CORPUS CHRISTI

WOW!
CORPUS CHRISTI

I’ll admit it. I was a Doubting Thomas. As curious as I was about seeing a fresh new take on Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi, the one production I’d seen previously at Long Beach’s Garage Theatre had not boded well for a second, nor did the discovery that the show was being helmed by a young actor making his directorial debut. Still, the chance to see Corpus Christi again was too tempting to turn down, and August being the quietest theatrical month of the year, this skeptic decided to give the Garage a second chance.

Now I’m not sure if the Biblical Doubting Thomas had a hat to eat, but having now seen Corpus Christi at the Garage, this reviewer humbly eats his chapeau. I was blown away by Tito Ortiz’s brilliant directorial debut in a beautifully conceived, designed, and executed production of one of McNally’s most loved, hated, and misunderstood plays.

Corpus Christi is the Tony Award-winning playwright’s highly controversial reimagining of the Gospels as set in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas—written to be performed by an all-male cast playing both disciples and supporting roles, male and female.

Where McNally and his play drew the ire and protests of religious fundamentalists was in its depiction of Jesus as a gay man, at least some of whose disciples were also gay, including Judas, whom McNally imagines to be the proverbial love of His life.

Protestors, virtually none of whom had seen or read the play, missed the point (as they seem to do so well in matters Biblical). Corpus Christi is not about a “gay Jesus” per se, nor does it “defame His Holy Name” as picketers insisted. What it does do—with humor, drama, and more than a few four-letter epithets—is present Jesus’ life and words in a new context, and to an audience whose experiences with organized religion may have made them resistant to what is in essence a very humanity-affirming message.

This message has now come to Long Beach in a production that deserves to be seen by any lover of fine theater within driving radius of the Garage. Corpus Christi’s message spoke so strongly to the production’s 20something fledgling director that he convinced the Garage, not only to include Corpus Christi as part of its current season, but also to entrust him with its staging, a decision whose wisdom is borne out by this quite miraculous production.

Ortiz has reconfigured the black-box Garage so that a mere two rows of thirteen seats each—running lengthwise opposite sides of its rectangle—make its audience an extension of Corpus Christi’s cast of thirteen, a concept particularly effective when the Last Supper is performed at one end of the rectangle, the table extending to include the entire audience as supper guests.

Corpus Christi begins with one of its actors informing those in attendance that “there are no tricks up our sleeve. No malice in our hearts.” Then, as another actor begins to sing “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord,” each performer is welcomed into the play by the actor portraying John The Baptist with the words, “I bless you. I baptize you and recognize your divinity as a human being. I adore you, and christen you …,” followed by the name of the disciple he will be playing.

Ortiz gives his actors free rein to enjoy these opening moments, as the baptized receive anything from a few drops of water to a real drenching, a joyously irreverent (though by no means sacreligious) tone that will be maintained throughout the production’s engrossing, intermissionless hour and forty minutes.

Whatever initial qualms this reviewer had about the production’s entirely non-Equity cast were erased from the moment each one first spoke. Whether BFA grads or theatrical neophytes, Ortiz’s cast display a naturalness and ease with McNally’s words which belies their youth and (in some cases) lack of a lengthy résumé. Twelve very different actors, each with a distinctive take on his role(s), and at their center, Jeffrey Fargo’s revelatory work as Joshua, as McNally has rechristened the Jesus of Corpus Christi.

Words cannot suffice to describe the many ways director Ortiz, his cast, and his topnotch design team have brought Corpus Christi to such vivid life. As a director, Ortiz is unfailingly imaginative, particularly considering the production’s obvious shoestring budget. Yammy Swoot’s lighting design (Swoot’s name seems suspiciously close to assistant director Jamie Sweet’s) and Matthew Anderson’s sound design combined with Geraldine Uy’s costumes and highly ingenious props work wonders with Ortiz and Sweet’s simple but effective set design.

No Corpus Christi can succeed without a commanding leading man, and Fargo’s performance commands attention from his first words, despite (or perhaps because of) being cast against type. Where other productions may have cast a more traditional leading man in the role, Ortiz’s choice of an actor more easily imagined as math geek or theater nerd proves inspired. McNally does after all paint Joshua as a bullied misfit of a child, one more likely to break out into South Pacific’s “I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy” than play football with the jocks, and it’s precisely because Fargo is not the first actor you’d imagine playing Jesus that his performance works so well, that and the indefinable something called talent that commands an audience’s attention and wins their hearts.

