October Spirits Abound

Santa Paula Theatre Center’s annual Ghostwalk has arisen once again. Closed last year due to the pandemic (even ghosts can get Covid), the popular October event is back on this year. Held in a different location each season, this year’s event starts and ends at the SPTC location itself, 125 S. 7th Street, Santa Paula, with much of the tour traversing nearby Ebell Park.

Tours led by enthusiastic ghost-hosts depart every 15 minutes from the main entrance. Along the way, patrons make six stops, meeting up with spirits who are speaking from the other side of the grave, telling the tales of their demise. Among the tales are sprinkled bits of Santa Paula history and familiar areas.

The tales are all family friendly, spooky, and fascinating. All ages will delight with this walk into the dark October night. Primarily the walkers stand throughout the performances, although a few chairs are provided at each stop. This year’s tour is not wheelchair accessible and takes about an hour and a bit, concluding once again at the theater building.

Ghostwalk tours are by reservation – www.ghostwalk.com or (805) 525-3073. Choose your tour time online. Masks are required and warm clothing is encouraged as evening falls swiftly. Performances are Friday and Saturday and Sunday evenings through October 30, with one Thursday, the 28th.

Halloween Radio Dramedy
The award-winning Every Now and Then Theatre’s 33rd year brings a Halloween mystery to the radio on NewsTalk 1590 KVTA on October 30 and October 31.

An original mystery “Shorty Cut Across” will be presented, hosted by former San Diego Charger running back Chuck Muncie. The commercial-free airing features numerous local talents well known to loyal audiences.
Always a well-crafted story and outstanding production, Every Now and Then Theatre this year will attempt to solve the energy crisis. Interspersed with the story will be snippets of “history on filling stations and surprising research on a future fuel possibility that could send OPEC packing.”

Tune in on Saturday October 30 at 2 p.m. or 9 p.m., or Sunday, October 31 at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. The nationwide broadcast will be accessible via the KVTA website by clicking on “Listen Live.”

by Shirley Lorraine

October offers advice and thrills

Ojai Art Center Theatre has opened Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the book by American author Cheryl Strayed (perhaps best known for her memoir Wild) and adapted for stage by Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). The play chronicles a true and fascinating period in Strayed’s life – one in which she ventures into the unknown with no small amount of trepidation.

Strayed apparently was a fan of an online literary magazine called The Rumpus and followed the advice column called Dear Sugar. At some point Sugar decided to retire and offered the position to Strayed. Despite knowing nothing about writing an advice column, Strayed agreed and became the new Dear Sugar.

Instead of offering direct advice, Strayed related applicable experiences from her own life to show the letter writers how she had coped with or overcome a situation. A compilation of these actual letters and her responses are what make up the book and the play.

Lynn Van Emmerik carries the bulk of the piece, portraying Dear Sugar in all her circular glory, from confusion to confidence. She is aided by a Greek chorus of three women, all dressed in black, who become the embodiment of the various letter writers. Elektra Cohen, Ashley Osler, and Isobel Roth all take on myriad personas to challenge the columnist. The result is a panoply of introspections, revelations, and realizations all around.
The letters are real, as are the situations. Due to strong language and addressing sensitive subjects head-on such as sexual assault, child abuse, death/suicide and infidelity, discretion in attendance is highly advised. As Director Bob Blough states in the program, “It is not a play for the faint-hearted. Stay with it and it will lead you to wonder, forgiveness and joy. But first it deals with the awful realities of life.”

There is also a good measure of light-heartedness, even humor, in how every situation is addressed. Presented in one 90-minute act, the audience becomes drawn into the plights and challenges, rooting for both the letter writers and the columnist, who is graphically relaying her own struggles with life. The ensemble works cohesively, each bringing both serious and playful elements to their roles.

A two-story home interior setting provides a warm, familiar, settling background to the cacophony of issues that assault her. As she sits at her kitchen table with her laptop, the consistent ping of incoming mail alternately gives her focus and a feeling of overwhelming responsibility to the letter writers. Emmerik conveys that internal pressure to the audience unapologetically.

