Things Are 'Topsy Turvy' At Actors' Gang

Fazeelat Aslam, Molly Kirschenbaum, Mary Eileen O'Donnell, Jimmy Berry,
Charlotte Hacke, Adam J. Jefferis, Adele Robbins, Mariana Jaccazio,
and J. Claude Deering in TOPSY TURVY - Photo by Ashley Randall

By Darlene Donloe

During the shutdown caused by the COVID pandemic in 2020, Tim Robbins had plenty of time to think and reflect.

Once theaters also fell victim to the scourge that was COVID, Robbins, the artistic director of The Actors’ Gang Theater in Culver City, took the forced, yet personally unwanted downtime to write about what the world, the nation, the state, the city, and his village were going through as a consequence.

The result is his latest show, ‘Topsy Turvy (A Musical Greek Vaudeville),’ presented by and currently enjoying its 2024 world premiere at The Actors’ Gang Theater in Culver City through June 8.

Robbins wrote and directed 'Topsy Turvy,' set in a humorous and comedic hybrid world of classical Greek theater and a raucous vaudeville show.

The show’s theme parallels the events realized during the pandemic and addresses the many moral, societal, governmental, medical, uncomfortable, foundational, community-based, and unbelievable issues that ensued and affected millions in various ways.

Robbins is one of the first playwrights to respond to the distress of the last four years.  He began writing 'Topsy Turvy' as a response to the seeming disintegration of the community and the widening chasms between all of us that were exacerbated by the lack of human contact during the lockdown. 

Robbins said, “A play can inspire laughter, bring us songs that touch the heart, raise difficult questions and dichotomies, remind us of our shared humanity, and perhaps if we do our job well, heal some divides.  And it has the potential to unite us.”

Robbins’ dialogue reads intimate - like it comes from his years of personal reflection surrounding the dreaded COVID.

“We are living in an aftermath of disorder and disarray,” said Robbins. “Theater is here precisely for these times. It has the potential to unite us. It can inspire laughter, bring us songs that touch the heart, raise difficult questions and dichotomies, remind us of our shared humanity, and perhaps if we do our job well, heal some divides."

During the shutdown, The Actors’ Gang kept all of its employees on salary and health insurance. The Gang adapted its outreach programs in schools and prisons to a virtual format and continued workshops with its actors online.

Robbins said, “But what was missing was what theater reliably provides: a place of gathering and community. The Gang could not meet in their shared space, their theater. For some, there was something tragic and wrong about the theater being closed, something ominous and unsettling about gathering places all around the world being shuttered. And when theaters were allowed to reopen there was something that didn’t feel right about only opening for some audience members and excluding others.”

The show opens with the sweet sounds of a Greek Chorus of mortals, who unbeknownst to them, are about to have their worlds turned ‘Topsy Turvy’ by the sudden appearance of a mysterious illness.

The Chorus of 10, clad in muted colors, get a visit from a harbinger who informs them that staying together could cause them harm and even kill them.

Half of the Chorus believes the harbinger and thinks the group should heed the warning. The other half would prefer to go on living their lives and singing their songs.

Seeking the help of something or someone more powerful than themselves, the Chorus, invokes the Gods, seeking divine intervention to help mend their divisiveness and restore their ability to sing together.

Occasionally the group receives visits from a Vegas-inspired Bacchus and Cupid, an Aztec goddess Coatlique, the biblical character Onan, and Dionysus and Aphrodite. 

The fun begins when mixed in with the Gods, come the magicians, hypnotists, an acrobatic monkey, and the master of ceremonies, the Great Distracto.

Robbins' direction doesn’t move the chorus around the stage. Instead, they sit on squares – distanced from each other – often looking into a glowing sphere that can double for a computer screen.

The one-hour and 40-minute length of the show plays longer due to prolonged soliloquies/monologues.

The entry of sideshow characters breaks up the wordy talking heads, proving to be a welcomed pause.

The pleasant music plays a key role in 'Topsy Turvy' with six original songs written by Robbins, brought to life by a small orchestra of musicians and the choral harmonies of 15 actors.

(l-r) Luis Quintana and Chas Harvey

Exceptional performances from Robbins’ assembled ensemble. Luis Quintana and Chas Harvey are hilarious standouts.

‘Topsy Turvy,’ written directed and composed by Tim Robbins, stars Fazeelat Aslam (Constance), J. Claude Deering (Persnickety), Willia Fossum (Distracto, Ima Emrite, Doctor, Gaia), Stephanie Galindo (Coatique, Distracto), Scott Harris (Bacchus, Onan, Dionysus), Charlotte Hacke (Thalia), Chas Harvey (Distracto), Ayinde Howell (Igneus), Mariana Jaccazio (Iris), Adam J. Jefferis (Cletus), Molly Kirschenbaum (Valiance), Mary Eileen O’Donnell (Olive), Luis Quintana (Harbinger, Distracto Cupid, Juan Diego, Chaos, Dr. Cracker Jack), Adele Robbins (Amaryllis), Tip Scarry (Prior), Megan Stogner (Distracto, Mungo, Ouranos), Guebri Van Over (Aphrodite, Priest), Melina Fink (understudy), Maga Shukar (understudy) and Jimmy Berry (understudy).

Musicians include Dave Robbins (guitar and percussion), Mikala Schmitz (cello), Danica Pinner (cello), Megan Stogner (melodica), Willa Fossum (piano) and Guebri Van Over (flute).

'Topsy Turvy' will premiere internationally at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, Romania, launching this summer's 31st festival on June 21 and 22, 2024.

The Actors’ Gang Theater, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City, 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (Thursdays are pay-what-you-can at the door), 2 pm. Sunday, May 26 and June 2, $28-$38, boxoffice@theactorsgang.com, 310 838-4264.

Pay-What-You-Can performances are on Thursday evenings, and tickets are available at the door. A post-show discussion with Tim Robbins, and with creators of the play, take place after performances on Friday, May 24, 31, and June 7.

On the DONLOE SCALE, D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent), ‘Topsy Turvy’ gets an O (oh, yeah).