Theater Review

When Bob Martin’s friends decided to provide their own, original entertainment for his pre-wedding party, the idea for “The Drowsy Chaperone” was born. They wrote and performed several songs, imitating 1920’s musicals and plugging into the script the names of Martin and his fianc’e. Now, seven years later, Martin is starring in the musical he co-wrote with his fellow Toronto Second City alums Don McKellar, and Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (music and lyrics). The Center Theatre Group production plays at the Ahmanson Theatre through December 24. “The Drowsy Chaperone” takes a different approach to reviving vintage musicals; it revives a fictional one that mocks in a most celebratory manner the spirit and culture of Jazz Age musicals. The highly entertaining show incorporates leg-kicking song and dance numbers with quirky characters who represent the stock characters of 1920’s musical comedy’the Latin lover, the gangsters, the chaperone. Martin plays the narrator, called Man in Chair, a boyishly exuberant aficionado of old musicals, eager to share with the audience his all-time favorite’Gable and Stein’s “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Though we join him in the present day, his shabby studio apartment, “Mr. Rogers” attire (a cardigan and corduroy pants), and passion for a bygone era help set the mood for traveling back in time. And sure enough, soon after he turns on his record player to indulge us with his cherished recording of the 1928 musical, it comes to life on stage with a full cast and orchestra. The plot involves a Broadway showgirl who is about to be married, and her producer’s attempts to foil the wedding plans; the bride and groom are called Janet and Robert, after Martin and his wife. Throughout this show within a show, Man in Chair offers commentary on various elements of the musical, from its more progressive moments and underlying messages to its dated scenes and the tragic real lives of the actors. During one musical number, he tells us to focus on the melody and not to listen to the lyrics because they’re so bad. Martin delivers these humorous notes and digressions with great naturalness, watching intently from his bed or cross-legged on the floor and then leaping up to stand adoringly next to one of the stars. His favorite character is, of course, the chaperone (Beth Leavel), whose solo “As We Stumble Along” he calls “a rousing anthem about alcoholism” and adds, “My mother was like that.” He also admits that he has a crush on Robert (Troy Britton Johnson) and gradually reveals details about his own traumatic childhood and marriage. He is most critical of the actor who plays the Latin lover Aldolpho, whom he calls “a man of a thousand accents’all of them insulting.” (At one point, the audience gets a glimpse of one of these other degrading performances.) It’s fun to have someone as passionate as Man in Chair guiding us through the outrageously silly musical and providing an amusing context for interpreting certain scenes, such as the one between the two leading ladies’the rising star and the established actress’in which the latter steals the show. Supporting Martin’s performance is a talented cast of singers and dancers, including Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster (Millie in “Thoroughly Modern Millie”), who plays Janet. With a powerful voice and endless, delightful energy, Foster performs “Show Off,” executing one-handed cartwheels despite an apparent wrist injury. This musical number validates the narrator’s statement that “[‘The Drowsy Chaperone’] does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world, giving you a tune to keep in your head.” Leavel is well cast in the part of the dark, seductive chaperone, lounging and strutting her stuff in a slinky, beaded chocolate-colored two-piece (costume design by Gregg Barnes). She and Danny Burstein, who plays Aldolpho, perform one of the most comical duets, “I Am Aldolpho.” Georgia Engel (who played Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Edward Hibbert also have chemistry in their parts as the clich’d dowager Mrs. Tottendale and her servant, Underling, although a couple of their gags are a bit worn. The “special effects” are impressive, such as the moment when the record skips and the ensemble repeats the same phrase over and over until it’s fixed, or when Man in Chair replays one segment several times in attempt to discern the chaperone’s final words of advice. The actors perform these challenging parts with impeccable timing and cohesiveness. One of the most suspenseful scenes comes when Man’s electricity shuts off and a worker who comes to fix it walks blindly through a sea of “imaginary” figures paused in the darkness of the room. Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw (of Monty Python’s “Spamalot” on Broadway) has staged a visually dynamic and heartfelt production that keeps the audience engaged, even during the narrator’s Power-Bar break, which replaces the usual intermission. The show runs nearly two hours but does not feel too long. Following its early success at the Toronto Fringe Festival and positive reviews here in Los Angeles, “The Drowsy Chaperone” may just be headed for Broadway. Tickets are $20-$90. For performance dates and times, visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or call (213) 628-2772.