The Art Center Theatre is busy planning their next season. The multi-talented Tracey Williams Sutton has recently taken on the role of Artistic Director for the theater so stay tuned for what promises to be a season of renewal.

Tiny Beautiful Things is playing through October 24, 2021, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. (805)640-9897 or wwww.ojaiact.org for pricing and tickets.

Masks and proof of vaccination are required. Safety protocols are in place.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Y: The Last Man – FX on Hulu
3 out of 4 palm trees

Y: The Last Man is based on DC Comics’ acclaimed series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, a 60-issue science fiction comic book series published in 2002 in which a worldwide event kills every male mammal on the planet but for one cisgender man and his pet monkey. This plunges the entire planet into a post-apocalyptic world full of dystopian realities.

For some unknown reason, every man in the world died of some sort of plague all on the same day, leaving women to assume the roles previously held by men who were no longer alive. The many deaths in the chain of command for the United States government left Senator Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane) in charge. That very same day Agent 355 (Ashley Romans) was sent out on her first day to guard the president, and when the chain of command changed, she informed President Brown that she was at the service of whatever sitting president.

There was chaos everywhere caused by the instantaneous death of men such as planes falling from the sky and mass casualty car pileups, which also killed many women. All normal operations had gone offline, including power, and those left in the cities began to protest and riot in an effort to gain answers to what had happened thinking somehow the government was involved. President Brown gathered a team of dedicated women and setup to get some basic resources online while also try to find the cause and deal with the outcome of this cataclysmic event.

President Brown had a daughter named Hero (Olivia Thirlby) who she had strained relations with and was a paramedic in New York. Hero was traveling on foot with her friend Sam (Elliot Fletcher), who was transgender and experiencing prejudice due to looking like a man. Hero refused to reach out to her mother for any assistance, and had not even contacted her since the event. President Brown sent Agent 355 to retrieve Hero and bring her back to the White House.

When Agent 355 returned she didn’t have Hero, but did have Yorick (Ben Schnetzer), President Brown’s son, which seemed impossible as it was believed that all mammals with a Y chromosome on the planet had died. Yorick also had his pet Capuchin monkey Ampersand with him, which also seemed miraculous as he was also male. Though President Brown was overjoyed to see her son, the situation presented a huge number of issues, including some believing it could be used as validation for the public’s conspiracy theories regarding government involvement in the event.

Agent 355 convinced President Brown that it was too dangerous for her son to be discovered there, and agreed to secretly get him to a geneticist and cloning expert Dr. Allison Mann (Diana Bang) in Boston who they believed could shed some light on why Yorick and Ampersand were still alive. Unfortunately the only lab that had what Dr. Mann needed was in San Francisco.

While this was happening it was discovered that former cabinet secretary Regina Oliver was alive in Israel, having been injured and in a coma since the event. She of course was looking to return to run the country rightfully in the line of succession, and had very conservative views similar to those of the recently deceased president and in direct opposition to those of President Brown.

Season 1: 9 – 50min episodes

by Shirley Lorraine

Conejo Players now live on stage!

Conejo Players opened the romantic comedy Almost, Maine last Friday evening to an enthusiastic audience. It certainly felt good to be back in theater seats instead of sitting at my computer.

Almost, Maine, a two-act play by John Cariani, takes place in a series of vignettes, each telling stories of friendship, love, loss, and relationships in general. All the scenes are lit with a dazzling sky full of Northern Lights, under which the participants fall in various ways in and out of its magical spell.

The quaint, fantasy town is named because of its location – almost at the top of the United States, and almost in Canada. They would be a town if they would get organized. But for now, they’re just almost.

The vignettes, each featuring a different couple and situation, explore the absurdity, awkwardness, and challenges inherent in the process of looking for love, finding love, losing love, and reconciling one’s feelings of love. In short, there is a lot packed into each scene, with the compilation forming the whole all wrapped under the spell of the evening.

Smoothly directed by Beth Eslick, the vignettes are replete with quirky personalities who bring forth some fascinating and unusual viewpoints on life and love. Author Cariani has opened a decidedly unique umbrella over a very large subject. It was delightful to experience new explorations and insights into the age-old theme.

