madrid Larrañaga – Stage Manager

Lorena Marisol Ortega – Prop Master

Steve Moyer – Public Relations

Doreen Sanchez – Assistant Stage Manager

Mark Kraus – Development Director

Oscar Basulto – Box Office Manager

Jorge Villanueva – Facilities Manager

Itzel Ocampo – Graphic Designer/Prop Assistant

Eddie Padilla – Casting Director

Al Aguilar – Production Assistant

Christopher Martinez – Production Assistant

Ellen Arroyo – Fight Coordinator/Intimacy Coach

This is a very lavish production that everyone should see but if you cannot a donation is always welcomed to support all the things they do at www.casa0101.org/support-us. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is playing for one more week.

Tickets:  www.Casa0101.org