A Distinct Society: @Theatreworks Play Review

Though it may sound like the setting of a fictional story, it’s a real place. A place that became both a beacon of hope and setting of tension during the Muslim Travel Ban implemented by the Trump Administration, in 2017.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the US, Canada border. Until now, its odd location was nothing more than a matter of curiosity for some travel enthusiasts. However, when the US Government announced a series of executive orders that prohibited travel and refugee resettlement from select and predominantly Muslim countries, this library became a place where families separated by the ban could meet.  Using this as a jumping off point for a play, the library becomes the prime setting in playwright Kareem Fahmy’s “A Distinct Society”, currently premiering at @Theatreworks Performing Arts Center in Mountain View, CA. This place that brought hope for many, at a time of grave concern and confusion, soon got embroiled in the political ruckus as The Department of Homeland Security began trying to close down the place.

Director Giovanna Sardelli does a fabulous job in working with the single but marvelous set (scenic design by Jo Winiarski) that holds five diverse characters with disparate motivations and disparate ethnic, cultural, societal and personal baggage. 

The Québécois librarian Manon (Carrie Paff) is an opera enthusiast and holds close to her heart this unique space where audiences seated on both sides of the border can watch performances happening at a stage located in Canada. In order for the place to remain open, she must pay heed to the orders of the US Department of Homeland Security. And while her heart compels her to allow divided families to briefly come together in the safe space, she also must deal with her personal Quebecois baggage. To the border control agent Bruce (Kenny Scott) the library’s unique significance is of minimal interest. He is clear that he needs to follow his orders besides trying to get the attention of the beautiful librarian. Young man Declan (Daniel Alitt) is a white, blond-haired Irish kid who cannot fit in among the French speaking snooty Quebecois and uses the library as his refuge when he skips classes. Peyman Gilani (James Rana) and Shirin (Vaneh Assadourian) are a father and daughter duo of Iranian background, divided by arbitrary ruling. Shirin resides in the USA and her father has immigrated to Canada. They share a deep bond and her father tries to bring Shirin their ancestral and familiar food made by her mother. At first, he is told that DHS would not allow any exchange of gifts and then comes the order that prohibits them from meeting altogether.

This unique space that holds both literal and symbolic significance for human bond and connectedness, becomes the setting where much is explored, Canada’s history, alienation caused by arbitrary and cruel rulings as well as from personal choices like impact of divorce on children; what may constitute and shape personal identity and how the choices we must make at challenging times may impact our path forward in this journey of life. 

This is an insightful and thought-provoking piece of theater, at a time when our society is struggling with the impact of many cruel and heart tugging images and happenings of the last few years, like Muslim travel ban, kids in cages, black lives matter, George Floyd, Jan 6th and more. However, overall the story lacks depth that such a story would deserve. The stakes could have been higher, choices more stark, as they were for people who were actually caught in the mess and the mayhem of thoughtless cruelty that lacked minimum concern for humanity.  

This play still remains not-to-miss-play of this theater season. It will be running at #Theatreworks on Castro Street, in Mountain View, till April 30, 2023.  

KK: @naatak Play Review

Bay Area’s phenomenal @Naatak company has passed the mark of producing over 100 plays on stage. In it’s 101st production, the audience get a treat to travel through and re-discover iconic Indian city, New Delhi and meet a diverse group of busy people typical to be found in a large metropolis. 

The chief protagonist KK (fabulously played by Ritwik Verma) is a professor of Hindi literature and an ardent fan of 19th century poet, Bhartendu Harishchandra, famously revered as the father of Hindi literature. Poet Bhartendu was a fearless journalist, honest writer, and a passionate poet and refuted the religious orthodoxy of the time. KK lives a sheltered life, primarily engrossed in poetry. He says, “My time passes in consuming poetry” (“मेरा समय तो काव्यरस में बीत जाता है”).

