Category Archives: Show Time

Vol. 17, No. 08 – Jan 10 – Jan 23, 2024 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Equalizer 3
– Netflix

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

Equalizer 3” is the final installment of The Equalizer trilogy where vigilante action hero Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) travels to a secluded winery in Sicily to recover a stolen pension and finds other criminal activities happening, ultimately ending up shot in the back. Robert fled but was weak and ended up being found by an off duty policeman named Gio Bonucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea) on the side of the road outside a small town in southern Italy. Gio took him to the town doctor Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone) who fixed Robert’s gunshot wound and encouraged him to stay to recover, telling him they would just tell others he fell.

As Robert gained his strength, he ventured out into the town where he began to befriend shop owners and cafe workers. Robert decided to call a secure CIA number to report the questionable criminal activities he discovered at the winery and suggested they check out what was happening at the scene. Due to the fact that Robert was able to provide key code words on the call, the analyst, Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) sent a team to investigate that found large amount of money and bags of fenethylline tablets hidden in wine bottles.

Robert liked the small town he had landed in and was becoming fond of the people who liked him as well and began to treat him like one of their own. He also witnessed a gang of thugs led by Marco Quaranta (Andrea Dodero) who appeared to be harassing a number of business owners in the small coastal community, but tried his best to not get involved and continued to just view from afar. Marco’s brother Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio) was part of the Camorra (one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy) and Vincent was working to oust local business owners from the coastal town by any means to convert it to high priced resorts and casinos.

Aminah (Faia Scodellaro), who worked at the cafe, took Robert under her wing and encouraged him to get out and enjoy the many local activities. While having coffee he saw Emma Collins at a neighboring table and they had a conversation regarding what was discovered at the winery, which included multiple dead bodies. When questioning Robert if he killed them, he laughed it off and though Emma thought she would be controlling things, Robert was unphased.

Marco gladly did Vincent’s dirty work, setting shops on fire and beating Gio the police officer that dared to investigate, threatening to kill his wife and daughter if he got involved. When Marco decided to harass Gio in a cafe in front of Robert, Robert could not look away, catching Marco’s attention. Marco came over to threaten him, but Robert remained calm explaining to Marco that he liked the town and it’s people and politely asked Marco to do his business elsewhere. Marco smirked, so in the blink of an eye, Robert had Marco in an extremely painful hold telling him to tell his partners to leave and give up his gun, then pointed to the door for Marco to leave.

Robert knew that would enrage Marco, who was set out to murder him, so Robert decided to protect himself and kill Marco and his men. Gio found the same drugs in the back of the van that were at the winery and shared that with Robert, who tried to warn Emma when a car bomb exploded throwing her across the courtyard and ending up in the hospital.Vincent wanted revenge for Marco’s death and headed to the town square threating to kill Gio and shooting him in the ear. Robert gave himself up asking to be taken away but Vincent refused, then Enzo showed up with a gun and the town filmed Vincent for all to see. Vicent left vowing to kill Robert, but Robert again had no intention of waiting for them to come after him tipping the scales in true Equalizer fashion.

Runtime: 1h 49m

Vol. 17, No. 07 – Dec 27, 2023 – Jan 9, 2024 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Barbie
– Max and Amazon Theater
4 out of 4 palm trees

All the Barbies and Kens lived together in Barbieland where everyday was perfect and every version of Barbie ever created lived, though the story centers around the first one in created 1959, known as “Stereotypical Barbie” (Margo Robbie). Other Barbies included were Lawyer Barbie, Dr. Barbie, Physicist Barbie, President Barbie and more representing all the Barbies throughout the years and the occupations and ethnicities of women around the world. The Kens also came in many variations, but Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) was the one vying for Barbie’s love and attention.

While enjoying a dance party with all the other Barbies and Kens, Barbie asked the crowd saying outloud “Do you ever think about dying?’, a thought completely foreign to everyone living in Barbieland as everyday was perfect. They all froze in confusion so she blew it off with saying she was just dying to dance, but the next morning work up to a not perfect world where her shower was cold, her feet were flat and instead of floating off her roof to her car she fell to the ground.

