Smokey Robinson Lends His Voice To Video Ecards

By Darlene Donloe

Motown legend Smokey Robinson is known for his silky, sultry, delicious crooning.

Well, starting this month his honeyed vocals can be heard as part of the launch of American Greetings Hollywood SmashUps™ collection of celebrity video ecards.

The popular ecards will give fans the opportunity to customize greetings sung by Robinson himself for a variety of holidays and occasions.

The first new ecard features My Girl, the Temptation’s 1965 hit written by Robinson. It launched this week in support of Robinson’s newly-created holiday on Sunday, October 8: Father-Daughter Day. This innovative holiday highlights the encouraging influence a positive connection between a father and his daughter can have on her growth and development. After this inaugural year, the Father-Daughter Day will take place on the second Sunday of each October.

 

Smokey Robinson

I recently caught up with the always cordial and upbeat Smokey Robinson to talk about his latest project.

DD: How and why did you decide to participate with the Father-Daughter Day on Oct. 8.

SR: American Greetings approached me. They said they wanted to start a Father-Daughter Day. It's a gender situation. I wanted to promote fathers and daughters having a better connection.

DD:  This sounds exciting. So, which of your songs can people hear and use as a personalized ecard?

SR. Yes, we’re excited about it, too.  I sing My Girl and Get Ready. I did videos singing both of those songs. If you want to personalize a video greeting, you can insert any name.

DD:  You have six daughters, so you can definitely speak to this. Why is the father-daughter relationship so unique?

SR:  I think it's a gender thing. Daughters relate to males better than they do their mothers. Sons are always clinging to their moms. It’s almost automatic. My daughter and me were tight from the beginning.

DD: What do you mean by tight?

SR: It’s about spending time, quality time with my daughter. Just being together. I was on the road a lot. I retired when Tamla was three. My oldest son was almost six. We were moving from Detroit to L.A because of Motown.  It's important for all families to spend time together. I don't think I’ve had a conversation on the phone with anyone I love without ending it by telling them, ‘I love you’. I can be mad, but when we end our conversations we always say, ‘I love you’. That’s important.

DD:  Describe your relationship with your daughters.

SR: My relationship with my daughters is fantastic. Well, I have my daughter, Tamla, who was named after the record label. I have five daughters by marriage.  They are my wife’s daughters. We all have a great relationship.

DD:  What would you like to see happen on Oct. 8?

SR:  The best thing to do that day is to communicate. It would be great to be able to have fathers and daughters see each other physically, if possible. Go to lunch. At least speak on the phone.

DD: Why did you want to do it?

SR: I think it’s important to promote any kind of loving relationship.

DD: Which song of yours would you send to your wife or your daughter in a personalized video greeting card?

SR: Wow, I’m not really sure which song I’d pick. I’ve written so many.

DD: How many have you written?

SR:  About 4,000. It’s hard to pick just one.

DD: On October 8, what are you going to do with your girls?

SR: I’m not sure what we’re doing, but we’re going to do something.  I’ll probably get together with Tamla. My other daughters are in Pittsburgh. If I’m not with them, I will speak to them.

**This November Smokey Robinson will release his very first solo Christmas CD, titled Christmas Everyday. It was recorded for and exclusively distributed through Amazon.  The CD features 10-songs which include three originals pieces accompanied by seven renditions of Robinson’s personal favorite carols and hymns. Special guests include Take 6, Trombone Shorty, The Dap Kings, and Us the Duo.

Encuentro de Las Americas Opens November 2

L.A.’s Latino Theater Company will be joined by 13 companies from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Peru and Colombia for a three-week celebration of dynamic, contemporary Latinx and Latin American theater. Encuentro de Las Américas, produced by the Latino Theater Company in association with Latinx Theatre Commons, is set to take place at downtown’s The Los Angeles Theatre Center from Nov. 2 through Nov. 19.

