Interview with Director Carla Cackowski of Irma Vep

Director Carla Cackowski is delighted to be making her Actors Co-op debut with this wonderfully ridiculous play. Recent credits include directing shows at The Second City (LA), Curious Comedy Theater (Portland, OR), and Stephnie Weir's one woman show, Vanona Ray at the Comedy Central Stage. She regularly tours around the world performing comedic improv with her two person show Orange Tuxedo. Recent tours include the Copenhagen International Improv Festival, the Vancouver International Improv Fest, and the Warsaw Improv Festival. Carla proudly serves on the Board of Directors at Kickstand Comedy, a non-profit theater that seeks to serve the needs of the community, providing programming and educational outreach that helps people laugh, connect, and thrive together. www.carlacackowski.com. She is about to open The Mystery of Irma Vep - A Penny Dreadful at Actors Co-op on October 4.

Describe for our readers the storyline of Irma Vep and any pertinent background information.

The Mystery of Irma Vep is a farce that was written and originally performed by Charles Ludlam. The bulk of the action takes place at Mandacrest Estate, the home of Lord Edgar and his new wife, Lady Enid. A maid named Jane and a groundskeeper called Nicodemus are some of the other colorful characters that inhabit this world. All are under the spell of Edgar's late wife, Irma Vep, whose portrait haunts them from above the fireplace. Vampires, werewolves, and even a quick stop in Egypt are some of the fun and unusual elements that spin our protagonists into a frenzy. In this play Ludlam has created a high-camp parody of horror films of the thirties and forties, as well as some other film and literary classics such as Hitchcock's Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, and the Victorian melodrama.

As I remember there are two actors who play many roles each. Talk about this and how it creates a farcical comedy.

Each of our actors plays a few characters throughout the play. They have quick changes as they run off the stage and then emerge as a different character in a different costume and wig on the other side of the stage. The frenetic energy of the entrances and exits creates amazing opportunities to tickle and delight the audience by quickly surprising them from moment to moment. I've always felt like the audience enjoys farce most when the action is moving at lightning speed. The audience should never get ahead of the bit, and the frantic pace with which the actors enter and exit in this show to perform their different roles really plays into that.

What are your challenges as director?

The real challenge directing this play is not getting too far lost in the logic of anything. Ultimately, this play is a farce. It's not slice of life or realism. Sometimes characters say or do things that completely negate something they said or did in the previous scene. And that's okay! Ludlam wrote this as a loving homage to these specific genres so he is heightening moments from these novels and films that delighted him. It doesn't always have to be rooted in logic. It just always has to be fun!

Timing is so important in carrying off a farce. Is it the most crucial element do you think?

Timing is crucial to carrying off a farce. When in doubt, I always remind myself, faster is funnier! But I think the challenge then becomes keeping up the pace while still allowing the emotion and relationships of the characters to take shape. Bits and goofs and running from one side of the stage to the other are hilarious but it has to be rooted in some emotion that the audience can relate to. So finding the balance between a character's point of view and comedic timing is the most crucial element to pulling off a farce. And often times the comedic timing is discovered because the actors are so firmly planted within their characters point of view.

Talk about your cast and how they must play very well off each other to make the play a success.

I know I'm bragging here but John Allee and Isaac Wade are both really brilliant actors! They come to each rehearsal with a strong sense of play and a treasure trove of hilarious ideas. They had never worked together before this play but have an easy chemistry and make each other laugh a lot. They're both incredibly physical and their ability to do dialects is Streep-ian! I feel lucky to work with them both and can't wait for the community to see what they've been creating together in rehearsals.

Without creating a spoiler alert, what is the funniest scene in the play? How do audiences usually react?

The Second Act takes place in Egypt. I was nervous about it when we began blocking. There aren't any props and very minimal set pieces. The day we blocked it the actors got up and started saying the lines and we created an invisible environment for them to physically move through and the choices were so broad and ridiculous that our stage manager and I couldn't stop laughing. So look for that Egypt scene after intermission and be prepared to guffaw!

Actors Co-op is known for some pretty great ensemble acting. This play should be a winner for them. Comment in detail!

Actors Co-op is consistently praised for their ensemble work. Though this play is only two actors, I think the that would apply here too. There are eight roles in this two man show and our actors are approaching each one as their "main" character. And what I mean by that is they're putting time and effort into creating multi-dimensional characters even though they could skate by with less in this farcical play. I think the specificity that they're bringing to the dynamics of all the relationships in the play, as well as the hard work of our dressers behind the scenes, really give the play the vibe of a full ensemble cast!

The Mystery of Irma Vep - A Penny Dreadful  opens October 4 and plays through November 10.  Fri/Sat 8 pm; Sun 2:30 pm; Two Saturday Matinees have been added on October 12 and 19 at 2: 30 pm.  Actors Co-op CrossleyTheatre (Hollywood).

Visit the link below for more info and to purchase tix:

www.actorsco-op.org

2019 Interview with Ari Stidham

The Edgar Allan Show is about to open at the Two Roads Theatre in Studio City. With material from Poe's famous stories rewritten in a silly vein and original music by Ari Stidham, you are bound to knock your socks off. Here's what Stidham has to say for his work.

Just how silly is your show? I love Edgar A. Poe, but am usually prepared to be scared out of my wits.

Our silliness lands somewhere between Looney Tunes and Monty Python. Poe frequently used unreliable narrators in his work, we have as well. Our cast portray a very serious and excitable troupe of touring actors. It is these “actor personas” that inform most of the comedy in our show.

Without creating a spoiler alert, can you give our readers one example of crazy comedy in the show?