The Central Library’s Literary Odyssey Dinner held in early November at the Mediterranean estate of actress Heather Thomas and talent agent Skip Brittenham could qualify as a five-star event. Besides the food (choice of filet mignon or fish) and the location (overlooking the Riviera Country Club), where else could you exchange views with writer T.C. Boyle on the Bush administration, the war in Iraq, and hear all about the Monarch butterflies that occupy his back garden? Boyle, who table-hopped during the dinner, also told tales from his current book tour promoting his two latest short story collections:'”Tooth & Claw” and “The Human Fly,” geared to teen readers.’The award-winning author said that when he does readings, he generally finds audiences “empathetic” and “you learn something about yourself.” He said he continues to marvel “at the power of literature,” recounting how recently, when he was about a third of the way through reading “Chicxulub,” a tragic horror story from “Tooth & Claw,” he noticed “there was this one woman weeping. Just sobbing. It was something to see how much the writing affected her.”‘ One could not miss Boyle among the 40 well-suited patrons, some of whom paid up to $800 for the opportunity to chat with him over cocktails and dinner at the sprawling mansion on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica. The historic home, with its majestic staircase and home theater, was originally built for aeronautical pioneer Donald Douglas. As soon as Boyle arrived, wearing a silver clip on his left ear and his signature red hightop running shoes, he happily stood in the corner of the pine-paneled family room and autographed books people had brought with them, including one of his best-known works, “Tortilla Curtain.”‘ Released in 1995, the novel is now required reading across the state in the junior year of high school. The book, a tragicomedy, tells the story of two Topanga couples’one rich and white, the other poor and Latino’who are set on a societal collision course characterized by error and misunderstanding. Ted Coraghessan Boyle (aka T.C.) is “capable of the sublime,” is how The New York Times Book Review has described his work. The prolific author’s other novels include “The Road to Wellville,” “East is East,” “World’s End,” Without a Hero” and most recently “Drop City” and “The Inner Circle.” Many of Boyle’s short stories have appeared in The New Yorker. His first collection of shorts, “Descent of Man,” was released in 1979. He is the recipient of many literary awards, including the PEN/Faulkner award and the O’Henry Award. Recurring themes in his work, which has been translated into several languages, include class structure, sex and family. Boyle’s daughter, Kerry, 25, is a writer, while his two sons “are techno guys. I help them, sometimes, with their papers,” Boyle admits.’Both Milo, 22, and Spencer, 19, attend USC. Raised in a working-class family in New York, he studied English and history in college, then received an M.F.A. degree and Ph.D. from the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop. Since 1979, he has taught at the University of Southern California,where he started the writing program. He himself studied with John Cheever, John Irving and Raymond Carver. ‘ “I love teaching,” said Boyle, 56, who came to the dinner directly from USC, where he teaches twice a week in both the undergraduate and graduate writing programs. “It energizes me to see how they [the students] grow.”‘ Television producer Allan Burns (“Mary Tyler Moore,” “Rhoda” and “Lou Grant”), who attended the dinner with his wife Joan, said that at one time he tried to option the film rights to “Tortilla Curtain,” but “they weren’t available then. I hear it’s now going to be made into a film.”‘ Asked if “Tortilla Curtain” is going to be made into a movie, Boyle said that as far as he knows “Kevin Costner and Meg Ryan are set to star as the white couple,” but that no actors have yet been chosen to play the Mexican illegals, Candido and America Rincon.’ “So, who knows when it will finally happen?” said Boyle, who continues to write, teach and do readings. Asked why he agreed to participate in the library fund raiser he said, “they have asked me several times, but this is the first time I was available.” Boyle, who commutes from his home in Montecito, where he has lived for the last 13 years, is currently on a national book tour promoting his two latest short story collections.’ Maddy and Jim Zinring chose to attend the Boyle dinner not only because they are fans of his, but also because “we were his next-door neighbors for eight years, when we all lived in Woodland Hills, where he led a very suburban life. He took care of the lawn and the garden and his children, just like the rest of us. He was a well-known writer, even then,” said Jim.’ The Literary Odyssey Dinners, one of the Los Angeles Public Library’s most popular events, is held every two years. This year’s 55 dinners held Monday, November 7, in private residences throughout L.A. raised $500,000 to benefit the library’s information technology fund.’