Each scene stands alone, although references are occasionally made to the other characters, who are all residents of this small town. The use of minimal scenery changes enhances each scene against the projected background of a beautiful Northern Lights sky, allowing the actors to remain the focal points. The writer’s use of short pieces with a common underlying theme works well to spotlight each couple’s particular situation, giving each full attention and the audience something to ponder.

The very capable cast includes Robert Chambers, James Coblentz, Carl Garcia, Rose Hunter, Eric Pierce, and Heather Lynn Smith. All portray multiple distinct characters.

The actors are all excellent. Pacing is well controlled. In several scenes with quieter moments, volume dropped significantly despite each actor wearing microphones. This was opening night and no doubt each will re-adjust to on-stage projecting as they go. After all, it’s been a long 18 months and we all are readjusting. With joy.

Attendees are required to show proof of vaccination prior to entering the theater and must wear masks while inside. All appropriate precautions are being taken. Be advised – there are no physical programs. Audience members are asked to scan the QR code on the lobby wall to access cast information on their cell phones. Just another minor adjustment as we move forward.

I found the evening to be a breath of fresh air. You should go.

Almost, Maine runs through October 3 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and Thursday, September 23 at 8 p.m. (805) 495-3715 or [email protected], or visit the website at www.conejoplayers.org for reservations.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Joe Bell – Amazon Prime Cinema

In May 2013, an Oregon father named Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) started a walk across America to New York to raise awareness about bullying after his son committed suicide. Joe Bell is based on the true story of the events that lead to his son Jadin’s (Reid Miller) suicide and Joe’s later efforts to talk to anyone who would listen to his son’s story, while also reconciling with the loss of his son and his role in the reasons for his son’s actions.

Nearly a year prior to taking his life, Jadin had told his parents that he was being picked on at school by some guys because he was different, specifically because he was gay. His mother Lola (Connie Britton) expressed concern and support, while his father Joe told him to stand up for himself and fight, but Jadin said he couldn’t fight the whole school for his whole life.

Jadin was a sophomore and the only male cheerleader at La Grande High School. Though his dad said he supported him being a cheerleader, he didn’t want Jadin to practice in the front yard of their house and insisted that he practice cheerleading with his friend in the backyard. There was only one time Jadin’s parents went to a football game to support him, but his dad caused them to both leave early, not being able to handle the negative comments from other parents and harassment from other students about his son being a cheerleader.

Jadin was secretly dating a football player from his school, but they broke up because his boyfriend’s parents didn’t know he was gay. Jadin kept his sights on going to New York and starting a new life there. Jadin was receiving threatening texts and was physically bullied at school, but the administration didn’t seek to protect him, only to blame him stating that they lived in a small town and a formal complaint could cause them more trouble. The principal even suggested he transfer schools or seek therapy.

Feeling hopeless, he called his friend Marcy, but she was heading out of town with her mom and didn’t realize how desperate Jadin was, suggesting that he go to their house for the weekend but he said he didn’t want to be alone and couldn’t go home. That night Jadin didn’t go home and hung himself the next morning from the playground equipment at the local elementary school. In real life, Jadin died in the hospital two weeks later after being taken off life support.

Joe shut down and stayed in his room for weeks and when he finally emerged, he said that he was going to walk across America to New York and talk to people about bullying. Though he had no plan and no money, he was convinced this was what Jadin wanted him to do. In six months, he had traveled from La Grande Oregon, through Twin Fall to Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was briefly visited by his wife and youngest son Joseph.

Joe’s “Walk for Change” was followed by social media and news organizations along the way that helped to spread his anti-bullying message, but it came to a sudden, unexpected end in Lincoln County, Colorado after 6 months and 1,000 miles traveled.

Rated: R (Teen Partying|Language|Some Disturbing Material|Offensive Slurs)
Runtime: 1h 34m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Clickbait – Netflix Originals

In Clickbait, Nick Brewer’s (Adrian Grenier) family is in a race against time after seeing him on an internet video holding signs that said “I abuse women” then “At 5 million views I die”. Nick’s sister Pia (Zoe Kazan) was unstoppable trying to find her brother while his wife Sophie (Betty Gabriel) worked to sooth the concerns of her two sons, Ethan and Kai. Instead of seeing Nick as a victim, most vilified him from the the signs, and the news media coverage only fueled the countdown. The eight episodes focus on the perspectives of the primary characters as the story progresses:

Sister
Being very stubborn and willful, Pia turned to the aid of a tech friend to use the internet and online detectives to determine her brother’s location from the video. While waiting at the police station the count reached 5 million and the site went offline.

