Tag: Novato Theater Company

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PICK ASR Theater! ~~ NTC’s “Noises Off” a Top-Notch Door-Slammer

By Cari Lynn Pace

Noises Off is a door-slamming winner in Novato Theater Company’s jewel box of a theater. Director Carl Jordan gathered nine thoroughbred comedic actors and then coerced stage set magician Michael Walraven to design and build a magnificent two-story set. It actually rotates.

If you’ve wondered what goes on backstage during a production, here’s a crazy glimpse. A troupe of marginally skilled actors rehearse a vapid British play, preparing for a tour in the U.S. Their ineptitude is amusing; their lust for the spotlight hilarious. Offstage, the frustrated director Lloyd (Mike Pavone) rolls his eyes as he repeats directions again and again. The housekeeper, Dotty (Heather Shepardson), switches her English accent on and off as she tries to remember her lines and where to put a plateful of sardines.

“…what goes on during a production? Here’s a crazy glimpse…”

Two unannounced arrivals interrupt the housekeeper’s solitude. A tax estate agent (Diego Hardy) is a riot as he speaks in unfinished phrases: “ I mean . . . you know.” He has brought his sexy bimbo co-worker (Melody Payne) for a tryst. She’s all for it and preens in her stage spotlight, but she has trouble finding the right door to the bedroom. It’s a riot watching her try to figure it out.

Meanwhile, absentee tax-dodging owners (Jeffrey Biddle and Jane Harrington) return from their foreign hideout to sneak in a private celebratory night at their home. They admonish the housekeeper to deny she has seen them. “We were never here!” The Mrs. heads for the bedroom and the Mr. checks his mail in the study.

Marin County theater vet Wood Lockhart (left) plays Seldon in “Noises Off!” at NTC.

Neither door onstage is working properly, so the director calls for the stage handyman Tim (Sky Collins) to fix them. By the way, where is the actor playing the aging burglar? Wood Lockhart plays the perennially tipsy Selsdon, basking in faded memories of his Shakespearian roles. He requires his lines to be read to him by the director’s beleaguered assistant Poppy (Rachel Ka’iulani-Kennealy.) He mis-hears whatever he’s told, even when the entire cast shouts the line at him. The fun is just beginning!

In Act II, the stage rotates to reveal the backstage area behind the set. The ooohs and applause of the audience were well deserved. Designer/builder Walraven laughed “I wouldn’t have done this for anyone except Carl (Jordan.) He said he wouldn’t do this show unless I built a rotating stage for it. Carl told me he never expected that I would agree to do it.” How fortunate for NTC that he did!

“Noises Off!” cast at NTC.

Noises Off shows off the finely-timed chaos of comedy, with crazy personalities and wild action. Comedy can be the most demanding type of acting, and this cast nailed it. NTC’s President Marilyn Izdebski noted “The actors were encouraged to bring their own individualities to their roles, and they went over-the-top with fun.”

Noises Off is full of hilarious comic performances and more than a few surprising pratfalls. One friend commented “I laughed so much my jaw hurts.” From flying axes to slippery sardines, this is a show not to be missed.

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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: [email protected]

 

ProductionNoises Off!
Written byMichael Frayn
Directed byCarl Jordan
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThru July 14th, 2024
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$25 – $45
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall4.75/5.0
Performance4.75/5.0
Script4.5/5.0
Stagecraft4.75/5.0
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES
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PICK! ASR Theater ~~ “Spamalot” — Novato Theater Company Masters Madcap Musical

By Cari Lynn Pace

Spamalot is the wacky stage musical written by Eric Idle of “Monty Python” fame. Veteran North Bay actor Larry Williams puts his comedic credentials to skillful use in directing the cast of nineteen in this hilarious send-up by Novato Theater Company. It’s part goofy, part camp, and all irreverent, with enough local references to make a real winner.

