Outdoor outings. The drama of waiting.
South Coast Rep's 'American Mariachi' and 'Charlie Brown' at Mission San Juan Capistrano, 'Waiting' in Atwater, 'Edges' in Anaheim
Most of this summer’s theater outings are outdoors, thanks to the greater fear of COVID indoors. But there are plenty of differences among alfresco venues.
I recently discussed how the small Fountain Theatre and the midsize Wallis are producing in outside venues that are adjacent to their inside theaters — still within the physical boundaries of their home bases.
But South Coast Repertory (SCR) left its impeccable interiors and even its front courtyard in Costa Mesa and ventured more than 20 miles to the southeast, to a legendary outdoor site that definitely is not under the control of the South Coast brass.
The company landed at Mission San Juan Capistrano, perhaps best known for the return of its swallows but also as a Catholic institution, founded by the church 245 years ago, then secularized by the Mexican government, then returned to Catholic control in 1865.
Under the banner of Outside SCR, South Coast is presenting “American Mariachi” and ”You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” in the mission’s main quadrangle, a plaza with appealing views of the early evening sky.
Ticket sales are held to 675 per performance — which is still larger than SCR’s biggest indoor capacity in its own home. Because attendance at most “Mariachi” performances so far has been close to capacity, “Mariachi” has already set a new record for the largest audience to ever witness a single SCR performance.
The mission plaza is an atmospheric space, especially during the sunset (and presumably the sunrise) hours. Of course it also has some historical baggage, some of which South Coast artistic director David Ivers mentions in his remarks introducing each performance, when he acknowledges the area’s indigenous people — the Acjachemen — and how their heritage includes moments of “tragedy.” Apparently this is no longer a touchy subject here — the Mission website itself goes into much greater detail about the downside of the Mission for its first neighbors.
How does the mission plaza work as a theatrical space?
Not nearly as well as the always-alfresco Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, which I also discussed last week. At the Theatricum, permanent rows of seats rise as they fan out, so sight lines remain quite good wherever you are, and some of the scenes are staged in areas other than the main stage, bringing some of the action even closer to the back rows.
At the mission, the action in the SCR productions never leaves a temporary stage on the southern edge of the plaza. Temporary chairs fill the flat floor of the “premium seating” closer to the stage, but some of the sight lines are much better than others. Technical equipment blocks some of the potential views.
My advice is to arrive as early as possible, before the better seats have been claimed by others. Meanwhile, if you want chairs or blankets in the “regular seating” and “family fun zone” areas, in the more distant northern half of the plaza, you must bring your own.
South Coast was unusually predictable in its choice of outdoor plays. “American Mariachi,” by José Cruz González, is a re-staging (with the same director, Christopher Acebo) of a popular production that opened Ivers’ first season at SCR, in the fall of 2019. I wrote this about it then for LA Observed:
“It's a breezily enjoyable comedy infused with notes of Latinx feminism - often in the form of musical notes, as it charts the course of a group of 1970s Chicanas who want to break into the mostly male-dominated world of mariachi. ‘American Mariachi’ is not a musical per se, but the script's several formulaic or contrived moments are redeemed by the joyous sounds performed onstage.”
In San Juan Capistrano, the actors appear to push their performances a little harder, probably in order to fill the larger space. It seems even more formulaic as a result — but the fact that I had already seen it might have influenced that opinion. On the less predictable side of the ledger, you can hear a few four-letter words in the performance that perhaps had never been heard within a public presentation at the mission.
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” remains, even in 2021, a light but engaging musical revue. Kudos to the late “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz and the work of musical adapters Clark Gesner, Michael Mayer and Andrew Lippa, plus SCR director Kari Hayter. However, I’m curious to know if it resonates as much with someone who didn’t grow up on “Peanuts,” as I did.
For Angelenos who might want to see “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” without the trip to San Juan Capistrano, on Saturday the much smaller Sierra Madre Playhouse is opening another outdoor production of it, at Sierra Madre Memorial Park, directed by Christian Lebano.
‘Waiting’ on Casitas Avenue
In this prolonged period of COVID variants and restrictions, some Angelenos might want to see the latest variation on Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” instead of the latest rendition of “Charlie Brown” — although are the characters really that different?
Charlie Brown is usually waiting for something — a moment when Lucy doesn’t pull back the football, a kite that actually soars, a winning baseball game, a nod from “the little red-haired girl.” Others have noted that the vigils of Linus, as he waits for the Great Pumpkin, are a step away from the waiting for Godot.
