by Shirley Lorraine

Ojai Stages Original Work

Ojai writer, director and artist Peter Fox offers up his play “Disappearing Act” now on stage at the Ojai Arts Center Theater.

Fox’s work features a young man who ostensibly makes his living as a magician. With this background in mind, the body of the work centers around a man struggling with old familial resentments, a curious and surprisingly naive scholar and an older man who magically appears bringing a few skeletons from his own closet.

Woven into this are some bits of magic as well as references to magic history and personalities in the world of magic, many with which the general public is unlikely to be familiar. Fox’s fascination with “inspired magic” is evident. However, from my point of view, it was not fully realized, but did provide a new scenario twist in which to explore disappointment, disillusion and long-buried anger.

The acting by all three is by-and-large adequately done, particularly Buddy Wilds as Frank. He fairly carried the second act which had more depth. However, the three characters did not seem to have developed chemistry between them.

Max Budroe as Donny, the young man, failed to convince me that his skills were honed enough to make a living as a magician, either in presentation or performance. Budroe seemed unsure and tentative opening night handling the cards and basic tricks. His rather shaggy look never said “professional” to me as a performer. There seemed no difference between the man who lounged on the couch or the man who was performing “at a gig.” He delivered the written material well enough although the actual magic performed seemed quite entry-level. Perhaps his confidence will build as the run goes on.

Emily Vallance gives a strong presence to Molly, a student drafting a thesis on the psychology of magicians. There is a wealth of writing on this subject that seemed given little depth. It was unclear to me what information she was seeking and how it related to the action.

Buddy Wilds’ character was crusty and interesting. The dialogue pace picked up considerably after Wilds entered the action.

Some technical aspects seemed to still be in rehearsal phase. Long pauses when lights either did or did not come up in a timely fashion and uncertain sound cues caused pacing to be somewhat choppy. The audience did react favorably throughout, and pacing should smooth out over the run.

Magic Consultant James Lantiegne, owner of The House of Magic in Santa Paula, no doubt lent several props, set decor and instruction but the director and actors must put the polish on, which I found lacking. I was eager for more performance shine to convince me of Donny’s acumen as intimated by the script. Sadly, I was disillusioned.

Disappearing Act continues through May 28. Note Friday and Saturday curtain times are 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees 2 p.m. ojaiact.org or 805-640-8797 Not suitable for children.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
AIR – Amazon Studios

“AIR” shares the incredible true story of how Nike and Michael Jordan created a brand with a partnership that completely changed the sports industry, athletic branding and even popular culture. Just after the NBA draft in 1984, Nike only held 17% of the basketball shoe market, far behind the leader which was Converse with 54% followed by Adidas with 29%. Nike’s basketball shoes division had to do something big with a comparatively small budget or risk being cut by the board. The film stars Matt Damon as Nike athletic scout Sonny Vaccaro and is directed by Ben Affleck, who also stars as Nike CEO Phil Knight.

Sonny Vaccaro held the unique position of basketball athletic scout with Nike and was responsible for finding talented athletes that would promote the Nike brand. He worked with Nike Basketball Division Marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) who picked the talent pool for the scouts and was mainly focused on the players from the recent NBA draft. Michael Jordan was 4^th in the draft going to the Chicago Bulls and had been a vocal supporter of Adidas shoes and track suits, which were very popular at the time.

Nike CEO Phil Knight assigned the team an annual budget of $250,000 for three athletes, which made it difficult for Sonny and the team to get top athletes that were being offered more money by their competition. Sonny requested $500,000 but Phil said no, so Sonny suggested they use the entire budget to try to sign Michael Jordan. Phil was resistant at first, but then agreed and Sonny set off to meet with his friend George Raveling (Marlon Wayans) who coached Jordan in the Olympics and could offer some support in bringing him to Nike.

Howard White (Chris Tucker) was VP of Nike basketball athletic relations and had told Sonny that when dealing with black families that it’s always best to go through the mothers, so Sonny set off to North Carolina without notice to meet with Michael Jordan’s parents. Michael’s father was out front working on his car when Sonny arrived and felt it was a very bold move for him to show up unannounced. Michael’s mother, Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) came out and Sonny was able to convince her to allow him to discuss the potential of a deal with Nike.

