Body Worlds 2 in San Jose, The Rainmaker in San Francisco and Greater Tuna in Walnut Creek! Defiance excells, Moustrap captivates and the Octette Bridge Club flounders! Defiance excells, Moustrap captivates and the Octette Bridge Club flounders! A Dynamic Defiance, Musterious Mousetrap and Octette Bridge Club


Body Worlds 2 is an unrivaled anatomical exhibit that allows us to explore the beauty and complexity of the human body as seldom witnessed by the average man!


One of the wonderful benefits of this job is the opportunity to be educated as well as entertained. Sometimes, entertainment is highly educational and occasionally, education is the primary reward with entertainment a peripheral benefit. Such was the case this weekend when I had the opportunity to visit the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose to see and experience Dr. Gunther von Hagen’s “Body Worlds 2 - The Anatomical Exhibit of Real Human Bodies.” I missed this exhibit when it was presented in San Francisco approximately a year ago and had wanted to see what other theatre critics have described as one of the most beneficial scientific exhibits for young and old alike, to come to the San Francisco Bay Area.


The process of finding better means of body preservation following death has been a rigorously sought after goal of scientific and religious interests for centuries. Preserving deities by many religious sects’ dates back to periods before the Egyptian rulers and the prevention of deterioration of human remains has been paramount in the process of advancing the healing arts for hundreds of years. Initially, dehydration in hot desert climes led to mummification.


Then chemicals such as Formalin were discovered that could be injected into human tissues, replacing the water in the deceased human cadaver or animal body, allowing it to be preserved for longer and longer periods of time. The more efficient the preservation process, the less offensive the natural decomposition became and the more advantageous the process of examining the miraculous structure of human and animal bodies became to the edification of mankind through scientific research.


In visiting Wikipedia on the internet, I found an excellent article on the development of a process of preservation that has come to be known as “Plastination”, and I extracted a small portion of that article as follows to aid in my explanation of this exhibit and I include that as follows:


“In November of 1978 Dr. Gunther von Hagens applied for a US Patent. He proposed the idea of preserving animal and vegetable tissues permanently by synthetic resin impregnation. Since then Dr. von Hagens has applied for two more US Patents. The final one coming in May of 1982 when Dr. von Hagens received a Patent by the United States government for his work on preserving biological tissues with polymers. Since then the art form known as Plastination has been an ongoing battle of art vs. ethics. With the success of his Patents, von Hagens went on to form the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany in 1993. The Institute of Plastination, along with Dr. von Hagens made their first showing of plastinated bodies in Japan in 1995, which drew over three million people .”


Plastination is a technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties of the original sample. Dr. von Hagen acquires specimens exclusively through a large, carefully controlled donation program managed by his institute. Exhibits have been mounted now around the world, designed in part to educate the general population about the beauty and complexity of the human body, allowing them to look into a world previously accessible only to medical students or practitioners.


Body Worlds 2 is an anatomical exhibition that presents the human body in such a way that we can experience the beauty, complexity, function and form as never before possible. It is one thing to read about how the coal mine dust affects the life of the miner, but to actually see a real pair of lungs taken from a coal miner, ebony black in appearance, or the lungs of a smoker perforated like a piece of grey Swiss cheese that one can truly begin to see the deleterious effects of our working environment and life styles on this miraculous human structure we have been endowed with. It is a truly marvelous experience to be able to examine the peripheral nervous system, or the blood distribution system, or the muscular-skeletal inner workings, for us to begin to appreciate this miracle of life.


The exhibits include full body displays, artfully arranged to demonstrate people in typical real life poses, much as if you had X-ray vision, and could see beneath the skin to see how the muscles come to bear on such activities as dancing, sitting, skate-boarding, playing baseball and soccer. There are over 200 authentic specimen displays showing body parts such as (for example) a foot, informing us how the foot functions, how many bones it has, and how it operates. The foot has 26 bones, 100 ligaments and the 33 controlling foot muscles actually originate in the lower leg. These incredible displays provide profound insights into the entire body and how health and disease affect it. There are displays of prosthetic implements, artificial joints, repair devices and even a pace-maker, allowing people who may be contemplating such surgery to see very clearly just how and why these modern medical miracles work.


Sure there are complete skeletons, typical of those a student might encounter in a science lab class, but this exhibit provides an educational opportunity that should be seen and experienced by everyone. The displays are beautifully and artfully designed and supported by both visual and audio systems that make the learning experience more informative and enjoyable.
After much discussion and forethought, one of my neighbors took their two boys (aged 6 and 10) to see the exhibit last week, concerned about what they were going to see, and how it would be presented, especially to youngsters. Both husband and wife and each of the children described with enthusiasm how much they were enthralled and thrilled and educated by this incredible exhibit. Karen and I only wish we would have allowed more than the 1 & ½ hours that we had set aside to see and hear the extremely well presented information.


You can rent audio recorders that you carry with you that provide narratives at each display exhibit you are seeing. These devices cost an additional $3 to $4 dollars per person, but believe me, they are well worth the price. The detail on the audio is far more informative than the printed explanations on display. This exhibit is truly “Anatomy for Everyone!”


