Idyllwild Master Chorale’s “Cole,” a wildly entertaining tribute to musician and lyricist Cole Porter, featured 28 of his songs in two acts, with interesting narratives, Broadway songs, short dance numbers, glitzy costumes and bawdy humor. Locals who went to see the show on Saturday night, July 24, laughed, sang along and gave the troupe standing ovation.

“This show was a lot of fun,” said Rosemary Barnhardt, who came early with her husband, Ken. She is a friend of Phyllis Brown, one of the cast members.

“Phyllis told us to sit in the front row, because she’d might sit on Ken’s lap during one of her solos,” Rosemary said with a giggle.

As it turned out, Ken had his legs crossed during Phyllis’ rendition of “The Laziest Girl in Town,” so she just flirted with him and laced her feather boa around his neck.

Besides Phyllis, the other cast members included: Scott Fisher, Lisa Furugen, Bella Gioeli, Justin Patrick Holmes, Dwight “Buzz” Holmes, Larry Kawano, Steve Kunkle, Linda Lackey, Lori Palmer, Barbara Rayliss, Jay Rubin and Mike Sebastian.

Interestingly enough, those 28 songs were created with only two instruments a grand piano and a bass. Ed Hansen played the piano and Marshall Hawkins, from the Jazz Department at Idyllwild Arts, was on bass.

The staging was minimal, reminiscent of the Broadway productions, with Egyptian columns, and black tiered steps that you could dance on. The back stage was used for the larger group numbers, while the front stage, close to the audience, was used for shorter numbers. More than likely, the shorter song-and-dance numbers were a distraction while the cast changed clothes for the next number.

Act One featured 16 songs from Cole Porter’s early life, including his time at Harvard and Yale.

“He was editor of the school magazine at Yale, and could have gone into lumbering, farming or mining, but he went into Harvard Law School,” said Larry Kawano, who was acting as one of the narrators. However, Cole, who was named after his wealthy grandfather, graduated from Harvard’s Music Department instead.

Cole wrote more than 300 songs at Yale, including “Bingo Eli Yale” and “When the Summer Moon Comes ‘Long,” from 1902 that were sung early that night.

“Cole was a rich man, but also a hardworking one,” said Scott Fisher as another narrator. “’See America First,’ his first attempt on Broadway was not successful. “Everyone hated it, even the cast members.”

When they sang “Lost Liberty Blues,” from Des Ambassadeurs in 1928, the pianist, Barbara Rayliss, in a Doris Day wig, was also sporting a foam green Liberty crown, along with the four guys who sported black robes, the foam crowns and torch flashlights.

Unlike his contemporaries, Cole Porter was known for his bawdy humor and keen lyrics. According to Will Friedwald, on a CD dust jacket of “The Very Best of Cole Porter,”

“The durability of the songs themselves is proof that he succeeded. A Porter song could tell a whole story, and, like that other great American art form, the Blues, Porter could often communicate with what he leaves out of a song than what he puts in.”

Lisa Furugen, who also co-directed the show, did a hilarious rendition of “Mrs. Lowborough, Goodbye” from 1934. Wearing a red curly wig and dressed in a black sheath dress with lots of feathers, Lisa delighted the crowd when she drank from an oversized martini glass. Her voice started clear, then got increasingly more slurred as she imbibed more gin. Her “gulping” sound effects made the crowd giggle and cheer.

“I’m a Gigolo,” from Cole’s 1934 “Wake Up and Dream,” was made popular in its day for its clever lyrics, such as “I’m pushing ladies with lifted faces around the dance floor.” However, Mike Sebastian took it to another level with his tap dancing. He started from the top tier and danced his way down the steps to the front stage. The audience broke out in spontaneous applause.

Lisa Furugen and Steve Kunkle gave a memorable “I Get a Kick out of You,” from “Anything Goes.” Lovebirds Lisa and Steve, looked deeply into each other’s eyes, as they danced and sang.

After the conclusion of Act One, some of the cast members came out and spoke with friends and family members in the crowd. Phyllis, still in character, was wearing her black dress with the pink feathers on the fringe, was “looking for a date” and playing up the call girl role. She followed “Love for Sale,” in Act One with “The Laziest Girl in Town.”

Act Two started out with signature songs by Cole, including “What is this Thing Called Love?” and “You do Something to Me” from 1929, the year before Cole hit it big with Fred Astaire in “Gay Divorce.”

