by Archie Rothman
Award-winning Lend Me A Tenor is revived at Valley College Theatre. This production benefits the No. Hollywood Church of Religious Science. The church, which boasts a number of entertainment professionals in its membership, previously presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Odd Couple but this was the first time they used Valley College’s campus Horseshoe Theatre, an ideal venue for this classic farce by Ken Ludwig set in a Cleveland hotel in the 1930’s. Featured in Lend Me A Tenor are Bess Fanning, Paul Hartel, Gretchen Koerner, Judith Ann Levitt, Tom Silcott, Mark Vierra and Lee Wylde. Under the spirited direction of Allen Hunt they all give fine performances, doing justice to the play that won two Broadway Tonys and seven other major awards. My attendance at the play was a reminder that the conveniently located Valley College on Fulton near Burbank in the heart of No.Hollywood has another theatre worth visiting for their production of Guys and Dolls on May 17-26.
NoHo Theatre tackles John Guare’s Landscape of the Body. It’s quite a challenge for the small 50-odd seat Eclectic Company Theatre to stage this complex play. With compassion for his quirky characters, Guare has written a contemporary morality play where innocence and illusion battle ugliness and cynicism in the struggle for survival. Several themes are explored during the unraveling of the mystery at the play’s core. A 14-year-old boy is murdered in New York’s Greenwich Village. His mother, a former porn film actress, becomes the prime suspect in a homicide detective’s relentless investigation. As the mystery unfolds, with scenes flashing back and forth, we encounter a cast of eleven that includes the mother’s sister (a beautiful blonde Daphne Ashbrook who displays a great singing voice and lots of acting talent), a guy in drag, and other natives of the Village. The result is a street-smart satire and an eerie tapestry of life in the city. Acting honors go to young Daniel Hagen as the 14-year-old boy. Quite a talent.
Lady Macbeth Gets A Divorce world-premieres at Beverly Hills Theatre. Like a play by the old Bard, this comedy is about money, power and ambition. Set in a bucolic New England village in the autumn this four character farcical comedy features an unhappily married couple who has reached a turning point in their relationship. Wife Fiona (Suzan Crowley) is an attractive, ambitious woman who is completely disenchanted with her husband Fred (Michael Cooke), an unrepentent dreamer of the first degree. The couple prepares fo a visit from Fred’s elderly, rich uncle Duncan (Brendan Thomas Dillon) from whom Fred hopes to borrow money and Duncan’s most recent girlfriend, the vivacious, sexy and very youthful Dilly (Amy French). Written and executive produced by Dr. John Menkes, co-directed by Brendan Dillon and Manu Tupou, the play has been handsomely staged and perfectly cast. It will be at Beverly Hills Playhouse through April 29.