‘Mr. Shaw’ topped Laguna’s list in 2003
Tom Titus
“All too often, world premieres of new plays aren’t quite ready for
prime time. Then there’s that rare production that hits on all
cylinders, its energetic ensemble regaling the first audiences to
view the new work -- which, happily, is the current case at the
Laguna Playhouse.”
That was the opening paragraph of this column’s review of Mark
Saltzman’s new play, “Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood,” which we dubbed “a
remarkable and thoroughly entertaining comedy.” Now, having viewed a
full year’s worth of Laguna Playhouse productions, we now must
proclaim “Mr. Shaw” the pick of the playhouse’s 2003 litter.
Directed by Daniel Henning, the production excelled in combining
fact with probable fiction from the time, 70 years ago, when George
Bernard Shaw visited the movie capital, and both Henning and his
audience had an immensely good time in the process. The most
difficult aspect of watching this play was believing it actually was
a world premiere, so polished were the production and the
performances.
Runner-up honors in the playhouse’s 2003 campaign go to “Rounding
Third,” Richard Dresser’s two-character comedy about a pair of Little
League coaches dealing with baseball and personal conflicts with
equal panache. Andrew Barnicle staged this terrific vehicle in only
its second performance ever.
Barnicle also directed “Lovers at Versailles,” number four on our
hit parade of playhouse bests, Bernard Farrell’s tale of an Irish
family squabbling in its American premiere. Number three was the
chilling fact-filled drama “The Laramie Project,” about the
repercussions of a young man’s beating death, mounted by Nick
DeGruccio.
As for individual honors, Michael Mulhern as the elder coach in
“Rounding Third” delivered the top performance by an actor at Laguna
in 2003. “As written, his character of Don is a virtual Neanderthal
in the coaching business, but Mulhern manages to find snatches of
humanity buried beneath the bluster, inevitably projecting the
difficulty he experiences in doing so,” is what this column noted at
the time.
The most memorable actress in a season replete with them was
Carmen Thomas in “Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood.” As we put it then,
“The Hollywood ‘names’ are uniformly excellent, but the standout of
that field is Carmen Thomas as former chorine Marion Davies, who’s
hitched the wagon of her career to the star of megamedia publisher
Hearst. In Thomas’ hands, crassness becomes an art form, and her
brassy, seductive mannerisms propel her quest for better movie
roles.”
Standout performances by other actors on the Laguna stage during
2003 included Kevin Symonds in “Rounding Third,” Nicolas Coster in
“Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood,” Richard Ashton in “Lovers at
Versailles,” Dick van Patten in “Harvey” and JoJo Gonzalez in “The
Romance of Magno Rubio.”
Actresses delivering indelible portrayals at Laguna were Mala
Powers in “Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood,” Kelley Hazen in “Lovers at
Versailles,” Joyce van Patten in “Harvey” and, of course, Marypat
Donovan in “Late Nite Catechism,” which filled in for so many Monday
nights.
Finally, attention must be paid to the remarkable ensemble cast of
“The Laramie Project,” which performed as a finely tuned unit --
eight actors, each playing a plethora of characters while bringing an
unspeakable crime to playgoers’ attention.
It’s been an exceptionally fine season at the Laguna Playhouse,
leaving playgoers anticipating more quality productions and
performances in 2004.
* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.
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