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A History of the American Film
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ...Two songs hit the funny bone: "Off to War" parodies the blind patriotism of war films, made particularly potent via Marvin's on-target lyrics; even more of a scream is "The Salad Song," a truly inspired bit of lunacy spoofing the lavish Ziegfeld and Busby Berkeley song-and-dance scenes of many Depression- era musicals. Erika Ceporius' costumes, meanwhile, garb everyone in black, white and gray, giving the show a fitting Silver Screen look. As, respectively, good girl Loretta and good-but-tough boy Jimmy, Kristel Koehler and Jeremy Golden give solid performances, but they haven't learned where to place the comic emphasis within their roles. Third wheel Tamara Davis has the right idea, though. As the hardened Bette, who's spurned by Jimmy and spends the rest of the story trying to win him back, Davis displays accurate comic timing, and her song scenes are sensational. Of the versatile ensemble, the standouts are Alex Bueno,
Richard Comeau, Dimas Diaz and Andrea Paquin. Each essays a dizzying variety
of roles, according each of their characters the proper degree of comic
bite... Musical director [Mike] Walker himself also has his moments, as
the onstage "Piano Man" who plays the show's score and functions
in various character roles.
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OC WEEKLY Blame Durang for the fact that you get very little but fun from this show. Durang was perhaps America’s most popular playwright in the 1980s, but he never seemed to outlive the decade that elevated irony to its lowest form. His plays are still commonly produced but most, including this one, sadly illustrate his shallowness; he may have yearned for the status of Swift, but he was a bright, talented smart-ass whose ideas never transcended Mad Magazine. Take this stage treatment of America’s love affair with the screen. Rather than saying anything new about American film, Durang is content to riff on a few of the most popular genres: Chaplin’s loveable tramp, gangster films of the 1930s, wartime romance epics. Durang is a master of the obvious, glancing at but never reflecting on Hollywood mythmaking and what that says about Americans. He creates a stable of recurring characters who play similar roles in each of his genre skewerings. There’s Loretta (the perfectly cast Kristel Koehler), the naive foundling abandoned in Chaplin’s era who embodies Hollywood’s love affair with the love story. There’s Jimmy (the very capable Jeremy Golden), who, whether playing a bloodthirsty gangster or an aspiring politician, embodies Hollywood’s obsession with the self-made man. (At one point, Jimmy, playing a thug gangster, remarks that of course he can accomplish whatever someone asks him to: "Ain’t I an American?") One of Durang’s most effective points of irony is the character of Hank (Patrick Rowley), the good-looking Joe who embodies the decent, salt-of-the-earth quality of Gary Cooper’s Mr. Deeds and Henry Fonda’s Tom Joad. He may be a victim of the system, but goshdarn it, he still believes in the system, even when uttering, "We are the people" as he slices and dices patrons in a movie theater. And these are all funny points. But Durang never asks why: Why does a nation like America still turn to the movies for its myths and its meaning? What does that say about this country and its people? And, even more interesting, why do those screen myths—the most popular and prevailing mode of culture in this nation, both in terms of money and public discourse—have so little to do with what is really going on? Somewhere between escapism and idealism is Hollywood’s America: glossing over the bitter labor battles of the ’30s with Chaplin’s Modern Times, spinning the bone-deep hardship of the Great Depression into the Capra-esque paean of It’s a Wonderful Life, camouflaging Cold War conservatism with James Dean bad-boy pix. It’s like a casino with the windows blackened and the clocks removed: the industry never lets anything peek out from behind the happy ending—Woodstock might be everyone’s favorite 1968 memory, but Nixon and the Republican Party won the elections. Big. In short, the history of all hitherto existing filmic history is the history of illusions—and how the majority of Americans eat those illusions up, breathlessly looking at distortions of themselves as heroes, villains, crooks, lovers whatever, only to exit the movie theater and go back to what they’ve been doing since the country started: the business of living. And in his final image, that’s what Durang—at
last—seems to say. At play’s end, Jimmy tries to inspire his
fellow movie patrons by creating a golem-like amalgam that will embody
all the best traits of characters in American films: we’ll be as
enthusiastically cheery as Mickey Rooney, but strong like John Wayne;
we’ll be as tough as Brando, but decent like Jimmy Stewart. But after
Jimmy finishes his call to myth, he turns and finds them all deliriously
laughing at a brain-dead comedy onstage. Who knew that Plato’s Cave
would offer popcorn?
