100 PLANES  by Carol Kaufman segal

           

100 Planes is a very unusual play written by Lila Rose Kaplan making its West Coast premiere at the Broadway Black Box for a limited engagement.  It is presented by The Filigree Theatre and directed by Elizabeth V. Newman.          

 The play takes place in 1997.  It is a love story about a young airline pilot, Lt. Kay McClure (Alani Rose Chock) who has hopes of becoming the first to fly a new hybrid fighter jet.  Before she is scheduled to return to her base in Germany, she attends a reunion of her past alma mater.  There she runs into her former beau, still handsome David (Brennan Patrick).  David had never forgotten his feelings for Kay and, after seeing her again, realizes he is still very much in love with her.                                                                                                                                                            

 Though Kay realizes she also has strong feelings for David, she is determined to succeed in her quest with the Air Force and returns to Germany.  She approaches the well-known Major Anne Clarkson (Karen Harrison), a rather cold, stern individual, to train her for the job.  She seems reticent at first, but decides to take her on.  Lt. Clarksonis very tough with Kay in the beginning, but becomes obsessed with helping her

as she discovers her outstanding ability and wants her to succeed.  Unfortunately, this disrupts her own personal life and her affair with her lover, Monique (Brittany Flurry).] 

 Love struck David follows Kay to Germany, and though she is also in love with him, she refuses to give up her strong feelings for flying, just as Major Clarkson refuses to give up her strong efforts toward aiding Kay.  Kay’s success is her success as well.  Can ambition conquer love, or vice versa? 

100 Planes is a story of three women who struggle against love and ambition.  It is well written and very well performed by a strong cast.  It plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 5 PM, through August 4, at the Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood.  Tickets are available online at www.filigreetheatre.com. or by phone at (512) 495-5208.  

RENOVATIONS FOR SIX  by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

Renovations for Six, written by Norm Foster, is making its American debut at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. Norm Foster is one of Canada’s most prolific and most produced playwrights and one of Theater 40’s favorite.  This is his fifth play that they have presented at the theater, and the previous ones have been enjoyed by audiences as well as those who performed in them.  This play is Theatre 40’s first production in its 54^th season.  

            

This very funny comedy opens with Shayna and Grant Perkins (Rebecca Driscoll and Lane Compton) who have recently moved to a new town where Grant was hired as the manager of a furniture store.  Shayna is a pilates instructor and is anxious to meet new people who might be interested in participating in her classes.  Even though they are caught up in renovating their new home, they decide to have a dinner party as a way of accomplishing that feat.

            

Billie and Wing Falterman (Gail Johnson and David Hunt Stafford are a couple who receive an invitation from the Perkins.  During their younger years, they were a dance couple in show business.  But that was some time ago.  Wing has been a salesman, for quite some time, in the store that Grant now manages.  This makes Billie suspicious as to why they were invited and she puts the notion into Wing’s head that Grant is probably planning to fire him.  She has longed to return to show business anyway, but Wing is content with being at home and working in the furniture store.  The thought that she put in his head has made him quite concerned.  They, too, are in the process of renovating their home!

            

The other guests that the Perkins invited are Veronica Dunn-Dudet (Mona Lee Wylde) and Maurice Dudet (Martin Thompson).  Veronica is an arrogant psychiatrist while Maurice was a successful engineer before he quit his job to write a novel.  Their marriage is under a great deal of tension at this time because Veronica resents the fact that she is the sole bread-winner in the family now. Even so, under the circumstances they, too, are renovating their home!

            

The couples arrive at the Perkins home at the same time, and as the evening progresses, the dinner party becomes more and more hilarious as they clash with one another about their lives, and even their renovations.  It becomes obvious that their lives need renovating as much as their homes.  How each couple transforms by evening’s end is a big surprise.

           

Even though we first meet each couple in their own home, the play is performed on a single set, the living room that, miraculously, works for all three couples (set by Jeff G. Rack).  This is one of Norm Foster’s newest comedies and the actors do it justice under the direction of Howard Storm.  For an evening of laughter, you can’t miss with Renovations for Six.

            

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, through August 18, at Theatre 40, in the Reuben Cordova Theatre, at the Beverly Hills High School, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills.  Tickets are available by calling (310) 364-0535, or online at theatre40.org.

MISS SAIGON  by Carol Kaufman Segalchris

           

Miss Saigon, a musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. is playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.  Based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, the story is very similar only it is set in another country and another time.