One day, KK ventures out of his familiar routine presumably in search of what he treasures immensely. KK travels through Connaught Place or CP as it is fondly known in Delhi. CP is a shopping mecca, food haven, scene of many Bollywood films and CP runs in concentric circles around the lush green Central Park and serves as a backdrop to the play. As KK makes his way through Delhi, he loses his way, helps someone find their way, is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle, makes several attempts to get someone to listen to him recite his poetry, confuses others with his naivety and is confused with the price of goods and complex value system that operates underneath all transactions. KK makes his way to Naveen Pustakalay (a bookstore with the name of new that sells old books). Bookstore’s ad says, “at Naveen bookstore, you can find old, voluminous, thin, torn, published, in pandulipi and books in many other conditions”) (“नवीन पुस्तकालय में पुरानी, मोटी, पतली, फटी हुई, छपी हुई, पांडुलिपि, और कई  अवस्थामे पुस्तके उपलब्ध है”).  

The props in the play are brilliant. Major kudos to prop leads, Anitha Dixit and Saurabh Jain, and the entire team. Listening to the finest, purest Hindi and poetry is another special treat. After watching phenomenal, spell binding acting by Ritwik Verma, it is hard to imagine anyone else in this role. However, the play is played by five different actors during its various showings in the Bay Area. Written by Sujit Saraf and directed by Vikas Dhurka, this incredible play is sure to keep the audience spell bound throughout KK’s many adventures that ultimately lead him to the center of a mysterious plot akin to Hindi film adventure. But as they say it is not the destination that matters, it’s the journey and how well the journey prepares one to step up to what awaits at the destination and this is a journey you’re destined to enjoy.  Visit www.naatak.org for tickets.

The Thanksgiving Play: Review

The Thanksgiving Play Review 

The Thanksgiving Play is currently playing in the Bay Area at City Lights Theater in San Jose. Written by Lariss FastHorse, it is a satirical play centered around attempts of four stage artists played by Sarah Dove, Keenan Flagg, Caitlin Gjerdrum, and Bryan Moriarty, to create, write and produce a play. These artists are attempting to create a perfect play that honors and recognizes Native American Heritage Month and also is an expression of gratitude around Thanksgiving celebration. Directed by Roneet Aliza Rahamim, this production is supported by Producers Jonathan Karpf and Kathleen Zaretsky.

The play explores several themes where questions of what may be morally appropriate collides with historical facts, what may be age appropriate collides with whether or not to omit historical details, political correctness collides with representation of multiple perspectives, and diversity and inclusion collides with who can and cannot speak on behalf of other present or absent.

“This play’s comedy comes from the awkward and cringy actions of four well-meaning white folk who realize the dangers of trying too hard”, Roneet Aliza Rahamim. One character muses, “entire thanksgiving celebration is a fiction to celebrate victory of capitalism over communism”, while another wonders aloud, “we can see color but should we even speak for them (Native Americans)” and yet another one laments, “I am a straight white male and it’s an endless minenfield”. At one point while dividing the work into two teams they fall into the quandary of whether it would be more appropriate to divide on the basis of gender or age or race as they cannot completely avoid it.

Central to the play is the issue of historical accuracy. The national narcissism, commercialization of the celebration, and effective marketing has turned the monumental and heart-breaking historical events of theft and genocide into feel good re-casting of the holidays as a celebration of feasting, family and friends; and of gratitude. 

What better way for a nation to erase the guilt? This performance is about performance activism. A note from the Director says, even theatergoers who watch the play, by seeking to learn along with laughter, make a contribution in the fight against Narive American erasure. It’s a worthy goal to place that responsibility on the audience. However, how does the play tackle that responsibility?

The play does an incredible job in bringing forth the hot button issues that have no clear answers like what constitutes diversity, what does genuine representation and cultural authenticity look like, can we celebrate, even perform, events that pertain to cultures not present, and do we have a right to speak on behalf of those not present. However, it provides no answers, no inspirational conclusion, no thoughtful insights to ruminate over. One leaves with a feeling of unease and perhaps that is the intention.  I would have greatly enjoyed a post-play discussion.  

The play will be running in San Jose, CA until December 18, 2022 and tickets can be obtained at www.cltc.org .

