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SANTA MONICA, CA - An evening
of Karen Hartman’s one act plays The Mother of Modern
Censorship and Gum are presented at the Powerhouse
Theatre with class and style. The first presentation of
this showcase is The Mother of Modern Censorship,
directed by Tasha Ames. This office power play, set somewhere in
the Middle East, centers around three woman and their jobs of
censoring music. As Chief Music Censor (played to the hilt by
L.Zane) and her loyal assistant Samia (Julie Lancaster) screen
music for the masses, their world is turned upside down with the
appearance of new employee Khadiga (Marlo Baird) and a
realization presented by upper management (Richard Nason). The
three women realize how important and unimportant their jobs are
and where their place in society truly lie. The
acting in this one act is superb. Anyone currently working for
corporations of any kind will easily identify to the actions on
stage. Gum,
directed by L.Zane, however did not deliver the same impact in
entertainment. Gum tells the story of two extremely close
sisters, also somewhere in the Middle East, who through the use
of contraband gum discover that every desire has a price.
Somewhere along the line, the play fell flat. It’s easy to
blame the actors for not being convincing enough. Perhaps the
dialogue of the playwright simply did not gel with the two
sexually aroused blonde girls in the Middle East and forcing
them to deal with the controversial subject of female
circumcision. Shame too, because the lighting was beautiful and
well designed. As theater is also a forum to
educate, Workshop 360 should be commended for bringing such
drama to the stage and their goal to produce works that are
challenging, provocative and socially relevant. Not every
theater piece is easy to sit through. Sometimes it goes with the
territory when the playwright is trying to teach the audience
about what is silently ignored in times today. Produced by Workshop 360 in association with the Powerhouse Theater, The Mother of Modern Censorship and Gum performs at the Powerhouse Theater, located at 3116 2nd Street in Santa Monica, CA. Running through May 22, 2005, performances are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. Admission is $ 20.00. ($15.00 for seniors and students). - Adrian Rennie |
Maestro Arts and ReviewsCopyright © 2005 The Maestro GroupAll rights reserved.Online Reviews: www.maestro.ws/arts |