Paul Revere’s play production class and stage crew class will present “One Fine Day,” an original musical written and directed by 7th grade teacher Joshua Roig. Seventeen popular songs are included in the musical. This production is unique on many fronts: it marks the return of drama classes to Paul Revere, and this is the first fall production at Revere in decades. The script is original and all the choreography was done by 12-year-old Hannah Schneider. Roig attended Paul Revere Jr. High, and in the summer of 1972 he took a play production class at the school. The students in that class wrote the script, the music and the lyrics for an original musical called “What’s Going to Happen to Me?” It left a lasting impression on Roig. He graduated from Pali High and attended UC Santa Barbara, where he majored in film. After graduation, he worked for seven years in television development, the last four years at Fox. “I just decided I didn’t want to do it any more,” Roig said. “I took a year off to write and I wrote a screenplay.” When a friend suggested that he should be a teacher, Roig said, “It’s the last thing I want to do.” His friend convinced him to teach a class, and after being with the students for an hour Roig changed his mind. “I realized it was what I was meant to do,” he said. “It seemed to have more purpose than what I had been doing.” Roig’s first job for LAUSD was at Pacoima Middle School, where he ran the video production program. Last year when the Revere’s booster club wanted to hire an additional 7th grade teacher, Roig was selected. This year he’s teaching four English classes, a stage crew class and the play production class. “One Fine Day” is set in the 1960s during the Dick Clark bandstand era. When Clark (James Hale) announces a nationwide search for the next hot sound, four young girls calling themselves the Lollipops decide to enter. “I was toying around with the idea of writing a musical, using just the Carpenters’ music, when I heard the song ‘One Fine Day’ and pictured kids on the stage,” Roig said. “I thought why not do a story about four girls who have aspirations to be in an all-girl band in a time when that wasn’t done?” The story revolves around Jody Sloane (Hannah Schneider) and her dreams of performing with the band. Unlike her friends in the band, Sloane’s life is complicated because her mother has left the family to pursue her own personal dreams. Schneider dances 32 hours a week at the Debbie Allen Dance studio in addition to keeping up with her regular classes at Paul Revere. For this production, she managed to choreograph moves that even non-dancers can do. The result was a well-danced number that made the students look like they could have been on Dick Clark’s show. Although the students are able to practice in the auditorium only two days a week, they are already well on their way to staging a musical that the whole family can enjoy. There is one performance of “One Fine Day” at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 9, at the Paul Revere Auditorium at 1450 Allenford. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.

