Noel Coward s most famous

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Studio Theatre, LSU, Baton Rouge, 225.578.3527 Conceived, adapted and directed by Leigh Clemons. Tickets $6 (suggested). 7:30pm Tuesday-Sunday, 2pm Sunday. Through Mar. 4. THE POPE AND THE WITCH.

1 on the boards...from Main-24 7:30pm Tuesday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday. Through March 18. I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS... Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., Ricky Graham s delightful new show, celebrating New Orleans as it was...and is. Tickets $29 (includes $5 bar credit). 8pm Friday-Saturday, 6pm Sunday. Through March 10. ISMS. Studio Theatre, LSU, Baton Rouge, Conceived, adapted and directed by Leigh Clemons. Tickets $6 (suggested). 7:30pm Tuesday-Sunday, 2pm Sunday. Through Mar. 4. THE POPE AND THE WITCH. Lupin Theater, Tulane University, Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo s satiric comedy tells the story of a modern Pope who suffers from a variety of strange afflictions. Directed by Antony Sandoval. Tickets $12, $9 Tulane faculty & staff, $7.50 students & seniors. 8pm Tuesday-Saturday, 2pm Saturday & Sunday. March PRIVATE LIVES. Minacapellis Dinner Playhouse, 1540 Lindberg Drive, Slidell, Noel Coward s classic comedy reset in Biloxi and the French Quarter. Rickie Luke directs Melissa Ogren, Paul Page, Dana Dunton, David Fisher and Paige Pankow. Tickets $35 (dinner and show). 6:30pm Friday-Saturday. Through Mar. 3. trodding the boards THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT VARIETY SHOW. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., Jim Fitzmorris emcees a topical revue of gossip, raves, rants and rumors about our political affairs featuring dancing girls and musical guests. Tickets $15. 11pm Saturday, March 3. Private Lives by Patrick Shannon, III nedcat@earthlink.net Noel Coward s most famous play, among the 50 published ones he wrote, Private Lives, directed by Rickie Luke, was enjoyed by this reviewer when recently seen at Minacapelli s Dinner Playhouse in Slidell. Noel Coward was born in 1899 and died in 1973; and he saw great changes in the world which he weathered with sophistication and commented on in his unique style, which is even admired today. As a gay man, he possessed what I believe was a uniquely arch and queenly (and chivalrous, as he was knighted) world view; a clearly cut sharp somewhat caustic and very witty outlook indeed. His urbane, chic and stylish life was satirized in the character of Mr. Beverly Carlton in the American play The Man Who Came To Dinner. (I write this biography in order to stress the fact that to do a Noel Coward play you must have very competent performers; and a director who understands the arch style and wit of his writing and world view.) Private Lives was written by Noel Coward in four days in 1930 when he was convalescing from the flu at the Cathay Hotel in Shanghai while on a round the world trip. This scenario, and the play s witty, cynical characters, gives you an idea about this man and the kind of life he lived. He appeared outwardly to be a member of the shallow, egomaniacal idle rich (all those darling dodos as Angus Wilson called them) with whom he associated and so knowingly wrote. Dahling, I just kwow everyone worth knowing and they know me, he would have said, I m sure, in the best Mayfair British accent. However, in spite of appearing like an overly privileged, drama queen Newcombette adolescent adult of his times, he really was a well educated, sophisticated gay English playwright. Adding to this he was an actor and movie star. (Who else could have played The Witch of Capri in the disastrous film version of Tennessee William s Boom - stealing the screen with a raised eyebrow, from the explosive egos of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton?) He also wrote a novel, poetry, and short stories. He wrote many popular songs and received an Honorary Oscar award. During WWII he was a secret service agent for the British. While we do have many talented actors in our area, I am sure Mr. Luke was aware of how fragile a play by this author might be if not done with a quick directorial pace and a set reflecting his urbane subject matter and taste. He could hardly have been able to do total justice to this work without highly trained performers and lots of money to mount the production. So what did Mr. Luke do? He cleverly re-set the play s locales to a casino hotel in Biloxi on the Gulf Coast, and to an apartment in the New Orleans French Quarter. He let the actors and actresses perform in the local dialect and speech patterns of the Gulf Coast; and cast it with seasoned older performers who could make the lines work. And, although Sir Noel Coward may not have liked the reworking of his play, it worked using local references of places and personalities - and that s the bottom line. Director Rickie Luke took the risk of alienating the purists, like myself. But he won kudos by bringing out the brightness of the show in an entirely different style and one had to admire the effort. He did this well and all on a small stage that allowed for a somewhat busy; but highly imaginative set. (As a member of his staff told me, Rickie Luke should win an Ambie Award for being the one director who can do the most on the smallest stage.) The action of play concerns a self-deceiving former married