Wife
Eventually it came out that they did have marriage issues, and eventually Sophie revealed she had an affair with a coworker at the school named Craig, who detectives later saw on video in an altercation at a bar with Nick.

Detective
After briefly connecting with Pia online, Detective Roshan Amiri (Phoenix Raie) found himself in the interview room at the police station with Pia and her sister in law Sophie. Thrill chasers used an app that Roshan followed to mark locations in the city they had searched to find Nick’s body.

Mistress
Emma Beesley had a 6 month affair with Nick, but knew him as Danny Walters. She got a threatening call and after leaving her hotel was run off the road into a dumpster. Roshan and Pia visited her in the hospital and Roshan shared Nick had multiple profiles under multiple names.

Reporter
Ben Park got the exclusive interview with Emma Beesley but before it aired was dropped for an exclusive with Sophie after she threatened to sue the station. Ben felt a crime had been committed and thought he could use his skills to bring justice to those victimized.

Brother
Sarah’s brother Simon worked in a tech company and surveilled her over his concern of her suicidal threats. After she commited suicide he found texts on her phone which eventually led him to Nick Brewer. Simon realized he got the wrong guy and let Nick go after he was tried to escape

Son
Ethan (Camaron Engels) was always texting a girl named Allison who he had never met. Allsion thought she could help Ethan find the catfisher through hacking, but when she sent him the info it was Kai who got the text and proceeded to the location.

Answer
The story develops and secrets are revealed with each character perspective that is cleverly shared and the Answer will surprise you.

Runtime: Season 1: 8 – 45m episodes

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Nine Perfect Strangers – Hulu Originals

Tranquilum House holistic resort is the setting for Nine Perfect Strangers, where nine people from all walks of life gathered together to attend a pricey 10-day “Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat” led by a mysterious Russian woman named Masha (Nicole Kidman). The program included regular practices like healthy eating, massage, meditation, acupuncture, etc. but also some strange and unusual things like blood tests and Masha actually saying in her welcome speech that she was in complete control and planned to “f%@# with all of them”.

Only 10% of applicants are accepted and Masha intentionally groups people together to also help them benefit from healing interactions with each other, believing that their individual issues will help trigger more revealing and sharing of truths that lie deep inside the minds of her guests.

• Frances Welly (Melissa McCarthy) was a famous author on her way out, looking to find herself after being scammed in an internet romance.

• High school teacher Napoleon Marconi (Michael Shannon) and his wife Heather (Asher Keddie) were dealing with the suicide of their son three years ago along with their 21 year old daughter Zoe (Grace Van Patten), who was his twin, and were given a substancial discount to attend due to their limited finances.

• Tony Hogburn (Bobby Cannavale) was a football player whose career ended early due injuries and now struggles with alcohol and drug addictions related to his physical recovery.

• Jessica Chandler (Samara Weaving) is a social media influencer with hidden self-esteem issues and at the retreat in the hope of also repairing her love relationship with her husband Ben (Melvin Gregg).

• Carmel Sneider (Regina Hall) stated her goals at the retreat were to work on self-esteem, weight loss and confidence.

• Lars Lee (Luke Evans) is always quick with critical comments about the program and attendees, and appears to have some hidden agenda in being at the resort.

Upon arriving, all guests are required to relinquish all phones, laptops, etc. as well as any other items that don’t fall in line with the designed wellness practices, such as alcohol and drugs of any kind. Masha’s boutique health-and-wellness resort promises guests healing, transformation and a path to a better way of living, which she created after a life of climbing the corporate ladder and ending up being ambushed in a parking garage where she was shot and died, but came back to life with a renewed sense and commitment to creating Tranquillum House.

