06/04/2012
A Lou Review from Accessibly Live Off Line:
I REMEMBER LOU, a musical tale about the life and times of Lou Goldfarb, opens at The Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.
Johnny Ferretti is Louis "Lou" Goldfarb, a nice Jewish kid from Forestville, New Jersey, just a stone's throw away from The Big Apple. The tale is narrated by Lou's brother Joe (Todd Andrew Ball), who tells the audience about his sibling. The saga quickly flashbacks to the early 1950's, when his little bedroom community was just a semi rural plot where his parents, Moshe (Robert Moon), and Gertie (Ria Erich) ran a chicken ranch. As Lou became a man (long after his bar mitzvah), he became an attorney for the New York city Department of Housing, defending the poor and depressed over the slumlords that dot the city and its boroughs. Lou eventually finds a mate while attending a combination Purim and Mardi Gras celebration at the Jewish Communication Center (the local Italian Catholic center used the facility because theirs burned down), he meets Ann Perino (Laura Wolfe), a just as nice Italian Catholic woman. Although they are of mixed faiths, they marry without telling the folks! As time progresses, their are children born, divorces, deaths, remarriages, and the time when Lou, now slightly past the prime of his life, notes that he indeed lived a life worth remembering, and nearly survives to has his sibling tell all about it!
This musical with book, music, and lyrics by Alan Stillson, is very charming, witty, comical, somber, and all the for noted emotions in between! It's a simple story about an everyday common man who does his professional job while living through the domestic landscape! Even the staging is rather simple; Just a few black painted furnishings and props are presented and placed appropriately showing off the many stages of Lou's life with a brick wall as a backdrop more suited for a comedy club! Bonnie Janofsky provides the orchestration of the music by playing a lone piano, while Alissa-Nicole Koblentz provides the stage direction and choreography. (What's a stage musical without a few dance numbers?)
Besides the for mentioned cast, this show also features Decna Russo, Donald Melton, Clay Dzygun, Hisato Masuyama, Zedakiah Koterba, Michael Segovia, Charlotte Ruiz, Rachel, and Lana Ford. Some of these players perform in multiple roles.
I REMEMBER LOU is one of the most original stage musicals that came around the regional theater pike in quite a while! Unlike other musicals of late that are based upon pre sold commercial licensed properties (if not on pre existing songs, feature films, television shows, and anything that has already made a buck), this musical is based upon a person that the audience can relate to. Perhaps you may know of Lou, or perhaps you are Lou! Whatever the case and whatever the final outcome, one will indeed "remember Lou"! It's not often that a nice Jewish kid from the Jersey side makes a decent name for himself! Who could ask for more?
I REMEMBER LOU, presented by Stillsonworks, performs at The Whiterfire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, until July 8th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 PM. For ticket reservations and for more information, call (818) 884-4284, or via http://www.StillsonWorks.com
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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE
(Vol. 17-No. 23-Week of June 4th, 2012)
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