'LITTLE FISH' MUSICAL INTERESTING ENOUGH TO SWIM IN BIG OCEAN.Byline: EVAN EVAN Expandable Van HENERSON >THEATER CRITIC Another Blank season, another Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa (born 1962) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist best known for his unusual sounding compositions for shows in the "post-modern" school. musical. With "Little Fish," however, things are just a bit more personal than in LaChiusa's past. And personal's good. The icy artfulness of 2003's "First Lady Suite" and the bleak sprawl of 2005's "The Wild Party" were well and good (didn't see last year's "Hotel C'Est Lamour"). But "Little Fish," directed by Kirsten Sanderson in its West Coast premiere, has a real pulse. In tracking a perpetually stepped-on New Yorker whose life goes into the toilet after she quits smoking, LaChiusa has narrowed his focus while simultaneously expanding his vision of a very big city. That would be New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , of course, where short-story writer Charlotte, her pals, men friends and the occasional newspaper salesman are all feeling rather small. Little fish in a big ocean, indeed. Still, the writer clearly cares for her well-being. As do we all. Taken from the Deborah Eisenberg stories "Flotsam A name for the goods that float upon the sea when cast overboard for the safety of the ship or when a ship is sunk. Distinguished from jetsam (goods deliberately thrown over to lighten ship) and ligan (goods cast into the sea attached to a buoy). " and "Days," "Little Fish" finds Charlotte (played by a brunet Alice Ripley) in serious nicotine withdrawal, and looking to find a new center. She flashes backward to Robert (Robert Torti), the literary ex-boyfriend who essentially told Charlotte -- at some length -- she would be forever mediocre. First roommate Cinder cin·der n. 1. a. A burned or partly burned substance, such as coal, that is not reduced to ashes but is incapable of further combustion. b. A partly charred substance that can burn further but without flame. (Samantha Shelton) is a colorful basket case basket case Train wreck Vox populi A derogatory term for a Pt with a dread disease or a terminal illness; a person to be pitied who freaks out when Charlotte steps on a towel. Best bud Kathy (Dina Morishita) coaxes Charlotte into the pool at the YMCA YMCA in full Young Men's Christian Association Nonsectarian, nonpolitical Christian lay movement that aims to develop high standards of Christian character among its members. . Her gay art-critic friend Marco (Chad Kimball) prefers running. Charlotte's not especially good at either activity. Basically, she'd rather be smoking. Choreographer Jane Lanier has the actors criss-crossing the stage in Heelys for the swimming scenes. It's not exactly water ballet, but it gets the point across. Lanier also assembles a rather steamy club number that finds Charlotte pursuing a dancing gigolo gig·o·lo n. pl. gig·o·los 1. A man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman. 2. A man who is hired as an escort or a dancing partner for a woman. . LaChiusa's music, which in the past has been largely sung through dialogue, has recognizable narrative structure here (song titles are not listed in the program.) And with keyboardist/conductor David O. handling the musical duties, these songs have some real weight and bite. Ripley's Charlotte suggests a spirit of endurance and -- barely -- resilience rather than hopefulness. After watching the character being buffeted for the better part of 90 minutes, we're enough in Ripley's corner that we'd like the character to catch a break. The surrounding cast is, by and large, excellent. Shelton's Cinder is a cheerfully upbeat maniac. Kimball's keenly felt solo about Marco's own romantic troubles serves the dual purpose of allowing Ripley to leave the stage for a costume change. And Gregory Jbara's portrayal of a lecherous lech·er·ous adj. Given to, characterized by, or eliciting lechery. lech  er·ous·ly adv. editor, Mr. Bunder, who clumsily
hits on Charlotte, nearly brings the house down.
Evan Henerson (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson@dailynews.com LITTLE FISH - Three stars >Where: Blank Theatre Company History The Blank Theatre Company was founded in 1990 as a non-profit corporation by its current Artistic Director/Producer Daniel Henning. With a BFA from New York University, Mr. 2nd Stage Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. >When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 18. >Tickets: $32 to $38 (323) 661-9827, www.theblank.com. >In a nutshell: Swimming upstream with Michael John LaChiusa and his lonely New York scribe. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: "Little Fish" is the musical story of lonely Charlotte (Alice Ripley) and all the strange people who surround her in the Big Apple. |
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