" I Dream of Chang and Eng" opens at Zellerbach and "Let's Celebrate" was really great!
Eng (Andy Chan) and Chang (Josemari Saenz) scrutinize employer P.T. Barnum (Mark Hinds), warily !! Photo by: Ryan Montgomery
This past week I visited Zellerbach Playhouse on the University of California Berkeley Campus to take a look at renowned playwright Philip Kan Gotanda’s newest play, “I Dream of Chang and Eng”. I am pleased to report back on the production that I suggested you join me in examining this week. I found this new play about two of the most famous Siamese Twins in the world and their journey from freak show exhibitors to successful southern plantation owners to be an intriguing journey and a play that I will want to visit again.
In last week’s review, I mentioned that I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Gotanda by telephone in preparation for the unveiling of this new play. During that interview, he told me how exciting it is to work in a university setting with the full support of the theatrical department, where he has now entered what he calls phase two of his career, that of teaching, as well as writing. In this environment he has full support to write and to do new work, which would be very difficult now in regional theater with the financial constraints of the current economic environment.
This play is a perfect example of a brand new play that would be very difficult to pursue and develop due to the fact that the story encompasses the life story of these Siamese twins, Cheng and Eng, and the many significant individuals and experiences woven into the tapestry of their lives. The story as it is currently written includes 19 actors, 30 characters and 130 costume changes. A story of this magnitude, in addition to the fact that it is a brand new play, never performed before a live audience, would be a project far too risky financially for a community or regional theater to mount. In the college setting where eager minds want to learn how to develop stories into plays, where there are a lot of students seeking to enhance their acting skills, this is the perfect place to develop a story that requires a fairly large number of actors to tell a story of this magnitude. Mr. Peter Glazer, who is also a playwright, is directing this production, which is a collaboration with UC Berkeley and their theater, dance and performance studies department.
I introduced you to Mr. Gotanda because you have an opportunity to see the first blush of a new play, to experience a new work in the process of development. He has created to date at least 19 plays and 4 films. My wife, Karen, and I have been following his plays since we first saw “Yankee Dawg You Die”, in 1986, in a small Berkeley Repertory Addison Street Theater where they mounted new and experimental theatrical work. We saw his award winning movie, “The Wash”, and fell in love with his heartfelt writing that primarily focuses on the Japanese-American experience of those living in this country.
This new play is based on his fascination with the true story of two Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, chronicling their path from childhood in Thailand, to their introduction to the world as a traveling “freak” exhibit that eventually moved upscale and became part of the world famous P. T. Barnum traveling shows. These self-educated conjoined twins eventually bought out their contract, toured the world themselves, became very wealthy and successful businessmen, American citizens, and just prior to the civil war, settled down on a Southern plantation, becoming early pioneers in modern farming techniques. After marrying two southern sisters, they subsequently fathered 21children. More than just a story of two individuals traveling the same path, this story reveals the complexities of having to live your life conjoined to another human being, of never having a time in your life completely to yourself, never having private time with your wife, living much like a fish in a bowl.
According to Mr. Gotanda, his play is not an exact tale of what their lives were like, but a dream tale of how he perceived what their lives were like. There is not enough factual documented information as to what their daily lives were like, but enough is known about their various encounters along the path, to turn Gotanda’s dream into a reality. This is a very complicated story and while it is very intriguing and interesting, this first production is not without room for improvement. The first act was at times confusing, at least until you grasped the story development path, and it moved with less energy than it required. This story opened at first examining a very difficult period in Chang and Eng’s later lives and then, by way of flashback, takes you to their youth, then moves forward through significant milestones in their lives. Along the way it takes a look at their physical, psychological and sexual maturing and mating process as well. The story takes on a very personal look at the very difficult conflicts born of living through this physical abnormality, and finally it examines the epitome of brotherly love and dependency, a poignant story of the love and frustration of two men who learned that they were not freaks, but men who were “very special”, and yet, at the same time they were men who were very normal, with normal hopes, dreams and desires!
Director Peter Glazer has gathered together an excellent cast of current and former student actors. The lead roles of Eng Bunker and Chang Bunker are played by Andy Chan and Josemari Saenz. PT Barnum is played very well by Mark Hinds, David Moore is excellent as Learned Jack, and Gwen Kingston is superb as Lady Elizabeth Monroe. The wives of Chang and Eng, Addie Yates (Dasha Burns) and Sallie Yates (Chelsea Unzner) were very believable and charming. There are far too many actors to give each the kudos they deserve, but the acting performances are very strong and exciting. The choreography, under the direction of Erika Chong Such, was very clever and added significantly to the production. I enjoyed the play much more in the second act and overall I found this to be a play with great promise. Remember, this is a play in development and this was the first public performance.
