Tacoma Musical Playhouse Celebrates Rosa Parks

Tacoma Musical Playhouse Family Theater will celebrate Black History Month with a production of the musical Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott directed and choreographed by Jimmy Shields and featuring a cast of eight local actors. LaNita Hudson, most recently seen in The Rocky Horror Show at Lakewood Playhouse and in A Piece of My Heart at Dukesbay Productions, takes on the lead role as Rosa Parks. Also starring are Christen Sabrina Blackwell, DeShanna Brown, Carrie Sleeper-Bowers, Jake Atwood, Johnathan Adams, Donavan Mahannah and Russell Campbell.

On December 1, 1955, Parks, a black woman, refused to surrender her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala.  Her arrest proved to be a tipping point in American history, inspiring Montgomery’s African-American citizens to organize in non-violent protest under the leadership of the new young pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association held a 13-month boycott of Montgomery’s public transit system that resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down segregation on public buses as unconstitutional.

Sixty years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks is remembered as “The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” With deep intensity and uplifting songs of the struggle, this musical tells her uniquely moving American story about how everyone makes a difference.

Tacoma Musical Playhouse, 7116 Sixth Avenue, Tacoma, WA.

Saturday:  Feb 11, 1pm & 4pm

Sunday:  Feb 12, 7pm

Saturday:  Feb 18, 11am

Sunday:  Feb 19, 7pm

 Adults $15,  Senior, Military & Students $13, Children (12 & under) $12, Groups of 10 or more $10All Seating is Reserved

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased at TMP’s Box Office located at 7116 Sixth Avenue, by phone at 253-565-6867, and online at www.tmp.org.  Box office is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.   

My Name is Rachel Corrie at Harlequin

Published in the Weekly Volcano and Oly Arts

Photos – Kira Batcheller as Rachel Corrie. Photo courtesy Harlequin Productions

At long last Rachel Corrie has come home to Olympia in the form of Harlequin Productions’ presentation of My Name is Rachel Corrie. This is Olympia’s first ever locally produced full theatrical performance of the play based on the life and writings of the Olympia native who was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Palestinian city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. She died March 16, 2003.

Read the complete review on olyarts.org

or

The Weekly Volcano

Anne de Marcken’s Invisible Ink

Photo: 

Socially conscious art at Feast Art Center  by Alec Clayton

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Jan. 26, 2017

Anne de Marcken (with hand on hip) talking to gallery visitors, photo by Natasha Marin.

Anne de Marcken, whose stunning Redaction Project at Salon Refu this past spring I reviewed in this column, is at it again with another intriguing, intelligent and engaging art project. This time it is what she calls a “performative piece” at the Feast Art Center.

This project defies easy categorization. It is not exactly visual art, but it is in a gallery, and there is a strong visual element. It might be called an installation or a happening — who is old enough to remember happenings? — or a social experiment designed to help people meet their real needs.

To explain, I must first introduce conceptual artist Natasha Marin and audio artist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, both of whom collaborated with de Marcken on the project. Sycamore’s Reparations project began as a movement on Facebook where she wrote: “I invite People of Color to ask for what we need to feel better, be happier, be more productive by posting in this space. ... I invite people who identify as White to offer services or contributions to People of Color in need of time, energy, substantive care, and support."

In the gallery, de Marcken copies onto a 1,000-foot-long sheet of butcher paper word-for-word in invisible ink (lemon juice) the requests People of Color have sent in to the Reparations project.

The butcher paper hangs from a rod attached to the gallery ceiling, across a work table on one end of the gallery and onto an ironing board at the other end. De Marcken irons across the invisible ink, which then becomes visible. Finally, she posts the requests on the white walls of the gallery where White people can take them down, take them home, and fulfill the requests in whatever manner they may.

Examples of the requests are : “…rent is still a struggle. We had to do a payday loan and overdraft our bank account to pay chunks of our bills this month. Now my car is making a funny noise …” and “We can’t find a safe clean place to raise our baby; they keep trying to rent us condemned places.”

Visually and symbolically it is an installation in white on white with invisible ink and with the subjects of the requests being invisible as in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.

“Writing with lemon juice (homemade invisible ink) on white paper turns out to be incredibly arduous: like the effort to see one’s own privilege or to make one’s own vulnerability seen,” says de Marcken. “It is also basic, magical, and almost impossible to perfect.”

