PopSmart

Last night I attended Valhalla, the kick-off production of Essential Theatre’s 10th anniversary season of local and world premiere plays. Valhalla was kind of an odd duck, juxtaposing the life of Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria (Topher Payne) with an impulsive, gay Texan (Matt Felten) in the 1930s and 1940s. Playwright Paul Rudnick tends to be something of a one-liner machine, so the play’s relentless quippiness at times concealed its more complex ideas. It reminds me of the joke in Raising Arizona that was called a “way-homer,” “because you only get it on the way home.” I’ll have more to say about Valhalla later.

For such a small theater company, Essential is particularly proactive about using the viral video powers of the Internet. Just like last year, Essential Theatre’s web site presents video previews (mostly interview-based) for its three shows running in repertory: the time-shifting comedy Valhalla; the crime-and-celebrity drama After Ashley by Gina Gionfriddo (opening July 2); and West of Eden, a comedy about Adam and Eve at middle age by Letitia Sweitzer (opening July 8). Here’s the clip for Valhalla; for the others, just click on the titles.

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In a display of ambition that seems positively, well, Shakespearean, The New American Shakespeare Tavern has announced that it will stage 15 plays between this August and next June for its 2008-2009 season. That’s a staggeringly busy schedule for a company that has no second stage, requiring constant performance.

In prior years the Tavern has staged “August Three-peat” repertory remounts of shows from earlier in the year, a concept tweaked for “Two Months of Four Plays,” with this August seeing returns of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and King John. (I reviewed the 2006 production of Complete here).

After Antony and Cleopatra in October, the Tavern stages the rarely-seen threesome of Henry VI, Parts I, II and III. Incidentally, I happened to see Artistic Director Jeffrey Watkins at Essential Theatre’s Valhalla last night, and asked him if they considered including Richard III with the Henry plays, since it’s basically a sequel to or conclusion of that cycle. Watkins said that they did, but that four plays would be too demanding to put on essentially all at once, but that in the 2009-2010 season, the Tavern might stage Richard III and bring the Henry VIs back.

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1) Rising Appalachia hosts and headlines Concrete Pandemonium at Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery.

2) Zoroaster headlines Corndogorama’s final day at Lenny’s Bar.

3) Monsters inhabit Atlanta in The Monster Show at Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery.

4) Colbie Caillat performs at the Variety Playhouse.

5) REO Speedwagon and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts perform at Chastain Park.

(Photo © Chad Hess)

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Georgia Shakespeare courts controversy by staging THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, historically one of Shakespeare’s most puzzling plays. Beneath the trappings of light romantic comedy, Merchant features the antagonistic role of bloodthirsty moneylender Shylock (Chris Kayser), one of Shakespeare’s most vivid characters, yet the embodiment of some of the Elizabethan era’s anti-Semitic stereotypes. Frequently Shakespeare’s “problem plays” provide the most interesting productions, and The Merchant of Venice also features the talents of Park Krausen, Tess Malis Kincaid, Joe Knezevich, Allen O’Reilly and others, beginning Thurs., JUNE 26. Through Aug. 2. $15-$40. In repertory Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 and 8 p.m. Georgia Shakespeare, Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road. 404-264-0020. www.gashakespeare.org.

(Photo by Ken Reid)

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I reviewed the Actor’s Express production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch in this week’s issue, and while I believe there’s room for improvement, it remains an impressive production. And as I stated in my review, one of the reasons why watching Hedwig is such a compelling experience is because John Cameron Mitchell’s collaboration with Stephen Trask is the most authentic stage rendering of rock music you’ll ever witness. (And before we continue, I don’t count Tommy in this mix; the Who’s rock opera started out as an album.)

There are a lot of reasons for this, some of which speak to how audiences — both gay and straight — related to both traditional musical theater and rock ’n’ roll. The best thing about Hedwig and the Angry Inch is how it can unite all theater-going (and some non-theater-going) audiences. (more…)

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and David Lee Simmons discussing Hedwig and the Angry Inch playing tonight and through the weekend at Actor’s Express.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman chatting about Georgia Shakespeare production of As You Like It. (Through Aug. 1)

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Emmy-winning actor and favorite Atlantan Leslie Jordan is going to be all over Atlanta this weekend and beyond, all in honor of the recent release of his memoir, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. The former “Will and Grace” guest performer is one of those guys who’s just funny once he opens his mouth; I firmly believe that he could read the mayor’s budget-cut proposals and get a laugh. (His 2006 interview with Curt Holman proves as much.)

Jordan will be plenty busy over the next few days, starting Saturday with a book-release appearance at Outwrite Books. The reading/signing starts at 7:30 p.m.; admission is free. He follows that up with a two-night stand at the 14th Street Playhouse with his one-man show of the same name, Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m.

Unfortunately, the status of the sitcom “12 Miles of Bad Road” (in which he co-stars) seems hopelessly up in the air, according to this article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Anyone know anything different? Perhaps Leslie will enlighten us, in a way only he can, as he shows in this clip taken during his recent Stonewall Columbus fundraiser.

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The convention that the “theatrical season” runs from fall to spring should probably be put to pasture, since so many playhouses fail to observe it. Even if you’re a traditionalist, when do you mark the end of Atlanta’s theatrical season? My best guess would be some time between the opening night of Dad’s Garage Theatre’s final main stage show, and the start of Georgia Shakespeare’s summer repertory. But do you place summer shows with the season that just ended, or the one that’s about to begin?

The playhouse with the highest success rate this year was the Alliance Theatre, which fully lived up to its 2007 Tony Award for Regional Theatre. Admittedly its lavish musicals – The Women of Brewster Place and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies (plus the Alliance Children’s Theatre’s Seussical) featured more energy than surprises, although Ladies included a remarkably talented eight-person cast. Nevertheless, Doubt lived up to its reputation as a theatrical firecracker and the Hertz Stage presented one stupendous show after another: the suave revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris; the achingly lovely vision of Greek myth Eurydice; and the earthy family tale In the Red and Brown Water. The latter proved to be the fourth and best show so far from the theater’s Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition.

The Hertz also provided rental space to the year’s most memorable disaster, Curvy Widow starring Cybill Shepherd. The TV and movie star seemed unprepared – but not unlikeable – as she struggled with an inert monologue play about dating at a Certain Age. The show became something of a must-see train wreck not despite its faults, but because of them.

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“There’s no Church of England fundamentalism, you know, like they have Islamic fundamentalism. Church of England fundamentalism is impossible because you can’t have: ‘You must have tea and cake with the vicar… or you die!’ Cake or death? That’s a pretty easy question. Anyone could answer that. ‘Cake or death?’ ‘Uhh, cake, please.’”

— Actor, comedian and occasional cross-dresser Eddie Izzard, who brings his latest stand-up show “Stripped” to Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday-Wednesday, June 24-25.

As a PopSmart bonus, here’s the full quote as re-enacted by Lego toys. YouTube features a surprisingly high quantity of Lego-style Eddie Izzard routines.

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