One example is when the actors have staged Poe’s biography, and they’ve clearly taken liberties with a great deal of his colleague’s names. Instead of regular names like “Margaret” or “Nathan” - Poe encounters a soldier literally named ‘The Raven’ -- it gets sillier but I don’t want to give too much away. The show is different every night due to the audience interaction portions. Okay, one more silly thing; we have three slide whistles.

Are your songs extensions of the recitals? Do they forward the plot or are they just there for comedic purposes?

They bookend the show, and “Tell-Tale Heart” is performed as a musical. While I wrote a good deal of the lyrics, most are Poe’s words. The compositions come from my album “Jacuzzi Louie” , though you’d never recognize them with the new lyrics, as well as the new arrangements and production by Louis Ramsey. They are now full of synths, just in time for Halloween, and family friendly.

Which of the Poe classics is your personal favorite? Why this choice?

I personally love the “Murders at the Rue Morgue” -- I think I like it because I read it after I’d gotten over my initial fear of Poe.

I saw a production of “The Fall of the House of Usher” as a child, that was my first introduction to Poe. It was nail biting, and it left me petrified. There was a jump scare at the end of the play, and I’d never felt that real level of terror in my life. I was psychologically scarred. The Edgar Allan Show is NOTHING like that. We have a didgeridoo. Did I mention the slide whistles?

Talk about Halloween and why you say the show is for all ages? Will kids really understand the humor? Will it put them in the spirit for trick or treating?

I’m born and raised here, and I know that Los Angeles has a lot to offer during the Halloween season. This show is for folks who’d rather laugh than get spooked. I’ve tailored the show to be light hearted and family friendly for a modern audience. Not only is it a comedy with moments for people of all ages, but any novices in the crowd will learn about Poe in a fun and funny light.

Have you ever presented this show before? If so, how did audiences react? If not what do you expect from them?

This is a world premiere. I’d like the audience to leave with a better appreciation for the magnitute of Poe’s work. I’d also really like them to laugh. I can guarantee they won’t be bored.

Anything else you care to mention may go here.

We’ve got a wonderful cast that can be seen on TV as we speak. Kimia Behpoornia (Abby’s, Unicorn Store) slays as the “Player King” and Jordan R. Coleman (Snowfall) sings sweeter than Celine Dion. I am so excited to work with this cast and even more excited to share this show with the world. We
are offering a group rate online or bundles of 4 tickets at $70. There are also ticket giveaways on my instagram @aristidham and the show’s instagram @EdgarAllanShow

All ages. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, September 27 – October 19.  Running time: 80 minutes. No intermission. Box office opens ½ prior to curtain. Admission: $25. https://edgarallanshow.com  Two Roads Theatre, 4348 Tujunga Ave. Studio City, CA 91604.  There will be a pre-show light reception opening weekend at 7:30 pm, on both Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28.

2019 Interview with Hal Linden

Beloved actor Hal Linden of TV's Barney Miller is equally famous for his Broadway appearances including the recipient of a Tony Award  for Best Actor in a Musical for 1971's The Rothschilds. He is about to open on September 20 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in the West Coast premiere of the new musical Grumpy Old Men.

Linden is no stranger to theatre in Los Angeles. I saw him do a unique production of The Fantasticks at the Pasadena Playhouse a few years back and ... he was wonderful. When I questioned him about the production, he alluded to the fact that the 2016 production was the vision of director Seema Sueko who took "the fairytale and presented it with a troupe of actors who performed it in an old theatre, giving it double theatricality".

Does Linden have a favorite musical? "You love each show as you are doing it. It's the same work, sweet, and you bring energy and love to it. There's an old quote, "When he's not near the show he loves, he loves the show he's near"". What about a role he has not performed onstage and would love to play? He claims his schedule never permitted but he missed out on the king in The King and I and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. I am certain he would be terrific in both. By the way, he commented about what I said about his performance in The Fantasticks with that dry sense of humor of his ..."And yes, I was wonderful."

Yes, Linden is a natural charmer and is clearly deliciously funny. As to Grumpy Old Men, he claims he is not playing a grumpy old man but a "dirty old man. I am a 94 year old grandpa who is a little horny. Well I'm not 94, but I'm still horny."

As far as what he likes most about the show are the rehearsals. "They are the most satisfying. We actors are executing other artists' work and we try to do it as imaginatively and creatively as possible. With the input - try this, try that  - in the rehearsals, we get to accomplish this."

On another funny note he mentioned that the second most frequently asked question he has been asked is "What was Abe Vigoda really like? - which he claimed emphatically "I never answered". 

He has never seen the movie "Grumpy Old Men", but is very happy with the show. "I can't kick, because in this show I have what comes closest to a showstopper. It's an old fashioned musical predicated on music and laughs with no philosophical point being pushed."

Asked if he enjoys doing comedy over drama or vice versa, he quoted Chaplin, "Say something real in a funny way or something funny in a real way. Never say something funny in a funny way." He loves the work period.

As to his years on Barney Miller, with mulitple Emmy nominations, he referred to it as "a unique experience in television". They did not have a live audience, but were a real rep company where each actor became an expert on his own character. "We rehearsed until we were happy and then shot it like a film. Every week we did as good as we thought we could do with that script. it was very creative." 

Linden is bound to be a hoot in the musical and encourages that you make the trek to La Mirada for Grumpy Old Men The Musical. It opens in preview on the 20th, and the official opening night is Saturday the 21st. Follow the link below for more info and to purchase tix:

www.lamiradatheatre.com

Interview with Gilbert Smith

I marvel at the work of the Montalbán Theatre. I have noticed how the theatre has really maintained itself over the years and improved so much with all the Latino events and concerts with an emphasis on supporting all of our talented performers regardless of race, religion or creed. We are a community and need to reflect that in all we do. When I asked to speak with Gilbert Smith, President of the Montalbán Company, LLC, he enthusiastically provided the following answers to our questions.

