Queen of the Rumba by Josefina Lopez

 

By Joe Straw

 

One has never seen an audience that has been so engaged in a performance of Queen of the Rumba on Saturday September 30, 2023, clapping after every scene, vocal in other scenes, and engaged throughout the night.  Yes, it was a different kind of audience that filled the seats of Casa 0101 on this night.

 

Casa 0101 Theatre presents the world premiere of Queen of the Rumba by Josefina Lopez, directed, and choreographed by Corky Dominguez, and produced by Emmanuel Deleague though October 22, 2023.

 

Age never gives anyone a chance.  You’re bound to be taken by any number of infirmities or accidents if the night doesn’t get you sleeping peacefully. Tonight is not Alicia Parla’s (Paloma Morales) night in this Miami Hospital.  Doctor Sanchez (Sammy Montero) peacefully breaks the news that she has only a short time to live. But Alicia isn’t worried.  She’s 83 years old and takes the news with a peaceful resolve knowing that she has seen and experienced the world.

 

But how much of the world could she have experienced?  

 

Tucked in at night in her hospital bed without medication Alicia hears the cries of a young cancer patient Sofia Manzano (Kenia Romero).  Bothered by her incessant wailing, Alicia promises her that she will tell her the story of her life.  

 

And so, the story begins with the beginning of Young Alicia Parla (Angel Juarez) in school uniform being kicked out of her third Catholic School.  As the family sits down to dinner Alicia’s father Alfonso Parla (Adam Jacobo) contemplates the decision he must make about his daughter’s disruptive actions.  

 

The dinner table is never a good idea to discuss the bad things happening in your life and Carmela Parla (Victoria Tamez) Alicia’s sister can only bow her head to shut off that world and listen to her own private thoughts.

 

 

And Alicia is hardly listening to her father or mother Goretti Parla (Lolita Lazcano) at this point only noticing the servant Rosita Vega (Vivian Marie Lamolli) ladling the contents of her spoon into her bowl in a style and manner that is both mystifying and sensual in manner.

 

Because Alicia has been kicked out of school, her father has decided that she should go to a trade school with her mother to the United States. Later, feeling despondent and wandering behind the house Alicia spies upon Rosita and her friend Moon (Melvin Ward) dancing, rather seductively, before going back into her room to dream about her future endeavors.  

 

 

 

Alicia and her mother Goretti moved to the United States and after finishing a trade school in Miami, moves to New York where Alicia went to try out for the new dancer position as Don Justo (Peter Laboy) watched.  No one liked her moves except Don Justo who felt her talent was raw but manageable.

 

 

 

 

Josefina Lopez wrote Queen of the Rumba as a screenplay as part of her master’s program at UCLA and at times it plays as a screenplay missing the elements that move a play through ambiguity, conflict, and resolution.  That happens mostly in the first act, but the adapted play manages to gather momentum in the second act and takes off making it a delightful undertaking. There may be elements missing in the first act mostly the relationship between the older Alicia and Sofia, the conflict that moves that relationship, and the fairy tale like existence of a tale so unbelievable that it magically transports the parties to important places and times. (One is thinking patterned lights, a swirling bed, and a story, majestically told, transporting her back to her younger self.)

 

Corky Dominguez is a reliable director at Casa 0101 but needs to find a consistent way to move the players from one scene to another without the blackouts and the multiple scene changes. That challenge is to find a creative way to move the play along and to keep the audience engaged. (Audiences are very forgiving of time and place in a theatrical space.) For example, why not have The Prince of Wales (Adam Jacobo) engaged in the ideal setting of his hotel room as his fantasy? Fantasy is an idea that may help move the entire production along, young love, naivety, and the idea that anything can be accomplished through youthful idealism. Details are also critical of a different past, a difference between 1998 and 1932, some actors portraying those characters needed that focus not leaving their 2023 characters.   

 

Paloma Morales is charming as the older Alicia Parla and although the character is dying, she has enough energy to power through her tale throughout the night and into the morning. There is little conflict between the storyteller and the listener and little connection between the young Alicia and the older Alicia. Morales appears to go off in improvisation at times and this is apparent when her voice softens to a barely audible level.  

