CONCERT REVIEW: FESTIVAL OF CAROLS

Los Angeles Master Chorale. Photo by Ken Hively.

Songs of the shopping spree

By Ed Rampell

You better watch out, you might want to shout, because the Los Angeles Master Chorale is in town, regaling listeners with its annual Festival of Carols. If you’re not in the Christmas spirit yet, experiencing this songfest at the Walt Disney Concert Hall may be just the ticket. The festive aural cascade of seasonal song includes around 20 numbers, ranging from the solemn to the celebratory, the traditional to the pop, in a variety of languages.

The show, which has one intermission, was kicked off by an acappella rendition of an English Wassail song. Other oldies but goodies were accompanied by Lisa Edwards on the piano and/or by John West on the organ. The ensemble of 50-ish male and female vocalists regaled the audience's ears with many of those beloved standards. They included zesty versions of "Deck the Hall," "Silent Night," "White Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" -- which were accompanied by a certain visitor who may have arrived via a reindeer-powered sled, who then slid down the Disney’s chimney. Before the Chorale belted out a rousing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" conductor Grant Gershon invited the Angelenos to sing-a-long from their seats, the words provided in the show’s program.

A Hebrew Folk Tune enhanced the repertoire, as soprano soloist Ayana Haviv sang "Hiney Mah Tov." Noting that the Jewish Festival of Lights had already ended prior to the first concert, which was on Dec. 7, Gershon good-naturedly joshed that this was “the first Hanukkah carol of next year.”

Highlights of the second act included soprano saxophonist Doug Masek accompanying the Chorale during the German carol, "Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,"  which was arranged by Shawn Kirchner, composer in residence. Gershon, who provided wise and witty patter between songs, introduced the Kenyan folk song, "Wana Baraka," by dedicating it to that African giant we just lost, Nelson Mandela.

During Act II West returned to the stage and announced that there would be “an unscripted word” -- and never were truer words ever spoken, as the Hall’s high tech organ actually could not play. As West wrestled with what I suppose is a computerized musical instrument, I thought the organ was going to say, like HAL in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:“I’m sorry Dave, but I can’t do that.” As the audience cooled its heels a technician was actually brought onstage and performed what I suppose was an, uh, organ transplant.

During the grand finale I thought I was at a Dodgers’ game for a moment as the organ swelled, resounding throughout the auditorium, accompanying a rousing rendition of "Joy to the World." No, rockers -- not Three Dog Night’s version with the “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog” lyrics, but the one based on Psalm 98, composed by Isaac Watts in the 18^th century with the 'come let us adore thee' words. Truth be told, the Chorale’s rapturous singing so expressed what that immortal philosopher Linus van Pelt called “the true meaning of Christmas” that your atheistic reviewer actually experienced a few transcendent seconds of splendor and bliss, when for a moment all worldly woes and weariness dissolved in a dew and joy dwelleth in the heart. And that alone, dear reader, is worth the price of admission.

If you’re nice not naughty, Gershon and his musical “elves” just might perform an encore or two. Take someone you love to go see the melodic gospel according to Grant and the Chorale, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.

Fa-la-la-la-la, peace on Earth, goodwill to all men and women.

 

 

THEATER REVIEW: PARFUMERIE

Miss Amalia Balash (Deobrah Ann Woll) in Parfumerie.

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By Ed Rampell

There are quite a few reasons to see Parfumerie, an adaptation of the 1936 romatic comedy Illatszertar by Budapest-born playwright Miklos Laszlo, written by his nephew, E.P. Dowdall.

First of all, audiences will get to watch two top TV thespians trod the boards in this live production. Deborah Ann Woll, who plays the crazy, sexy, redheaded vampire Jessica Hamby in HBO’s True Blood series, portrays Miss Amalia Balash, an employee of a posh Budapest perfume shop, from whence the play’s title comes. Amalia feuds with her fellow shop clerk, Mr. George Horvath (Eddie Kaye Thomas), while carrying on a torrid love affair via the mail with a correspondent whose identity is unknown to her.

Moreover, Richard Schiff, who played the conscience of Martin Sheen’s -- uh, I mean Pres. Josiah Bartlet’s -- White House in NBC’s West Wing series, co-stars as Mr. Miklos Hammerschmidt, the owner of the titular Hungarian perfumery.

The two-acter takes place during the holiday season, and amidst the seasonal hubbub of buying and selling scents the usually even-keeled Hammerschmidt is especially high strung. At first your reviewer thought this was due to hard times the business might be experiencing during the Depression (not the one we’re in now -- Parfumerie is set during the last one, the 1930s). But of course, as this period piece is being staged in Beverly Hills, personal woes trump the economic ones. (Given that the cast includes little screen vets I can see it now: A new “reality” TV series called Shopkeepers of Beverly Hills!)