Four offstage musicians under Daniel Savio quickly open the fun onstage with John DuPrez’s “Fish Slap Dance.” NTC Artistic Director Marilyn Izdebski choreographed this screwball start (and other dances) while Tracy Bell Redig costumed the dancers in bright kinda-classic outfits and dead fish. Redig noted, “Wait ‘til you see the other outfits in this show. There are over 500 pieces of costuming and props. We’re amazed we can keep it all straight backstage.”

. . . full of outstanding comic performances and knockout voices . . .

This is the first production in Novato Theater Company’s lineup for 2024, and it’s full of outstanding comic performances and knockout voices. The castle stage, designed and built by Michael Walraven, is a real treat, lit up to the nines by Frank Sarubbi and the irrepressible Izdebski.

Spamalot spoofs Camelot, of course—the legend of King Arthur in Medieval England. The King, a royally regal and handsome Bruce Vieira, seeks Knights for his round table. He clops into ye olde towne accompanied by his hardworking horse clopper Patsy, (Michael Hunter). Townsperson Nicole Thordsen has a feisty exchange with the King as victims of the Black Plague victims are carted out. Athletic Kevin Allen insists he is “Not Dead Yet” as he rises from the pile of corpses and dances, singing and smiling.

(L to R) Top Row: Nicole Thordsen (Sir Robin), Izaak Heath (Sir Lancelot), John Griffin (Sir Bedevere), Michael Coury Murdock (Sir Galahad). Bottom Row: Michael Hunter (Patsy), Bruce Vieira (King Arthur) Dani Innocenti Beem (Lady of the Lake). Photo by Jere Torkesen and HariettePearl Fuggit.

The spotlights shine on multiple dance numbers, delightfully performed by a cadre of four local chorines: Hannah Passanisi, Olivia Ekoue Totou, Shino Yamagami Cline, and Abigail Burton, frequently backed up by the guys. The talented cast are clearly having a blast onstage with infectious moves and star-quality smiles.

Star quality: when Dani Innocenti-Beem materializes as the stunning “Lady of the Lake,” there’s no doubt she will knock ‘em dead, plague or not. Her powerhouse voice fills the theatre; her comedic expressions and mannerisms are over-the-top.

(L-R) Top Row: Nicole Thordsen (Sir Robin), Izaak Heath (Sir Lancelot), John Griffin, (Sir Bedevere), Michael Coury Murdock (Sir Galahad). Photo by Jere Torkesen, HariettePearl Fuggit.

Monty Python’s Spamalot has no real plot, with loosely connected scenes and goofy sight gags. Nonsensical characters are amusingly costumed and often disjointed, including one particular Black Knight. Even God himself makes an appearance. One hesitates to laugh too long for fear of missing what comes next. The show winds up with the familiar song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” to encourage the audience to whistle along.

Truly a marvelous madcap romp, it’s shaping up to be a sold-out start to the year for Novato Theater Company. Don’t miss it!

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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: [email protected]

 

ProductionSpamalot
Written byBook & Lyrics by Eric Idle. Music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle
Directed byLarry Williams
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThru Mar 3rd
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$25 – $35
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall4.75/5.0
Performance4.75/5.0
Script4/5.0
Stagecraft4.5/5.0
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES
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PICK! ASR Theater ~~ “The Addams Family Musical” Really is a Scream! NTC Musical Comedy Nails It!

By Cari Lynn Pace

Characters from the 1964 television series come alive, along with many ghosts, in this hilarious fun-filled musical. Novato Theatre Company under the direction of Marilyn Izdebski pulled out all the stops, including thunder and lightning, to rival any Broadway stage. The derelict Gothic mansion, designed and built by Michael Walraven, is just the start of this journey with a dark and bizarre family.

Morticia (Alison Peltz) at work on the NTC stage.

The casting is hilariously perfect. Bruce Vieira commands the role of Gomez with an authoritative touch and comedic timing. Veteran Alison Peltz slinks and sizzles as Morticia, a perfectly gorgeous foil to amorous Gomez. Their children yank on one another, as siblings do, Pugsley with his chains (alternating roles Robin Kraft and Milo Ward) and Wednesday (Harriette Pearl Fugitt) with her crossbow.