 

Angel Juarez is impressive as the young Alicia especially in the second act where she dances a rumba dance wearing the Cuban Flag. This role has many elements and levels that can be added to an already terrific performance.  More could be made of her naivete, her willingness to go all out to get what she wants, and the emotional conflict of a promise she made to her mother.  

 

Kenia Romero is the other cancer patient.   This a role that requires someone to listen to a story.  That doesn’t give and actor much to do unless the actor applies a little more creativity and has a stronger objective. She is sick, but that doesn’t mean she is not active and there are multiple opportunities for her to move from her seat. What does she get from the story being told to her? And what is the end result from being in that relationship?  

 

Mauricio Marte plays Marcos, a musician, and has an interesting look. But that look and manner is 2023 and not the year 1936. And his manner is subtle where his desire should be anything but.  There is more room for an emotional commitment, the love factor that tugs on his heartstrings. When everything is playing against the character, the character must play for the things that mean the world to him. Don’t keep everything inside, show us a little something more physically and emotionally. 

 

Lolita Lazcano plays the mother Goretti Parla and is excellent in the role. Goretti wants to live vicariously through her ambitious daughter and gives in to her daughter’s wishes only asking her to make a promise to her and it’s a big one. The relationship between Goretti and her husband may need strengthening in the first act deciding what to do with their daughter. Now, their relationship appears to be a repellent indifference rather than anything resembling love.   Still, Lazcano does a great job.

 

Adam Jacobo plays Alfonso Parla, and obdurate father who runs his family like a ruthless hard-fisted businessman. Everything is for him, and the others work to satisfy his life. Still, we’ve got to see the love element in these relationships! Jacobo also does a nice turn as the Prince of Wales.

 

Peter Laboy plays Don Justo, the bandleader, discovered a new talent who does the Rumba. This character needs a little more authority, in the way he is treated as a bandleader, and in the way he controls his players like the wand he possibly carries. This is another character that should embrace the period and act accordingly.  

 

Vivian Marie Lamolli as Rosita has a very nice presence on stage.  She also has a very engaging dance number on stage as well. She has a significant scene that may be a lesson to Alicia. But, at present, that scene is one that doesn’t teach that lesson and it is a significant moment to contributing to Alicia’s way of thinking.   

 

Melvin Ward has some nice numbers as Moon and the Male Dancer and plays the male orderly, mc, and the club owner. In many ways the dancing reflects the time and is perfect in its execution.

 

Sammy Montero does well as Roberto Nelson, needing a little more conflict in the opening sequence as Dr. Sanchez, and he also plays the producer.

 

Maricella Ibarra is Marina, Mother Superior and the Bald Woman in the cancer ward giving the older Alicia character momentum in the story telling.

 

Victoria Tamez plays Carmela Parla the sister who seems to be browbeaten by her father, quailed inwardly, losing her way into any kind of expressive individuality. There is room for more growth and conflict at the dinner table. She also plays the Choreographer, and the Teenage Boy.

 

Abel Alvarado again does exceptional work at the Costume Designer.

 

There are a few more shows. Run! Run!

 

Other members of the crew are as follows: 

 

Itzel Ocampo – Associate Producer, Casa 0101 Administrator

Rigo Tejeda – Stage Manager

César Retana-Holguín – Set Designer

Alejandro Parra – Lighting Designer

James Alonzo – Co-Sound Designer

Miguel Delgado – Technical Director

Izzy Donenberg – Assistant Stage Manager

Julius Bronola – Wardrobe Assistant

Steve Moyer Public Relations – Press Representative 

Edward Padilla - Casting Director/Youth Educator

 

Street parking is free and parking behind city hall is free. 

 Reservations: 323-263-7684

www.casa0101.org

 

 

 

Birds of North America by Anna Ouyang Moench

 

Arye Gross and Jacqueline Misaye - Photos by Jenny Graham

By Joe Straw

 

Life moves on

this migratory lot

abundant

fall colors

winging forward

rustic flavors

and

seared images

capturing the

bitterest contradictions

forever

and

now

What were the talks?

Pieces

of colored information

just pieces

waiting for the wings

of knowledge

to take flight

or not

coaxing intonations

until

the end of the line

and all there

is now is   

raking

up

the

pieces

with a

satisfied

heart.  