The 14 companies will present their work in repertory, with performances running simultaneously every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the five spaces that make up The LATC’s multi-theater complex. The companies include 24th Street Theatre from Los Angeles, CA; Argos Teatro from Havana, Cuba: Cara Mía Theater Company from Dallas, TX; Compañía Nacional de las Artes from Bogotá, Colombia; Culture Clash from Los Angeles, CA; Ébano Teatro from Lima, Peru; Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA from Los Angeles, CA; Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center from San Antonio, TX; Latino Theater Company from 

Los Angeles, CA; Marga Gomez from San Francisco, CA; Nightswimming from Toronto, ON, Canada; Organización Secreta Teatro, from Mexico City, Mexico; Pregones Theater from Bronx, NY; and Vueltas Bravas from Bogotá, Colombia.

An additional 12 Los Angeles-based artists will be represented in Patas Arriba (“Upside Down”), a late night “micro-theater festival” set to take place in the “belly” of The LATC, where audiences will cycle through the non-traditional performance spaces of the building — Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel — to experience four 15-minute works during each hour-long performance. Patas Arriba will take place every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with two staggered start times (9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.) and a different line-up of four plays each week.

A free Cinema & Music mini-festival on Tuesday and Wednesday nights will pair musical performances with screenings of soon-to-be-released films, including Chavela, a new documentary about Costa Rican-Mexican singer Chavela Vargas and NALIP, an evening of short films followed by a concert by Spanish singer Patricia Kraus in her American debut.

Finally, the 26 companies will work together to share creative methodologies that will culminate in the co-creation of five new works presented on the last day of the festival. This unique collaboration offers participants an in-depth opportunity to mesh aesthetic diversity of Latinx and Latin American work, thus furthering the mission of the festival to create a global theater community.

“That’s what makes our Encuentro so unique, so different from any festival here or anywhere else in the world,” says Latino Theater Company artistic director José Luis Valenzuela. “It’s about artists working together and creating new work.”

According to Valenzuela, Encuentro de Las Américas is a natural extension of the national Encuentro presented by LTC three years ago. “In 2014, we explored the relationship of American Latinos to the rest of the theater landscape in the U.S.,” he explains. “The question this time, with artists participating not only from this country, but from Canada, Latin and South America, and the Caribbean, is how can American Latinx and Latin American theater-makers have a conversation? Where are we going? How do we jointly embrace our voice?”

The Latino Theater Company is dedicated to providing a world-class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; and a place where the convergence of people, cultures and ideas contribute to the future. Now in its 31st year, LTC has operated The Los Angeles Theatre Center, a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and a landmark building in Downtown’s Historic Core, since 2006.

Encuentro de las Américas takes place from Nov. 2 through Nov. 19. Single tickets are $22 for students, seniors and vets and $44 general admission. Discounts are available for two-play, six-play and 13-play packages. Tickets to the Patas Arriba micro-theater festival are $20. Tickets to the Cinema & Music mini-festival are free. The Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (866) 811-4111 or go to www.thelatc.org.

 

Detailed descriptions and scheduling:
‘Encuentro de Las Américas’
 

WHAT:
Encuentro de Las Américas — Fourteen companies from the U.S. Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Peru and Colombia celebrate dynamic, contemporary Latinx and Latin American theater during a three-week festival, with five performances presented simultaneously every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the five performance spaces that make up The Los Angeles Theatre Center. An additional 12 Los Angeles-based artists will be represented in Patas Arriba (“Upside Down”), a late night “micro-theater festival” set to take place in the “belly” of The LATC, where audiences will cycle through the non-traditional performance spaces of the building — Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel — to experience four 15-minute works during each hour-long performance. A free Cinema & Music mini-festival on Tuesday and Wednesday nights will pair musical performances with screenings of soon-to be-released films, including Chavela, a new documentary about Costa Rican-Mexican singer Chavela Vargas and NALIP, an evening of short films followed by a concert by Spanish singer Patricia Kraus in her American debut. Produced by the Latino Theater Company in association with Latinx Theatre Commons.