The Tech Museum of Innovation is located at 201 South Market Street in downtown San Jose. You can call (408) 294-8324 or go on the internet and visit http://www.bodyworlds.com/ or http://www.thetech.org/ (408) 294-TECH (8324) for more information, and directions to the site. Tickets range between $15 (youth), to $18.50 (seniors), to $22 (adults) for each person. The hours of operation for this exhibit range from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, now through December 25th.


The Rainmaker enthralls ACT audiences!


Now back to regular theatrical entertainment as the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco opened with their outstanding production of N. Richard Nash’s classic story of hope, The Rainmaker.


When one mentions a show about The Rainmaker most people seem to recall the famous award winning 1956 film by the same name, starring Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn, a story about drought, dreams, schemes and deliverance! The story tells of ranchers plagued by an extended drought that is costing them their livelihoods, more especially their cattle and feed crops. This story tells of the tensions and concerns of these hardworking people who are subject to the elements, to the whims of nature, to the perils constantly hanging over their fragile existence. In this story, there is a drought of another kind, an extended loss of confidence, and a dwindling loss of hope. The Curry family consists of a father, H.C, (played by Jack Willis), two sons, Noah (Stephen Barker Turner) and Jim (Alex Morf) and a daughter, Lizzie (Rene Augusen), who appears to be heading towards a life as a spinster or an “Old Maid”, an unmarried woman.


Lizzie is a very independent, hard-working, well educated woman, who, unfortunately, is not the prettiest filly in the pasture, who is considered by her family and herself as somewhat plain. She doesn’t seem to attract boyfriends, in fact, there seems to be a drought there as well. After having been sent to visit cousins in another community by her father, Lizzie has just returned to the family farm, knowing full well the reason for her trip (to be seen by eligible bachelors). Her family is anxious to get her married before she gets too old to be a desirable catch.


Knowing that Lizzie has eyes for their local sheriff’s deputy, a man by the name of File, the father and brothers run off to town to try to arrange for Deputy File to join them for a card game and dinner at the family home. File (Anthony Fusco) is a divorcee who was devistated by his wife who ran off with another man several years earlier, and is not looking to experience the rejection again. He realizes very quickly why he is being asked to visit the Curry farm, and declines the offer. Lizzie, who has been led to believe that File was really looking forward to enjoying one of her great home-cooked meals, is deeply hurt when he declines the offer.


Into the midst of this parched and fragile life without love, in the middle of this parched and stricken landscape, wanders a huckster, a conman, a self-professed rainmaker by the name of Bill Starbuck (Geordie Johnson). Starbuck knocks on the farmhouse door on that same evening when the dinner table had been set for five, announcing that he had come to save this family from the crisis looming before them, promising to bring them rain. In addition, he promises to deliver any kind or size of rainstorm they could imagine, anything from simple spring showers to the wrath of Noah’s flood.


While brother Noah, the business manager of the ranch, and Lizzie, rejects Starbuck’s overtures immediately and completely, father Curry and the younger brother, Jim, warm towards this stranger, embracing his challenge and hoping that maybe this charming stranger might offer something more than just a little rain.


What the play brings to us is a delightfully funny and heartwarming tale of hope and change, understanding and personal growth. The story translates as well today as it did back in the 50’s, and the entire cast, directed by Mark Rucker, is an “all-stops out” terrific, superlative cast in every conceivable way. When you walk out of the theater on your way home, the day just seems to be better for some reason and you’re glad to have experienced it.


In addition to the other actors previously mentioned, Rod Gnapp plays the role of the Sheriff very well. The whole package is great, from sound by Jeff Mockus, to costumes by Lydia Tanji, to the superb set, by Robert Mark Morgan.


The Rainmaker plays Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., with Sunday performances at 7 p.m., now through November 25th. The ACT Theater is located at 415 Geary Street in San Francisco. For tickets call 7498-2228 or visit http://www.act-sf.org/ for more information.


Greater Tuna so successful it had to move to another theatre!


One more footnote and a reminder that Act Now! Theatre has moved their outrageously funny comedy about red-neck life in Tuna Texas, a show called Greater Tuna, to the Del Valle Theatre at 1963 Tice Valley Bouldvard in Walnut Creek. You can visit their web-site at http://www.actnowtheatre.org/ or call 943-SHOW (7469) for ticket and reservation information. If you did not see this terrific production starring Jerry Motta and Ron Meir, that sold out week after week when it was at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, then by all means, don’t miss it now! Some people call this show a tongue-in-cheek look at “the other side of bigotry”, with a Texas tick! It plays now through the 17th.
Three plays this week that examine troubles in Paradise. The first review is of an absolutely stunning theatrical production, a heart rending examination of right and wrong in John Patrick Shanley’s masterpiece entitled “Defiance”. This caustic and brilliantly written play that examines race relations and immorality in military leaders, opened this past week in Playhouse West’s remodeled little gem of a theatre at their original Locust Street location, 1345 Locust.

The second production is the classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap, produced by the Center Repertory Company in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

The third appears at first to be a Norman Rockwell type literary portrait of eight Irish Catholic sisters and their family get-togethers twice a month, for a round of gossip, home-baked pie, card playing, and camaraderie, in a P. J. Berry play, entitled, “The Octette Bridge Club”.

