The 2015-16 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Musical Concert Series at Rubicon Theatre Company concludes with the concert reading of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along.  Directed by award-winner Bonnie Hellman, who helmed the first long-run hit version of the award-winning show in Los Angeles, the cast includes Broadway stars Jason Graae (Grand Night for Singing and Falsettos), Kate Reinders (Wicked and Gypsy), Ventura native Andrew Samonsky (South Pacific and The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and Beverly Ward (Epic Proportions).

Winner of the Drama Desk Award and Olivier Award for Best Musical, this moving and eloquent story about friendship moves backwards in time and offers a snapshot of the relationships between Franklin, Charley, and Mary, whose hopes and dreams change dramatically over 20 years. Songs include “Our Time,” “Not a Day Goes By” and “Good Thing Going.” This rarely performed concert version of the musical merrily rolls into Ventura for three-performances-only: Saturday, October 1 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 2 at 2 p.m.

Rubicon Theatre Company has been described as “the rising star of the Southern California cultural constellation.” A not-for-profit professional regional theatre, Rubicon serves area residents and visitors with innovative productions of classic and contemporary plays, as well as a wide array of educational programs and events. The company has been acclaimed by critics and industry professionals (the company has received the L.A. Drama Critics Margaret Harford Special Award for “Sustained Excellence,” a Drama Desk Award for the Off-Broadway production of The Best is Yet To Come, and has won more than 20 Ovation Awards from the L.A. Stage Alliance.

3 Performances Only!
Saturday, October 2 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, October 2 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 3 at 2 p.m.

General Admission $69.50
Students with Valid ID $30
Active Military/Equity $25

Box Office  667-2900
Hours: Mon-Sun Noon – 6:00 p.m.
www.rubicontheatre.org

The Magnificent Seven/3 Palm Trees
by Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

It was only a matter of time before Akira Kurosawa’s action masterpiece Seven Samurai was updated for a modern generation. Only this time around, the filmmakers have chosen to stick to the Western genre and use that format to bring the story to life once more in a re-telling of the John Sturges ensemble film The Magnificent Seven. That film, released in 1960, told the story of seven hired guns who upon protecting a village of poor farmers for virtually no money learn that they are not fighting for the inhabitants, but instead for something far greater than themselves. This time around Antoine Fuqua brings his fast, slick spin to the West with Denzel Washington playing Sam Chisolm, a man in black who is tasked with assembling seven guns once more for the same premise.

Joining Chisum is Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), a smooth talking and charismatic face who is also good with a pistol. Jack Hunter (Vincent D’Onofrio) is an eccentric and expert tracker and Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) is a legendary marksman who is struggling with his violent past. The film is excellently cast Vaszquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), and Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee) round out the cast and bring an authenticity to their characters even with little screen time for some. They are brought together by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), a widow seeking revenge for the death of her husband and to stop Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) from destroying their lives and their homes.

If you’re familiar with the original film, you’ll notice recycled elements from the first two; everything from set pieces to specific lines of dialogue. Sturges’ film has a runtime of 128 minutes and fits in an impressive amount of exposition, action, and story in that time. Clocking in at 132 minutes Fuqua’s Seven seems extremely rushed, with a few characters getting shoddy introductions (sorry Red Harvest, but your intro didn’t make a lot of sense), strange character development that doesn’t lead anywhere, and a mustache twirling villain whose evil plan isn’t very evil or for that matter, coherent.

On that note, the film’s cast shines and brings characters to life that would otherwise prove dull on the page. Hawke’s Robicheaux is a man suffering from a legacy of violence and death, one that has finally taken its toll on his ability to be able to fire a weapon at another human being. With his eyes telegraphing the struggle, he doesn’t need to say much in order for us to know what he’s feeling. Washington is perfectly cast as the man in black, this time named Chisolm (probably a nod to the John Wayne western classic Chisum). Although the film is a little too referential (the opening is almost beat for beat out of Django Unchained), the film finds its footing in the modern action genre with its astonishing final battle between a hundred men against seven.