            

The play begins in Saigon, April, 1975, near the end of the Vietnamese war in a brothel run by a disreputable pimp known as The Engineer (Red Concepcion).   Kim (Emily Bautista) a young South Vietnamese girl who lost her family in the war, is forced to work for the Engineer.  She appears uneasy and frightened.  Of the many G.I.’s at the brothel, Chris (Anthony Festa) appears depressed, triggering his friend, G.I. John (J. Daughtry) to buy a night for him to spend with Kim. 

           

By morning, Chris is deeply in love with Kim and, suddenly, they join in a ceremonial wedding which is interrupted by Kim’s beau, Thuy (Jinwoo Jung).  Thuy is made to leave as the ceremony is concluded, and the two lovers make their plans for their future.    

           

Suddenly, it is April, 1978, the war is over, North and South Vietnam are under communist rule, and Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City.  The Engineer no longer runs a brothel but when Thuy, who has become a man of power, asks him to find Kim for him, he discovers her living on the street.  Thuy proposes marriage, having never forgotten her.  But no matter what he offers, she refuses, even when he threatens her. 

           

Finally, Kim tells Thuy that she will never forsake Chris, because she has his child, their son Tam (Adalynn Ng, open night, shared by Tyler Dunn, Haven Je, Fin Molding).  When Thuy threatens to kill Tam, Kim shoots Thuy.  The Engineer is privy to everything that has occurred and offers his help to Kim and Tam, not for their sake, but hopefully, to find his “ticket” to America through Chris.

           

Chris had returned alone to America and married Ellen (Stacie Bono), a lovely young woman.  To offer the results of their visit back to Ho Chi Minh would be a disservice to anyone by revealing the outcome of that visit.  However, those who are cognoscente of Madame Butterfly, most likely have a good idea of the outcome of this heart breaking tragic story.    

            

The music in this production, though not memorable, is superb and certainly adds to the story, all performed with wonderful voices by the cast of this outstanding national touring company, directed by Lawrence Conner, adapted from the original French text by Alain Boublil, with additional lyrics by Michael Mahler.  

            

Miss Saigon plays Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sundays at 1 PM and 6:30 PM, at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles through August 11.  Tickets are available online at HollywoodPantagees.com.  For more information, call (800) 982-2787.

RECOMMENDED

           

           

FRIENDS!  The Musical Parody by Carol Kaufman Sega

            

Friends is a television sitcom that ran on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004.  The cast included Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.  The show is about six close friends in their 20’s and 30’s who live in Manhattan.  I t became one of the most popular TV shows of all time, and reruns are still playing on KCAL nightly following the late news. 

           

I must admit that I never watched Friends during its heydays, but if you did and you were a fan, you undoubtedly, will get enjoyment and laughs from this takeoff of the sitcom. It is making its Los Angles premier at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City by the North American Tour.  All six people from the sitcom are represented as characters in this spoof written by Bob and Tobly McSmith, with music and orchestration by Assaf Gleizner, lyrics by the McSmiths.

            

The play opens with a parody of the very first episode of Friends when a runaway bride storms in on the group at a coffee shop in New York. The characters are all there; Rachel Green (Sami Griffith), Ross Geller (Tyler Fromson), Monica Geller (Maggie McMeans), Chandler Bing (Aaron C. Rutherford),  Phoebe Buffay (Madison Fuller), Joey Tribbiani (Dominic Servidio), Swing (Jenna Cormey), Swing (Nick Palazzo).

            

There are many songs in the skits that augment the humor of the show.  They include 495 Grove Street – How Can We Afford This Place?, How You Doin?, We Were on a Break!, Oh. My. God. It’s Janice!  Will They or Wont They, The Ballad of Fat Monica, The Chick and The Duck Song, I am Marcel, the Monkey. Could I be Anymore…in Love with You, The One Where We Make A Million Dollars an ‘Episode, and We’ll Always Be There For You.

           

Laughter abounded during the performance.  But since I was not familiar with Friends perse, I was not as appreciative of the production as the audience was.  If you were, or still are a fan of Friends, I recommend this spoof for your enjoyment by a talented  company.    