A sweet and plain-looking schoolteacher stands poised in front of a blackboard scribbled with white chalk. At her feet are a felt eraser and a piece of chalk, tools used by her students to create her birthday “surprise” messages on the board. She smiles upon half a dozen children tucked neatly into individual wooden desks. This Norman Rockwell image represents a familiar educational setting that is fading into sentimental memories. In the last decade, classroom design has shifted away from the traditional, “teacher-centered environment” and towards a “learning environment,” which extends beyond four walls and into a larger community space. Classes meet under a tree on campus, or travel to the local library or park for a history or science lesson. Students bring laptop computers to local coffee shops and plug away at English papers while customers order lattes just a few feet away. School building design has evolved based on the belief that providing students with a variety of learning spaces and improving the quality of these environments enhance students’ ability to learn and help raise educational standards. “There’s a belief that learning happens in more places than the [traditional] classroom,” says Brent Miller, higher education studio director with Fields Devereaux Architects & Engineers. Pacific Palisades resident J. Peter Devereaux is CEO of the firm, which designs K-12 and higher education campus master plans, courtyards, food service buildings and classrooms. A “classroom,” Miller says, can be a lecture hall, seminar space, library study room, laboratory or mixed-media room. Even food service buildings are no longer just for serving and eating food. These learning spaces are becoming more “wired” and “green,” meaning that they’re equipped with the latest and most energy- and resource-efficient technologies. Wireless Internet is also common. In community colleges, or schools where students might not be able to afford laptops, administrators are purchasing computers and checking them out to students. The trend extends to elementary school-age children, who are “increasingly using computers and laptops,” says John Dale, studio designer for K-12 learning environments with Fields Devereaux. In addition, “smart boards” are replacing marker boards because teachers can use them not only to draw but also to project images from a computer. “One of the things we try to do is incorporate flexibility into our designs,” Miller says. “We make sure the infrastructure is in place, that it’s fortified, so that as technology changes, you can still use the same infrastructure.” The physical organization of the classroom environment is also changing to foster diverse modes of learning. “A lot of students prefer to learn in groups instead of as individuals, and we’re finding that a lot of assignments are given out to groups,” Miller says. “[In response] we’re designing group study rooms in libraries, with furniture that can be easily moved around.” Miller points to Cal State University Northridge’s Student Union as an example of a building that integrates the concept of flexible spaces with a coffee house. Fields Devereaux designed the university’s Art & Design Center and the Arts, Media & Communications Building, both of which incorporate traditional classrooms and specially designed space for teaching and using new technologies “The spaces are actually becoming more differentiated,” says Dale, who explains that in a typical classroom, a teacher might talk to the students all together and then have them break off into separate spaces and work in small groups. “The funny thing about classroom design is that we’re actually cycling back to more complex-shaped classrooms,” Dale says. “A seminal school outside of Chicago, called Crow Island School, was developed [in 1940] around the idea of classrooms as homes’L-shaped classrooms with patios and differentiated spaces that allow for a variety of activities to take place at the same time.” On the other hand, the 1970’s design of schools with internal walls that could be opened or closed like a curtain didn’t work and “actually became nonfunctional at a certain point,” Dale says. “Educational designers are trying to find the mix between specific configurations and flexibility.” One creative solution in elementary school classrooms has been to install glass partitions between rooms to create a transparent environment that allows teachers to monitor student activity while giving them a sense of independence. A new science classroom under construction at Corpus Christi School, designed by Fields Devereaux, integrates some of these design ideas. The classroom includes zoning (expressed in the floor pattern) that allows for flexible teaching and side project activities; the electrical floor outlet grid supports furniture flexibility. Roughly 900 sq. ft., the classroom incorporates “smart board” and state-of-the-art projection technology, as well as advanced lighting control to switch easily between projection and teaching mode. Senior project designer Michael Bulander says the building was originally designed as a classroom, but needed renovation and upgrading. They have used the building itself as a teaching tool by revealing the existing post-and-beam structure so that teachers can literally show their students the physics of how it is supported. Display cases in the classroom window are designed to show science projects to the whole campus. “The target was to create a high-performance classroom,” Bulander says, referring to a classroom that uses the whole building to save energy, resources and money. For example, the acoustical ceiling has reflection and absorption panels, which cause the teacher’s voice to bounce off the ceiling in the right place and the students to absorb the sound well in the location where they’re seated. “The mechanical system