Theatre Review “Homecoming”, The Sherry Theatre, NoHo
Written by Paul Surace. Directed by Conrad Dunn
This is a play about family. And we all well know that with our beloved relatives come a whole host of baggage and resentments, a shared, dark history as well as, hopefully, a deep love and respect.
This particular family has just buried one of their own, a brother…a son…and it is in the wake of this tragic event that Kate, played beautifully by Katy Pollock, arrives home to her father's house. Her sister Hope, played brilliantly by Diane Chernansky, has remained the strength of the family through the passing of their mother years earlier and now through the loss of their father's son. " A loss that Father, played with a powerful and very human performance by Gregory Niebel, is finding hard to cope with and it is this struggle that the play, which pivots around this character and is made completely true by Niebel’s riveting interpretation, is really all about." The struggle of the entire family, in point of fact, with each other and with this particular loss and how it occurs drives the play.This kind of play, one that forces us to look deep within the workings of our lives, can only be successful if the performances of the actors are as authentic as the words they speak.
And they truly are…
Homecoming is a play that totally achieves the terribly important and very hard to find balance of the real and the dramatized version of our lives. And it does so because these actors' performances are flawless.
Paul Surace has created a world that we can all quite clearly see ourselves in. A house that echoes with love and laughter and tears, just as our own homes do. He has written these characters as if they are his own kin and it is this intimate and loving portrait that makes this world feel like our own and for the couple of hours that we sit in the audience and live these lives, we can believe everything we see, feel everything that is felt, and share the loss and the love.
An additional commendation for Greg Yoder as Junior, whose comic and heartfelt performance won the audience over and cast a warmth and a sweetness over the play that really helped balance all the grief and sadness. A really excellent job Mr Yoder!
Written by Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros
Their Eyes Saw Rain
Gentle readers! This week my theater review for the LA Weekly is of the drama Their Eyes Saw Rain, written by and starring West Liang, and directed by Justin Huen.
A Company of Angels production, Their Eyes Saw Rain is now playing Downtown at their space in the Alexandria Hotel.
Playwright West Liang also stars in his astonishingly intense ensemble drama, set in a fictitious small country town. The specter of tragedy hangs over the townspeople of Castle, emblematized by an ever-present decay caused by months of relentless rain. Or is that really the cause?
Stern and unyielding, Terrance (Liang) bullies his two younger brothers Joanus (Kavin Panmeechao) and Billy (Marc Pelina) into community service, dropping books off at the homes of their neighbors and assisting where they can. With this goodwill mission, Terrance (as active reformer) struggles to fill their recently deceased father’s shoes, even as the mental illness that took him begins to crowd Terrance’s consciousness. Meanwhile a blossoming romance between Joanus and a young single mother Peach (Samantha Klein) provokes an eruption from her wanna-be sheriff boyfriend Jake (James Thomas Gilbert).
Director Justin Huen’s staging and direction is beautifully rendered. Performances from the cast of eight are all good, especially the precision and detail of Liang’s somewhat one-note paranoid paternal figure. "A brief scene where the true extent of Terrance’s psychosis is revealed is breathtaking in its intensity, courtesy of Gregory Niebel’s teeth-rattlingly powerful performance". Their Eyes Saw Rain may have an all too predictable and tragic trajectory, but it’s a trip worth taking.
Tears of Joy: “The Things That Make Men Cry” returns to Los Angeles
Published on Thursday, 13 February 2014
Written by Edward Rice, III
Men have feelings. And despite the age old adage that suggests big boys don’t cry the dirty secret is: men actually cry. “The Things That Make Men Cry” is the stage play that explores the topics that typically move men to tears currently playing at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater in Los Angeles through Valentine’s Day weekend (February 14-16). Set in a barbershop in Los Angeles, the play centers on the lives of barbers Joe (Lou Beatty Jr.) and Mel (Gregory Niebel) and the clients who frequent the establishment. Based on the book of the same title written by the play’s executive producer Dr. Gloria Morrow, “The Things That Make Men Cry,” opens up the doors of the barbershop to allow the audience an opportunity to peer inside the souls of men.
“Back in 2008 I was counseling a couple and there was a lot of tension in the room,” says Dr. Morrow as she discusses her inspiration for the book. “When I saw them separately the man just started weeping. He could barely sit down long enough for me to do the things that I do and say the things that I say before he just started balling. He said he felt misunderstood. He said he loved his wife, he just didn’t know how to communicate with her and he was overwhelmed by her.” As the play unfolds everything from fatherhood, divorce, love, unemployment and sex are tackled in the shop. Much like a real barbershop, the centerpiece of the shop which holds everything together is the veteran barber, Joe. “I felt that I could really show my wares in this role,” says Lou Beatty speaking about his character Joe. “Every role doesn’t fit but this role was a great fit for me.” Joe provides the voice of reason and always has some sage advice for his co-workers and patrons despite his own character flaws.
"Conversely, if Joe is reason then Mel is insanity. Played with great insight and humor, Mel is the comedic relief in the play. He is the stereotypical, guarded, sarcastic ladies man. "Mel works on different levels. He obviously loves women,” says Gregory Niebel with a chuckle. “But he’s got his armor up when it’s around women and he doesn’t like having to show his emotions and that all rings very true. I think that’s a universal trait in being male. It has just been hammered in our DNA that you don’t show emotion, you don’t cry, you don’t talk about your feelings, you contain everything and don’t let these things bother you and these things are changing.”
“The Things That Make Men Cry” is a powerful stage play that will help initiate some of those difficult conversations that men need to have about the things they talk about when nobody’s around. “To see this thing happen and see our community blessed has been the crucible for me,” says Dr. Morrow. “I think that we will bring a wonderful opportunity for men to speak their truth and women to receive that as well.”