            

Friends!  The Musical Parody is playing Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM and 6:30 PM, through August 4, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.  Tickets are available online at www.KirkDouglasTheatre.org, or by phone at (213) 628-2772.  Group sales are available online at Groups1@CTGLA.org, or (213) 972-7231,                               

WAIT UNTIL DARK by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

The play, Wait Until Dark, was written by Frederick Knott in 1966 and made its debut on Broadway starring Lee Remick.  In 1967 Robert Carrington and Jane Howard-Carrington wrote the screenplay, based on Knott’s play, starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, and Richard Crenna.  The Loft Ensemble has brought the thriller back to life in a spine-chilling production directed by Kenneth Rogers and starring Marissa Galloway.

            

The play takes place in a basement apartment in New York City in 1966, the home of a young couple, Suzy Hendrix (Marissa Galloway) and her husband Sam (Wes McGee).  Sam is a photographer whose job calls him away, leaving Susan who is blind, home alone.  He has made arrangements for Gloria (Britt Crisp), the teenage neighbor, to look in on her periodically.  Neither of them are aware that there is a very valuable doll missing somewhere in their neighborhood, valuable because it has been stuffed with something that makes it so.

           

There are ruthless men who are looking for the doll and believe it is somewhere in the Hendrix’s apartment.  These men, Roat (Jared Wilson), Sgt. Carlino (Max Marsh), and Sam Hendrix (Wes McGee), won’t stop at anything to get it in their hands, including murder. Susan, unfortunately, becomes involved in the course of their search.  Fortunately, it turns out that she realizes that her disability is an advantage for her.  She is much more clever than they might have expected.  Despite her inability to see, she has the advantage of dealing with them in total darkness.

            

The scenes are especially intense in the second act and the performances by the cast are realistic enough to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.  I was especially in awe of Marissa Galloway’s performance.  One could never detect that she actually could see.  If you love to see a thriller, you can’t miss on this one

            

Wait Until Dark is playing at the Loft Ensemble’s new location, 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood.  It plays Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 7 PM, through July 28.  Tickets are available online at www.loftensemble.org, or by phone (818) 452-3153.           

THE SPITFIRE GRILL by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

There was a film in 1996 entitled The Spitfire Grill written by Lee David Zlotoff.  The film was adapted into a musical by James Valcq and Fred Allen, who also wrote the music and lyrics, which appeared off Broadway in 2001.  This very unusual musical is being presented at the Garry Marshall Theatre in Burbank, under the direction of Dimitri Toscas.           

            

The play takes place in Gilead, Wisconsin, a peaceful town where there is only one place to dine out.  That place is The Sptifire Grill and it is owned by Hannah (Sarah Saviano), a cantankerous widow.  This is the town where Percy (Rachel Sarah Mount), a recent parolee, feels she can begin her life anew, and The Spitfire Grill is where she finds a job that offers her a new chance.

           

Percy tries her best at her new job but things don’t go too great because of Hanna’s temperament.  Fortunately,  she gets along fine with the other kitchen worker, Shelby (Ashley Argota).  Percy figures out that Hanna’s attitude could be the result of the fact that business at The Spitfire Grill has fallen badly. She has put the eatery up for sale with no offers coming.  Percy, wanting to help, gets an idea that she suggests to Hanna whereby she would promote a contest to raffle the business off.  One would enter the contest by writing an essay about why they would want to own the restaurant and send it along with an entrance fee of $100.  Whoever writes the best essay wins!     

           

Hannah takes to the idea, and, unexpectantly, she is inundated with entries from everywhere.  The essays and the money begin rolling in beyond what anyone could have imagined. Hannah suddenly becomes a changed woman.  All the while, as things begin looking up, she, Percy and Shelby build a new friendship.   Alas, Hannah has second thoughts about giving up The Spitfire Grill.  Gilead, Wisconsin isn’t such a bad place to live afterall.       

            

You might wonder where the music comes into this play.  Well there are other characters in Gilead who hang around The Spitfire Grill, and their accompaniment on different instruments adds the music to the plot throughout.  They include Sheriff Joe (Erich Schroeder, guitar/mandolin), Caleb (Joey Ruggiero, guitar/mandolin), Postmistress Effy (Linda Kerns (accordion/melodica), and Vistor (Nicu Brouillette, violin).  Sarah Saviano adds clarinet and flute while Rachel Sarah Mount and Ashley Argota provide the beautiful vocals.

            

The Spitfire Grill plays Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, at 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM, Wednesday, July 17 at 8 PM, and Saturday, July 27, at 2 PM, through August 11, at the Garry Marshall Theatre, 4252 W. Riverside Dr., Burbank.  For tickets and information call (818) 955-8101, or go online at www.garrymarshalltheatre.org.

