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The pride of "Lions"
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It was as a child at my mother's knee--or some other low joint--that I discovered I wanted to be an actor.
(Of course back then, one said actress. For me that changed when Meryl Streep started referring to herself as an actor, and I figured if it worked for her, then who was I to quibble? And who says "doctress," after all?) Anyway, I knew by the time I was three or four that this was what I desperately wanted to do. And I found out when my parents took me to see a play.
I was irretrievably swept away by the whole experience. The amazing magic of it.
Picture a little girl in a high-waisted dress, patent leather shoes and short brown hair. Well behaved and overawed. Clutching my mother's white-gloved hand, following an usher down a carpeted aisle.
Climbing into my very own red velvet seat. Absorbing the weird phenomenon of an ocean of people all facing in the same direction, all staring at an impenetrable red velvet curtain. Knowing something important was about to happen but not knowing what to expect. Being a little trepidatious when the lights went down and the world around my seat became pitch black. Robbed of sight but feeling the enhanced sensation of warm air, the heightened whispers, breathing, rustlings of so many people all around me. Talk about suspense.
And then suddenly the light! spilling toward me as the curtain went up to reveal a bright, fabulous world inhabited by real people. Not two dimensional ones on a screen, but walking, talking, immediate ones. Acting out a story! In a word, wow.
It was like landing in Oz. Not like the Judy Garland movie I loved, but even better, because it was real. But it wasn't real. But it WAS real. So often since then I've reflected that I feel more real and at home on stage than off. And I consider myself fairly well adjusted. Hmmm. But I digress.
Later, when I evolved into a curious young adult and developed a need for artistic fulfillment, my infatuation with theatre and acting deepened into obsession. A quest, a crusade for excellence as both artist and audience. OK, I'll say it: a raison d'etre.
Which is why, when I see a play that knocks me off my feet like the one I saw tonight, it immediately takes me back to the very first time I saw a play. It's very rare. And it makes everything new again. Remember in "Ratatouille" when the critic has his first forkful of that signature dish and instantly hurtles back to his childhood, to his beloved mother's kitchen table? Like that.
It's called "Lions." It's being performed at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, California. This is a play that deserves to be noticed by everyone, anywhere who cares about theatre.
"Lions" at Pacific Resident Theatre
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"Lions" is playwright Vince Melocchi's take on the hopes, disappointments and dreams of a group of Detroit Lions' fans. It brings to life their struggle to survive in today's economy. It's like Arthur Miller, but funnier.
This is not really a review. More qualified people than I have called this play a triumph. Just a few press quotes:
"'Lions' is a compelling play, performed with realism by a gifted cast under the direction of Guellermo Cienfuegos."
"This ensemble does a masterful job of depicting a posse of bar archetypes. Haskell Anderson's embittered barfly and Sarah Zinsser's tough-talking and resigned spinster are particularly wonderfully vivid and recognizable figures, and Matt McKenzie's turn as the increasingly desperate Spook, all nicotine-stained voice and machismo as he inescapably devolves into drunken bumhood, is genuinely engrossing."
"The strong ensemble delivers an all-around touching portrait of Middle America."
"A textured and nuanced transformation that McKenzie performs poetically."
"Director Guillermo Cienfuegos reveals the play’s pith and brutality with a sensitive hand."
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Haskell V Anderson III, Valerie Dillman, Nick Rogers, Gloria Charles, Vince Melocchi, Kim Estes, Keith Stevenson, Matt McKenzie, Malik B. El-Amin, Dan Cole, Seth Margolies, Sarah Zinsser, Dan Kozlowski in "Lions." Through 12/14, Alan Keith Caldwell as Curtis.
It so happens that this play was created by a company I've been a proud member of for many years. Now I'm even prouder. If you're anywhere near Los Angeles, I hope you can see it. The acting is spectacular, the direction superb. The playwright, Vince Melocchi, will probably become very famous someday. Someday soon.
Thing is, the run of "Lions" at PRT is due to end next weekend (Dec. 14th). There's a chance it may be extended. We can only hope. And a rumor that it may have another, further life if several interested producers have their way. So stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I can still taste that forkful of excellence I enjoyed last night. It embodied the very essence of what a good theatrical experience should be. As playwright John Guare so cogently put it: "Theatre? A place of darkness where the bright truth is told."
There is hope, after all.
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