WHO:
24th Street Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
♦ La Razón Blindada (“Armored Reason”), written and directed by Arístides Vargas — In this sublimely witty and provocative play, two political prisoners are allowed to interact with one another for one hour each week. Confined to their chairs and never allowed to stand, they entertain each other with stories of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as we witness the power of theater to transport them. Triply inspired by the classic novel “El Quixote” by Cervantes, “The Truth About Sancho Panza” by Franz Kafka, and testimonies from Chicho Vargas and other political prisoners held in Rawson Prison during Argentina’s “Dirty War” of the 1970s. A Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice” and winner of the 2011 LA Weekly “Production of the Year” award, this 24th Street production has toured around the U.S. as well as to Mexico City, Culiacán, Baja Mexico, San Salvador, Colombia and Ecuador. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles)

Argos Teatro, Havana, Cuba
♦ 10 Million / 10 Millones, written and directed by Carlos Celdrán — Cuba, 1970s and ‘80s. A young man comes of age during the tumultuous aftermath of Fidel Castro's revolution. Torn between the ideals of his communist mother and his alienated middle-class father, he seeks to find his own way in a world turned upside down by history. Winner of the Cuban National Theater Award 2016 and awarded the Cuban Critic Award 2017. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles)

Cara Mía Theater Company, Dallas, TX
♦ Deferred Action by David Lozano and Lee Trull, directed by David Lozano — Javier Mejía arrived in the U.S. as an undocumented minor. Now, years later, he finds himself caught in the tangle of existing immigration laws, new presidential policies and the harsh reality of living in the shadows. Deferred Action follows the lives, loopholes and dangers of those who dare to dream. (Performed in English and Spanish, with Spanish and English supertitles)

Compañía Nacional de las Artes, Bogotá, Colombia
♦ Las mariposas saltan al vacío (“The Butterflies jump to the void”) by José Milián, directed by Jorge Cao —  In 1993, José Milián shook the Cuban theatrical scene when he premiered this work about living with AIDS. Shadowed by the presence of death, a motley group of institutionalized individuals debate about life, illness, tolerance, love, treason, loneliness, reality, dream and fantasy before presenting an improvised play for the other patients. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles)

Culture Clash, Los Angeles, CA
♦ Culture Clash: An American Odyssey, written by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza, directed by Robert Beltran — The Chicano kings of comedy perform 33 years worth of monologues and scenes from award-winning productions such as Radio Mambo, Nuyorican Stories, and Bordertown as well as an exclusive piece created just for Encuentro de las Américas. Along the way, we meet the unheard voices of the marginalized and give space to their truth. (Performed in English, Spanish and Caló with Spanish and English supertitles)

Ébano Teatro, Lima, Peru
♦ Ropa Intima (“Intimate Apparel”) by Lynn Nottage, directed by Haysen Percovich — Set in 1905 New York, Esther, a black seamstress, painstakingly crafts delicate undergarments for clientele ranging from young brides to wealthy matrons to ladies of the night. As Esther yearns to escape her life of drudgery and isolation, letters from a distant admirer in Panama offer the promise of love and a future. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles)

Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, Los Angeles, CA
♦ WET: A DACAmented Journey, written and performed by Alex Alpharaoh, directed by Kevin Comartin — Based on the playwright’s own experiences, Alex Alpharaoh’s acclaimed solo show tells the story of Anner Cividanis, an American in every sense of the word except one: on paper. Chronicling Anner’s life as an undocumented worker, WET: A DACAmented Journey captures the desperation of being a DREAMer in the U.S. (Performed in English with Spanish supertitles)

Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX
♦ Conjunto Blues, written by Nicolás R. Valdez, directed by Ruben C. Gonzalez — Nicolas Valdez time travels seamlessly through button accordion riff and character as he shares a live-music history lesson of conjunto music as a form of cultural resistance and liberation from the campos to the cantinas. (Performed in English and Spanish with Spanish and English supertitles)

Latino Theater Company, Los Angeles, CA
♦ Dementia by Evelina Fernández, directed by José Luis Valenzuela — Skeletons aren’t the only things that come out of the closet in this award-winning Latino swansong about the glamorous death of Moises (his friends call him Moe). Mortality never seemed so fabulous as he invites his closest friends over for a “going away for good party.” Demented fantasies abound as his alter ego, a torch singing drag queen, tempts him into his famous final scene. (Performed in English and Spanish with Spanish and English supertitles)