…Novato Theater Company has a graveyard smash…

Fugitt has the central role in the plot: she’s the daughter with a serious boyfriend who is “normal.” She fears bringing him and his ordinary family into her own bizarre home. Fugitt seems made for this part, breathing life into her deadpan delivery and big brassy voice.

Uncle Fester (Pat Barr) and Grandma (Kayla Gold) at work on the NTC stage.

Wednesday’s boyfriend Lucas (John Diaz) is a sweetie who somehow finds love in her peculiar antics. His conservative midwestern parents, Alice (Jane Harrington) and Mal (David Shirk) are taken aback at the oddities of the Addams family when they come for dinner. They struggle to retain their cheery composure for their son’s sake.

“The Addams mansion overflows with outlandish occupants…”

The Addams mansion overflows with outlandish occupants. Pat Barr channels Fester, the genial uncle who charms the audience. Lurch, the monosyllabic Frankenstein-like butler, is brought to life by Todd Krish, green skin tone and all. When asked post-show how long it took to get into their makeup, these actors laughed and answered “We’re both bald anyway, so it was an easy half hour to complete the job.”

Grandma, played with a wink and a sly grin by Kayla Gold, draws laughs just showing up onstage. She has a cart full of potions and poisons. Pugsley doesn’t want Wednesday to marry Lucas and leave home, so he sneaks a snootful to dose Wednesday. Intended to turn loose her inhibitions and offend Lucas, it mistakenly is swallowed by Alice, who goes wild in a showstopper number on the Adams’ dinner table.

The principal actors at work in “The Addams Family Musical” at NTC

As if all this outlandish talent wasn’t enough, eleven graveyard “ancestors” dance around in cadaverous make-up and ghostly costumes designed by Tracy Redig. Their beat goes on with the help of a live band offstage directed by Judy Wiesen.

Be warned: the line for tickets went out the door on opening night, and preview night was also sold out. Novato Theater Company has a graveyard smash in The Addams Family Musical so snap your fingers and get there soon.

Playing now through October 8th at the 99-seat Novato Playhouse, 5420 Nave Drive, Novato CA. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2 PM. [email protected] or email [email protected].

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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: [email protected]

 

ProductionThe Addams Family Musical
Written byMarshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Directed byMarilyn Izdebski
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough Oct 8th
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$25 – $35
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall4.25/5.0
Performance4.25/5.0
Script4/5.0
Stagecraft4.75/5.0
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES
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ASR Theater ~~ Comedic Tale Parodies Shakespeare’s Creativity Via NTC Cast of 20

By Woody Weingarten

The Novato Theatre Company has chosen to thrust us into a time machine.

At the turn of the 21st Century, now disgraced Harvey Weinstein — who almost single-handedly was responsible for a major spurt in #metoo movement affiliations protesting sexual abuse — bullied Academy Award voters enough so the film he’d produced, Shakespeare in Love, won 12 Oscars.

Through June 11 of this year, a play that was based on the film and had opened in London’s West End in 2014 is likely to impress and amuse NTC audiences.

Shakespeare in Love is an ambitious, rib-tickling show (with a few serious soliloquies) that yanks us back to the 1590s (with plenteous references to Verona and Stratford) when women were forbidden by law to be actors. That detail, of course, doesn’t stop Viola De Lesseps (adroitly portrayed by Rachel Kaiulani Kennealy with a gamut of emotions) as she falls for a struggling young playwright, Will Shakespeare, and sidesteps the edict by dressing like a man.

In the process she becomes his muse and lover, leading him to turn an unwritten comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter, into a polished tragedy titled Romeo and Juliet.

Welcome to comedic Gender-Bending 101 — 2023 style, with the 20-member cast featuring not only women clad as men but men in drag as well. It would be remiss at this juncture, not incidentally, to not laud time-appropriate costuming by Jody Branham, who scoured the Bay Area to borrow the necessary garb.

Shakespeare in Love toys not only with identify but with the inner mis-workings of theatrical productions (riddled with a running gag about playwriting that “It’s a mystery”). The community players manage to perfectly ham up almost everything.