The gallery describes the piece as “a 1000-foot-long enunciation of the ways whiteness protects those affiliated with its power from awareness of and accountability for the costs and benefits of that artificial construction. Participants are invited to iron out the lemon juice messages, enacting the process of making need and harm visible…and are then invited to go further: to take simple actions to meet need and remedy harm by responding materially to the original messages.”
During open hours a two-track audio plays, simultaneously, sound bites from Hillary Clinton speaking to a reporter at Nancy Reagan’s funeral and Barack Obama speaking at a memorial service for the five police officers killed in Dallas, Tex.

De Marcken, who teaches writing at The Evergreen State College, also teaches writing workshops at the Feast Center. She will be teaching from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 and Feb. 4.

Invisible Ink, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, and by appointment, through Feb. 11, Feast Arts Center, 1402 S. 11th St., Tacoma, www.feastarts.com 

Never Again: Testimonies from the Japanese American Incarceration

Dukesbay Productions & Stephanie Anne Johnson present Never Again: Testimonies from the Japanese American Incarceration, edited by Aya Hashiguchi Clark, directed by Randy Clark, with music by Stephanie Anne Johnson.

Aya Hashiguchi Clark explains: “There will be local Tacoma actors reading various first-person accounts of niseis (second generation Japanese-Americans) sharing their memories of the internment, which also includes memories of Pearl Harbor, the evacuation to Camp Harmony in Puyallup, their transfer to Minidoka Relocation Center (the "permanent" internment facility) in Hunt, ID, a bit about life in camp and post-camp life returning to Seattle.  Not all the actors who read will be Asian-Americans.  This is in contrast to how we usually cast shows for Dukesbay.  This time, we want to make the point that internment, especially in today's uncertain political climate, could happen to anyone.  Many different religious and ethnic groups have been singled out by the incoming administration. I want the audience to be reminded that internment could mean incarceration for their neighbors, friends or even themselves.”

In 1942, ten weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorizing the forced removal of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan.  Mostly caused by wartime hysteria and anti-Japanese racism, the incarceration of 120,000 people is remembered as one of America’s worst mass violations of civil rights.

Never Again is presented as a staged reading with live musical performance.  Testimonies and interviews were provided by Densho, a grassroots organization in Seattle dedicated to preserving, educating, and sharing the story of WWII-era incarceration of Japanese-Americans.  

This is a one-night-only production.

Tacoma Little Theatre

210 N. I St. Tacoma, WA 98403

7:30 pm - 10:00pm

Tickets: $10 general admission,  $7 students/seniors/educators

For tickets: www.tacomalittletheatre.com

or call TLT's Box Office at: 253-272-2281

Cat People, Dog People at Tacoma Community College

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Jan. 19, 2017

“Blue Point” acrylic painting by Denise Levine, courtesy Tacoma Community College

“Big Cats Play” pastel by Rick Hall and Ron Schmidt

I must confess: I went to this show expecting it to be the art show equivalent of one of those Facebook posts that say the world is going to hell and everybody’s dying, so here’s a cute picture of a cat. And there were quite a few bland photos, drawings and paintings of cats and dogs, not to mention a few funky little statuettes that belong in a gift shop rather than an art gallery.

But there was some very fine art too — much more than I expected.

I won’t bother to comment on the trivial wall clutter but will write about some of the excellent art in this exhibition, starting with Denise Levine’s small acrylic painting “Blue Point,” which was awarded first place in the show. It is a simple but mesmerizing image of a blue-black cat in a city apartment window. It is a sleek, thin and muscular cat climbing down or pointing one paw downward. Outside the window can be seen the side of a neighboring building. The building is orange, and its windows are black. There is an illusion of upward movement as if the large window the cat is in is an elevator going down, thus creating the feeling that the blackened windows across the way or accelerating upward. This up-down contrast combined with the complementary colors creates a strong sense of controlled tension.

Speaking of complements, two of the stronger paintings in the exhibition hang next to each other and have in common that they each reflect on famous paintings from art history. “Big Cats Play” by Rick Hall and Ron Schmidt depicts a leering, big-tooth cat on top of a naked man lying in a field. The cat is almost as large as the man. It is a horrifying image that for reasons I probably couldn’t explain reminds me of “The Sleeping Gypsy” by Henri Rousseau. The other one is “Carol Flying Home” by Richard A. Turner, which pictures a cat and a dog with a human figure recumbent on the ground and another human — “Carol” I presume — flying in the air above. This painting clearly brings to mind works by Marc Chagall. It is painted with an oil-resist method that creates a look like stained glass.

