STAGE REVIEW: ABBAMEMNON

A scene from Abbamemnon.

Tragic disco

By Ed Rampell

There has been a trend afoot in musicals to weave a tapestry around a band’s unrelated songs that has absolutely nothing to do with the original numbers themselves. Unlike The Who’s classic rock opera Tommy or Pink Floyd’s concept album, The Wall, where the composers/lyricists designed the sound to express underlying ideas and plots, the stories and imagery for 1999’s Mamma Mia!, 2002’s We Will Rock You and Cirque du Soleil’s 2006 Love are spun completely out of whole cloth and then cleverly garbed in music by Abba, Queen and the Beatles, respectively. Audiences giggle in giddy recognition when the dramatis personae’s dialogue and derring-do wittily, organically, inexorably lead to the lyrics of one of these oldies but goodies (this vogue only works with vintage bands which have inculcated followings over the, uh, decades).

The Ovation Award-winning Troubador Theater Company’s Abbamemnon arguably has the cleverest conception of this theatrical tendency. Although Mamma Mia! had an insipid, uninspired plot enlivened by the Swedish disco band Abba’s 1970s ebullient beat, Abbamemnon has a brilliant premise: Uniting that mindless dance music with the Greek tragedy, Agamemnon. This extremely bloody drama is the first play in the ancient trilogy called The Oresteia by Aeschylus and its mingling with disco seems like it would be the most inspired combo since the invention of the BLT.

But a work of art requires more than a brainstorm -- it must be worked out and executed. Unfortunately, the Troubies’ genre spoofing mash up does not live up to the promise of its premise. First of all, the sung lyrics and sometimes the spoken dialogue are often difficult to discern. Whereas the combustible mixture of disco and Greek tragedy required a more subtle, satirical sensibility, as in the 1969’s James Garner Western, Support Your Local Sheriff!, the company as directed by Matt Walker opts for a more broad, vaudevillian, slapstick interpretation a la Mel Brooks’ 1974 Blazing Saddles.

To be sure, there is much romping and hoofing with music provided by a live band -- the Troubies are truly a pack of dancing queens and kings. Latecomers are serenaded by a Greek chorus who mock them as they take their seats (touché!). There are topical commentaries of the “get-the-joke?” kind, such as about the flood at UCLA or how expensive the food is at Gladstone’s restaurant in Malibu. The thesps actually wear togas (a bugaboo of this critic, who is skeptical of modern dress versions of plays originally produced in ancient Greece: beware of Greeks wearing shifts) and sandals, which enhances the ambiance of this period piece. The 90-minute one-acter does project lots of frenetic fun (if more for the large onstage cast than for audience members), but whoever wrote this is no Oscar Wilde. We Will Rock You, which is playing at the Ahmanson through Aug. 24, is far cleverer and much better. Perhaps this is why your reviewer was unable to find a playwright’s credit for Abbamemnon, which was mildly, if not wildly, amusing.

For more info about the Troubador Theater Company see: Abbamemnon

STAGE REVIEW: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY

A scene from Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.

Friends of the silver age

By Ed Rampell

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a highly entertaining musical about the meteoric rise and (uh, literally) fall of the eponymous rock ‘n’ roll icon. Todd Meredith certainly does a bravura job of not only acting, but singing and guitar playing as the Texan with the horn rimmed glasses who rose to the top of the charts with hits such as “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue.” Anybody who loves 1950s rock music will enjoy The Laguna Playhouse's crowd pleasing dramatization of the life and career of Buddy Holly. The production cleverly curries favor through audience participation (at one point cutesy props are handed out to everyone in the seats). P&G Designs’ sets, with Howdy Doody and Lone Ranger pop culture motifs, help evoke a wistful, gone-are-the-days ’50s ambiance.

London-born playwright Alan Janes’ 1989 musical is long on Holly’s music and other classic rock tunes but short on the drama. Act one depicts the struggles of the Lubbock lad and the Crickets (Logan Farine plays drummer Jerry Allison and Bill Morey steals many scenes as the upstaging, acrobatic bass player Joe B. Mauldin) as they go up against Texas’ prevailing Country Western grain by pursuing a rockers’ vibe in their music. Why is never fully explained, but before you can say “Oh Boy!” their rockabilly sensibility and driving rhythms propel Buddy Holly and the Crickets onto the hit parade. Soon they outgrow their Lone Star milieu and Norman Petty’s (Nathan Yates Douglass, who, in a dual role, also plays Dion of the Belmonts’ fame) New Mexico recording studio, and they are New York bound.

