Little Women The Broadway Musical by Jason Howland, Allan Knee, and Mindi Dickstein based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

L - R Juliett Rojas, Sophia Joy, Eadric Einbinder, and Taos Pressman

 

 

By Joe Straw

One must take note that on Sunday November 21^st, 2021, at approximately two in the afternoon, the blistering sun was unforgiving on our stroll from the Venice Family Clinic parking lot, which by the way, has an abundant amount of free parking on Sundays, to sally forth to the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica.

 

Outside, the affable crew was checking for our vaccination status, stamping our left hand with unidentifiable red marks, along with checking our identifications. Easily, retrieving our tickets we escaped the heat as we entered the nice cool confines of rustic The Morgan-Wixson Theatre.

 

In my life, or maybe my past lives, I have visited this theatre before.  It is still beautiful with a large stage, very cool, and comfortable seating for two hundred souls. It is the perfect place to see a musical and that is what we did on this pleasant afternoon.

 

The Morgan-Wixson Theatre’s Youth Education/Entertainment Series (Y.E.S.) proudly present its 25^th Annual Youth Musical Little Women the Broadway Musical, Music by Jason Howland, Book by Allan Knee, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott through November 28^th, 2021. Directed by Anne Gesling and produced by Cori Goldberg, Eve Keller, and Evelyn Vizzi.

 

Children’s musical theatre has its ups and downs.  One goes hoping for the best but expecting a limited number of incalculable mistakes as part of the “growing up on stage” one has to do as young performers negotiate their craft.  I saw no mistakes on this afternoon.

 

Little Women The Broadway Musical was remarkable in all the ways that make musicals fantastic to watch and to absorb in its entirety. The young performers were excellent in their craft, conflicts were realized, relationships were superb, and the singing, oh the singing! This was an absolute joy to watch and with all theatre the significant moments in this production were all realized. And these are the moments one personally takes home and relishes throughout the following days.  

 

The story begins in Mrs. Kirk’s boarding house. Jo March (Eadric Einbinder) is having problems having any publisher buy her “blood and guts” periodicals, which are the rage in this 1860s setting.  She employs Professor Baher (Cole Kaller), also living in there, to listen to her story as she performs it for him.

 

And magically the players Clarissa (Abby Penny), Braxton (Filip Alexander) and Rodrigo (Ethan Kuwata) appear in an overly dramatic melodrama that Jo has created.

 

Professor Baher, a focused simpleton, is not amused and suggests that her work is not very good.

 

Jo, filled with drive, continues on her quest to writing a better story but for now her life continues with her mother Marmee (Monty Oxman) and her sisters Meg (Sophia Joy), Beth (Bo-Violet) and Amy (Mimi Vizzi) all negotiate life without their father who is so far removed, working as a Chaplain for the Northern Army.  

 

It is necessary to note that the March family is poor and manages only to get by on their wits and their willingness to see the future and all that it holds for them. But for now they manage to get by, by any means necessary including chopping down and stealing a Christmas tree, they cannot afford to buy, from their rich neighbor Mr. Lawrence (Charli Austin).

 

Mr. Lawrence, along with his grandson Laurie (Taos Pressman) tagging along, comes to scold the thieves who have stolen his tree.  But Laurie immediately falls in love with Jo and Mr. Lawrence takes a fancy to Beth who steals his heart with her piano playing and singing.

 

Jo eventually finds her way in life and finishes the book she was born to write.

 

Anne Gesling, the director, retiring after 25 years at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre has created a wonderful work of art. From beginning to end the work captures you and envelops your entire being with heartbreaking moments and moments that will make you howl with laughter.  The characters, all teenagers, are richly developed and wonderfully expressive. In short, this was a wonderful experience that works on so many levels.  Anne was also responsible for the wonderful costumes. Just amazing work!

 

Daniel Koh, Musical Director, had all of the performers readied in their quest to perform beautifully. The voices were strong and it was a pleasure listening to the voices with no discernable mics attached. In short it was a wonderful job.

 

Michael J. Marchak, Choreographer, gave a delightful look and feeling of those times.  The dancing was marvelous and the merriment was infectious.

 

Marc Antonio Pritchette, Fight Choreographer, prepared the actors in some wonderfully expressive fight scenes.

 

William Wilday wore many hats for the lighting design, set design, and technical director. Larry Gesling’s work as the stage manager was also impressive.

