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

by Shirley Lorraine
Decisions Come With A Price

Santa Paula Theatre Center’s 2023 season promises myriad opportunities to reflect on life-changing occurrences, starting with The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, now on the main stage. A multiple award nominee, the play offers a deep and thought-provoking look at possibilities after a disaster with far-reaching effects. For a serious subject, there are quite a few truly humorous moments interlaced, which offer a welcome relief from what could easily be a heart-stopping situation not outside the realm of possibility.

Imagine a disastrous event occurring at a nearby nuclear plant that causes wide-spread consequences. Now imagine you are a retired nuclear scientist grappling with a full understanding of the situation and yet the all-too-human desire to protect oneself and one’s family in an insular way. Your altered life is now shattered by a prior co-worker’s request to step away from comfort for the greater good. What do you do? How do you weigh your needs with the needs of many others?

The Children, directed by Santa Paula Theatre Center Artistic Director Jessi May Stevenson, is a masterful piece of theater brought to life by three extraordinary actors. Leslie Upson appears as Hazel, a retiree acclimating slowly to a new way of life. John Webber is her husband Robin (the two are married in “real life”), also a retired scientist, who goes to great lengths to adjust and protect Hazel from some hurtful realities. Their world is upended by Tracy Hudak as Rose, a fellow scientist, former co-worker (and more), who appears on their doorstep after a 30-year absence with what is ultimately discovered to be a life-changing request.

The three are a force to behold, drawing the audience in from the first moments. We laugh with them, feel their inner struggles, hurt with them over the turns their lives have taken, and ache with them for the weight of their future.

The staging is tightly choreographed to allow unencumbered movement in a small space. This cast is near perfection in their portrayals. Timing is paced well. Subtleties in the background are spot-on, and each of the three actors gives a strong, compelling performance.

I left the theater with a profound sense of obligation to think deeply about my priorities and pondering what would I do if I were able to make a difference on this huge a scale.
SPTC’s season will continue with a series of plays that will delve into a plethora of human situations which pose emotional challenges for consideration. If you are not already a season subscriber, I highly recommend this season as a time to become one.

In addition to the main stage productions, there are concerts, backstage readings and opportunities to witness works in progress. The Santa Paula Theatre Center offers a wide range of stagings to suit many varied interests. Check the website often for current offerings and updates.

www.santapaulatheatercenter.org or (805) 525-4645.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Woman King – Netflix

“The Woman King” is based on incredible true events from the 1800s involving an all-female elite force of warriors known as the Agojie that guarded the African Kingdom of Dahomey. A new young king Ghezo (John Boyega), had just taken power. Their enemy, the Oyo Empire joined forces with the Mahi people to raid Dahomey villages and sell their captives to European slavers. The powerful Oyo was led by General Oba Ade (Jimmy Odukoya) and had new guns and horses, but King Ghezo had his own fearsome weapon: the Agojie led by General Nanisca (Viola Davis).

In the Kingdom of Dahomey, the Agojie were respected and revered and the Dahomey people were not aloud to look upon them, rather bow their heads in honor of their service to the king and kingdom. They lived in their own palace, where men were never allowed, where they trained and lived comfortably among each other thriving on traditions of dance and culture in a world set apart. They trained in hand-to-hand combat, using knives, machetes and spears as well as some limited use of ball and musket firearms.

In order to fight with the Agojie, young women from the Dahomey and those captured in raids from other villages were offered the opportunity to train and had to past a final test in front of the king at the palace. A young girl named Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) was dropped off at the palace after her father tried several times unsuccessfully to wed her off to older men. Nawi was stubborn and always questioned authority, but was taken under the wing of Izogie (Lashana Lynch) who tried to keep her out of trouble and in good graces with General Nanisca.

Nawi was first to complete the brutal challenges of the final test and caught the eye of the king as well as recognition from Nanisca. Nawi had a chance opportunity to speak with Nanisca alone, who explained the she was only trying to keep Nawi safe and from harm with her harsh rule. Nanisca noticed that Nawi had a scar on her left shoulder and was very taken back. Many years before Nanisca was captured and raped repeatedly by Oba and his men and ended up pregnant. She hid her pregnancy, had a baby girl and Agojie warrior took her away after she was born.

Unknown to anyone else Nanisca had made a small cut on the baby’s shoulder and placed a small shark tooth inside to always be able to recognize it was her if their paths ever crossed again. Nawi was shocked when she was able to pull a small shark tooth from her scar and felt terrible for what she represented to Nanisca, but Nanisca said she had nothing to do with the terrible experiences of her past. This however, was another reason why Nanisca wanted to end General Oba and soon after the Agojie along with male warriors ambushed the Oyo camp.

Nanisca was unable to find Oba during the battle, and the Oyo ended up retreating having been overcome by the Agojie. Nawi was no where to be found once it ended, so Nanisca returned to Dahomey believing she had been killed in the battle. Nawi had been knocked unconscious and was captured with several other Agojie and had been loaded on a wagon to be taken to the slave port for sale by Oba. One of the Agojie was able to escape and went back to Dahomey to tell Nanisca what had happened.

King Ghezo had just appointed Nanisca as the Woman King, and was going to host a celebration to announce it to the kingdom, so forbid her to go and try to rescue Nawi. Though recently discovered, Nanisca’s family bonds were strong, so she defied his command and set out with others who volunteered to go to the slave port and rescue Nawi and the others.

Runtime 2h 15m