Supporting Fargo are Paul Anderson (Bartholomew, Motel Manager, Peggy Powell, Nun), Jeff Budner (James The Less, God, Billy Brown, Poor Woman), Matt Craig (Andrew, Bert Moody, Pilate’s Wife, Crucified Man), Robert Flores (Thaddeus, Room Service #2, Centurion, Barabbas), Will Gorin (Matthew, Coach/Priest, Truck Driver #3, High Priest) , Matt Guerra (James, Woman Next Door, Mrs. McElroy, Little Boy), Brandon Kasper (John, Dub Taylor, Simon of Cyranae), Beau McCoy (Philip, Joseph, Beau Hunter, Truck Driver #2, Carpenter, Pilate), Raymond McFarland (Judas), Will Proctor (Thomas, Room Service #3, Patricia Rudd, Sister Joseph, Lazarus, Soldier), Shawn Stenger (Simon, Room Service #1, High School Singer, Penny, Crucified Man), and Evan Wallace (Peter, Mary, Spider Sloan, James Dean).

While each of the above contributes immeasurably to Corpus Christi’s success, a number of cast members stand out in particular. Gorin’s versatility shines as a bullying coach/priest, a blind trucker with a Texas twang, and a menacing high priest; Guerra’s drama teacher Mrs. McElroy is a fluttery delight; McCoy gives power and stage presence to hustler Philip and a half-dozen others; Proctor makes for an adorably dorky Patricia and a divine Sister Joseph; and Wallace’s chain-smoking tough gal Mary and sexy James Dean are both star turns. Finally, McFarland positively smolders as a smooth-talking, muscular, nipple-ringed Judas, whose interracial relationship with Joshua adds an extra layer of edginess to McNally’s already envelope-pushing play.

A Word To The Wise: A mere twenty-six seats are available for each performance of Corpus Christi’s remaining three Thursday-Friday-Saturday weekends, adding up to a total of only 234 very lucky ticketholders (barring an extension or move to another space, either of which this reviewer highly recommends).

Tito Ortiz and company have turned this Doubting Thomas into a True Believer just as they have turned this production of Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi into something quite miraculous indeed.

Note: Thursday performances are Trevor Thursdays. 1/2 of all ticket sales will go to help The Trevor Project. www.thetrevorproject.org All Thursday performances will be followed by a talk-back with the cast and crew of Corpus Christi.

The Garage Theatre, 251 E. 7th St., Long Beach. Through August 27. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00. Reservations: 866 811-4111
www.thegaragetheatre.org
--Steven Stanley
August 5, 2011
Photos: www.freshframefoto.com

THE WEDDING SINGER

WOW!
THE WEDDING SINGER

The Wedding Singer may well be the most underrated Broadway musical of the last five years, and anyone wishing proof of the above has only to check out its regional professional premiere at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West. An adroitly concocted blend of music, comedy, and 1980s nostalgia, The Wedding Singer is also one of the most unabashedly romantic musicals ever, and an utter delight from start to finish.

I fell in love with Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin’s songs from my very listen to the Original Cast CD back in 2006 when The Wedding Singer opened and closed on Broadway. Though the show lasted only a shamelessly short nine months on the Great White Way, it nonetheless engendered two National Tours, neither of which played locally, thereby giving the Musical Theatre West production event status, particularly as performed by as all-around perfect a cast as you’re likely to see on any musical theater stage under the exhilarating direction of Larry Raben.

Fans of the hit 1998 movie will recognize the story of sweet-hearted wedding singer Robbie Hart (Ciarán McCarthy), who after being dumped at the altar by trashy rocker chick fiancée Linda (Kelli Provart), begins to have feelings for girl-next-door waitress Julia (Renée Brna). There’s only one hitch. Julia is engaged to hotshot young business exec Glen (Derek Keeling), news which doesn’t sit well with Robbie, especially once he’s learned that Glen is a chronic philanderer with no plans to give up his cheating ways any time soon. No wonder, when Julia asks Robbie to sing at her wedding, his answer is … perhaps not quite what you might expect.

Supporting characters include Julia’s party-loving cousin Holly (Jenna Coker-Jones), Robby’s still vigorous grandma Rosie (Mary Jo Catlett), and his bandmates, mullet-wearing biker type Sammy (Nick Bernardi) and flamboyantly gay George (Matthew J. Vargo).

All these mostly lower middle class types come together in one of the most thoroughly enjoyable musicals since the similarly blue-collar The Full Monty, and one which sticks considerably closer to its source material than the latter’s U.K.-to-U.S. transformation. Like the smash hit Adam Sandler original, The Wedding Singer (The Musical) takes its 1980s time frame very seriously, from the costumes and hairstyles sported by its characters to the many ‘80s pop references in its book (by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy) to the musical sounds of the ‘80s replicated in Sklar and Beguelin’s melodious songs, and production number after production number spotlighting choreographer (and Wedding Singer Original Cast member) Spencer Liff's thrilling dance moves.

