Last week, I had the unique privilege of seeing four nights in a row of superb theater. Plays and musicals may not be your thing, but for me, live theatre is a transcendent experience and can speak to the human experience in a way that no other art form can.
I saw Finding Neverland at the Pantages Theatre, Fun Home at the Ahmanson, the August Wilson Monologue Competition Regional Finals at the Mark Taper Forum, and finally Rent in Concert at Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts, which was an especially meaningful show as my sister was in it. Here are a few of my (honest) thoughts on each.
Finding Neverland (Hollywood Pantages Theatre)
Based on the Academy Award-winning film of the same name (one of my top ten films ever, btw), the show follows playwright J.M. Barrie as he meets the widow Sylvia and her four young sons Jack, George, Michael, and Peter and finds his inspiration to write his most famous work Peter Pan. This is the first touring company of this show straight from Broadway.
My honest thoughts: it is a
wonderful musical with very
mediocre music. I am not a big fan of most of the songs in this show, and ideally, a good musical should have good music. However, I will say the price of the ticket is worth it just to see the
incredible direction by Diane Paulus, and most importantly, the
spectacular choreography by Mia Michaels. I am already such a big fan of Mia's choreography, and I had no idea she did this show. The choreography and staging was so
clean, fluid, and creative. All of the performances were wonderful, especially the ensemble overall, and the story is lovely. Despite the problematic score, I highly recommend catching this musical before it leaves town!
Fun Home (Ahmanson Theatre)
Winner of five Tony Awards including best musical, this show based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir introduces us to Alison at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her father. This is the first national tour of this show straight from Broadway.
My honest thoughts: the
performances in this show are
incredible, especially the role of Small Alison played by Alessandra Baldacchino. That
little girl is so freaking amazing - acting and singing on POINT. The music is great, and the sets are unexpected. I thought that the
structure of the story was a little
strange - Alison looks back on her life, coming to terms with coming out of the closet and the discovery that her father was gay and killed himself four months after she comes out. However they give away the shock of his death right at the beginning of the show. For me, it took away some of the emotional impact of the end of the play. However, the cast of this show is phenomenal in
technique and depth, and I highly recommend it!
August Wilson Monologue Competition (Mark Taper Forum)
The August Wilson Monologue Competition enables high school students from all walks of life to discover August Wilson's profound works of art, study the craft of acting and explore their own creative voices. More than a contest, the AWMC is an educational journey for its students that includes workshops with teaching artists, auditions where theatre professionals offer feedback, and an introduction to August Wilson and
The American Century Cycle.
This is my second time attending this amazing night of theatre with my mom. Both years, we have been amazed by the
high quality of work from the twelve young men and women who make it to the regional finals. Despite their youth, these
high school students find an amazing depth of understanding in bringing to life the characters of August Wilson. This year, while every student was great, there was a clear winner - a woman who understood the
rhythm and music of Wilson's words in a way that exceeded all expectations.
This event shows the power of theater to change lives - exposing young people to something that goes beyond their phone screens, portraying characters and telling stories, both comic and tragic, with compelling themes.
Rent in Concert (Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts)
This was the most special of all of them for me. Honestly Rent isn't my favorite musical on the planet (although I do have a nostalgic soft spot for the movie as all of us drama geeks in high school loved it). However this small little
staged concert production, produced as a conservatory project, was actually incredibly well done, entertaining, and moving. And most importantly, it featured my sister Chloe in the (gender-bending) role of Benny (changed to Jenny). To see her (and my former student and honorary brother Tiago) performing with such talent made me so
proud. I am blessed to be in a family of artists, and it has been exciting to watch my little sis grow so much over the past 2 years as an actress. She has such
presence on stage.
In addition every performance was great, and the ensemble was so focused. I wish this could move to their mainstage because it was one of the strongest shows I have seen at PCPA.
