Arts and Entertainment Preview
Kiss Me, Kate
“Kiss
Me, Kate,” written by Bella and Samuel Spewack,
is set during 1952 with the glitz and glamour of
The
exes, Lilli Vanessi, played
by Emily Rogge, and Fred Graham, played by Shawn Pennington, are at two
different career highs and lows, which makes for humorous appeal. Because of Lilli’s temper and Fred’s ego, the two continue
to bicker, putting their production in jeopardy and eventually learning to let
personality qualities go.
Because
“Kiss Me, Kate,” can be taken as misogynistic, the goal of Director
Michael La Fleur and his crew is to portray that there’s more than meets
the eye in the script.
“We’re
looking how to contradict what seems to be obvious sexism and make it more
about compromise and equality between men and women,” La Fleur said.
La
Fleur has worked on large productions such as Cirque Du
Soleil, Celine Dion’s “A New Day,” and many other big
productions. Although there is a large difference in budget, cast and venue
size, La Fleur says the challenges are the same.
“It’s
absolutely the same quality of work and art. At the end of the day it’s
all about the craft of storytelling in theatre.”
“Theatre
today is being handicapped by these huge budgets,” La Fleur said. “It’s
becoming more about the production and less about the story. We’re trying
to go back to the art of storytelling.”
La
Fleur’s storytelling style isn’t the only
aspect he hopes to bring to Solvang’s Theatrefest
stage.
Both
Pennington and La Fleur’s goal for the show is
for the audience to go beyond what could be taken as sexist and look beneath
the surface at the relationship and compromise aspects of the script.
“Even with the worst of squabblers, somewhere
in the middle is the compromise…if people could just see the other
side,” La Fleur said.
Music
and lyrics written by Cole Porter, the show’s theme consists of
relationships, compassion and compromise.
Shawn
Pennington, acting as leading man Fred, has been acting since the fifth grade
and says he gets into character through doing multiple readings of the script
and identifying with his character’s dedication.
“Fred
is interesting because he’s basically the quintessential character in the
show. He’s extraordinarily passionate and willing to sacrifice everything
for his show and his art,” Pennington said. “He is 100 percent dedicated,
which I think is an admirable quality.”
Pennington
said working with La Fleur as a director has been a “wonderful
experience,” and appreciates his openness to the actor’s input.
“He’s
a very generous director,” he said. “He’s open to
contributing ideas and it makes for a much more pleasant rehearsal
experience,” Pennington said.
Pennington
added that this is his first time with PCPA and he’s looking forward to
working in the “intimate but grand” theatre in Solvang.
This
is La Fleur’s third year at PCPA and he
describes his experiences as an “artistic oasis.”
“Here,
they are totally invested in the craft of theatre. When I come here, I cannot
say enough about my team. We’re having the time of our lives and to me
it’s like a paid vacation,” he said.
He
added the theater industry has begun to have less concern about the art and
more about the profit, stating PCPA is exactly the opposite.
“You
don’t have to have a million dollars to look like a million
dollars,” La Fleur said.
Arts and Entertainment Review
“Company”
On
the eve of Father’s Day, an audience was accompanied by less than stellar
company that was PCPA’s performance of a
Broadway musical.
“Company,”
performed at Solvang Theaterfest, is about a 35 year-old bachelor named Bobby,
played by Colum Parke Morgan, who is envied by
married friends for his freedom and charismatic dating habits.
The
beginning of the show opens with a surprise birthday party for the guzzling
bachelor with many past girlfriends and married couples. The party consists of
all the stereotypical birthday phrases such as “you can take it back if
you don’t like it,” and “you don’t look 35,”
which was a witty way of showing how we all speak in those terms anytime a
birthday comes around.
On
this particular night, Morgan’s performance seemed like the
run-of-the-mill actor. The overacting
and exaggerated expression was not what was hoped for.
From
the start, it was apparent the voices of the actors were not up to par with the
challenging idea of putting on a Broadway show.
On the night of the performance it did
not appear that Director Valerie Rachelle and Musical Director Jonathan Swoboda were able to pair or alter the musical pieces to
fit the actors' individual vocal ranges in a way that is crucial to this type
of production.
I
was left with burning eardrums and distaste for musicals to come. However, as a cast, they seemed to find their key.
Jenny,
played by Christine Nelson, had the natural talent to hit the high notes and
needed no alteration to her solos.
The
band sat on stage behind a wooden apparatus and was excellent. The crisp notes
were a pleasure to hear, which made non-matched vocals more tolerable. The
music in the production had clever lyrics and catchy beats, including many
witty puns about the “joys” of marriage.
The
set was simple, with no backdrop and hardly any set changes. Seeing there were
no set or costume changes, the production began to come to a snooze toward the
end. Although the vocals and direction were two phauxpas
of theatre, there were some delights to the production.
The
lighting complimented the costumes well -- not too overwhelming in color
palates or gobo choices. The warm yellows, pinks and blues set the tone of the
scenes and were executed appropriately.
The
attire was entertaining -- fitting each character’s individual
personality through the art of fabric. Although the costumes did not seem to
fit into any theme together, they were excellent in accuracy of character
portrayals. For example, Marta, a wild and free spirited girlfriend of Bobby,
is clothed in a flowing colorful skirt, pink and blue bracelets and a
leather-beaded vest.
In
a scene where Bobby is at David and Jenny’s home, played by Michael Jenkinson and Christine Nelson, the three indulge in Mary
Jane activities. The scene is classic for its wit and was nailed by all three
actors through their chemistry together, which stole the show.
Toward
the conclusion of the production, a tap-dance-like scene with top hats and
canes was performed. Susan, played by Emily Rogge made an unfortunate tumble
across the stage. Instead of playing it cool and continuing on with the scene,
Rogge broke the theatrical fourth wall between the stage and the audience,
making a face at the audience as if to say “woops!”
Although
it’s comforting to have company over, it’s times like these when
solitude is greatly appreciated.