 

Migratory birds in flyway pass by John’s yard in Baltimore County, Maryland in the year of someone’s lord - the mid 2000s to the mid 2010s.   And from his backyard with a pair of binoculars John (Arye Gross) happily takes field notes while birding and regards his notebook to his daughter Caitlyn (Jacqueline Misaye) as his life’s list, guaranteed to last forever and to never smudge.

 

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the Los Angeles premiere of Birds of North America written by Anna Ouyang Moench, directed by Peter Richards, and produced by Beth Hogan through November 19, 2023.  

 

John is a busy man, a doctor working on manufacturing pharmaceuticals, but a man who nevertheless unwinds and spends a few precious moments with his daughter.  

 

Caitlyn, with a clement disposition, appears to enjoy her time with her dad but is not so invested in birding, taking notes, or calling a bird by its rightful name, and not announcing the perching place on its specific location so that her father may take delight in discovery.  

 

Although John is slightly annoyed, it is perhaps the moment where he can impart the wisdom of the ages to his daughter should she desire to accept it.   But how does he let the information go knowing now that she has matured enough and is somewhat willing to accept that information? It must be with sincerity and without too much fanfare and noise. Much like the barn owl who stealthy approaches a kill announced only after it has pounced on its prey.

 

Caitlyn has other things on her mind like her motorcycling boyfriend Blaze who wants to go into the army and off to Iraq. John doesn’t agree with her choice of man, he thinks of a better class of man marrying his daughter.

 

They’ve lived a comfortable life. John is working on a prescription drug and has been for twenty-five years.  It is in phase III of the clinical trials and once that is approved will guarantee the family an income for the rest of their lives.

 

Caitlyn is a copy editor hoping to finish a book she has partially written although her heart is not into it.     

 

When they walk into the house and return to the backyard a year has passed. Today, Blaze is a forgotten memory and Caitlyn has another and now seeks $2,000 for her wedding photos. John says to get a family member to take the photographs, but he grudgingly says if she needs it, he will pay for the photos.

 

Is saving their relationship something that will take time or is it too late?

 

Anna Ouyang Moench has written a beautiful play filled with the colors of life.  There is a picturesque sincerity to it all, a father and daughter relationship that test the boundaries of human migratory movement highlighted by the influx of colors and the outside awakenings of a calling North American bird.  There is discomforting intimacy between these two, hardly physically together in their backyard for two seconds, moments broken up by the incursion of a feathered being rustling through the trees and perching on a limb near their backyard.

 

Peter Richards, the director, has done a fantastic job despite some technical problems on this night with sound and music.  There are additional layers that could be added to the performances and that will come in time with additional performances. There may also be another connection one that may be how the birding connects to the relationship of the father to daughter.  Still, it is a quiet night with subtle emotional outpourings and blended noises that disarms the soul and lifts the production to unimaginable heights.  

 

Ayre Gross as John never lets up as the dad. He moves in a way that lets his daughter have free reign, making her decide her own choices with little objections to the paths she may be undertaking.  Similarly, to the way birds treat their fledglings. With his education and life’s experiences, he is the adult in the backyard, calm, effective, and guiding in ways that are not overbearing. Gross’ physical life and subtle emotional outbursts makes this a master performance and one that should not be missed.

 

L- R Arye Gross (background) and Jacqueline Misaye

 

 

Jacqueline Misaye plays Caitlyn a woman who appears to have her father’s temperament and her reactions are very subtle. Caitlyn places herself in an invidious position with news of her life, her boyfriends, and her medical issues.  It is easy to suggest what her father might want, mostly trips to places where he can observe birds, but is it not clear what she wants from him. One might suggest that it is love mostly but she can’t quite figure out how to do that.  If there is one thing missing it might be that.  He never really comes out and expresses his love, physically or emotionally and that is what she must get. The book at the end may be the key but the emotional expression is something we may need to see. Still, it is a terrific performance.

 

Mark Guirguis, Set Designer, has created a beautiful set.  Wind may be something that elevates the set to another height. Still, it is a gorgeous set for the actors to live and breathe.

 

Constandia J. Daros, Sound Designer, has brought in some wonderful sounds to fill the backyard with native birds of the Baltimore area. The sound has birds moving from one side of the backyard to the other and it is wonderful to hear.

