"Cambodian Rock Band" at Berkeley Rep

Berkeley Rep production photo by Lynn Lane

 Stop me if you've heard this one before: This is a show we saw in Ashland in 2019 (and really liked), so were looking forward to seeing it again in the Bay Area. Cambodian Rock Band is also by a local playwright, Lauren Yee, whose work we have seen at several theaters recently. So that all seems promising. Berkeley Rep has landed a number of shows from Ashland over the years, and this one was also workshopped at Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor program, so there is a lot of local history here.

The Play

There are sort of two parallel stories going in this play: one is the story of The Cyclos,  a rock band in Cambodia, disrupted by the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in 1975; the other the story of a Cambodian-American lawyer working in 2008 to prosecute one of the most notorious members of the Khmer Rouge for crimes against humanity.

Needless to say, any play that touches on the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodian history is going to be a bit grim, and this play doesn't shy away from that. It's a bit difficult to describe the intersections of the two story lines without a few spoilers. Let's just say artists and musicians didn't fare well under the Khmer Rouge regime, and trying to survive under a repressive regime can lead to extremely painful personal choices.

The Production

Also needless to say, there is a fairly limited number of actors who can also play instruments and sing and speak convincingly in Khmer, the language of Cambodia. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I recognized several actors from the 2019 OSF production. In fact, four of the six cast members were in that production (though we only saw three, as there was an understudy for the fourth).

In fact, the only change that makes a substantive difference in the play is the casting of local actor Francis Jue as Duch. Jue is a terrific actor, but his portrayal of Duch is rather odd, tending into a sort of playful prancing that diminishes the underlying threat he represents. I felt like this choice undercut the effectiveness of that character.

Joe Ngo shines in his portrayal of Chum (a role he originated, and has played in multiple productions). Moses Villarama, though, seems a bit bored with playing Ted/Leng. As much versatility as Ngo displays, Villarama seems to play all his roles as if they are the same. But overall the cast keeps the energy pretty high, the music is good, and the message of the play comes through clearly.

Bottom Line

I'm sort of torn: I think it's mostly a very effective production of a very good, very difficult play. On the other hand, it really feels like basically the same show we saw in Ashland. I kind of expected that there might have been some new development or some new takes from a different cast and director. But it's literally the same director, most of the same designers and musicians, and nearly the same cast.

So if you haven't seen it before, I'd say it's well worth seeing. If you've seen it elsewhere, there isn't really much new here. But the show runs through April 2nd, so you have more chances.

"King Lear" at Shakespeare Theatre Company

 

Shakespeare Theatre Company production photo by DJ Corey Photography

After not going to DC (or seeing any theater in DC) for many years, it seems a bit odd that we returned for our third trip in less than four months, but this was actually the first of the trips we planned, specifically so we could see this one play. Why seek out Yet Another King Lear? Specifically because of the actor playing Lear, Broadway star Patrick Page, who also happens to be a college friend of my wife's. We've seen him perform before (most recently in Hadestown on Broadway), but this seemed to be an ideal match between actor and role.

The Play

I don't need to spell this out. It's Shakespeare's King Lear. They've trimmed it down to only about two hours total, which should be fine, though I think it led to a couple of issues I'll touch on in the next section. Suffice it to say that it's a great play, and one that generally lives or dies by the actor playing the lead role. Lear has a really high percentage of the lines in the play, and even more so in this cut of the script. So this is very much Patrick Page's show.

The Production

This is the same, fairly small, theater where we saw Jane Anger last December, so it's a pretty intimate setting for a Shakespeare play. But that intimacy is great when it gives you a chance to see an actor like Page up close. What a treat! Page is a wonderfully nuanced actor, and watching his Lear descend into madness, fighting it all the way, is a wonder to behold. His interplay with his Fool (Michael Milligan) was just a delight. Probably the best choice made in the production was to have the Fool play his role quite straight, with almost no clowning. As the wise a restrained one, he emphasizes to Lear and the audience just how dramatically Lear declines.