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BACK STAGE WEST You don't have to be a consummate movie buff to recognize and appreciate the character stereotypes and plot spoofs in this Christopher Durang satire, a loosely tied romp that musically and melodramatically illustrates exactly what its title promises. The play takes us on a nostalgic journey that features a zany amalgam of familiar flicks and characters, as well as the vibrant performers that made them famous. It's a unique blend of satire and tribute that shows off Durang's skill for absurd storytelling and features several lighthearted tunes by Mel Marvin. What's missing from this clever creation, however, is a consistent comedic voice. Though Durang and Marvin hit a few high notes with their send-ups of Hollywood's best-loved classics, the lulls in between turn it into more of a pleasant hit-and-miss stroll down memory lane. The script's flaws and director Darryl B. Hovis' sluggish pacing often overshadow the obvious talent and zeal of the lively cast. Nevertheless, individual performances and scenes shine through to generate sincere laughter and amusement. These bright spots bring back the charm of all those old-time stock characters, like the ingenue, the bombshell, the well-meaning tough guy, and other favorites. In the leading-lady role, Kristel Koehler lends a solid presence as softhearted Loretta, the play's forlorn heroine. Koehler displays the right degrees of naivete and suffering when Loretta becomes entangled in one misadventure after another, as Durang illustrates her life via a series of silly movie plots that span all genres: melodramatic silent films, gangster movies, war movies, large-scale musicals, and beyond. Along the way scenes and characters from famous films are incorporated, including Casablanca and Psycho. Likewise filmdom's indelible character types are spoofed and revered as they are forced to fit into Durang's morphing genre scheme. Serving as Loretta's leading man, Jeremy Golden also turns in a strong performance. Drawing upon the mannerisms and traits of James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Marlon Brando, he creates a tough-guy persona that blends well with Koehler's good-girl image. These two share a sweet tribute to innocent on-screen love in "Shanty Town Romance." Bolstering Koehler and Golden is a talented ensemble that tirelessly takes on multiple roles in this whirlwind musical. Standouts include the powerfully voiced Tamara Davis as jilted tough-gal Bette; Autumn Browne, who plays a hilarious Ma Joad, as well as other key secondary parts; Patrick Rowley, whose incarnation of a character modeled on Norman Bates is amusingly creepy, and Andrea Paquin, who is pure comedy as she mugs and gesticulates expertly in her numerous roles. Also lending memorable support is music director
Mike Walker, who, from behind an onstage piano, provides the show's delightful
live music and a measure of his own comic style. His skillful playing
helps pump up the energy in all the musical numbers, which are also enhanced
by Cari Ann Henderson's lively choreography. Their talents, and those
of the cast, are especially well-showcased in "The Salad Song"
and "Off to War." Both tunes trigger memories of when song-and-dance
scenes were the wholesome trademark of American film.