Sonny told Deloris the contract would be for $250,000 and that Nike had an advantage in that they could devote much more attention to Micheal than the other brands that carried some very well-known athletes. Deloris told Sonny she would consider his offer and get back to him, but a short time later he had heard that Adidas matched the offer and included a Mercedes-Benz 380SL so thought that the deal was not going to happen.

Sonny got a call from Deloris who said regardless of what he had heard that Michael was going to sign with Nike but under one additional condition, that along with the $250,000 he would also receive a percentage of any Nike product sold under his brand. Sonny knew this had never happened before and felt it would definitely be the deal breaker, but after talking with Phil they decided to go for it and began immediately to develop a prototype shoe to show the Jordans.

Their chief designer had been working on a line he named “Air”, and named Michael’s shoe the “Air Jordan”. Though the NBA had rigid standards on color, they designed a colorful shoe based on the Chicago Bulls colors and agreed to pay the fine of $5,000 a game for Jordan to wear the shoes. The Air Jordans were like no other shoe on the market and a record-setting instant hit selling $162 million in its first year. Currently the Air Jordan brand represents $4 billion in annual sales for Nike, and Micheal is reported to have made $400 million a year in passive income as a result of the revenue share with Nike.

Rated: R (Language)
Runtime: 1h 52m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
A Tourist’s Guide to Love – Netflix

In “A Tourist’s Guide to Love” Amanda Riley (Rachael Leigh Cook) worked as a travel executive for Tourista World Travel, and though Vietnam was in the list of top ten dream vacations, Tourista did not yet have a travel group to work with for travel to Vietnam. Amanda had a great relationship with her boss Mona (Missi Pyle) who was very supportive of her career as well as her five year relationship with her boyfriend John. So when John called Mona to arrange for Amanda to get off work early, Mona hinted that it could be nothing but a marriage proposal.

Mona’s assumption could not have been more wrong, as John actually got a job in a different state and wanted to put their relationship on “hiatus”, but Amanda was not willing to put her life on hold. Upon hearing this, Mona figured the best thing Amanda could do was to get away, so they agreed to send her to Vietnam to pose as a secret shopper to evaluate a Vietnam tour company Tourista was considering to acquire.

At the airport Amanda met Sinh Thach (Scott Ly) her tour guide from Saigon Silver Star and discovered that her luggage had been lost. Sinh told her not to worry because he knew a guy that knew a guy. She also met Sinh’s cousin Anh who did the driving for Saigon Silver Star which was owned by her dad. Though Amanda was skeptical about Sinh’s approach with her lost luggage, it did arrive a few hours later at the hotel where she met up with the rest of the tour group.

They all took a cyclo-tour though Ho Chi Minh City where Sinh told Amanda she needed to forget her guidebook and trust in what he wanted to share of Vietnam. Sinh said “A tourist wants to escape life, a traveler wants to experience it. You never know how long life’s going to be why wasted it on escape spend it on experience instead.” When Amanda replied that she was used to structure, Sinh showed her a somewhat hidden, beautifully illuminated part of the city and said “If you open yourself up to new possibilities you’d be surprised where life can take you.”

When the wait was three hours for the Golden Hand Bridge, Sinh took the group to My Son Sanctuary, a place filled with ancient Hindu temples built over the course of thousands of years by the ancestors of the Cham people. The Champa empire ruled part of Vietnam for many centuries and their kings built the temples to worship the deity Shiva, creating a secluded sanctuary which was so beautiful and majestic as well as a mystery as to how it was actually constructed.

Sinh’s goal was to show visitors the best possible version of Vietnam and had ambitions to take over the business, not knowing that his uncle had been considering selling it to Tourista. Sinh wanted to challenge travelers perceptions and open them up to incredible unforgettable experiences, and Amanda was beginning to appreciate Sinh’s unique approach to travel. She secretly told Mona to buy the company to protect it for Sinh’s family.