Marit Berg’s two large charcoal drawings, “White Poodle” and “Black Poodle” are separate paintings but look perfectly right together. Due to their placement, the two dogs are facing off nose-to-nose as if in a single painting. It would be a shame if they were sold separately. Berg’s use of rich blacks, glowing whites, and subtle gray tones combined with the highly energetic strokes of the charcoal is outstanding.

Barbara L. Ritter’s five little paintings in oil on paper mounted on canvas share this in common with Berg’s charcoal drawings: they are multiple works that hang together as a single group, and the brushstrokes in the dog’s hair are fast and rhymical like the charcoal strokes in “Black Poodle” and “White Poodle.” Ritter’s paintings are of the same little white dog with long hair painted on a cream-colored ground. They are called “Babe Pointing,” “On Point,” “Pirouette,” “Tail on Fire,” and “Running.” The high energy and the subtle changes in similar pictures of the same animal are exciting. The set should not be broken up.

There is a surrealistic feel and terrific spatial treatment and cropping in Sharon Styer’s two photo-collages. They are photos of cats collaged into a photo of the steps and cone of the Museum of Glass in one picture, and in the other a city scene of an abandoned industrial building overrun with cats. Depending on how your mind works, you might easily see these as nightmares of feral cats taking over the world.

There are five or six other works that should be seen and studied closely, including those by Robyn Chance, Sherry Hanafee and Frank Dippolito.

Cat People, Dog People, noon to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, through March 23, Tacoma Community College, Building 5A, entrance off South 12th Street between Pearl and Mildred, Tacoma, visitor parking in Lot G. 

The Seafarer: a staged reading at Tacoma Little Theatre

from left, Brian Jansen, Frank Thompson and Sean Raybell, photo by Erin Chanfrau

The Seafarer by the great Irish playwright Conor McPherson  is among the best plays I have seen in my career as a theater critic. It was my choice as best drama when done by Harlequin Productions four years ago, and now it is playing  for one night only as a staged reading as part of Tacoma  Little Theater's "Off the Shelf" program. If you appreciate hard-hitting drama, you owe yourself the pleasure of seeing it.

The entire play takes place on Christmas Eve a alcoholic Sharkey, played by Brian Jansen, his equally drunken brother Richard (Frank Thompson), and their friends Ivan (Sean Raybell) and Nicky (Nicky Giblin) play poker with Sharkey’s soul at stake; and a mysterious stranger played by Robert McConkey

“Playwright Conor McPherson's mysterious play is a fascinating exploration of the human struggle, and its divine implications,” says director Erin Chanfrau. “The characters are amusing, kind, crusty, hostile, and disgraceful, but these mortal foibles are invaluable and enviable, in a way that may be surprising.”

Jansen, who wowed Tacoma audiences in his recent title role in Agamemnon at Dukesbay Productions and as the madman Renfield in TLT’s Dracula, says, “I play the role of Sharky a hard drinker who has returned home to help his brother who has become blind. Try as he might to do the right thing, life has a way of throwing Sharky curves, and on this particular Christmas a certain guest shows up from his past to collect his comeuppance. Conor's dialog is amazing as always, this and the weir are for sure my favorite of his that I have read. I enjoy Sharky as he has a serious push and pull going on internally. I have met a few sharkys along the trail, if I have not been a Sharky myself from time to time. It's a wonderful story with life as it is warts and all and the sense of redemption we humans from time to time get to experience. Definitely my favorite ‘Christmas’ play.”

Thompson (seen in Three Musketeers at Lakewood Playhouse and in Life in the Theatre at Working Class Theatre NW) says, “I play Richard in the play, a man who has just gone blind.  He is ashamed and desperate that his entire life has been for naught, just empty dreams.  He tries to save his brother, Sharky, the only way he knows how, by letting him know he's loved. I believe the play is a wonderful black comedy, showing the humor, love, and companionship that comes from just being friends.  The special guest at the card game brings an opportunity for the four others to bond even more.  The outsider proves no match for men who have known each other for decades.  A bump in the road for men who live, and know how to live.”

Brian Hatcher was slated to play the mysterious stanger but was called out of town on a family emergency and was replaced by McConkey, an outstanding actor most recently seen in Theater Artist Olympia’s The Physician in Spite of Himself.

Raybel played a seafarer, coincidentally, in TAO’s An Improbable Peck of Plays two years ago. Giblin is an actor new to me. With McPhearson’s insightful and dramatic script, a stellar cast and director, this will definitely be worth seeing. And it costs a mere $10, free to TLT members.