Probably the other key role in the production is Matthew J. Harris as Edgar (and Poor Tom). Again showing restraint, Director Simon Godwin keeps Edgar/Tom in control, despite the machinations of his bastard brother Edmund (Julian Elijah Martinez). Craig Wallace does a good job as their father, Gloucester, who along with Kent (Shirine Babb) manages to be about the only character who stays true to himself (or anyone else), not that it does him any good.

My main issue with the choices made in the production come with the daughters (who after all are the point of conflict in the script). Between casting, costuming, and some script editing, we know from the outset that Goneril (Rosa Gilmore) and Regan (Stephanie Jean Lane) are very femme, highly sexualized, characters who are united in their opposition to both Lear and Cordelia (Cailen Fu), who never gets a chance to demonstrate the reasons why she was supposedly Lear's favorite. At least with Edmund we get to hear why he is behaving the way he is, though his shifting allegiances come across less as plans and opportunism (as I read the script) and more as kind of stumbling from one chance to another. Ultimately the only motivations left to Goneril, Regan, and Edmund are greed and kinky lust, which cheapens their part of the story considerably. I'm not sure how that sort of misogyny still creeps into a modern adaptation of this play.

The modern setting, other than the weird kinks of the daughters, works quite well. It's kind of a mystery how the one female character who initially shows any agency or power (Kent) got that, and why she then disguises herself as a man for the remainder of the play. It just feels like the gender politics of this ficton weren't thought through very completely.

Bottom Line

As I noted up front, however, a production of King Lear rests on the titular character, and Patrick Page is more than capable of carrying the show on his shoulders. Between his booming voice and his physical virtuosity, he dominates the stage as Lear ought. There is enough strength in his supporting cast to make it work, but Page's voice and body carry the show.

It's fascinating. Weird at times, but fascinating. And well worth the chance to see a master craftsman doing great work, up close.

The show has been extended through April 16th. I suspect it could go even longer if they can keep the cast together. For all the flaws in the direction of the show, the artistry of the key characters still shines through. It's a really good evening of theater. Go see it for yourself.

"Getting There" at New Conservatory Theatre Center

 

NCTC production photo by Lois Tema

I don't often get to shows at NCTC, despite the fact that I used to work in the neighborhood. They seem to fly under my radar a lot, though I have quite enjoyed several shows we have seen there. One that didn't get mentioned on this blog (since I was on hiatus at the time) was their production of Head Over Heels in 2019. It was fun and very approachable. This play was also under my radar, but we got invited, so we went.

The Play

Getting There is a world premiere of a commissioned work by Dipika Guha. I have to admit it feels a bit rough at times, despite the fact that we were seeing the closing performance of the run. So I suspect those are actual holes in the script, not so much issues with the production.

Part of the issue is structural: the play eschews a linear timeline, opting to bounce among flashbacks and the present time. It's only covering a few days total, so it's unclear that there is really all that much to be gained by yanking the audience around, in ways that are indicated mostly by projections that aren't all that obvious to the viewer. I'm still not sure I caught all of the guideposts. Mostly these devices seem to be an effort to hide the (very quickly revealed, anyway) relationships among the characters. There are no big surprises there--I suspect the overall structure of the play would be enhanced by just writing the timeline straight.

There are only five characters in the play, although because of the structure of the play, it's unclear that's what we're dealing with, at least at first. The play initially seems more like a series of vignettes, though eventually we realize the actors are playing consistent characters throughout. Julie and Kai are American tourists in Paris. Julie meets a distraught Ira while Kai is off doing...something. Kai gets picked up by Radha, while Anissa is waiting for her at the train station. Radha and Anissa turn out to be married. Ira is Anissa's daughter. Julie has inexplicable feelings for Kai, who is supposed to be marrying someone else when she's not being picked up by older French women.

It's more coherent than my description makes it sound, but at the same time, the convolutions seem rather contrived and for limited reasons. Ultimately, most of the characters make a fair amount of sense, but Kai never does (to me, anyway).

The Production

It's a pretty sparse production, in NCTC's smaller theater space. Pretty much just a black box with a couple of benches and some curtains, with a few items on the walls. I kind of wished the cast had been allowed to just leave things in place, rather than rearranging the few pieces between scenes, but that seems to be director Nailah Harper-Malveaux's preference. Similarly, we have characters leave the stage by ducking behind a diaphanous curtain, so they're still quite visible to us, but apparently not to the other characters.