Amanda’s tour was during Tet, the most celebrated holiday in Vietnamese culture, so Sinh took the group shopping for new clothes for the celebration as was tradition. Then he took the entire group to Thong Chang, Sinh and Anh’s family village which was in the beautiful remote Vietnamese countryside. They were greeted by Sinh’s grandmother Ba Noi and other family members who also offered them all accommodations. Together they prepared a family feast for Tet and all together enjoyed the dinner and dancing for the holiday celebration.

The next stop on the tour was Hanoi to see the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater and pick up a guest that joined the tour late. To Amanda’s surprise, the guest joining the group was John, her ex-boyfriend who had come to win her back which complicated the budding relationship she had with Sinh. Now Amanda was caught between having to choose someone familiar from her past that offered stability, or take a chance with Sinh and a new life of experience in a foreign country.

Runtime: 1h 34m

by Shirley Lorraine

A Quick Refresher on Theater Etiquette

Attending a live performance is different than attending a film where one can happily munch on popcorn and slurp a drink. In live theater other rules of conduct apply. Take note of individual theatres’ rules. Some allow food and/or drink, some do not. Some allow only certain kinds of liquids, such as water. Patronize the snack bar but be mindful of the time constraint of the intermission.

As younger audiences are exposed to live theater, a few reminders on conduct prior to arrival may be in order. Even when attending a youth performance, show respect for the effort that has gone into putting the work on the stage. Applaud when appropriate. Refrain from screaming or yelling. (yes, you should be proud of your relatives and friends on stage, but a little restraint is appreciated by those around you. Be effusive after the performance.) Yelling out to specific actors is never acceptable except when attending a performance specifically designed for audience interaction. A melodrama, for example.

Becoming a role model for decorum and good manners helps everyone have an enjoyable experience.

Dress appropriately for the occasion. For an evening performance, use the opportunity to dress nicely. No torn jeans, shorts, or athletic wear. Matinees can be a bit more casual although looking nice is always appreciated. It shows respect. Me, I welcome an opportunity to dress up a bit. There are so few these days, it seems.

Arrive at the theater on time. (that means before the announced curtain time.) Early is always better to minimize disruption to other attendees. Prepare. Visit the theater’s website to make sure you have the correct curtain time and any other information that may be needed. Know before you go is always a good rule.

Visit the restroom before the performance begins, especially if there is no intermission. Unsure? Ask an usher.

Turn off cell phones and electronics for the duration. The audience is there to enjoy the show, not your personal conversations. Texting during a performance may be quiet, but the light from the phone is disruptive to others. Whatever it is, it can wait. If you are expecting an emergency or critical call, perhaps rescheduling your attendance is a good idea.

Be courteous to others. Wait your turn. No gum smacking, no talking during the performance.

Be aware that hats of any kind, and very tall hairdos, limit visibility for those seated behind you.

Keep personal belongings and obstacles (such as handbags, wraps, feet) close to you. Many performances may utilize the aisles, requiring a clear path. Each ticket entitles you to one seat and one seat only.

If you have special accommodation needs or questions, call the theater to let them know when you make your reservation. It is easier to make adjustments if circumstances are known in advance.

Make attending the theater an event to remember with pleasure. I look forward to seeing you there!

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Yellowjackets Season 2 – Showtime

“Yellowjackets” is an original Showtime series about a girls soccer team that survived a plane crash in the wilderness while on their way to the national championship. It takes place on two timelines that alternate during each episode: one in 1996 in the remote wilderness after the plane crash and the other is current day (2021) showing their lives as adults after their final rescue from the woods. The series is filled with eerie dark humor, does a great job of seamlessly moving between timelines and the younger actors are dead ringers for their adult counterparts.

They left off at the end of Season 1 in the present with Natalie (Juliette Lewis) holding a shotgun to her head but kidnapped by people in purple after discovering Travis had committed suicide. Shawna (Melanie Lynskey) killed her lover thinking that he was blackmailing the Yellowjackets and unfortunately found out that it was her husband Jeff (Warren Cole). Taissa (Tawney Cypress) won her election as a New Jersey state senator, while at the same time her partner found a morbid alter she created under the house. Misty (Christina Ricci) released but poisoned her captor and proved very helpful in helping dispose of Shawna’s lover’s body.

