Ginger Rogers, her life and times are remembered in San Jose and Sister Robert Anne leads a class in the art of Cabaret performance in Martinez!

First of all, this week’s reviews take us to the Willows Theatre in Martinez, to explore the off-beat world of Author Dan Goggin’s Sister Robert Anne’s Cabaret Class. The second review takes us to the San Jose Repertory Theatre to reflect on and to immerse ourselves in the theatrical atmosphere surrounding the life and times of Fred Astaire’s very good friend, highly acclaimed dancing partner and seminal Hollywood actress, Ginger Rogers in “Backwards in High Heels”.

“Sister Robert Anne”, the celebrated street-wise Nunsense “bad girl”, who resides in the Mount St. Helen’s Catholic School of Hoboken, New Jersey, is back again in this new show. Sister Robert Anne (Deborah Del Mastro) has come home to the Willows Theater to conduct a educational program approved by the Mother Superior, a program which illuminates the fine art of “Cabaret” performing for the general populace.

I know that a lot of our East Bay residents are familiar with the litany of shows penned by Dan Goggins about a group of well-meaning but occasionally irreverent nuns who poke fun at Catholicism with their tongues in cheek, through various evolutions of the Nunsense Nuns. Karen and I were first baptized with the laughing waters shared by the Willows Theatre Company with the first Nunsense production in a converted bowling alley venue in Concord somewhere around 1986 or 1987. Over the ensuing years, following rave reviews by critics across the nation, Goggins wrote more wonderful and even wackier adventures for the nutty little nuns from the Mount St Helens School in Hoboken, New Jersey. Next came Nunsense 2: The Second Coming, (that starred such notable actresses as Rue MClanahan). Next Goggins decided to go Country style with Nunsense 3, the Jamboree (which was at one time recorded for television in the famous Grand Old Opry itself, starring Vicki Lawrence). Then along came Nuncrackers: the Nunsense Christmas Musical in 1998; Meshuggah-Nuns: The Ecumenical Nunsense followed in 2002; in 2005, Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Review slipped in; and most recently Nunset Boulevard: the Nunsense Hollywood Bowl show and finally, this past week the West Coast Premier of Goggin’s latest triumph, found an exuberant audience in the little Willow’s Campbell Cabaret Theatre with Sister Robert Anne’s Cabaret Class.

For me, a non-catholic, public school educated type guy, most of the heavily ingrained Catholic educational experience jokes were definitely flying way out over my head. I’ve heard much about real life Catholic “sisters” teaching church concepts and doctrine by judiciously applying the golden rule (a wooden or brass 12 to 16 inch ruler which stood guard on the Sisters’ desk; AKA a religious device dedicated to assuring silence and absolute compliance). If you were raised a Catholic, more importantly a survivor of a Catholic education, you probably laughed more than anyone else in the audience, because the insider jokes really brought home lots of memories.

When and wherever the Brooklyn street-wise character of Sister Robert Anne arose in earlier Nunsense shows, she was always trying to garner the spotlight to share her love of stage and theatrical performance with the audience. In this show, she has full license to do it all, anything that lifts up men’s and women’s spirits and is in good keeping with church precepts. However, Sister Robert Anne seems to have a pretty broad interpretation or grasp of church doctrine, as it relates to music and Glory to God!

While many of the Nunsense shows are little more that an excuse to allow the Sisters to engage in rather bizarre fund raising activities for their order, activities that seem to me totally implausible to Catholicism, these activities have provided material to keep the Nunsense entertainment production train on course - - forever! Under the excellent direction of author Dan Goggins, this show is just as implausible as many of the earlier ones, but it is fully satisfying! Further, when you have a professional actress and natural cabaret performer of the caliber of Deborah Del Mastro, you have a really solid reason to go and enjoy an evening of outlandish scripting but at the same time, plausible information about becoming a Cabaret performer, if you had any inclination to do so. Ms. Del Mastro is a brilliantly funny, articulate and intelligent stage-savvy performer who absolutely captivates the audience, and knows full well of what she speaks! The musical director, Kim Vetterli, also known in this production as "Kimberly Anne, The Postulate", provides the musical accompanyment for this delightful show in addition to her sparkling personality being melded into several skits with Miss Mastro. What a great addition, live music, perfectly performed!

The songs that are used as the singing examples in the Cabaret classroom, have been taken from a broad range of the earlier Nunsense shows previously mentioned. Songs such as “Welcome, Bienvenue”, “I’ll Find a Song to Sing”, “Playing Second Fiddle” and “Growing Up Catholic” are representative of the type of songs included. Three primary questions guide this class through the evening’s entertainment and education. First the class asks what are you going to sing; second, what are you going to wear; and finally, what is a set-up and how is it valuable to your show’s continuity?
This fun-filled evening was raucously approved by the audience who joined in the singing, the question and answer period, and three members of the audience even joined the “good sister” on stage to help her demonstrate how easy it can be (in the right circumstance) to get up on stage and participate in the entertainment process.