The film’s final set piece uses actual stunt riders on horseback as opposed to having to rely on CGI to create acrobatics that were once done practically. It is big and goes on for a long time, but it is without a doubt some of the most exciting action put on screen this year. Film score nerds will also recognize a very familiar rhythm played by the percussion in the film’s score, that’s right, it is a quote of Elmer Bernstein’s iconic score to the original film.

Though not necessarily very politically correct, Kurosawa and Sturges burden the audience with the farmer’s poverty more so than to let us know. These people were on the point of desperation, no longer knowing what to do. My main problem the film is that this is a tale of revenge. There is no realization that these men have to do what is right. In the third act, it’s revealed that the intentions of defending the people of the town go beyond standing up for what is right and are actually a plan for revenge. That said, it seems to fit perfectly well in this gritty update to The Magnificent Seven, yet somehow doesn’t feel right.

Now playing at Cinemark Downtown 10. 128 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Hell or High Water / 4 Palm Trees
by Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

Hell or High Water is a film about characters, who, for the most part, have been marginalized and forgotten by the system, each finding different ways to survive amidst the fringes of society. The film captures how violence is a permanent stain that marks us and our families for generations, each exploring the cost of crime and a dog-eat-dog mentality that perpetuates a cycle of self-destruction. It is a modern western that confronts head-on a broken financial system meant to keep people forever in debt.

A divorced dad named Toby (Chris Pine) and his ex-con brother, Tanner (Ben Foster). After the death of their mother, the two are desperate to save their family’s ranch, attempting a focused blitz on the small chain of banks threatening to foreclose on their land. The stakes are personal, with Toby trying to secure a future for his family, while Tanner relishes the thrill of it all, welcoming the chance to do right by his brother. After setting their plan into motion, a fierce Texas Ranger named Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham) set the brothers in their sights, with director David Mackenzie finding accessibility through some unexpected humor and a hypnotic pace. The performances are easily career highs from everyone involved.

There’s a lot going on in Mackenzie’s film, which takes a simple premise and adds sharp moral and cultural complexities. Mackenzie’s characters meet in the middle, united by their fight against time. Toby is looking towards his legacy while Tanner is trying to make up for lost time. Marcus is facing mandatory retirement while Alberto is forced to protect a way of life which didn’t spare his ancestors.

Mackenzie (armed with an economical script from Taylor Sheridan) really finds his footing by celebrating the moments between the frames – quiet, introspective scenes before the gun fights or moments of violent retribution. The film finds unbearable tension through this restraint, building up to the torrent of chaos we know is coming by investing us in the lives that hang in the balance.

It’s through this that the film feels totally lived in, with cinematographer Giles Nuttgens’ photography contrasting intimate conversations with Texas’ vast, barren landscapes. As the film assuredly builds to an explosive conclusion, Mackenzie uses modern social context to highlight the diminishing cost of a life amidst capitalist America. Hell or High Water is one of the year’s absolute best, with searing chemistry from Ben Foster and Chris Pine bringing a critical look at a problem with no immediate solution.

Rated R. 116 minutes. Now playing at Cinemark downtown 10.

Night Alive is luminescent at SPTC
by Jim Spencer & Shirley Lorraine

Once again the Santa Paula Theater Center (SPTC) brings a new level of theater to Ventura County with its current production of The Night Alive, a New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award winning play for 2013-14.

Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s gripping and surprisingly amusing tale of the intertwining lives of five imperfect Irish people holds the audience in suspension for nearly two hours without an intermission. To have had one would have broken the spell and the flow for both actors and audience.

Veteran director and SPTC Artistic Director David Ralphe cites McPherson as one of his favorite playwrights, for his insights and soul-searching characters.

The members of the immensely talented cast consisting of Taylor Kasch (Tommy), Jessi May Stevenson (Aimee), Ron Feltner (Doc), Brian Harris (Ken) and Cecil Sutton (Maurice) pour their souls into the piece, interpreting McPherson’s words, as their characters mentally stumble about seeking an order in their chaotic lives that they never quite achieve as situations continue to change.