“Hollywood is like living on the moon,” said Larry of Cole.

“In 1940, when screen legend Greta Garbo asked Cole Porter if he was happy, he said, ‘yes,’” Larry said.

“’That must be so strange,’” was her reply.

“But, by the time he attempted to perform Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” on Broadway, the Cole Porter era was over,” Larry said.

In a barbershop style harmony, Larry, Steve and two others sang, “Brush up Your Shakespeare,” that delighted the crowd. Instead of backstage, they exited down the front aisle, and hurried back to finish the last number, “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” from 1944, that included the entire cast. By the time it was over, the audience of about 50 people, were on their feet.

Some familiar faces are seen on the Idyllwild Arts campus this week. They’re not former teachers or alumni, but regular Idyllwild Arts Academy students who are taking summer classes. They’re bored watching TV at home, or just want to hone in on some dance, acting, or music skills, before classes resume in the fall.

Jacob, who will be a senior, is a teacher’s assistant for the Costume Shop, and his first assignment is to outfit the play, William Shakespeare’s “MacBeth.”

“I’m really excited to be here,” Jacob said. “I was at home (in Utah) for a few weeks, but I really missed this place!”

Naturally, all of Jacob’s classmates won’t be back on campus until early September, but for many who attend Idyllwild Arts, this full-time boarding school is considered “home.”

As a theater student last year, Jacob became enamored with costumes. So much that he now wants to switch majors and focus on the Costume Shop, instead of acting onstage.

For the “Student Choreography” dance sessions held at the end of the year, Jacob helped out Ariann, a dance student, with her costumes. (See “Student Dance Choreography,” post from May 11, 2010).

“I saw her struggling with shedding the costumes, and I offered to help,” he said. “She was grateful because she needed to get back to the choreography.”

Jacob simply cut the short dresses in strips and pulled and worked with the material.

“It’s all about the material. The cuts needed to move freely when the girls were dancing,” he said.

The most notable part of the costumes was the “straight jacket effect,” in which the dancers arms were confined.

“That was a little tricky,” Jacob said. “Afterwards, everyone said they loved the costumes.”

However, it’s a giant leap from dancer’s costumes to MacBeth, but Jacob is ready for the challenge.

He also was happy to see his other classmates around campus, including Andie, Christine, Haley, Dakota, Kitty, Karina and Dom, among others. Some were visiting, while others were working summer jobs at the cafeteria or in the offices. Yet, most of them were taking summer classes.

“If an Idyllwild Arts student takes a summer class, then their summer tuition is taken off of their academy tuition,” said Diane Dennis, the Summer Program registrar. “It’s called, ‘Pay Once, Learn Twice.’”

According to the “Pay Once, Learn Twice” brochure available in the Bowman main office, Idyllwild Arts students who attend this Summer Program, will receive 100 percent reduction of their summer tuition from their academic tuition. However, it’s only available to IA students who apply to the summer program and are accepted.

Christine, a theater major who graduated in June, is a perfect example. She attended the Idylwild Arts Summer Program for three years, before she spent her senior year at Idylwild Arts Academy. Last year, she said, she received a tuition reduction.

“I wish I would have come to Idyllwild Arts Academy sooner,” Christine said. She was on campus visiting her former theater teachers. “It’s great to be here, and I hope to come back next summer as a teacher’s assistant.”

Andie, who is taking “Song and Dance,” a two-week musical theater workshop, hopes to improve her vocal and dance skills this summer. She will be a junior Theater major in the fall. She said she’ll ask Howard Shangraw, head of the Theater Department at Idyllwild Arts, to attend her final performance.

Diane said that Lina, another Theater student, is enrolled in “Theater Adventures,” a two-week class that begins July 25. There, students will act, dance, improvise and perform a short play.

For these Idyllwild Arts students, Summer Program classes can improve their skills, and “break up the monotomy” of a long summer.

Kitty, who will be attending Rice University in the fall, came back to Idyllwild Arts to help out with a summer class called the “Piano Workshop.”

Since she’s already graduated, tuition reduction is not applicable. But Kitty is happy to be back on campus.

Her plans to travel and perform in Poland were sidelined because of the economic downturn.

“She was really looking forward to visiting Poland. She really loves to travel anywhere,” said Kitty’s mother. “But those who gave her the scholarship said that they couldn’t afford to send her right now.”

