11 April 2004
SubUrbia
Wow.
Seriously. Wow.
How many shows do you attend and just sit, mouth-agape, for so many moments? And then laugh and laugh and laugh. And shiver. And leap out of the seat at the end for a standing ovation that you're sure must be too enthusiastic, just in time to see that everyone is up and clapping wildly. Hooting. Shouting. Thrilled to have shared in such an experience.
Good Lord, that was good theatre.
Another smoking play, which usually would bother me (a whole pack, at least, smoked on stage in under three hours), but the structure of the Skylight Theatre (1816-1/2 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood) lends itself to amazing staging and--thankfully--lots of ventilation. I didn't realize that Lisa Soltau and I were choosing seats that would put us just under the penis of the lead during a "strip naked" moment--and generally I think such tactics as stripping down in plays tend to be forced and gratuitous--but it was such an organic moment that I barely noticed.
The brilliant, sexy, talented, gorgeous Jennifer Fontaine is in this show, and she is the reason Lisa and I attended. I first cast Jeni and Lisa in a show in October, 2000, along with four other amazing ladies, all of whom I keep tabs on to some degree (even brought one in for an audition just last week--the amazingly goddess-like Baadja-Lyne Odums). Anyway, the point of that statement is that it is absolutely delightful to see talent grow and bloom and become richer with time. Jeni blew us away.
But she wasn't alone. Most of the cast was simply outstanding, despite the fact that we attended on a night when three roles were understudied. I'm not exactly sure why my presskit included the headshots of the propsmistress and one of the producers... and NOT one of the actors on stage tonight... but I think Jeni's going to get me one of the actor who played Tim tonight. He was really great. Name's not even in the program. WTF? [Update: Received his headshot/resumé in the mail, per Jeni's nudge. It's Ronnie Gene Blevins. Great job!]
J. Scott Shonka was quite good. Really loved Natalie Avital and Al Faris. Absolutely adored Michael Petted, who says on his resumé that he is 5'9" (he isn't). But I'll forgive that, just as I forgive those who spell "principal" (as in role) incorrectly. But I still get to bitch about it.
Amazing show. Really. Jeni has to leave it in a couple of weeks to do a film, but this is a must-see. There are very few of these "out there." Go. Really great stuff. Kudos to director Alex Craig Mann for bringing Eric Bogosian's work to such vibrant life.
Seriously. Wow.
How many shows do you attend and just sit, mouth-agape, for so many moments? And then laugh and laugh and laugh. And shiver. And leap out of the seat at the end for a standing ovation that you're sure must be too enthusiastic, just in time to see that everyone is up and clapping wildly. Hooting. Shouting. Thrilled to have shared in such an experience.
Good Lord, that was good theatre.
Another smoking play, which usually would bother me (a whole pack, at least, smoked on stage in under three hours), but the structure of the Skylight Theatre (1816-1/2 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood) lends itself to amazing staging and--thankfully--lots of ventilation. I didn't realize that Lisa Soltau and I were choosing seats that would put us just under the penis of the lead during a "strip naked" moment--and generally I think such tactics as stripping down in plays tend to be forced and gratuitous--but it was such an organic moment that I barely noticed.
The brilliant, sexy, talented, gorgeous Jennifer Fontaine is in this show, and she is the reason Lisa and I attended. I first cast Jeni and Lisa in a show in October, 2000, along with four other amazing ladies, all of whom I keep tabs on to some degree (even brought one in for an audition just last week--the amazingly goddess-like Baadja-Lyne Odums). Anyway, the point of that statement is that it is absolutely delightful to see talent grow and bloom and become richer with time. Jeni blew us away.
But she wasn't alone. Most of the cast was simply outstanding, despite the fact that we attended on a night when three roles were understudied. I'm not exactly sure why my presskit included the headshots of the propsmistress and one of the producers... and NOT one of the actors on stage tonight... but I think Jeni's going to get me one of the actor who played Tim tonight. He was really great. Name's not even in the program. WTF? [Update: Received his headshot/resumé in the mail, per Jeni's nudge. It's Ronnie Gene Blevins. Great job!]
J. Scott Shonka was quite good. Really loved Natalie Avital and Al Faris. Absolutely adored Michael Petted, who says on his resumé that he is 5'9" (he isn't). But I'll forgive that, just as I forgive those who spell "principal" (as in role) incorrectly. But I still get to bitch about it.
Amazing show. Really. Jeni has to leave it in a couple of weeks to do a film, but this is a must-see. There are very few of these "out there." Go. Really great stuff. Kudos to director Alex Craig Mann for bringing Eric Bogosian's work to such vibrant life.
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