 

Lena Sands is the Costume Designer, and she places them in costume and in the times. The work is excellent and changes each year in a ten-year period that passes by when the characters come back every year to watch the birds in their migratory flight.

 

Other members of the crew are as follows:

 

Scott Bolman – Lighting Designer

Jenine MacDonald – Prop Designer

Beth Mack – Stage Manager

 

Run! Run! Run!

 

Reservations: 310-477-2055 or go the www.OdysseyTheatre.com

 

Parking is free!

 

 

 

 

Elephant Shavings by Ron Sossi

L - R Giovanna Quinto, Jack Geren, and Diana Cignoni - Photos by Kayte Deioma

 

By Joe Straw

 

Lizzie (Diana Cignoni) enters a makeshift greenroom, with a couch, and a kitchen area, and beyond that is a bed.  It is a room away from the partying crowd for the actors to step off stage and take a breather before walking back into those maddening patrons. Lizzie, in a black Dianne Keaton attire, looks to be exhausted because it is the end of the run and thus closing night.

 

Jill (Giovanna Quinto) the stage manager takes leave of the party outside and joins Lizzie asking if she can get her anything. Jill steps back outside and the other solipsistic luminaries - cast members - Sam (Jeff LeBeau) and Erin (Cameron Meyer) and the omnipotent director Peter (Jack Geren) step into the space and, in a celebratory manner, carry on in a discussion about God, Jerzy Grotowski, an experimental theatre teacher, authenticity, and acting.

 

Lizzie remains quiet, observing the director pontificating, and the others discussing, in a polite way, the ins and outs of acting, God, and their instruments. But Lizzie has more on her mind, personal in nature, a miscarriage 4 month ago and two months later wanting another baby.

 

Possibly inconsequential, but there is something missing in this first scene whether it is extensional, experimental, or existential whatever this may be called, something is not quite right.

 

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the world premiere of Elephant Shavings written and directed by Ron Sossi extended through October 8, 2023.

 

Ron Sossi has a slow gait these days moving among the patrons and the rooms in black, a ghost like figure hovering The Odyssey Theatre like he has done thousands of nights before. He is, dare one say it, a Los Angeles institution, a man filled with so many stories over so many years, he is a walking encyclopedia of theatre knowledge and human-interest stories. And he has decided to turn over some of those stories through the presentation of a play of his own creation.  

 

In this play, there is a story of someone asking an artist how a beautiful one-piece wood sculptured elephant was created.  And the artists answered, “I just cut away what is not elephant.” Possibly a fitting description of the play although there may be shavings still left in this two-act play.  

 

One may regard Elephant Shavings as something of an experimental experience wrapped in modern day characters. They don’t wear funny black skintight suits and dance about the room. And they don’t go beyond the natural presence on stage. They’re normal like people going through life in another theatrical experience.

 

But some characters don’t, and then the play turns into a decidedly different structure that will have some audience members on the edge of their seats and then questioning after it’s all over, what in the heck just happened? And that just may be the point.

 

  

There is some fine work in Ron Sossi’s play, a soulful satisfying search from within, especially in the second act where things just start coming together with the exploration of Lizzie’s character finding another spiritual level and running with it. That said, the opening scene needs work. Lizzie comes in exhausted when she has a lot on her mind.  She basically has nowhere to go after the production with the theatre becoming dark for the summer months. But she doesn’t reach out, she doesn’t take the information or is guided by any human force (via the dialogue) about how she is going to survive. Happenstance doesn’t have conflict, inner turmoil does, and we need to see her thinking about how she is going to survive.  

 

Denise Blasor and Diana Cignoni

 

 

Denise Blasor plays Pearl, a friend of the theatre, always around to help whenever she can. Blasor brings a lot of life to the show, she is funny, frightening, and is charming in various ways.

 

Diana Cignoni is Lizzie, an actor, who may not have a clue in the direction she wants to take.  She needs guidance and seeks guidance in the forces surrounding her but that means a deep spiritual connection, a cleansing of sorts, away from her arduous melancholy, and a movement that takes her beyond her physical self and into an enigmatical tranquility.  The ending is fascinating. To search would be an appropriate action for this character who seems to be doing this the entire play. All the steps she takes should clue her to eye opening moments that leads her to a satisfying conclusion. Cignoni is mesmerizing with her direct connection to the audience and there must be that moment where she ultimately understands where she is going.