Kitty, who has won many musical awards and contests, will likely perform for music students during the summer.

Jacob is going to be a teacher’s assistant for three weeks. Look for his handiwork in the upcoming play, “MacBeth,” that will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 30-31 at the JPT. For more information, visit the Idyllwild Arts web site at www.idyllwildarts.org, and click on “Summer.” And for more information on the “Pay Once, Learn Twice Program,” contact Tara Sechrest at (951) 659-2171, ext. 2345.

Today at 2 p.m. is the final show of the “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” a hilarious and irreverant comedy, by the Idyllwild Arts Theatre Department. If the last two shows were any indication, you may want to arrive early so that you can get a seat.

The show centers on a middle school spelling bee in the fictional town of Putnam Valley. We get to learn a lot about its six quirky contestants, including Olive, a latchkey kid whose mother ran off to an ashram, played by Ruby; Logan, a German immigrant with a lisp and two dads, played by Erin; Barfee, an egghead who writes with his feet, played by Shane; Chip, an over stimulated Boy Scout played by Preston; Leaf, a simpleton tree hugger, played by Joey, and Marci, an Asian overachiever, played by Miracle.

Panch, the proctor, played by Devon and Rona the host, played by Paulina, add much of the adult humor and keep this musical comedy rolling along. Throughout the show, keep a close ear to Panch, who offers the words in an NPR-sounding whisper, yet provides raunchy examples when asked to use them in a sentence.

For her part, Rona is host, but she’s still living out her glory days as a spelling bee winner. The author, Rachel Sheinkin, likes to tell many of the back-stories in flashback, with lights, smoke, and characters that appear out of nowhere.

Meeche, played by Becca, is the “comfort counselor,” who is at the spelling bee because of her parole. Like many characters in this play, she’s a stereotype. She’s a macho Mexican gang member, who wears a bandana and leather jacket. She’s the one who ushers the students offstage when they lose. Yet, towards the end of the show, she reveals her tender side, wanting to give the students real life advice–instead of just a hug and a juice box.

The best part of the show is the audience participation. While standing in line, several attendees were asked if they wanted to be a “volunteer.”  That meant that they would go up onstage and participate in the spelling bee show.

This added a homespun element to all of the shows, including the one on Saturday, May 22. Among those chosen were students and teachers at Idyllwild Arts, including Macarena, a dancer; Martin, a violinist, and Molly Newman, a composition teacher. Ironically, Molly was eliminated early, while Macarena and Martin stayed on for at least four words.

Like the others in the show, Macarena, who is Mexican, was asked to spell only Mexican words, and Martin, who is from Singapore, was given only easy words, “because he just learned English a few minutes ago.”

Although this show is a farce–and you’ll see some surprises at the end–the author may have gone too far with Asian stereotypes. Marci, the Asian overachieving contestant, speaks six languages, twirls a baton and takes karate, yet only gets three hours of sleep each night.

However, Martin, the Asian volunteer, although cute, looked stupid, while Panch’s definitions for his easy words didn’t fit. It appears that Sheinkin borrowed from the racially insensitive humor of “Long Duk Dong,” an Asian foreign exchange student from “Sixteen Candles,” a 1984 teen movie starring Molly Ringwald. I sat next to a father and a young Asian girl, who didn’t understand any of it. Pity the poor Pop who had to explain things later.

Yet, no one minority group seemed to go unscathed in “Spelling Bee.” For example, Logan, the young German girl, who spoke and sang with a lisp, has two fathers, or a gay couple, as parents. They hover like helicopters throughout the show, pushing Logan to her stress limits.

“Don’t talk to me about stamina, Carl,” one of them quips.

In another scene, they take a picture of Logan to send to her “B.M.,” which is not poop, but an abbreviation for her birth mother, who naturally, lives in a trailer park in Kansas.

No children or adults in the audience can ever spell all the words that the contestants were asked, including strabismus, capybara, boanthropy, phylactery, omphaloskepsis, crepuscule, flagellate and tittup, to name a few.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” won some Emmys on Broadway, including “best book.” To help with the show, the assistant choreographer from the Broadway show came up to Idyllwild for a couple of days to help out with the dance numbers. Brooke, who was a contestant and dance captain in the show, said it was great to have her there. You can see her professional mark on everything, including a slow-motion dance piece.