(photo credit: Rick Telles)


Tell our readers what you feel you have accomplished in making the Montalbán Theatre stand out from among other Los Angeles theatres?

We have been working to establish a firm foundation in our community by providing access to the performing arts. Our theatre is anchored in a classic proscenium setting. We have combined that classic history with the modernization of our rooftop deck oasis and front of house capabilities for broadcast. Our renovated theatre setting provides a thoughtful informal atmosphere to create relationships between individual artists and corporations in the entertainment industry. We are part of a much larger renaissance that has rebuilt Hollywood to maintain our position as the Entertainment Capital of the World. Each of our theatres in Hollywood embody distinct character. Our roles are defined to develop cultural awareness and exchange with our community.

Tell us briefly about your relationship with Ricardo and how important your job is to carry his legacy forward.

Ricardo in the truest sense became my father figure. His daughter Anita and I have been married for 30+ years. We are all about creating legacy in our theatre. His story, as a member of immigrant families in both Mexico and the Unites States of America is remarkable. In the 1960s he spoke for the undernourished and unrepresented culture. He was a humble man and never spoke about his courage and conviction to seek a world free of prejudice. He simply built friendships with the world. His success in his career with the acting profession matched his ability to absorb prejudice. He was a born intellectual with a unique understanding of religion, language and culture. His value system was solid simple and resolute. I use his guidance in spirit to come forward with our life's decisions. His life was based on his kindness and respect for his fellow man. I aim to be judged in the same light

What about the Golden Eagle Awards? What does this event mean to the Montalbán?

Ricardo Montalbán was asked to develop a book from a series of interviews over a weekend. The name of the book from Ricardo Montalbán with Bob Thomas, REFLECTIONS: A Life in Two Worlds.

Ricardo set forth thoughts about his life's experience, "I knew what it was like to be judged as a son of Spaniards in Mexico, later as a Mexican in the United States. Could it be possible that I succumb to prejuditial thinking? I couldn't imagine it. And yet, by constant exposure... your computer brain starts to imprint such nonsense as valid information."

This quote is salient knowing that his observation about prejudice 50 years ago is applicable in today's political news spectrum being hoisted to control our society with disinformation and racism. The Nosotros Golden Eagle Awards brings forward the appreciation for individuals who inspite of the constant onslaught have prevailed with respect for themselves and their community.

Ricardo Montalbán was the founder of Nosotros. He believed in democratic institutions, where freedom of thought based on knowledge and facts works to stimulate honest discussion about diversity. Our hosting and development of the 49th NOSOTROS Golden Eagle Awards is set in the theatre that he also founded. This makes a strong statement for our inclusion with our diverse community.

Support the Montalbán Theatre and get tickets now for the Golden Eagle Awards:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
Montalbán Theatre

https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Nosotros-Announces-the-Recipients-of-the-2019-Golden-Eagle-Awards-20190904

The 2019 Nosotros Golden Eagle Awards will stream live on Facebook, YouTube and KNEKT.TV and later offered on Amazon Video as the first Latino Award show to be presented on its platform.

Interview with Michele Brourman

Music composer, pianist Michele Brourman is world reknowned for her brilliant compositions and collaborations with other great songwriters like Amanda McBroom. She has a tremendous passion for performing. She will be in Chicago on the 15th and in New York in October doing what she does best. The world is a better place because of it.

Tell our readers about your upcoming concert in Chicago and then the concert in New York. Are you featuring songs from your latest album? Is there a theme?

MB: I’m excited about bringing my songs to Chicago! It’s where I went to school in every sense of the word. I was a music composition major at Northwestern, though as a musical theatre geek I was kind of a misfit. I wrote songs for the WAA-MU show each year; in fact, Joanie Winter, my special guest at Davenport’s, performed one of my earliest songs in that show! I also scored a theatre production of “Finnegan’s Wake” that starred Peter Strauss, and co-wrote a musical revue that ran off-campus. But my real education, once I graduated, was playing in various clubs around town. As Al, my agent, loved to say, “They’re  terlets.  Some have décor and some don’t, but they’re all terlets.” In those days, we’d play five nights a week, six hours a night, seven hours on Saturdays. You learn a lot about how to write a song if you play a few hundred of them every week! And you learn a lot about audiences too.

In New York, the Birdland Theatre has been beckoning to me since Jim Caruso gave us a guided tour just before it opened. It’s the kind of intimate space where you can put your arms around everyone in the room. And they have a great piano!! I’m calling this series of shows “Love Notes” because I so love making music, and because every song is a kind of love letter. I debuted the show in London in June. It includes several songs from my cd “The Price of Love” as well as some newer songs – one that I wrote with Adryan Russ called “She Has Wings” and one with lyrics by Hillary Rollins called “My Daughters”. Plus several that I co-wrote with my dearest friend Amanda McBroom.

Upon listening to The Price of Love, I have concluded that your style is so infectious, one can listen to the songs over and over and learn something new each time.You are positive about relationships and love, letting go and looking ahead, content, if not with the man, then with the music creation that results. The music cleanses your soul. You talk about memories. Are they from your life or imagined or a mixture of both?

MB: I mostly compose to a lyric, and that lyric tells me how it wants to be sung.  And though I’m pretty sure I have a musical “signature,” I feel like the style can – and should – shift, depending on the emotions, the energetic, the tone of the lyric, the story.

