Jamaica, Farewell by Debra Ehrhardt

Call. Make your reservation. Get to the Santa Monica Playhouse and see the enchanting one woman show “Jamaica Farewell” written by and starring Debra Ehrhardt.

There is no set, just a black box, a podium and two apple boxes warmed up by the Jamaican music softly playing in rhythm like shallow waves on white sandy beaches and rustling petals on beautiful flowers. It sounds like something you want to get to but in this production the heroine has other plans.

And so it goes that Ehrhardt enters slowly treating us to life on Jamaica. Painting a picture so unique she takes on color and slowly surrounds the stage with the vibrant Jamaican characters of her youth.

Debra’s only dream was to go to American and as dreams often do it becomes an overriding force in her life. Never losing sight of the ultimate goal, America, a land where there are "Baby Ruth’s as far as the eye can see". And "café mocha's with everything on it" are on every corner.

But life has a way of laying extreme obstacles in the most expected places. I mean, it’s Jamaica man.
First as young girl in a private school, her dreams suddenly come crashing down when her alcoholic gambling father loses their home and their furniture. This action sends Debra and her religious mother into a life of poverty. Her mother, clinging to religious convictions, becomes the cornerstone of Debra’s life.

In a never ending quest to leave the island, Debra tries to depart to study nursing abroad only to have her dream unrealized when they reject her for being too poor. So she sort of takes a vow of poverty, dresses in nuns garb (sewn by her mother) and tries to flee only to be rejected again.

The play takes a 360 degree turn dealing with the description of political unrest on the island. With assasinations here and there Debra manages to stay alive during the fracas until she finds an American with which to pursue her dream only to find he's CIA. No matter, she's young, attractive, and an opportunist to boot.

With eyes and ears wide open Debra manages to listen in on her bosses conversation about "getting a million dollars out of the country" and with the CIA agent as her friend she convinces her boss that if he can "get her a visa" she might be able to pull this one off.

A dream can sometimes hit a roadblock with so much complexity and unendurable conflict as to stop the strong of heart dead in their tracks and so it happens with Debra. Will she live her dream or spend 20 years in prison?

The director, Francis Megahy, manages to take us on a roller coaster ride until we are engulfed in the story and brought to a point that we let out a collective cheer when Debra achieves the dream of her life.

Hollywood is made up of the dreamers and the visualists reaching, struggling, and pursuing that which may be unreachable. When "it" happens it's a beautiful thing. The sold out house got "it" this night. They stood, they clapped and they jumped up and down for an exciting exhilarating ride, and a breathtaking view of the Island of Jamaica.

Crime & Punishment

By Joe Straw 

How is it that you can turn 500-page novel into an abbreviated 90-minute play with no intermission? Crime and Punishment by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Colombus wishes you to brood darkly over that question. And they want an answer!

The play, based of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s towering masterpiece of the same name, is presented by A Noise Within in Glendale, California and directed by Craig Belknap.

Crime and Punishment, the play, can best be described as journey into the world of interrogation.

The play is set in St. Petersburg, Russia, circa 1866, in the multi-level apartment building of an intelligent and very hungry student, Raskolnikov (Michael A. Newcomer). He is under investigation for murdering an unprincipled pawnbroker and her unwitting sister (both played by Holly Hawkins).

Porfiry (Robertson Dean), the examining magistrate, is leading the investigation.

This play is about Porfiry’s mastery of the art of interrogation and this investigation has many layers. Porfiry is communicating with a purpose, understanding the underbelly of the crime, the motives behind it, and in the process getting the slip of the tongue. We are here to see the art of interrogation and subsequently the arrest of the guilty.

Porfiry interrogates Raskolnikov because of his close proximity to the murder victims, his published essay on Crime, and besides Porfiry has eliminated all the other suspects. Raskolnikov thinks he can outwit Porfiry because of his superior intellect. It is the talk of a madman and Porfiry is having none of it.

Porfiry takes the moral high ground the moment he walks into the room, note pad opened (odd that there appeared to be no notes taken) in a non-aggressive style remarked by Raskolnikov as a “usual ploy”.

Murder has an effect on the most callous of minds and Raskolnikov is no exception, contrary to his belief. Watching the unforgettable last breath of someone dying haunts his pictorial mind and is played repeatedly. An image, conjured up in anxiety filled moments of frenzy, ravages his physical life and slowly madness creeps into the psyche of his sleep and in the waking moments of his life.