 

Jack Geren is Peter, the director. One understands the situation in which he appears but never got a sense of character and the conflict. One gets the relationships but not the backstory prior to the cast entering the room. Was the play successful on this night? Is there someone he really needs to speak to - to get the performance he wants? Even though we’re at the end of the run, is there more work to be done for the sake of the future of this company?  Is there a special relationship between the director and the stage manager? Can there be?  Who is holding the notes? One never gets the sense of authority the director has with this cast and ultimately how that moves the lead off into her direction. (An interesting note: Geren looks twenty years younger than his photo in the program.) That said Geren is very likeable in the role. But the choices for this character seem unlimited.  

 

Jeff LeBeau and Cameron Myer

 

 

Jeff LeBeau is Sam an actor that engages in a polite argument with his counterpart and it’s mostly about the craft.  LeBeau has a strong presence and is very engaging onstage.  His voice is strong, and his actions are fluid. But here is another character that doesn’t make a mistake and the conflict within doesn’t materialize for the purpose of the whole play. But his time is limited, and we must know how his actions work within the context of the play.

 

Cameron Meyer is Erin. Erin is an interesting character, set in her ways, somewhat stodgy, believes in what she believes and that is settled. One wonder how that works for actors who are not open to other alternatives. The discussions in the opening scene move the main character to figure out her life but one couldn’t figure out when or how that happened.

 

Giovanna Quinto is exceptional as Jill, the stage manager and seems to be open to seeing beyond the beyond. Jill is very superstitious and offers her friend warnings about what she may encounter, things in the theatre world that jump out unexpectedly. That said, there is more that Quinto can do to elevate those moments, how far she can go highlights what is to be expected of living alone in a theatre so that when Jill comes back, after the summer, she understands a power she possesses and is moved to what has just happened.  

 

Jan Munroe’s set is a little awkward but manages to work in this setting.

 

Other members of the crew are as follows:

 

Denise Blasor and Juliette Blasor – Costume Designers

Jackson Funke – Lighting Designer

Christopher Moscatiello – Sound Designer

Fritz Davis – Video Designer

Katie Chabot – Stage Manager

Andrew Blahak – Rehearsal Stage Manager

Severine Laure – Assistant to the Director

 

There are a lot of fantastic moments in this production. I’m sure I didn’t get everything but I’m glad I went.

 

Tickets and Reservations: https://odysseytheatre.com/

 

And parking is free!

 

 

 

a slight ache by Harold Pinter

L - R Henry Olek and Susan Priver - Photos by Kayte Deioma

 

By Joe Straw

 

A slight ache is not to be confused with a disturbance in the force unless you want it to be.

 

Dance On Productions in association with Linda Toliver and Gary Guidinger present a slight ache by Harold Pinter and directed by Jack Heller is now playing at the Odyssey Theatre through October 1^st, 2023.

 

Somewhere, long ago, in the late 1950s or early 1960s lived a couple on the outskirts of London in a country home.  This couple co-existed somewhat happily.  They had almost everything they wanted except complete satisfaction, and one knows that is hard to come by these days.

 

Their lives have been given away to the pomp and circumstances of the wretchedness and dreariness of daily living. They need something to bring a bite into their existence and on this day, they find it.

 

We catch Flora (Susan Priver) and Edward (Henry Olek) in the middle of a cherished moment – breakfast. Edward engrossed in his morning paper and Flora wanting so desperately to make a connection that she bangs around her teacup, saucer, her tea pot, and noisily scrapes the burnt crumbs off her beloved toast before slamming it back onto the plate.

 

Edward is unfettered but ignoring her without the slightest bit of concern.

 

To break the iceberg that is between them they engage in some small talk both aware, although not mentioning it, there is someone beyond the gate.  

 

“Have you noticed the honeysuckle this morning?” – Flora

“The what?” – Edward

“The Honeysuckle. – Flora

“Honeysuckle? Where?” – Edward

“By the back gate, Edward.” - Flora

 

And there we have it, in the opening moments of their story, the back gate. It isn’t so much as what flowers are growing around or through the back gate, it is the matter of the person waiting beyond the back gate.  

