A NOISE WITHIN GETS RIGHT UNDER YOUR 'SKIN'.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer Given that they're depicting a New Jersey family that survives the ice age, biblical floods and the Great War, A Noise Within's company members have shown great restraint in never once introducing the words ``Florida'' or ``recount'' into the fourth-wall-breaking banter that makes up the fabric of ``The Skin of Our Teeth.'' So the George Antrobus clan is supposed to be living in a world ``at sixes and sevens''? We hear you, brother. But who needs Florida chaos as a sounding board? ANW's cast and crew bite into Thornton Wilder's allegorical al·le·gor·i·cal also al·le·gor·ic adj. Of, characteristic of, or containing allegory: an allegorical painting of Victory leading an army. comedy as though it were a freshly picked pippin, not the day-old bread the play actually is. And we get swept along. After all, we're part of the journey. Under the guidance of co-directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez Elliott, the production's ensemble treats the play's lunacy lunacy: see insanity. with wonderful ease, never straining to appear harried. As the fictional Antrobus family keeps emerging, cockroachlike, from the ravages rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. of history, the actual actors putting on the play are supposed to be encountering pitfalls of their own - things like food poisoning food poisoning, acute illness following the eating of foods contaminated by bacteria, bacterial toxins, natural poisons, or harmful chemical substances. It was once customary to classify all such illnesses as "ptomaine poisoning," but it was later discovered that , missed cues and malfunctioning sets being among the calamities. Like their characters, the actors must also adapt and occasionally start over. Jill Hill's self-absorbed Sabina sets an immediate tone of confusion under control, plopping into a convenient empty seat as she urges the audience not to take what they're seeing seriously. Sabina is kind of our tour guide, the sexy housekeeper who can neither engineer a better position for herself nor sever her ties to the Antrobuses. Hill is too smart to play dumb, and she's quite funny. Mitchell Edmonds and Deborah Strang do equally solid work as George and Maggie Antrobus, our modern-day Adam and Eve Adam and Eve In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the parents of the human race. Genesis gives two versions of their creation. In the first, God creates “male and female in his own image” on the sixth day. . A less blustery blus·ter v. blus·tered, blus·ter·ing, blus·ters v.intr. 1. To blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm. 2. a. To speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner. Antrobus than most, Edmonds grasps the character's despair when the world starts crashing down on his ears. Strang - too young for the role - is a mother bear incarnate in·car·nate adj. 1. a. Invested with bodily nature and form: an incarnate spirit. b. Embodied in human form; personified: a villain who is evil incarnate. . Kudos, also, to Anna C. Miller's splendid turn as an Atlantic City Atlantic City, city (1990 pop. 37,986), Atlantic co., SE N.J., an Atlantic resort and convention center; settled c.1790, inc. 1854. Situated on Absecon Island, a barrier island 10 mi (16. fortune teller. The Elliotts clearly trust the text enough not to over-tweak it with contemporary updates or to let the production get bogged down in Wilder's intellectual musings. ``Skin of Our Teeth'' is not aging well, but you'd never know it watching how eagerly the ensemble takes to the the campaign slogan of Antrobus, newly elected president of the mammals: ``Enjoy yourself.'' The largely bare stage, designed by Michael Smith Michael or Mike Smith may refer to: Journalists
This is the first production back in the Masonic Temple Building after a season spent on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A., CSULA, or "'CSLA"') is a public university, part of the California State University system. . New to the old space are more comfortable individual seats (replacing the uncomfortable pewlike benches), allowing the company to offer reserved seating. Comfy seats and a well-respected theatrical company back home in the Valley. Even in a world ``at sixes and sevens,'' life could be a lot worse. ``THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH'' Where: A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. When: Playing in repertory with ``A Christmas Carol'' through Dec. 14. Call for specific performance dates and times. Tickets: $26 to $30. Call (323) 953-7795. Our rating: Three stars |
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