Comedy is afoot, both stand-up and out of town
Much is afoot theatrically. Let's start with the stand-up comics appearing at Marysville's new Laughing Lotus Comedy Review.
Laughing Lotus first blossomed in an East Marysville garage but was soon replanted to 103 C St. in old Chinatown's garden of earthly delights.
Emcee Jimmy Earll introduced the comics appearing in last week's coincidentally appropriate April Fools' Day show.
The audience number was comparable to a good turnout for a show at The Acting Company, which is not too bad for a hometown venture such as this.
The night's playbill included Joe Turner, Angel Diaz, Randy Lavendar and Mark Stark. Also featured were Dan Salamone, making his stand-up debut, and headliner Caleb Mains.
Turner recapped some of the amusing high and low points of his formerly bibulous lifestyle.
Diaz (who sported a cigar and an old-fashioned glass) claimed to be a Dean Martin look-alike and modeled various ways to wear a fedora.
Lavendar recalled bits from his three-decade military career and some of his experiences in local education.
Stark, a member of the Screen Actors Guild and a decent impressionist, gave the 50-or-so audience some insights into Hollywood's showbiz life. He also offered a plausible rendition of Richard "I-am-not (willing to admit being) a-crook" Nixon.
Salamone floored many in the crowd by flooring himself, too, literally. He sank slowly to the stage as he delivered his spiel to a good hand.
Mains, the headline act, was a founding performer in the Neighborhood Comedy Garage group. He is also a substitute school teacher and drew many of his gags and book props from that experience.
The Laughing Lotus Comedy Review blooms at 7 p.m. the first Friday each month. Aspiring comics can schedule an audition by emailing Jon Law at jonlawdog@yahoo.com.
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There's still time to catch the Noel Coward comedy "Present Laughter," which closes with a Sunday matinee at Theatre on the Ridge, 3935 Neal Road, Paradise.
The play's title derives from Shakespeare: "Present mirth has present laughter, what's to come is still unsure," but the show itself is pure Coward.
Directed by Judy Clemens, "Present Laughter" features a decadent playwright, Gary Essendine (played by Sean Green), served by a general factotum (Shaunna Jones), a valet (Michael Clemens) and a housekeeper (J.C. Newport).
The cast features a bevy of well-heeled hangers-on, including an ex-wife (Sheri Bagley), wannabe girlfriends (Leandra McNeal, Kim Bertoglio), a gaggle of theater producers and hang-abouts (John Marek, Morgan Miller, Keith Barrett), with a ladyship (Teal Doughtery) tossed in for additional class.
The thinnish plot involves a lot of silly moaning about love's disappointments on the eve of Essendine's departure on an African show tour.
She: "Dahling, I'm devastated!"
He: "Fiddlesticks!"
Plays about the few deserving rich being happily served by the many thankful poor worked well enough in the 1930s Great Depression. They seem to be making a comeback following the 2008 crash.
That said, "Present Laughter" is nonetheless well worth seeing. The cast is excellent — particularly Green, Jones, Bagley and McNeal.
Green's many dressing gowns and smoking jackets to all the women's period-correct hats, stoles and elbow-length gloves were all great choices by costume mistress Arin Larson.
The set design by Michael and Judy Clemens was one of the most authentic and colorful I've seen in recent years.
Tickets are $14. Many shows are nearly sold out. Curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Don't be late. Doors close promptly at show time.
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Finally, this is the next-to last weekend to catch the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra production of "The King and I" at the Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad St., Nevada City.
Directed by Leslie Ann Rivers, the classic Rodgers-Hammerstein musical is rich in actors, singers and costumes. It closes Saturday.
Shows are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday. Tickets are $25 at the door.
Call ahead or buy ahead, because this dynamite production has been selling out fast.
CONTACT Tom Nadeau at theaterland@gmail.com.
