RATING: A+WORLD PREMIERE |
September 21 - October 21
Overlooked
by Brian Nelson
Directed by Marya Mazor
- 10/01/12 REVIEW: Back Stage
RATING: A+ - 10/01/12 REVIEW: OC Examiner
- 10/03/12 REVIEW: Orange County Register
- 10/06/12 REVIEW: StageSceneLA WOW!
- 10/15/12 REVIEW: LA STAGE TIMES
THEATER REVIEW
The Characters of 'Overlooked' Turn Homelesseness into an Art Installation
by Eric Marchese, Back Stage
RATING: A+
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| Jackson Tobiska and Lewis Crouse Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio  |
In recent years, Chance Theater has combined resident designers and production personnel with new, outside directors, creating an environment that nurtures and brings out the best in everyone. Snagging solid, well-written scripts, of which Brian Nelson’s satirical black comedy “Overlooked” is typical, completes the process, along with casting the best performers. While some may quibble that Nelson is treading on ground already broken by “Pygmalion”/“My Fair Lady” and Preston Sturges’ classic 1941 gem “Sullivan’s Travels,” no one can deny that he has transferred ideas and concepts from those stories to the world of art dealers and gallery owners while creating an accurate presentation of Southern California/Los Angeles in the early 21st century. Even more crucially, Nelson skillfully generates laughter just by presenting human nature at its worst.
The story starts with the homeless Rail (Brandon Sean Pearson) and Farrell (Lewis R. Crouse II) compete for the rights to exclusively panhandle a prime stretch of freeway off-ramp. The younger, savvier Rail wins, which means he’s there when Cooper K (Jackson Tobiska), a hip, upscale, successful young artist, arrives. He asks Rail to come to his gallery and do his panhandling there. Rail will be paid for his time and given shelter and food. Cooper, meanwhile, hopes that by putting a real homeless man on display as an installation in his current show, he’ll recapture the media attention lost a few years earlier.
In the show’s world-premiere staging, director Marya Mazor and her cast know the material so well that they honor it by underplaying every scene. Not forcing things generates realism as well as laughs, the latter attributable to (or perhaps in spite of) the script’s sophisticated style, tone, dialogue, and characters. Despite the sleek, chic look of visual elements, it’s Mazor’s quintet of actors, and what she does with them, that get this darkly cynical comedy flying high. All five characters have depth and breadth, and the actors must appreciate Nelson’s knack for penning good, tight scenes with effective payoffs and inventive dialogue that has a real-world sound.
As British Elise, a wealthy, classy art collector, Jane Noble’s cheerful façade and megawatt smile hide a dark agenda. Alex Bueno shines as Gail, Cooper’s attractive, young, hip gallery owner. Crouse expresses the anger and bitterness of Farrell, a Vietnam War vet and longtime Los Angeles-area panhandler. And Pearson and Tobiska are outstanding. Each is like a crafty chess master trying to outwit an opponent he respects yet whom he must conquer. The scruffy Rail surprises everyone in the art world with his shrewd self-protection, intellectual and emotional depth, conversational abilities, and understanding of human nature. Nelson creates an arc for him (unspoiled here) that alone is worth the price of admission. Tobiska’s Cooper is cynical and can be devious, but is also a charming, articulate, natural-born salesman.
Like its characters, “Overlooked” is slick, glossy and professional, yet comprised of elements far more substantial—and therefore more thought provoking for us.
Presented by and at the Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. Sept. 28–Oct. 21. (714) 777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com.
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THEATER REVIEW
'Overlooked' at Chance Theater
by Jordan Young, OC Examiner
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| Brandon Sean Pearson and Jane Noble Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
Far more compelling—and satisfying—is the world premiere of Brian Nelson’s “Overlooked” at Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. Whether the world of contemporary art engages you or throws you for a loop, this timely and incisive satire will give you plenty of food for thought.
The lines between art and reality. and art and commerce, have seldom been crossed with such insight and wit. Nelson’s sage (and often savage) commentary on the ethical and political aspects of the subject hit home. Marya Mazor skillfully guides her carefully chosen cast of five to maximum pay-off.