“Defiance” at Playhouse West, Walnut Creek:

The time is 1971 and Lt. Colonel Littlefield (played by Louis Parnell) is the commanding officer at the Marine training base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Drug problems and racial tensions on the base are on the rise, acerbated by angry and addicted men returning form Vietnam. Racial tensions are growing more divisive now that Black Power advocacy is filtering into the camp and authority is being questioned openly.

Littlefield is nearing retirement and he is frustrated that his military tenure as commander of this base is being marred by the increasing arrests and problems that are growing like a silent and deadly cancer. His draft-aged son has moved to Canada to avoid the draft and Littlefield and his wife, Margaret (Heather Mathieson), are deeply divided by what the Lt. Colonel sees as his son’s desertion from his “American” obligations and patriotic values. His wife has deep concerns that her husband’s devotion to the Corps has colored his wisdom as to what she perceives as the greater values, the humanitarian values verses the political objectives of those who direct the military.

Littlefield’s service career has encompassed two wars, the Korean campaign through the Vietnam War. With little that he can point to as his personal military milestones or success, he is bound and determined to bring the racial problems on “his base”, to a more manageable state. He is determined to win this personal “war”.

Into this fray is drawn a brilliant young black officer, Captain Lee King (David Stewart). Captain King wants nothing to do with the political and racial atmosphere surrounding him. He merely wants to serve his country as a devoted military man, do his job well but remain “colorless” in the performance of his job. Lt. Colonel Littlefield intends that he use this young officer as an example of what “cooperating” blacks can achieve. To this objective, Littlefield elevates King to the position of his “second in command”, his executive officer, promoting him over the heads of three equally qualified white officers. This is a tremendous opportunity and honor, that at this time and at this level, were simply not available to black military officers. Captain King fights the promotion as he recognizes its “black” implications but under extreme pressure, acquiesces.
Littlefield also demonstrates that his concern for equal treatment of black soldiers is genuine. He believes that there is no place in the Marine Corps for racial inequities, no black, no white, and that in the Corps everything is simply and ultimately green!

A new protestant Chaplain, Chaplain White (Mike Reynolds), has been assigned to the base and has been sharply criticized by Littlefield for being unrealistic and divisive with his “bible-banging” sermons. The commander encourages the chaplain to be more down-to-earth and tolerant in his sermons, especially with these men who have encountered and succumbed to so many temptations while stationed in the drug prone Vietnam theatre. Chaplain White takes this as a personal affront and is determined to “get even” with his commander.

It isn’t long before an opportunity arises when a young marine comes to him seeking help with his anger after discovering that his wife has been having an affair with his commander, Lt. Colonel Littlefield! While the minister cannot do anything with this confidential bombshell, he can and does report the indiscretion to the new executive officer, Captain Lee King, who must, by military law take action. If King does so, it will bring down his commander and benefactor, and at the same time, in reality, by virtue of the unwritten code inherent in the corps that one must at all costs protect his officers, he will sign his own professional career death warrant.

Is dedication and morality a double edged sword? Does degree of fault on the commander’s side verses degree of fault on the young woman’s side enter into his ultimate decision? I’m afraid you will have to see the play to find out where this tension-riddled and ascorbic ride takes the audience.

This terrific play and outstanding production, under the direction of Playhouse West’s new Managing Artistic Director, Adam Fitzgerald, proves that Lois Grandi’s Playhouse West is one of the best theatres in the area and that it is fully back in town, delivering the kind of theatre we have come to expect from Playhouse West.

There are seven set changes that are handled with choreography reminiscent of a Broadway level production and the costumes, under the guidance of Cindy Sarmiento, are good but not perfect in detail. The actors are without a doubt as good as it gets, bringing a level of professionalism that is seldom paralleled in local theatre. In addition to the actors already mentioned, John Hale appears as the Gunny Sergeant and Alex Kirschner appears as the young Private First Class, Evan Davis, whose wife has an affair with Littlefield.

This outstanding drama continues Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., now through November 25th. Call 942-0300 for ticket information or reservations and you can visit their website at www.playhousewest.org for more information. The theatre is located at 1345 Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek, next door to Peet’s Coffee. Call (925) 942-0300 for ticket reservations. Tickets range between $26 and $30.

“The Mousetrap” enthralls and entertains Walnut Creek audiences:

I would think that there are few theatre goers who are not familiar with this classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I believe it is still considered the longest continuously running play in London. This production has to be one of the best, if not the best production of this funny and highly entertaining murder mystery I have ever seen!

A group of snowbound vacationers gather at a newly opened guest Inn called Monkswell Manor, only to discover that there is a murderer in their midst. Each of the characters has his own quirky background and reasons to remain silent when questioned about their familiarity with a crime against some children that occurred many years ago near this Inn, a crime which in someway is connected to a recent murder in London, and a trail of evidence that has lead a police officer to this place, purportedly to protect its visitors.

The actors selected by director Timothy Near, are absolutely perfect for the director’s interpretation of their character. The husband and wife who run the inn, Giles and Mollie Ralston (played by Mark Anderson Phillips and Carrie Paff) have recently married before deciding to purchase and renovate this old guest inn. The guests, both invited and uninvited, include Major Metcalf (James Carpenter), Christopher Wren (Mark Farrell), Mrs Boyle (Kerri Shawn), Miss Casewell (Cassie Beck) and Paravichini (Michael Butler). A police detective, Sergeant Trotter (Craig Marker) arrives, explaining that the police are investigating a recent murder in London, they discovered a notebook left behind at the scene of the crime which indicated that the murderer might be heading next for Monkswell Manor. Somehow, the police have surmised that the guests who have just arrived at the inn, may be in someway connected with the murderer, and may be at risk!