Marilyn Izdebski, a tireless retiree, has produced a show that has almost too many praiseworthy participants for a reviewer to handle, beginning with co-directors Nic Moore and Gillian Eichenberger, who jointly ensure that the two-hour presentation feels shorter than that.

Chemistry between Rachel Kaiulani Kennealy’s frisky Viola and Michael Girts’ boyish, rubbery visaged Will is a marvel to witness.

Also deserving plaudits for their farcical work are Kim Bromley, whose squeaky-voiced flightiness is ideal as Viola’s nurse confidant; Michel Benton Harris, whose macho bravado is exquisite as Christopher (Kit) Marlowe, Will’s friend and rival; Michele Sanner, who turns the first Queen Elizabeth into a haughty, pasty-faced, occasionally enlightened ruler; Tomás Fierro, who embodies Richard Burbage as a selfish, volatile, bombastic benefactor; and the definitive audience favorite, fifth-grader Alexa Heftye, wildly woofing away as Spot the Dog.

The production, unfortunately, is hampered by players not being mic’d and some unable to project sufficiently to be heard easily. Also, the music (even when soft) sometimes drowns out dialogue.

In contrast, check out the marvelous mock aristocratic dancing (and joyous stomping) choreographed by Stephen Beecroft, the copious and rapid costume changes, and a bit of swashbuckling swordplay — not to mention the out-of-context and out-of-the-box references to other plays by the Bard (highlighted by “Out, out, damned spot,” an order directed at the pooch).

Although some main characters have a real place in British history, this comedy by Lee Hall (an adaptation of Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s screenplay) injects a playful wink hither and a mischievous wink yon.

As a result, the NTC’s Shakespeare in Love production deserves at least four winks, er, stars.

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ASR Senior Contributor Woody Weingarten has decades of experience writing arts and entertainment reviews and features. A member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle,  he is the  author of three books, The Roving I; Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates; and Rollercoaster: How a Man Can Survive His Partner’s Breast Cancer. Contact: [email protected] or https://woodyweingarten.com or http://www.vitalitypress.com/

ProductionShakespeare in Love
Written byLee Hall
Directed byNic Moore and Gillian Eichenberger
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough June 11th
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$15 – $27
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall4/5
Performance4/5
Script3/5
Stagecraft4.5/5
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES
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PICK! ASR Theater ~~ Ibsen Classic Gets a Striking Sequel: “A Doll’s House Part 2”

By Cari Lynn Pace

A stately 1879-era living room, complete with divan and chandelier, sets the stage for this four-person drama at the intimate 99-seat Novato Theatre Company: “A Doll’s House Part 2” written by Lucas Hnath as a continuation of Henrik Ibsen’s original. It’s a winner.

Hnath has created this sequel adroitly using four original characters. It is not necessary to have seen Ibsen’s original play to follow the plot of “Part 2.” This story, like the original, vacillates between uplifting and troubling in its examination of gender and society’s rules.

The die is cast when Torvald tells Nora “There’s the door. I know you know how to use it.”

This story, like the original, vacillates between uplifting and troubling in its examination of gender and society’s rules.

Director Gillian Eichenberger has pulled astounding performances from her well-experienced acting ensemble, lending depth and validity to their roles.

Nora, a determined and now successful woman of substance, returns after 15 years to her former home. She had walked out on her husband and young children in a quest to find a life that had purpose and passion. When award-winning Alison Peltz takes the stage as Nora, she imbues her with near-manic confidence, sure in her conviction of emotional decisions made so long ago.

Peltz and Hall at work. Photos by NTC.

As Nora initially shares her past with aging Anne Marie, the nanny beautifully portrayed by veteran Shirley Nilsen Hall, the question explodes: Why has Nora returned?

Nora’s husband Torvald unexpectedly shows up, and the biting recriminations begin. Torvald’s anger at Nora’s past behavior bubbles to the surface in a solidly convincing performance by Mark Clark. Nora wants something and displays herself to be self-centered and manipulating. Torvald says no.