NANCY F***ING REAGAN by Carol Kaufman Segal

           

Nancy F***ing Reagan, written by Daniel Hurewitz and directed by Larry Margo, is a play making its world premiere at The Secret Rose Theatre.  The play won the Christopher Hewitt award and was a finalist in the Ashland New Play Festival in 2018.

            

David (Kiff  Scholl) is turning 50 years old and his close friend, Maggie (Debi Tinsley), has invited some of their friends to her home in Palm Springs to celebrate his 50^th birthday.  Maggie is a dean at the local college while David is a history professor who lost his partner from aids.  Unfortunately, this is the day of Nancy Reagan’s funeral and the procession has caused a traffic problem.  When the guests arrive late at the home of Maggie and her husband Richard (Mark Sande), they are not in the best mood and begin vilifying the Reagans, particularly Nancy.

            

The arriving guests include Jason (Greg Ivan Smith) and present lover, Kenny (Cobert Alembert), an African American.  They settle down and begin discussing how the Reagans closed their eyes to the seriousness of the spread of the disastrous aids disease. They ignored the problem completely, even when some of their friends, who were suffering from the disease, reached out to them for help. They see Nancy as the greatest influence on her husband, hence “Nancy F***ing Reagan” was the cause of many deaths that might have been saved.

           

Unexpectedly, a student from Maggie’s school shows up at the house to speak with her. Maggie is not pleased that she did not wait to see her in her office at school but she allows her to stay.  Allison (Safiya Quinley) is an attractive African American and she came to report a serious situation that occurred with her professor.  She ends up by joining the guests in their conversation and adding racism to it as well.

           

All the while, reports are coming through on the TV by a newscaster (Amy Kersten) regarding the movement of the Nancy Reagan funeral procession.  Probably due to a bit too much liquor, David becomes agitated at the thought of Nancy F***ing Reagan, being responsible for so many deaths,  He decides that since she has so much blood on her hands, he’s going to go to her funeral to pour blood on her coffin.  And so he does, with the help of Kenny who decides to accompany him!  Happy Birthday, David!

           

Larry Margo directs this well presented production aided by an outstanding cast.  The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM, through August 4^th, at The Secret Rose Theatre, 11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood.  For ticket information, call (818) 762-2272.

           

LOOT by Carol Kaufman Segal

Joe Orton (1933-1967) was an English playwright and author whose life was short but highly significant.   Unfortunately, he was murdered by his jealous partner, Kenneth Halliwill, who after murdering Orton, committed suicide at the age of 41.   Orton was prolific in his lifetime having written ten plays, some still very popular today, and three novels, one of which was written with Halliwill.

One of Orton’s plays, a dark comedy entitled Loot, is playing at the Odyssey Theater in West Los Angeles, and still entertaining audiences with its unusual sense of humor.  It takes place in a room of McLeavy’s house (Nicholas Hormann), in London, 1966.  Mrs. McLeavy (Selina Woolery Smith) has died and her open coffin, with a full view off her body, lies in the center of the room. 

            

Fay (Elizabeth Arends), Mrs. McLevy’s nurse during her illness, arrives and offers her condolences to Mr. McLeavy as they await the time for the casket to be picked for the funeral procession and burial.  However, she wastes no time in turning her conversation to him to consider remarriage, and to her, of course!

            

Arriving at the house are McLeavy’s insufferable son Hal (Robbie Jarvis) and his equally unbearable lover Dennis (Alex James-Phelps).  Dennis arrives in a chauffeur’s uniform as he is also scheduled to drive the limo for the funeral.  However, that is not the only reason he has come to the house with Hal.  It turns out that they are the culprits who stole a huge amount of money from the bank and are trying to figure out where they can hide such a large stash.  Hal has hidden it in the cabinet, but decides it would be safer to hide it in the coffin with his mother.  When it turns out that the coffin can’t hold his mother and the money, he decides to put his mother in the cabinet and hide the money in the coffin!

           

The situation runs out of control from then on.  Fay joins the boys as they try to figure out the best way of hiding the body and the money between the casket and the cabinet!  The arrival of Inspector Truscott (Ron Botitta), who is looking into the bank robbery, adds to the confusion and their plight.  We find out that Fay has been married seven times and all seven husbands suffered mysterious deaths.  Could it be that Mrs. McLeavy did not die of natural causes?

