Candlelight Pavilion Offers A Taste of Old Hollywood

By Darcie Flansburg
Real Critics Editor Publisher

Candlelight Pavilion's latest show has all the glitz and glam of old Hollywood complete with lit staircases, sparkling Ziegfeld Follies and a charming host.

"The Will Rogers Follies" portrays the life of famed humorist Will Rogers with grand dance numbers and classic songs.

The show covers everything from the day Rogers was born to his death. The audience witnesses the moment when Rogers met his future wife, when he ran for president, and how the world reacted when Rogers' life was cut short by a tragic airplane accident.  All the while Rogers plays to the audience and performs dance numbers with the Ziegfeld Follies.

Ziegfeld's voice is heard throughout the show, barking commands at Rogers as if the audience is interrupting a rehearsal. But this rehearsal includes flashbacks of Rogers' life.

Danny Michaels returned to Candlelight Pavilion to reprise the title role, a role that he has performed throughout Southern California. Michaels' smooth, sultry voice coupled with his sensitive charm and winning smile, won over the audience immediately. Audience members cooed and giggled in an enjoyment as Michaels made jokes and provided witty banter in between scenes and songs.

Michaels' performance of "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" was particularly touching.
This production marks the last time Michaels will be performing the role.

Lisa Dyson also reprised her role as Rogers' wife Betty Blake. Dyson and Michaels fit together like a glove, with sensational harmonies and disarming personalities.

Taking the show through Rogers' life is Zeigfeld's Favorite, played by Tracy Pedretti. Pedretti played Rogers' sidekick and Ziegfeld's liaison with great zeal. Her smile and laugh had the audience laughing and playing along with her antics.

Richard Malmos played Rogers' father Clem. Malmos' vocals and wily ways were always a pleasure, even when he was being disagreeable.

Some of the most enjoyable moments in the show involve the lovely Ziegfeld Follies. The ensemble of talented women brought a spirited and old fashioned flare that made everyone smile.

In the past, critics have had their problems with "The Will Rogers Follies" as a show. But this 11-time Tony nominated and 6-time Tony winning show will definitely provide a fun and insightful way to spend the evening.

The 1991 Tony Award-winning Musical may be somewhat outdated, but many of Rogers' ideas and critiques about the world, which he reveals through humor, are very poignant today.
With the presence of Michaels as the leading man, backed by another strong Candlelight Pavilion cast, "The Will Rogers Follies" is delightful.

Candlelight Pavillion, "The Will Rogers Follies," 455 West Foothill Blvd., Claremont Ca, www.candlelightpavilion.com, 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20 through Sept. 26, $48-$68 for General Admission, $25-$30 for children 12 and under

Forgive Them, They're Foreign (to the Art)

By Bob Roberts

For the Real Critics Blog

Christian Arts and Theatre, or CAT Corona, as they’d rather be called - the non-pc bit safely tucked under the bushel of a cutesy acronym for convenience’s sake - presents yet another Christ-less production in the esteemed Larry Shue’s “The Foreigner.” 

An aberration from their usual children’s musicals featuring dozens of fee-paying local youth (an awe-inspiring feat of salesmanship and shepherding if nothing else), “Foreigner” is their one “adult” (-cast) production of the year, and a shining example of the aphorism about adhering to one’s proficiencies.

Vicki Irvine directs Shue’s hilarious offering, highlighting some of the scripts vast jocularity.

Thankfully there is little useless blocking, i.e. the “cross to an upstage corner and stare into the Fresnel during the conversation’s climax” bit. Instead, Irvine’s ruptured Achilles is glacial pacing.

With all the painful transitions, awkward pauses and comedic unawareness, in Irvine’s hands Shue’s fast-paced comedy clocks in at a Shakespearean two and a half hours. Buyers beware: the current trend of changing curtain time to 7:30 from the age-old 8 p.m. doesn’t guarantee you’ll be getting home any earlier.

Ken Lay turns in the most truthful performance of the night as “Froggy LeSueur.” Though his Cockney could have be crisper, his feet less shifty, Froggy’s most notable failing is his stunning lack of chemistry with long-time best mate “Charlie Baker.”

Even with his most heartfelt moments played to the floor and a little mugging notwithstanding, Roger Schoepf manages to create an endearing, beautifully voiced Charlie.

Unfortunately for CAT’s legion of aspiring artists - and more importantly its patrons - the rest of the grown up cast are not good examples of what a lifetime in the arts can accomplish.

Let us begin with Cyndi Monroe, who butchers the powerhouse female lead role of “Betty Meeks.”

Perhaps it’s naiveté on my part: but shouldn’t the Founder/Artistic Director of said theater company be knowledgeable in the art? Shouldn’t she be able to step on the stage and say, ‘See, this is how it’s done. This is why I am fit to lead’? Or, in the very least, shouldn’t she spare the audience the insult of not having her lines memorized? To her credit, Monroe doesn’t list acting among her many talents in the program, and infers an extended absence from the stage. P.S.: Louder does not equal funnier.

Still, the most inconsistent, poorly played characterization belongs to Isaac Monroe (“Ellard Meeks”).

Monroe’s performance is anything but funny, in spite of the incessant, obsequious tittering of the pubescent female audience members. Rather than creating a lovable human being, Monroe fills the gaps between his lifeless, unaccented recitations of longer sentences with cartoonish slack-jawing and spasmodic flailing, turning Shue’s “slow” character into the worst kind of stereotype.

Throughout the course of the play he unabashedly displays every evil schoolyard bully gesticulation one could imagine, short of drooling and pounding a bent wrist to his chest to the tune of “der-der-der.” Were I the parent of a special needs child, I very well could’ve stormed out of there with a barrage of profanity. And though I’m not, maybe I still should have.

Visit www.catcorona.org for details on upcoming CAT Corona productions.