couple, Elliot (Paul Page) Amanda (Melissa Ogren), both remarried to others, who accidently book adjoining suites at the same hotel for their honeymoons. The plot centers on the two leads, and their agonizing realization that they still care for and love each other. Private Lives contains some of the playwright s best dialogue, though not politically correct acceptable moral behaviors. Melissa Ogren gave a charming and competent performance as the female lead, Amanda. She spoke her lines with energy and imbued her character with a brittle charm that was all too willing to bend and melt when her former husband was in her presence. Ms. Ogren also had a confident stage presence which permitted her the requisite delivery of Coward s witty and caustic dialogue when the age old battle of the sexes takes precedence as she created her role beside the handsome actor Paul Page, who played her ex-husband, TUNES. Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, 616 St. Peter St., An original New Orleans musical featuring the work of local lyricists and the music of local composer Fred Palmisano. Tickets $28, $25 students with ID. 8pm Friday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday. Through March 25. THE WILD PARTY. Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177-A Sala Ave., Westwego, Jefferson Performing Arts Society presents an adaptation of Andrew Lippa s book length poem about one party in Manhattan during the Roaring Twenties. Kris Shaw directs and Dennis Assaf conducts. Tickets $30. 7:30pm Friday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday. Through March 18. YEAH YEAH, YEAH: A Concert Celebration. Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox St., Metairie, Rekindle the spirit of yesterday through the music of the world s most popular band. Performed by Pre-Fab 4 (who are not impersonators ) and shaped by requests and personal memories shared by audience members, the show will change nightly. Tickets are $30, $27 for Seniors (62+), $22 (students 13-22) and $15 children 12 and under. 7:30pm Friday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday. March Elliot. Mr. Page sounded very much like former President Jimmy Carter when he spoke his lines, all of which gave his character a laid back sweetness; but not without the strength of conviction required to be the main man. Together these two fine performers early on established a good on stage chemistry as they tackled their roles as two creditable wealthy world travelers on the rebound, even though they could well have been two rich uptown New Orleanians as conceived by clever Director Rickie Luke. In similar roles, we had two second leads in the quartet of confused lovers. Dana Dunton played Sybil the newly wed wife of the male lead, Elliot. She did her role of the rather confused woman who wonders what has gone wrong with her beau, not realizing until later the ex-wife is next door in the adjoining suite with her new husband Victor, played by the good looking hunk, David Fisher. Both Mr. Fisher and Ms. Dutton did very good jobs as the toss aside lovers. Mr. Fisher was a splendid male presence on stage next to the voluptuous actress Dana Dunton. They also had very good chemistry as the confused new spouses, on the small stage of this unusual production. [continued on Main-28] MAIN~26 of 56 AmbushMag.COM Feb. 27-Mar.. 12, 2007 The One & Only Official ficial Gay Mardi di Gras Guide GayMardiGras.COM

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3 trodding the boards...from M-26 In a small walk on role, as the newly conceived Cajun coon ass maid Louise, Paige Pankow stole the brief scenes she did as she took the stage by storm cussing the other characters out in Cajun/ French dialect - the same French my mother spoke. It was another clever character rewrite. Once again the cuisine by Mr. Luke s wife, Award Winning Chef Ginger Luke, was excellent. This is a big part of the delightful evening one can expect at Minacapelli s Dinner Theatre in Slidell. And this version of Private Lives was a sumptuous example of a highly imaginative and entertaining work of a gay British playwright. One Mo' Time The recent revival of One Mo Time staged at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre was a soul lifting experience so needed in our town at this time. And it was once again a brilliant show evocative of the black vaudeville stage, circa 1920 celebrating the jazz music and singing styles of such great performers as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Bill Bojangles Robinson, and Jelly Roll Morton to name a few. What amazes is that this that this show started out with rehearsals done in creator Vernel Bagneris living room, and opened for a one night stand with a $500 budget in 1979 in what was then the Toulouse Theatre (now One Eyed Jacks) on Toulouse Street in the French Quarter. After its great success in our town the show moved to its New York production at the Longacre Theatre, which resulted in seven touring companies; and a command performance before the Queen of England. The show became another example of the glory of our town s musical genius and native son, singer and dancer, Vernel Bagneris, who wrote, directed, and starred in the show. In doing so he became another ambassador of New Orleans musical and artistic accomplishment to the world such as The Boswell Sisters whose traditions and innovations in music are