‘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.