Marga Gomez, San Francisco, CA
♦ Latin Standards, written and performed by Marga Gomez, directed by David Schweizer — The adult child of a Cuban entertainer attempts to honor her macho immigrant dad by launching a hipster comedy night at the legendary San Francisco Latino drag club, Esta Noch. An energetic, funny and poignant story of perseverance and creative addiction passed down from immigrant father to lesbian daughter. (Performed in English with Spanish supertitles)

Nightswimming, Toronto, ON, Canada
♦ Broken Tailbone, written and performed by Carmen Aguirre, directed by Brian Quirt — Carmen Aguirre leads a public Latin American dance lesson, woven together with hilarious and moving stories of her own experiences in the hidden world of dancehalls in Canada. DJ Don Pedro Chamale creates an irresistible musical environment to get even the most reluctant dancer up on their feet! Daring, sexy and above all, fun, each dance lesson flows into Carmen’s stories of intimacy, politics, culture and the forgotten origins of each dance. (Performed in English and Spanish with Spanish and English supertitles)

Organización Secreta Teatro, Mexico City, Mexico
♦ Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (“Burning the ships: Emma's Journey”) written and directed by Rocío Carrillo — A powerful and visually stunning feminist adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. Following the death of her husband, Emma embarks on a maritime journey in search of the meaning life. She and her ragtag crew of sailors, pirates, past loves and Greek gods face trials and challenges of mythical proportions. (Performed without words)

Pregones Theater, Bronx, NY
♦ El Apagón /The Blackout, adapted for the stage by Alvan Colón-Lespier, Jorge B. Merced and Rosalba Rolón, directed by Rosalba Rolón — While riding the New York subway uptown from Brooklyn to El Barrio, eager to witness the birth of his firstborn, a Puerto Rican factory worker and his best friend, Trompoloco are caught in the Great Northeastern Blackout of 1965. Acclaimed as “the quintessential ‘Boricua’ play,” the production is an adaptation of the short story “The Night We Became People Again” (“La noche en la que volvimos a ser gente”) by José Luis González, performed in Spanish and English, and set to the beat of popular Latin songs from the 1950s and ‘60s. (Performed in English and Spanish with Spanish and English supertitles)

Vueltas Bravas, Bogotá, Colombia
♦ Miss Julia, a bilingual adaptation by J. Ed Araiza based on the play Miss Julie by August Strindberg, directed by Lorenzo Montanini — Set in Colombia on Midsummer Eve, Miss Julia and her servant Juan have an encounter that will change their lives forever. As Juan tries to rise from the depths of his servile life, Miss Julia wants to escape the bonds that tie her to a meaningless upper-class existence. The result is a power play of love, lust and a battle of the classes which becomes violent and seemingly out of control. (Performed in Spanish and English with English and Spanish supertitles)

Late night micro-theater festival 
♦ Patas Arriba (“Upside Down”): An L.A. Anthology, a late night “micro-theater festival” set to take place in the “belly” of The LATC, where audiences will cycle through the Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel to experience four 15-minute works during each hour-long performance.

WEEK 1:
♦ Morir en Vida, choreographed and danced by Ela Aldrete — Human beings who risk their more valuable possession (their bodies, their lives) in search of a utopian life. (The Vault)
♦ Blood Match by Oliver Mayer — Amidst the heroin fields of Sinaloa, Mexico, three young people form a lover´s triangle in a world where life is cheap and poppies can make or break a man. (Sub-Lobby)
♦ Las García, written and performed by Gabriela Ortega — Two Dominican women of the same bloodline fight to find their true selves. (Green Room)
♦ Ka Ata Quilla by Milagros Lizarraga — The pre-Incan moon divinity of the Titicaca Lake, where the Incan culture began. (The Tunnel)

WEEK 2:
♦ Quetzal y Colibrí, written and performed by Alex Alpharaoh and Elisa Noemi (The Vault)
♦ Miss Honduras by Rickerby Hinds — the story of Maria Estela Gallardo. (Sub-Lobby)
♦ Aprender A Caer by Mick García and Cris-lan García — 10 seconds can feel like 10 minutes in which you see a whole life pass by. (Green Room)
♦ Samudra, choreographed by Beatriz Eugenia Vásquez — Inspired by the water issues the planet currently faces and the denial of global warming by some of our world leaders. (The Tunnel)