 

L - R Sophia Joy, Walden Sullivan, Charli Austin, Juliett Rojas

 

 

The remarkable thing about Charli Austin’s work as Mr. Laurence is her creativity in making the role genuine, leaving behind the false character choices of a dawdling grandfather. Wonderful work!

 

Lilliana Bettinelli was exceptional as the disruptive Amy March.

 

Eadric Einbinder is lovely as Jo March a woman who creates dreams from the smallest of inspirations.  Einbinder’s voice is lovely and his manner on stage is exceptional.

 

Sophia Joy as Meg March, the oldest sister, manages her way and is funny and delightful throughout. Her voice is very strong hitting the high notes with ease and her acting skills are formidable.

 

Cole Kaller is impressive as German professor Bhaer.  As stodgy as professor Bhaer can be, there can be more made of his love for Jo March, finding it in the beginning until the very end. Still, his work is solid.

 

Monty Oxman is stoic as Marmee March, the matriarch of the family. Oxman manages to find that thing in the character that makes her expressive as the mother of four daughters. The scene with cap sleeves with Meg works wonderfully as well as the patch on Jo’s dress.  It is funny and impressive work.

 

Abby Penny bounces in and out of stage as Aunt March, a somewhat mean spirited woman that wants to control the things around her, including her nieces.  Her actions showcase a different kind of love from her being.

 

Taos Pressman as Laurie is a young man wanting the woman of his dreams only to be confused as to who the woman of his dreams really is.  It is a role of confusion, of wanting so much from a woman who does not reciprocate his love.

 

Bo-Violet Vig was wonderful as sympathetic Beth March and has a very strong stage presence.  Her song “Off to Massachusetts” pulled on some very emotional heartstrings.

 

Walden Sullivan is impressive as John Brooke, a suitor to Meg March.  The small talk to Meg scene was very funny and very real.

 

Other members in The Operatic Tragedy were Avery Fox (Hag), Sarah Hajmomenian (Troll), Kheian Washington (Knight) and Juliette Rojas (Rodrigo II).

 

And still other member of this troupe who were either in the ensemble or did not perform the day I was there are as follows:  Filip Alexander (John Brooke), Maria Goldberg (Aunt March), Chase Klein (Jo March), Emily OckoMichalak (Marmee March), Yaya Toubassy (Meg March), Juliett Rojas Vig (Beth), and Mimi Vizzi (Amy March).

 

It takes a village or in this case an army to create a production as fantastic as this one. One has seen a lot of children’s theatre in the past and by far this has to be one of the best!  

 

Run! Run! Run!  There are only three more performances!  Take someone who loves the book Little Women and enjoy it all over again.

 

Other members of this delightful crew are as follows:

 

Christopher Aruffo – Dialect Coach

Ethan Kuwata – Assistant Stage Manager

Mira Keller – Youth Producer

Ever Golden – Sound Technician

Lauren Drzata – Poster/Postcard Design, Program Design

Carter Nowak – Box Office Manager

 

Box Office: 310-828-7519

Website: www.morgan-Wixson.org

 

Morgan Wixson Theatre

2627 Pico Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA  90405

A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally

Clockwise Top to Bottom: Mueen Jahan, Cameron Gregg, Kathleen Gray, Mary Allwright, Photos Dennis Stover

 

 

by Joe Straw

 

“She was no longer examining life, but being examined by it; she had become a real person.”
― E.M. Forster, A Passage to India

 

Dictionary.com defines Ganesh as “the Hindu god of prophecy, represented as having an elephant’s head.” Also spelled Ganesha. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles.

 

Campus Cabaret presents A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally and directed by David W. Callander now playing at The Pico.

 

Finding a perfect Ganesh, the elephant looking creature with four arms, to give away as a gift, one comes to the realization that perfection comes in a limited form or simply doesn’t exist.

 

It’s difficult to comprehend all that one sees in one viewing, where the characters are, what they are feeling, and how they move on in life.  The first impression, always a good one, is that the play has a marvelous cast moving in a way that is satisfying, and ambivalent enough that leaves one thinking long after one has left the theatre.

 

The play starts with an India dance. Svetlana Tulasi (Dancer #1), an Indian Kathak dancer (Northern India) that introduces the audience with a story, possibly a story about travel and the imperfect ways getting to the final destination. And, for every turn in the dance there is a return. Symbolically the dance guides the audience into full immersion of the experience that is India.   