The Wedding Singer was Sklar and Beguelin’s Broadway debut as composer and lyricist, and a noteworthy one it was. Beguelin’s lyrics range from straightforward (“So when it’s your wedding day and my music starts to play, I can guarantee that love will find you”) to unexpected (as when a sweet and heart-felt “Note From Grandma” ends with the advice that “when you’re sad, remember, that Linda is a skanky whore”) to downright deep (“I know not every marriage lasts when things go bad. I’ve seen the warning signs. I call them ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’”). Even better are Sklar’s melodies, many of them as instantly hummable as any you’ve heard in a Broadway show in the past decade or more. The New Jersey native is not only a master of the catchy hook; he also writes out-and-out gorgeous bridges and knows exactly when a key change will turn gorgeous to gorgeous-er. Those who like their songs a bit more on the rough side need not feel left out as Sklar has written some hard-edged rock numbers like “Casualty Of Love” with you in mind.

Songs as splendid as these deserve performances to match, and here Musical Theatre West has scored bullseye after bullseye.

Made-in-romcom-heaven couple McCarthy and Brna are two recent East-to-West-Coast transplants, and our Southern California musical theater scene is all the richer for their arrival. McCarthy plays Robbie with consummate charm, sings terrifically, strums a mean guitar, and manages all this without ever once imitating Adam Sandler. (Only McCarthy’s zero-percent body fat pecs and abs seem unlikely on ‘80s slacker Robbie, but who’s complaining?) Brna, whom I loved as Meg in the First National Tour of Little Women The Musical, is equally marvelous as Julia, as adorable as can be—and with vocal pipes to match. McCarthy and Brna have such palpable chemistry that I defy anyone with a heart not to become personally invested in the happily-ever-after Robbie and Julia so richly deserve.

Supporting the stellar duo are some of the best leading and character actors on this or any coast.

It’s easy to see Julia falling for Glen’s movie star good looks as embodied by the always excellent Keeling, having great fun this time as a caddish hunk. Lanky charmer Bernardi does winning work as loveable lug George, and Matthew J. Vargo plays gay blade George with a genuine sweetness that transcends stereotyping. The divine Catlett makes it two winners in a row (following her warm, wacky, and utterly irresistible work in Bell Book And Candle) as the feistiest, funkiest, rappingest Granny on record. Broadway vet Provart takes her two brief scenes as Linda and sings the sexy, sizzling heck out of them. Finally, there’s Coker-Jones’ star-makingly ball-of-fire performance as Holly, as exciting an L.A. debut as you’ll ever see.

As for the show’s ensemble, I defy any Broadway show to surpass these fourteen triple-threats, each of whom executes his or her own multi-role track to indefatigable perfection, from veteran performers Tracy Lore (Angie) and Mark C. Reis to brand new CSUF grad Neil Starkenberg, soon to be Link Larkin in Moonlight Amphitheatre’s Hairspray. Tomasina Abate, Emily Goglia, and Ben Sidell’s work in leading roles has been raved about on StageSceneLA, and they are every bit as outstanding here in smaller but no less strenuous parts. Equally tremendous are Ashley Allen, Jasmine Ejan, Todrick D. Hall, Kasey Lysdahl, Daniel Smith, Katherine Washington, Timothy Wilson, and Kevin Wood. At the risk of repeating myself, the dozen-plus-two make for one of the most thrilling MTW ensembles ever.

David Lamoureux gets top marks for his sensational work as musical director. Prather Entertainment Group, producers of The Wedding Singer’s 2009-10 non-Equity tour, have provided the production’s vivid (and frequently hilarious) recreations of ‘80s fashions in all their big-shouldered awfulness, as well as the production’s colorful sets, which suffer from a bus-and-truck look but nonetheless do the trick. Local design talents Jean-Yves Tessier and Julie Ferrin merit nothing but raves for (respectively) their lighting and sound designs. Steven Glaudini is artistic director, Kevin Clowes technical director, Yolanda Rowell costume coordinator, Cliff & Kat Senior wig designers, Chris Warren Murry stage manager, and Mary Ritenhour assistant stage manager.

If it isn’t already obvious, I am madly in love with Musical Theatre West’s production of The Wedding Singer, and were it not for an overly crowded schedule, I’d gladly be back to see it again and again. Anyone with The Wedding Singer on their upcoming calendar is the object of this reviewer’s envy. Trust me. You’re in for an exciting, nostalgic, utterly romantic musical comedy treat!

Musical Theatre West, Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach.
www.musical.org
--Steven Stanley
July 14, 2011
Photos: Alysa Brennan