Jackson Tobiska (as Cooper K, a narcissistic artist) and Brandon Sean Pearson (Rail, a shrewd homeless man) drive Nelson’s premise unerringly through unpredictable twists and turns. Jane Noble (Elise, an unscrupulous patron of the arts), Alex Bueno (Gail, an art dealer) and Lewis Crouse (Farrell, a panhandler) enrich the play with their sharp characterizations.
Through Oct. 21; call 714-777-3033.
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THEATER REVIEW
Big laughs aren't 'Overlooked' in Chance Theater staging
by Eric Marchese, Orange County Register
[ Link to Orange County Register ]
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| Brandon Sean Pearson and Lewis Crouse Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
In the world of theater, the intelligent comedy often seems a thing of the past. Those contemporary plays that do dare to take on big issues are typically dramas. Any comedic elements are no more than undertones.
That puts Brian Nelson's "Overlooked" in rare company – a contemporary black comedy that uses satire to needle the world of high-profile artists, collectors and exhibitors. In doing so, it attacks serious issues such as homelessness, greed, unbridled capitalism and the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy.
You might think a small Orange County company like Chance Theater wouldn't stand a chance at landing such a play as a world premiere production – but Nelson decided that the Anaheim Hills-based company was exactly right.
Great choice, because in Chance Theater, "Overlooked" snags director Marya Mazor, who delivered a powerhouse version of Edward Albee's "The Goat" at Chance in October 2010; a production design team that has proven its mettle in numerous stagings; and a cast of three Chance vets and two performers fairly new to the troupe.
All five are dynamite – and combined with Nelson's text as foundation and Mazor's vision of it, their performances produce the kind of laughs often found only in shows of more frivolous content.
Just the same, your merriment will have faded during your drive home, replaced by concern for nagging societal issues that have plagued us for years and for which no easy answers exist.
Nelson draws his tale elegantly and simply: Rail (Brandon Sean Pearson), a tall, lean, scruffy panhandler who frequents the off-ramps of the Los Angeles freeway system, is recruited by Cooper K (Jackson Tobiska), a hip young artist whose cache has dimmed of late.
Cooper wants to turn Rail into an art installation at his latest gallery show. To him, the plan is a no-brainer: Cooper will reap the rewards of creating something daring, recapturing the media attention he so craves; Rail will live in comfort and safety while being fed – and paid.
Where "Overlooked" goes from there, only the most imaginative will foresee. Suffice it to say that two women from Cooper's professional life figure prominently in his scheme, and that an older, more ornery panhandler from Rail's world of cardboard signs and empty coffee cups becomes collateral damage.
What Mazor's outstanding staging also reveals is that Nelson has hijacked familiar ideas from Shaw's "Pygmalion" and its offspring, "My Fair Lady," as well as classic films like Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels."
And yet, all Nelson has done is repurpose some of the obvious trappings of those tales, making them entirely natural components of the high-stakes world of art against the backdrop of Los Angeles circa the start of the 21st century. That he makes such a feat appear so easy and effortless attests to his writing talent.
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| Jackson Tobiska, Brandon Sean Pearson and Alex Bueno Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
In a script that's observant, witty and entertaining, "Overlooked" scrutinizes our self-obsessed, acquisitive, self-promoting culture and the way it objectifies and depersonalizes everything and everyone.
The show's cynical, dark tone is buoyed by Nelson's skill in crafting inventive, genuinely funny dialogue, proof of his accurate ear for vernacular speech. Mazor's performers understand that the script's slick sophistication requires they underplay their roles – an approach that gives each scene more urgency.
In only his second Chance show, Pearson delivers a subtle, star-making turn. His Rail is savvy, well-informed and self-aware – so complexly nuanced he's an enigma. He's also utterly cool under pressure, the true definition of "cool."