The play evolves around the additional murder of a resident at the inn and the intrigues connecting the inn’s guests to the earlier event. I don’t want to explore the mystery more, but highly recommend that if you have not seen this play, then by all means, this should be high on your list as outstanding entertainment that will keep you in suspense. Absolutely outstanding, a runaway success!

The set, under the artistic guidance of Kelly Tighe, is absolutely magnificent. The costumes by Elizabeth Poindexter, are quite perfect.

“The Mousetrap” continues Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Satrudays at 8 p.m., and with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., now through November 17th.
Call (925) 943-7469 (SHOW) for reservations or visit the ticket office located in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts theatre complex at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. You may wish to visit the auxiliary ticket outlet at Barnes and Noble in Walnut Creek.

''The Octette Bridge Club” opens in Pleasant Hill:

The opening vignette of ''The Octette Bridge Club”, introduces us to eight sisters in Providence, R.I., who have gathered at their sister’s house for their fourth anniversary card playing gathering. On the surface they are a merry, close-knit clan of Irish descent. They laugh and giggle as a newspaper photographer takes pictures of their ''club'' for the Sunday rotogravure section. They speak or sing in unison at the drop of a hat. The year is 1934, and, as the women never cease reminding us, this was a time when families still had roots, values, and where family unity was all important.

Playwright, P. J. Barry wants to have his Norman Rockwell and a little Edgar Lee Masters (poet who wrote the famous Spoon River Anthology), in the same soup. Hardly has the photographer left the house than some of the gabby bridge-playing sisters drop broad hints of trouble in Providence. One of the sisters, Betsy (Siobhan O’Brien), is ''moody'' and ''melancholy.'' Another, Ann (Teresa Wilson Grosserode), may have a husband who drinks too much. And still another, Mary (Barbara Halperin Jacobs), is suffering from palpitations that may or may not be attributable to the previous night's meal of Chinese food. In Mr. Barry's reality, beneath the surface of the sunny familial conviviality and Roman Catholic pieties of his characters, you'll find hypocrisy and heartbreak.

Unfortunately, the playwright doesn't destroy the illusion quickly, instead he unmercifully picks away at it. It takes the entire first act for the women to begin to discover what the audience can guess in the first 15 minutes, that there is a very rocky road beneath the sisters in this little Rhode Island town.

Act II is set at another club meeting a decade later, 1944, with patriotic symbolism everywhere. At this time, the minor ailments of Act I have predictably become major ones – with at least two characters having passed through hospitals, one with mental problems, and the other, disabled following a stroke. The times, too, are a-changing. Everyone has new hairdos, and the youngest sister has gained a raised consciousness, as evidenced by her refusal to wash her husband's shirts and her much more liberal vocabulary.

Does Mr. Barry examine his women in depth? No! Although he ultimately allows seven of the sisters to betray the eighth, in a callous demonstration of venomous reprisal, the characters immediately and miraculously see the evil of their ways and all vow to behave better in the future. Farfetched and underdeveloped, Barry fails to intelligently expose the sham of many who hide their true colors under religious artificiality. ''The Octette Bridge Club'' ends as it begins - with a touched-up, sentimentalized tableau of family harmony suitable for mounting on a bathroom wall, “God Bless Our House!”, where it should have been stated, “God Forgive our House!”, instead! Had this play been written in the 1930’s I could understand the shallow, mechanical, and just plain dumb filler and sentimental goo this author resorts to, in lieu of real substance, but this was written in 1985!

In this production, there are some really exceptional portrayals for community theatre and they somewhat save us from the lackluster and predictable writing by its author. While all of the ladies are quite enjoyable, my hat is off to Siobhan O’Brien, Barbara Halperin Jacobs, Teresa Wilson Grosserode, Susanne Bagnio, and Linda Sciacqua for their moving performances. The other actresses include Joyce Tubb, Marianne Roberts, Candice Carter, and Ted Powell (the photographer/reporter). Director Helen Means does the best she can with what she’s got, but other than the performances by the lead characters and a touching scene at the very end, there is not a lot going for us in this play.

This play continues Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30, with Thursday performances at 8 p.m., and with Sunday performances at 2:30 p.m., on November 8th and 15th, closing on November 17th. Performances are in the Donald G. Means Memorial Auditorium, at The School House, at 2050 Oak Park Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. Call (925) 944-9006 for ticket and reservation information.
Three plays this week that examine troubles in Paradise. The first review is of an absolutely stunning theatrical production, a heart rending examination of right and wrong in John Patrick Shanley’s masterpiece entitled “Defiance”. This caustic and brilliantly written play that examines race relations and immorality in military leaders, opened this past week in Playhouse West’s remodeled little gem of a theatre at their original Locust Street location, 1345 Locust.