The outcast discontiued dolls lived in Weird Barbie’s (Kate McKinnon) house including: Earing Magic Ken with bleach blond hair, a see-through purple mesh top, a lavender pleather vest, an unusual necklace, and a single earring; Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken dressed in a lime green damask blazer and crisp white pants, and he came with a dog named Sugar; Growing Up Kipper whose breasts enlarged when you rotated her arm and Video Girl Barbie that featured a tiny front camera capable of recording up to 30 minutes of video and a small video screen on her back.

Whenever any Barbie malfuntioned, she would have to go visit Weird Barbie, who was known to previously had been the most beautiful Barbie of all but someone played with her too hard in the real world cutting and burning her hair, coloring her face and dress and in Barbieland continued to fall into disrepair while helping other Barbie’s after malfunctioning. Weird Barbie explained that Barbie would have to go to the real world to find the human that was causing the disruption in Barbieland, otherwise Barbieland would continue to breakdown into nothingness.

Barbie set off for the real world in her little pink corvette, only to discover Ken had stow away in the back wanting to help Barbie on her mission to save Barbieland. The real world was very confusing for them, and Barbie and Ken were arrested several times for random things. Eventually, Barbie was able to find what was creating the problem which was a woman named Gloria (America Ferrerra) who was worked at Matel that was feeling depressed and was using her daughter Sasha’s (Arianna Greenblatt) Barbie to shift her sad feelings away from the real world.

In Barbieland Ken was merely an accessory, but learned about patriarchy in the real world and decided to bring the concept back to Barbieland, getting back before Barbie and changing it to Kendom covering everything with leather, books, pictures of horses and convincing all the other Ken’s to join him on his patriarchal quest to change Barbieland into a man’s world. Now it would be up to Barbie and her new friends Gloria and Sasha from the real world to save Barbieland.

Margo Robbie bought the rights to make a Barbie movie and had Gretta Gerwig and her husband Noah Baumbach write the movie. Gretta wrote the part of Ken for Ryan Gosling and directed the film as well. “Barbie” earned more than $1.38 billion worldwide to become the highest grossing film in Warner Bros. 100-year history; the highest grossing film ever from a female filmmaker at the domestic box office; and is the largest worldwide film release of 2023.

Runtime: 1h 54m

Vol. 17, No. 06 – Dec 13 – Dec 26, 2023 – A View from House Seats

Two great events at the Rubicon.

by Shirley Lorraine

Rubicon Strikes Gold in Silver Year

Twenty -Five years ago the Rubicon theater began as a dream. It has grown, evolved, and become a shining light in the arts community, proving that dreams can come true. In this 2023-2024 season of must-see, “real” theater, the Rubicon continues to be a shining beacon.

Opening night of The World Goes ‘Round, a musical revue of the over 40-year collaboration of the highly successful songwriting duo John Kander and Fred Ebb, held a huge surprise.

Former Senator Hannah Beth Jackson, as well as Senator Monique Limon and Assemblyman Steve Bennett were on hand to make a special presentation. Their heartfelt, passionate presentations highlighted many ways the Rubicon has enriched our community over the last 25 years by providing high quality artistic opportunities to the citizens of our beloved community, as well as continuing to thrive and grow during the extraordinary experience of the pandemic.

Karyl Lynn Burns, Rubicon Executive Director, was presented with a $1.5 Million governmental investment to recognize their importance as a professional regional theater of note (see separate article).

Burns and her husband James O’Neill have been on this journey for the last 25 years, becoming champions of the arts in the Ventura area and cultivating community support.

A recent production of In the Heights was taken to schools throughout the area, introducing over 52,000 students to the magic that involvement in the arts can provide. That’s quite an impressive outreach, especially in a time when arts budgets in the schools are cut routinely. The concept of arts as a whole being a necessary component to well-rounded living was soundly applauded.

Following the presentation, the audience was treated to another extraordinary theatrical experience with The World Goes ‘Round, featuring songs of Kander and Ebb who penned such familiar classics as the scores to Chicago, Cabaret, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70 and many more.