Ragtime: Play Review

Terrence Mcnally’s musical masterpiece “Ragtime” at theatreworks in Mountain View, based on adaptation of Doctorow’s incisive novel, is directed by Theatreworks’ founder, Robert Kelly with haunting music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. 

Doctorow’s sweeping semi-historical novel centers around the 1908 to 1913 time frame when the American dream was just taking shape; a time when people were beginning to raise their voices against capitalism and class, gender and race differences. The story weaves through experiences of three fictional families. In one instance, ironically when the father goes off on a yearlong expedition to the Arctic, it is the mother, his wife, whose eyes open to a wider world. Whereas in Harlem, a talented black pianist is reunited with his true love and the couple hopes to raise together their infant son, only find their dreams dashed, time after time, by racism, injustice, and violence. 

These heartrending fictional stories intersect and weave through the performance, mixing with some of the factual stories of famous figures from history such as Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington and J. P. Morgan. At the turn of the century, when novel ideas fueled by socialism and anarchism were calling for equality and equal opportunities, there was another revolution in process that impacted transportation and eventually helped transform the agricultural economies into more equitable and prosperous industrial ones. Through the technology and process innovation that came with the assembly line in the making of Model T, Henry Ford paid higher wages to the workers and delivered a simple, reliable and affordable car that an American of average means could afford. . 

This was however, also a time when the calls for equality did not amount to much. Ragtime centers around the heartache of quashed love, dashed dreams, violent injustice, and quietly smoldering anger that will eventually bring about massive transformation from the ashes of those who perished, seeking and fighting for justice. Understandable as the impatience and hunger for change is at these times, such a peek into history is also a lesson in patience for patience is most challenging when we are on a cusp of transformation, as we may be right now, perhaps.

Sense and Sensibility: Theatreworks Play Review

Sense and Sensibility – Play Review

Musical version of Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility, playing at Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto, through Theatreworks Silicon Valley is a treat for the senses and is sensible for the minds. Incredible lyrics by Paul Gordon, make it a must see musical treasure and is directed by brilliant Robert Kelley. Incredible scenic design by Joe Ragey and costumes by Fumiko Bielefeldt place the formidable cast right in the 18th century England where properties were passed to male heirs, and young women were left to find a suitable match or navigate through life in poverty or worse, spinsterhood, in a society where premium is placed on rank and status. 

Sisters Marianne Dashwood (Antoinette Comer) and Elinor Dashwood (Sharon Rietkerk) find themselves at such a pivotal juncture, upon the passing away of their father. Marianne Dashwood is passionate and spontaneous, quick to love and hasty in her laments; she loves change of seasons, random walks and finds joy in nature and poetry in dead leaves; she embraces zest for life and romantic idealism, and loves wholeheartedly, laughs uproariously, and weeps dramatically. Women like her are often the force behind much needed changes in a society. When the property is passed to her brother, she asks her sister, “why? Is it because he is a dutiful son or because he is deserving? For, he is neither”.

Marianne’s sister Elinor Dashwood is subdued in her emotions, slow and thoughtful in expressing her feelings, polite and considerate in her commentary, rational and restrained in her thinking; she speaks of decorum and propriety; and she always tries to see things from others’ perspective, be sensitive to their feelings and say the right things, even when she suffers great hardship in doing so. Women like her, are often the ones who help maintain order in society and prevent chaos not only through their own patience and kindness but also with their counsel to others, as her sister Marianne acknowledges, “my sister hopes to save me from my excesses”.

While either disposition in excess may not serve a person well, it seems Austen clearly favors domination of sense over sensibility. As Elinor says to her sister Marianne, “it is not everyone who has your passion for dead leaves”. From good natured, shy Edward Ferrars (Darrell Morris Jr.) to dashing and temperamental John Willoughby (Hunter Ryan Herdlicka) to dutiful husband, John Dashwood (Nick Nakashima), they all play their roles to perfection. With prevailing sense of the time, Austen navigates her heroines through the plot twists and rewards them with a suitable match, at the end of her novels, as the happy audience departs with a smile.
This is a not-to-miss play of this theater season and a treat to be savored, after the lockdowns of the pandemic. Tickets are available at www.theatreworks.org .

