Hit play The Love List has folks making lists
By Jill McClave February 22, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Theater
The Love List
Fri, Feb 8 thru Sat, Feb 23, 8pm
Wed, Sun matinees, 3pm
Villa Jacaranda
Aldama 53
200–400 pesos
www.theatersanmiguel.com 

If you have ever thought of wanting to change the traits of your mate, think twice. A raucous play The Love List may be for you. It’s a great evening of laughter, romance and hysterical fun. The Love List is a refreshingly original play by Norm Foster, handled with love by a superb cast (Kirsten Dehner, Robin Ward and Alan Jordan) and directed, to a tee, by Brenda Bazinet. The added bonus was the delicious food at Villa Jacaranda. A wonderfully “grown up” evening out.

Sally Reid, San Miguel.

The following kind folks around town responded to the question; “What is an important quality you look for in a mate and why?”

José Luis Mendoza (Teatro Santa Ana): She must be an artist of some kind, good-looking, not gorgeous and definitely not Barbie. I like curves, something to grab on to.

-Must be surprising, not routine.

-Social drinker only. Don’t like personality changes.

-I like organized chaos.

-Age doesn’t matter as long as they are young at heart

-Very important that she have a sense of humor and love music.

-Finally, no anger, but seriousness is okay.

Billie Bremer (actress): Hard to select just one quality, but I guess it has to be a sense of humor, defined by an easy smile and a joyful attitude toward life and self. This one quality can help make most any situation, such as the passage of aging, far less difficult and tedious.

Ed Clancy (US Consular Agent) and family: We believe that love is like an amusement park ride that you get on and it goes really fast and you can’t see a thing no matter how hard you try because it’s totally dark and it’s also totally scary but you keep getting back on again because it’s so much fun. Love = Space Mountain.

Susan Page (author and director of San Miguel Authors’ Sala): When I was shopping around for a mate, I was looking for a highly educated, professional guy who loved to sing, dance, play bridge and defeat everyone in charades. So much for the “love list!” I ended up falling in love with a college drop-out artist who loves to cook, shop, collect art and who tolerates charades.

He sings and dances when he can’t get out of it, and he’s never played bridge. But he adores me, takes incredible care of me, loves to wrap me in his arms and is a fascinating and enjoyable companion. If you are still looking, don’t limit yourself to people who you think are your type! Big mistake!

Jennifer Hamilton (House & Garden Tour director): Ideal mate should still be working out of Mexico and visit SMA one weekend a month or less which is enough time to have any man around, and of course leaving behind a nice chunk of money in the bank account and a platinum credit card.

He should not own, let alone ever wear, short-sleeved shirts nor walk around town in shorts. Thick gray hair, no ponytail nor any piercings or earrings. Neat cuticles. Soft voice. Stands up when a woman enters the room or is seated at his table. Napkin in lap and not stuck in collar in restaurants. Laughs a lot. Doesn’t mind smokers(!). Adventurous, liking to take trips in and around SMA (since he’s not here very often, no chance for long trips). Owns a deco, stylish house in DF in the Condesa neighborhood. Loves greasy and street foods. Can cook! Will leave me alone when I need to work. Cannot be a bench sitter in the Jardín. Good computer knowledge so he can teach me how to understand more programs and teach me how to do more t

han Microsoft Word! Over six feet tall. Likes the Royal Family. Understands my wicked sense of humor which others find insulting. Easy on the eyes. If naked, understands why I’d like all the lights out at my age. Spanish speaker. No Southern accent.

Keith Thompson (Longhorn Smokehouse): Simply put, compassion, understanding.

Lulu Torbet (artist, photographer): Give me (please) a man who makes me laugh. A sense of humor is a potent leavening agent for life’s—and love’s—twists and turns, bestowing its nourishing largesse on everything from sex to survival. In my experience, humor goes a long way to enhance the dance and lighten the load.

A wry smile, the giggles, a belly laugh, a very bad pun, a pinch of irony on a rainy day—ooh la la. I’ll take levitas over gravitas any day. 

Lachlan McClave (student, aged 10): She has to be fit and into running, be a funny actress and have beautiful green eyes.