To add to the authenticity, all the songs, dance tunes and sound effects were played each night by musicians at Idyllwild Arts, including Patrick Doran-Sheeran, the conductor who also played drums; Nelms McKelvain, a piano teacher on piano; Georgina on keyboards; Una on percussion; Shen on clarinet and Monica on cello.

“It’s always a great experience to learn different types of music,” said Una. “It’s great for your resume, and at the end of the show, they give us pizza.”

The final show of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is at 2 p.m. today, Sunday, May 23, at the IAF Theater (in the Bowman building) on the Idyllwild Arts campus. All shows are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.idyllwildarts.org.

OK, I hate to admit it, but going to a local spelling bee sounded pretty boring–like watching Nascar. But I had to go because it was assigned by the local newspaper. This all happened about three years ago.

At the Idyllwild School, the room was hot, sweaty and full of excited children. The teacher and the prompter read the rules out loud, and did everything by the book. The Idyllwild School Spelling Bee seemed to last forever because no one was misspelling any words.

Then the words got harder. They were ones that I didn’t even know, let alone could spell. I blushed, thinking I couldn’t have made it past the first round in an elementary school spelling bee. Thank goodness for Spell Checker.

As it turned out, two girls progressed to the next round that was to be held in Hemet about three weeks later. Of course, I had to write the follow-up story, and drove down the hill really early on a Saturday.

But this Spelling Bee had a different feel. It was held in a huge auditorium, with hundreds of excited kids running around. All of them were dressed up in their best clothes and acting on their best behavior. All the parents were taking pictures, and giving last-minute instructions. There were dozens of schools from all over the district.

Some of the spellers were serious-looking eight-year-olds walking around with video spell checkers, instead of video games. Others were hefting backpacks full of dictionaries, no doubt. I got the feeling that if a student didn’t do well at this Spelling Bee, it would alter his or her career.

“Yes, it’s too bad that Brittney never made it to medical school,” a mom from Hemet would confess years later. “She didn’t make it past the third round in the Hemet Regional Spelling Bee, and no decent medical school would take her. She should have studied harder.”

When I reported that one of the Idyllwild spellers got eliminated in the first round, and cried, I never heard the end of it.

“You shouldn’t have mentioned that part in the article,” Idyllwild residents would stop and tell me. “That’s so traumatic for that little girl, and have to be embarassed so publicly in the paper like that!”

I reported exactly the way it happened.  It showed how emotionally invested these young students were in the event. They didn’t want to lose. They didn’t want to disappoint their parents. They wanted to go to Harvard some day.

In short, the Idyllwild Spelling Bee and the Hemet Regional Spelling Bee were homespun drama at its best. Imagine what it would have been like if one of those Idyllwild School students made it to the Riverside County Spelling Bee! The drama, the terror, the tears! Well, now’s your chance!

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the final play of the year by the Idyllwild Arts Theater Department, will be held this weekend at the IAF Theater.

The story is set in the Putnam Valley Middle School, a fictional location. It was based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and centers around six quirky adolescents who compete in the spelling bee.

“Boring” is not a word that can be associated with this show. It’s a comedy, with dancing and singing. The 2005 Broadway production, directed by James Lapine, was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including “Best Book.”

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the assistant choreographer for that Broadway show came to Idyllwild Arts and helped out the theater students for a couple of days.

“It was great getting help from a professional,” said Preston, who plays “Chip,” one of the six spellers, who is also a Boy Scout.

In the show, he misspells the word, “tittup,” which means “to behave or move in a lively or restless manner, such as an impatient horse,” and not part of the female anatomy.

“Preston misspells ‘tittup,’ and gets an erection,” teased Shane. “Then he has to sing about it.”

“It’s true,” Preston admitted, pushing up his horn-rimmed glasses. “After all, I’m an adolescent. And these things happen.”

Shane had to spell a couple of German-sounding words.

“I don’t know what they mean, I just have to know how to spell them,” he said.

The one who has to know about the correct spelling of all the words is Devon, who plays the prompter named “Panch.”

“Devon’s got the voice down to a tee,” adds Riley, who worked in the costume shop. “It’s kind of a NPR-sounding whisper. ‘And your next word is …’”

Ruby, who plays “Olive,” has a vested interest in the spelling bee. She believes it’s the key to her father’s heart.

“Her mother ran away to an Indian ashram,” Shane said.

“But she’s not sad, really,” said Ruby. “She just realizes the limitations of some adults. But she tries to get her father’s attention by doing well in the spelling bee.”