carried on by the Pfister Sisters. The setting is a hot, sultry night at New Orleans Lyric Theatre in the 1920s. Mr. Bagneris and his cast of Joan Spraggins, Ellen Smith, Charlotte Lang, and Carl Walker gave us a look into the backstage dealings while memorable performances of song and dance brought back the Charleston, rags, and cakewalks. All but Mr. Walker (in his role of the white manager of the performance venue - and inadvertent straight man) sang the songs of the era with vibrancy and joy, handling the spicy bawdy lyrics with brassy panache and sassy attitudes. Vernal Bagneris played Papa Du, manager of Bertha Williams traveling show, which tours courtesy of TOBA, otherwise known as the Theatre Owner s Booking Agency (or Tough on Black Asses, as the performers, who were often scammed out of their paychecks, call it). So on stage struts this astonishing cast, the three gorgeous women with attitude who make up the heart of the show, as played by this trio of sassy, sizzling, singing ladies, Charlotte Lang as Bertha, Ellen Smith as Thelma, Joan Spraggins as Ma Reed and Carl Walker as the funny, grouchy white theater owner. But you probably knew all of this, however, having seen the original production, I can say with great pleasure that this cast was up to the task of filling some legendary shoes. Among my favorites of the song and dance numbers were There ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight, Down in Honky Tonk Town, Everybody Loves My Baby, Kitchen Man, You ve Got the Right Key but the wrong Keyhole, and Cake- Walking Babies From Home. The most moving moment of the night occurred when Joan Spraggins sang Muddy Waters with Ms. Lang adding a longing blue vocal line. There was complete silence in the audience after this song, everyone feeling a sorrow of our town still devastated by Katrina s flood waters. The beautiful set was by Broadway designer Campbell Baird was shimmering old fashioned red satin lined jewel case or candy box, beautifully illuminated by Ed McIntyre. JoAnn Clevenger s on key costumes were gorgeous; and Wanda Rousan s cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof choreography was joyful. The on stage band was without fault and the whole show rings with the sound of a classic creation, a creation which we locals were proud to see again. It should run forever in the town which gave it birth, New Orleans!! Sympathetic Magic To-Do Productions recently staged Lanford Wilson s play Sympathetic Magic at Theatre Marigny which was probably a mistake for many reasons. Of all the fine plays written by Mr. Wilson, I don t know why they would choose to do one of his weakest, wordiest, and least interesting - in my opinion. The show opened on January 26; and I saw it on January 27. In Sympathetic Magic the mysteries of the universe and human heart, as well as artistic and human creation are explored in an ensemble comedy/drama. A varied group of friends and family, living in San Francisco, in the nineteen nineties, are confronted with the knowledge that not only do we know next to nothing about the world we live in and the people we live with, but that we each have a chaotic cosmos, ready to violently explode, inside ourselves. These universes are waiting to be explored and released. To give To-Do production credit, this company has done some good shows since its inception. This was not as successful as them. The entire cast had been unable to rehearse due to illness among the members. (Some of us are still suffering that cold thing which swept through our town in December.) As a result, the production I saw was uneven; the direction was sloppy, the set changes were awkward, and the actors were in most part uncertain of both their roles and their lines. Different acting styles did not always mesh. Even though the cast included some of our best local performers, they did not connect. Steve Kubick one of our most capable new faces on the boards was not up to his best that night; nor was T. J. Toups. Both of these actors are among our most talented but lack of preparation showed to their disadvantage. Carlos Gonzalez, one of my favorite actors also had problems. Among those actors who did a good job and must have missed the bad cold problem were Lisa Davis; and especially that old pro and charmer, Lewis Routh. El Tahra Ibrahim has a stunning stage presence and beautiful diction, but she kept saying her lines to the audience rather than her co-actors. Perhaps she thought she was doing a lot of Shakespearean asides. Tony Fennelly, a talented published mystery writer (The Glory Hole Murders is her earliest book) and a very talented actress, was another who gave a good performance. She and Lewis Routh were the only two who really seemed to have jelled into their characters. Frederick Mead was creditable. The Director was Don McDonald, assisted by Ann Sauve. These are two very savvy theatre professionals, and I m sure the show got much better during its run, however whatever they contributed was lost the night I was there. The Sunken Living Room, A correction In my last column for the review of David Caudle s The Sunken Living Room, Staci Robbins was credited for the roles of Lynnette and Tammy. Arianne Ellison created the role of Tammy. MAIN~28 of 56 AmbushMag.COM Feb. 27-Mar.. 12, 2007 The One & Only Official ficial Gay Mardi di Gras Guide GayMardiGras.COM

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