This past week was a busy one for Bay Area theaters as a plethora of new shows opened, many with lively musical ensembles.
All the passion, betrayal and madness of “King Lear” exploded across Tanya Orellana’s multilevel set as Orinda’s California Shakespeare Theater opened Marcus Gardley’s modern-language adaptation of the Bard’s masterpiece on Sept. 14.
Set in San Francisco’s Fillmore District from the eminent domain crisis to the political unrest of 1969, this “Lear” demonstrates that betrayal comes in all forms — within families, friends, races and political parties.
An Oakland native, Gardley weaves his own modern poetry through Shakespeare’s words incorporating the displacement of Black Americans and the rise of the Black Panthers into Lear’s tale of treachery with a humorous sprinkling of Bay Area locales set against the cool jazz of Marcus Shelby (upright bass) and Scott Larson (trombone).
Velina Brown begins the prologue in a flowing white gown and continues commentary throughout the show adding to the bluesy atmosphere with her Billie Holiday-like vocals complete with gardenia in her hair. The music enhances the action but none more so than when Brown and the band perform “Stormy Weather” during the famous storm sequence.
Directors Eric Ting and Dawn Monique Williams, together with the Oakland Theater Project, put together a fine ensemble of talented performers headed by a commanding James Williams as Lear. A versatile Sam Jackson plays Cordelia and the chain-smoking Comic (the fool in Shakespeare’s version) with the wonderful Cathleen Riddley as Kent, who is given an oh-too-accurate speech about Black women holding families/societies together.
The stellar cast also includes Michael Asberry (Gloucester), Emma Van Lare (Regan), Dov Hassan (Cornwall), Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (Goneril), Jomar Tagatac (Edmund) and Dane Troy (Edgar). Orellana’s geometric shapes became alive under Scott Bolman’s creative lighting with costume designer Lux Haac responsible for the flowing gowns and angular suits worn by the cast.
“Lear” continues through Oct. 2 at the Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way in Orinda. Call 510-548-9666 or go online to calshakes.org for tickets.
El Cerrito: The small-cast version of “Camelot” is anything but in the more than capable hands of El Cerrito’s Contra Costa Civic Theatre and its stellar design team. Director Diana Trotter has assembled a multitalented cast who easily sings Lerner and Loewe’s famous melodies, plays a variety of roles and handles the acting challenges with ease.
One of those challenges would be that six of the eight-person cast are playing a different gender. While the small-cast version calls for seven men and one woman (Guenevere), CCCT decided to try seven women and one man (Arthur) with gratifying results.
Kudos to Trotter, who found a cast capable of honestly portraying a character regardless of gender. Lily Jackson (Sir Lionel), Melanie Kibbler (Tom), Megan Marie (Mordred), Jamie Strube (Sir Dinadan) and Adria Swan (Sir Sagramore) all create believable characters with Collette Roberto (Lancelot) adding a vulnerability to her part.
Brenna Sammon (Guenevere) and Ariel Anderson (Arthur) are well paired given the depth of their acting ability and their luscious voices. In fact, the entire cast has outstanding voices, making the ensemble pieces soar, especially with the talents of Music Director Armando Fox and his eight-piece orchestra. John Butterfield adds his own creative choreography, which makes the jousting competition a treat as well as enriching each scene with stylistic poses and movements.
Marilyn Langbehn designed the simple yet very effective set with Ralph Hoy designing the costume pieces that give a nice touch to each character. “Camelot” continues through Oct. 9. Call 510-524-9012 or go to ccct.org.
Walnut Creek: Center Repertory Company went country with “Always … Patsy Cline” opening its 2022-23 season. Director Karen Lund paired Cayman Ilika and Kate Jaeger for the two-person show based on the true story of the country singer’s unlikely friendship with a Houston housewife.
The stellar musicianship of Ken Bergmann, Derek Brooker, Eric Price, Trevor Maseroll, Jay Rosen and Cat Taylor holds the show together as Ilika (Patsy Cline) and Jaeger (Louise Seger) go from one Cline hit after another, often inviting the audience to join in.
Ilika’s Cline has a more serious side than I’ve seen in other productions — a vulnerability and sadness just below the surface with Jaeger tuning into the comedy of her single mom’s character.
At first, I was afraid Jaeger was drawing focus from Cline with her physical comedy, but soon I couldn’t help but fall in love with her and her hip-swinging antics. The comedy was a nice contrast to Cline’s more poignant note.
The singing, however, was never in doubt. From the first note of “Honky Tonk Merry Go Round” through “Walking After Midnight” and closing with the traditional “Bill Bailey,” Ilika sang her heart out with Jaeger offering a nice harmony.
Mark Lund’s colorful set and video projections enhance the friendly atmosphere with Brynne McKeen designing the country-and-western attire.
“Always … Patsy Cline” continues through Sept. 25 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive. Call 925-943-SHOW or go to lesherartscenter.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