Riley said that working in the costume shop for this show was fun.

“We had to pick clothes that a 12-year-0ld would wear,” he said. “No, correction. What their parents would make them wear.”

He said they lined up all the skirts in a row, and picked the ones that would look well together.

“But Joey’s costume was the best,” Riley said.

Joey plays “Leaf,” an eccentric kid who wears a neon green shirt, pink pants–and a cape.

“We try not to laugh at Joey, but it’s impossible,” Ruby said.

Besides watching these goofy characters, there’s more surprises in store, but you’ll have to come see the show!

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” will be held this Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22, at 7:30 p.m. and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 23. All shows are free and open to the public. The IAF Theater is located in the Bowman building on campus.

For more information, visit www.idyllwildarts.org or call (951) 659-2171, ext. 2200.

Idyllwild Arts Theater Department continued with its senior one-man shows Wednesday night, May 5, at Rush Hall. Seven seniors each had 10-12 minutes to portray a meaningful event in their lives. They included: Cathy Velarde, Coral Cohen, Joey Jennings, Jessie Scales, Christine Wood, Shane Prentice-Waltz, and Amenta Abioto. They were not afraid to tackle tough topics, such as alcoholism, gay love, physical abuse, death of a parent, and divorce.

“Each of them did a stellar job tonight,” said Howard Shangraw, head of the Theater Department. He was also pleased with the previous night’s show in which seven other seniors had their moments in the spotlight, including: Cooper Smith, Ruby Day, Madison Cox, Carter Scott, Madeline Otto, Miracle Chance and Preston Pounds.

Before the show Wednesday night, Shangraw said each of the seniors were to perform their “personal monodramas” in their own words.

Not all of the seniors performed their pieces, however.  Shangraw said they all had to write it, but some were not ready, while others chose not to perform their pieces. Those seniors included: Jamie Cahill, Riley Lynch, Todd Carpenter, Erin Leanne Gray and Cody Oyama.

In preparation, Shangraw reviewed with the students several one-man shows by professional actors, including: Margaret Cho, Anna Denver Smith, Lilly Tomlin, Spalding Gray, David Drake and Lynn Redgrave, among others.

Just recently, Redgrave passed away after battling breast cancer, Shangraw said. But she performed a great one-man show called, “Shakespeare with my Father,” which helped her come to terms with her famous actor/father, Michael Redgrave.

Some of the one-man shows they previewed were political in nature, Howard said, but he was surprised that none of them chose to write about politics. Instead, they “laid themselves bare” before their classmates, teachers and Idyllwild townsfolk.

“Some of the parents were in the audience,” Shangraw said. “On Tuesday night, Preston Pounds’ dad was there when he discussed their ‘coming out’ conversation.  He even played his father’s voicemail. It was pretty emotional.”

“I was impressed by the way they  just embraced their hurdles head on,” Shangraw added.

First up on Wednesday night was Cathy Velarde with her monologue entitled, “Ink on the Script.”  Velarde staged it as an audition in her own life, in which a casting director barked out orders, and she almost didn’t get the part.

Velarde spoke of unrequited love in Australia, and how coming to California and Idyllwild Arts was a life-changing experience.

“There were always storms brewing behind those eyes,” she said of her former boyfriend. She spoke honestly about how she wanted him to “save” her. In the end, however, she chose to move on with her life.

In “All That Unsayable Life,” Coral Cohen talked about her battle with words, and how they were “empty shells that echo” in trying to help her express her feelings. She grew up speaking English, Hebrew and Spanish at home, and had always had a hard time with words.

She also spoke honestly about being rejected at theater auditions. She was certain they would like her, if they only knew her true self.

“I really like me!” she exclaimed. “I’m wonderful! But sometimes I can’t always get that across!”

Next up was Joey Jennings who brought along some plackards for his monologue, “12,” which discussed his life with an alcoholic parent. The title reflected the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Step One: “Do you remember eating Taco Bell in the dark for a week?” Jennings asked his parent, who was struggling to pay for food and the electric bill. It was not clear if he was addressing his mother or father.

“I was six years old and oblivious,” he said. “Me in my Spiderman underwear, bringing bugs into the house, and flushing cards down the toilet.”

Step 2: “I left Bible Study and informed you that Jesus wasn’t real, and that I didn’t want anything more to do with the Catholic Church,” Jennings said. He hurt because he disappointed his mother, and put a knife to his wrists that night.