The Seafarer, a staged reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, $10, free to TLT members, Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N “I” St., Tacoma, 253-272-2281 www.tacomalittletheatre.com

Published in The News Tribune, Jan. 13, 2017

(L to R Clockwise) JAKE ATWOOD (Brad), TONY WILLIAMS (Rocky), BRANDON "BUNNIE" EHRENHEIM (Frank), WINNIE BEAN (Columbia), JENNA McRILL (Janet) from the Lakewood Playhouse Production of "THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" photo by Tim Johnson

“The Rocky Horror Show” has lost none of its edge or raucous high spirits since it became an international sensation 40 years ago with young people showing up at midnight showings of the film version in drag, wearing leather and fishnet stockings, shouting lines back at the audience, and throwing things at the stage. What’s different in the Lakewood Playhouse performance is that the audience is a mixture of excited young people and older folks reliving the fun of “The Rocky Horror Show” that has never ceased.

Playhouse Managing Artistic Director John Munn, who plays the narrator in the show, encourages audience members to shout back, but not throw things at the actors, and the audience the night I attended gleefully complied. They shouted insults at Munn, who shouted back with improvised retorts, and they called Brad (Jake Atwood) an idiot and Janet (Jenna McRill) a slut.

GARY CHAMBERS (Riff-Raff) and BRANDON "BUNNIE" EHRENHEIM (Frank). Photo by Tim Johnson

The theater even sells (for $5) audience participation goodie gags with special items to be used during the show.  Proceeds from the sales of the goodie bags go toward the Lakewood Playhouse Annual Friends Fund Campaign.

So what is “The Rocky Horror Show”? I would say it is a parody the 1975 film, which was so bad it was good, but the stage musical preceded the film by two years. The opening musical number, “Science Fiction/Double Feature,” sung with great style and flare by LaNita Hudson as Usherette, announces the show as a parody of bad 1950s sci-fi movies.

“Rocky Horror” is the story of Brad and Janet, naïve innocents whose car has a flat on a dark and stormy night. When they go to the nearby castle to use the phone, they get immersed in a night of debauchery with Frank ‘N’ Furter (Brandon Ehrenheim), “a sweet transvestite from Transylvania,” and his minion of “Phantoms,” and weirdos. In a takeoff on “Frankenstein,” Frank ‘N’ Furter is building a man in his laboratory.  

The play is a celebration of uninhibited sex. It pushes the limits of acceptable on-stage sexuality to the edge. Most of all it is funny, campy, and filled with great rock and roll music.

Ehrenheim is an imposing figure in his black underwear and stockings. It helps that he is over seven feet tall even without the platform shoes. And he sings beautifully.

Atwood is amazing in the way he transforms from a nerdy idiot (the audience calls him out rightly) to a wild sex fiend. McRill undergoes a similar transformation, giving credence to the audience’s labeling her as a slut. Both Brad and Janet spend most of the second act dressed in nothing but white underwear.

Xander Layden rocks the house as Eddie in the wildest rock song in the show, "Hot Patootie," and later – outstanding actor that he is – he appears with a radically different voice and appearance as Dr. Scott, whom the audience keeps calling “Great Scott.”

Tony L. Williams, who audience might recognize as “Gary Colman” in “Avenue Q,” is Rocky, the creature Frank ‘N’ Furter created, a muscular, handsome man who appears in a gold lame suit that leaves little to the imagination. He has great moves and a strong voice. Seldom will audiences see dance numbers that comically simulate sexual moves so graphically as Rocky does with Janet and with Frank ‘N’ Furter.

Other stand-out actors are Hudson in her double role as Usherette and Magenta, Gary Chambers as Riff-Raff, and Winnie Bean as Columbia.

The band, No Picnic, is great. They’re led by keyboardist Josh Zimmerman and driven by the hard rhythms laid down by dummer Tai Taitano.

Finally, I can’t praise Kayla Crawford’s choreography enough, and kudos to set designer Erin Manza Chanfrau and costume designer Diane Runkel.

I highly recommend “The Rocky Horror Show” unless you’re easily offended by overt sexuality.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, midnight shows Jan. 20 and 27, through Jan. 29

WHERE: Lakewood Playhouse, Lakewood Towne Center, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood

TICKETS: $30 adults, $27, Seniors (65+), $28 Military$22 students and educators, pay what you can Jan. 19

INFORMATION: 253-588-0042, http://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/