This play has three actors and filling out the roles of Sonia, a prostitute, Alyona, a pawnbroker, and Raskolnikov’s mother is Holly Hawkins. A subtle change in costumes indicating a change in roles was unsatisfying.

The three actors were magnificent but on this particular day the cat and mouse play had the opposite effect. No points were scored and the players were left exhausted trying to connect with themselves and the audience. This was a battle that seemed to have no winners or losers, a struggle for events and life altering momentum played out on a grand scale with minimum effect.

All is not lost here. Notes, a slight change, and a little humor from Newcomer will add to their journey.

The dialogue from Campbell and Colombus seemed to be lifted directly off the pages of the book. It is sharp and witty but but missing are the daggers that strikes into the heart of the recipient that are not supplied by the actors but should be noted by the director, Belknap.

Noise Within is located near the mall in Glendale. This is a wonderful Equity space for its yearlong repertory company. The theatre stretches four stories into the Glendale sky imploring patrons to come inside and marvel for a couple of hours. A Noise Within is schedule to break new ground in a $15 million dollar facility to be built next year.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky knew something about crime and punishment having been arrested, interrogate and almost shot by a firing squad before his release.

Runs Through December 17^th 2009

A Noise Within, 234 South Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91204

Reservations: 818-240-0910 x1

Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

Three Sisters Don’t Get to Moscow

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Circus Theatricals present Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters directed by Jack Stehlin. The producers, Ron Sossi and Jeannine W. Stehlin, have given Los Angeles a wonderful production of Three Sisters with Zale Morris creative costumes, hair and makeup, and nicely set for the period. There are moments of theatrical brilliance (more on that later) but those moments are few and far between as these three sisters don’t get to Moscow, nor do they even try.

Which is not to say that all is lost because it isn’t. Hope springs eternal. Stanislavski was known to rehearse a Chekhov production for a year before he presented it to an audience. Sadly, the Odyssey and Circus Theatrical cannot afford that luxury.

The play opens with with our three sisters: Olga (Vanessa Waters), Irina (Murielle Zucker) and Masha (Susan Ziegler) one year after the death of their father. Olga tells us they left Moscow eleven years ago “and I wanted so much to go back home.” And so starts our journey of getting back to Moscow, the overriding focus of our play and the reason for our being.

The three sisters are a dispirited bunch that believes the answers to their problems lies in Moscow, where the flowers are brighter, the skies clearer and the people vibrant and sophisticated, where an intelligent woman can mingle in anonimity or can pursue their fantasy of marrying a young vibrant Moscovite

Masha, constantly dressed in black, is the only one of the three sister married. It is a loveless marriage to Kulygin (Alexander Wells) who walks around most of the day wondering the whereabouts of his free spirited wife. Olga is the 28-year-old spinster who one day hopes to marry anyone who would ask her. Irina is their lovely little sister who wants to meet a man in Moscow and marry him and ignores the suitors visiting on a daily basis.

The play begins with the celebration of Irina’s name day by inviting the local military officers: Baron Tuzenback (Jonah Bay), Solyony (Garrett McKechnie), Colonel Vershinin (Tom Groenwald), Fedotik (Alan Wells), Rode (Jace McLean), along with renter and family friend Doctor Chebutykin (Thomas Kopache).

Also invited to the party is Natasha (Cameron Meyer) a commoner and fiancée to Andrey Prozorov, the intellectual gambling brother to the three sisters. Andrey invites Natasha to become his wife at the end of act one. In act two Natasha tries to take over the household and has also has an affair with Andreys’ boss. Natasha seems angry in all her endeavors and does not take delight in her marriage, her child, or her affair but she does supply this production with a much needed boost.

Andrey (Sheldon), the gambling brother, shows us no sign of his addiction on stage. Solyony (McKechnie) gives us no hint that he wants to kill Tuzenback (Bay) for taking Irina away from him. Vershinin cares little or nothing about his family and cares nothing about Masha. His job as a soldier is about conquest and he will leave without question or thought to anyone.

As in all militaries around the world there is a hierarchy but this particular production has the Colonel, Captain, and Lieutenant as equals and their relationship doesn't suggest a difference in rank. There is also something to be said about an officer wearing a uniform on stage, boots should be polished, shoulders up, chest out, and the man should fill out the uniform with pride.