“I didn’t do it,” he said, to enthusiastic applause. “I had disappointed you once that day, and it would really piss you off to have me dead lying on the kitchen floor.”

The other steps outlined the teen-parent struggles, and how their lives changed when they moved into a senior home, and when he finally came to Idyllwild Arts his junior year.

“Why did I come here?” Jennings asked his parent. “Shit, I even ‘came out of the closet’ here, and you were unemployed in a hospital bed on Christmas Eve. You didn’t follow the plan!”

Jennings discussed his own struggles with alcholism, and confessed to sneaking away and going to a gay club in West Hollywood.

“I was 14 years old, and too young to be out there late at night,” he said. “I was mugged, but I defended myself with a huge, white cast. But I was too young and too drunk to care.”

For Step 8, Jennings quickly listed about 18 first names, and promised to make amends, and in Step 12, he said the signature line, “Hi, my name’s Joey, and I’m an alcoholic.”

When the lights went out, several people were wiping away tears.

“Blueberry Milkshakes,” by Jessie Scales, discussed a DQ meeting in which her dad told her that her mother was in a coma. She was 12 years old.

Scales remembers seeing her father at the funeral.

“He looked tragic. He was a broken man,” she said. “That’s when I knew that my parents were in love.”

She talked about how she tried hard to win her dad’s love by being a scholastic overachiever.

“I had a 4.2 GPA,” she said. “I never want to get a 4.2 again.”  Everyone clapped.

Scales incorporated a caterpillar-butterfly image to her own growth as an actor, a profession that her father rejected.

“Now that I have half a chance of becoming an actor,” Scales said. “If he wants to come around, I’ll be here.”

In her monologue, “Molly Adams Kissed Me on the Roof of Studio D,” Christine Woods discussed falling in love with another girl in summer camp.

“Molly had a lesbian haircut and wore converse shoes,” Woods said. “She reeked of coolness.”

Woods talked about “the moment” when Molly Adams kissed her on the rooftop.

“I was sick with confusion with this super attraction to her,” Woods confessed. “Then she kissed me, and our bodies were rolling around on that hard, sandpaper roof.”

She said later that it really wasn’t any different than kissing a guy.

After the summer was over, she changed at school. She even tried to form a gay-straight alliance, and came face-to-face with pure hatred.

Four football players came straight at her and said, “Get the fuck out of the hallway!”

“That’s why we need a gay-straight alliance,” Woods countered, with a couple of “fuck you’s over her shoulder.

Later that year, she even travelled 12 hours to visit Molly Adams, only to be rebuffed. She was horrified. She had changed her entire life around because of her love for this girl, and now she wasn’t interested anymore.

Woods recalled, “How could something so special to me be nothing to her?”

Then she realized something: “When Molly Adam kissed me, I changed,” Woods said. “That’s the summer that I learned to love.”

Shane Prentiss-Waltz’s “The Last Great American Dilettante,” showed his ability to laugh at himself. It started at age five when he wanted to be a dancer.

“Everything was spandex and sequins,” Prentice-Waltz said. “I was the eggplant, even though I was hoping for something better. But there I was in the limelight and being appreciated by strangers.”

“I think I’d always knew I’d play the violin …” Prentice-Waltz said to roars of laughter.

From dancer, to violinist, to karate master, to guitar player, to memoirist and finally theater, he talked about how he wanted to be nothing else.

“Karate is my life,” “Rock n’ Roll is my passion,” and “It’s always been theater,” were his claims.

Now that he’s been accepted to DePaul University, Prentice-Waltz has finally found something lasting in theater.

And then he switched from humor to a serious note:

“I’ve always been afraid of failure,” he said. “Not living up to people’s expectations.”

As a youngster, he made it to the finals of a math competition, yet was intimidated by all the math “geniuses” that he met.

“I was scared,” Prentice-Waltz said. “There was no way I could win this thing.”

So he faked throwing up and left the competition early.  He was still a winner (of the regional math competition), he conceded, but then became a “dilettante,” or professional amateur.

He ended his monologue on a surreal note. In response to a reporter’s question, he said, “You’re not real! None of this is real!”

The final monologue was performed by Amenta Abioto entitled,  ”Mommy’s Spices, Baba’s Drum.”

Abioto began by talking about how cold is is here and so far away from Memphis, her hometown.