Can Nora’s daughter Emmy, now grown, help convince Torvald to give Nora what she wants? The role is convincingly enacted by young Jannely Calmell, who stands up to Nora’s sly suggestions.

How will this remarkably written drama end? The die is cast when Torvald tells Nora “There’s the door. I know you know how to use it.”

Covid checks and masks required as of this writing.

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ASR Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ProductionA Doll’s House Part 2
Written byLucas Hnath
Directed byGillian Eichenberger
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough June 12th, 2022
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$15 – $27
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall5/5
Performance5/5
Script4/5
Stagecraft5/5
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES

 

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An Aisle Seat Review: “Our Town” Falls Flat at NTC – by Nicole Singley

With its modest set and simple, unassuming premise, “Our Town” aims to celebrate the magic of the mundane, contemplating the ordinary, everyday moments we too often take for granted. Revolutionary when it debuted in 1938, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama has since become an enduring staple of American theater. Under Michael Barr’s direction, this three-act classic takes the stage at Novato Theater Company through February 16th.

We open with a welcome from the Stage Manager (Christine Macomber), who introduces us to the small New Hampshire town of Grover’s Corners, and continues to serve as our guide and sometimes-narrator throughout. We meet the town doctor and the milkman, watch as families gather ‘round their kitchen tables, and eavesdrop on schoolkids discussing their homework. Wilder’s script spans over a decade of love, loss, and run-of-the-mill moments in the lives of the townspeople. At the center of it all are George and Emily (Bryan Munar and Nicole Thordsen), the all-American boy and girl next door, who we encounter first as childhood friends, again as awkward teenagers stumbling into the early stages of love, and later as bride and groom, hurdling into adulthood ‘til death do they part.

Beautifully written and subtly profound in its frank depiction of normal people living unremarkable lives, its power lies not in what happens – as very little, in fact, actually does – but in the authenticity of its characters and the relatability of their life experiences. “Our Town” could be any town, anywhere at any time, the residents as familiar as our own friends and neighbors. It’s perhaps the realization of our shared humanity, and the quiet beauty and impermanence of each little moment, that beckons us to appreciate the here-and-now before it slips through our fingers.

. . . an ever-haunting tribute to the small, extraordinary moments that comprise an ordinary life.”

This show has the potential to be powerful and poignant – possibly transcendent – in the hands of the right cast and director. NTC’s production, however, comes up lacking in sincerity, bordering on tedious and boring. Much of the acting is stiff and unnatural, the lines flat and devoid of real emotion, and where nuance and depth of feeling are needed, there is little to be found. Without believable characters and relationships, their interactions become trivial and uncompelling.

Munar and Thordsen (Photo Credit: Fred Deneau)

Arguably the most damaging weak link in this production, the love story between George and Emily is utterly unconvincing. Munar’s George is sweet but overly shy and nervous, possessing little charm and none of the archetypal trappings of a school class president and star baseball player. There is no palpable chemistry between him and Thordsen, and none of the flirtatious tension or playfulness that often accompanies a budding young romance. Their love is at the heart of “Our Town,” and it needs to feel genuine in order to effectively hold our interest, arouse our compassion, and convey the full weight and meaning of Wilder’s message. Instead, it just feels flat and forced.

Janice Deneau and Mary Weinberg have done well with costume choices. Sparse scenic design is at the playwright’s instruction, and it’s reasonably well executed here by local designer and builder Michael Walraven. The production suffers, however, from the nearly constant, distracting boom and echo of heavy footsteps clomping across the hollow stage, often making it terribly difficult to hear and follow the actors’ lines.

On the whole, the ensemble puts forth a good effort. Macomber makes an excellent narrator, and Jennifer Reimer is convincing as wife and mother, Mrs. Gibbs. What’s missing is the sense that some key players are fully at home in their roles. Perhaps a few more performances will help them find their groove. There is great potential here to ramp up the emotional impact. “Our Town” remains deeply relevant despite its age, and an ever-haunting tribute to the small, extraordinary moments that comprise an ordinary life.

