Theatre review

“The Lies Begin when we lift the Pen…”

2010-02-20T01:18:43Z

FICTION
by Steven Dietz
at Capital Stage

There’s an old adage in theatre that audiences attend with ‘a willing suspension of disbelief’. That is to say that they willingly set aside the truth and accept the fact that Peter Pan can fly even though the wires holding him up are plainly seen. That applies to theatre, film, and especially literature. But what if we believe every word we read? Can fiction become fact? Is something true simply because we believe it? In 2003 author James Frey wrote a memoir of his struggle with addiction called ‘A Million Little Pieces’. He was lauded as a troubled genius with a brilliant future, and America loved him. When the truth came out that a portion of the book (in fact, only one incident) didn’t really happen, we felt betrayed; so much so that we salivated when Oprah Winfrey ripped him a new one on national TV. The truth hurts, but lies can be devastating.

Linda and Michael Waterman, played by Janis Stevens and Eric Wheeler, are two novelists. He’s a Hollywood success story who considers himself a hack, and she’s a self proclaimed ‘one hit wonder’, having written one successful book followed by a stream of failures. Their marriage thrives in an environment of verbal wordplay and no illusions as to each other’s talents. You could see them forty years from now, strolling along the banks of the Seine in Paris, pleasantly squabbling about their pet topic-the greatest rock-and-role vocal performance of all time. She’s a Janice Joplin fan and he’s a John Lennon supporter. That’s how they meet in act one, and how they SHOULD spend the rest of their lives together-squabbling. But instead, Linda is diagnosed with a brain tumor “the size of a plum” and is given three weeks to live. She wants to spend that time really getting to know her husband, getting down to his core. She wants to read Michael’s journals.

They’ve both kept a series of journals over the course of their 15 years together but neither had any desire to read the other’s before, whether out of respect or fear, but probably a little of both. Michael reluctantly turns over his journals, boxed in an antique captain’s trunk in chronological order with a laminated index under the lid, and leaves her to her reading.

After plodding through Michaels florid verbosity, acted out with comedic vigor by Eric Wheeler, Linda reads about Michaels meeting with Abby Drake, a woman he meets at a writer’s retreat shortly after Linda’s one successful book was published. Abby is a peculiar young woman with an intense stare. Stephanie Gularte plays her with an almost magnetic attraction. You’re not quite sure if she wants to rip his eyes out, or just ask him a question. But the attraction is there, and Linda reads of their affair for the next twelve years.

Janis Stevens (and I’ll say this right up front-I’m a Janice Stevens FAN) is an amazing presence on stage; cool, sophisticated, with a vulnerability seething just below the surface. Her husband’s betrayal strikes a devastating chord, and her attempt to hide her own ‘fiction’ is a tangible weight on her shoulders.

Eric Wheeler as Michael changes flawlessly from the flowery prose of his journal scenes to his devastated reality. He’s a man who’s about to lose his best friend and no matter what he does he can only make it worse. Eric plays a likeable, funny guy who only lies to himself. He also reminds us that this isn’t just a drama. He makes the tragic bearable with his charming presence.

Stephanie Gularte as Abby soars through a very difficult role. She has every beat, every quirk of this woman down to a T. This is important because you have to pay attention to what Abby does to understand and put all the pieces together later. Fortunately, Ms. Gularte makes this easy for us; you can’t help watching her every move.

‘Fiction’ is a complicated and sophisticated piece of theater. It deals with how we see ourselves, and how we wished others saw us. Do we remember what actually happens or do we remember what we wished actually happened? It’s also something of a ‘who-done-it’. It’s a piece where every sentence is a clue and every beat is an ‘A-ha’ moment. At the end of the night you have this adrenalin rush and you can’t just go home; you and whoever is with you HAVE to go get coffee and compare notes.

Fiction plays through February 28 at Capital Stage on the Delta King Riverboat in Old Town Sacramento, 1000 Front Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 http://capstage.org/

'Boom' Opens with a Bang!

2010-01-12T04:37:13Z

When answering a personal ad promising ‘a night that will change the course of mankind’, expect a few disappointments. When Jo and Jules hook up in B Street Theatre’s current production of ‘Boom’, written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, their disappointment in each other is the highlight of their evening. Jo, played with an angry intensity by Sarah Aili, wants the human connection she’s never had…or, rather, she wants to have had a human connection; best get it over with! Jules, played by Peter Story, has a bit loftier goal. He wants to be the savior of all mankind and the father of all future generations! One small problem though; he can’t really…um…perform. “ But”, he’s quick to point out, “it’s nothing that a bottle of wine and a Jake Gyllenhaal mask couldn’t solve”. If all else fails, he’s got the savior’s best friend-the turkey baster!

Story and Aili play off each other like seasoned pros, and director Michael Stevenson guides them through their courtship with finesse, giving each a chance to shine. There’s comic nuance in both performances, and Aili, especially, can blow the roof off with her laser-focused anger. You don’t want to meet her in a dark alley!

