DAVID BAZEMORE
a&e | THEATER REVIEWS PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE PRESENTS
A Workshop with Michael Sipiora and Marshall Chrostowski
Celebrating the Soul of the World A Day in the Pacifica Gardens
BINGO NIGHT: (from left) South Boston residents Dottie (Catherine Coulson), Margie (Alicia Sedwick), Jean (DeeDee Rescher), and Stevie (Matthew Grondin) enjoy a night at the parish hall.
Stay Classy, Boston
Saturday, March 1 9:00 AM–5:30 PM
Marshall Chrostowski
$150 General Admission $125 Special Admission
Good People. At the New Victoria Theatre, Saturday, February 8. Shows through February 23.
Full-Time Students, Pacifica Alumni, and Seniors
Reviewed by Charles Donelan
$100 Active Pacifica Students
C
lass occupies a paradoxical place on the American stage. The idea that material success both embodies and mutilates the American dream is at the heart of many theatrical masterpieces, but it’s something that seldom gets spoken out loud. In Good People, David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2011 play about two neighborhoods in Boston, that oversight has been rectified. Although Lindsay-Abaire, who grew up in working-class South Boston, is highly qualified to reveal the truth about his old neighborhood, his play is only a qualified success. Good People raises good questions about relative standards of living, life choices, and luck, and the second act packs some plot-twisting punches, but the ending neatly sidesteps the story’s main point, settling for an ambiguous answer by changing the subject. Nevertheless, this excellent production, which stars Alicia Sedwick as Margie, has lots to recommend it. Jenny Sullivan’s direction is excellent, and each of the cast members contributes something valuable to the mix. DeeDee Rescher is a riot as Jean, Margie’s best frenemy, and Catherine Coulson is equally a hoot as Dottie, Margie’s obstreperous landlady. New Hampshire native Matthew Grondin nails the difficult Boston vowels as Stevie, a young dollar-store manager with a heart of gold. As Mike, the high school friend who has escaped Southie to tony Chestnut Hill by way of the Ivy League, Geoffrey Lower negotiates a role requiring multiple shifts in accent and attitude. But this is Margie’s play, and Sedwick does an outstanding job bringing every aspect of this difficult woman to light. Nobody’s fool but her own, Margie combines flashes of witty sarcasm with a deep pessimism that almost has her beat. Whether she has progressed after all she goes through in the play is anyone’s guess, but thanks to Sedwick’s strong performance, it’s a wild and entertaining ■ ride.
Home Bodies King of Shadows. At the Piano Kitchen, Friday, February 7. Shows through February 23. Reviewed by Charles Donelan
F
urthering their mission to bring authentic live theater to a broader audience in Santa Barbara, the Elements Theatre Collective presented King of Shadows last Friday at the Piano Kitchen, a performance space on Rose Avenue, just off East Haley Street. Roberto Aguirre-Socasa’s play examines the moral dilemma of a Berkeley grad student named Jessica (Jennifer Marco), whose research project on homeless teens enmeshes her in the fantastical and gruesome visions of one such youth, Nihar (Nicholis Sheley). Director Kate Bergstrom has put together a fine cast for this production and gambled successfully on her hunch that actual teenagers Allison Lewis Towbes (as Jessica’s younger sister, Sarah) and Nicholis Sheley could handle the show’s dark and twisted subject matter. The four-person cast is rounded out by Josh Jenkins, who plays Eric, Jessica’s boyfriend and a working policeman who suspects that Nihar is not what he claims to be. Jessica grapples realistically with Nihar’s aggressive moves to infiltrate her life, and Jenkins delivers a forceful, physically bold characterization of the conflicted Eric. But the real heart of this show beats in the connection between Nihar and Jessica’s rebellious little sister. As Sarah, Towbes cracks wise and sophisticated with her sister and her sister’s boyfriend, only to display another, more vulnerable side with Nihar. Sheley’s mercurial performance as Nihar leaves both the other characters and the audience on edge, never quite sure how far to trust this enigmatic young man. Congratulations to Elements for continuing to provide such compelling, adventurous theater to our whole community at no cost. ■
Fees include Saturday lunch. 7 CECs for MFTs, LCSWs, and RNs
The splendid grounds of Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Lambert Road Campus are the result of more than 20 years of thoughtful cultivation. The 13-acre campus has evolved from an abandoned horse ranch into a unique melding of Mediterranean gardens with native California flora and edible landscapes that form a green belt around the campus. In addition to applying the best horticultural and ecological principles, Pacifica has reintroduced garden elements reflecting historical occupations on the site. Join Landscape Manager Marshall Chrostowski and Professor Michael Sipiora in an aesthetic and intellectual engagement with this beautiful location. Conversational presentation of relevant themes from Pacifica’s lecture halls—soulful engagement, poetic dwelling, and the thought of the heart—will be interwoven with tours of the gardens. We will focus on specific sites, highlighting the horticultural, ecological, historical, and psychological contexts in play. A healthful lunch will be provided utilizing food grown in the gardens.
For additional information or to register visit pacifica.edu/public programs or call 805.969.3626, ext. 103
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