“Why am I here being my half self, when I can be my full self in Memphis?” she asked.

She recalled a Kwanza celebration during Spring Break when everyone she knew was in West African attire and beckoning the spirits.

“I’ve got my father’s hands, his ears and his drum,” she said, as she played an impromptu solo on a bongo.

Abioto spoke of waking from a bad dream as a child and going into her parent’s bed for comfort.

“It felt so good spooning the two people who made me,” she said.

Then came the harsh reality of her parent’s separation, and the big differences between water and wood.

“Home is a reflection of the mind,” her mother would always tell her and her sisters.

“So we’d set off to clean the house, with water sloshing everywhere,” Abioto recalled. “Afterwards, mommy would make a splendid fried salmon for all of us to share.”

The food probably wasn’t the only thing that separated her parents, but it was the most obvious one.

“My father used to warn all of us about eating meat,” Abioto said. “You’ll get mean parasites in your boo-boo!”

But when he’d leave for his weekend gigs, her mother and sisters would order chicken wings dripping with hot sauce.

“We’d lock the doors, just in case he’d come back early,” Abioto said. “We’d be grubbin’ on hot wings. It was family.”

Then, one day, he came home early. They tried to hide the evidence, but he knew.

Her mother, she said, was like water, always wandering. They moved seven times during her childhood. While her father, was like bricks and old wood.

“In his house, there were stacks of books on Black Africa,” she said.

He even refused to let them see “Pocahontas.”

“It made the invasion of America look good,” he told them.

“Mother water, father wood. Mommy and Baba: my peoples,” Abioto concluded.

All seven came back onstage for final bows. Walking out from Rush in the dark, one couldn’t help but feel all the emotion that poured out from the stage that evening. It was really something.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t miss their upcoming musical: “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” held May 21-23 at the Bowman Theater on the Idyllwild Arts campus. For more information, call (951) 659-2171 or visit www.idyllwildarts.org, and click on “Center Stage.”

Although Neil Simon created “The Odd Couple” 45 years ago, its messages are still prevalent today. With his incredible insight on relationships and friendships, Simon makes us laugh at ourselves.

“All of our lines are still timely and universal,” said Lou Bacher, a local antique dealer, who plays Felix Unger. “Nothing ever changes.”

It showcases the lives of two mismatched roommates, who are recently separated from their wives. Felix Unger, a news writer, is a hypochondriac and “neat freak,” while Oscar Madison, a sports writer, is a slob. “The Odd Couple” opened in 1965 on Broadway, ran 988 successful shows, and earned two Tony Awards.

It was also a popular TV sitcom, that ran from 1970-1975. It starred Tony Randall as Unger and Jack Klugman as Madison. Klugman was a natural for the show, because he replaced Matthau in the Broadway play.

In the TV series, Oscar Madison personifies a slob:

Felix: “What are you doing?”

Oscar: “Sterilizing the wound.”

Felix: “With beer?”

Oscar: “It’s got alcohol in it.”

Bacher and Vic Sirkin, a real estate agent, have the same funny camaraderie in Idyllwild’s version of “The Odd Couple,” a fundraiser for the Help Center Memorial Day Weekend.

“We hope to raise $9,000,” said Bacher, who serves on its board.

Since the recession hit, the Help Center’s caseload has nearly doubled. It now serves 650 people. Although they receive grants and donations, it’s not enough to meet the new demand.

“People who wouldn’t normally come to us are asking for help now,” Bacher said.

“When you think of a town of 3,500 people, that’s nearly 20 percent of the community that’s willing to admit that they need help,” Sirkin said.

Tickets are $30, which includes dinner and the show at Town Hall. Sysco Food Service, will donate the food for the dinner. Sirkin said they’ve raised about $2,000 so far. Posters all over town are help getting the word out.

For the past several weeks, the two friends have been practicing their 400 odd lines.

“Our wives are jealous of the time we spend rehearsing together,” Vic Sirkin said. “We want to be funny, but not make fools of ourselves.”

Much of the practice time is spent at Cafe Aroma, where many of the actors are from. Owner/Manager Frank Ferro is a poker player, and Kathy Halkin, whose husband, Hubert, co-owns Cafe Aroma, plays one of the girls from upstairs. Conor O’Farrell,who was once a waiter at Cafe Aroma, is the director.