The ensemble highlights isolated zones of idiosyncrasies, each character existing in the same physical space but on a different mental plane. Each is splintered by personal circumstances that ebb and flow at a moment’s notice. Somehow they amplify the tenuous nature that is daily life.

Kasch leads the action as Tommy, a divorced, down-and-out handyman. He sets the tone with his Irish phrasing which gives even the abundant cursing a certain pleasing lilt to the ear. The piece is fraught with wording uncommon to us, although seemingly natural to the actors.

Kasch’s interactions with the slightly disadvantaged Doc, played to perfection by Ron Feltner, are a study in tenderness, friendship and loyalty. Doc is a disheveled character, both inside and out, who struggles to maintain a semblance of normality.

Through a random occurrence, their lives are changed by Aimee (Stevenson) in many ways.  Adrift and needy as the others, Aimee’s broken existence becomes just one more piece of the group’s puzzling dynamics.

Upstairs lives Maurice (Sutton), Tommy’s crusty uncle who himself is seeking some kind of peace and order. Under his seemingly sour facade he harbors a soft center that shines through in the end.

The stone in the gears that move these lives forward comes in the form of Ken (Harris), a threatening force whose brief intrusion is akin to a fast-moving tornado, leaving destruction and confusion in his wake. His presence causes momentary damage that is ultimately easily dismissed as if it never happened.  Life goes on.

While the piece itself presents only a minimally satisfying resolution, the exemplary staging and performances throughout are simply mesmerizing. Each of the actors, individually and as an ensemble, make this a powerful piece of theater. Kudos to SPTC and David Ralphe for expanding the awareness of Ventura County audiences.

The Night Alive plays Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through October 2, 2016. Santa Paula Theatre Center, 125 S. Seventh Street, Santa Paula. Reservations are recommended. 525-9840 or www.santapaulatheatercenter.org. Adults $20, Seniors and Students $18. Mature themes and strong language.

Pete’s Dragon / 4 Palm Trees
by Eduardo Victoria / [email protected]

Pete’s Dragon is a reminder that we should never forget “the magic”. The term, as it pertains to the film is broad, but can be distilled to an innate awe and wonder, a reverence and respect for what we can’t control or take for granted on a daily basis. It’s an unsaid truth that the older we get, the more this trait is clouded and contaminated by fear. In many ways, David Lowery’s latest film feels like a wake-up call, a kid’s movie for adults. He’s created a film that is big and ambitious, but far removed from all the empty spectacle flooding blockbuster filmmaking, instead using a fantastic premise to look deeply inward to great effect.

5-year-old Pete (Oakes Fegley) is on a vacation with his parents. Driving down a secluded highway, a deer jumps out and their car goes careening off the highway. Pete is the only survivor, but just when he’s about to be eaten by a pack of wolves, a giant, green dragon comes to his rescue, instinctually feeling the boys confusion and pain, and taking him into his arms. Flash forward to six years later, and the two are inseparable. That’s all threatened, when a lumberjack and his crew begin chopping trees further into the forest than they should. Soon enough, Pete’s discovered by a kind forest ranger named Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard). She and her family take Pete in, but are curious as to how he survived in the wilderness for so long. As Pete and Elliot attempt to reunite, the aforementioned lumberjack, Gavin (Karl Urban), discovers Elliot and tires to hunt him down for his own selfish gain.

On the human side of things, the ensemble is strong on all fronts. Oakes Fegley, as Pete, is a perfect mixture of headstrong attitude and pure will. Blending feral physicality with human sincerity, he’s exactly who the film needs to embody its themes. Fegley brings with him an innocence, but also a presence that we can’t ever ignore. As Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard fits into the matriarchal role with ease, acting as the best attributes of what humanity has to offer, and helping to really sell the film’s stakes with a personal perspective. As Grace’s soon-to-be stepdaughter, Natalie, Oona Laurence is another great addition, giving Pete an understanding tether to the human world. Karl Urban and Robert Redford are welcome flourishes to the film – they don’t have the biggest roles (for good reason), but make every second count.

