The 10's
Fire Rose Productions presents "The 10's - A Festival of Ten-Minute
Musicals" as part of the Festival of New American Musicals, which is
currently in-"fest"-ing Los Angeles.
The Secret Rose Theatre is a terrific black box theatre in the heart of the
NoHo Arts District. My first visit to this well-kept and easy-to-find gem
was quite a pleasant one, with loud cheers and strong opinions.
*
"Ninjacal! 2008"
*
Book/Lyrics by Keisuke Hoashi, Music by Brian Lewis Choreographed by Lana
Ford, Musical Direction by Gordon Glor, Directed by Michael Rademaekers.
An Asian-American theatre company benefits from a flawed government funding
system. I couldn't help but laugh a lot because self deprecation is my
favorite type of funny. Although creative, witty, and wildly offensive, this
ingredient to the one-act recipe showed much potential with an
under-rehearsed cast and dance numbers that seemed in dire need of grace,
not to mention a few un-"flat"-tering actor voices. That said, it
was my favorite of the evening.
Cast: Cathleen Johnson, Carlo Maghirang, Doan Nguyen, Alia Spring, Izzy
Spring, Mimi Chen, and Ron Velasco.
*
"April in New York"
*
Book by Virginia Lynn Emrick, Music/Lyrics/Musical Direction by Stephanie
Hutchinson, Directed by Wynn Marlow.
A theatre company is producing a musical version of "An Affair to Remember."
The stage manager has a crush on the leading man and heeds the advice of
helmer, Prudence, who is also giving tips to Justus, a man preparing a
proposal of marriage to actress, Hope, atop the Empire State Building. The
cast seemed to work well together, each talent just as blissful as the
other. Abby Bollenbacher beautifies the limited set with her performance as
the ingénue, Hope Banks. We love to hate Lucius Prideman (Kelly Roberts),
who is perfect as the self-admiring leading man. I felt that the end was
rushed, which should be mended (at least) before it is submitted to an
11-minute musical festival.
Cast: Aisha Renee, Susan Brindley, Abby Bollenbacher, Christopher D.
Carlisle, and Kelly Roberts.
*
"The Alleged Adventures of Blenderman"
*
Book.Music/Lyrics by Michael Gordon Shapiro, Directed by Derrel Maurey
assisted by Elicia Friedman.
The play takes place in the interior of a county psych ward as doctors
discuss the possible release of a patient who believes himself to be a
superhero. The standout performance here was that of Cleve Nettles (Dr.
Borris), who was the only actor who didn't perform over-the-top prior to
Its necessity. Gagun Deep Singh shows off his tsunami of comical expressions as the wacky Sanders aka Blenderman. Note: My date was still laughing about
this one the next day.
Cast: Jordan T. Maxwell, Gagun Deep Singh, Cleve Nettles, Jonathan Payne,
Lindsey Ford, David Beach, Stephanie T. Keefer, and Ross Merrick.
*
"Close Call: A Day in the Life of the County Coroner"
*
Book and Lyrics by Gordon Glor and Barb E. Rickard, Music Director and Music
by Gordon Glor, Directed by Kaz Matamura.
Appearing in two of the evening's one-acts, Christopher D. Carlisle
undoubtedly steals the evening as a whole. He is specifically delightful in
"Close Call," in which he doubles as a morgue intern and an Italian
waiter.
He literally creeps out of each role to run across the stage into the other.
Carlisle has rambunctious energy, scintillating comic timing, and a voice
that belongs on Broadway. Also, when Stephanie Czajkowski began her first
(and only) appearance of the evening in "Close Call," I wondered to
myself,
*Where had this underused talent been throughout the evening?* Czajkowski
has the proclivity to focus our attention from the clever creation that is
"Close Call." Another notable performance in this component: Renee
Scott, who leaves us with a very well-executed portrayal of Anastasia Verkosian.
Cast: Stephanie Czajkowski, Abby Bollenbacher, Christopher D. Carlisle, Ron
Velasco, Tom Costello, and Renee Scott
*
"Bad Dad"
*
Book/Music/Lyrics by Jan Michael Alejandro, Choreographed by: Lana Ford,
Musical Direction by Nancy Gitlin, Directed by Mike Rademaekers.
Alexandra Ackerman plays Nancy, the wife of sneaky sports fan, Ralph
(Christopher Showerman). Ralph fakes being ill in order to watch 'the game'
with his best friends, only to be caught by his wife when she returns after
having left something behind. Ralph has a plan to make things right with the
help of his wacky friends.
Ackerman has a voice so infallible and pitch perfect, it could have been a
one-woman show for all we care. In spite of Mike Rademaekers's almost
flawless direction, I was forced to "EEK!" at that final moment when
Ralph and Nancy sing the last STUNNING note of their duet because they were both already walking upstage to exit before the song was even over. If I may… (
FIX THAT!!!)
Cast: Christopher Showerman, Alexandra Ackerman, Warren Hall, James Wilsey,
and Robert Biederman.
"The 10's - A Festival of Ten-Minute Musicals"
The Secret Rose Theatre 11246 Magnolia Blvd.
NoHo Arts District, CA 91601
Continues until June 22, 2008
Fri-Sat 8pm
Sun 2pm