Allen Moyer’s set design is truly stellar. His evocation of a pre-WWII East European perfumery, so rich in lavish detail (with snowflakes falling outside the windows!), is the most sumptuous set this critic has ever seen on an L.A. stage -- with the sole exception of some of L.A. Opera’s onstage marvels. Indeed, this Tony and Drama Desk-nominated scenic designer has wrought his marvels for the Metropolitan and other opera houses, as well as for numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. Bravo, Mr. Moyer, and thanks for your feast for the eyes (and noses!).

In addition, Parfumierie is the first play produced at the brand new Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, a beautiful new addition to the Angeleno stage scene. From its original artwork by the likes of Roy Lichtenstein to its lovely architecture, it is all, well, very Beverly Hills. The Wallis is a worthy way to celebrate the centennial of this enclave of wealth in our city, which is -- lest we forget -- so beset by poverty.

As for the play itself: Well, Parfumerie may be a bit played out, long in the tooth and overly familiar to audiences, as it was adapted for the screen three times. Ernst Lubitsch directed 1940’s The Shop Around the Corner, with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as the star-crossed lovers. Following the invention of that newfangled email, Laszlo’s concoction about correspondence gone terribly wrong was updated by co-writer/director Nora Ephron in 1998’s You’ve Got Mail, co-starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Mistaken identities has long been a convention of theater and opera, from Shakespeare to Mozart and, alas, beyond. This old saw of a plot device rears its ugly head in this letter writing themed comedy-drama. Some ticket buyers may be tickled by the ruse, while others might find the plot and play to be contrived, creaky and old fashioned. The second act is far better and more entertaining than the first. But, oh that glorious set, which reminded me of the interiors of Confiserie Sprüngli, the exquisite 19^th century chocolate shop and café at Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse! Overall, although it’s not exactly letter-perfect, most theatergoers will be entertained by this holiday fluff at a gorgeous new showcase for live theater.


Parfumerie runs through Dec. 22 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. For info: 310-746-4000; www.thewaillis.org.

 

 

BOOK RELEASE: THE HAWAI'I MOVIE AND TELEVISION BOOK

The Hawai'i Movie and Television Book: Celebrating 100 Years of Film Production Throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

 

Aloha 24 X 100

 

Just in time for the holidays, Honolulu’s Mutual Publishing has released The Hawai'i Movie and Television Book: Celebrating 100 Years of Film Production Throughout the Hawaiian Islands, co-authored by this publication's prolific writer Ed Rampell.

The handsome, four-color 216-page volume celebrates 100 years of filmmaking throughout the Hawaiian Islands with the focus on Hollywood feature films and television production since 1995, when Rampell co-authored Made In Paradise: Hollywood’s Films of Hawaii and The South Seas.

 

The Hawai'i Movie and Television Book includes: The screen images of Polynesians and Asians; how South Seas Cinema more than any other film genre is obsessed with the theme of Utopia; where films/TV shows were shot on location in the Hawaiian Islands; a history of the present day Hawai’i Film/TV Industry; and iconic Hawai‘i crime fighters as portrayed on screen. Rampell also places in historic context and reevaluates important movies such as 1995’s Waterworld and 1998’s Godzilla, revealing how they are motion picture parables of global warming and nuclear testing.

 

The films and television programs are covered in detail, heavily illustrated with archival and contemporary photographs. A valuable reference for film aficionados, a treasure trove of memorabilia for Hawai‘i movie fans, and an important document of Hollywood’s cinematic history with Hawai‘i. Film trivia enthusiasts will have a blast and discover where to go to see the Island locations where popular productions such as From Here to Eternity, Jurassic Parkand The Descendants were made.

 

Hollywood directors brought their own unique vision of paradise to the screen which receives special treatment in a chapter on the South Sea film genre. There is also coverage of films about Hawaiian life made by Native Hawaiians and other local filmmakers.

 

Los Angeles-based film historian Ed Rampell, who formerly lived in Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and Micronesia, where he covered the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific and Hawaiian Sovereignty movements for ABC’s “20/20”, Radio Australia, Radio New Zealand, Honolulu Weekly, etc., is now one of L.A.’s most prolific reviewers, covering film/theater/opera for JEstherEntertainment.com, as well as HollywoodProgressive.com, Legends and Legacies, The Daily Dissident, People’s World and The Progressive Magazine.

 

Rampell previously co-authored Made In Paradise: Hollywood’s Films of Hawaii and The South Seas and Pearl Harbor In The Movies with Luis I. Reyes, who also co-wrote Hispanics in Hollywood. Rampell is also a co-founder of the South Seas Cinema Society, an Oahu-based fan club/film society.  

For more information about The Hawai'i Movie and Television Book: Celebrating 100 Years of Film Production Throughout the Hawaiian Islands,including a rave review by Honolulu’s top entertainment reporter, or to order copies  see Hawai'i Movie Book.