The Drama Desk Award-winning musical revue exuded high energy, humor and complexity. Many of the songs will be familiar -some less so. Each one is given treatment apart from the usual contextual rendering of its original use. In every case however, the lyrics beautifully illustrate the timelessness and impact of the sentiments..

The Revue has been around since the early 1990’s. I vividly recall owning a vinyl copy of the original cast album and playing it often. It was, and continues to be, inspiring. This performance simply stunned me with its depth, triggering so many memories, tears and laughter.

Powerhouse vocals by each cast member shook the rafters. Each shone individually and collectively with some impressive pieces weaving several songs sung simultaneously. Once again, the Rubicon has given our community a priceless gift with extraordinary talent. This is a holiday gift not to be missed.

Performances run through December 23. with multiple opportunities to catch this stirring compilation of well known and not-so-well-known (but equally moving) songs by the duo of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Performances are Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (talkback with cast following the 7 p.m. show), Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Go. Enjoy.

Vol. 17, No. 06 – Dec 13 – Dec 26, 2023 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Leave the World Behind – Netflix & Theaters

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

In “Leave the World Behind” Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) Sanford were living a busy working life in New York City, so decided to take an unplanned vacation up north on the coast with their two children Archie (Charles Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). They booked a vacation rental with the title “Leave the World Behind” that appeared the perfect location, though something seemed off when while they were at the beach later that day a huge oil tanker that was out of control ran up on the beach though no ports were anywhere near. The other troubling matter was that not only was the home WiFi not working, neither were any cell phones or tablets.

Back at the house the Sanford family shared a quiet night and after the kids had gone to bed Amanda and Clay shared some wine and time playing Jenga, when they heard a knock on the door. This immediately concerned Amanda due to the remote location of the rental, but Clay answered the door to find a finely dress man and young woman who apologized for the intrusion and shared it was their home. The man introduced himself as G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la Herrold) and said that they went to spend time in the city, but that there was a blackout and chose to return to their house.

The Scotts said that they needed to stay at their home, but would refund the Sanfords their money and that there was an apartment downstairs they could stay the night until morning when they could find out what was going on in the city. Amanda did not want to agree to them being in the house together, but Clay was more easy going and compassionate about the Scotts situation so agreed to work out everything in the morning. Amanda only agreed to let the Scotts stay because of Clay and felt the G.H was withholding information, though he said he shared all he knew.

Due to the television, internet and phones still being down, the next day they decided to venture out to see if anyone had any information. G.H. headed to the closest neighbors home, Clay left for town and Amanda stayed back at the house with everyone else. This is when they began to discover something very serious had happened. Clay got lost without GPS and was chased back to the house by a huge drone dropping thousands of flyers with Arabic text which Archie was able to decipher said “Death to America”.

When G.H. arrived at the neighbors house, there was metal debris, luggage and other forms of wreckage on the front lawn and throughout the house which was right on the coast. Out back he discovered plane wreckage and dead bodies on the beach, and hearing another plane approaching, rushed back to the house for cover as another plane crashed onto the coastline. He returned to the house covered in water and wet sand, but had difficulty explaining what happened as his wife was on a return flight and concerned her plane had suffered the same fate.

Though in different locations, they then all heard several sonic booms and then an ear-piercing sound coming from everywhere that made them drop to their knees in pain that lasted for a while. Other strange things were happening with the wildlife including hundreds of deer surrounding the house and flamingos landing in the pool. With each new situation, G.H. seemed to grow more uneasy, as if he knew something about what was happening, some of which he shared with his daughter but was not sharing with the Sanfords. G.H. later shared that in his line of work as an analyst he dealt with clients in the defense industry and had been privy to some hypothetical scenarios on destroying a country and believed unfortunately that this was what had begun.

Runtime: 2h 20m

Vol. 17, No. 05 – Nov 29 – Dec 12, 2023 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Fly the Friendly Skies at Conejo

The Conejo Players in Thousand Oaks winds up their season with a fun-filled, jazzy, sexy, high-stepping musical in Catch Me If You Can now running through December 3. Remember the popular and surprising memoir by the same name from the 1980’s? This is the mostly true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. who, before he was 21, successfully reinvented himself numerous times all to his own personal advantage. Assuming personas of a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, a lawyer and others gave him the opportunity to travel the world in style.