 

Margaret (Mary Allwright) and Katharine (Kathleen Gray) are the best of friends from Connecticut who are to embark on a journey to India. Margaret is cantankerous and Kathleen is wide-eyed with optimism and opened to whatever may come. They have decided to leave their husbands at home, forego the annual trip to the Caribbean, and embark on an eye-opening journey to a place they have never been.

 

Their lives and their friendship will never be the same.

 

Margaret is a rules follower.  She believes that things should only go her way and behaves in the manner that white colonialism still rules. 

 

And that happens from the moment she arrives at the terminal until the check-in with the attendant (Cameron Gregg). The attendant looks at his computer and has discovered that both women are not schedule to depart on this particular flight.

 

The beginning of this trip foreshadows the many obstacles they are to overcome.

 

The first obstacle overcome, with the help of Ganesha (Mueen Jahan), gets our travelers bumped up to first class. Ganesh mysteriously appears to remove obstacles in the lives of the travelers Margaret and Katharine. He also appears in various forms to help the two women in their journey, through to their final quest to see the Taj Mahal.

 

But, immersed in the mystical land, the two women find themselves answering questions about their own lives. Both women are fighting demons of lost sons. Katharine’s son Walter (Judd Yort) was the victim of gay bashing and she has vowed to come to India to kiss a leper as a way of dealing with the loss of her son. Margaret holds her son, a victim of a car accident, close to her chest along with the lump she has just discovered. They come to India to receive more than they can offer.   

 

Campus Cabaret has cast a very strong ensemble and, there’s no mistaken, A Perfect Ganesh works under the helm of David W. Callander, the director, who I observed, was still taking copious notes during the first act. The scenes at night are layered in darkness.  The characters with, AIDs, the lepers, the lump in the breast scene, and the gay son after his brutalization all happen at night suggesting a deep intimacy.  The moments are meticulous and the play is fluid. Callander does a wonderful job.

 

Svetlana Tulasi, Pavia Sidhu

 

 

Mary Allwright’s character grows on you, finding out what this woman is all about, her temporary mood of repugnance, is part of the joy of loving the character.  Her performance is terrific.

 

Delio Eswar has multiple roles and is fantastic in each. His jocular expressions place us in India.   Did I see a head wobble?

 

Kathleen Gray delights as Katharine.  There seems to be more to find in the kiss or non-kiss of the leper, why she has come so far with one intention in mind only to second guess her commitment?  Her choice is very interesting.  

 

Cameron Gregg does yeomen’s work in a variety of character and excels in each character.

 

Mueen Jahan plays Ganesh.  His work is excellent not only in this character but the other characters he portrays, including a Japanese woman. Ganesh seems to inhabit other beings to solve a problem and he does that throughout.

 

Svetlana Tulasi is also delightful in the many character she portrays including Dancer #1.

 

Judd Yort is Walter, a sympathetic character that enters covered in blood and bruises.  Walter is imagined and his imagined self sees a lot of fault with his mother mostly accepting who he was. Yort’s performance is nuanced and exciting.

 

Pavia Sidhu is Dancer #2.  She did not dance this night.

 

Scenic Design by David Goldstein is minimalistic, mostly symbolic, and keeps us in the moment throughout.

 

Costume Design by Michael Mullen is superior.  There were a number of costumes and many changes backstage for all to come in as the same character or different characters. Hair/Wig/Makeup/Mask Design by Byron Baptista was also superior.

 

One rarely hears, or pays attention to the sound elements created in smaller theatre but David B. Marling’s sound design was fantastic, meticulously designed, and added another flavor to the action on stage. Kamini Natarajan wrote the Original Score to the play.

 

Terrence McNally’s work can be left open to interpretation.  First produced in 1993 the work is grand with multiple relationships to be discovered and uncovered. Katharine is the explorer, the one who wants go out and find new and exciting things both in the living and, through her imagination, the dead. Margaret is introspective but deals with life in the present, exploring herself, her body and people around her. People are focused on their own lives with eyes half shut; they don’t see the entirety of life around them.

 

Other members of the crew are as follow:

 

Brandon Barush – Lighting Design

Kassy Menke – Production State Manager

Racquel Lehrman – Theatre Planers Marketing

Philip Sokoloff – Theatrical Publicist

Anne Borrell – Graphic Design for Print and Web

 

Run!  Run! And take someone who has a desire to go to India, or someone who has already been.

 

The Pico

10508 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA  90064

(Formerly the Pico Playhouse)

 

Reservations:  http://onstage411.com/ganesh