There are a lot of shows and films out there currently riding a wave of nostalgia, appealing to our childhoods and the simplicity of our youth. Rather than fashion a film based on obvious references or playful nods to our past, Pete’s Dragon instead embodies the sincerity of the past, showing that we need it now more than ever. It’s worth noting that the film is a period piece, taking place in the 80s, but never rubbing our faces in it – it really just wants to show an understated contrast of how times have changed and what we can learn from that. They really don’t make them like this anymore, and like that, Lowery’s created another Disney classic, a warm, imaginative and inspiring human adventure that’s sure to stand the test of time.

Now playing at Cinemark Downtown 10. 102 minutes. Rated PG.

Elite Theatre Co. debuts new drama
by Jim Spencer and Shirley Lorraine

From police to private eyes to preachers.  These are just some of the principal characters populating the various works of the Elite Theatre Company’s prolific resident playwright and artistic director, Tom Eubanks.

The Elite just debuted Eubanks most recent work, In The Midst of All That is Good.  It was also directed by the author.

Bob Haggard (played by Jeff Ham) is an evangelical pastor of a small community church.  Pastor Bob has brought his teenaged daughter and son, along with his father, to a California desert campground for a family retreat.  Planning to stay for five days, and to avoid having their car again vandalized at the trail head parking lot, Bob has had his wife drop the group off with instructions to return at the end of the week. The outing ends up being anything but idealic.

The action opens as the group returns to camp after Bob has impaled his foot on a nail protruding from an abandoned piece of wood.  The only cell phone in camp is mysteriously missing and it is the off season. So, the adventurers are now isolated with no other campers around.

Other on-going interpersonal issues soon come into play.  Pastor Bob’s father, Lloyd (portrayed by David Fruechting) turns out to be a disgraced televangelist who has lost his faith and is dealing with tax issues and the IRS.

Son Carson (played by Alex Czajka) is either profoundly hearing impaired or deaf, yet Bob has never bothered to learn sign language.  He must rely on his daughter, Maddie (Hanna Eubanks), to communicate with his son for him.  Hannah holds an attitude because her father unwisely invested and lost the entire fund set aside to send her brother to Gallaudet University, a 150-year-old institution of higher education for the deaf.

Into this setting come two outlaw marijuana growers – Dennis (Johnny Avila) and Vic (Josh Carmichael).  The first turns out to have mental health issues and is off his medications.  The other brandishes a gun, and Bob ends up accidently getting shot in the hand.  Oh, and along the way, we learn Pastor Bob’s wife is in the process of leaving him for another woman.

The script is filled with myriad intriguing conflicts and possibilities. It offers valuable insights on a number of topics. However, many details are offered that are left unresolved in the end. In our view the layers of complications tend to muddy the central theme, adding little to the overall value.

Nevertheless, Pastor Bob’s struggles to deal with the multiple personal crises that arise, along with the diverse characters in the piece, hold promise.  They hold the promise that, after the inevitable polishing, trimming and adjustments that follow a premier production, the play will foster in audiences the same type of commitment that motivated the playwright in the first place.

The Elite is an appropriate platform and actively promotes new works by local authors, giving both actors and writers opportunities to stretch and grow in many ways.

2731 Victoria Ave, Oxnard, 483-5118

Suicide Squad/ ½ Palm Tree
by Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

In theory, Suicide Squad represents a combustible amount of rich possibilities perfect for smart, counter programming and an irreverent middle finger to superhero status quo. And who better to helm a film about broken and desperate criminals than director David Ayer, whose street savvy direction has always used grit to serve as a reflection of humanity’s darkest frailties. Neither concept or Ayer can salvage this mess of a film however, one so obviously mishandled by studio intervention and warring with itself between each schizophrenic frame.