Theatre can be a grand mixture of realism and fantasy. Jack Stehlin, the director, provides us with two moments of inexplicable joy. Those are when Fedotik takes the picture at the dinner table and later in the fourth act when the cast introduces us to fall and the outdoor setting. This is an extremely hard working cast in need a few additional elements.

There were two exceptional actors on stage, Ronald Hunter, the janitor Ferapont, and Shannon Welles, the Prozorovs’ eighty-year-old nurse, Anfisa. Their execution is flawless and stunning to watch. Well worth the price of admission.

Also, major pieces of the play are missing that would explain the ending and give the audience a stronger emotional commitment. This play requires an emotional commitment from each actor as well as a strong physical life. The actors seemed so far away from each other there was no emotional or physical relationship. And there was no weight given to changes in their relationships. Moments passed like soldiers in opposing trenches.

Through November 8, 2009

Reservations: 310-477-2055

Looking for Normal by Jane Anderson

There comes a time in all families where an event shakes a family to its core. An event that is so painful everyone in that family goes into survival mode. This is a drama about the heart of ordinary people tested to do extra-ordinary things in order to survive first as individuals then as a family. “Looking For Normal” written by Jane Anderson, directed by Diane Carroll and produced by the Malibu Stage Company is that kind of play.

In a chapel, somewhere in Ohio, composed of everyday folks that live and work in a John Deere factory town, Irma (Nancy Little) drags her husband Roy (Will Carney) to see the Reverend Muncie (Jimmy Hall) to talk about the problems they are having in their 25-year marriage.

Roy, very uncomfortable, has his wife leave the room and tells the Reverend that he is a woman in a man’s body. His desire is to become a woman to relieve his emotional and physical agony. It is a very uncomfortable moment that requires the Reverend to desperately search for the perfect scriptures. When that is not successful they bring in Irma and drop the bombshell.

From this moment on the strains of their relationship are visible, the non-eye contact, the proverbial iceberg between them and self-loathing. Irma doesn’t want Roy to touch him. She tells him to sleep on the couch and later to get out of the house. Add to this Irma is menopausal and their daughter Patty Ann (Hailey Hoffman) is reaching puberty and with all that going on you’ve got a heck of a time in this family.

Roy’s dilemma is to break the news to each member of the family including his son Wayne (J. Walter Holland), his mother Em (Margott Rifenbark) and his father Roy Senior (Howard Ferguson-Woitzman). He does this by writing letters rather than a face-to-face meeting.

Roy’s motives are clear for his happiness but he also wants life to return to normal. He doesn’t want to leave his wife and kids. He doesn’t want to leave his job and he knows this is a cross that others will bear as well. But he has crossed a threshold from which things can never be normal.

In the blink of an eye, and at the moment of Roy’s executed thought of expression, his relationships are forever altered. Irma is no longer a traditional wife. The daughter gains a new girlfriend. The son loses his drinking companion and Roy’s father loses him mind.

There is an interesting element about this play. The play sidesteps into various informative monologues about the female body and male body using graphs, charts, a plastic model and a banana with two tangerines (you get the picture). It is a note about shared physical tangibles we all have. If we are looking for normal there is where we will find it. Beyond that nothing is normal.

I can’t say enough about the actors in this production. This ensemble was terrific. Special kudos goes to Howard Ferguson-Woitzman as Roy Senior who gave an amazing awe-inspiring performance.

Brian Pietro was exceptional as Frank, Roy’s lonely boss. And now that Roy has gone transgender Frank tries to muscle in on Irma but hasn’t got the gravitas or chemistry to make that happen.

Also, Roy’s grandmother Ruth wonderfully played by Nathalie Blossom dressed in male garb comes back to tell us why she was the way she was and why she did what she did giving the audience an idea of her responsibility for all of this mess.

The uneasiness felt throughout the play was the result of Diane Carroll’s grasp of the complexities of this event, complexities in the relationships, and structuring it to its final conclusion.

There were a few opening night jitters but overall the play was successful on many fronts.

Breaking and Entering by Colin Mitchell

By Joe Straw

Recently, about a week before my mother died, I had tried to get a truth out of her and, sadly, it was not forthcoming. Maybe it was the distance, or the fact we were on the telephone speaking in hushed tones saying things about a subject matter so uncomfortable that she could not give me an answer. Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills is putting on a grand production of the world premiere play of Colin Mitchell’s Breaking and Entering directed by Mark L. Taylor. This is a story about truth, the extrication of the truth and the consequences as a result from learning the truth.