There are five other characters in this little romantic comedy. Four fish, which have helped Jules discover that the Earth will be destroyed by a fiery comet sometime in the future, and a God-like being “with no power” named Barbara, who controls the action from billions of years in the future. Barbara is played by Jamie Jones, a B Street veteran, and it may have been tempting to just call this ‘The Jamie Jones Show’. She twinkles and shines as the far flung descendent who can’t finish a sentence. But, as I’ve said, these folks are pros, and the story of how Barbara came to be, from this night of disappointment is a trio, not a solo, and they play their instruments masterfully. (One beef though, and it’s a small one: they talk about four fish being in the tank on stage but from where I was sitting I only saw one-a big Styrofoam thing tethered to the bottom. It’s a real tank with real water, and I don’t know how many fish in the area are members of Actor’s Equity, but couldn’t they put real fish in the tank? If one of them missed their cue, it wouldn’t be any worse than the one that just sat there. I’m just sayin’…)

‘Boom’ was written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and it follows similar themes favored by the author in other works such as ‘Hunter Gatherers'-society’s collapse, and the rebuilding of the human race. After centuries of playwrights obsessed with where we’ve come from, it’s refreshing to hear one questioning where we’re going. It’s not an uncommon theme in literature; Kurt Vonnegut Jr. explored it in his novel ‘Galapagos’. In it, as in ‘Boom’, our legacy lives on, and in ‘Boom’, as in ‘Galapagos’, it’s probably not the legacy we’d prefer. “But it’s all ours”, as Barbara would say. “Let’s all just --- !“

Nachtrieb’s humor is bawdy and irreverent, and more than a little wicked. His character development is thoughtful, and his storytelling is razor sharp. He could very well be this generation’s Joe Orton, pending the company he keeps…

Look for Capital Stage’s mounting of Nachtrieb’s ‘Hunter Gatherers’ in May.

B Street Theatre is located at: 2711 B Street in Sacramento.

“Boom” By Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
January 10, 2009 - February 21, 2010Previews: $12
Tickets: $22–$30
To purchase tickets, call the box office at (916) 443-5300.
Showtimes:
Previews:
Jan 9 @ 5pm
Jan 10 @ 2pm

Showtimes:
Tue @ 6:30pm
Wed @ 2pm & 6:30pm
Thu & Fri @ 8pm
Sat @ 5pm & 9pm*
Sun @ 2pm
*Call to confirm dates for these showtimes

Capital Stage sets 'The Scene'

2009-02-06T03:55:26Z

Do certain members of our society purposefully set out to destroy others, or are certain people hardwired for self destruction? That’s a question director Stephanie Gularte leaves tantalizingly open in Capital Stages’ stunning new production of ‘The Scene’ by Theresa Rebeck.

In Rebeck’s play, a recent transplant from Ohio, Clea, has come to New York to seek her fortune and hit ‘the scene’; a round of parties given and attended by celebrities, the well-to-do, and everyone who’s anyone. Clea, played with enthusiastic glee by Elena Wright, meets up with out of work actor Charlie, played by Scott Coopwood, and sets him and those he’s closest to on a path that will forever change their lives.

The play is a four person ‘quartet’, with Christina Anselmo as Charlies’ overly capable wife Stella, and Ken Figeroid as his seemingly nebbish best friend Lewis, rounding out the composition. What strikes this reviewer is that this production doesn’t ask us to judge these people, nor does it apologize for their actions. What we’re given is a snapshot in time with a few hard facts about character, cause, and affect. In less capable hands, all this play would be about is a bitch and her victims, but the director has chosen to let us decide for ourselves. For instance, Clea is called stupid by everyone on stage, including herself, but is she really stupid? She sounds stupid, she acts stupid, but director Gularte found something in her that’s not. Is she so stupid she sounds intelligent? Or so intelligent she sounds stupid? You really start to wonder.

Scott Coopwood as Charlie gives a sharp performance filled with rhythm and depth. He’s the backbone of this production, and plays the audience like a master violinist. He makes us truly believe that we’re witnessing the implosion of not only a marriage, but his very reality. His journey begins with cynicism in act one, and ends in the truly surreal.

Charlie is a failure surrounded by success. His wife Stella is a television producer who pays the rent on their apartment, and doesn’t let Charlie forget that she wears the pants in the family. Christina Anselmo plays Stella with warmth and humor, so that we like her even as she rips her husband’s psyche to shreds.

That’s what makes this production so exciting; these are four pretty horrible people, and yet you can’t help liking them. We’re asked to compare our own actions, and dare to judge these people. There are no villains, no heroes; just snapshots in time.

The Scene runs through February 22nd on The Delta King river boat. 1000 Front Street in Old Sacramento. (916)379-5051