WEEK 3:
♦ Browner, Queerer, Louder, Prouder, written and performed by Monica Palacios — Speaks to our present divisive political and social climate. (The Vault)
♦ Manos Arriba by Mercedes Floresislas — When the guests fail to show up, Ramon needs help from the audience to show the Deaf Latinx pride. (Sub-Lobby)
♦ Queen of Califas by Israel Lopez and the Southland Company — Three drivers make their way through the California Highway system on a lonely Sunday evening. (Green Room)
♦ Jardín by Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme — Dia De Los Muertos in Los Angeles: the night when our ancestors come back to visit. (The Tunnel)

Cinema & Music mini-festival (free)
♦ Chavela, directed by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi — An evocative, thought-provoking documentary about the iconoclastic, game-changing artist Chavela Vargas. Followed by a musical performance,
♦ NALIP — an evening of short films followed by a Q&A and concert by Spanish singer Patricia Kraus in her American debut.

WHEN: 
Nov. 2 – Nov. 19:

Thursday Nov. 2
• 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.: Red Carpet and Opening Ceremonies
• 8 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (Theatre 1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (Theatre 2)
• 8 p.m.: WET: A DACAmented Journey (Theatre 4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Dementia (Theatre 3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos Theatre)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Friday, Nov. 3
• 8 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Saturday, Nov. 4 (matinee)
• 2 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 2 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)
• 2 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Saturday, Nov. 4 (evening)
• 8 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 8 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)
• 8 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Sunday, Nov. 5 (matinee)
• 2 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 2 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 2 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: La Razón Blindada (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Sunday, Nov. 5 (evening)
• 7 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (1)
• 7 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 7 p.m.: La Razón Blindada (4)
• 7:30 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 7:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)

Tuesday, Nov. 7
• 7:30 p.m.: Cinema & Music: free screening of the soon-to-be-released documentary Chavela followed by a musical concert

Wednesday, Nov. 8
• 5 p.m.: La Razón Blindada (4)
• 7:30 p.m.: Cinema & Music: free screening of NALIP (short films) followed by a Q&A and concert by Spanish singer Patricia Kraus
• 10 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)

Thursday Nov. 9 
• 12 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 8 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Friday, Nov. 10
• 2:30 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)
• 10 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Saturday, Nov. 11 (matinee)
• 10:30 a.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 2 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (1)
• 2 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)
• 2 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Saturday, Nov. 11 (evening)
• 8 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (1)
• 8 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 8 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)
• 10 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)

Sunday, Nov. 12 (matinee)
• 2 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 2 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 2 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: WET: A DACAmented Journey (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)

Sunday, Nov. 12 (evening)
• 5:30 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 5:30 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 5:30 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 6 p.m.: WET: A DACAmented Journey (4)
• 6 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)

Thursday Nov. 16
• 8 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: Emma (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: WET: A DACAmented Journey (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba  (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel_

Friday, Nov. 17
• 8 p.m.: Culture Clash: An American Odyssey (1)
• 8 p.m.: Las mariposas saltan al vacío (2)
• 8 p.m.: La Razón Blindada (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba  (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Saturday, Nov. 18 (matinee)
• 2 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 2 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 2 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Saturday, Nov. 18 (evening)
• 8 p.m.: Deferred Action (1)
• 8 p.m.: 10 Million / 10 Millones (2)
• 8 p.m.: Ropa Intima (4)
• 8:30 p.m.: Quemar las naves. El viaje de Emma (3)
• 8:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)
• 9:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.: Patas Arriba  (Vault, Sub Lobby, Green Room and Tunnel)

Sunday, Nov. 19 (matinee)
• 2 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 2 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)
• 2 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 2:30 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 2:30 p.m.: Conjunto Blues (Avalos)

Sunday, Nov. 19 (evening)
• 7 p.m.: El Apagón / The Blackout (1)
• 7 p.m.: Latin Standards (2)
• 7 p.m.: Dementia (3)
• 7:30 p.m.: Miss Julia (4)
• 7:30 p.m.: Broken Tailbone (Avalos)

WHERE:
The Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

HOW:
(866) 811-4111 or www.thelatc.org

TICKET PRICES:
• Single Show: $44
• 2 shows in one day: $80
• 6 shows (mix ‘n match): $180
• 13 shows: $310
• Patas Arriba micro-theater festival: $20 (includes four 15-minute plays)
• Cinema & Music mini-festival: Free
Discounts available for students, seniors and veterans.

