After many months of largely slim pickings in terms of offerings, theater in Los Angeles is off to a terrific fall start with several productions now on stage.
First up is a terrific world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum of Theresa Rebeck's outstanding new play "Poor Behavior," which follows two married couples on a visit to a Vermont country home owned by one of them. At first, the play seems a bit like a retread of "God of Carnage," "Dinner With Friends," or countless other plays similarly themed plays. But Ms Rebeck has much more on her mind than any any of those other works, and her play morphs into a funny and thoughtful exploration of weighty ides relating to marriage, fidelity, national identity, morality, trust, and much more. The acting and direction (by Doug Hughes) are superb, with especially noteworthy performances turned in by Johanna Day and Reg Rogers. Part of the appeal of "Poor Behavior" is how it keeps the viewer guessing about what has or will happen, so I will refrain from further describing any of the plot points of this wonderful new play. While up to now the Taper season has been largely disappointing, with this play the Taper rejoins the ranks of regional theaters offering outstanding new works; it a welcome return.
I also highly recommend Third Street Theater's inaugural production, a revival of one of my all-time favorite musicals, "Falsettos." "Falsettos" centers on a man who leaves his wife and son for another man, and explores the formation of nontraditional families who nevertheless exhibit time honored values. Under the deft direction of Richard Israel, one of LA's finest local theater directors, this production gets just about everything right, which is not easy to accomplish with this musical. Chief among the assets of this production is a fine cast, inventive choreography and expert musical direction. The role of the young teen Jason is particularly difficult to cast well, but on that front this production has an ace up its sleeve with the multi-talented Major Cruda, a young actor who gives a perfectly modulated performance. The staging here is so fresh that the show, while set in the early 1990s and written in the early and late 1990s, feels like it was written yesterday. "Falsettos" hold a special place in my heart, and it is a pleasure to report that this production lives un to this show's enormous emotional potential.
Finally, I also enjoyed the Celebration Theatre's revival of the 1993 British play "What's Wrong With Angry." Admittedly, this coming out play set in small town England feels a bit dated and slightly polemic. But the outstanding production (directed by Michael Matthews) enables the show to rise above its limitations as written. Much of the credit for this is due to outstanding lead performances by Daniel Taylor and Miles Heymann, although the entire cast is quite good.
If these three shows are any indication of what lies ahead this fall for theater, there will be many more good things to report on here very soon.