The story is as unbelievable as it is true. The musical version takes a few liberties that differ from the book.. When arrested at Miami airport, Frank Jr. (Ezra Ells) implores the FBI agent, Carl Hanratty (Mark Lopez) to allow him to tell his version of the story to the audience. Thus, the show begins.

Young Frank Jr. easily followed in his father’s footsteps. As Sr. states “people only know what you tell them”, a line Jr. builds his career on. We learn how it all started and some of where these impersonations took him. We learn of AFBI gent Hanratty’s dogged determination to find this brilliant young man with the ability to disappear easily. Ultimately though, Jr. tires of the high life, falls in love and decides to end his jet-setting ways.

Abagnale is at last captured and incarcerated for his admittedly brilliant crime spree. In a true twist of fate, upon his release he was then offered a job with the FBI. Due to his extensive knowledge of cheating, cons and banking, he became a special consultant and has since written several books on how to spot cheats.

Dizzyingly packed with production numbers featuring a bevy of beauties in revealing outfits, the first act pulsated with excitement. Choreographer/Director Miriam Durrie-Kirsch kept the action at a lively level, incorporating tap numbers with go-go, with waltzing. Fun to watch and well executed. Superb costuming by Beth Eslick made it easy to sit in a way-back machine and relive the 1960’s. A superbly appointed movable set allows for maximum use and flexibility.

The leading roles are all solid. Ells gives it his all as young Abagnale, singing, dancing and making eyes at all the ladies. Lopez shines in the second act with several of his songs. One duet with Frank Sr. is a standout. The second act delves into more story and character songs than chorus numbers, so I found the lyrics much easier to understand and appreciate.

Devery Holmes as mother Paula and Jim Holmes as Father Frank Sr., as well as Lauren Brown as Brenda, portray their roles with class and clarity, a welcome contrast to the action of the big production numbers.

Catch Me if You Can, the musical, is a nostalgic nod to musicals of earlier years – fun, upbeat, silly, full of characters and lots of dancing. Quite a spirited evening.

www.conejoplayers.org /805-495-3715. Closes December 3.

Vol. 17, No. 05 – Nov 29 – Dec 12, 2023 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Bye Bye Barry
– Prime Video

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

The day that Barry Sanders was supposed to show up for training camp in 1999 he sent a fax to announce his retirement and refused to speak to the press or any management. At the height of his career he just walked away, when at the time considered the best running back ever to play the game and on the verge of breaking every record there was for his position. For those who truly knew Barry, this was just the quiet way he always went about doing things throughout his life.

Barry was a Heisman trophy winner from Oklahoma State, drafted in Round One of 1989 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions. After the draft Barry just disappeared and didn’t seem to want to be in the spotlight. In his first interview he explain he wasn’t a shy person but he felt that people in his situation were not respected by the press. Barry expressed that the press needed to respect his judgment and the way he was as a person because every individual was different and he was aware of people in the NFL who didn’t really care to deal with the press.

Barry’s first few seasons under head coach Wayne Fontes were winning seasons, but never reached the playoffs or superbowl. In 1997 Barry was working with a new coach in his ninth year in the NFL and by the end of the season was set to break the record of over 2000 yards rushing in a season as a running back (only two other players in the history of the NFL). The Lions last game of the season was against the Jets and they needed to win the game to get into the playoffs.

In the first half Barry was only able to get 20 yards, but took off in the second half and in the middle of the game the ref handed the game ball to Barry to let him know he had the 2000 yard rushing record. Barry humbly shook the ref’s hand and just quietly went over to the sideline and tossed the ball to his father. One of Barry’s teammates Herman Moore asked for his shoes, asking him to sign and date it and still has those shoes to this day.

The Lions also beat the Jets, though Barry’s teammate Reggie Brown was injured and paralyzed, similar to what happened to his other teammate Mike Uttley in 1991. Shortly after Barry mentioned thinking about quitting football to one of his childhood friends due to the dangers involved and the grind. In1998 Barry began to lose his drive and passion due to a losing season for the Lions and many of the other Lions players going to other better teams. Unknown to anyone else, Barry had decided to quit football.