Meanwhile back in 1996 Jackie (Ella Purnell) fell asleep outside and froze to death when the first winter snow fell on the cabin. Shawna (Sophie Nelisse) struggled with her teen pregnancy and the group knew that Jackie’s boyfriend Jeff is the father. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) and Travis (Kevin Alves) fell in love and shared romantic time away while hunting for food for the group. Javi was still missing since the night that the whole group was accidentally dosed with magic mushrooms Misty (Samantha Hanratty) had stowed away. Lottie (Courtney Eaton) had several experiences in front of the group that proved she had some sort of psychic and mystic abilities. Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger) was the only adult survivor, but lost his right leg in the crash. Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Van (Liv Hewson) also started a romantic relationship.

In the first three episodes of Season 2, in the present we find out that Lottie (Simone Kessell) had started her own intentional community where she serves as a mystical leader which was the group of people that did grab Natalie and where she stayed since her initial escape. Misty teamed up with another citizen detective named Walter (Elijah Wood) who was a millionaire due to an injury settlement. Together they were trying to find Natalie and close to locating the purple people retreat. Taisa had fallen back into the trance-like episodes she had in the woods that seemed to indicate she was connected to the unknown force they all knew was around, which surprisingly led her to Van (Lauren Ambrose).

Back in 1996 the group was struggling to find food in the harsh winter conditions. The ground was too frozen to bury her body so Shawna put it in the meat shed and was secretly talking to her for 2 months until Taisa found that she was even putting makeup on her. The decision was made to cremate her body, but a pile of snow fell from above putting the fire out before her body was burned and became the group’s first act of cannibalism. Travis continued to have hope in finding his brother Javi even though it’s winter and had been two months since they’ve seen him.

Though some things have been revealed, there are still lots of lose ends and unanswered questions. Season 1 opened with the chasing down and cannibalising a member of the group which still remains unexplained, but “Yellowjackets” fans will be glad to know that the show has already been approved for Season 3 with a total of five seasons planned for the original series.

Season 2: 9 – 1 hr Episodes

by Shirley Lorraine

Santa Paula Presents A 50’s Fantasy

Retreat to the 1950’s when life was measured by the housewife who kept order in check. Haven’t we all wanted, at some point, to revert to a time when things seemed so much simpler? On the surface, perhaps they were. But of course, it is all an illusion, as each generation has its own set of restrictions, challenges and inconsistencies to conquer. Today is no different, just with more technology.

Home, I’m Darling, a comedic play by Laura Wade, is playing on the main stage at the Santa Paula Theatre Center. With tongue firmly in cheek, the action introduces us to Judy, strongly embraced by Kimberly Demmary, a woman whose corporate job has been dissolved and who feels that she would prefer to live in a retro world of seemingly better times – the 1950’s. Alas, despite her desperate attempt of full immersion, the fantasy cannot be upheld in the face of reality. The complicated job of maintaining a “perfect” home remains undervalued.

Friends and family see Judy’s retreat into the 1950’s as a temporary coping mechanism. Her husband, Johnny, (James James) plays along for longer than he bargained and finds his patience about to crack. At the same time, he encounters a lack of forward movement in his real estate job when his new boss, Alex (Paula Smiech) chooses another agent for a promotion.

Judy’s mother, Sylvia, played with attitude by Poosy Holmes, is a realist, vainly attempting to pull her daughter’s fantasy world within logical boundaries, without much success. She points out that the 50’s were much more than cleaning and organizing. Prejudice, discrimination and politics were rampant. Judy’s fantasy world was only part of the story of the era.

The couple’s friends, Fran (Julie Fergus) and Marcus (Derek Petropolis) play along to a point as their own problems come to the surface. Solid performances are delivered by all.