Agatha Christie’s “The Hollow” – Play Review

“…the real tragedy of life was that you got what you wanted…”
― Agatha Christie, The Hollow

At CityLights theater in Agatha Christie’s “The Hollow”, directed by Doll Piccotto, audience get exactly what they wanted, intriguing murder of a complex person; with many possible suspects.  The homeowners, Sir Henry Angkatell (Ken Boswell) and his eccentric, ditzy wife, Lucy (Karen DeHart) have planned an extended family weekend and have invited several relatives and cousins. 

In addition to the colorful characters engaged in intrigue, affairs, and stolen moments of love and passion, there are maids, butlers, and an intriguing neighbor Victoria (Laura Domingo) who drops in as soon as she hears of the presence of her former love, Dr John Cristow (Damian Vega), notwithstanding the presence of his overly cheerful wife, Gerda (Caitlin Lawrence Papp), completely devoted to her husband and perpetually doubting herself. And then there was Lucy’s cousin Henrietta Angkatell (Anne Yumi Kobori); her character as complex as her sculpted and artistic creations. Henrietta, with her deep sense of integrity and right and wrong, rebuffed advances of affection from her cousin, Edward Angkatell (Kyle Dayrit) and yet was hopelessly in love with a married man.  While Edward’s attention was on Henrietta, Midge Harvey (Alycia Adame) was deeply in love with Edward. Adding to the chaos was the character of Dr. John Cristow, a philanderer who admired the single minded devotion of his wife Gerda. Dr. Cristow also cared more about the disease he was trying to find the cure for than his patients and was at once both highly narcissistic and yet seemingly unconcerned about anyone, including himself.

With so many miscreants and so much intrigue, when the murder takes place, everyone is a plausible suspect, and yet everyone seems innocent of committing such a heartless crime. And to add to the list of suspects, there is the maid, Doris (Erin Southard), and very very English butler, Gudgeon (Tom Gough). It becomes the responsibility of Inspector Coquhoun (Patricia Tyler) and Detective Penny (Andre Leben) to investigate the suspects and nail the culprit. And while you may be going through the “who dunn it” in your head, there are some characters least interested in solving the crime.

• Lady Angkatell : I’m not terribly interested in who killed who. I mean, once you’re dead, you’re dead. It doesn’t matter why, does it?

So glad the theater season in the bay area is back.  This play will be running at Citylights Theater in San Jose, CA till March 6, 2022 and tickets are available at www.cltc.org .

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens at San Jose Stage: Play Review

The novel “Great Expectations” penned in 1861 by Charles Dickens, has received near universal acclaim and has been translated in several languages. Dickens’s themes of extreme poverty, jaw dropping wealth, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of basic human goodness, resonate across countries and cultures.

Interpretation of this masterpiece was adapted for stage, by Neil Bartlett, and is currently playing at San Jose Stage Theater in San Jose, CA. Big kudos to Artistic Director, Randall King and Executive Director, Cathleen King. The story begins with an orphan, Pip (Keith Pinto) who lives with his hot-tempered sister and kindly brother-in-law, stealing some food. The key challenge in playing this masterpiece on stage is to whittle down Dickens’s brilliant use of character and plot to a few minutes of on stage performance. Credit for this artful performance goes to brilliant director, Kenneth Kelleher and masterful cast of performers, Li Leng Au, Jennifer Le Blanc, Julian Lopez-Morillas, Norman Gee, and Nick Rodrigues, in various roles, besides Pip’s. And it goes without saying that Keith Pinto as young orphan Pip, lovestruck teenage Pip, and wealthy and more mature Pip, is truly brilliant.   