was already in place,” Bulander says, referring to the big windows and exterior overhang of the existing concrete structure, which serves as a thermal mass absorbing some of the heat, for climate control. “The common sense of sustainability was already there.” In recent years, the concept of “green building” also has been revived, promoting open, airy environments that invite natural light and reduce reliance on artificial light. “California knew how to do ‘green’ schools in the 1950s,” Dale says, “with the big windows facing north, and the smaller, high windows facing south, for shading on the south side. These were designed before air conditioning, and made effective use of natural light.” Allowing for natural ventilation also provides a healthier learning environment. For example, the latest designs utilize “displacement ventilation,” meaning that when a room is being cooled mechanically, the air is brought in at a low level as opposed to on top of people, allowing it to naturally rise. “You’re providing healthier air circulation, like old-fashioned ranch-style houses with vents in the attic windows, where air goes out,” Dale says. “This is not earth-shattering science but rather, common sense.” The Corpus Christi classroom also exemplifies another element of “green building”: the use of natural, recycled materials such as linoleum (made of natural resin) and wood. “A lot of flooring, carpeting and tile employs recycled materials,” Dale says. “Sometimes we use bamboo in cabinetry and floors.” However, he adds that some of the natural materials “are still experimental and expensive. “Some projects we do with natural lighting have costs that are a little higher, but in the long run, the more natural light [you have], the more electricity you save. Those life-cycle costs start to add up.” The challenge, Dale continues, are “schools designed under pressure,” on initial costs versus the amount of money to be saved in the long run. A recent Los Angeles Times article addressed this problem with regard to the Los Angeles Unified School District building campaign. The article, called “Lessons unlearned,” praised the district for confronting problems of overcrowding and aging facilities but stated that “as the district has become more aggressive about asking for money and tackling new lists of educational problems, on the design front it has shrunk into caution and insularity.” One LAUSD school that exceeds California Title 24 energy standards by about 30 percent is Cahuenga New Elementary School in Hollywood, designed by Fields Devereaux. This K-5 high-performance school was the first new facility built after LAUSD passed the 2002 resolution adopting the CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) Design Guidelines for their schools. “The quality of the environment really does affect the quality of learning,” Miller says. Perhaps these “Classrooms of the Future” will speak for themselves.

A sweet and plain-looking schoolteacher stands poised in front of a blackboard scribbled with white chalk. At her feet are a felt eraser and a piece of chalk, tools used by her students to create her birthday “surprise” messages on the board. She smiles upon half a dozen children tucked neatly into individual wooden desks. This Norman Rockwell image represents a familiar educational setting that is fading into sentimental memories. In the last decade, classroom design has shifted away from the traditional, “teacher-centered environment” and towards a “learning environment,” which extends beyond four walls and into a larger community space. Classes meet under a tree on campus, or travel to the local library or park for a history or science lesson. Students bring laptop computers to local coffee shops and plug away at English papers while customers order lattes just a few feet away. School building design has evolved based on the belief that providing students with a variety of learning spaces and improving the quality of these environments enhance students’ ability to learn and help raise educational standards. “There’s a belief that learning happens in more places than the [traditional] classroom,” says Brent Miller, higher education studio director with Fields Devereaux Architects & Engineers. Pacific Palisades resident J. Peter Devereaux is CEO of the firm, which designs K-12 and higher education campus master plans, courtyards, food service buildings and classrooms. A “classroom,” Miller says, can be a lecture hall, seminar space, library study room, laboratory or mixed-media room. Even food service buildings are no longer just for serving and eating food. These learning spaces are becoming more “wired” and “green,” meaning that they’re equipped with the latest and most energy- and resource-efficient technologies. Wireless Internet is also common. In community colleges, or schools where students might not be able to afford laptops, administrators are purchasing computers and checking them out to students. The trend extends to elementary school-age children, who are “increasingly using computers and laptops,” says John Dale, studio designer for K-12 learning environments with Fields Devereaux. In addition, “smart boards” are replacing marker boards because teachers can use them not only to draw but also to project images from a computer. “One of the things we try to do is incorporate flexibility into our designs,” Miller says. “We make sure the infrastructure is in place, that it’s fortified, so that as technology changes, you can still use the same infrastructure.” The physical organization of the classroom environment is also changing to foster diverse modes of learning. “A lot of students prefer to learn in groups instead of as individuals, and we’re finding that a lot of assignments are given out to groups,” Miller says. “[In response] we’re designing group study rooms in libraries, with