Direction by Sarah Broughton is crisp and lively. The divided set of kitchen and front room of Judy and Johnny’s home is well appointed with a 1950’s styled kitchen, furniture and ornaments. Costuming lends the right touches of the Donna Reed look, complete with petticoats, pearls and heels to serve tea.

A particularly inventive method of set-changing involves some of the characters appearing with dusters and aprons while be-bopping to 50’s music. Everyone appears to be having fun as they tidy up.

There are a lot of thought-provoking questions raised, both in the script and implied, for the audience to consider. The second act explains the action of the first in addition to assisting the couple grapple with compromise. The second act dragged a bit winding up everyone’s issues.

Home, I’m Darling gives the audience a fun and fanciful look at some people’s inherent desire to slow progress, albeit with their smartphones and laptops handy. Such dichotomy shows the true picture of our hurry-up-and-slow-down world today.

Home, I’m Darling continues through May 21. www.santapaulatheatercenter.org or (805) 525-4645.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Unstable – Netflix Original Series

“Unstable” stars Rob Lowe as Ellis Dragon, a biotech engineering genius known throughout the world for his inventions that battle climate change and other scientific challenges. Ellis is very charismatic and has a childlike joyfulness in the way he goes about doing his work and dealing with issues in his extraordinary life. Due to the untimely death of his wife of 30 years, we find Ellis in the midst of what most around him consider a breakdown and his son Jackson (John Owen Lowe, who is his actual son in real life) is called away from his life in New York as a talented flutist to support his dad emotionally.

Ellis’ main ally in the company is CEO Anna Bennet (Sian Clifford) who constantly finds herself in unusual and at times embarrassing situations supporting and protecting Elis from the press, his board of directors and at times himself. Even prior to Ellis losing his wife Anna dealt with these challenges, though now a step up with things like finding him completely naked in his office and wanting to have the board of directors to join him to ending up on the cover of Time magazine as “The Wizard of Odd” in a photo with a metal bowl on his head wearing a translucent cape and with a live hawk perched on top.

When Anna questioned Ellis as to the disappearance of the psychologist the board hired to evaluate him, she discovered that Ellis had kidnapped him and locked him in the basement of his luxury mansion due to discovering the psychologist was going to write an unflattering report and then attempted to blackmail Ellis. In a very bizarre twist of fate, the psychologist actually befriended and sought life advice from Ellis regarding his own recent breakup, and when allowed to leave, returned saying he had missed their friendship and begged to return.

Elis would constantly belittle Jackson’s career as a flutist, wanting him to instead be more like him and follow a career in science at his dad’s company. Jackson took the opportunity at a staff karaoke night to share his flute skills, which completely floored Ellis who made an immediate switch to saying Jackson truly had a gift and he should pursue it. Jackson himself was quite the science genius, but had no interest in following in his father’s footprints until he saw Ellis’ latest saving invention “the biomass”, which is 10,000 more dense than a plant, and like plants sucks carbon dioxide out of the air and 100,000 would be the equivalent of planting a trillion trees and would pull 40 billion tons of climate-changing carbon gases from the air every year.

The Red Team was responsible for the biomass project and included Luna Castillo (Rachel Marsh) and Ruby Rosario (Emma Ferreira) who are both quirky geniuses that play well off each other. After sharing the details of the biomass science, Jackson became interested in working on the project as well as getting to know Ruby better after she showed some obvious advances. The main staff is rounded out by office assistant Malcolm Drummond (Aaron Branch), who is often working behind the scenes for Ellis with his crazy plans, and with Anna to help her manage Ellis’ escentric ways.

It’s unclear if this crazy crew of misfit geniuses can save the world with their revolutionary science or if Ellis will be ousted from his own company by a controlling board of directors, but for certain viewers will enjoy clever dialog with witty exchanges and loads of laughs in every episode. Rob has a charming charisma and the father/son bond between Rob and John Owen is genuine and endearing.

