The Seagull Takes Wing at The Odyssey

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The Seagull Takes Wing at The Odyssey by Genie Davis

The Seagull, one of Chekhov’s most popular plays, is here in Los Angeles at The Odyssey Theatre in an extended run through February 23rd. The production is a don’t-miss directed by Chekhov expert and actor Bruce Katzman, author of Secrets of Chekhov, and stars Sasha Alexander of Rizzoli and Isles, NCIS, and Shameless as Arkadina, and James Tupper of Revenge, Big Little Lies, Grey’s Anatomy, Men in Trees,  FBI, and The Irrational, as Trigorin. The exciting production offers a timeless performance about chasing love and mourning its passing.

Stay tuned for a review of this production, but we were delighted to speak with the director and stars. Asked why The Seagull is such a special play, Katzman explained “The play is 126 years old yet it is unbelievably modern. Chekhov had his finger on the pulse of the human heart, and the characters in The Seagull might very well be people you read about in the gossip columns of today in New York or Los Angeles. The lure of celebrity, the dreams of a country girl who wants to be famous, the frustration of a son who can’t compete with his mother’s stardom and can’t find his own artistic path, the futile pursuit of love in all the wrong places! Audiences still laugh and cry with recognition. They see themselves, their neighbors and their family in this play.”

Katzman adds that he wants audiences to know the play and this production are “100% accessible. The name of Chekov, like the name of Shakespeare, sometimes intimidates modern theatre-goers and they’re afraid they won’t understand what’s going on, or that hte language will be difficult, or the story will go over their heads. But in our production you understand everything. And it’s a brisk two hours! We have not cut anything, but it is not a boring and tedious ‘period piece.’ It is fun!” he enthuses.

According to Katzman, he’s experienced “two great pleasures” in directing this production. “First, to assemble a cast of newcomers and oldtimers who have blended themselves into a beautiful ensemble; and having earned the trust of that ensemble, that they would help me realize my vision of the play. The great payoff has been to witness audiences night after night sit in utter silence to see the story unfold. You can hear a pin drop most of the time, except when they are howling with laughter! Perfect Chekhov.”

Lead actress Sasha Alexander says what inspires her most about the production and her role in it is the fact that she has always wanted to be a part of The Seagull. “I loved meeting Bruce and James initially, we got along well and I felt safe to go on this journey with them. I have enjoyed James’ work for years and with Bruce’s Chekhov expertise, I knew they would be the right team to dive into this with. They have assembled a wonderful cast, so many young talents, and Bruce’s interpretation of the play has made it contemporary and accessible to a wide range of audience.”

Co-star James Tupper concurs and adds “I’m inspired by the level of writing. The cast who are each super in their own way — and by the chocolate for sale at the Odyssey concession.  Salted Caramel Chocolate feels a lot like love,” he laughs.

Alexander attests that she loves her role as Arkadina. “She is a complicated woman who swings many ways throughout the play, emotionally. But she is tough and smart and a survivor. I like that. That’s what inspires me the most – the challenge of the role and just getting to perform this classic with so many beautiful artists.”

She finds that Arkadina is a challenging role on many levels. “The narcissism, trauma and performative parts of her character are swinging constantly, making it a truly diffcult experience every time we perform the play. But the relationship she has with her lover, Trigorin, her son, and her brother are complicated and rich. So many things to discover and play with. I love doing it and it is never the same, which is so inspiring and satisfying. It’s been one of the most wonderful acting experiencesof my life.”

Tupper describes his favorite part of the play as “The fight scene Sasha and I have in the middle of the play.  Don’t worry, it’s very funny and I think every married couple might relate. Also it’s fun to pretend to be a very famous person, even if it’s only for two hours, four times a week.”

Director Bruce Katzman’s full cast includes Sasha Alexander, James Tupper, Parker Sack, Cece Kelly, Carlos Carrasco, Carolyn Crotty, Joe Hulser, Will Dixon, Brianna Bryan, Matthew Hartley, Lukas Jann, and Hannah May Howard. The production is co-produced by Katzman, Tupper, and Crotty.

Extended through Feb. 23, the remaining performances are Thursdays Feb. 13; Feb. 20; Fridays Feb. 14; Feb. 21, Saturdays
Feb. 15; Feb. 22, and Sunday afternoons Feb. 16; Feb.23.  Those attending can stay for post-show Talkbacks on February 23rd.
The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles.

  • Genie Davis; photos provided by the production.

Heidi Duckler Dances Into 39th Year in the Light of the Harvest Moon

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With immersive magic, Heidi Duckler Dance celebrated its 39th year with a site specific dance perfomance and gala last Saturday with signature impressive original style.

The excitingly innovative dance company is known for site-specific perfromances, and this one, held the the Frank Gehry-designed outdoor space of the Loyola Law School Campus, was stunning. The performance, Dance in the Light of the Harvest Moon was an hour long extravaganza of swirling and galvanizing dance.

 

Featuring live saxophone and cello, dancers in stunning fish head costumes wove from plaza area to ascending stairwells, parking garage ramps, and beside a spectacularly lit purple and green tree. Why fish? Renowned architecht Gehry was known to love fish, and the campus was designed, Gehry himself as said, as a kind of stage set,  “…a little village of buildings around a main plaza…with character and diverse structures.” The buildings served here as a contained aquarium of sorts, aswim with lights, music, and dancers who moved, literally and figuratively “upstream” and circled vibrantly hued buildings.

