backstage-2012-11-29

“Morini”: MichaEl l aMont; “angEls”: tl Ko lMan; “Dirt y ”: J o hn fly nn; “ roMancE”: ED K riEg Er; “ h u g hiE”: Maia rosEnfElD
play l.a.
The Morini Strad
By TraViS
michael
holder
backstage.com
Mariette Hartley in “The Morini Strad”
There’s a slightness and a
quiet austerity inherent
in Willy Holtzman’s “The
Morini Strad,” based on
an actual notorious art theft that
remains a mystery. As soon as
the luminous Mariette Hartley,
as aged violinist Erica Morini,
shuffles through scenic designer
Stephen Gifford’s massive twostory
curtains to answer the
door of her Fifth Avenue abode,
there’s little doubt what’s going to
Angels Fall
Critic’s Score: B
Schedule Nov. 23–Dec. 22
Location The Lex Theatre
Bottom Line An environmental crisis
forces a stranded group of diverse
individuals to confront their own mortality
in Lanford Wilson’s seldom-performed
1982 drama, in a production filled with
heartfelt performances.
happen. What there is instead is a
straightforward, lyrically gentle
reminder about the nature of art,
and what is often sacrificed to
become an artist in a pragmatic
world. “Once you’ve stepped into
the spotlight,” Morini reminisces,
recalling her Carnegie Hall debut
at age 16, “one might not ever
want to step out of it again.”
When Morini began her notable
career in Vienna at age 12, she gave
up her childhood. Holtzman’s
play finds her late in life, when
fame has gone and she lives in
solitude, never leaving her apartment.
She surmises to houseguest
Brian Skarstad (David Nevell)
that it must appear she lives like
Norma Desmond, disappearing
into memories of former glory.
“I’m still big! It’s the music that
got small!” she quips, proving her
frailty has not compromised her
humor. Morini listens to crackling
old LPs of her concerts as she
guards the 300-year-old Davidoff
Stradivarius violin her father gave
her as a child prodigy. (Purchased
in the ’20s or ’30s, by the time
the instrument disappeared from
Morini’s locked armoire in 1995 its
value was more than $3.5 million.)
Stephanie Vlahos’ theatrical
direction, weaving seamlessly
from grand to delicately nuanced,
seems orchestrated as a musical
composition rather than a play.
Without Hartley’s extraordinary
performance, neither Holtzman’s
story nor Vlahos’ staging might
have worked. Slowly peeling away
also playing: l.a.
Full reviews online. visit backstage.com
Dirty Filthy Love Story
Critic’s Score: B
Schedule Nov. 24–Dec. 29
Location Rogue Machine Theatre
Bottom Line In its shrewdly appointed
world premiere, Rob Mersola’s ultra-black
comedy about hoarders lands a load of
guffaws, though the gory denouement
curiously feels like a cop-out.
layers of distrust and disappointment
with her station in life as the
piece nears its conclusion, Hartley
creates a breathtakingly multifaceted
eccentric, at times brittle
and difficult, at others bristling
with passion and a surprising
penchant for off-color jokes.
Nevell is the ideal foil for
Hartley as Skarstad, a workingclass
violin restorer hired to secretly
repair a scratch on the Strad
so Morini might put it up for sale.
There’s a charming, rumpled quality
in Nevell’s interpretation of
the man, both in appearance and
in the disorder and frustrations
of his life. (Although it is hard to
know whether the actor’s habitual
chin and forehead rubbing and
hair stroking is a character choice
or one of those bad habits actors
adopt without realizing it.)
The production is beautifully
complemented by Gifford’s abstract
set, able to suddenly transform
into a massive concert hall;
Kate Bergh’s elegant costuming;
Jared A. Sayeg’s dreamlike lighting;
and Drew Dalzell’s occasionally
sweeping, occasionally hushed
sound design. The appearance of
gifted 14-year-old violinist Geneva
Lewis, who appears as both a
wincingly bad music student and
as the vision of Morini in moments
from times past, inspires hope
for the future of the arts. How
wonderful that the overlooked
Erica Morini—and her fervency
for her art—has finally received
the attention she deserves.
The Last Romance
Critic’s Score: C+
Schedule Nov. 23–Dec. 19
Location Theatre 40
Bottom Line Joe DiPietro’s bittersweet
comedy about love among the geriatric
set has obvious appeal for older
audiences, but though it’s well-acted
others may find it slight, bland, and
predictable.
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stage | L.A. reviews
STephanie VlahoS’
TheaTrical direc-
Tion, weaVing
SeamleSSly from
grand To delicaTely
nuanced, SeemS
orcheSTraTed aS a
muSical compoSi-
Tion raTher Than
a play. wiThouT
marieTTe harTley’S
exTraordinary
performance aS
aged VioliniST erica
morini, neiTher
willy holTzman’S
STory nor VlahoS’
STaging mighT
haVe worked.
A+
Critic’s Score
PRODUCED BY
The Colony Theatre
Company
CAST BY
Patricia Cullen
SCHEDULE
Nov. 17–Dec. 16
LOCATION
The Colony Theatre
Hughie
Critic’s Score: B
Schedule Nov. 14–Dec. 13
Location Open Fist Theatre Company
Bottom Line Eugene O’Neill’s one-act
from the early 1940s is essentially a
dramatic monologue and a character
study. Director Martha Demson’s
spare staging proves that it’s potent if
imperfect.
11.29.12 backstage 49