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56 • 56 • 56 • 56 • 56 • The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM • August 28-September 9, 2013 • Of• August 28-September 9, 2013 • Of• August 28-September 9, 2013 • Of• August 28-September 9, 2013 • Of• August 28-September 9, 2013 • Official Southerficial Southerficial Southerficial Southerficial Southern Decadence Guide • Southern Decadence Guide • Southern Decadence Guide • Southern Decadence Guide • Southern Decadence Guide • SouthernDecadence.COMnDecadence.COMnDecadence.COMnDecadence.COMnDecadence.COM
Venom at The ElmTheatre throughSeptember 21
The Elm Theatre is to be admired forcommissioning a new play from a youngplaywright and then giving it its world pre-miere. It is a major step for this adventuroustheater company. Even more commend-ably, the commission came with the chargethat the play feature both black & whitecharacters and to include some kind ofracial tension.
That said, after seeing Clint Sheffer’sVenom, one wonders if The Elm should’vegiven the script a little more developmenttime or workshopped it first. Because, as itis now, the script simply isn’t ready for primetime.
Venom tells the strange tale of Meadowand Waylon, newlyweds who are headingdown to New Orleans from Missouri whentheir car runs out of gas in a north Louisianatown. Meadow is the daughter of a highmuckamuck in some crazy religious cultwho wants her brought back home. To thatend he’s engaged some local law enforce-ment types of loose morals to do his dirtywork.
Sheffer’s style is Tarantino by way ofShepard; nothing wrong with that. Butthere’s little as to what drives these charac-ters or who they really are so all we get ishyped-up melodrama in a seedy motel room.
It’s unfortunate because there’s lots ofpotential for a frothy Southern stew here.Meadow’s cult considers African-Americans“literally apes” yet Waylon’s a young blackman. Did she marry him to spite her Dad?Or does she really love him? It’s never quiteclear because their relationship at no timefully comes into focus. Of course, maybe itcould be a little of both, or even be leftambiguous, but Sheffer never explores thisdimension.
Similarly, by featuring a corrupt Afri-can-American detective, Sheffer removesthe likelihood of overt racism as a motivat-ing force for Rocky’s abuse of Waylon. Buthe fails to examine black-on-black violenceand how it differs, if at all, from that of black-on-white.
In other ways, the script doesn’t clarifyall that’s going on and plot points can be achallenge to follow. Director Pamela Davis-Noland suitably gives Venom the exhilarat-ing pace of a roller coaster ride, but someof the necessary exposition may have got-ten lost in the process. Booze and guns anddoublecrosses and mysterious men in aWaffle House, not to mention thatwackadoodle cult and its nasty enforcers,add to the menacing atmosphere, but don’tgive an audience a lot to care about. And theending is absolutely ridiculous.
Despite all that, I credit Davis-Nolandand her cast of four for holding my attentionthroughout; I certainly was never bored.Baffled maybe, but not bored. And at the topof my “Bafflement List” is AnthonykaFerdinand’s set. Even if it was meant to beabstract, the most squalid of motel roomswould at least have a bed and some otherfurniture in it; the bedroom would be un-
likely to have a large window in it (we knowit does from the shadows cast by MandiWood’s lighting); and the bathroom windowwould probably not let out to where the frontdoor seems to be. Ferdinand’s efforts werean avoidable distraction from the dramaitself.
Second on the “B-list” is the intermis-sion. Venom is a short play, less than 90minutes long. I understand local theaters’concern of giving patrons bathroom breaksand generating income from intermissionrefreshment sales. But whether Venom’sintermission was in the original script orinserted at the request of the producers, itought to go as it breaks the play’s tensionjust as it was beginning to build. I mean, whyask people to get off that roller coasterwhen it finally gets to the very top?
As Meadow, Becca Chapman packs alot of power into her small frame. Thecontrast between her petite stature and thetough talk that comes out of her mouth maybe amusing, but it’s not gratuitous; Meadowobviously picked up some of her Dad’sbravado.
Matthew Thompson has less to workwith as Waylon, who may well be a talentedartist but that aspect of his character feelsmore tacked on than an organic part of hisbeing. Thompson conveys well Waylon’sinitial bewilderment at being caught up insomething he hadn’t bargained for butthere’s something false about his finaldrunken stupor, for which the script anddirection can take some of the blame aswell.
Thompson does impart a genuinesweetness to this befuddled young man,but there are few sparks between him andChapman. They seem more like best friendsrunning away to the big city than passion-ate honeymooners.
Moses brings an authentic swaggerand a mellifluous voice to Rocky, the kind ofrole you’d expect Samuel L. Jackson to playin the movie version. If we never discoverwhat drives this badass besides moneyand power, it’s not Moses’ fault.