Season 1: 8 – 30min Episodes

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Boston Strangler – Hulu Originals

The “Boston Strangler” is based upon true events from the mid 1960’s involving journalist Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) who was working for the American Record and was the first to discover connections between several women murdered in Boston. Ultimately the serial killer known as the Boston Strangler took the lives of 13 women that ranged in age from 19 to 85.

As a female reporter, Loretta was assigned to the lifestyle section but longed to work crime investigation. While visiting her mother, she learn a woman had been murdered just around the corner and recalled two other recent articles involving murdered women, totalling three women murdered in two weeks.Loretta approached her editor with her findings and asked to be assigned to the story and though he first refused, he compromised to letting her pursue it on her own time.

Loretta was able to verify that all three women had been found with their bodies posed and nylon stockings tied in a double-hitch knot around their necks. Loretta’s editor let her write the story which appeared on the front page, but her editor got a lot of flack from the police commissioner and said they were backing off the follow-up and put Loretta back on the lifestyle desk.

When a fourth woman was found similarly murdered, Loretta’s editor decided to team up Loretta with Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), who had experience working in the crimes division, to cover the story. Jean was very comfortable in the male-dominated world of criminal journalism and was a good role model for Loretta and finding her place. They did a front page story together on the fourth victim and eventually a fifth woman had been murdered in a three month period.

The next five murder victims were all young women including Beverly Samans who’s ex-boyfriend was Daniel Marsh. The fifth victim was Patricia Bissette who was newly pregnant, single and had been having an affair with her boss Gordon Neilsen. Both men were brought in for questioning and released. Loretta felt Boston PD had been doing an incompetent job, and in her next article alluded to them preventing it from being solved due to lack of cooperation with other departments.

Loretta received a call from New York City Detective Linski who had a similar murder of an elderly woman in a hotel in New York City, and the police arrested Paul Dempsey who confessed. Linski called Loretta weeks later to share that a couple weeks prior a guy harassing some girls in their apartment was picked up in New York but Boston PD wouldn’t share any information so they let him go and as it turned out it was one of their prime suspects Albert DeSalvo.

Through her investigation, Loretta found that three of the suspects in the case had all been at the same mental hospital at the same time in the same ward: Marsh, DeSalvo and George Nassar (who the witness wrongly identified in a police lineup for DeSalvo). She ultimately discovered that they were all involved in a scam to collect the reward money with Nassar’s lawyer F. Lee Bailey, who arranged a 5-figure book deal for DeSalvo in lieu of payment.

The final article concluded there were multiple Boston Stranglers based upon the following: Dempsey had a type, elderly women; DeSalvo was coached but assaulted hundreds of young women; and Dempsey went to New York where the strangler killed young women. Then men started using the strangler story to solve their problems: the boss who got his secretary pregnant, the psychotic ex-boyfriend, then DeSalvo ended up at Bridgewater where Nassar and Marsh used him to get the reward money and became a convenient way to resolve everything for everyone.

Runtime 1h 52m

by Shirley Lorraine

The Moors – Delightful, Daring, Deceitful and Dramatic

The Elite Theatre Company in Channel Islands has a treat in store for audiences. Now on the South Stage through March 25, the Elite presents The Moors, a quirky period piece filled with surprises. Written by Jen Silverman (The Roommate and others), The Moors delivers a theatrical experience unlike any other recently seen.

The staging is a comedy, a drama, a thriller, a farce, a satire and a SNL long-form skit all rolled into one and tied with a big red bow. Set in “the bleak moors…of England?” somewhere in the mid 1840’s, the plot echoes the works of Bronte, Dickens and the classic board game Clue as seemingly endless layers of plotline are revealed.

Sisters Agatha (Brook Masters) and Huldey (Kim Pendergast) live in a very old mansion in an isolated location. Agatha is stern and sinister, while Huldey is flighty, clueless and existing in a world of her own making. They are assisted by a parlor maid and a scullery maid, both played with droll delight by Rosie Gordon by merely the change of a hat and a name. The fun is amplified by the fact that her character is fully aware that she fills both roles in the household and plays into it thoroughly. The characters flux and wane in their relationships as they all attempt to maintain some sanity while clearly only hanging on by rapidly fraying threads.