In 1999, Barry Sanders boarded a plane to London the day the Lions were starting training camp after sending a fax to announce his formal retirement from football. Barry chose London having been there before and feeling it would be a good place to get away from all the craziness that was happening back in the US. Barry called to tell his mom, though his father was very angry thinking that Barry threw everything away.

Shocking the world, Barry faxed a statement to his local paper that his desire to be out of the game was greater than his desire to remain. If he played another season he would beat Walter Payton’s rushing record, but Barry was never one to care about records. Today Barry would say that the main reason was losing the drive to continue as his heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

In 2004, Barry Sanders was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, thanking his father for all his support. Barry’s father passed away from cancer in 2011, and Barry continued to live in Detroit and became a beloved member of the city.

Runtime: 1h 33m

Vol. 17, No. 04 – Nov 15 – Nov 28, 2023 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

A Mad Cap Romp in High Gear

Santa Paula Theater Center has pulled out all the stops for their last production of the 2023 season. The 39 Steps, by Patrick Barlow, garnered the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2007 as well as numerous other awards and nominations. It is a fast-paced delight featuring well over 100 quirky characters, all portrayed by seven highly capable and skilled actors.

Where else could you get vaudeville, a mystery set in bonny Scotland, people becoming props and a hefty dash of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the early years, all packed into one whirling dervish of an evening? Why, Santa Paula Theater Center, of course!

Director Richard Kuhlman has assembled a cast that is a marvel to witness, tightly choreographing the action while also allowing room for (and probably encouraging) improvisation. The staging is a parody adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. But there’s no Hitchcockian suspense here. This production will leave you laughing frequently and wondering what they could possibly do next.

John Webber leads the story as Richard Hannay, who becomes entangled in a spy operation with a mysterious woman who is murdered in his flat. Taylor Lee Marr plays an alter-ego version of Richard Hannay, with the two changing places often to illustrate various points.

The other five actors, Leslie Upson, Sarah Boughton, Martha Benavides, Carlita Mead and Tom Hall, carry the entire rest of the very large cast of characters. Most memorably, Upson plays Annabella Schmidt (the murderee), Boughton is the flighty Pamela, Benavides embodies Professor Jordan. Professor Jordan’s wife is played with glee by Carlita Mead and Tom Hall gives a stellar turn as Mr. Memory. All take on their various roles with total abandon, adding to the overall hilarity.

I particularly enjoyed wondering what antics would come forth next. In true Python manner, some of the rapid-fire chicanery flew past me like a rocket. Due to the mile-a-minute pace of the first act, I did feel the second act suffered from a slight case of an old Chinese malady, On Too Long. Perhaps I just ran out of energy on their behalf. Nonetheless, it was a wild ride full of surprises, humor and rolling r’s (oh, those Scots!).

Oh, and yes, in the end we do learn the significance of the 39 steps which seemed anticlimactic given the frantic action leading to it. Amidst all the melee, the explanation seemed rather ordinary.

A clever and creative opening had the cast all on stage giving the pre-show audience notes (exit locations, intermission, etc.) which led seamlessly into the play’s action and invited the audience to be an integral part of the evening. A nice change which worked quite well for this production.

The 39 Steps runs through December 17 at which time the cast and crew will have fully earned a restful holiday before the 2024 season begins. Keep a bookmark on the Center’s website to find out what is in store. www.santapaulatheatercenter.org .

Vol. 17, No. 04 – Nov 15 – Nov 28, 2023 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
NYAD
– Netflix

4 out of 4 palm trees

NYAD is the incredibly inspiring true story of world-renowned open ocean swimmer Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) and her quest to conquer what was believed to be impossible by swimming unassisted and without pause from Cuba to Key West, Florida. The trip was difficult due to unpredictable weather and strong ocean currents and Diana had first tried at the age of 28, but the weather and oceans currents were very unfavorable and she only completed 76 of the 103 miles, due to 8 foot swell pushing her off course toward Texas.