As Rocky’s white ex-con assistant Gum-drop, Matt Story reveals a different side ofhis talent from the usual disaffected urbanmen he plays. Story expertly finds the hu-mor in this double-digit IQ cracker withoutoverdoing it, leaving the audience to won-der, despite his assertions to the contrary,if he’s simply not the smartest bottle in thesix-pack or if he might really be a littlementally challenged.
The Elm has given Sheffer a wonderfulopportunity. If he’s wise, he will continue towork on this play so that it can fulfill itspotential. In the mean time, you have fourmore weekends to see this work in progress.
Curtains Upon the Fall Season
Summertime and the living iseasy...except for all the folks who are put-ting finishing touches on those shows aboutto kick off the Fall season.
Slidell Little Theatre (2024 Nellie Dr.,Slidell, 985.643.0556) is already up and
running with Seussical, a musical in whichDr. Seuss’ marvelous creatures come tobuoyant life. It continues through Septem-ber 8.
Another St. Tammany theater is upnext as Cutting Edge Theater (747 RobertBlvd., Slidell, 985.649.3727) presents Rent,the Tony Award-winning pop-rock opera,based on Puccini’s La Boheme, that tellsthe story of seven friends in the drug- andAIDS-ravaged New York City of the 1990’s.It opens August 30 and runs through Sep-tember 14.
Heading down to Orleans Parish, onSeptember 4, The NOLA Project debuts ATruckload of Ink, an original story by localplaywright Jim Fitzmorris, that takes place“in the busiest newsroom on the eve of themost massive change to hit New Orleansnewspapers as people fight to save a cul-tural institution from an out-of-state corpo-rate dismantlement.” Sound familiar?A Truckload of Ink plays through Septem-ber 21 at The University of New Orleans’Robert E. Nims Theatre (2000 LakeshoreDr., 504.280.SHOW). Talk about rippedfrom the headlines.
Not sure what to expect when scien-tist-turned-comedian Tim Lee comes toNew Orleans for the first time at The Shad-owbox (2400 St. Claude Ave.,504.298.8676), September 5-8, with a blendof stand up comedy and science. Lee is acomedian with a Ph.D. in Ecology andEvolution from UC Davis. He’s going tohave to be pretty funny to be more comicthan the folks in Baton Rouge who keeppushing Creationism.
Le Petit Theatre (616 St. Peter St.,504.522.2081) kicks off its regular seasonon September 6 with Lombardi about thelegendary Green Bay Packers’ Coach VinceLombardi. Casey Groves plays the footballicon and will be joined by his real-life wife,Rachel Whitman Groves, who’ll play thepart of the coach’s wife. Lombardi will beon the field through September 21.
Also opening on September 6 will beMa Rainey’s Black Bottom with which theAnthony Bean Community Theater (1333S. Carrollton Ave., 504.862.7529) com-pletes its presentation of August Wilson’sCentury Cycle. Set in a Chicago recordingstudio in 1927, the drama brought Wilsonwidespread recognition for its dramatiza-tion of a recording session with blues leg-end Ma Rainey, her band members, and thewhite producer & agent who make them-selves wealthy through Rainey’s record-ings. Ma Rainey plays through September29.
Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations, thestory of a modern-day music scholar drivento solve one of classical music’s enduringriddles—the mystery behind Beethoven’sDiabelli Variations—even as her own healthand relationships crumble, gets its regionalpremiere on September 11 from SouthernRep.
The production, which will combinedrama, moving images, and live music per-formed by concert pianist Dr. Chia-HsingLin, runs at the Contemporary Arts Center(900 Camp St., 504.522.6545) throughSeptember 29.
The World War II Museum’s StageDoor Canteen (945 Magazine St.,504.528.1943) pays tribute to Bob Hopewith Thanks for the Memories: Bob Hopeand his All-Star Pacific Tour opening onSeptember 20 with a cast of 14 who’llrecreate Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney,The Andrew Sisters, Carmen Miranda, aswell as Bob himself, all backed by the
Victory Swing Band. This new showmarches along until October 20.
Don’t know much about Evil Dead:The Musical except it’s a rock musicalbased on the cult film series and it’ll be thepremiere presentation of ChristopherBentivegna’s new production company, See‘Em On Stage. But it opens at The Shadow-box on October 17 and terrorizes until the31st. Sounds like perfect Halloween fare tome.
Debuting at Los Isleños Heritage andCulture Society (1357 Bayou Rd., St. Ber-nard, 504.826.7783) on October 24, CryYou One is a new site-responsive perfor-mance and multimedia project from ArtSpotand Mondo Bizarro about the disappear-ance of coastal Louisiana, the people wholive there, and what is being done to savetheir homes.
This roving performance will occur ona stretch of land in Lower St. Bernard Parishthat is rapidly disappearing and will takeaudience members on an outdoor journeynear the Central Wetlands. Cry You Onewill play only on Saturdays & Sundaysthrough November 24, and there’ll be apost-show dinner/discussions on Sundays.Building upon their Ambie Award-winningLoup Garou, this sounds like it will be aunique experience.