PARKING:
• Metered parking available on streets surrounding the theater.
• Parking lots range in price from $6 - $12.
• Take the Metro: nearest stop is Pershing Square (two blocks west of The LATC).

'Our Town' Speaks Volumes At Pasadena Playhouse

By Darlene Donloe

The Pasadena Playhouse and Deaf West Theatre’s production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, featuring a cast that includes deaf and hearing actors, is nothing short of brilliant!

Wilder’s American masterpiece, Pasadena Playhouse’s centennial season opener, is performed in American Sign Language and English.

Nothing is lost in this translation as The Deaf West splitting of certain roles between speaking and signing actors was smooth and unencumbered. The play flowed freely with its incorporation of mime and little, if any, use of props.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic takes place in Grover’s Corners, a small New Hampshire village sometime in the 1900s. The village is filled with your average, mundane folks who walk through life with a smile on their faces. This is their everyday existence.

The story is told through the stage manager who, in this case, is played by Jane Kaczmarek. She introduces the town’s inhabitants while gliding the audience in and out of the different scenarios happening to everyday people in the hamlet.

The heart of the story is about two of those everyday people - Emily and George, two kids who are in love.

Sharon Pierre-Louis

Emily (played by Sandra Mae Frank and voiced to perfection by Sharon Pierre-Louis) is the daughter of the newspaper editor, Mr. Webb (Russell Harvard). George, whose father is Dr. Gibbs (Jud Williford) is played with just the right amount of zest by Deric Augustine.

Deric Augustine

You don’t play with Mrs. Webb, aptly portrayed by Annika Marks. Marks is both stern and comedic in her delivery as a mother who, at one point, tells her daughter, “You’re pretty enough for all normal purposes”. Mrs. Webb is a bit taken aback when the daughter asks, point blank if she was ever pretty. Marks’ reaction is hilarious!

Harold Foxx

Harold Foxx brings the hilarity as Howie Newsome, the local milk guy, who daily walks his cow through town.  The subtle tone with which Newsome displays walking an invisible cow is a scene-stealer.

One of the highlights of this show is the diverse casting. The cast is so solid and the writing so luminous that the ethnicity of the characters is not a  factor. You literally don’t see color.

All of this takes place on a pretty sparse stage save for wooden chairs and ladders effectively used to change scenes. The scenes include a church, a cemetery, a drugstore, and homes. No elaborate set is needed in the production because the actors, under the keen direction of Sheryl Kaller, bring the community and the characters vividly to life.

The star of this show is Wilder’s writing.  It’s simplistic, yet engaging and emotional. He creates the framework of a town and allows the audience members to fill in some of the elements with their imaginations.

The play is presented in three acts. It's a bit long, but it’s so charming you can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.  It starts off with just a typical day, then speaks to falling in love and ends with a gut-wrenching scene where the dead are in the cemetery waiting for their soul to go its final resting place.

Kudos to David Meyer for his scenic design, Ann Closs Farley for her costume design and Jared A. Sayeg for his lighting.

Kudos to Kaller and her exceptional cast!

This is the perfect time to visit Our Town.

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, directed by Sheryl Kaller, stars Jane Kaczmarek, Marie-France Arcilla, Deric Augustine, Harold Foxx, Sandra Mae Frank, David Gautreaux, Marco Gutierrez, Russell Harvard, Dot Marie Jones, Leonard Kelly-Young, Troy Kotsur, Annika Marks, Amanda McDonough, Natasha Ofill, Sharon Pierre-Louis, On Shiu, Alexandria Walles and Jud Williford.

Our Town, through Oct. 22, Tues.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Saturday 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.; $25-$92; 626-356-7529; Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA.

Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (with two intermissions)

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable) O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), Our Town gets and E (excellent).