Tobiska's light, airy delivery adds to Cooper's charm, and though the artist's No. 1 concern is protecting and promoting himself, Tobiska does so without his character becoming a jerk. Tobiska also shows that despite Cooper's too-hip manner, his concern for Rail's well-being is genuine.
"Overlooked" also gets a huge boost from Jane Noble in her Chance debut as the polished Brit Elise, a cheerful, inquisitive, fast-thinking and very wealthy art patron as shrewd as Cooper and Rail and perhaps even more so. The performance is also Noble's U.S. debut, and through it, she delivers Elise's charm and sensuality as well as her darker motives.
Alex Bueno gives the character of Gail, Cooper's gallery owner and sometime business partner, the enterprising energy, impatience, impulsiveness and shortsightedness of young adults. Lewis Crouse's old panhandler Farrell is crotchety and tough. A bitter Vietnam War vet, he's ill-equipped for the cushy environment in which Rail flourishes.
Visual elements like Bradley Kaye's all-purpose set, Erika C. Miller's subtle, tasteful costumes and Kristin Neu's lighting, and sound designer Dave Mickey's use of classical piano music, complement the story and its themes while exemplifying Chance Theater's organic approach to its shows.
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THEATER REVIEW
Overlooked
by Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
WOW!
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| Jane Noble and Brandon Sean Pearson Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
Playwright Brian Nelson skewers the pretentious Ways Of The (Art) World in his acidic new comedy Overlooked, now getting its World Premiere at Orange County’s award-winning Chance Theater.
Artist and onetime media darling Cooper K (Brandon Tobiska) spots scruffy but erudite—and hot to boot—young panhandler Rail (Brandon Sean Pearson) with the requisite cardboard sign and paper cup at an L.A. freeway offramp and offers him a deal too good to say “No” too. In exchange for a sum far exceeding his usual daily take, Rail will allow Cooper to turn him into his latest piece of art. All he has to do is take his begging off the street and over to the trendy art gallery owned and operated by Gail Going (Alex Bueno) and his pockets will be fuller than they’ve been in a long time. There’s only one catch. He has to stay homeless in order to preserve Cooper’s integrity as an artist.
Realizing that he’d be a fool to turn down Cooper’s offer, Rail soon finds himself the object of attention—and lust—of wealthy British divorcee Elise (Jane Noble), who does what any well-to-do art enthusiast does when a painting, sculpture, or other objet d’art catches her eye. She writes a big fat check and the next thing you know, Rail is panhandling for her eyes only—to the great consternation of not only Cooper K but of Rail’s rival panhandler, grizzled Vietnam vet Farrell (Lewis R. Crouse II), who only moments before Rail’s “discovery” had been beaten out of his usual freeway offramp spot by the now kept man. (Sorry, make that kept artwork.)
Though its five largely unsympathetic characters and overall cynicism will likely make Overlooked not everyone’s cup of tea, under Marya Mazor’s incisive direction, Nelson’s black comedy generates considerable laughter, particularly as performed by an all-around fine cast of Chance Theater Resident Artists and guest actors.
New Chance Resident Artist Tobiska, fresh from the triumphant West Side Story, proves himself one to watch with his sexy, edgy turn as the increasingly more desperate Rail, and he is matched by the sharp, sly work of the lanky, long-haired, bearded Pearson. Veteran Chance favorites Bueno and Crouse are both terrific, she as the chow mein-chewing Gail and he as the embittered but somehow charming Farrell. Best of all is the authentically English Noble, who plays Elise like a cross between Helen Mirren and Joan Collins—and deliciously so.
The design team assembled for Overlooked once again cement the Chance’s status as the OC’s classiest intimate theater, beginning with Bradley Kaye’s modernistic Greco-Roman set design, which not only serves as Overlooked’s many locales but gives the Chance stage an expansive look entirely appropriate for its L.A. setting. Kristen Neu’s lighting design is as stunning as they get, and Erika C. Miller’s costumes fit each character to a T, from street-people wear to trendy elegance. As for Dave Mickey’s sensational sound design, you only have to close your eyes to feel you’re standing out on an L.A. freeway offramp. In addition, Mickey ups the suspense with some subtle but dramatic underscoring. Make-up designer Jessica Johnson not only makes the women look ultra glam, she gives Rail visible proof of the street brawls that are part and parcel of a homeless man’s life.