And last but not least, the fabulousBroadway @ NOCCA (2800 Chartres St.,800.838.3006) concert series hosted bySeth Rudetsky continues with JaneKrakowski (October 7), the return of PattiLuPone (November 16), Charles Buschwith special guest Varla Jean Merman (De-cember 2), and Christine Ebersole (Janu-ary 6, 2014).
What an incredibly wide range ofchoices. Start planning now!
trodding the boards
by Brian Sands Email: [email protected]
Cronkite... Dealey Plaza... Dallas, Texas...President John Fitzgerald Kennedy andJacqueline, Texas Governor John Connallyand Nellie... the Warren Commission... LeeHarvey Oswald... Jack Ruby... Vice-Presi-dent Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird... LoveField... the Dallas Trade Mart... StemmonsFreeway... Texas School Book Depository...the pink and blue Chanel suit... Air ForceOne... the Zapruder film... ”the single bullettheory”... Secret Service Agent Clint Hill...Parkland Memorial Hospital... the grassyknoll... Dallas Police Officer JD Tippit... theTexas Theatre... Arlington NationalCemetery...conspiracy theories... the Eter-nal Flame... Camelot...
These are people, places and thingsyou will read and hear about as we ap-proach November, 22. 50 years is a longtime and this is big. Books are out, movieshave been made... look for more.
PARKLAND... a dramatic film from theAmerican Film Company will be releasedon September 20. It follows the events atParkland Memorial Hospital after the as-sassination in 1963. Directed by PeterLandsman, it was produced by GaryGoetzman, Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton andNigel Sinclair. Stars include Zac Efron, TomWelling, James Badge Dale, Jacki Weaver,Paul Giamatti, Jackie Earle Haley, Billy BobThornton, Marcia Gay Harden and BitsieTulloch.
JACK KENNEDY: ELUSIVE HERO,written by Chris Matthews was publishedNovember 1, 2011. Matthews is the host of
reVIEW ...from 55
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Show
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paparazzipensacolaMSNBC’s “Hardball” and the book is a New
York Times best selling biography.Matthews, like Kennedy, is a Roman CatholicIrish American. He started life as a Repub-lican but came under Kennedy’s spell atage 11.
THESE FEW PRECIOUS DAYS: THEFINAL YEAR OF JACK WITH JACKIE,was written by Christopher Anderson...former contributing editor of TIME maga-zine and longtime senior editor of PEOPLEmagazine. It focuses on Jack and Jackie’slast year together and the drug use andinfidelities. Both men have other books andarticles on the Kennedys. Matthews bookbegins when Jack was a student at Choate,so it paints a broader picture. Their writingstyles are different, Anderson having abackground in magazines and Matthewsbeing a political commentator and pundit.They deal with much of the same material...interviews with family members, lifelongfriends, key advisors and political confi-dants.
Both agree that the Marilyn Monroestories and Kennedy’s use of drugs for hismedical conditions are true. Both hint thatas the older crowd dies off, we will get atmore details. I enjoyed both books but ifyour not that familiar with the Kennedymystique, I recommend JACK KENNEDY:ELUSIVE HERO. It is now out in paperback.
Lee Daniels’ THE BUTLER is out now.It has a fine cast and has gotten ravereviews. It opened #1 on August 16. I willreview it next issue.
Watch out for a new Billy Bob Thorntonfilm, JAYNE MANSFIELD’S CAR. It is setin 1960s Alabama, filmed in Georgia andpremiered in Berlin in February 2012. Thecast includes Robert Duvall, John Hurt,Kevin Bacon and Billy Bob. It has gottensome great press... my question is why ittook so long to be released in the states? Itwill be in limited release starting September13.
One Great Chick...Karen Black
well I’d like to go to Memphis, but I don’tknow the way...
and I’d like to tell you how I feel, but Idon’t know what to say...
and I’d like to go to heaven, but I forgothow to pray...
so just help me keep from sliding downsome more...
“Memphis”, from Robert Altman’sNASHVILLE
Karen Black (July 1, 1939-August 8,2013)
CONGRATS again to Tami Tarmacand Venus Santiago, Southern DecadenceGrand Marshals XXXIX... you girls have agreat day...
reVIEW ...from 56
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Tues., Sept. 3rd
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Exci
temen
t in
Tow
n! ~
Mob
ile,
Ala
bama
~ P
hoto
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Mis
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Miss NuPhinity Starr Alexander asAdele @ B-Bob’s
Order of Osiris Draw Down@ Flip Side
Happy Birthday Timothy
Pensacola’s beautiful & talentedMonica Heart @ B-Bob’s
Pensacola’s Lauren Mitchellperforming @ B-Bob’s
Mr. Personality AJ McKaywith Miss Venus
Miss Cie with the Boys of B-Bob’s
The Devil Wears PradaRuPaul winner Jixx Monsoon
@ B-Bob’s
paparazzimobile
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