           

The play ends in a surprisingly and unexpected way, a way in which Joe Orton revealed his outlook about life and its hypocrisies.   He was an extremely clever writer, and although his work is over fifty years old, I believe people today are far more accepting of it, and its humor, than they were during his time.  Bart DeLorenzo directed this very fine production.  The cast is superb in bringing life to these characters, except for Selina Woolery Smith who is equally superb as a corpse!

Loot plays Fridays and Saturays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, through August 10, at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles.  Tickets are available at www.OdysseyTheatre.com, or by phone at (310) 477-2055.

           

RECOMMENDED

DAMES AT SEA by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

Movies in the ‘30’s were made to be light and enjoyable to watch.  It was a stressful time, and it gave people an opportunity to take their minds off of the problems of the world.  Dames at Sea is a take-off of just that type of movie, and today it can still bring fun and joy to audiences everywhere.  The play, with music by Jim Wise, book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, premiered on Broadway in 2015.  It is now playing at the Sierra Madre Playhouse and is doing just that.

            

The story is cute, maybe trite, but the music and the dancing make up for everything, and so do the performers in this grand production.  Ruby (Katie Franqueira) has taken a bus all the way from a small town in Utah only to arrive in New York City, forgetting to pick up her suitcase from the ground as she dashes off.  Lucky for her, a young sailor picks it up, follows her so that he can return it, and eventually catches up with her, introducing himself as Dick (Aaron Shaw). 

          

  “Oh well”, as she opens the suitcase and admits, there’s nothing in it but her tap shoes, as they fall out!  She tells him that she has come to break into show business.  He lets her know about his dream of becoming a songwriter.  And it all turns into love at first sight!  As fate will have it, Ruby finds herself immediately cast as a chorus girl in a Broadway musical where she meets the other members of the show.  There is Joan (Marissa Mayer) who will become her new best friend, Mona (Jennifer Knox) the ego-centric member who does her best to snatch Dick away from her, and lo and behold Lucky (Ruben Bravo), Dick’s sailor buddy, and Dick himself who now finds himself as a member of Hennessey’s show (Chuck McLane).

           

It all sounds great.  Everyone’s dream comes true until, just before the show is to open, they lose the use of the building as it is being torn down!  Who, but the two sailors come to the rescue when they convince their Captain (also played by Chuck McLane) to allow the production to be held on their ship?!

            

All seems perfect until Mona, the show’s star, becomes seasick.  Fortunately, everyone convinces Ruby that “she can do it” and a star is born.  Everyone ends up happily ever after, Ruby and Dick, Joan and Lucky, and even The Captain falls for Mona!

 The music is wonderful, the dancing sublime, the cast tops as singers and dancers.  The music director is Scott Paxton, choreography by Jeffrey Scott Parsons, costume designs by Shon LeBlanc, all under the astute direction of Joshua Finkel.  The set design is by Jeff G. Rack.  What a stupendous ship in Act II!

           

Dames at Sea has already been extended at the Sierra Madre Playhouse located at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2:30 PM, through August 3.  There will also be a matinee performance on Saturday, August 3, at 2:30 PM.  Tickets are available online at www.sierramadreplayhouse.com, reservations by phone at (626) 355-4318.

           

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

GOOD BOYS by Carol Kaufman Segal

The Pasadena Playhouse is presenting the Los Angeles premiere of Good Boys written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacara and directed by Betsey Brandt.  Originally mounted as Good Boys and True, the playwright has refreshed the play and given it a simpler name. 

            

Good Boys take place in 1988 at an exclusive private boys’ school where Brandon Hardy (Ben Ahlers) is a student, as was his father, popular, athletic, good-looking, and smart.  His football teammate, Justin Simmons (Dylan Arnold) is a close friend as well as a secret sex partner, something Brandon never wants revealed.           

           

Brandon’s coach, Coach Russell Shea (James Carpinello), who is also a close friend of his parents, has phoned his mother, Elizabeth (Betsy Brandt) to come to see him at the school.  When he explains his reason for asking her to stop by, Elizabeth is taken aback.  He tells her that an alarming videotape was found on the campus that has everyone in the school talking about the couple in it having brutal sex, and though you can’t see the boy’s face, it appears to look like Brandon.  Elizabeth, vociferously, refuses to believe that it could possibly be her son, not Brandon!