In the wake of Superman’s death, the world is bracing for new superhuman threats. Enter intelligence operative Amanda Waller, whose plan is to assemble a team including the worst of the worst, forcing criminals with nothing to lose the opportunity to do something good. The other obvious advantage being, that if they die during a dangerous mission, no one will miss them. This team of unwitting baddies includes Joker’s imprisoned lover Harley Quinn, skilled mercenary Deadshot, pyrokinetic gangster El Diablo, a thief named Captain Boomerang and a cannibal creature named Killer Croc. When a metahuman named Enchantress takes Midway City captive, the team is sent in to save a high priority target. Along the way, Joker is trying to reunite with Harley, while the team’s own aversion to each other and their mission may be their downfall.

There’s barely any plot with the first act being an extended montage of character introductions which are messy and choppy, before the team engages in a tedious and repetitious cycle of punch/shoot/kick action against faceless hordes protecting a generic portal in the sky. In fact, the film in general feels like an endless montage of ideas with fleeting character beats which don’t have time to breathe, cramming in relentless pop tunes that don’t mix to force a tone that’s strictly at odds with the hinted struggle of each character.

There are two performances that anchor this mess. As the film’s center, Will Smith’s Deadshot gets most of the focus and thrives within a tragic character. Smith’s charm and charisma is on full blast, even as a bad guy who’s taken the wrong route to protect the ones he loves. The other bright spot is Jay Hernandez’s El Diablo. He’s the only character who wants to escape his dark past and is one of the few sincere characters in the film.

Margot Robbie stumbles as Harley Quinn. At this day and age, her representation feels dated and lazy, is it really too much to ask for a reexamination of the character and an earnest look at the implications of her tortured romance with the Joker? As for Joker, Jared Leto is terrible, his style and makeup are so distracting and goofy, he comes across as tame and too theatrical for his own good. There’s no sense of danger or anarchy within him, he just seems like a try-hard gangster who likes to wear makeup, and we never believe his love for Harley – they have no chemistry together, and his scenes have no bearing on the plot at all.

In the attempt to overcompensate and deliver a crowd pleaser in response to BvS’ bleak slog, Suicide Squad is another stinker, again taking the wrong approach to the wrong movie. Without a genuine threat and characters who fail to live up to their infamous personas, the film plays out like a cartoon that doesn’t understand its power. In truth, it doesn’t seem fair to review the film or hold its faults against it, because it doesn’t even feel finished. For a film about villains who’ve commanded fear without compromise, a goofy film that takes half-measures with its approach doesn’t seem right.

Rated PG-13. 126 minutes. Now playing at Cinemark Downtown 10.

Star Trek Beyond/4 Palm Trees
by Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

After reinvigorating Trek with his rebooted timeline, J.J. Abrams crashed and burned with Star Trek Into Darkness, a muddled, misguided film that chose to reuse one of the franchise’s biggest villains, in the process, coming up as a pale imitation. Beyond, now directed by Justin Lin and written by Doug Jung and Simon Pegg, breaks free from this blot, going back to the original series’ roots for a reverent, but modern spin that’s confident and fresh.

Deep into their five year mission, the Enterprise’s crew has become tightly knit and is firing on all cylinders. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), however, is figuratively lost in space. It’s his birthday, which also means it’s the anniversary of his father’s death, and Kirk is struggling in his shadow. After stopping over at a nearby space station, the Enterprise responds to a distress signal and are quickly overcome by a malevolent alien force. After a valiant fight, the hostile force completely destroys the Enterprise, leaving the crew scattered and marooned on an undiscovered planet. With no ship and barely any resources, the crew races to find each other and uncover the motive of their tormentor, a creature named Krall (Idris Elba), who has a vendetta against the Federation and its founding ideals.

The beauty of the film comes from the simplicity of its plot, the way it expertly distills the franchise down to its core values and beliefs. Using the episodic nature of the original series, Lin delivers a story free to stand on its own, separating the team on an undiscovered planet and challenging their very being. By contrasting an alien setting (again, resembling the colorful landscapes of the original series) with a propulsive story, the film has no problem evoking the series’ timeless sense of awe, danger and discovery. Initially taking a more patient approach, the film doesn’t skip on the action in the end.