Anyway, the most recent direct variation on “Godot” is at the Atwater Village Theatre, where Playwrights’ Arena has converted the, yes, outdoor central courtyard into a stage for the premiere of “Waiting,” by Daniel A. Olivas. If you wear a mask to this play, you certainly won’t be alone — the two central actors are wearing plexiglass COVID-era masks.
It’s a shorter form of a play originally titled “Waiting for Godínez,” and the Spanish surname in that title is an indication of the particular flavor of waiting that goes on here. In Beckett’s play, Estragon believes that he is regularly hauled away and beaten during the night; here Estragon is transformed into Jesus, aka Chuy (Raul Vega Martinez), who believes that he is regularly hauled away by immigration agents and caged during the night — but then miraculously escapes, thanks to repeated failures to lock the cage. Like Estragon, he also struggles with his shoes — in his case, huaraches.
We later learn that Chuy was born in El Paso, Texas and is therefore a US citizen, but he can’t find the papers to prove it. So he’s in perpetual insecurity about his status.
The diversification of the original continues by turning Vladimir, Estragon’s more stable partner, into Chuy’s sister-in-law Isabel (Valentina Guerra). She also appears to be Chuy’s lifelong love, although Chuy’s memories are fading fast. Meanwhile, the messenger from Godot (Carolina J. Flores) is now a gender-uncertain set of twins.
The visitors Pozzo and Lucky are now the self-proclaimed literary agent Piso Mojado (“my name is seen in thousands of hotels and luxurious office buildings”), played by Amir Levi, and his female client/slave Afortunada (Shanelle Darlene), in contrast to the original’s male and very unlucky Lucky.
As with “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Waiting” is probably ideal for those who are thoroughly familiar with the original model — and therefore will catch more of the references to it.
Daphnie Sicre’s staging is sharply paced and somewhat amusing, considering the circumstances, but the circumstances are unusual. The outdoor moonlight effects are hard to manage. And while the audience is arranged around the south, east and north sides of the courtyard, the west side of the “stage” opens onto the sidewalk and Casitas Avenue. So we see passing pedestrians (occasionally with dogs) and cars. Whether these sights are distractions or stronger connections to the real world is a toss-up.
In the middle of that front sidewalk on the west is a tentative driveway opening. At one point during opening night, a driver used it to facilitate a U-turn, almost inching over the edge of the “stage”. Just seconds earlier, the driver must have suddenly noticed a problem with the previously chosen route, or perhaps even uncertainty about the journey’s ultimate goal — revelations that are similar to those in “Waiting” and “Godot.” But the driver probably didn’t expect the subsequent maneuver to become part of a live performance. Would Beckett have been amused? Was Olivas, the “Waiting” playwright?
The precocious provenance of the Pasek/Paul partnership
Speaking of waiting, the characters in the staged “Edges” song cycle know the mixed feelings that can arise during those long waits for “real life” to begin. These are young adults, between 17 and 30, who are trying to figure out what directions to take in their lives — romantically, professionally, even whether to become parents.
The songs they sing, moving and eloquent, were written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, when they were undergraduates at the University of Michigan. If it’s any comfort to their undecided characters, Pasek and Paul went on to write “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Dogfight” and the scores for the movies “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman,” winning multiple awards in the process.
If young adults recognize themselves in the briefly sketched characters in “Edges,” a knowledge of the subsequent Pasek and Paul credentials could either add inspiration — or simply more pressure — to their current dilemmas.
For those of us who are long past that age range, it’s a treat simply to sit back, listen and engage each character in our minds before moving on to the next. In other words, do not expect a book musical here, a la “Dear Evan Hansen.”
This is closer to a musical revue — something that might have been sung by the “Peanuts” characters if they were 15 years older than most of them were in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
At Chance Theater’s production in Anaheim, director James Michael McHale’s quartet of singing actors (Sarah Pierce, Elizabeth Curtin, Jewell Holloway and Tyler Marshall), Robyn Manion’s band and the design team have most of the musical and emotional chops to guide us along the way.
“Edges” is on the cutting edge in one particular aspect this summer. It’s only the second show I’ve seen that is actually staged indoors, away from noise distractions. Vaccinations and masks are recommended for anyone who attends, but Chance also is offering a select number of fully vaccinated performances that will require proof of vaccination with photo ID, minimal social distancing and indoor masks — for those who are wary of taking any…chances.
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