Theater

2021 Fall Dining Guide

Openings are back, and closings, with controversy and nostalgia

I was asked to see what was “opening” this fall. The very concept of “opening” is changing in these times, as the recent Netflix release of “Diana: The Musical” proved, prior to its “opening” this month on Broadway. Disney’s “Aladdin,” just to cite another example, opened and, overnight, had to close for two weeks because of COVID-19 cases in the cast. The show is (as of this writing) running at a quarter million-dollar loss every week as parents keep unvaccinated children away. D, E and I

Diversity and equity issues inform choices at several area theaters. The Geffen hosts Dominique Morrisseau’s “Paradise Blue” (Nov. 9 to Dec. 12). Set in a jazz club, it focuses on themes of race and gentrification in Detroit in 1949. Pasadena’s A Noise Within complements the Detroit play with August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars,” set in Pittsburgh in 1948 (running to Nov. 14). Both plays emphasize the power of music in the struggles of Black Americans.

“Hamilton” continues its run at the Pantages, but not without controversy. Suni Reid, a transgender, non-binary former cast member has filed complaints against the company for not being hired after they protested the lack of gender-neutral dressing rooms. (There has been no resolution as of this writing).

The Mark Taper is dark, but it has its own controversy, as playwright Jeremy O. Harris threatened to cancel his Tony-nominated “Slave Play” because of the lack of genderequity in the Taper’s programing. The Taper’s associate artistic directors (currently leading the theater) acknowledged the institution’s shortcomings and made sufficient remedial proposals that Mr. Harris is now allowing his play to go on. The Taper is not alone: the historic Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia was hit with protests over lack of opportunities for people of color, and the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. cancelled its season over similar issues. Revivals

Some theaters are choosing to turn the clock back with revivals of nostalgia-heavy comfort-food. Broadway is planning “The Music Man,” Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite,” “Funny Girl,” “Company” and Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive,” all of which would make Rip Van Winkle think he hadn’t missed much. Locally, the Odyssey Theater revives its production of Jean-Claude van Itallie’s 1960s-era “The Serpent” (to Dec. 12), while the Pasadena Playhouse features music by the female rock band, The Go-Gos, in “Head Over Heels,” a “dance party” based on Sir Philip Sydney’s “Arcadia.” (Nov. 9 to Dec. 12.) Not to be outdone, “Incredible: The Musical” plays at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood, featuring the song catalogue of Pat Benatar and her husband Neil Giraldo, in a retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (Nov 10-12 only).

The Ahmanson brings the Old Vic production of “A Christ-

Theater Review

by Louis Fantasia

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©LC 0406 mas Carol” to town Nov. 30, followed in March by the National Theater’s “The Lehman Trilogy” (which re-opened on Broadway with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez watching the fall of capitalism from the audience). Also opening November 30 is the touching “The Band’s Visit,” based on the film about an Egyptian military band stuck overnight in a small Israeli town (to Dec. 19).

Hybrid approaches

More and more theaters are experimenting with some sort of hybrid opening, trying to find the sweet spot between “bums in seats” and “eyeballs on the screen.” The Los Angeles Opera presents Rossini’s “Cinderella” (Nov. 20 to Dec. 12), and it will live-stream two performances (Nov. 28 and Dec. 1). For those venturing downtown, Los Angeles Opera also has what it calls a “Breathe Easy Section,” where “seats next to you and your party could be blocked off.”

To jump coasts for a second, there is also the off-Broadway revival of Wallace Shawn’s 30-year-old play, “The Fever” (about white privilege) with Lily Taylor. After it closes this month, the play will be available on Audible. “Closing” is now as fluid a concept as “opening.”

All theaters require proof of vaccination, and masks are compulsory. Ticket information is on the theaters’ websites.

Get your shots, mask up, and go!

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