Assisted by her dedicated employees Yao (Manny Jacinto) and Delilah (Tiffany Boone), Masha guarantees attendees will leave with an entirely new sense of wellness and outlook on life, though little did they know there was more than they knowingly agreed to in the personally designed nutritional shakes they had every morning. The resort is definitely not what it seems to be and with each passing day, the guests discover many secrets about each other and the resort’s host.

Runtime: Season 1: 8 – 50m episodes

by Shirley Lorraine

Camarillo Takes Off in Ernest

Camarillo Skyway Playhouse opened its final production in the Camarillo Airport location last Friday, The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde.

Ernest has been heralded by theatre afficionados as a “comic masterpiece” since its opening in 1895. Playwright Wilde’s oft-quoted wit and wisdom has weathered well over these many decades. Wilde is at his best here, inventing two English gentlemen who value privilege, pleasure-seeking, and love of extravagance far above responsibility and truthfulness. Both have created elaborate deceptions to try to imbue their lives with a semblance of balance. The result is a joyous, passionate play filled with situational irony.

Director Kimberly Demmary has taken some chances with the direction of this production, many of which work to good advantage. She has kept the period in costuming and setting and cast competent, seasoned actors in the roles. In my opinion, however, the play has been staged almost Keystone Kops style – frantic, loud and with a loss of the subtle humor for which the play is well known. Reactions are melodramatically over the top and, although quite amusing in themselves, diminish the pure wit inherent in the words which were often buried. Blatant mugging in the background by all the actors frequently upstaged the dialogue.

Lead actors Brian Robert Harris as Jack/Ernest, and Patrick T. Rogers as Algernon, speak at such a rapid pace in their British accents that many great lines are either tossed away or were not heard at all. Both terrific actors, I personally was disappointed to see them playing Ernest almost a la Stooges. I half expected a nyuck-nyuck and an eye jab at any moment, particularly during the argumentative scenes, the vocal levels of which echoed in the building. No subtle satire, this.

The ingenues, Maddie Boyd as Gwendolyn and Samantha Netzen Bingham as Cecily , fell into the same trap, covering many pithy lines with both verbal and physical histrionics. Often the next line was delivered before the previous one could be digested. On opening night, quite a few lines simply disappeared. It is hoped that the pacing will smooth out a bit during subsequent performances to allow the audience to fully enjoy Wilde’s witty words.

Theresa Secor as Lady Augusta Bracknell acted with a bit more even pace and meaningful reactions. One scene in act I with her and Harris alone is worth the price of admission. This scene was beautifullyl done.

In smaller but no less important roles, Josh Rubenstein shines in a dual role as the harried butlers Merriman and Lane. Suzanne Tobin brings Miss Prism to life with flair. The reverend Dr. Chasuble is played by Larry Swartz, who makes the most out of his part, and the two together are charming.

It is a delight to see live theater again, even if it works needlessly hard to elicit laughs.

The play runs through August 29. Check www.skywayplayhouse.org for details and stay tuned for news of the company’s new home.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Vault – Netflix

Thom (Freddie Highmore) seemed to have the world on a string. He was an engineering student graduating from Cambridge University and due to the fact that he created an unusual and ingenious solution to deal with an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, he was courted with 6 figure salaries from all the largest oil companies. Thom’s interests were not with high salaries, they were with providing unique engineering solutions that can help people, so he was very disinterested in following in his father’s footsteps and working for a major oil company.

Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham) was a treasure hunter and found his elusive “holy grail” when he finally located the sunken ship of Sir Francis Drake, which not only had a wealth of treasure but was known to have a box with 3 coins that were a treasure map to even more treasure beyond measure. Immediately after they found the box and brought it to the surface, Spanish Customs seized the treasure, including the box and the situation was referred to the International Court, at The Hague to make a ruling on whether the treasure belonged to the Spanish Crown or Walter. The Court ruled in favor of Spain and treasure was taken to a mysterious, impenetrable fortress hidden under The Bank of Spain

While at dinner with his father, Thom got a call from an unknown number with directions to follow a stranger, and when he grabbed his coat he found a treasure coin and an invitation to meet at a location to find out why. He ended up meeting Walter in a bar, who proposed to him “I want you to help me break into the vault under the most secure location in the world.” Walter chose Thom because the vault was considered to be a miracle of engineering, and left him with a ticket from London to Madrid to meet the team if he was interested.

