San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
THEATER NOTEBOOK Common Ground Theatre plans ‘Day of Absence’
Lamb’s Players announces plan to reopen on Oct. 2
Due to the uncertainties of the pandemic and audiences’ desire to return, virtually every San Diego County theater has been purposefully vague about when they’ll reopen for indoor performances. But on Feb. 13, Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado announced its plan to resume on Oct. 2.
Lamb’s Producing Artistic Director Robert Smyth hedges by saying that “commitment is a loose word,” but he believes Oct. 2 is a realistic date by which the company will be ready to produce again under the expected Actors’ Equity indoor safety protocols. The first project will be “The Belle of Amherst,” a solo show about 19thcentury Massachusetts poet Emily Dickinson starring Cynthia Gerber.
Originally scheduled for spring 2020, “Belle” was already in rehearsals when COVID-19 shut down the theater last March. Smyth said the one-actor show will be easier to produce under new social-distancing guidelines. “Belle” will be followed with a new Festival of Christmas holiday show by Kerry Meads. Over the years, Meads has written 16 original Festival scripts. Smyth said her 17th script will touch on life in the pandemic, but will be, “like all the Festival scripts, a celebration.”
“As we go into this year, we want to focus on that date,” he said. “It allows us to work a little more clearly with intention for the actors in the shows we’ll bring up and to meet our obligations.”
In 2022, Smyth said the company hopes to present the rest of the shows that were planned for 2020, including “Million Dollar Quartet,” “Hound of the Baskervilles” and a remount of “Alice,” the “Alice in Wonderland” musical that shut down mid-run last March.
Smyth said 2020 was a difficult year for Lamb’s, with a drastic loss of revenue that forced the company to pare its staff to eight. Donors have been supportive, and the company has raised some money with merchandise sales and filmed concerts like “A Celebration of Love,” a collection of romantic solos and duets by Lamb’s artists that opened for streaming on Sunday. Tickets are $20.
Smyth and his team are now using their downtime to plan and develop new shows for future seasons. They include “Jane,” a new adaptation of “Jane Eyre” by David Mcfadzean; “Stormy Weather,” a musical biography on jazz singer Ethel Waters by a local playwright; and “Divas of the ’60s,” a new revue by Meads and Vanda Eggington featuring songs by American female singers. Also in the works are “Tolers & Jack,” a new play about the friendship between English authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and a new musical play based on Carl Sandburg’s “American Songbag” anthology of folk songs. Visit lambsplayers.org. Common Ground Theatre will present a filmed production of Douglas Turner Ward’s play “Day of Absence” for three screenings Feb. 26-28.
Written in 1965, the satirical fantasy is described as a reverse minstrel show, where Black actors perform in White face. It’s the story of a Southern town where chaos ensues when all of its Black citizens disappear for one day. The play will be directed by Yolanda Franklin, Common Ground’s executive artistic director. Performances are at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 and 4 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28. Donations will be accepted for the paywhat-you-can production. Visit commongroundtheatre.com.
North Coast Rep to film production of Glass’ ‘Trying’
North Coast Repertory Theatre will film a production of Joanna Mcclelland Glass’ two-character play “Trying” that will stream online March 24-April 18.
The play is based on Glass’ real-life experience as an assistant to Francis Biddle, a U.S. attorney general and chief judge at the Nuremberg trials, in the final years of his life. The play will be filmed with safety protocols required by Actors’ Equity. The play will co-star actors James Sutorius and Emily Goss and will be directed by North Coast artistic director David Ellenstein. Tickets will be $35 to $54 at northcoastrep.org.
Nonprofit Classics 4 Kids wins leadership award
Classics 4 Kids, a 27-year-old nonprofit that provides music education to San Diego schoolchildren, was recently honored by the California Music Educators Association with the 2021 Music Industry Leadership Award.
Founded in 1994, Classics 4 Kids provides about 30 free classical-music-based concerts each year for up to 30,000 San Diego County children. The organization has transitioned over to virtual programming since the pandemic began. Visit classics4kids.org.