The story takes place in the home of a world-renowned novelist Wallace J. Trumbull (Steven Shaw) in upstate New York early November. Fifty years ago he had written a masterpiece that made him famous. And then he was done.

Wallace, in his office, is in a self-imposed seclusion. Typing on his Smith Corona typewriter he extracts another unsuccessful attempt at luminosity, crumples the page, and adds them to the other pages that litter his floor. But, his 50-year effort to write another brilliant novel tonight is conveniently interrupted by something more important, the World Series.

It is the night of the seventh game of the World Series between the marquee match up of Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. In the booth are Jack (Christopher Gherman) and guest host Bob (Lary Ohlson) a huge fan of Trumbull when as bad luck would have it the power goes out.

As Wallace leaves the room to retrieve a light source an intruder breaks into his home. Her name is Milly (Meredith Bishop) and she is Wallace’s biggest fan. Also, she has written a 700-page masterpiece and wants Trumbull to read it. In fact she won’t leave until he has made assurances that it will be read. And she needs to ask him some questions that demand to be answered.

But, there is more to the story than that of the obsessed fan. It is a story of a lifetime obsession across many generations. It is a night of truths, lies, death and destruction. The night is an important one as intense as a 3-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the scored tied.

Shaw as Trumbull takes us on a methodical journey of fabrication and treachery. He is a fly caught in a web of deception waiting for the moment of truth. And when the truth comes he suddenly grows fangs. He is engaging and magnificent.

Bishop as Milly is as dangerous as she is delightful. She is coy, cunning and manipulative. Her safely hidden objective becomes apparent as she pounces on Trumbull’s deceitful answers. To give away that truth early in the first act would give away everything.

Ohlson and Gehrman as the sportscasters did a magnificent job but the baseball analogy eludes me. It confuses the action on stage, takes away from the moments, and I’m sure there’s more here than meets the eye.

Mark L. Taylor’s direction gives us a fascinating look at the quest for truth, which in turns asks the question “You may have sympathy for the devil, but can you identify the devil? ” Plainly his focus is on the intimate moments, the long pause, the silence that changes the direction of the characters lives and he does this beautifully.

Colin Mitchell writes a play that is almost impossible to believe. It is an extrication of the truth from generations of lies. It is a tale of a possible improbability. And yet, this is an extremely satisfying play. Colin crafts a richly textured play. It is humorous and frightening, delightful and stunning, as well as poignant and forgiving.

Wonderfully produced by David Hunt Stafford with a very nice set design by Jeff G. Rack.

Theatre 40 is a wonderful theatre that has been around for over 40 years. It has it home on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. The support group is fantastic and the parking is free.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

By Joe Straw 


“Our Town” written by Thornton Wilder produced by The Actors Gang in Culver City is a stunning production!


Directed by Justin Zsebe, this rich and exciting production is imaginative, detailed and so meticulous in action that Zsebe leaves no stone unturned.


One need not look any further than Culver City, your backyard, to find one of the most professional productions of “Our Town” presented anywhere. If you have not seen this show, go! And if you have seen it you will be surprised by a new interpretation by this accomplished cast and crew.


The acting was superb! Vanessa Mizzone (Emily Webb) is wonderful and brings forth the emotional energy from that period. Chris Schultz (George Gibbs) take us on his journey that is hard to forget. Scott Harris is outstanding as Professor Willard and equally good in other supporting roles. Barry O' Neil brings everything to the table as another great supporting player. Just the little touches that bring a warmth and humor to the characters. Very imaginative.


Pierre Adeli as the milkman Howie Newsom appears to bring a horse on stage and has an interesting relationship with Mrs Gibbs (Annemette Andersen) than with her counterpart Mrs Webb (Lindsley Allen). All were fun to watch.
It's not hard to see the actors in this production putting in major effort and energy to make this a spectacular show. Hats off to Seth Compton (Wally Webb) April Fitzsimmons (Mrs Soames) Nathan Kornelis (Dr. Gibbs) and Andrew E. Wheeler (Mr. Webb) for bringing an undeniable truth to this production.


Katie Malia as Rebecca Gibbs does something I don't think I've ever seen in a production of "Our Town."