Little boy Pip gets a peek into wealth and upper class society when fabulous and wealthy Miss Haversham asks for Pip to visit her, for her amusement. Miss Haversham was left at the altar in her youth and she continues to nurse her pain. As a daily reminder of her pain, she still wears a tattered old wedding dress. Li Leng Au as Miss Haversham brings dramatic energy and a sense of gravitas. But it is not the wealth that sparks Pip’s interest or curiosity about eccentric Miss haversham that propels him to continue to visit her. Pip falls hopelessly in love with Miss Haversham’s adopted daughter, Estella. However, Estella’s cold treatment (encouraged by Miss Haversham) and Pip’s own low social status in life, precludes any chance for him marrying Estella. And yet, Pip harbors great expectations that perhaps some day he may be a man of means and be worthy of marriage with Estella. 

And yet, acknowledging the futility of this exercise, Pip laments,

“Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”

This is a brilliant story depicting differences between classes in Victorian England. It is a also a story of courage, romance, love and hope. Sometimes the lessons one learns through trials and tribulations in life, only become apparent much later. It is much later that Pip understands that love transcends wealth and he also realizes that money can never buy love, nor guarantee happiness. The play is beautifully performed and as intended by Dickens, it provides a window into the society that was most significantly divided by class and also serves as a morality tale.

In the words of Artistic Director, Randall King, “this story challenges us to open our hearts and minds to become kinder, more compassionate and better at discerning true moral values.”Tickets are available at www.thestage.org .

Buddha – Play Review

Buddha, Naatak’s grand musical in the park in San Jose is written and directed by the brilliant Sujit Saraf.  Producer and dance director is Soumya Agastya and Music Direction is by Nachiketa Yakkundi. 

The play is set in the sixth century BCE and viewers are given a booklet written in English, with full text of the music and brief descriptions of all that transpires in between. 

Siddharth Gautam was born in a land known as Madhyam Desh (most likely today’s Nepal) at a time when aside from Ved, only about five Upanishads had been composed and the epics Ramayan and Mahabharat had not yet come into existence. This was not a time when there was a great deal of conformity of thought and beliefs. Atheists, ascetics, heterodox thinkers and others subscribed to their own version of good, bad, evil and virtuous, while Brahmanical Hinduism was a weaker sect among others.

Siddhartha was born a prince and could not find contentment in his easy going life. When he witnessed suffering, death and disease, he was deeply moved and set about trying to find enlightenment and gave up his lavish lifestyle. When poverty and suffering also failed to bring peace then he promoted the “middle way”, existing between two extremes, a life without indulgences but also without deprivation.   He preached attainment of enlightenment through achieving morality, meditation, and wisdom. One can say that it was one of the first attempts at religion through spirituality, and minus the invention of a deity.

Following Buddha’s death, his disciples gathered to jot down Buddha’s spiritual journey and his path to enlightenment under the Peepal tree and to compile his teachings. The play is largely based on what emerged in these compilations.

Naatak’s play attempts to capture Buddha’s spiritual journey, almost 2,500 years ago, through a combination of songs, captivating dances and dialogues, written entirely in rhyme, in “prachin” hindi.. The play is performed outdoors in the shade of giant maple and oak trees, in San Jose, CA.

For tickets, please go to www.naatak.org .

They promised her the moon – Play Review

Girls have dreams too. Seven year old Jerry Cobb (Sarah Mitchell) was obsessed with flying. But in 1960, a time of great social change in American history, certain dreams were still reserved for men. Laurel Ollstein’s dramatization of the true story of Jerry Cobb and her female peers in Mercury 13 astronaut training program, is currently playing at theatreworks in Palo Alto. 

Stories of two aspiring women are intertwined in “They promised her the moon”.  Jackie Cochran (Stacy Ross) used her wealth and connections and had already made history as a first woman pilot. Later, financed by her husband, she ran a successful cosmetics company. But for most women, these dreams were out of reach. Jackie Cochran had pushed for women to be allowed to fly for the military, and women did fly during the war. But when WWII ended, women were barred from flying most sophisticated planes. 

During that time, as a little girl, Jerry Cobb seemed determined to fly and touch the heavens.  Her pilot father, Harvey Cobb (Dan Hiatt) encouraged and inspired her and taught her some basics about airplanes. Jerry began flying at the age of twelve and by her twenties, she was setting world records in flying speeds, distance, and altitude. Inspired by her predecessor, Jackie Cochran who was pushing for female astronauts, Jerry Cobb enrolled in Mercury 13 program training to send astronauts into space. Jerrie Cobb beat most of her male counterparts as she went through strenuous rounds of tests and invasive physical and psychological evaluations. 