I love what you said about being “Positive about love” – I think I am. Finally.  I wasn’t always.That line in “My Favorite Year” - “After all the loves I’ve lived through all these years…” that’s’ pretty much autobiographical. 
And memories? They’re probably enhanced, filtered, photo-shopped.
By the way, Michael Feinstein, whose recording really launched that song, recently shared a new video of it - just him and a piano.  So personal and beautiful!

What is Karen Gottlieb trying to convey in "Indian Boy"? It seems different from the others on the album. What is its substance?

MB: Indian Boy” was a gentleman I met while playing a gig in a dusty desert outpost near Mohave. A film crew was shooting a movie there for a month; I got hired to entertain them every weekend. And every weekend, this man appeared in an impeccable white linen suit, red silk scarf knotted at his throat, a carved wooden cane, silver-white hair, leathery weather-beaten skin. As the evening progressed, he’d be more and more in his cups – and he’d ballroom dance. Alone. A few weeks in, he came up to me, introduced himself as Indian Boy - and asked me if I could write a song that could bring his runaway daughter home. I told Karen Gottlieb about him and two days later she handed me that lyric. Somehow in the writing the song became more personal, evoking Karen’s father and mine. We’d both put 3000 miles between us and our dads…

I have always admired Amanda McBroom. She has a great sense of humor with "You're Only Old Once". In "Mary Said No" she really creates a thought provoking message, making Mary reflective, luminous, and human as well as angelical. What are your feelings about this song?

MB: I’m glad you asked about Amanda! She is an extraordinary songwriter, a cherished friend, and a joy to make music with! The two of us have been writing songs together since the first day we met – and that was (gulp!) 45 years ago!!  Her lyric to “Mary Said No” grabbed my heart. I have two wonderful sons. I am absolutely sure that the world is a better place because they are both in it.  But if someone had told me before they were born that they would be sacrificed, I too would have said No. 
To me, “Mary Said No” is a song about the Ultimate Woman’s right to choose.   And I got to draw upon my favorite undergraduate course – “Music of the Middle Ages!”

Your music creates the mood and atmosphere of what the song is trying to convey. I love "Let's Order In". It's romantic with a cozy, by the fire feel, but I can't help but remember "Love and Take Out" from a previous album that displays your tremendous humor. Talk about these themes and how they affect you in your own life.

MB: They’re about two of my favorite topics – food and sex.  And about approaching both with a sense of humor. I named my music publishing company “FingerFood Music”. (I was gonna call it “Hand to Mouth”, but that sounded a bit desperate:)

There’s something wonderfully sensual about food, sharing food, dining by candlelight. And I love feeding people!  If you were to appear at my door, the second words out of my mouth (after “come in quick before the cat gets out!”) would be “What can I get you? A latte? Home-made muffins?”  As for “Love and Take Out” – that was inspired by a friend who said to me, “That guy is like Chinese food – one hour later, you’re hungry again!”  Like I said, it took me a while to get the hang of Love.

Let's go back in time. Tell us about your upbringing and how it has affected your passion for music.

MB: I was born into a musical family.  My dad wrote songs – though he only wrote them during the 14 months he spent as a POW in Germany when his B17 was shot down during a mission.

He and my mother met and married after he came home, and moved into my Bubbie’s big house.  My dad’s youngest brother was 14, living at home, practicing his violin. So my mother – and I, in utero – would spend hours listening to Uncle Jack. My Bubbie used to carry me around and sing to me. And my parents sang together, beautifully. I used to say it was the only time they were truly in harmony, though I probably exaggerated.

By the time I was three, I was sitting at Bubbie’s piano, playing and singing entire songs by ear. I started piano lessons at four, learned right from left cause the left hand played the low notes. It’s baked into my being; the piano feels like an extension of my body.

I moved on to my beloved piano teacher Aaron Gross when I was six; he was incredibly patient with a child who’d learn a Bach invention by heart – but play it in the wrong key. Growing up, I performed with my sisters - 
my sister Robin Munson, btw, is a gorgeous singer and songwriter - 
and with a troupe of girlfriends, all terrific singers. I co-wrote special material for The Troupe with my friend Iris – Iris Rainer Dart, the author of “Beaches.”

Have you found yourself changing focus over the years? In your mind, have you become more or less serious about issues? In what ways?

MB: We all change over the years, don’t we? I wrote a song called “The Joy of the Ride” that wound up being the end-title song for Universal’s “The Little Engine That Could.” It said, “I know what is precious – what to hold, what to let slide. “
We learn, hopefully, what matters. I had kids. That changed me enormously.  I continue to change, make mistakes, learn, open my heart. There’s a shift that most of us make, I believe – from “am I getting what I want?” to “am I giving something I feel good about giving?”

I notice you stay away from politics. For me, that's a good thing. Your music helps us to get away from the turmoil around us...to think about love and lighter issues, like choosing dinner or how to spend an evening or appreciating flowers and nature... How do you feel about this?

MB: I don’t write many political songs. I wish I did! I admire the songwriters who take on important issues. I was even in Bob Dylan’s band once for two weeks!  Maybe if I’d learned guitar instead of piano, I’d be more of a political songwriter. Have you noticed how you can get very message-y with a guitar? But with a piano, those messages sound heavy-handed.  Besides, you can’t take a baby grand to a protest march! I try to write songs that offer some insights – or help listeners take an emotional journey. People need to laugh – and to cry. 

Tell us about anything that I have not mentioned. Future projects?  Who are your music idols, past and present?

MB: Amanda and I wrote the songs for a movie that’s being released this week from Universal  - “Curious George: Royal Monkey.”  It’s the 17th animated feature for which we’ve written (and I’ve produced) the songs, including 10 sequels to “The Land Before Time”, 2 Balto sequels, and “The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein.”  They’re all direct to DVD. “George” will also be streaming on Hulu. It’s been a delicious project, working with a stellar creative team at Universal, plus I get to work with my favorite studio collaborator,
Stephan Oberhoff.  And we’re finishing the songs for another animated feature that’ll be out next year.