Brian Kimmet does a nice comedic turn as Simon Stimson, a man with a "problem". It is a pity no one takes the time to help him.


And Steven M. Porter as the Stage Manager was so at ease in this role one would think he was made to play this role. His colorful guidance led us from birth to love to death magnificently.


Meticulous in details and craft, The Actors Gang members were seen in the wings, giving support to members on stage with sound effects, milk bottle sounds, horse walks, baseball, and chickens sounds. All the more enjoyable.

This production is engaging from start to finish.

Life starts small and what better place to start than in Grover Corner New Hampshire the setting of our play. We arrive, we live, we die and those are without question the highlights of our lives. But there’s much more here than what meets the eye. Because even in our mundane moments we go about life missing the moments we should be celebrating… because life is a celebration.


Suzanne Scott did a remarkable job as costume designer. It is a traditional interpretation with costumes from the period.


The crew includes rigger Adam Jefferies who has done a astonishing job with the stunning eye opening third act. It is an achievement that is not to be missed. The Ivy Substation is a grand equity waiver theatre and has enough room to accomplish these feats.

Going back home to "Our Town" after being away has a rejuvenation effect. It restores, like a breath of fresh air, the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. And although you want to absorb all that is around you, in the end you must move on. "Our Town" wants you to see the moments.

Performances: May 2 - June 6

Nights of Noir by Kasey Wilson

By Joe Straw

Psst. Come here. I got something to tell you. 

It all started when this dick woke up in his shabby office, hung over from something he drank but can't remember, and then some dame, with gorgeous gams, dances to his desk and into his life.  

She wasn't an ordinary dame. She's the kind of dame that would make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. If you get my allegory.

So this is the story is about this dick, and this dame, or this dame and a dick, and this other dame. well, you get the picture. 

Some of theses folks are decent, but others, well I wouldn’t let my flea-ridden cat sit in their lap, for the fear that my cat would catch something.  

Don’t stray too far ‘cause this one is a lulu.

You see, there’s this place, the Attic Theatre here in Culver City.  They are showing Nights of Noir! written and directed by this dame, Kasey Wilson. She goes by another name too, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Okay twist my arm, it’s Honey Ima Home. She is da host with da most.

“She was worth a stare. She was trouble.” – The Big Sleep.

Scott Gerard plays detective Bolt. And he is frisking the underbelly of civilized life here in Los Angeles. Or may be they are frisking him, much to his enjoyment.  Anyway, they come to him with all their mixed up problems. And they do this in two one act plays, Marked for Love and Of Dicks and Dames.

The first one, Marked for Love, is about finding some family jewels. It features a cast of characters that will either nauseate you or break you heart. And unsavory dames galore! 

“I know you like a book, ya little tramp. You’d sell your mother for a piece of fudge.” – The Killing.

Megan Evanich as Dottie/Tootie is the secretary. Her love for Bolt, her boss, knows no bounds. Elizabeth V. Newman, a rich classy dame with bucks, as Vivian starts the ball rolling with wanting to have Bolt find the jewels. Rachel Kanouse as Magritte, a bartender in love with Bolt is a remarkable actress who looks likes she stepped from this time period onto this set. Mike Park, as police officer Hank Sergeant is lost from beginning to end, or maybe it's his character. Drew Droege as the The Thin Guy, is so thin he disappears when turning sideways. He is always out of place. John Szura plays his boss.

If you are a fan of Noir, there's a lot of nice things here.

"What do you want, Joe, my life history. Here it is in four words: big ideas, small results." - Clash By Night

Of Dicks and Dames is the name of the second act. It features Scott Gerard as Bolt again in another hair raising episode. Jan Pessin as Viola Shylock gives an amazing performance. Eric Charles Jorgenson as Albee A. Monkeysuncle looks like Brad Pitt doing a Peter Lorre imitation. Amie Donegan as Ima Monkeysuncle. Megan Evanich is Tootie, Drew Droege as Bartholomew Slotz and Elizabeth V. Newman as Vivian. Mike Park is Hank Sergeant out of uniform and in a robe giving valuable information.

During the one acts is a burlesque show featuring a fan dance ala Sally Rand by the very talented Kasey Wilson who gives instruction on where to run should the police show up.

"Do you fall in love with all of your clients? Only the ones in skirts." - Lady in the Lake

The Attic Theatre and Film Center
5429 W. Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90016