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NORTHERN LIGHTS It started with tough-guy gangsters, orphaned babies, unfortunate ingenues, hard-boiled babes, honest cops, nutty news boys and a priest who turns in his collar. Then they threw in Steinbeck's Ma and Pa Joad, a surly servant, a madcap heiress, an omnipresent piano man, all-American men at arms, God himself, and a bevy of benevolent beauties dancing in their underwear to defeat the evil Nazis. It was clear from the first note that Christopher Durang's melodic melodrama - "A History of the American Film" - was going to be music to a fanatic film buffs ears! Currently playing onstage at The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills, "American Film" debuted at L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum in 1977, before bowing on Broadway in 1978. An award winning writer, Durang got his inspiration for this musical salute to celuloid Americana by watching "A Man's Castle" (Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young 1933). He was taken with its positive message of Americans as hard working resilient people, who sucked it up in times of adversity and always managed to come out on top. He also noted that this image seemed to change, at some point in the history of film, and now seems anachronistic. Durang's book is a littany of Late Show images, humorously interwoven into the story of Loretta (Kristel Koehler), a forlorned foundling who becomes a star. Her male counterpoint and love interest is Jimmy (Jeremy Golden) who trots out all the Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart machismo he can muster. This is great stuff. One classic image comes from "The Public Enemy" (1931). An exasperated Cagney, sitting at the kitchen table, smacks lowbrow Mae Clarke in the kisser with a grapefruit. In Durang's version, two dames get this treatment, the second getting a big laugh with: "I got a seed in my eye!" And so it goes. Directed with a great style and fun by Darryl B. Hovis, "American Film" is a trip down memory lane that allows us to laugh at ourselves, while recognizing our foibles and frailties. A large part of the show's success goes to the costumes of Erika Ceporius, who dressed the cast for stunning effect and kept it black and white, until the advent of Technicolor! Up until now, all of The Chance Theater's shows have had the musical accompaniment pre-recorded. In "American Film," however, the clever music of Mel Marvin was delivered, live on stage, by Musical Director (and "Piano Man") Mike Walker. From silent movies to the present, Walker supplied the soundtrack to our lives. He was brilliant. The 14-member ensemble cast in "A History of the American Film" doubled and redoubled roles, neatly spanning five decades of film. My favorite number was a Busby Berkeley tribute to Salad, which included dancers forming geometric patterns, with plates of lettuce on their heads! Each actor was memorable, with plenty of laughs to go around, but there were a few standouts: Koehler carried the most lines and was the thread that sewed the seeminly disjointed collection of clips together. Someone with real star power of her own, Koehler sang beautifully, looked amazing and threw herself to the floor at every opportunity. She went for it - full speed - at every turn. Tamara Davis (Bette) was the "bimbo" with a heart. Davis is a fantastic singer. She was also dressed in an alluring manner that allowed the audience a glimpse at where that big voice originated! Golden was the dominant male and had all the Cagney mannerisms and cockiness down pat. Casey Long (Michael the cop) was excellent as Jimmy's long suffering brother. Pat O'Brien would have been been the archetype for this role. Alex Bueno (Viola) brought down the house with her insolent serving girl portrayal. The "walk" had the audience in tears. And finally, a Chance Theater newcomer Andrea Paquin (Eve) was a unique blend of Audrey Hepburn and Don Knotts - you have to see it to believe it - and totally captivating. During the play, a few of the many movies "honored"
included: "Little Ceasar," "White Heat," "42nd
Street," "Casablanca," "All About Eve," "Scarface,"
"Psycho," "Dirty Harry," "The Exorcist,"
and "Forrest Gump." "American Film" was a treat from
beginning to end. And, like Gump's "box of chocolates" you never
knew just what you were going to get. One thing is for certain: "A
History of the American Film," will leave a sweet taste in your mouth
that will be long remembered and - more importantly - well appreciated.
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AOL DIGITAL CITY The Chance Theater gives the gift of comedy this holiday season -- a full-scale production of Christopher Durang's zany 'A History of the American Film,' the theater's first live musical show. Director Darryl B. Hovis puts piano man Michael Walker (also the Musical Director) at the center of the onstage action as Durang's characters take a trip into America's past from the black-and-white silent era to the modern day. Featured in the cast are Alex Bueno, Casey Long, Kristel Koehler, Jeremy Golden, Tamara Davis, Patrick Rowley and Andrea Paquin. The play opened at the Mark Taper Forum in 1977,
then went on to Broadway where it garnered several Tony nominations and
a Drama Desk Award for actress Swoozie Kurtz. Durang is the author of
numerous comedies including 'Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for
You,' 'The Marriage of Bette and Boo' and 'Beyond Therapy.'
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