THEATER REVIEW:Time in Oz gets twisted

At South Coast Repertory, the young performers of the SCR Theater Conservatory are playing with time, much like Michael J. Fox going “Back to the Future” in 1985, only without the De Lorean.

The heroine of “Time Again in Oz” is recognizable to audiences of just about any age — Dorothy Gale of Kansas. But now she’s all grown up and traveling with her wheelchair-bound uncle Henry on a ship bound for Australia where their chicken is entered in a big contest.

A storm at sea interrupts their voyage, however, and Dorothy finds herself back in familiar territory— the land of Oz, where time can be manipulated and Bill, their chicken, is fully grown, talking in English and laying an occasional egg.

Naturally, a crisis ensues, and Dorothy (Melody Stolpp) must turn back the clock to herself at age 14 (Makenna Zur Schmiede) and again at 12 (Hannah Sullivan) to battle Roquat the Gnome King, malevolently rendered by Jake Weinberg. Weinberg doubles as an equally shady tycoon on board the ship.

Stolpp and Sullivan make the most of their lengthy turns as Dorothy, turning in a pair of enchanting performances, while Akshay Sharma ages successfully as Uncle Henry. But the real showcase here is Bill the chicken, to whom author L. Frank Baum and adapter Suzan L. Zeder have given all the best lines — and Becky King pecks away at them with relish.

Other notable performances come from Julian Sharifi as an amiable clock, Alex Gaines and Sanaz Toossi as a pair of grand dames and Brandon Barnes as the ship captain and other characters. There’s no wizard this time, but Julia Ostmann is quite regal as Ozma, ruler of Oz.

Director Hisa Takakuwa brings many atmospheric elements into play, including smoke and mirrors, while musical director Erin McNally and arranger/orchestrator Robert Nafarrete provide the captivating accompaniment. Angela Balogh Calin’s shifting scenic designs are colorful, as are the costumes, credited to a designer listed only as Reagan.

“Time Again in Oz” winds up its brief engagement this weekend with closing performances Saturday and Sunday in SCR’s Nicholas Studio.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: “Time Again in Oz”

WHERE: South Coast Repertory Nicholas Studio, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: Closing performances Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 4 p.m.

COST: $9

CALL: (714) 708-5555

Theater debuts with powerful “Streetcar”

All too infrequently, local theater raises the bar and reaches for what Don Quixote would call “that long unattainable star.” We’ve had two such occasions this year — UC Irvine’s immaculate production of “Sunday in the Park With George” and South Coast Repertory’s majestic “Hamlet.”

Now a third such production may be added to the list, the introductory offering from a newly created troupe known as the American Coast Theater Company — a brilliant and powerful revival of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Based at Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University and featuring professional actors in the central roles, this “Streetcar” rattles with the jangled nerves of its visitor and rumbles with the steely resolve of its host. The intimacy of Vanguard’s small Lyceum Theater draws the audience into the desperation of Williams’ 1940s-era characters.

Guest director Karen Lund, recruited from Seattle, endows her production with a visceral immediacy that transcends mere stage acting. Her performers enrich their characters with an untheatrical honesty and compelling magnetism that renders this 60-year-old classic new and revitalized.

At the heart of any “Streetcar” is the relationship between Blanche and Stanley, the theater’s original odd couple. Blanche DuBois, frail and jittery, has arrived at the downbeat New Orleans home of her sister, Stella Kowalski, and her brutally macho husband, Stanley, who represent a last resort for this emotionally distraught woman.

Susan K. Berkompas delivers a magnificent performance as Blanche, the fluttering, self-styled grand lady of the South, whose cheery surface bravado masks a frightening desperation. Berkompas captures Blanche’s lilting, mocking cadence perfectly, rendering the playwright’s often-purple prose with the smoothness of a mint julep.

Her adversary, Stanley, is dynamically interpreted by Cameron Dye, who modulates his interpretation skillfully, flaring up only when necessary for dramatic effect.

Dye is physically and vocally an ideal Stanley, smarter perhaps than the Polish character Williams created, yet every bit as cold and menacing when his territory is threatened.

Marianne Savell as Stella, his pregnant wife, acts as a buffer between the two opposites, soothing both her sister and her husband with calming reassurances of her love for each. Paul Eggington as Mitch, who vainly woos Blanche, transitions effectively from shy bumpkin to enraged suitor, delivering one of the play’s most powerful moments late in the second act.

Tim Larson and Deborah Marley lend staunch support as the squabbling but loving couple in the upstairs apartment. Carlos Fernandez, Mark Parker and Cecie McClelland complete the cast in multiple roles.

“Streetcar” is the introductory production of the American Coast Theater Company and its lone offering this year. Next summer’s plans include two ACTC shows, one a musical, in the soon-to-be-expanded Lyceum Theater.

Classic American dramas such as “A Streetcar Named Desire” don’t come around often, and when they are revived with this much power and passion, they demand to be seen.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: “A Streetcar Named Desire”

WHO: American Coast Theater Company

WHERE: Vanguard University, 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. through Aug. 18

COST: $30 - $25

CALL: (714) 619-6424