Nicole Singley is a Senior Contributing Writer and Editor at Aisle Seat Review and a voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Sonoma County’s Marquee Theater Journalists Association, and the American Theatre Critics Association.

 

ProductionOur Town
Written byThornton Wilder
Directed byMichael Barr
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough February 16th
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(415) 883-4498
Tickets$15 – $27
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall3/5
Performance3/5
Script4/5
Stagecraft3/5
Aisle Seat Review PICK?-----
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An Aisle Seat Theater Review! A Sharp-Edged Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, NTC Collaborates w/Theatre-at-Large by Cari Lynn Pace

Alison Peltz as Mrs. Lovett, Bruce Vieira as Sweeney Todd and Fernando Siu as Tobias Ragg
Photo Credit: Kristen Schutz

This fiendishly fine performance would make Stephen Sondheim smile with sadistic glee. It’s dark and diabolical, with singing, acting, costumes, and a two-level set as sharp as the shaving razor wielded by Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Directors Kim Bromley and Bruce Vieira (masterfully commanding the title role) are skilled veterans at their craft.  They handle the darkly humorous story of a vengeful barber with restraint, using a large cadre of actors and an even larger oven. Ragged actors move in from all sections of the theatre to sweep the audience into the malevolent background story.

It’s hard times in desperate 19th century London, and many morals have been suspended. A migrant sailor (handsome Cordell Wesselink) rescues a mysterious castaway who calls himself Sweeney Todd.  Bruce Vieira seems chillingly suited for this title role, giving it an imposing figure and dour countenance.

Todd is a talented barber who captures the admiration of the street scene by challenging the local barber and mountebank (mustachioed Dominic Quin-Harken) to a shave-off.  His young assistant Tobias (irrepressible Fernando Siu) is flexible when his master becomes not only the loser, but oddly lost to sight as well.

Don’t miss NTC’s Sweeney Todd… It’s deliciously devilish…

Todd sets up shop, and gains the attention of Mrs. Lovett (charming Alison Peltz), the widowed pie-maker, despite his character’s taciturn demeanor. Peltz is the award-winning actor who connives her way into making meat stuffing for her pies from the victims of Todd’s short-tempered vengeance. This unholy alliance brings delicious accolades and business prosperity while Todd bides his time for revenge on the Judge (snidely done by Charles Evans) and the Beedle (a fine role voiced by Mauricio Suarez).

The Judge and Beedle had sent Todd to a prison colony to pave the way for the seduction of Todd’s wife. Unfortunately, she took poison rather than succumb to their lecherous plans.

Todd has escaped and returns to find that his grown daughter (lovely soprano Julianne Bretan) is the ward of the very Judge who lusted after Todd’s wife. The libidinous Judge is now focused on pursuing the daughter. It’s all one can do to resist hissing at these bad boys.

As a child, some may recall the gruesome song “Dunderbeck’s Machine.” We laughed at the invention of his sausage meat machine, and the outcome, when we boisterously sang the lyrics. Let it be noted that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has added social elements that make it inappropriate for children.

Cordell Wesselink as Anthony and Julianne Bretan as Johanna
Photo Credit: Mark Clark

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street won multiple Tony awards, including best musical. There are a couple of recognizable songs including “(Nothing’s Going to Harm You) Not While I’m Around” and “Pretty Women.” The production possesses sufficient twists and turns in the plot to keep the audience entertained. Sondheim’s songs and lyrics are a real challenge, yet all are impressively handled by the cast who had countless rehearsals to do such an outstanding job.

NTC’s recipe for success is Hugh Wheeler’s book, mixed with Marilyn Izdebski’s choreography, and folding in the meaty music directed by Judy Weisen to bake up this tasty treat.  Don’t miss NTC’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It’s deliciously devilish.

Playing now through November 17th at the Novato Playhouse, 5420 Nave Drive, Novato CA. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2 PM.  Shows suspended by the North Bay Kincaid fires will transfer to Thursdays, Nov. 7 & 14 at 7:30pm.

ASR Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.