Kyle Swafford is assistant sound designer, Bebe Herrera stage manager, and Masako Tobaru prop master. Guy W. Marr is honorary producer.
While theatergoers looking for “feel-good” entertainment might opt to overlook Overlooked, those looking for a dark black comedy with an astringent bite would do well to take a look at the Chance Theater’s latest.
The Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. Through October 21. Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00. Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00. Sundays at 2:00. Reservations: 714 777-3033
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THEATER REVIEW
Don't overlook Overlooked
by Don Shirley, LA STAGE TIMES
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| Jackson Tobiska, Brandon Sean Pearson and Alex Bueno Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
I liked Charles McNulty’s LA Times review of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape last week. His description of John Hurt’s performance as Krapp, in the Gate Theatre Dublin production at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, included this: “His face is the single most powerful argument against plastic surgery I’ve come across on stage.”
And I appreciated his observation that “the piece should be approached as a living canvas, an installation more than a traditional drama.” This is certainly valuable advice for anyone who’s contemplating seeing Krapp’s Last Tape.
I thought of those words again on Saturday, when I saw Overlooked, which is a comedy about another presentation of a flesh-and-blood person as an installation – only in Brian Nelson’s play, the “installation” takes place in a fictional Los Angeles art gallery, which in turn comes to life on the stage of the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills.
In Nelson’s play, artist Cooper K (Jackson Tobiska), who fears he might be losing his edge, shows up at the side of a freeway ramp where homeless men greet passers-by with messages scrawled on cardboard, accompanied by the rattle of donation cups.
The artist drafts one of the homeless men, Rail (Brandon Sean Pearson), to take his act into a gallery as a live human “installation”, in exchange for a living wage. The gallery owner (Alex Bueno) balks at allowing the man to stay overnight in the gallery, but a wealthy arts supporter (Jane Noble) is particular intrigued by this human piece of art. Meanwhile, back at the off-ramp, an older homeless man (Lewis R. Crouse II) wonders how he can get in on the deal.
Nelson’s plot twists into a string of delirious little developments that, as a whole, offer wry commentary on the homeless, the art world, artists’ egos and other subjects. But no messages feel forced, and Marya Mazor’s staging is an intriguing piece of performance art all by itself.
This is a made-for-LA play, with references to the La Weekly and KPCC, among other local institutions. It should find a home not just in LA County, but in a gallery. Perhaps City Garage, which transformed Neil LaBute’s Filthy Talk for Troubled Times into an “installation” within an actual gallery earlier this year, might be interested? Overlooked plays one more weekend, so prospective LA presenters should head out to Anaheim Hills next weekend.
Overlooked, Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. Thu-Fri 8 pm, Sat 3 and 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. Closes Sunday. www.chancetheater.com. 714-777-3033.
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PATRON REVIEWS
Compelling, sad, funny, interesting and riveting
posted by Elizabeth Jones on 10/10/12
This was a compelling, sad, funny, interesting and riveting performance that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. The chance (no pun intended) to speak with the cast afterword disclosed the fact that there could be several interpretations to each of the characters. Go see it!!
I thought it was Awesome
posted by Michelle Wallace on 10/10/12
I thought it was Awesome! I really enjoyed the production. In a time where people are still concerned with jobs, money, and the economy this subject matter comes right on time! The haves and the have nots still in a struggle only with a twist. Art vs the homeless and to the extent of what is for sale! It was very interesting and hilarious. Fun afternoon!
Kudos on another brilliant performance
posted by Carol Latham on 10/10/12
A very comfortable topic dealt with boldness and sensitivity. Innovative opening that was comfortable but made me think about my reactions to the homeless I encounter and some of my judgements. Excellent cast that worked well together. Kudos on another brilliant performance.