The band’s foray to the Big Apple sheds light on what might explain Holly’s departure from the musical country conventions that dominated Lubbock. For some reason the good ol’ boys from Texas get it into their noggins to perform at the Apollo Theater, and their appearance at the renowned Harlem standard bearer of African-American culture is nothing short of a cross-cultural experience. Not only for the musicians but for the black theatergoers (whom, the mostly Caucasian Laguna Playhouse ticket buyers stood -- or rather -- sat in for), as well. (Look for James S. Patton during this scene -- he stands out as a hilarious Apollo emcee and later as a piano player.) At another point in the play someone remarks that the band is playing “colored music” and Holly's matter-of-fact response is in the “and your point is?” mode.

Although Holly's songs are full of yearnings for love he has no romantic interests in the first act. However, in Act II Holly meets and falls in love with a Manhattan music industry receptionist and immediately proposes to -- and weds -- Maria Elena (Jenny Stodd, who performs double duty in the cast as a trio of songsters dubbed the Snowbirds). Even though his over protective mother (whom is never seen but is referred to periodically throughout the show) apparently opposes the union for ethnic reasons, Holly marries a Hispanic woman at a time when interracial marriage was not only rare, but frowned down upon in America -- not to mention in the state where the Alamo is located.

The point is that Meredith/Janes’ Holly comes across as one of those rare individuals who doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. He embraces black music and audiences and falls head over heels for a Latina, whom he marries. 

In the second act Buddy and the Crickets have differences of opinion that seem to come from out of nowhere. Janes never develops this conflict -- never mind, the onstage rockers have yet another hit to belt out. The second half of Act II is essentially a rock concert disguised as a reenactment of Holly’s final live performance with Ritchie Valens (an ebullient, kinetic, athletic Emilio Ramos who lights up the stage) and the J.P "The Big Bopper" Richardson (a delightfully daffy, droll Mike Brennan) at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Clashing with capitalist Petty who is refusing to pay Holly (and apparently living up to his name), with Maria Elena expecting, Holly has been forced out onto the road during winter weather in order to sing for his supper. Talk about class struggle! Knowing what’s about to befall the characters may cast a pall over the play for some viewers, but aficionados of vintage rock by Holly and other pop idols of the era will enjoy the half hour or so (including encores) of live music, as the two-acter devolves into, more or less, a gig.

During the grand finale set at Clear Lake Holly plays post-Cricket songs, including "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" and "Raining In My Heart," which show the path his music was moving on, with deeper, more complex orchestration. If not for the cruel intercession of the fates, who knows where Holly’s richer, fuller sound would have gone? Janes finesses the day the music died so as not to ruin the good vibes. What befell the pregnant Maria Elena is never mentioned. Given recent aviation tragedies, depending on its treatment, the ending could have been a major downer that not even the jovial Brennan’s Big Bopper could have pulled the aud out of. Instead, in this play with a large cast deftly directed by Steve Steiner, fans are left with proverbial “Words of Love” and a nostalgic, upbeat rock ‘n’ roll concert.

Let’s call it the day the music lived.

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story runs through August 10 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. For more info: 949-497-ARTS; www.LagunaPlayhouse.com.  

L.A.-based reviewer Ed Rampell co-authored “The Hawaii Movie and Television Book.” (See: http://hawaiimtvbook.weebly.com/.)

STAGE REVIEW: WE WILL ROCK YOU

Galileo Figaro (Brian Justin Crum) in We Will Rock You. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

A night at the musical

By Ed Rampell

This musical is a sheer delight for lovers of the British band Queen in particular and of classic rock in general. Like Mamma Mia!, which features Abba’s disco music, We Will Rock You creates a story to rather cleverly wrap around Queen’s songs. However, director Ben Elton’s book conjures and weaves a saga far more imaginative than Mamma Mia’s! rather trite one. We Will Rock You is imaginatively set in a dystopian future, where instead of book burning, “Globalsoft’s” totalitarian state led by Big Sister Killer Queen (the hilarious Jacqueline B. Arnold) has -- horror of horrors! -- banned rock ‘n’ roll music!

Somehow, although it’s never explained why or how, classic rock songs and lyrics filter through the mind of a teenager called Galileo Figaro (Brian Justin Crum), who teams up with another social misfit he dubs Saramouche (Ruby Lewis). They make common cause with keepers of the flame, the Bohemians -- aged outsiders who remember rock and the day the music died -- in their crusade and rebellion to revive, rehabilitate and resurrect rock ‘n’ roll. (The musical playfully panders to its audience, many of them hailing from the generation that came of age during Queen’s heyday and are roughly the same age as the Bohemians.)

No Brechtian agitprop play, We Will Rock You soft peddles its anti-censorship, antifascist pop politics, which are mostly played for laughs in this rather humorous show. There’s even a droll torture scene that makes witty use of Queen’s “Flash Gordon” number.