furniture that can be easily moved around.” Miller points to Cal State University Northridge’s Student Union as an example of a building that integrates the concept of flexible spaces with a coffee house. Fields Devereaux designed the university’s Art & Design Center and the Arts, Media & Communications Building, both of which incorporate traditional classrooms and specially designed space for teaching and using new technologies “The spaces are actually becoming more differentiated,” says Dale, who explains that in a typical classroom, a teacher might talk to the students all together and then have them break off into separate spaces and work in small groups. “The funny thing about classroom design is that we’re actually cycling back to more complex-shaped classrooms,” Dale says. “A seminal school outside of Chicago, called Crow Island School, was developed [in 1940] around the idea of classrooms as homes’L-shaped classrooms with patios and differentiated spaces that allow for a variety of activities to take place at the same time.” On the other hand, the 1970’s design of schools with internal walls that could be opened or closed like a curtain didn’t work and “actually became nonfunctional at a certain point,” Dale says. “Educational designers are trying to find the mix between specific configurations and flexibility.” One creative solution in elementary school classrooms has been to install glass partitions between rooms to create a transparent environment that allows teachers to monitor student activity while giving them a sense of independence. A new science classroom under construction at Corpus Christi School, designed by Fields Devereaux, integrates some of these design ideas. The classroom includes zoning (expressed in the floor pattern) that allows for flexible teaching and side project activities; the electrical floor outlet grid supports furniture flexibility. Roughly 900 sq. ft., the classroom incorporates “smart board” and state-of-the-art projection technology, as well as advanced lighting control to switch easily between projection and teaching mode. Senior project designer Michael Bulander says the building was originally designed as a classroom, but needed renovation and upgrading. They have used the building itself as a teaching tool by revealing the existing post-and-beam structure so that teachers can literally show their students the physics of how it is supported. Display cases in the classroom window are designed to show science projects to the whole campus. “The target was to create a high-performance classroom,” Bulander says, referring to a classroom that uses the whole building to save energy, resources and money. For example, the acoustical ceiling has reflection and absorption panels, which cause the teacher’s voice to bounce off the ceiling in the right place and the students to absorb the sound well in the location where they’re seated. “The mechanical system was already in place,” Bulander says, referring to the big windows and exterior overhang of the existing concrete structure, which serves as a thermal mass absorbing some of the heat, for climate control. “The common sense of sustainability was already there.” In recent years, the concept of “green building” also has been revived, promoting open, airy environments that invite natural light and reduce reliance on artificial light. “California knew how to do ‘green’ schools in the 1950s,” Dale says, “with the big windows facing north, and the smaller, high windows facing south, for shading on the south side. These were designed before air conditioning, and made effective use of natural light.” Allowing for natural ventilation also provides a healthier learning environment. For example, the latest designs utilize “displacement ventilation,” meaning that when a room is being cooled mechanically, the air is brought in at a low level as opposed to on top of people, allowing it to naturally rise. “You’re providing healthier air circulation, like old-fashioned ranch-style houses with vents in the attic windows, where air goes out,” Dale says. “This is not earth-shattering science but rather, common sense.” The Corpus Christi classroom also exemplifies another element of “green building”: the use of natural, recycled materials such as linoleum (made of natural resin) and wood. “A lot of flooring, carpeting and tile employs recycled materials,” Dale says. “Sometimes we use bamboo in cabinetry and floors.” However, he adds that some of the natural materials “are still experimental and expensive. “Some projects we do with natural lighting have costs that are a little higher, but in the long run, the more natural light [you have], the more electricity you save. Those life-cycle costs start to add up.” The challenge, Dale continues, are “schools designed under pressure,” on initial costs versus the amount of money to be saved in the long run. A recent Los Angeles Times article addressed this problem with regard to the Los Angeles Unified School District building campaign. The article, called “Lessons unlearned,” praised the district for confronting problems of overcrowding and aging facilities but stated that “as the district has become more aggressive about asking for money and tackling new lists of educational problems, on the design front it has shrunk into caution and insularity.” One LAUSD school that exceeds California Title 24 energy standards by about 30 percent is Cahuenga New Elementary School in Hollywood, designed by Fields Devereaux. This K-5 high-performance school was the first new facility built after LAUSD passed the 2002 resolution adopting the CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) Design Guidelines for their schools. “The quality of the environment really does affect the quality of learning,” Miller says. Perhaps these “Classrooms of the Future” will speak for themselves.