Amanda and I have started on a new musical with book writer Duane Poole.   A musical that I co-wrote with Sheilah Rae and Thomas Edward West, “The Belle of Tombstone”, just had a beautiful production in Hartford, CT.  And I’ve started recording songs for an EP to release this spring.

I’ll be doing some performances with Amanda – including
a Christmas concert in December – and several with Amanda and Ann Hampton Callaway. The three of us have a grand time onstage and off!
We close those concerts with a medley: an anthem that Ann and I wrote called “Love and Let Love” and “The Rose.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7_AN4MArpk

Music idols? I have so many!! Leonard Bernstein, Frank Loesser, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen. Adam Guettel. Maurice Ravel. Laura Nyro, Joni, Carole, Aretha, Ivan Lins, James Taylor. I love practicing Bach and Mozart, just for the sheer joy of it.

I’m grateful every moment for the music in my life – and the people in my life!  I feel like a very lucky person!!

Ticket links:
http://davenportspianobar.com/events/michele-brourman/

https://www.birdlandjazz.com/e/michele-brourman-love-notes-66206532521/

Interview with Terra Taylor Knudson

Actress/Playwright Terra Taylor Knudson is about to open her award-winning solo show Willy's Lil Virgin Queen at the Garage Theatre in Long Beach after Labor Day. In our conversation she talks about why Shakespeare's work is so important to her and gives welcome advice to our readers on how to fully understand and appreciate him more.

Willy's Lil Virgin Queen sounds delightful. Tell us about how you and Shakespeare first got acquainted.

TTK: I grew up in Boulder, Colorado and one summer in July when I was nine my Dad surprised me with a trip to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival for an evening performance of “The Merry Wives of Windsor”. The CSF environment is a magical venue nestled at the foot of the Flat Irons, a unique section of the Rocky Mountains. It’s part of the University of Colorado’s campus and the Mary Rippon stage is a wooden stage surrounded by rows of red stone benches. Once the sun goes down, the lights come up on the stage and the rest is magic.  It was the first time I’d experienced Shakespeare and, although I didn’t know what most of the words meant, I could follow the slap-stick comedy well because the play is essentially an episode of “I Love Lucy”, ideal for a first entrée into the language.

Do you have a favorite play by the Bard? Which one? Why this choice?

TTK: I actually have two favorites; “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Hamlet”. Much Ado because it’s a quintessential romantic comedy with a strong female lead. The banter between Beatrice and Benedick is some of the best uses of word play and wit in any of the comedies. It’s on par with the fast-talking films of the 1940s and conjures images of Bogart and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy. What makes it especially impactful however, is the depth of drama that also exists in the piece. There is a very dark twist of events that completely changes the tone of the show about half-way through and it becomes a serious drama. The drastic change gives Beatrice an opportunity to show her strength in a way that very few of Shakespeare’s other female characters can. And the dynamic between Beatrice and Benedick at once becomes much more intense as the stakes are raised to a fever pitch. The confrontation scene between the two, which ultimately ends in a declaration of love and a challenge, is one of the greatest dramatic scenes ever written.

Hamlet is not my favorite because it’s the most famous and obvious choice. It’s my favorite because it’s one of the most human stories in the canon. Setting aside for a moment the incredible language, the play is essentially the story of a family; a grieving son, his co-dependent, heartbroken mother, a controlling and overbearing new stepfather, a young teenage girl with whom he is in love but not committed to. It’s elemental and everyone who has a family can relate on some level to Hamlet’s shock, pain and rage at his mother’s flawed character and his step-father/uncle’s sudden arrival on the scene. It’s the most emotionally complex and yet relatable of Shakespeare’s plays because Hamlet’s agony over whether to stay alive and endure this hellish situation or end his suffering is something I think everyone has experienced at some point in his or her life. It’s fundamentally human to question; “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose?”, “Why am I in so much pain and when will it end?”, “Is this all there is?” Hamlet, is a dissertation on the human condition and the search to find release from grief and restore the balance of ones’ life following tragedy. All of this couched in the most iconic and extraordinary use of language in history.

In your show do you use a lot of quotes from the plays? If so, do you explain what they mean as you go along?

TTK: There are quite a lot of quotes and references made throughout the show and in each case, I try to explain their meaning through the context of the moment. The show is a coming-of-age narrative and Shakespeare’s characters and words are used to inform my personal story. There are parallels with specific plays and I make use of those similarities to help illustrate my journey and challenges at different points in my adolescence and early adulthood. Hopefully, they’re a way to demonstrate that Shakespeare is not only Classical, it’s contemporary and entirely relatable to our modern lives and circumstances. That’s the hope, anyway.

Comedy really started before Shakespeare, in ancient Greece but he seems the master as he was bent on entertaining his audiences, even in very dramatic circumstances. How do you feel about this?

TTK: In fact, Shakespeare’s desire to entertain audiences comedically even despite dramatic circumstances, I think is one of the core challenges facing any storyteller. How does one engage the audience and keep their attention long enough to take them through this journey? That’s the mission of every artist and comedy is a great unifier. When you have the audience laughing, they will trust you when they’re crying.

If you will, tell us a funny story about audience reaction to your play. It can involve someone who loved it ... or someone who reacted negatively...

TTK: One of the things I love about doing this show is the interactive nature of the piece.  It’s a direct conversation with the audience which can allow for some unexpected spontaneous moments to happen. Every audience has its own character and I never know exactly what that dynamic will be until I’m out on stage. If they’re laughing and talking loudly before I start, I know we’re in for a great time. But a quiet audience can be misleading. It can feel extremely vulnerable to be on stage and have a quiet audience, but I’ve learned that silence doesn’t mean disengaged. People react and respond to information in very different ways and there is no right or wrong way to experience live theatre.