A new governess, Emilie (Erin Hollander) is engaged to serve a non-existent child through what turns out to be a carefully planned ruse. She enters the picture with confusion as to the real reason she has been summoned, later gaining control somewhat to her advantage.

The sisters have a dog, a large mastiff, played to the hilt by Scott Blanchard (in what must surely be his most unusual role yet) who displays a soul-searching character in a deep and poetic manner. He falls in love with a moorhen (gloriously played by Anna Maria Strickland) although their relationship is doomed from the start by the very nature of it. Both are a delight to watch as they dance around their mutual attraction.

The costuming by Sheryl Jo Bedal, who also is credited with set design, is simply marvelous. Myriad details accent the game all the players are engaged in. Direction by Kathleen Bosworth shows depth as each character has many facets, all of them fascinating. What fun she and the actors must have had exploring presentation possibilities.

Laughter is frequent as each actor takes their character to the limits and beyond. Each maintains total control of their absurdities and teases the audience with them. All the actors are outstanding. This production offers an unexpectedly light-hearted look at the intricacies of deceit, desire and loneliness. I thoroughly enjoyed the word play, the commitment and the uniqueness of this staging.

www.theElite.org 805-483-5118 Reservations recommended. Masks optional.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
True Spirit – Netflix

Based on true events, “True Spirit” shares the inspiring story of Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft), who at 16-years-old was the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. She departed from Sydney Harbor Oct 18, 2009 on a course that would take approximately 200 days and involve sailing some of the most challenging seas in the world.

Jessica decided at 12-years-old that she wanted to sail around the world and sought out well-known sailor Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis) to train her as she was aware that he had himself made the trip three times. Ben at first was reluctant due to an accident that happened when he was captain of a ship in the Millenium Cup that cost the life of one of his crew, but Jessica was persuasive.

They spent the next four years training for the trip and then Jessica set out to do a test solo sail. Unfortunately, she was hit by a large tanker that damaged her boat, who she called “Pink”, and seemed to put an end to her dream as it would be too costly to do the necessary repairs. Ben was able to gather a group of donors of time and funds to get Pink back in sailing shape, though the local media expressed concern over Jessica’s ability to make the journey.

During the trip if she went to port she would be disqualified and had to cross all lines of latitude and round all four capes for it to count as a true circumnavigation. The trip would begin by leaving Sydney Harbor crossing the Pacific Ocean, heading northeast to cross the equator then down south around the Cape Horn at the tip of Chile, then across the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, then across the Indian Ocean to Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia and then down around the South East Cape in Tasmania and back up to Sydney Harbor.

Though she weathered some storms, after 82 days and 12,884 miles from home she reached Cape Horn, the Everest of the ocean, reporting irounding it was smooth sailing. All things came to a halt on Day 112, when she ended up drifting into an area in the Indian Ocean that had no wind or waves. Jessica was stranded there for over a week, resulting in feelings of despair and depression, but finally Pink found the wind and again she was on her way.

On her approach to Australia, Jessica noticed a crack in the bulkhead which was troubling as Pink was designed to right herself in a storm only if there were no leaks. Jessica would normally have gone to a port to repair the issue, but couldn’t so patched it herself. On Day 197 and only 1588 miles from home, 3 storms converged into a superstorm directly in Jessica’s path leaving her two choices: head to port just prior to the finish, or head straight into the storm and trust that Pink could get them home safely.

Though her parents and Ben were concerned, they left the decision to Jessica knowing her boat and her skills, and she decided to brave the storm. A 70 foot rogue wave flipped the boat upside down in the storm, which triggered her emergency alarm automatically contacting the authorities with the situation. They called her parents and told them Jessica’s boat was 15 feet underwater and that things looked grim. Back at the boat, Jessica calmly waited in the air pocket knowing that this could be the end for her, but Pink amazingly uprighted itself.

Jessica’s journey had been followed around the world through her video logs and when she entered Sydney Harbor she was escorted by hundreds of boats and greeted by over 80,000 people who were there to welcome her home.

Runtime 1h 49m