The second production is the classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap, produced by the Center Repertory Company in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

The third appears at first to be a Norman Rockwell type literary portrait of eight Irish Catholic sisters and their family get-togethers twice a month, for a round of gossip, home-baked pie, card playing, and camaraderie, in a P. J. Berry play, entitled, “The Octette Bridge Club”.

“Defiance” at Playhouse West, Walnut Creek:

The time is 1971 and Lt. Colonel Littlefield (played by Louis Parnell) is the commanding officer at the Marine training base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Drug problems and racial tensions on the base are on the rise, acerbated by angry and addicted men returning form Vietnam. Racial tensions are growing more divisive now that Black Power advocacy is filtering into the camp and authority is being questioned openly.

Littlefield is nearing retirement and he is frustrated that his military tenure as commander of this base is being marred by the increasing arrests and problems that are growing like a silent and deadly cancer. His draft-aged son has moved to Canada to avoid the draft and Littlefield and his wife, Margaret (Heather Mathieson), are deeply divided by what the Lt. Colonel sees as his son’s desertion from his “American” obligations and patriotic values. His wife has deep concerns that her husband’s devotion to the Corps has colored his wisdom as to what she perceives as the greater values, the humanitarian values verses the political objectives of those who direct the military.

Littlefield’s service career has encompassed two wars, the Korean campaign through the Vietnam War. With little that he can point to as his personal military milestones or success, he is bound and determined to bring the racial problems on “his base”, to a more manageable state. He is determined to win this personal “war”.

Into this fray is drawn a brilliant young black officer, Captain Lee King (David Stewart). Captain King wants nothing to do with the political and racial atmosphere surrounding him. He merely wants to serve his country as a devoted military man, do his job well but remain “colorless” in the performance of his job. Lt. Colonel Littlefield intends that he use this young officer as an example of what “cooperating” blacks can achieve. To this objective, Littlefield elevates King to the position of his “second in command”, his executive officer, promoting him over the heads of three equally qualified white officers. This is a tremendous opportunity and honor, that at this time and at this level, were simply not available to black military officers. Captain King fights the promotion as he recognizes its “black” implications but under extreme pressure, acquiesces.
Littlefield also demonstrates that his concern for equal treatment of black soldiers is genuine. He believes that there is no place in the Marine Corps for racial inequities, no black, no white, and that in the Corps everything is simply and ultimately green!

A new protestant Chaplain, Chaplain White (Mike Reynolds), has been assigned to the base and has been sharply criticized by Littlefield for being unrealistic and divisive with his “bible-banging” sermons. The commander encourages the chaplain to be more down-to-earth and tolerant in his sermons, especially with these men who have encountered and succumbed to so many temptations while stationed in the drug prone Vietnam theatre. Chaplain White takes this as a personal affront and is determined to “get even” with his commander.

It isn’t long before an opportunity arises when a young marine comes to him seeking help with his anger after discovering that his wife has been having an affair with his commander, Lt. Colonel Littlefield! While the minister cannot do anything with this confidential bombshell, he can and does report the indiscretion to the new executive officer, Captain Lee King, who must, by military law take action. If King does so, it will bring down his commander and benefactor, and at the same time, in reality, by virtue of the unwritten code inherent in the corps that one must at all costs protect his officers, he will sign his own professional career death warrant.
Is dedication and morality a double edged sword? Does degree of fault on the commander’s side verses degree of fault on the young woman’s side enter into his ultimate decision? I’m afraid you will have to see the play to find out where this tension-riddled and ascorbic ride takes the audience.

This terrific play and outstanding production, under the direction of Playhouse West’s new Managing Artistic Director, Adam Fitzgerald, proves that Lois Grandi’s Playhouse West is one of the best theatres in the area and that it is fully back in town, delivering the kind of theatre we have come to expect from Playhouse West.

There are seven set changes that are handled with choreography reminiscent of a Broadway level production and the costumes, under the guidance of Cindy Sarmiento, are good but not perfect in detail. The actors are without a doubt as good as it gets, bringing a level of professionalism that is seldom paralleled in local theatre. In addition to the actors already mentioned, John Hale appears as the Gunny Sergeant and Alex Kirschner appears as the young Private First Class, Evan Davis, whose wife has an affair with Littlefield.

This outstanding drama continues Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., now through November 25th. Call 942-0300 for ticket information or reservations and you can visit their website at www.playhousewest.org for more information. The theatre is located at 1345 Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek, next door to Peet’s Coffee. Call (925) 942-0300 for ticket reservations. Tickets range between $26 and $30.

“The Mousetrap” enthralls and entertains Walnut Creek audiences:

I would think that there are few theatre goers who are not familiar with this classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I believe it is still considered the longest continuously running play in London. This production has to be one of the best, if not the best production of this funny and highly entertaining murder mystery I have ever seen!

A group of snowbound vacationers gather at a newly opened guest Inn called Monkswell Manor, only to discover that there is a murderer in their midst. Each of the characters has his own quirky background and reasons to remain silent when questioned about their familiarity with a crime against some children that occurred many years ago near this Inn, a crime which in someway is connected to a recent murder in London, and a trail of evidence that has lead a police officer to this place, purportedly to protect its visitors.

