EMAV Review: The Wild Party ****1/2 (Delicious)

Party like it’s ...

By Paul Atreide

Author, playwright

paul-atreides.com

Twitter: @ atreides_paul

There’s a party going on at Majestic Repertory Theatre. And who doesn’t like a good party with all the accouterments like sex, drugs, booze, and … flappers? That is the definition of the quintessential wild party.

The Wild Party, now playing at Majestic Repertory Theatre, is based on the epic 1926 noir-jazz poem by Joseph Moncure March, adapted for the stage and directed by Troy Heard.

The entire production is cleverly imagined as we initially watch March (Cameron Bass) as he fights through writer’s block (this critic can relate). Then, inspired by overhearing his neighbors Burrs (Edmund Castle) and Queenie (Coco Lane Rigbye) first fight, then make love, then finally talk about the party they are about to host, the audience is suddenly thrust into the poem as March composes it.

This is what immersive theatre is all about. The audience is right in the thick of the party: mingling guests engaging in small talk while, all around, the cast is hitting the high notes of the epic poem.

It's 1928, The Roaring Twenties, and the party takes place in Burrs and Queenie’s apartment. A series of rooms perfectly decorated in period colors; all furniture, rugs, chandeliers, and lamps included. The atmosphere is total with lighting by Cory Covell. Toss in the period costumes by Sean Stuart, and if you’ve come dressed in your own costume (encouraged), you’ll fit right in.

I don’t want to give away the plot because discovering it through the course of the 75-minute production is what makes it fun. If you’re worried that you’ll miss anything important while wandering and mingling around the party, it won’t happen. Because Heard has ensured that any important events, or plot points if you will, are brought to your attention just before they take place.

There’s an incredibly talented cast of 14, who never – to my knowledge – break character even as they interact with the audience and each other. I’d say well-rehearsed, but, you know, improv plays a very large part in the overall. That means that each performance will be different.

For the one I attended, things seemed a bit squeezed together at the wrap-up, and the sequential events of the climax felt rushed. But that’s quibbling, nitpicking.

Majestic Rep does have some cautionary words (trigger warnings) about what will be encountered; things such as depictions of emotional and physical abuse and violence, nudity, fog/haze, and moderate familial contact. But not to worry. Interactive Coach, Christy Casey, has taught the cast well, and they know how to spot the signs if the interaction is not your thing.

With the perfect bland of script and improv, this is high-octane entertainment. Go. Party like it’s 1928.

What: The Wild Party

When: Thursday - Sunday, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. through December 18

Tickets: $65 – Adults 21+ Only (www.majesticrepertory.com)

Grade: ****1/2 (Delicious)

Producer: Majestic Repertory Theatre; Director: Troy Heard; Choreography: Kady Heard; Fight Choreography: Will McMichael; Intimacy Choreography: Kymberly Luke Mellen; Lighting and Sound Design: Cory Covell; Scenic Design: Troy Heard; Costume Design: Sean Stuart; Stage Manager: Ana Gudino

Las Vegas father publishes children’s sci-fi book The Crytivat –The Search for the Lost Keys

Long-time IT engineer publishes a 94-page sci-fi adventure story after he dives into a creative idea that tapped him in the springtime. For more than 20 years, Vamsi Alturi made all of the right, responsible adult decisions. He excelled in his career as an IT engineer and was a proud husband and father. Then earlier this year, an idea for a children’s sci-fi story came to him. He’d felt the storytelling bug in the past but always brushed it off. This time he didn’t, and the move paid off. In November, the Las Vegas father published his first children’s science fiction book, The Crytivat – The Search for the Lost Keys, which is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “I’ve always been creative; I just never took action on it,” Alturi said. “To me, this story is really about telling people to follow the voices speaking to them when they’re not listening. I want everyone to take action and listen to that voice.”

Atluri wrote the action-packed children’s science fiction book The Crytivat – The Search For The Lost Keys. The book follows the adventures of a boy named Scott who goes from being bullied in school to teleporting around different planets, morphing into different aliens in a search for the lost keys, making friends and finding out he must save the universe from evil aliens.