Under the auspices of the Theater Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS) umbrella at the University of California at Berkeley, and some very generous private funding for this project, “I Dream of Chang and Eng”, has now opened in the Zellerbach Playhouse and continues through March 13th, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Saturdays. Tickets are a very reasonable $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students. Call (510)642-8827 for ticket information or visit their website at tdpsboxoffice@berkeley.edu. Cal Performances are performed at 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, University of California, Berkeley. If you go to the following link on the internet, http://maps.google.com/maps?q=zellerbach+playhouse&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl you can find a link to a map that shows you exactly where the Zellerbach Playhouse is located on campus. The entrance to the Zellerbach Playhouse is on the north side of the building. I have found the entrance quite easily by entering the campus right at the intersection of Bancroft and Dana street, taking the paver path north between Haas Pavillion and the Zellerbach Playhouse until you come around to the front of the Zellerbach building at Speiker Plaza. The Playhouse entrance would then be on your left.
Karen and I found $5 parking, in a church parking lot, two blocks away and across the street from the Berkeley City Club at 2315 Durant Street and next door to the Berkeley Architectural Assn. office at 2318 Durant, which was not bad for a Friday night!
Disney on Ice's production, "Let's Celebrate", just made a quick but delightful stopover in San Jose and Oakland !
Finally, I hope you took my advice and took the grandchildren to one of the Disney on Ice productions of “Let’s Celebrate!” performing in the HP Pavilion in San Jose or the Oracle Arena when it made its Bay Area debut this past two weeks. I took two of my grandchildren, Rodrick and Mari to the show on Wednesday night in the Oracle Arena and I have to tell you that this was one of the best Disney on Ice shows I have seen to date.
The children were still talking about it yesterday morning when I stopped by their house. They both thanked me again and again for taking them. They got to see all their favorite Disney characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Lelo and Stitch, Toy Story’s Woody, Jesse, and Buzz Lightyear. In addition to many more Disney characters, all of the Disney prince and princesses were there, ranging from Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine , Mulan, Snow White, and even Tiana from the Princess and the Frog. The skating was quite excellent and the show was a lot of fun, albeit with a very shallow plot. The whole show was based upon Mickey Mouse being able to use Mickey’s “destinator machine” like a time machine laptop able to take him and Minnie to different places all around the world to join in the fun. Altogether, it was just a grand excuse to party, party, party!
This show is for everyone, adult and child alike. There was a delightful lady sitting next to us who had recently moved back to the Bay Area from England and she was having an absolute ball, snapping digital photos of the performers again and again. If you didn’t go this time, keep your eyes open for the next show to come through our area and go have fun. Disney does a great job and if you go on opening nights, the general admission tickets are only $15 for all seats except the ringside seats. Parking is a bit expensive at $25 a car, but that was the only disappointment!
In last week’s review, I mentioned that I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Gotanda by telephone in preparation for the unveiling of this new play. During that interview, he told me how exciting it is to work in a university setting with the full support of the theatrical department, where he has now entered what he calls phase two of his career, that of teaching, as well as writing. In this environment he has full support to write and to do new work, which would be very difficult now in regional theater with the financial constraints of the current economic environment.
This play is a perfect example of a brand new play that would be very difficult to pursue and develop due to the fact that the story encompasses the life story of these Siamese twins, Cheng and Eng, and the many significant individuals and experiences woven into the tapestry of their lives. The story as it is currently written includes 19 actors, 30 characters and 130 costume changes. A story of this magnitude, in addition to the fact that it is a brand new play, never performed before a live audience, would be a project far too risky financially for a community or regional theater to mount. In the college setting where eager minds want to learn how to develop stories into plays, where there are a lot of students seeking to enhance their acting skills, this is the perfect place to develop a story that requires a fairly large number of actors to tell a story of this magnitude. Mr. Peter Glazer, who is also a playwright, is directing this production, which is a collaboration with UC Berkeley and their theater, dance and performance studies department.
I introduced you to Mr. Gotanda because you have an opportunity to see the first blush of a new play, to experience a new work in the process of development. He has created to date at least 19 plays and 4 films. My wife, Karen, and I have been following his plays since we first saw “Yankee Dawg You Die”, in 1986, in a small Berkeley Repertory Addison Street Theater where they mounted new and experimental theatrical work. We saw his award winning movie, “The Wash”, and fell in love with his heartfelt writing that primarily focuses on the Japanese-American experience of those living in this country.
This new play is based on his fascination with the true story of two Siamese Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, chronicling their path from childhood in Thailand, to their introduction to the world as a traveling “freak” exhibit that eventually moved upscale and became part of the world famous P. T. Barnum traveling shows. These self-educated conjoined twins eventually bought out their contract, toured the world themselves, became very wealthy and successful businessmen, American citizens, and just prior to the civil war, settled down on a Southern plantation, becoming early pioneers in modern farming techniques. After marrying two southern sisters, they subsequently fathered 21children. More than just a story of two individuals traveling the same path, this story reveals the complexities of having to live your life conjoined to another human being, of never having a time in your life completely to yourself, never having private time with your wife, living much like a fish in a bowl.