The amount of imagination on display trickles down from the beautiful costume and creature designs, to the ingenuity of each action scene, which pulls out and punctuates different dynamics from the fractured crew. Above all, it’s fun to see the amount of diversity that Lin gets from just a handful of bare elements and locales, throwing in motorcycle stunts with teleportation, some really smart use of the Enterprise’s dead carcass, another sequence that uses music in a really fun way, and finally, a climactic showdown in which the laws of gravity have gone haywire.

Mostly working off each other, Zachary Quinto’s Spock and Karl Urban’s Bones are a blast together. Taking the series’ classic love hate relationship, the two are funny whenever they’re on screen, evoking a truly loving friendship that relishes the sharp contrast of their characters, each who each struggle from a differing lack of control. As the villainous Krall, Idris Elba is definitely relishing the role, buried under makeup, but still able to emote and paint a tragic story. His villain has a simple motivation, but is complex in different ways, and Elba does a great job of giving us a dark character who is still sympathetic. Possibly stealing the film is Sofia Boutella’s Jaylah. Boutella, besides bringing a fierce physicality to the role, evokes an innocence that hides under a guarded persona.

If Star Trek Beyond has proven anything, it’s that the franchise has still got a lot left to explore. Justin Lin proves himself a worth steward of the beloved crew and its spirit, injecting both imagination and heart while still working to give keep Trek relevant. Perfectly timed to Trek’s 50th Anniversary, Lin’s film looks back lovingly while knowing the importance of building for the future, throwing in a touching tribute to the original cast (and Leonard Nimoy), while planting seeds of inspiration that we can hope to reap for years to come.

Now playing at Cinemark Downtown 10. Rated PG-13. 120 minutes.

Peter Pan prequel on stage in Simi
by Jim Spencer & Shirley Lorraine

Peter Pan. Tinkerbell. Wendy.  J. M. Barrie created these iconic characters and the story of the boy who would never grow up in 1902. One hundred years later another Barry, humorist Dave Barry, along with co-author Ridley Peterson, launched a widely popular series (now five books) of children’s adventures that continues the tales of Peter and his friends.

The first in the saga, Peter and the Starcatcher, is a prequel to the original story.  It tells how an orphan boy in Victorian England and his mates end up on ship with a mysterious cargo bound for an island. How he meets a young girl (Molly – destined to become Wendy’s mother) who has a special connection to powerful star stuff.  How pirates become involved and more.

The stage adaptation of the first novel received five Tony awards.  The Broadway script introduced grown-up story-telling, production and comedy techniques, all the while retaining both the charm of the era and the characters.

Produced by the prolific and talented Jan Glasband and her Actors Repertory Theatre of Simi (ACTS), the play is now on stage at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center through August.

Featured is a marvelous ensemble of a dozen actors who play close to 100 different parts – from pirates to mermaids to agitated native islanders. The differences in their various characterizations are well defined and engaging. Laughs abound as the fast-paced action progresses.

Starcatcher is billed as a play with music. It only has seven musical numbers. The excellent blending of the essentially all male chorus (and one female) is a joy to hear, with special kudos for the individual vocal performances of Katherine Bottoms (Molly) and Will Shupe (pirate captain Black [Mous-]Stache).  

The use of pronounced accents and rapid-fire delivery may take California ears a few minutes to acclimate to before things become clear. The non-stop action doesn’t wait for the audience to catch up, as there are rarely breaks to do so.

Occasional dangled references to the J.M. Barrie story also provide a mental scavenger hunt for those familiar with the classic tale. For some of the younger set, the story may be a bit confusing until all is wrapped up at the end.

Outstanding direction and creative staging of the piece are provided by Sean P. Harrington, ably enhanced by the skillful choreography of Becky Castells.  Nothing lags. The action and dialogue move smoothly at high speed. The actors’ movements, scene changes and interactions are all skillfully coordinated. Harrington not only has the actors use the set effectively, they become set pieces at various times, adding previously unused dimensions to the flying repartee. The production is fresh fare for the family.

Performances of Peter and the Starcatcher continue until August 28, 2016 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Simi Valley Cultural Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley.  Tickets: $25-adults. $22-seniors/students. $18-children. (805) 583-7900 or www.simi-arts.org