The two-acter has a multimedia vibe and two-level stylish set with an eight-piece orchestra sporting dual drum sets, belting out the live tunes from above. Architect Mark Fisher is the original production designer and video director, with Arlene Phillips’ frenetic choreography rousingly hoofed by a large cast accompanied by fab singing. At the Bohemians’ lair is what’s presumably a replica of the Freddie Mercury statue located near the Charlie Chaplin statue at Switzerland’s Lake Geneva. (Here’s the fun fact of the day: According to a plaque on that Swiss sculpture, four octave Freddie Mercury was actually born in Zanzibar.)

There’s just one flaw in this overwhelmingly enjoyable production: While the Globalsoft dictators suppress rock, they themselves perform rock ‘n’ roll numbers, which sort of undercuts their point. But this is a mere quibble: A splendid time was had by all as the musical transformed the Ahmanson into a joyous Radio Ga-Ga-palooza. To paraphrase that enlightened philosopher Jerry Lewis: “You’re only young once, but you can stay immature forever.”

Now, here are two hints from your humble reviewer to enhance your theatergoing experience to the fullest: See/hear this merry madcap melodious musical with a kindred spirit who enjoys Queen music and having a good time. And although this critic is loathe to disclose spoiler alerts, let’s just say that when you think the play is over, do not depart, Dear Reader. Stay put for a grand finale that’s, well, sure to rock you!

We Will Rock You runs through Aug. 24 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012. For more info: Queen (213)628-2772.

FILM REVIEW: PASSIONE

Pietra Montecorvino in Passione.

Turturro's take on Naples

By Don Simpson 

Passione is not a documentary and it is certainly not a narrative; Passione is a series of musical postcards proclaiming writer-director John Turturro’s unwavering love for Naples. Whether or not Turturro will convince you to love Naples as he does is totally reliant upon your acceptance of his absurd yet strangely poetic cinematic technique.

Between seemingly random song and dance routines, Turturro directly addresses the camera to recount seemingly random factual tidbits about Neapolitan history. The structure of Passione seems completely nonsensical. At times it plays like a collection of music videos, other times like a cinematic recreation of an opera or musical theater.

The scenic shots of the city are saturated with biased reverence, while some of the musical performances are so absurdly choreographed that Passione seems like it might actually be a form of parody. If Christopher Guest had directed Passione, I would be much more certain that it is a parodic mockumentary; but I am fairly certain that Turturro wants us to take this film seriously.

Turturro describes Passione as “a musical adventure that comes directly out of the people and the volcanic land they inhabit." He obviously loves the Neapolitan music featured throughout Passione, but he is unable to convince me of why? Passione might be better suited for someone who approaches the film with a pre-existing fascination with Naples.

Passione features Mina, Spakka-Neapolis 55, Avion Travel, Misia, Pietra Montecorvino, Massimo Ranieri, Lina Sastri, M’barka Ben Taleb, Gennaro Cosmo Parlato, Peppe Barra, Angela Luce, Max Casella, Raiz, James Senese, Fausto Cigliano, Fiorello, Enzo Avitabile and Pino Daniele.

HOLLYWOOD BRAZILIAN 2011: BOLLYWOOD DREAM

A scene from Bollywood Dream.

Open up

By Don Simpson

Sofia (Nataly Cabanas), Ana (Paula Braun), Luna (Lorena Lobato) are unemployed Brazilian actresses with families whom they need to support. They travel to India to work in cinema...but, as far as airport customs knows, this trip is purely a spiritual journey. Upon arrival, Sofia, Ana and Luna discover that their hotel reservation has been cancelled; so they haggle the price of another hotel so low that it is difficult not to wonder if karma will come back to bite them.

The three Brazilian actresses are in search of a Bollywood producer, but he is not at the address listed on his business card. Not ones to give up very easily, they recruit a young dance instructor (Mohana Krishna) and an actress (Geetha Satish) to coach them until their big Bollywood break comes along. Sofia, Ana and Luna are prone to arguing and haggling and find themselves repeatedly clashing with Indian culture. Their difficult struggle to find their way commences, but their way does not follow the same meandering path as their destiny. No matter how hard they fight it, their destiny always prevails over their way. Maybe they should not have lied to airport customs after all -- perhaps this is a spiritual awakening?

Writer-director Beatriz Seigner’s Bollywood Dream is a colorful and musical meditation on three Brazilian women who find themselves far away from their native land. Seigner showcases the drastic cultural differences between Brazilians and Indians, but there does appear to be one similarity: the exploitation of women in the entertainment industry. It seems as though actresses are viewed as sexual objects even in Bollywood. What on earth would Radha have to say about that?