The actors selected by director Timothy Near, are absolutely perfect for the director’s interpretation of their character. The husband and wife who run the inn, Giles and Mollie Ralston (played by Mark Anderson Phillips and Carrie Paff) have recently married before deciding to purchase and renovate this old guest inn. The guests, both invited and uninvited, include Major Metcalf (James Carpenter), Christopher Wren (Mark Farrell), Mrs Boyle (Kerri Shawn), Miss Casewell (Cassie Beck) and Paravichini (Michael Butler). A police detective, Sergeant Trotter (Craig Marker) arrives, explaining that the police are investigating a recent murder in London, they discovered a notebook left behind at the scene of the crime which indicated that the murderer might be heading next for Monkswell Manor. Somehow, the police have surmised that the guests who have just arrived at the inn, may be in someway connected with the murderer, and may be at risk!

The play evolves around the additional murder of a resident at the inn and the intrigues connecting the inn’s guests to the earlier event. I don’t want to explore the mystery more, but highly recommend that if you have not seen this play, then by all means, this should be high on your list as outstanding entertainment that will keep you in suspense. Absolutely outstanding, a runaway success!

The set, under the artistic guidance of Kelly Tighe, is absolutely magnificent. The costumes by Elizabeth Poindexter, are quite perfect.

“The Mousetrap” continues Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Satrudays at 8 p.m., and with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., now through November 17th.

Call (925) 943-7469 (SHOW) for reservations or visit the ticket office located in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts theatre complex at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. You may wish to visit the auxiliary ticket outlet at Barnes and Noble in Walnut Creek.

''The Octette Bridge Club” opens in Pleasant Hill:

The opening vignette of ''The Octette Bridge Club”, introduces us to eight sisters in Providence, R.I., who have gathered at their sister’s house for their fourth anniversary card playing gathering. On the surface they are a merry, close-knit clan of Irish descent. They laugh and giggle as a newspaper photographer takes pictures of their ''club'' for the Sunday rotogravure section. They speak or sing in unison at the drop of a hat. The year is 1934, and, as the women never cease reminding us, this was a time when families still had roots, values, and where family unity was all important.

Playwright, P. J. Barry wants to have his Norman Rockwell and a little Edgar Lee Masters (poet who wrote the famous Spoon River Anthology), in the same soup. Hardly has the photographer left the house than some of the gabby bridge-playing sisters drop broad hints of trouble in Providence. One of the sisters, Betsy (Siobhan O’Brien), is ''moody'' and ''melancholy.'' Another, Ann (Teresa Wilson Grosserode), may have a husband who drinks too much. And still another, Mary (Barbara Halperin Jacobs), is suffering from palpitations that may or may not be attributable to the previous night's meal of Chinese food. In Mr. Barry's reality, beneath the surface of the sunny familial conviviality and Roman Catholic pieties of his characters, you'll find hypocrisy and heartbreak.

Unfortunately, the playwright doesn't destroy the illusion quickly, instead he unmercifully picks away at it. It takes the entire first act for the women to begin to discover what the audience can guess in the first 15 minutes, that there is a very rocky road beneath the sisters in this little Rhode Island town.

Act II is set at another club meeting a decade later, 1944, with patriotic symbolism everywhere. At this time, the minor ailments of Act I have predictably become major ones – with at least two characters having passed through hospitals, one with mental problems, and the other, disabled following a stroke. The times, too, are a-changing. Everyone has new hairdos, and the youngest sister has gained a raised consciousness, as evidenced by her refusal to wash her husband's shirts and her much more liberal vocabulary.

Does Mr. Barry examine his women in depth? No! Although he ultimately allows seven of the sisters to betray the eighth, in a callous demonstration of venomous reprisal, the characters immediately and miraculously see the evil of their ways and all vow to behave better in the future. Farfetched and underdeveloped, Barry fails to intelligently expose the sham of many who hide their true colors under religious artificiality. ''The Octette Bridge Club'' ends as it begins - with a touched-up, sentimentalized tableau of family harmony suitable for mounting on a bathroom wall, “God Bless Our House!”, where it should have been stated, “God Forgive our House!”, instead! Had this play been written in the 1930’s I could understand the shallow, mechanical, and just plain dumb filler and sentimental goo this author resorts to, in lieu of real substance, but this was written in 1985!

In this production, there are some really exceptional portrayals for community theatre and they somewhat save us from the lackluster and predictable writing by its author. While all of the ladies are quite enjoyable, my hat is off to Siobhan O’Brien, Barbara Halperin Jacobs, Teresa Wilson Grosserode, Susanne Bagnio, and Linda Sciacqua for their moving performances. The other actresses include Joyce Tubb, Marianne Roberts, Candice Carter, and Ted Powell (the photographer/reporter). Director Helen Means does the best she can with what she’s got, but other than the performances by the lead characters and a touching scene at the very end, there is not a lot going for us in this play.

This play continues Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30, with Thursday performances at 8 p.m., and with Sunday performances at 2:30 p.m., on November 8th and 15th, closing on November 17th. Performances are in the Donald G. Means Memorial Auditorium, at The School House, at 2050 Oak Park Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. Call (925) 944-9006 for ticket and reservation information.
Three plays this week that examine troubles in Paradise. The first review is of an absolutely stunning theatrical production, a heart rending examination of right and wrong in John Patrick Shanley’s masterpiece entitled “Defiance”. This caustic and brilliantly written play that examines race relations and immorality in military leaders, opened this past week in Playhouse West’s remodeled little gem of a theatre at their original Locust Street location, 1345 Locust.