During one particular performance I was deep into revealing a very personal and vulnerable moment when an audience member laughed. The room had been silent, so the single laugh rang out loud and clear. It caught me off guard and for just a moment I had to steal myself from looking up to see who had laughed. Just for an instant I was angered and hurt because it felt like such an inappropriate reaction but then I realized, laugher isn’t always because something is funny. Laugher is also a release of tension and that person had laughed, not because she was judging what I was doing, but because she was being affected by it. It was another reminder to me that I’m not the only one in the room who is experiencing the story. And, in truth, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. Otherwise, it’s just therapy in front of a paying audience.

Why do you think some people hate Shakespeare? Most actors, no, because you can be big and bold and the feelings are all there in the lines. I refer to others who refuse to take the time to really listen and learn...

TTK: It’s an excellent question and it’s one of the things I’m most passionate about changing. I think many people, whether actor or not, are frustrated because they feel that they’re stupid or not smart enough to “get” Shakespeare. They may have been introduced to “Romeo & Juliet” as a middle-school student and had to endure the agony of listening to other thirteen-year-olds try to read the language one line at a time. God Bless all middle-school teachers for what they do but unfortunately, it’s not the right way to be introduced to the Bard. For one thing, Shakespeare is meant to be seen and heard not read. And, when it’s done by people who have learned the techniques and have broken down the language, it’s surprisingly easy to understand even without any prior education. An audience shouldn’t have to have a degree in Classical literature to enjoy the work. If they don’t understand what’s being said, that’s a failing of the director and actors. If the performers do their homework the language flows and is as easy to follow as anything contemporary. Sadly, most people who fear or hate Shakespeare don’t realize this because in all likelihood, they haven’t been exposed to it being done well. There is no great mystery to the language, although it does take skill, dedication and training to learn how to break it down and perform it successfully.

For someone who is interested in approaching the language for the first time, I offer the following suggestions on how to get started:

• See a really good film version. There are many out there that are very accessible and visually stimulating. The added advantage is that the music will help to inform the situation and the camera will tell you exactly where to focus your attention. Oftentimes, films will be slightly – or greatly – edited down to the main storyline and eliminate erroneous references or plot points that don’t serve the main through line. While you’re not getting the whole experience yet, it’s a great way to become familiar with the main plots without too much distraction.

• See a high school or university production. I know it seems like the last place to go to see “good Shakespeare” but actually, some of the best shows I’ve seen were in high schools, colleges or summer stock, which is typically made up of twenty-something actors on summer vacation. My reason for this is that oftentimes younger actors will approach things more simply.

Not always, of course. There are many examples that immediately contradict this, but there are also examples of young actors portraying Juliet or the lovers in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream sweetly unadorned simply by virtue of the fact that the performers weren’t yet aware of how to get bogged down by the weight of “Shakespeare”. I offer this with the caveat that I think comedies are better for this than histories or dramas.

• Lastly, see a production during the summer under the stars. No matter what show you see, when you see Shakespeare under the stars, it’s magic. While his works were performed outdoors, they were performed during the day, so the concept of “under the stars” isn’t historically accurate but it’s one of the most magical ways to experience the words. And, if you can, bring a folding chair, a picnic blanket, snacks, friends and just let go and enjoy the experience. Anything you don’t “get” will get lost in the beauty of that summer night. And, after you have a taste of that magic, your ear will want more. It’s not about “getting” Shakespeare. It’s about experiencing it.

How long have you been performing this play? Are there plans to take it to off Broadway maybe?

TTK: I’ve been performing this version of the play since June of 2017 but the show has been developing since 2012. It began as an hour-long lecture about the historical women featured in Shakespeare’s plays that I toured California and parts of Colorado with for two years. Then, in late 2015 I began developing it into a seventy-five minute piece that incorporated some of my personal stories and anecdotes but still focused primarily on the women and the ways in which they were presented in the plays. I produced that in early 2016 and in July of that year I began working with my director, Jessica Lynn Johnson to flesh out the story and adjust the focus from the plays to my personal journey with Shakespeare and how his words and characters helped to inform my life. That’s the piece that I perform now and that’s what you’ll see if you come to the run at The Garage Theatre the first week of September.

As for taking it to off Broadway, I’m currently starting plans for a U.S. tour in several states during 2020 and would love to take it off Broadway. Or heck, on Broadway!

Is this your only play or are there others? If so, tell us about them and how they evolved from your life.

TTK: I’ve had an opportunity to write a number of plays and small musicals over the years. Many have been for education outreach programs while others were specifically commissioned or created for a regular run. Among them is a musical; Old Black Magic: A Haunted Musical which has been produced locally multiple times since 2002, and Intimately Wilde, my period drama about the last hours of Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment in the late 19th century, England. That was workshopped in Orange County and produced in Los Angeles in 2009 and later in Long Beach in 2013. In both cases, as well as in several others, the shows came out of a desire to write for the people in my life; actors who I felt were incredibly talented and I wanted to give them something to celebrate their talent. I can’t cook so I wrote instead.

Anything else you care to add?

TTK: Thank you for the very thought-provoking questions. It was fun to think about the show in different ways because of them. And, thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about the show and about Shakespeare with your readers. It’s a passion of mine to help demystify the plays and bring the lofty reputation of the works back down to the ground. They weren’t legendary when they were written. The plays were his work. And now they’re my play, which is really the best kind of work there is.