 

He is the Match Seller (Shelly Kurtz), and he has been waiting there for weeks.

 

But first there is the matter of a wasp buzzing around the marmalade and the sight ache that gnaws at Edward’s being if not both of their beings.  

 

Harold Pinter, the writer, leaves the door open for any kind of interpretation, the ambiguity explodes out from the page and it’s up to the collaborative effort of all to see how far they want to take it.  Originally, this 1959 two-character play was for the radio before it moved to the Arts Theatre in London January 18, 1961as a three-character play.  

 

In Jack Heller’s version, on this night, Edward is a forceful figure using his voice and his physical ways to control his wife Flora and then using that same force against the Match Seller, a silent figure who has no means of verbal communication.  This is a comedy but may need more work to accentuate the Pinter pauses and the way it emotionally moves the characters. It’s still too early in the run to know if the actors have fully realized those moments and this becomes particularly apparent when both Edward and Flora are communicating with the Match Seller. They ask the questions of the Match Seller but don’t wait for the answer before satisfactorily answering the question on his behalf.  Both Edward and Flora have wild and imaginative ways of looking at the world and their place in the world (however distorted it may be). And they both like to plan, each thinking their plan is better than the other. One suspects that neither adheres to conjugal fidelity in their marriage.  Also, Flora is not the submissive being she makes out to be and Edward is not as intelligent, or the important writer he makes of himself. That said, this is a very good production, and when the run settles down, should evolve into a better production capturing the moments that will move the play and the audience as well.

 

Susan Priver is successful as Flora, a submissive wife who, in the end, wins all the matches. (Pun intended) Slightly nervous, in the beginning, she manages to relax and give an exceptional performance.  There is a little more to add to this character. Flora is the smarter of the two, the one with the most imagination (particularly amatory) which gives us a clue as to what she really wants from either of the two men and she isn’t particular in that regard.  She goads her husband to recognize his strengths and when that doesn’t work destroys his spirit for possibly a moment.  

 

Henry Olek is Edward, a man who has got something on his mind but refuses to acknowledge it to either himself or his wife. He knows there is a man at the back gate, and he’s been there for some time. It is his wife that moves him in that direction by way of strength, first by having him kill the wasp, secondly by going out into the garden (he doesn’t), putting up the canopy (again he doesn’t), and then finally confronting the man. Instead, he hides in the scullery, looking out a small window, and avoids his wife at every opportunity.  (What he is doing in the scullery is opened to the imagination.) He speaks of Africa as though he knows but the continent but in fact those place do not exist (the Membunza Mountains, Katambaloo) all for the sake of sounding superior. And his practice of patriarchy only works when his wife is affected by it but in this version shows little sign of working.  Edward is physical and demeans her at times, but it only hurts his wife and doesn’t move her in a satisfying direction, or maybe it does. 

 

Shelly Kurtz

 

 

Shelly Kurtz is the Match Seller.  He can hear and understand slight commands all with a disquieting peculiarity, but he may not be able to speak. He doesn’t smile either. Dressed in rags he moves about with little or no regard to the person in front of his being. He is arduous in his manner never coming out of the blank stare to react to anything before him. This is a tough role, but Kurtz manages to succeed.

 

Jeff Rack scenic design works wonders for the Odyssey space. And Christopher Moscatiello’s work for the sound design is also excellent, especially the wasp noise in the pot. Kiff Scholl’s work of the one sheet is very impressive that conveys the disturbance in the force.

 

Other members of this delightful crew are as follows:

 

Sarah Dawn Lowry – Stage Manager

Ellen Monocroussos – Lighting Design

Michael Mullen – Costume Design

Amanda Sauter – Scenic Painter

Aubrielle Hvolvoll – Prop Master

Lucy Pollack – Publicity

Tracy Paleo – Social Media

Kyle McConaghy – Photography

Stephanie Rush – Electrician

Reparata Mazzola – Program Design

 

Parking is free at the Odyssey!

 

Tickets and reservations:  https://odysseytheatre.com/tickets/?eid=102981