The Stage Was Set for Excellence

So many shows, so little time. That’s how theatergoers in Greater L.A. often feel when they scan the theater listings.

Because of its vast talent pool, Greater L.A. offers a staggering number of professional productions, most of which are in intimate theaters with hardly any bad seats and relatively cheap tickets.

There’s a catch--the theaters are scattered far and wide, and most of them don’t have much of a budget for advertising and promotion. It takes time to sort through the myriad offerings to figure out what you want to see. And unless those shows happen to be in your neighborhood, it takes time just to get to the theaters and back.

These conditions too often discourage not only average theatergoers, but also the people who work in theater here and those who write about theater. Every year, at least one or two obscure shows win some of the peer-judged Ovation Awards, even though most of the “peers” at the ceremony have never heard of them. When I was a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, the lists of shows that didn’t even qualify for the annual awards--because not enough critics had seen them--were almost as interesting as the lists of the eventual winners.

Only a few shows run for many months or years, so most awards mean zilch at the box office--the shows have closed by the time the awards are announced. And “10 best” roundups don’t mean much in a city where no one has seen even a third of the possible contenders.

So the following is not a “best” list (although, judging from the use of previous year-end articles, it probably will be quoted as such in future program bios and ads). Instead, it’s a salute to a few of the riches that I experienced while seeing 134 professional productions in Southern California during 1998:

Outrageous gifts in the smallest packages: Dan Fante’s “Boiler Room” at the tiny Actors Art Theatre--a ferociously profane comedy about a pack of Southland telemarketers. John Forster’s “Both Barrels” at LunaPark--a ferociously satirical musical revue. Both received crackerjack productions, and both will resume in 1999. Look for them.

Star performances that made my jaw drop: Charlayne Woodard in “Neat” at the Mark Taper Forum, Frank Langella in “The Father” at the Geffen Playhouse.

Most quietly satisfying new play: Donald Margulies’ “Dinner With Friends,” at South Coast Repertory.

Most noisily satisfying new musical revue: the reconstructed “Putting It Together,” at the Mark Taper Forum.

Loudest splash by a new company: Circle X, for its productions of “Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22” and “The Texarkana Waltz.”

Most ingeniously staged performances in an institutional theater: “The Cider House Rules,” at the Mark Taper Forum.

Newcomer of the year: Jillian Armenante, who staged “Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22” and then created a sensation in the cast of “The Cider House Rules.”

Designs of the year: “Putting It Together,” “An Enemy of the People” at the Ahmanson, “Julius Caesar” as produced by Shakespeare Festival/LA at City Hall, “The Birds” at South Coast Repertory, “Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22,” “Salome” at Actors’ Gang.

Hopeful signs for the renaissance of the Pasadena Playhouse: “The Old Settler,” the first two-thirds of “If Memory Serves.”

Most enterprising adaptation of three old plays: “Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella,” a joint production of the Actors’ Gang and Cornerstone Theater

Tear-duct specials: “Our Town” at Occidental Theater Festival, “The Last Session” as seen at Laguna Playhouse (it’s now playing the Tiffany).

Best uses of the great outdoors: “The Crucible” at the Theatricum Botanicum, “Our Town” at Occidental.

Sterling classics: “Private Lives” and “Ah, Wilderness” at South Coast Repertory, “Buried Child,” “Volpone” and “Another Part of the Forest”/”The Little Foxes” at A Noise Within, “Peter Pan” at the Pantages, “Guys and Dolls” at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

Juicy but imperfect new plays: Justin Tanner’s “Coyote Woman,” Jonathan Tolins’ “If Memory Serves,” Alfred Uhry’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” Wendy MacLeod’s “The Water Children,” Larry Atlas’ “Yield of the Long Bond.”

Strong revivals of obscure plays by famous authors: Gertrude Stein’s “Yes Is for a Very Young Man” at Interact Theatre, Chekhov’s “Ivanov” and Cocteau’s “Indiscretions” at Pacific Resident Theatre.

Snappy comedy: “The Birds,” “Chicago” at the Ahmanson and Shubert, “Coyote Woman” at the Cast, “Boiler Room,” “Both Barrels,” the funny parts of “Big Hunk o’ Burnin’ Love.”

Dancing and lighting champs: “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk,” “Fosse.”

Most unexpected resurgence of a veteran playwright: Israel Horovitz, for “Unexpected Tenderness” at the Lee Strasberg and “A Rosen by Any Other Name” at the Fountain (both directed by Hope Alexander-Willis).

Most exciting development: the successful move of East West Players to a mid-size theater in Little Tokyo.*