The second production is the classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap, produced by the Center Repertory Company in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The third appears at first to be a Norman Rockwell type literary portrait of eight Irish Catholic sisters and their family get-togethers twice a month, for a round of gossip, home-baked pie, card playing, and camaraderie, in a P. J. Berry play, entitled, “The Octette Bridge Club”.

“Defiance” at Playhouse West, Walnut Creek:

The time is 1971 and Lt. Colonel Littlefield (played by Louis Parnell) is the commanding officer at the Marine training base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Drug problems and racial tensions on the base are on the rise, acerbated by angry and addicted men returning form Vietnam. Racial tensions are growing more divisive now that Black Power advocacy is filtering into the camp and authority is being questioned openly.

Littlefield is nearing retirement and he is frustrated that his military tenure as commander of this base is being marred by the increasing arrests and problems that are growing like a silent and deadly cancer. His draft-aged son has moved to Canada to avoid the draft and Littlefield and his wife, Margaret (Heather Mathieson), are deeply divided by what the Lt. Colonel sees as his son’s desertion from his “American” obligations and patriotic values. His wife has deep concerns that her husband’s devotion to the Corps has colored his wisdom as to what she perceives as the greater values, the humanitarian values verses the political objectives of those who direct the military.

Littlefield’s service career has encompassed two wars, the Korean campaign through the Vietnam War. With little that he can point to as his personal military milestones or success, he is bound and determined to bring the racial problems on “his base”, to a more manageable state. He is determined to win this personal “war”.

Into this fray is drawn a brilliant young black officer, Captain Lee King (David Stewart). Captain King wants nothing to do with the political and racial atmosphere surrounding him. He merely wants to serve his country as a devoted military man, do his job well but remain “colorless” in the performance of his job. Lt. Colonel Littlefield intends that he use this young officer as an example of what “cooperating” blacks can achieve. To this objective, Littlefield elevates King to the position of his “second in command”, his executive officer, promoting him over the heads of three equally qualified white officers. This is a tremendous opportunity and honor, that at this time and at this level, were simply not available to black military officers. Captain King fights the promotion as he recognizes its “black” implications but under extreme pressure, acquiesces.
Littlefield also demonstrates that his concern for equal treatment of black soldiers is genuine. He believes that there is no place in the Marine Corps for racial inequities, no black, no white, and that in the Corps everything is simply and ultimately green!

A new protestant Chaplain, Chaplain White (Mike Reynolds), has been assigned to the base and has been sharply criticized by Littlefield for being unrealistic and divisive with his “bible-banging” sermons. The commander encourages the chaplain to be more down-to-earth and tolerant in his sermons, especially with these men who have encountered and succumbed to so many temptations while stationed in the drug prone Vietnam theatre. Chaplain White takes this as a personal affront and is determined to “get even” with his commander.

It isn’t long before an opportunity arises when a young marine comes to him seeking help with his anger after discovering that his wife has been having an affair with his commander, Lt. Colonel Littlefield! While the minister cannot do anything with this confidential bombshell, he can and does report the indiscretion to the new executive officer, Captain Lee King, who must, by military law take action. If King does so, it will bring down his commander and benefactor, and at the same time, in reality, by virtue of the unwritten code inherent in the corps that one must at all costs protect his officers, he will sign his own professional career death warrant.
Is dedication and morality a double edged sword? Does degree of fault on the commander’s side verses degree of fault on the young woman’s side enter into his ultimate decision? I’m afraid you will have to see the play to find out where this tension-riddled and ascorbic ride takes the audience.

This terrific play and outstanding production, under the direction of Playhouse West’s new Managing Artistic Director, Adam Fitzgerald, proves that Lois Grandi’s Playhouse West is one of the best theatres in the area and that it is fully back in town, delivering the kind of theatre we have come to expect from Playhouse West.

There are seven set changes that are handled with choreography reminiscent of a Broadway level production and the costumes, under the guidance of Cindy Sarmiento, are good but not perfect in detail. The actors are without a doubt as good as it gets, bringing a level of professionalism that is seldom paralleled in local theatre. In addition to the actors already mentioned, John Hale appears as the Gunny Sergeant and Alex Kirschner appears as the young Private First Class, Evan Davis, whose wife has an affair with Littlefield.

This outstanding drama continues Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., now through October 25th. Call 942-0300 for ticket information or reservations and you can visit their website at www.playhousewest.org for more information. The theatre is located at 1345 Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek, next door to Peet’s Coffee.

“The Mousetrap” enthralls and entertains Walnut Creek audiences
I would think that there are few theatre goers who are not familiar with this classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I believe it is still considered the longest continuously running play in London. This production has to be one of the best, if not the best production of this funny and highly entertaining murder mystery I have ever seen!

A group of snowbound vacationers gather at a newly opened guest Inn called Monkswell Manor, only to discover that there is a murderer in their midst. Each of the characters has his own quirky background and reasons to remain silent when questioned about their familiarity with a crime against some children that occurred many years ago near this Inn, a crime which in someway is connected to a recent murder in London, and a trail of evidence that has lead a police officer to this place, purportedly to protect its visitors.