Sister Robert Anne’s Cabaret Class will continue Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with matinees on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m., and on Sundays at 3 p.m., now thorugh January 16th. Tickets range in price between @22 and $32 with discounts for students and seniors (65+) and they can be purchased by calling 798-1300 or by visiting the company’s website at http://www.willowstheatre.org/ . The Campbell Theatre box office is located at 115 Tarantino Drive in Martinez and the theater is located at 636 Ward Street in downtown Martinez.

The life and times of Ginger Rogers are remembered in San Jose Repertory Theater's "Backwards in High Heels"!

Now, let’s turn around and go the other direction, this time, to the beautiful San Jose Repertory Theatre in downtown San Jose, to take in the delightfully funny and for the most part, memorable production of this entertaining look back at the musical path followed by a great dancer and entertainer, Ginger Rogers. Backwards in High Heels takes a look at the long career of this very talented lady, from the time she entered a Charleston dance contest when the traveling act of Eddie Foy traveled to Fort Worth Texas and needed a quick stand-in.

The musical takes us down the Rogers road, through her numerous marriages, beginning at age 17, her years in vaudeville, Broadway tours, introduction to and relationship with famous dancer Fred Astaire and a long list of movies, both as a dancer and serious actress. Miss Rogers was the consummate professional, a savvy money manager and contract negotiator, eventually making her one of the most highly paid female entertainers in Hollywood or on the professional stage anywhere. In 1941 she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in the 1940’s production of “Kitty Foyle”. In the mid -50’s her film career declined as parts for older actresses became more difficult to secure, that is until she took on the part of Dolly Levi in the highly successful “Hello Dolly” on Broadway in 1965. Once again Ms. Rogers met with some very popular and favorable critical reviews. Her vignette role in the 1987 production of “Hotel” was her final screen appearance as an actress.

This musical is a very fast moving and employs the talents of some truly outstanding performers starting with the very talented Anna Aimee White (Ginger Rogers), who is quite unique in that she is an excellent actress, superb dancer and delivers her songs with a clear and beautiful voice. I am sure the producers of this show had to look far and wide to find a talent as outstanding as this lovely lady.

Heather Lee plays with excellent and touching diversity, Ginger Rogers’ mother, Lela. While there are many characters in this story, basically, they are played by only four other multitalented performers. Christianne Tisdale plays a plethora of female characters so well that I had to keep looking back at my program to make sure that they were all done by this one really special talent. When she played the parts of Ethel Merman, Katherine Hepburn, Betty Davis or Marlene Dietrich or anyone else, you knew immediately who she was imitating. This lady can do it all: dance, sing and act! On the male support side, Matthew La Banca does a fair representation of Fred Astaire, but not convincing. Benjie Randall and James Patterson play many supporting characters, each performing very well both as dancers, singers and actors.

The show is a very ambitious attempt to do justice to one of the truly great female talents on stage or the silver screen, but in some respects makes hokey what should have been grand. This becomes more of a love story about the relationship between Ginger and her stage-mother Lela, than a story about the woman most of us remember. I think it was almost too much to ask, in one musical, to portray the depth and breadth of this woman’s life, loves, successes and failures. I did enjoy learning about her determination and pluck, especially in her negotiation skills. Apparently it was from one of her negotiating discussions with a major film CEO that she is believed to have told him that she should be entitled to earn more income when dancing with Astaire, because she did the same things he did, but “she did it backwards and in high heels”!

Many of us have heard a great deal about Fred Astaire and his bulldog approach to dancing routines and rehearsals, so often lengthy, so exhausting and grueling to his dancing partners, that many were left with their feet bleeding. This portrayal of Astaire left me scratching my head asking where did they come up with this nice but milk-toasty Astaire. The real Astaire I loved and remembered just wasn’t there. Plus, in this story line, he seems to portray such an insignificant part of Rodger’s professional persona, nothing more than a “now you see him, now your don’t” flash back. In my eyes, my most vivid memories of Ginger Rogers were connected with Fred Astaire, but this miniscule portrayal of Astaire was very disappointing.

For the most part I enjoyed the overall production, the acting, dancing and singing skills of the talented cast. I suspect my disappointment with the Fred Astaire vignette came more from the limited Astaire inclusion and portrayal through the script writing, rather than from the actual portrayal of his character.

"Backwards in High Heels" continues through this week only! Performances are on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening at 8 p.m., with a matinee on Thursday at 11 a.m., Saturday at 3 p.m., and closing on Sunday the 19th at 2 p.m.. The tickets range between $35 and $74 each. Seniors get a $6 reduction in normal ticket prices. Call (408) 367-7255 for reservations or visit their web site at http://www.sjrep.com/ for additional information. The San Jose Repertory Theatre is a beautiful facility, easy to reach and always rewarding. The San Jose Repertory Company Theatre is located at 101 Paseo de San Antonio, between 2nd and 3rd Streets, one block north of East San Carlos Street. There is multi-storied public parking structure at the corner of East San Carlos Street, between 2nd and 3rd streets. Also, right now, all the Christmas lights are on in San Jose and there is a big Christmas in the Park celebration continues with all kinds of Christmas related displays, carnival rides and goodies in the San Jose Caesar Chavez Park just two blocks away from the Theater. This event continues through January 1st.