Most of the acting is quite good. The French characters in particular (Laura Domingo as Ira, Simone Bloch as Anissa, and Desiree M. Rogers as Radha) all feel well-rounded and coherent. Lauren Andrei Garcia as Julie is fine, if constantly exasperated (not sure that's entirely justified by the script--I'd like to have seen a little more range). Leigh M. Marshall as Kai is a kind of a nebulous cypher. She seems to wander aimlessly through life, evincing privilege and seeming utter lack of curiosity or engagement with others. There is absolutely no indication of why Julie is attracted to her at all--nothing we see in the play has Kai showing anything other than neglect or disregard for her. The script doesn't help here, but I would have hoped someone would have at least tried to add some relating to the relationship.

Anyway, the cast does pretty well with the thin script they're given. The relationship between Anissa and Radha has the core of something interesting to it, and their relationship to Ira has promise.

Bottom Line

This doesn't feel like a completed play: more like a draft that got put on stage before it was ready. That said, NCTC has done a pretty good job of staging it, but the difficulties with the script make it hard to take away much from the play overall.

I probably wouldn't recommend it very highly, but since it was the last show of the run, my recommendation wouldn't mean much anyway. There is the core of something in the play, and the production was good. I just wish they had fleshed out the story a bit more before putting it on stage.

"The Headlands" at ACT

 

ACT production photo by Kevin Berne

I always look forward to new work from Christopher Chen, a local playwright (and graduate of UC Berkeley--Go Bears!) who always writes complex works that misdirect and play with audience expectations. I was especially keen to see his new play, The Headlands, because it is set in San Francisco, which is always a treat.

The Play

The Headlands starts out breaking the fourth wall, with the central character, Henry, addressing the audience directly and telling us about his hobby, investigating unsolved crimes. His current obsession is the unsolved death (murder?) of his own father, George, an immigrant from China who married Leena, a third-generation Chinese American whose family is very successful and assimilated. He often involves his girlfriend, Jess, in the investigation.

As the investigation turns up new information, Henry constantly pivots his view of the mystery, and also of his family's story. The twists are less abrupt than those in some of Chen's earlier works, such as Caught or You Mean to Do Me Harm, but the overall effect of constantly-shifting directions is typical of Chen's work.

The story comes to a head with the introduction of the mysterious character Tom, remembered from Henry's youth as an unknown and strange presence, who turns out to play a key role in the mystery.

Ultimately the story is less successful as a noir whodunit than it is as an exploration of the vagaries of memory and the stories families tell about themselves, but it's an interesting and engrossing yarn.

The Production

First off, solid local cast. Phil Wong as Henry is excellent. I've enjoyed his work for several years, but mostly in supporting roles. It's nice to see him in a central role. Sam Jackson as Jess is outstanding as always. Erin Mei-Ling Stuart is strong as Leena (as is Keiko Shimosato Carreiro as the older Leena and also her best friend, Pat). And Johnny M. Wu as the stoic George is terrific throughout. Tom (normally played by Jomar Tagatac, but understudied in our performance by Alex Hsu) was the only kind of miss, as the actor seemed too old for the role and not terribly comfortable in it. Charles Shaw Robinson does a wonderful, humorous turn as an aging SF detective.

The set design by Alexander V. Nichols seems simple at times, but like the plot of the play it has some very intricate aspects. I'm not generally a huge fan of revolving set pieces, but I will admit that this set mostly uses it effectively. Director Pan MacKinnon keeps the action moving nicely; I think this is the best work I've seen from her since she joined ACT.

Bottom Line

I enjoyed the play. I wouldn't say it's Chen's best work, but it does represent an advance for him, in that the plot replies less on just changing circumstances and revelations for its interest, and more on the development of characters and investigation of their thoughts and feelings.

I'm pleased to see ACT producing and supporting local work with local actors. For too long they have relied on bringing in material and performers from out of the area, which has really hurt both the theater and the local theater scene. I hope this represents a return to a more local focus.

Overall, it's an encouraging part of this season. I look forward to seeing what comes next. The Headlands runs through tomorrow (March 5th) at ACT's Toni Rembe Theatre (formerly the Geary).