At the age of 60, Diana decided she wanted to give Cuba another try and began lap swimming in the local public pool after not having done any swimming at all for nearly 30 years. When she was able to swim 8 hours without pause, she reached out to her best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster) to coach her and join her in her attempt in Cuba. Bonnie initially refused, not having even known that Diana had started training again, but eventually agreed and they went to Mexico for a test run in the open ocean.

Diana’s goal in Mexico was 8 hours in open water, but in her first attempt she was only able to complete 4.5 hours. This was unacceptable to Diana, who asked Bonnie if they could try again and was able to complete just over 8 hours the next day. She would sing songs to herself to keep pace, but they had to be on a 4×4 beat so that it would keep her timing correct and she built up a library of at least 96 mostly classic hit songs to sing in her head as she swam.

2nd attempt, August 7, 2011 at age 60. Diana was given a different medication than the Tylenol requested for shoulder pain and she was allergic to it, had a medical emergency and had to stop at 53 miles left in after 28 hours 42 minutes. 3rd attempt, September 23rd 2011 at age 62. Diana was stung by box jellyfish, which are extremely dangerous and not known to be in the area, and given an EpiPen injection unknowingly making it worse having to stop 59 miles from Florida. 4th attempt, August 18, 2012 at age 61. Diana ended the swim at 12:55 am on August 21, 2012, due to two storms and nine jellyfish stings though she manged to travel the greatest distance than her three previous attempts.

5th attempt, August 31, 2013 at age 64. Diana wore a special box jellyfish suit at night to keep her from getting injured. On the morning of the second day, the electronic system that was designed to repel sharks also went down and a shark headed for her but she was protected by the shark wranglers who were able to get the system back online in time. After swimming almost two full days she started hallucinating which was natural for the depleted nutrients in her body, and though she was exhausted and hallucinating still had about 12 hours to go. Bonnie was able to encourage Diana to continue and she finally walked up on the shore of Key West Florida after 52 hours 54 minutes in the ocean and was greeted by hundreds of fan there to support her mission.

Since her epic accomplishment, Diana’s talked at many TED talks and done many other notable things including appearing on “Dancing with the Stars” being a the subject of a skit on “Saturday Night Live”, and starting a movement to walk across America with her best friend Bonnie Stoll.

Annette Benning and Jodie Foster are dead ringers visually for their characters and they portray a very believed bond of best friends. Not only is this an incredibly inspiring story for people of all ages, there’s an aeriel shot at 1h16m of Ventura’s Crowne Plaza where in the movie Diana was giving a presentation to a group in a hotel conference room.

Runtime: 2h 1m

Vol. 17, No. 03 – Nov 1 – Nov 14, 2023 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Milli Vanilli – Paramount+

4 out of 4 palm trees

In the late 1980s, Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Movan of Milli Vanilli exploded into the pop music scene with an album that sold over 8 million records, was number one on charts worldwide, won three American Music Awards and a Grammy. Rob and Fab were megastars living the high life, though that success would be short lived when it was discovered the neither of them actually sang on the record. The truth was that other recording artists had performed on the original, and that Rob and Fab were just dancers that had lip-synced through every moment of the music career.

Fabrice grew up in Paris. When he was 18 he moved to Munich, Germany, ran out of money and became homeless. He was able to get some jobs teaching dancing, which was what he studied in Paris and Rob was a local break-dancer. Rob was 20 and the two were the only blacks in the popular Germany dance scene. Rob and Fabrice met in 1986 at a party, moved in together and started throwing large parties, eventually doing shows in a local club singing and dancing. They got their first break in Munich as backup dancers on a popular TV music show.

They also began modeling and set themselves apart by creating their signature dreads looks. It was then that Rob connected them with Frank Farain, producer of another well-known group at the time Boney-M. Frank’s assistant Ingrid Segieth said they had a project that they thought Rob and Fabrice would be good for if they were interested. With an offer of 1500 Deutsch Marks advance each, Rob and Fabrice excitedly signed the contract with little review of the details.