Thom met the team: Klaus was the computer wiz in the control booth., Simon was responsible for acquisitions, and Lorraine (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) was skilled at slight of hand and a master of disguise. James (Sam Riley) was Walter’s friend who worked together for 10 years and was responsible for planning, entry, extraction and would be leading the team. They reviewed that Walter’s plan to was to break in during the Soccer World Cup Finals, and though they had a plan to get to the vault, they had no idea how to access the vault which was known as The Enigma.

Thom’s curiosity was peaked, to he agreed to join the team to see if he could solve the issue of accessing the vault. The team was already working on certain aspects of the plan, but needed Thom’s genius brain to solve the most important part and Thom also turned out to be very skilled at looking at complex problems and finding simple and effective methods to solve them. Though the rest of the team was skeptical at first, they quickly embraced Thom as a lead member due to his quick thinking solutions.

The team began to carry out their plan, and whenever they came up against a hurdle Thom stepped in to do or resolve whatever was needed to complete the mission. Little did they know they would be betrayed by one of their own in their quest to recover when they felt they rightly owned.

Rated: R (Language)
Runtime: 1h 58m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Tomorrow War – Amazon Originals

In “The Tomorrow War”, the world receives a desperate message from the future when a military troop from 2051 appeared out of thin air during a world soccer match to tell the people of earth it had been invaded by aliens and without help the human race would parish. Originally trained military people were jumped into the future war zone, but only 50% survived, so the world leaders agreed on a global draft of civilians to serve 7 days and be returned with full time served if they survived the battle. The civilian survival rate was even lower at only 25%, but Dan Forester (Chris Platt) was not your average high school teacher having previously served in Army Special Ops so had a basic idea of what he was getting into when he was selected for the draft.

Dan’s wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin) worked as a counselor for those who returned from the future war, many of whom lost limbs as well as being emotionally scared from what they witnessed, and she pleaded with Dan to reach out to his estranged father for help in removing the jump device before he was deployed in 24 hours. Dan’s dad James Foster (J.K. Simmons) went by Slade and was a military tech specialist by trade with his own personal fleet of vehicles and planes as well.

Things did not go well during Dan’s reunion with his father, so he returned home to say goodbye to his wife and 6 year old daughter Muri and report to the training center. They were supposed to be there for a week before the jump, but a significant shift happened in the future and they were jumped in after only 24 hours to help rescue a critical research team. Until arriving, they had no idea how terrifying the alien race was they called Whitespikes that fed on humans and fired bone-like spikes from multiple tentacles.

They landed in future Miami Beach, which was filled with crumbled buildings destroyed by explosions and fires throughout. Due to Dan’s previous military training, he was put in charge of the search and rescue by Romeo Command (Yvonne Strahovski) and directed remotely to avoid the aliens to where the research team was on the 7^th floor of the research building. The research team was dead when they were found, so Dan was instructed to retrieve a specific dozen critical vials and return them to base as the aliens converged on their location.

The area was overrun with aliens, and what was left of Dan’s team narrowly escaped the bombing of the area by planes to aid in their exit. They woke up on an island in the Dominican Republic where Dan met Romeo Command face to face, and upon being referred to as Colonel Forester by another soldier realized it was his own daughter Muri 30 years in the future leading the fight. She had developed a toxin to kill the aliens, but the remote research outpost where the jump link also resided was invaded by thousands of aliens trying to save the female specimen she had captured for testing.

Muri was injured and Dan couldn’t save her because his jump band was counting down to the last seconds of his 7 days of service, so he was jumped back in time, though kept the vial of toxin with him. Believing that the aliens had been here all along and that they emerged after climate change melted the polar cap, Dan gathered a team including his dad and several other soldiers that he jumped with to go find the alien ship and destroy it to stop the war from ever happening.

Though some of the storyline is predictable, this thrilling action-packed movie has incredible visual effects, some interesting twists, and constant comedic one liners from the star-studded cast.

Runtime: 2h 18m