The actors selected by director Timothy Near, are absolutely perfect for the director’s interpretation of their character. The husband and wife who run the inn, Giles and Mollie Ralston (played by Mark Anderson Phillips and Carrie Paff) have recently married before deciding to purchase and renovate this old guest inn. The guests, both invited and uninvited, include Major Metcalf (James Carpenter), Christopher Wren (Mark Farrell), Mrs Boyle (Kerri Shawn), Miss Casewell (Cassie Beck) and Paravichini (Michael Butler). A police detective, Sergeant Trotter (Craig Marker) arrives, explaining that the police are investigating a recent murder in London, they discovered a notebook left behind at the scene of the crime which indicated that the murderer might be heading next for Monkswell Manor. Somehow, the police have surmised that the guests who have just arrived at the inn, may be in someway connected with the murderer, and may be at risk!

The play evolves around the additional murder of a resident at the inn and the intrigues connecting the inn’s guests to the earlier event. I don’t want to explore the mystery more, but highly recommend that if you have not seen this play, then by all means, this should be high on your list as outstanding entertainment that will keep you in suspense. Absolutely outstanding, a runaway success!

The set, under the artistic guidance of Kelly Tighe, is absolutely magnificent. The costumes by Elizabeth Poindexter, are quite perfect.

“The Mousetrap” continues Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Satrudays at 8 p.m., and with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., now through November 17t. Call 943-7469 for reservations or visit the ticket office located in the theatre complex at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. You may wish to visit the auxiliary ticket outlet at Barnes and Noble in Walnut Creek.

''The Octette Bridge Club” opens in Pleasant Hill

The opening vignette of ''The Octette Bridge Club”, introduces us to eight sisters in Providence, R.I., who have gathered at their sister’s house for their fourth anniversary card playing gathering. On the surface they are a merry, close-knit clan of Irish descent. They laugh and giggle as a newspaper photographer takes pictures of their ''club'' for the Sunday rotogravure section. They speak or sing in unison at the drop of a hat. The year is 1934, and, as the women never cease reminding us, this was a time when families still had roots, values, and where family unity was all important.

Playwright, P. J. Barry wants to have his Norman Rockwell and a little Edgar Lee Masters (poet who wrote the famous Spoon River Anthology), in the same soup. Hardly has the photographer left the house than some of the gabby bridge-playing sisters drop broad hints of trouble in Providence. One of the sisters, Betsy (Siobhan O’Brien), is ''moody'' and ''melancholy.'' Another, Ann (Teresa Wilson Grosserode), may have a husband who drinks too much. And still another, Mary (Barbara Halperin Jacobs), is suffering from palpitations that may or may not be attributable to the previous night's meal of Chinese food. In Mr. Barry's reality, beneath the surface of the sunny familial conviviality and Roman Catholic pieties of his characters, you'll find hypocrisy and heartbreak.

Unfortunately, the playwright doesn't destroy the illusion quickly, instead he unmercifully picks away at it. It takes the entire first act for the women to begin to discover what the audience can guess in the first 15 minutes, that there is a very rocky road beneath the sisters in this little Rhode Island town.

Act II is set at another club meeting a decade later, 1944, with patriotic symbolism everywhere. At this time, the minor ailments of Act I have predictably become major ones – with at least two characters having passed through hospitals, one with mental problems, and the other, disabled following a stroke. The times, too, are a-changing. Everyone has new hairdos, and the youngest sister has gained a raised consciousness, as evidenced by her refusal to wash her husband's shirts and her much more liberal vocabulary.

Does Mr. Barry examine his women in depth? No! Although he ultimately allows seven of the sisters to betray the eighth, in a callous demonstration of venomous reprisal, the characters immediately and miraculously see the evil of their ways and all vow to behave better in the future. Farfetched and underdeveloped, Barry fails to intelligently expose the sham of many who hide their true colors under religious artificiality. ''The Octette Bridge Club'' ends as it begins - with a touched-up, sentimentalized tableau of family harmony suitable for mounting on a bathroom wall, “God Bless Our House!”, where it should have been stated, “God Forgive our House!”, instead! Had this play been written in the 1930’s I could understand the shallow, mechanical, and just plain dumb filler and sentimental goo this author resorts to, in lieu of real substance, but this was written in 1985!

In this production, there are some really exceptional portrayals for community theatre and they somewhat save us from the lackluster and predictable writing by its author. While all of the ladies are quite enjoyable, my hat is off to Siobhan O’Brien, Barbara Halperin Jacobs, Teresa Wilson Grosserode, Susanne Bagnio, and Linda Sciacqua for their moving performances. The other actresses include Joyce Tubb, Marianne Roberts, Candice Carter, and Ted Powell (the photographer/reporter). Director Helen Means does the best she can with what she’s got, but other than the performances by the lead characters and a touching scene at the very end, there is not a lot going for us in this play.

This play continues Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30, with Thursday performances at 8 p.m., and with Sunday performances at 2:30 p.m., on November 8th and 15th, closing on November 17th. Performances are in the Donald G. Means Memorial Auditorium, at The School House, at 2050 Oak Park Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. Call 944-9006 for ticket and reservation information.