Scott finds his life changed after he trips on a metal beam at a construction site. He falls head-first into a pit, where he finds a mysterious magical box. Inside is a hexagon-shaped object that portals him to other planets while transforming him into the native species for each planet when he arrives there. He then sets out on a quest to find missing pieces of the object in order to save the universe from aliens. After the idea first came to Alturi, it quickly started to take shape. But the author’s journey also had some trying moments where the narrative hit some roadblocks. He credits his son for inspiration and for helping him to stick with the process. “My eight-year-old son’s joyous spirit fueled me. Sometimes I would go for weeks without knowing the character’s next move, but this experience very much rekindled a dormant creative spark, and I couldn’t stop. I felt it was my time. I needed to put this down on paper,” Alturi added. While promoting his first book, the new author is working on his next children’s sci-fi story. Going forward, he also hopes to create a metaverse for the Crytivat ebook so that readers can interact online with characters in the book. The Crytivat – The Search for the Lost Keys can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

EMAV Review: 1940’s Radio Hour ****Delicious

A new (?) holiday classic

By Paul Atreide

Author, playwright paul-atreides.com Twitter: @ atreides_paul

Are you a bit weary of adaptation after adaptation of A Christmas Carol during the holiday season? Looking for something other than The Nutcracker or Handel’s Messiah? Those are all wonderful seasonal classics, but if you still want to see something else that enjoins the spirit look no further.

Las Vegas Little Theatre (LVLT) has the perfect solution with their Mainstage production of Walton Jones’ 1979 1940’s Radio Hour. Based on an idea by Jones and Carol Lees, it is about 90 minutes of pure fun as Radio Station WOV live-broadcasts its final presentation of the annual “Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade” from the Hotel Astor’s Algonquin Room.

Director April Sauline has assembled a fine, talented cast and, using a live band, ushers in a genuinely fun show of the jukebox variety. But this is not your standard static jukebox play.

Set in 1942, the production brings a wonderful mix of music from the era, all songs that were popular at the time, from “Blue Moon” to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” There are even old commercials for things like Chiquita Bananas and Pepsi Cola. True to the era of live radio, we, the patrons, become the studio audience to witness the fun. There are plenty of antics to catch, too, as the actors embody and embrace their characters with all manner of stage business.

It’s a great ensemble cast, each with a quirky character, and they all work well together. The standouts: Steve McMillan, as the sometimes frantic station general manager, Clifton A. Feddington, chasing down and firing and rehiring performers at the drop of a hat; there’s Peter Losasso as the handsome and debonair Sinatra wannabe headliner vocalist, Johnny Cantone, uncovering his hidden stash of liquor; then we get Michael Blair as the eager-to-please errand boy begging for his chance at the microphone; the shady stage doorkeeper, Pops Bailey, played by James (JD) Smith running his bookie business during the entire affair.

What would a live radio broadcast be without the sound effects guy? Max Lardent, as station engineer Lou Cohn does a great job hitting all the right sound effects and bellowing instructions already given by Clifton.

If there were one complaint to be made, it would be the final scene. Whether scripted or a director choice, the exit of Pops Bailey simply plays out too long and drops and loses the sense of fun we’ve just experienced, especially given the humor in the final line.

Between Ron Linblom’s wonderful set, dressed in all manner of items to discover (right down to a coffee percolator, yet missing a stack of 78rpm records), Julie Horton’s costumes, and Music director Toby McEvoy’s perfect vocals blending, the period comes right to the forefront. All lit to beautiful effect by Ginny Adams.

It’s a well-done production of pure fun and deserves to become a new holiday season classic.

What: 1940’s Radio Hour

When: 8 p.m. Friday - Saturday; 2 p.m. Sundays through December 18

2 p.m. Saturday, December 10

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre-Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive

Tickets: $30

702-362-7996; www.lvlt.org

Grade: **** Delicious

Producer: Las Vegas Little Theatre; Director-Choreographer: April Sauline; Music Director: Toby McEvoy; Set Design: Ron Lindblom; Lighting Design: Ginny Adams; Costume Design: Julie Horton; Sound Design: Mike Olsen; Stage Manager: Jim BraunKyra Shults