Willy's Lil Virgin Queen
Written & Performed by Terra Taylor Knudson
Developed with & Directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson
Produced by Olio Theatre Works & The Garage Theatre

Performances:
Thursday, September 5th at 8:00pm
Friday, September 6th at 8:00pm
Saturday, September 7th at 8:00pm

Ticket Price: $20
*Special 2 for 1 Tickets on Thursday, Sept 5th ONLY with Code: "twofer"

All shows performed at The Garage Theatre in Long Beach
251 E. 7th St., Long Beach, CA 90813
(562) 433-8337

*Street Parking Available

Interview with Shelly Goldstein

Writer/actress/cabaret performer Shelly Goldstein is  very popular worldwide and is in a constant state of motion. In our interview she talks about her work and how she cannot live without it. Not a moment passes without a sprinkling of her extraordinary humor.

First, tell our readers about your background. How did you get interested in comedy and then musical cabaret?

SG: In truth Don, I don’t think it was ever a conscious interest on my part. It chose me. I was always a performer..Maybe “ham” is a better word. I began singing along with my parents’ musical theatre albums and my big sister’s rock/pop records when I was about 2. I was acting them out by 5 and I wrote my first play when I was 7. I learned early that life was more enjoyable when I made people laugh.

Some years ago, I was hired to write a cabaret/nightclub act for a big TV star who loved what I wrote but only paid me part of the money we agreed on because I finished it a week earlier than we planned. (Punished for getting it done early!)

That gig was such a nightmare, I decided it was time to stop writing acts for other people and to write one for me. I did, expecting it to be a one-time thing. But the experience was electric. And after my very first cabaret show I was offered the great honor of being Michael Feinstein’s opening act at an AIDS benefit. I said yes immediately! And I’ve been performing ever since.

You have been writing and punching up screenplays and TV shows for many years and have worked with some of the greatest names in the business. If you had to tell a funny story about one particular person, who would that be? Or two?

SG: There’s an old expression about never meeting your heroes because they will disappoint you. I’m proud to say that with the occasional exception, most of the people I’ve met and had the honor to work with have been wonderful. There is little in life better than sitting at a table with Stephen Colbert writing jokes or making Steve Martin laugh. In addition to their immense talent, both of those men are as kind and wonderful as you’d want them to be. Having Paul McCartney tell me he’d read something I wrote and really liked it was beyond the beyond. One night I sang for Carol Channing and she said in that inimitable voice of hers, “I have no idea how that mind of yours works, but I love the madness that comes out!” I’d rather not focus on people who were mean or treated people badly. The times we’re living in are much too negative.

Do you have a mentor or mentors from among all those celebs you worked with? Who influenced you the most in producing your own performing career? If more than one, what did you learn from each?

SG: My first mentor was Garry Marshall who discovered me at Northwestern through a seminar he taught that I was invited to attend . That same week he came to see an improv show I ran, directed and performed in – and he told me he was going to keep an eye on me. Two of the cast members of that show were Ira Glass who now is known for THIS AMERICAN LIFE on NPR and Gary Kroeger who was a cast member on SNL. Garry gave me my first TV job writing at Paramount. I met a lot of wonderful people when I first began working in LA. One was the unmatched Larry Gelbart who was one of the sweetest, funniest men in the world. We rarely saw each other, but we wrote each other e-mails back and forth and played word games and pun games which were like a master class in comedy writing. He’d tell me stories about his days working on CAESAR’S HOUR (contrary to popular belief, Larry never wrote YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS and it used to bother him when he was mentioned as a writer on that show) and his early days on Broadway. I was also lucky enough to meet the great Treva Silverman who wrote so many legendary TV shows – notably THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and THE MONKEES. Treva is the only writer to ever win a “Super Emmy” – it was only given out once and was voted on by other writers. I grew up watching the shows she wrote and recognizing her name on the screen and was always awed by how smart and funny she was. She’s also a dear person and a great friend.

As a performer I simply absorbed everything I could. I grew up performing musicals from the age of 6 in Chicago. When I decided to put together my own show, I went to a different cabaret show every night and participated in every open mic in town. I’ve also worked with brilliant musical directors/arrangers: Scott Harlan & Doug Peck in LA, Nigel Lilley & Tom Brady in London. The “patter” part of the show was never an issue for me, but each of them helped me musically in myriad ways, notably to find ways to do a song that truly made it mine. Not just re-writing lyrics which I love to do and do quite a lot – but also working to interpret a song in a way that was “me” – and working on great arrangements and medleys that tell a story.

I love putting songs together in unexpected ways. One of my favorite arrangements in my new show HOW GROOVY GIRLS SAVED THE WORLD (arranged with Doug Peck) combines “No Time At All” from PIPPIN, Laura Nyro’s “And When I Die,” Eric Idle’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” and Carly Simon’s “Anticipation.” Performing it is a joy. I call it my “Happy Death Medley.”

You have gotten rave reviews in London. What is cabaret like there in comparison to here in the US?

SG: First of all, I am madly in love with London and have been my entire life. It’s the most glorious and electric city. Cabaret is wildly diverse and wonderful there. Different styles, different languages, different generations. It’s invigorating. London cabaret audiences are wild – they want to have a good time.

Lots of Americans have made their mark there. The Queen of London cabaret and one of my best friends in the world is the brilliant Holly Penfield, originally from the Bay Area. Harold Sanditen and I have become very close friends. He’s a dapper Southern gentleman from Tulsa who has built London’s best Open Mic Party at Zedel (which used to be Le Crazy Coqs.) Miss Hope Springs is divine, the brilliant alter ego of Ty Jeffries, a wonderful songwriter and performer. Ruth Leon used to run cabaret at Zedel, now she books the Pheasantry in Chelsea and brings over many great American artists, like my friend Michele Brourman who plays her beautiful songs and performs with the Callaway Sisters and Amanda McBroom.