             

By the time it is finally revealed that Brandon is the culprit in the video, the Hardy family’s lives are no longer the same.  Brandon has lost his close friend, he had lied until he finally admitted his guilt, but without any remorse for hurting another person he felt was not in the same world or as worthy as he  Through Coach Shea, Elizabeth finds out that her husband grew up with the same attitude about life and people.  Knowing that father and son are a mold of the same ilk, she realizes it is up to her alone, to deal with their shattered lives. 

            

Other characters in the production are Cheryl Moody, the girl who was looked down upon and mistreated by Brandon.  Fortunately, she appears strong enough to be able to get her life back to normal.  The night I saw the production Brett Cooper played the role.  Tamilla Woodward (Toks Olagundoye), Elizabeth’s best friend from their school years, offers her support to her friend in this trying time in her life.  Before the play actually begins, four Prep School Boys (Tristan Boesch, Bradley Cloversettle, Danny Cron, and Will White) open the production on stage by singing their school song.   The director, Carolyn Cantor, steers a very powerful cast through this memorable play.                       

            

Good Boys will continue at the Pasadena Playhouse Tuesdays through Sundays at 8 PM through July 21.  Tickets are available online at PasadenaPlayhouse.org, by phone at (626) 356-7529, or at the Pasadena Playhouse Box Office, 39 South El Molino Ave., Pasadena.

           

RECOMMENDED

ANNE, A New Play extends through August 5,  2019, at the Museun of Tolerance.  See review dated June 16, 2019.

THE PRODUCERS by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

The Producers was a film written by Mel Brooks in 1967.  The Broadway musical version of The Producers was adapted from the film by Brooks and Thomas Meehan with music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman.

            

This exceptionally humorous production recently opened in the Celebration Theatre at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood and proved to be a tremendous hit.  Though I was dubious about such a small theatre putting on such an extravagant musical, I quickly discovered that the entire team, under the judicious direction, by Michael Matthews, was top-notch. I was in total awe throughout the entire presentation.

Max Bialystock (Richardson Jones) was once a successful Broadway Producer who has been down on his luck for quite some time.  His livelihood, these days, depends on little old ladies who he sweet-talks into investing in his losing productions.  One day Leo Bloom (Christopher Ewell Valentin), an accountant, surprises him by showing up at his office to check his books regarding his latest disaster.  When a problem of $2,000 missing in Bialystock’s books is discovered, these two characters devise a plan to not only get rid of the problem, but one that will put a fortune in their pockets.

           

Here’s the plan!  Easy enough for Bialystock, a shady, immoral character who feels no shame for reaping more money from unwary little old ladies, who he will, once again, ask to invest in his next production.  He will go for a big investment, look for a sure-to flop-play, and when it closes, he and his partner will run off with millions of dollars!  Jones and Valentin are hilarious as these two finaglers.

            

A beautiful, sexy young lady, unexpectedly, enters their lives when she walks into their office seeking an audition, but since they don’t even have a script yet, they hire Ulla (Mary Ann Welshans) as their secretary and receptionist.    Now it’s time to choose a script, and they could not have found anything more preposterous than Springtime for Hitler by Franz Libkind (John Colella), a man from Bavaria who is dedicated to the Fuehrer!’     

            

Their next project is to hire a director and choreographer and none could fit the role better for this production than Roger De Bris, (Michael A Shepperd), a real prima donna known to be the worst director in the industry.  His assistant, Carmen Gia (Andrew Diego), meets them at De Bris’ door.  Both men are attired in outrageous feminine gear and are hysterically funny.   Once De Bris accepts the offer to join the two men and also take on the starring role, they all celebrate and the real fun begins. The music, the singing, the choreography, the dancing, the humor, and the entire cast, throughout this production, are first-rate.

            

What a shock to Bialystock and Bloom when the audience loves the play, thinking it is a big farce, and they end up stuck with a huge hit!  Will they get away with their shenanigans once again?        

           

I can’t rave enough about what a terrific production this is in all aspects, the live band that includes Anthony Zediker, (Music Director, keyboard), Leigh Anne Gillespie (keyboard 2, Assistant Music Director),  Chris Payne (drums), and Phil Moore (reeds), the choreographer (Janet Rosten), costume designer (E.B. Brooks), and scenic designer (Stephen Gifford).

            

The Producers is playing Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, through  August 12, at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Los Angeles.  Tickets are available on line at www.celebrationtheatre.com, or by phone at (323) 957-1884.

           

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MISTAKES WERE MADE - Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, playing a the Santa Monica Playhouse has been extended. from July 13 through September 28.  See review of this production dated May 6, 2019.