Meanwhile different politics started getting played into the upper echelons of men, status, wealth and political power. Among the first group of astronauts was John Glenn, the new American hero. Given the culture of the time, Glenn and other men felt that since men flew combat missions, they were more equipped to become astronauts. Cochran was the lone woman in the boys club and sought to leverage her power. Cochran wasn’t happy that her popularity and status as the first woman pilot was getting replaced with a surge in Cobb’s popularity and she perhaps also felt that history would forget her completely if Cobb were to become the first woman astronaut in space. 

Jerry Cobb passed away in 2019. Theatreworks’ celebration of Jerry Cobb in “They promised her the moon” reminds us that legacy is not only created with great achievements, but also by those who dare to dream.  Entire cast is marvellous and Sarah Mitchell’s performance is truly unforgettable.  Huge kudos to director, Giovanna Sardelli for this fabulous and not-to-miss show.

Unfortunately, to mitigate and contain coronavirus pandemic, Theatreworks is canceling all shows right now so please check the website at http://www.theatreworks.org for updates and stay safe.

“Rumors” by Naatak – Play Review

I was not expecting a great deal from NAATAK company’s most recent on stage production of Neil Simon’s “Rumors”. After all, farce is one of the most challenging genres to perform. A farce is a comedy in which everything is absolutely absurd and usually involves some kind of deception or miscommunication. People are not forgiving when it comes to laughter and lame comedy tragically falls short in generating laughs. Add to that the challenging part of translating humor into another language and culture. The play is in Hinglish with supertitles in clear English projected on top of the stage.

 

However, my worry was unfounded. This performance is by NAATAK and in every show NAATAK meets the challenge head-on and delivers the best. In Rumors, five couples invited to celebrate a sixth couple’s anniversary, find that the host has shot himself, hostess is missing, servants are nowhere to be seen and the dinner isn’t prepared. What ensues is a brilliantly interwoven performance of farcical missteps, outlandish lies, and dialogs so hilariously delivered that you will be in stitches, in no time. 

 

First, there is an exceptional cast of actors with Kamala Subramananian, Chaitnya Godsay, Ekta Brahmkshatri, Ritwik Verma, Anjali Bhide, Natraj Kumar, Roshni Datta, Chanpreet Singh, Bruce Blau, and Deanna Shinsky.  There are also ubiquitous Chakra and Meera, the host and the hostess who never quite make an appearance but drive the events from the shadows.

 

The title of this play (given by original playwright) is well suited for Naatak’s performance, adapted to Indian socialites. While on one hand, well meaning friends are driven to protect the scandal of the day (details of it are not yet fully known to them) and on the other hand, there is equally well intentioned and cultural proclivity to share about the scandal (to find and lend support), and to fill holes in the missing details.

 

The dialogs are nothing short of brilliant. Here’s how it goes between two people at the party,
“She has a thing you know”.
“What sort of a thing”?
“She is doing something with somebody, somewhere”.

There is also sarcasm in hinglish. Here’s one dialog.
“I am melting”.
“So are the planets. But that we can manage.
Aap ki mange
Environment ke aage.”

Kudos to Director and translator of the original script, Naatak’s marvelous, Harish Agastya. Everything comes together brilliantly in “Rumors”, with witty script in Hinglish, plethora of underhand comments, sarcasm, complex storyline, unbelievably nutty sequence of events, ridiculous cover-up and dynamic fabrications, events that unfold in slapstick manner, neurotic cast of characters who successfully deliver ingeniously funny moments, elegant costumes that indicate high socialite status of Silicon Valley’s Indian socialites and exceptional staging, sound and light. This is a not-to-miss play of this theater season for all theatergoers in Silicon Valley. Naatak has 5 more shows and is running till March 1, at the Cubberley Community Theater in Palo Alto. There are few tickets left for some shows. Tickets can be obtained at http://www.naatak.org .