 

ProductionSweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Written byStephen Sondheim
Directed byKim Bromley & Bruce Vieira
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough Nov. 17th
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone(855) 682-8491
Tickets$24 – $30
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall5/5
Performance5/5
Script4/5
Stagecraft5/5
Aisle Seat Review PICK?YES!
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AN AISLE SEAT REVIEW! Novato Theater Company Exposes Tragedies and Turmoil in “The Humans” — by Cari Lynn Pace

Photo by Fred Deneau

“The Humans” is a slice-of-life peek into a dysfunctional family’s Thanksgiving dinner. It starts with discord and never lets up. Fine performances by six Novato Theater Company actors rivet sharp-edged characters as they parry and thrust at one another.

Stephen Karam wrote his drama of three generations hiding secrets and resentments in a basement apartment (a great set by Michael Walraven). Add alcohol, irritating neighbors and faulty light bulbs to put this dinner on edge. Anyone want them as relatives?

Director Patrick Nims pulled fine performances from the actors to create cohesion from their criticisms. Brigid (Olivia Brown) is the youngest in this confrontational family. She starts out angry and stays that way, even when her helpful boyfriend (Ron Chapman) tries to be supportive. He doesn’t escape a grilling, of course.

“It was a challenge to memorize the gibberish in the script.”…

Brigid’s older sister Aimee (Alicia Kraft) has serious health and relationship turmoil, which she wisely keeps close to her vest. For sport, the sisters gang up to mock their mother (Laura J. Davies), reducing her to tears. Their father (David Francis Perry) gets shredded by both wife and daughters. It’s not pretty to watch, unless you’re fond of schadenfreude.

Marilyn Hughes, playing the frail and wheelchair-bound Momo, is particularly convincing. Her character doesn’t do or say much to provoke anyone, so her family mostly ignores her. Hughes notes offstage “It was a challenge to memorize the gibberish in the script.”

“The Humans” runs for 90 minutes, with no intermission, and contains adult themes and language.

ASR Reviewer Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.

 

ProductionThe Humans
Written byStephen Karam
Directed byPatrick Nims
Producing CompanyNovato Theater Company
Production DatesThrough Sept. 29th
Production AddressNovato Theater Company
5420 Nave Drive, Novato 94949
WebsiteNovatoTheaterCompany.org
Telephone
Tickets$21 – $27
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall3/5
Performance5/5
Script3/5
Stagecraft5/5
Aisle Seat Review PICK?-----
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ASR Capsule Theater Review! NTC’s “Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain” – By Barry Willis

“Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain” at NTC

Playwright Mark Dunn went to the UT Austin. His time in Texas taught him much about how Southern women relate to each other.  At Novato Theater Company through June 10, his “Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain” is a comedy about bank tellers who meet each morning in the break room of a branch bank in Oxford, Mississippi to share the latest episodes of their personal soap operas—episodes that invariably involve men and the problems they cause.

Hande Gokbas plays head teller Lorene, who scarcely tolerates her co-workers’ tardiness and inattention to work until she meets a promising potential mate herself. Meanwhile the other tellers—Jenny (Lindsay John), Twyla (Janelle Ponte), Betina (Jayme Catalano), and Delores (Sandi V. Weldon)—engage nonstop with problems as minor as personal disagreements and as serious as divorce and death, talk of which is a mix of deadpan discussion and provocative pronouncement delivered in plausible accents.

With “Five Tellers,” Dunn follows a foolproof time-honored strategy for comedy: put very different characters in a pressure cooker, and slowly turn up the heat.  It always worked for Neil Simon, and under the direction of Anna Smith, the gambit works nicely here too. This well-paced companion piece to “Steel Magnolias” offers plenty of laughs and an upbeat conclusion that will make you happy you bought a ticket.

ASR Senior Editor Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.

Contact: [email protected]

 

“Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain” by Novato Theater Company at NTC Playhouse, 5420 Nave Drive, Novato

Through June 10; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.

Tickets: $15 – $27

Info: 1-855-682-8491, www.novatotheatercompany.org

Rating: Three-and-a-half Out of Five Stars

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