Along with Duckler’s innovative hand overseeing all,  Madison Olandt, and Aleks Perez choreographed and directed. The
original collaborative piece School of Fish, created by transdisciplinary choreographer Shoji Yamasaki, was a highlight. Skilled visual artist and costume designer Snezana Saraswatic Petrovic created stunning costumes for the event, creating fish heads from plastic zip ties for the dancers, and dressing them in shiny, supple scaly-gloves, fabrics, and sparkly shoes. Costumes, music, and sinuous, ecstatic dance moves all combined with super views of the DTLA skyline for an ecstatic night of dance.

Audience members were treated to charcuterie platters and cocktails, a gala awards ceremony at which Duckler introduced her successsor as artistic director for coming years, Raymond Ejiofor, preceding the dance performance.

The performance moved from plaza to outdoor stairs, from ghostly figures in a kind of underworld to fish-head shimmring swimmers, goddess Diana-like huntresses under illuminated trees, and a final multi-level work that had audience members following the fish-head-wearing dancers up five levels of the school’s parking garage, with costumed saxophonist and bubble machines a part of the delightful finale.

That final piece ended on the rooftop amid the shimmering downtown lights with a silent auction, live band, and buffet tables.  With audience members makng their way home at last to dream of dancing fish and moonlight seranades.

 

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis and Jack Burke

 

Invertigo Dance Theatre Offers Rewarding Interior Design

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Always inventive, powerful, and intensely emotional, Invertigo Dance Theatre’s latest production, Interior Design, will be performed Saturday April 20th and Sunday April 21st at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.  Using the vibrance of modern dance and the gift of extraordinary dancers and choreography, the production takes viewers on an interactive and deligthful journey through the relationship of a couple, as they move through moments of love, loss and transformation.  The work takes us into the world of Anna and Carlos, as they move into a new space together, where they are soon “navigating an ocean of boxes, waves of grief, tides of neighborhood drama, and the ultimate challenge in any relationship: assembling Ikea furniture.”

Artistic Director and Invertigo founder Laura Karlin choreographs in her exciting signature narrative style, as dancers
Hyosun Choi and Marco Palomino soar through an emotionally rich and kinetic narrative. The production features music by Diana Lynn Wallace and Eric Mason.

Since its inception in 2007, Invertigo Dance Theatre has presented original, dynamic, and emotional productions as well as programs that are commuinty centered and as joyous as they are interactive and inclusive.

Invertigo has created and performed more than 40 original choreographic works that invite viewers to dive deeply into the joy and wonder of dance. Along with its eclectic, mesmerizing performances Invertigo offers an inspiring community engagement program, Dancing Through Parkinson’s, which uses dance as the medium to connect and inspire those with Parkinson’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Invertigo productions are always a pure pleasure to watch – this weekends’ shows will be the fourth production I’ve seen from this company. The talented group offers a vital mix of dance, contemporary music, imaginative costumes and set design sure to bring a fusion of movement and magic to those fortunate enough to view the latest production.

This weekend performances take place at The Kirk Douglas Theatre, located at 9820 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA. Show times are Saturday, April 20 at 8pm and Sunday, April 21 at 5pm, and run 65 minutes without intermission.  Parking is free.

Both performances offer additional experiences: a VIP pre-show reception starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday with music, wine, hors d’oeuvres and a celebration of Invertigo’s past, present, and future productions; on Sunday,  from 3 to 4 p.m., a free workshop experience will be led by Karlin and composer Wallace, titled “A Neighborhood is an Orchestra.”  It will be followed by a meet and greet event.

Learn more about both performances and events, and purchase tickets, here.

And don’t miss the chance to view the art of dance in supple, sinuous, and superb form.

  • Genie Davis; images provided courtesy of Invertigo Dance Theatre

Froggy Becomes Is Fabulous, Edgy Fun

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Coming of age never looked this filled with magical realism. Offering a funny, sharp commentary on growing up rough with an ogre of a father and a mother in love with the family priest, A Froggy Becomes is a fast-moving 75-minute play that offers a smart gut punch along with its belly laughs.

A powerhouse Sandra Kate Burck (above, post-performance) is middler schooler Bumpy Diggs, living in the material world – as the Madonna soundtrack excerpts imply – in the 1980s. Her father (Peter Breitmayer) inhabits his ogre costume while Bumpy tries to shape her misbegotten frog-based science project, her friends tease her, the prettiest mean girl is dating Bumpy’s main crush, and her mother carries on a secret affair with a cowardly but sexually enthralled priest.

As written by Becky Wahlstrom and directed by Pat Towne, the play vibrates with wit and poignancy. Colorful sets contrast with an ominous sense of the mysterious goings on in the woods near Bumpy’s home, her crush’s callous desires,  and her father’s brutality. Her resillience is the key to her success with both her mocked science project, and as viewers can see, her plucky survival.

Wahlstrom’s vivid emotional palette fits with the bright set design intentionally, the writer says “Puberty is a time when colors,
smells, words, and kisses are vividly electric. I think that kind of passion is still there. We just need to wake it up every once in a while.”

It’s a jubilant play, one filled with hope and the strong belief that carrying on is what we must do. “Bumpy chooses life no matter what, and she wants you to join her,” Wahlstrom says.

The exuberance of Burck’s lead portrayal engages and defines the play, which is expertly performed all around. Smart, fast-moving dialog propels the action forward, and the play’s single act moves so dynamically that viewers can’t help but be swept up in the highly fraught fun and vicissitudes that make up Bumpy’s life. A Froggy Becomes is a fine light shining in those dark woods that grow near everyone’s adolescent home.

The Open Fist Theatre Company performs the play runs through April 13 at Atwater Village Theater Fridays and
Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. General admission to all performances is $30,  with $25 tickets available for seniors and veterans, and $20 tickets are available to those under 30.  Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles, CA 90039.

  • Genie Davis, photos: Genie Davis and courtesy of Open First.