Magic and madness in Moonlight and Magnolias
By Christine Foster

Theater Moonlight and Magnolias Fri & Sat, Feb 22 & 23, 8pm Sun, Feb 24, 5pm Teatro Santa Ana Reloj 50A 150 pesos, reserved seats

Dateline Hollywood: February 1939. The filming of Gone with the Wind is halted, the director George Cukor has just been fired. Producer David O. Selznick has a brainwave. He sends his limo to pick up script doctor Ben Hecht and famous director Victor Fleming and promptly locks them in his office for a marathon five-day rewrite session, insisting they eat nothing but brain-nourishing bananas and peanuts.

That’s the inspired and lunatic premise of the current Player’s Workshop production of Moonlight and Magnolias. Director Lola Smith treats the audience to a blend of farce, wit and slapstick, letting all three genres overlap without losing either humor or truth.

It’s a fast-paced satire on Hollywood ethics, on moviemaking, huge egos, and on the beloved GWTW itself. In fact, you’ll never think of Scarlett, Ashley, Rhett and Melanie the same way again…not after you’ve seen their lives acted out by an unwilling Victor Fleming (Jim Newell) and a desperate David O. Selznick (Rudy Hornish), all in front of a startled Ben Hecht (Michael Gottlieb) who’s never even read the book.

All seats are reserved and tickets are available in the Biblioteca patio 10:30am–1:30pm and the theater box office 4–7pm.

The magic of comedy at the Santa Ana
By Shannon Reece

Theater
Comedy of the Universe
Wed–Sat, Feb 27–Mar 1st, 8pm
Sun, Mar 2, 5pm, matinee
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
100 pesos

Laugh-a-Licious! The extraordinarily hilarious comedy troupe Comedia del Universo (Comedy of the Universe) opens their eighth season with an all new vaudevilleish review called “The Magic of Comedy.”

 Under the magical direction of the one and only José Luis Mendoza, this group of who’s who in the up and coming young entertainers of this decade promises to thrill and delight those lucky enough to obtain tickets in what looks like a sold-out run. These young actors, along with their funny-bone-friendly director, have been the toast of the comedy scene in San Miguel since their very first performance at Teatro Ángela Peralta in 1999. Since then they have tweaked and tuned their repertoire to match any vaudeville show in the past… present…or future. Fans may recall such beloved characters as the fatally funny “Violinist,” or the audaciously funny “Magician,” the “Figaro Singer,” or even the sinisterly funny “Dracula.” 

If you have been fortunate enough to have seen some of their performances, you might recall their wildly successful production of Transylvania Mon Amour, complete with coffin and bloody paintings, or the Up, Up and Away presented in 2006, with their clever hot air balloon skit, the comedy of errors with In the Wrong Place with the Wrong People, or the notorious Refried Tastes Better and Top Ten, a series of the best of the best skits full of kill-by-laughter technology.

But no matter what you come into the theater expecting…you will always be surprised out of your seat by the level of comedy this group is known for. José Luis has an uncanny way of guiding his actors into the realms of not only theatrical techniques, but also in a willingness to develop their characters into funny, memorable and loveable personalities. I have heard it said of José Luis that he is one of the last and true-blue vaudevillian actors of this era, and it is exemplified in this recent production. We might mention here that the MC is 

really not to be trusted. The Non-Stop Egg Nog Mix nun who MC’d one other show has since said NO to rehab. A show not to be missed, especially in these times when good laughter and enjoyment are the best medicine to take us to the realm where the stress of modern life is left behind.

Tickets are on sale at the theater box office.

Literary Cabaret romps through crime
By Meredith Beaumont

Theater
Literary Cabaret on the Lam
Tue–Thu, Feb 26–28, 8pm
Sat, Mar 1, 8pm
Cava de la Princesa
Recreo 3

Crime, like virtue, has its degrees.—Jean Racine

Laws are like cobwebs which may catch small flies but let wasps and hornets through.—Jonathan Swift

Suggested Caption: Marilyn Bullivant, Rick Davey, Reesha Browning

The Literary Cabaret brings the second winter season show to La Princesa this week. Rick Davey, Marilyn Bullivant & Reesha Browning romp their way through crimes of passion, illicit gain and sheer need, in their usual tongue-in-cheek and satirical fashion. The trio specializes in bringing English literature (and anybody else’s, for that matter) to the stage in an atmosphere of music and merriment. They promise not to contravene the laws of decency (too much), and to commit only the most minor of misdemeanors.