Several months went by and finally Ingrid called asking them to come to the studio. After playing the music from “Girl You Know It’s True” Frank explained he did not want Rob and Fab to sing on the record, only to dance and be lip-syncing performers. Rob and Fab decided that they would just do this one song and get out. Frank solicited the singing talent of several other artists: popular American singer Brad Howell as lead singer, lead rapper Charles Shaw was given $12K to agree to the project and keep quiet about the details, and backup singers twins Linda and Jodie Rocco.

Frank released “Girl You Know It’s True”, which quickly reached number one on the German Billboard charts, did great in Europe, and then exploded in the US reaching number two on the US charts and was a top five hit in 23 countries around the world. After the US success, Rob and Fab signed with Arista Records and president Clive Davis hired songwriter Diane Warren, who wrote “Blame It On the Rain”. Arista released the album and it went 6x Platinum selling 8 million albums with three number one hits singles, winning three American Music Awards and a Grammy.

Stardom made Rob and Fab crazy and they threatened Frank, saying that if he didn’t pay them $150K they would reveal the truth. Frank decided to take control by holding a press conference in NY and revealed to the Associated Press that Rob and Fab were not the singers on the album. In worldwide news Milli Vanilli became known as “Phony Bologna” and they were required to return their Grammy. Frank had little fallout from his admission and Clive lied about knowing the truth, letting Fab and Rob take the full fall, with Rob falling the hardest.

Rob was arrested numerous times for drugs and related crimes, and unsuccessfully tried rehab. He went to a rehab in Germany and felt after three months he had conquered his addictions and upon leaving went to visit Ingrid. Rob was found dead the next morning by Ingrid in a Frankfurt hotel room having consumed alcohol and pills. Fab was devastated but recovered and found love, got married, had several children and continues performing live singing the music of Milli Vanilli.

Runtime: 1h 46m

Vol. 17, No. 02 – Oct 18 – Oct 31, 2023 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

The Devil is in the Details

The bombardment of information is a daily and relentless state of being these days. From every direction we are fed tidbits, whole bits and teasers which may or may not be true. Therein lies the crux of the conflict in the Rubicon Theatre Company’s current production of The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell based on a true-ish story by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal.

The show opens the Rubicon’s Silver Anniversary season with this premiere production mounted by the Fountain Theatre West Coast. Through a collaboration between the two theater companies, Ventura audiences can now enjoy this extraordinary work. All three of the actors, Ron Bottitta, Jonah Robinson and Inger Tudor, performed in the premiere production in Los Angeles and brought their roles to the Rubicon stage.

Writers can be finicky about the words they place on the page. They may use flexible criteria for their choices, as D’Agata (Bottitta) shares, for the sake of the story, its emotional impact and readability. Fact-checker intern Fingal (Robinson) takes his work seriously and seeks what he feels is the absolute truth in the facts. Editor (Tudor) wants a terrific story to pull her failing publication back into the limelight.

The three of them become engaged in a verbal battle as they each stand their ground for their viewpoint to be heard. The result is a fascinating in-depth discussion of detail, accuracy and facts versus story, emotion, and readable flow.

Fingal finds many tiny discrepancies in the facts as presented by D’Agata. Some are so small as a differing second of time in two different reports. The question becomes does that small difference bear enough weight to require changing? D’Agata says no, Fingal says yes. Both are right, and both are wrong.

The 90-minute discourse is presented without intermission. I and others in the audience were completely absorbed in the minutia of the discussion which raised so many questions to explore. Keeping in mind that every single person will have a different perspective on a situation depending on myriad factors, is it even possible to have a single accurate fact? Where does the point of compromise become more important than absolute accuracy? Is such a thing even possible? And to whom does it matter?

All three actors present viable arguments. The performances are exemplary, the writing is tight and introspective. This is a piece that sends the audience on a wild ride of internal “exploration of the creative process, journalistic integrity and the blurry boundaries between fact and fiction.”

The Rubicon has chosen an extraordinary work to open their 2023-2024 season. The Lifespan of a Fact will have you laughing, pondering and questioning everything you read, hear or see from this point forward. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

The Lifespan of a Fact continues with matinee and evening performances through October 21. www.rubicontheatre.org for all details.