What thrilled me about performing in London and being so warmly embraced by the crowds there was the simple fact that when I first started, no one knew me (outside of my husband!) My references, especially in my early shows, were obviously very American and I wondered if they would translate. They did!

It was fantastic to make a roomful of strangers laugh and applaud…and over the years, I’m made many friends who follow my shows around.

My first “GroovyShelly” show, ONE FINE DAY: THE GROOVY GIRLS OF THE 60s paid respect to many of their icons: Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Cilla Black, Lulu and the legend of Swingin’ London itself. I’m looking forward to bringing my new show HOW GROOVY GIRLS SAVED THE WORLD over there.

My very first London Show, SONGS FOR LOVERS & THOSE THEY’VE DUMPED was at the old Pizza on the Park, across from the Palace in Knightsbridge. There was a big, distinguished man sitting ringside, smoking an enormous cigar. The smoke drove me mad, but he commanded your attention. I found out he was Lord Spencer Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson!

I had a wonderfully fun run at Sergio’s, just north of Carnaby St, organized by Ronnie Davison who is probably London’s #1 fan and promoter of cabaret. My Musical Director was Nigel Lilley. When we started working together, he was fresh out of the Royal Academy of Music. Now he’s one of the busiest conductors, arrangers and MDs in the West End.

He’s been so busy that for my last show, he connected me with a gloriously talented guy who’s making a big mark on West End theatre, Tom Brady. My show included Sondheim’s “Getting Married Today” which I love to sing. A young West End actor was recommended to me as the perfect person to sing it with, playing Paul as well as the “Choirgirl". He showed up at rehearsals and was great. He did the sound check…Perfect.

Then hours later at the show…HE WASN’T THERE! He, uh…got preoccupied and missed the gig. So from backstage I called into the mic, “Tom – you’re on!” And he filled in to perfection.

There I was – stood up at the altar! (Now when I do that song, I play all 3 parts!)

There’s also a very vibrant one-person show community. Lots of shows that come from the Edinburgh Fringe. Hannah Gadsby’s show was an impossible ticket to get long before she exploded on Netflix with Nanette. People would stand in line for ages hoping to get a seat when she went on.

Lots of Americans come over. Join us! I guarantee you an adventure you won’t forget!

If you had to choose between writing and performing, which one takes precedence in your life, or do you like them equally?

SG: Absolutely no way I could choose one or the other. I need to do them both. I write every single day, I sing every day, I hope I say something that makes someone laugh and see something from a new perspective every day. Both are as important to me as breathing. The only real difference between being a writer or a performer is if you ask for a glass of water, someone will bring it to the performer. The writer, not so much!

What do you consider your funniest song?

SG: Hmmm…The most fun I have with a song that I didn’t write is definitely “Getting Married Today.” It’s brilliant, it’s hilarious, it’s my cardio. Of my parodies, probably the one that audiences insist on would be my update on the Carole King classic that I call, “Un-Natural Woman.”

The parody that means the most to me is the one I wrote as an anthem for marriage equality. I took the Mary Poppins/Sherman Brothers classic and rewrote it as, “Stupid Callous Homophobic Hateful Legislation.” It went viral around the world and was sung at many weddings. One lovely man in Brussels translated it into French and sent it to me! The response to that song made me so proud – the cause means so much to me.

Is How Groovy Girls Saved the World set to perform in LA at some point in the near future?

SG: I debuted this show in LA earlier this year at Catalina’s. It was a terrific night and we sold out the room. The show in Chicago was a blast and I hope to bring the show to London soon. I’d also love to take it to other cities – NY, SF, Palm Springs…and any other town that wants Groovy Music from some of the greatest women in Musical History as well as a lot of laughs. (Call me if you’re interested!)

I know you from FB and from running into you at cabarets and hearing others perform your funny, funny songs, but I have never seen you do a show. Maybe a brief appearance in someone else's show at the Gardenia. You have such a curious mind on FB always coming up with quizzes and fun questions. Do you use any of these responses in your material for a show? What about the politics of the day? Does that play into your comedy routines?

SG: Politics always factor into my shows. How can it not these days? One of my favorite songs in the new show is a parody of one of the great Alan Menken-Howard Ashman Disney collaborations. It’s about how Washington is screwing up the environment, primarily the oceans, lakes and rivers. It’s about the problems for fish, flora, fauna and sea life, “Under D.C.!”

My shows are scripted but I always leave room to comment/ad lib based on what insanity we’ve faced that day.

ON FB I just try to get people to talk without being nasty or regurgitate talking points. It’s often just a way to work through my frustration at what we’re going through right now.

What other projects are on the horizon?

SG: Right now I’m writing a live comedy special. The cast is outstanding – Lily Tomlin, Pete Holmes, Kevin Nealon, Margaret Cho, Lesley Jordan, Allee Willis – and me!! It happens next month at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica and it’s a fundraiser for a great animal charity, VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS.

Bruce Vilanch and I just created a sitcom together. Waiting for someone to produce it. The world needs to laugh right now, don’tcha think?

I want to bring HOW GROOVY GIRLS SAVED THE WORLD to some new cities and I am writing a new show about the California sound of the groovy era, notably the community in Laurel Canyon.

BTW – I write cabaret acts, special material and lyrics for performers all the time. Call me~

Oh, one last thing. I’m at that specific time we all must face…I’m obsessed with playing Mama Rose. Because...of course I am.


SHELLY on YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU3FMI7voYo

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=1246326234&ref=profile

TWITTER follow me @groovyshelly