Although initially shocking, when there is a certain distance of time between the present and the committing of the crime, society seems to be able to step back and frequently see the outrageousness, and therefore the irony, in the criminal act and its punishment. Newspapers all over the world thrive on the sensational and the salacious—particularly if committed by someone famous. Somewhat distasteful and shocking acts from more than a century ago are often turned into rhymes and irreverent ditties; these will give grist to the Literary Cabaret’s mill of gruesome and giggle-some tales.

Songs about murder, petty theft, grand larceny and injustice will no doubt amuse and titillate. Stephen Sondheim’s popular musical Sweeney Todd produces songs of questionable but musically challenging content and a couple of vaudeville variants tell the tale of a family of felons and of the fame achieved on the way to one’s own execution. Gilbert & Sullivan offer their take on the difficulty of law enforcement in The Pirates of Penzance; irreverent and perennially amusing Tom Lehrer gives us his two cents worth on the subject of extermination; and the Dixie Chicks present countercultural advice on the subject of wife abuse (a warning to men everywhere!).

Oscar Wilde is featured twice: first, with a piece written when he was the toast of London, when he was frivolous, gay and seemingly untouchable; the next, from The Ballad of Reading Gaol, written after his dreadful incarceration and the two years of hard labor which weakened and eventually killed him.

Charles Dickens suffered a drastic shock and impoverishment when his father, a government clerk, was imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea, a thirteenth-century prison demolished in 1849. He describes it in Little Dorrit, and prisons recur, literally and symbolically, in many of his books which attack social injustice. His descriptions of characters and places, however, are always so amusingly accurate that an excerpt from Oliver Twist (and the musical Oliver) can be featured with enlightened enjoyment.

A sketch from the dark but comedic mind of Harold Pinter will put us on the edge of our seats; T.S. Eliot will introduce us to a pair of canny cat burglars (from his rhythmic, rambunctious Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats); and all sorts of contemporary poets, both esoteric and entertaining, will take us to the world of those outside the law.

While we trust that no princesses were actually incarcerated in the dungeon-like atmosphere of the character-steeped, seventeenth-century Cava de la Princesa, it does seem a suitable venue for such a program.

Divas director Michael Whaley interviewed
By Sally Leonard

Theater
Divas
Mon–Thu, Feb 25–28, 7pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
250/150/100/75 pesos

Willowbend Productions announces the world premiere of Divas, a musical conceived and written by Broadway producer and choreographer Michael Whaley. Divas pays homage to the ladies who became Broadway legends.

The audience will relish the music from many of the most famous and classic shows ever to play Broadway.

Sally Leonard: What originally brought you here to San Miguel?

Michael Whaley: I was in the waiting room of my doctor’s office in New York, reading the AARP magazine and I saw an article about some smallish towns in Mexico, such as Ajijic, Chapala and San Miguel de Allende. So, I thought I should check them out. I came to San Miguel and discovered that this town had everything, such as theater, great artists and great music that made it a real life here. I came for a month and, two and a half years later, I’m still here.

SL: I understand you have quite an extensive background in performing in on- and off-Broadway shows plus doing regional and national tours.

MW: Yes, My Fair Lady with Jane Powell for 15 weeks in Los Angeles; stayed three years in which time I worked with Gene Kelly, Juliette Prowse, Ethel Merman and many more.

SL: Which brings us to your newest production, Divas.

MW: Yes, Divas is a show I’ve been playing around with for about three years now. It is an homage to the ladies that captured Broadway with their unique, natural abilities. The show includes songs from Gypsy, My Fair Lady, Camelot and many more. With the sensational talent in San Miguel, I think people will be absolutely thrilled with this gorgeous production. Tickets are on sale now at the Peralta box office. A potion of the proceeds will go to Casita Linda, a Mexican nonprofit which builds simple and decent housing for disadvantaged families.

SL: Can you tell us something about your next production?

MW: A new play by Mike Hager called Dusty’s Last Ride will have its world premiere at the Teatro Santa Ana. All proceeds will go to Casita Linda. I now wish to thank our various sponsors: Mansión del Bosque, Don & Gloria Fenton, DeServe, Hotel Villa Jacaranda, San Miguel Walking & Shopping Guide, Hotel Cascada Vieja and El Ring.

Joan of Arc as a one-woman show

A one-woman show, Joan of Arc: Vision thru Fire, written and directed by John Morrow, with music by Peter Ross in the Opera Theater of Rancho Los Labradores (Highway to Dolores ), February 22 and 23, 7pm. Transportation provided from the El Cardo Parking Garage leaving at 6pm, included in the cost of the ticket, 150 pesos.