According to Mr. Gotanda, his play is not an exact tale of what their lives were like, but a dream tale of how he perceived what their lives were like. There is not enough factual documented information as to what their daily lives were like, but enough is known about their various encounters along the path, to turn Gotanda’s dream into a reality. This is a very complicated story and while it is very intriguing and interesting, this first production is not without room for improvement. The first act was at times confusing, at least until you grasped the story development path, and it moved with less energy than it required. This story opened at first examining a very difficult period in Chang and Eng’s later lives and then, by way of flashback, takes you to their youth, then moves forward through significant milestones in their lives. Along the way it takes a look at their physical, psychological and sexual maturing and mating process as well. The story takes on a very personal look at the very difficult conflicts born of living through this physical abnormality, and finally it examines the epitome of brotherly love and dependency, a poignant story of the love and frustration of two men who learned that they were not freaks, but men who were “very special”, and yet, at the same time they were men who were very normal, with normal hopes, dreams and desires!
Director Peter Glazer has gathered together an excellent cast of current and former student actors. The lead roles of Eng Bunker and Chang Bunker are played by Andy Chan and Josemari Saenz. PT Barnum is played very well by Mark Hinds, David Moore is excellent as Learned Jack, and Gwen Kingston is superb as Lady Elizabeth Monroe. The wives of Chang and Eng, Addie Yates (Dasha Burns) and Sallie Yates (Chelsea Unzner) were very believable and charming. There are far too many actors to give each the kudos they deserve, but the acting performances are very strong and exciting. The choreography, under the direction of Erika Chong Such, was very clever and added significantly to the production. I enjoyed the play much more in the second act and overall I found this to be a play with great promise. Remember, this is a play in development and this was the first public performance.
Under the auspices of the Theater Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS) umbrella at the University of California at Berkeley, and some very generous private funding for this project, “I Dream of Chang and Eng”, has now opened in the Zellerbach Playhouse and continues through March 13th, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Saturdays. Tickets are a very reasonable $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students. Call (510)642-8827 for ticket information or visit their website at tdpsboxoffice@berkeley.edu. Cal Performances are performed at 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, University of California, Berkeley. If you go to the following link on the internet, http://maps.google.com/maps?q=zellerbach+playhouse&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl you can find a link to a map that shows you exactly where the Zellerbach Playhouse is located on campus. The entrance to the Zellerbach Playhouse is on the north side of the building. I have found the entrance quite easily by entering the campus right at the intersection of Bancroft and Dana street, taking the paver path north between Haas Pavillion and the Zellerbach Playhouse until you come around to the front of the Zellerbach building at Speiker Plaza. The Playhouse entrance would then be on your left.
Karen and I found $5 parking, in a church parking lot, two blocks away and across the street from the Berkeley City Club at 2315 Durant Street and next door to the Berkeley Architectural Assn. office at 2318 Durant, which was not bad for a Friday night!
Disney on Ice's production, "Let's Celebrate", just made a quick but delightful stopover in San Jose and Oakland !
Finally, I hope you took my advice and took the grandchildren to one of the Disney on Ice productions of “Let’s Celebrate!” performing in the HP Pavilion in San Jose or the Oracle Arena when it made its Bay Area debut this past two weeks. I took two of my grandchildren, Rodrick and Mari to the show on Wednesday night in the Oracle Arena and I have to tell you that this was one of the best Disney on Ice shows I have seen to date.
The children were still talking about it yesterday morning when I stopped by their house. They both thanked me again and again for taking them. They got to see all their favorite Disney characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Lelo and Stitch, Toy Story’s Woody, Jesse, and Buzz Lightyear. In addition to many more Disney characters, all of the Disney prince and princesses were there, ranging from Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine , Mulan, Snow White, and even Tiana from the Princess and the Frog. The skating was quite excellent and the show was a lot of fun, albeit with a very shallow plot. The whole show was based upon Mickey Mouse being able to use Mickey’s “destinator machine” like a time machine laptop able to take him and Minnie to different places all around the world to join in the fun. Altogether, it was just a grand excuse to party, party, party!
This show is for everyone, adult and child alike. There was a delightful lady sitting next to us who had recently moved back to the Bay Area from England and she was having an absolute ball, snapping digital photos of the performers again and again. If you didn’t go this time, keep your eyes open for the next show to come through our area and go have fun. Disney does a great job and if you go on opening nights, the general admission tickets are only $15 for all seats except the ringside seats. Parking is a bit expensive at $25 a car, but that was the only disappointment!