Other locals in the play include: Pete Capparelli, a real estate agent, Phil Drell, Jim Crandall from the Idyllwild Town Crier newspaper and Sandii Castleberry, a musician.

“None of us have had any theater experience, except for Conor,” said Sirkin. “He’s got 30 years of acting experience, and he’s stuck directing us.”

O’Farrell’s plan is to host theater productions to help benefit different community or charity groups in Idyllwild. The Help Center is the first recipient.

“The Help Center donated all of the furniture and props for the play,” Bacher added. “After the show, everything’s for sale, including the couch, lamps, phone, whatever. We just don’t want to haul it all back.”

Bacher said that he’s not really a neat freak, like his character, Felix Unger. “Actually, Vic, who plays the slob Oscar Madison, is the neat freak, even though he doesn’t look like it.”

When Walter Matthau and Art Carney played “The Odd Couple” for years on Broadway, they would often change roles, Bacher said.

“They knew each other’s lines so well, it was easy,” he said. “It also brought new life to their roles.”

Bacher and Sirkin exchange insults, and offer a couple of impromptu lines to show they can act.

“You didn’t say the word that you were supposed to,” Sirkin said.

“Yes, I did,” said Bacher.

“Look at your script,” Sirkin said. And he was right.

“Guess we have to practice a little bit more,” Bacher said, with a sigh.

Both men talked about the camaraderie that develops when spending so much time working on the play together. However, every time they mess up a line, O’Farrell has them put money in a pot. Neither man would say how much money is in the pot so far.

“We have a bond now, you know, affection for each other,” Bacher said.

“Don’t say, ‘affection,’”Sirkin warned, “we’re men.”

Obviously, the chemistry is there.

“The Odd Couple” will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 28-30, Memorial Day Weekend at the Idyllwild Town Hall. Tickets are $30 each, which includes the show and dinner. All proceeds go to benefit the Idyllwild Help Center. Buy tickets at the Silver Pines Lodge (next to Town Hall), or call Lou Bacher at (760) 533-6692.

From the moment that the Shakers come singing merrily down the aisles, until their last march out the door, “As it is in Heaven” is nonstop rollarcoaster.

This new play, written by Arlene Hutton and performed by the Idyllwild Arts Theater Department, is billed as a “drama,” but there’s so much singing, shaking and marching going on, that it could easily be considered a “musical.” It continues with a 2 p.m. show today, April 25.

The story is set in a small village of Shakers, a strict religious sect founded by Mother Ann Lee, that practices celibacy, devotion and a nonstop work ethic. In return, the women (and men who are not shown in the play) receive food and shelter.

When the show opens, the women are confessing their “sins of the day,” which include looking at men, not being thoughtful or thankful enough, taking a second helping of food, and not saying their prayers. To most of us “outsiders” these are minor infractions, not sins to be openly confessed. But for the institution-like Shaker community, it is the ties that bind them.

At first, two young newcomers appear to assimilate into their new community. Soon after, however, Fanny, played by Catherine Velarde, begins to see “visions” of angels down by the meadow, and Polly, played by Jamie Cahill, draws pictures sent by Mother Ann Lee from heaven.

Fanny and Polly are accused of lying by the elders and shunned into silence.

“Why are you drawing trees, Sister Polly?” Betsy (Jessie Scales) asks. “We don’t need trees on seed packets. A simple drawing of a fruit or vegetable will do.”

“But I have a gift!” Polly insists.

Her later drawings bring comfort to older Shakers who were struggling with the changes brought on by the newcomers. Fanny’s “angel sightings” soon become impossible to ignore, and the Shakers grapple with the uncertainty.

Like the name implies, a Shaker’s immediate response is to “shake” away their fear, guilt and confusion, or stomp their feet and “trample” it. All this shaking, marching, stomping and singing occurs throughout the play, and keeps the audience on edge. Like a windup toy that never stops.

Izzy, played by Christine Wood, a girl from a broken family who grew up as a Shaker, pretends to see the same visions as Fanny, so she can befriend her. However, one day by the meadow where they were seeing angels, some town boys throw stones at Izzy and Polly, calling them “heretics.”

The image of Izzy recounting her story to the others is hard to forget. Lit with a warm light all around her, she is being propped up by the others who are comforting her. Izzy looked more like a deposed Christ, than a young girl who had just been pelted with stones. One cannot help but think of Mary Magdeline and the angry townsfolk who attempted to stone her.

Other Bible-type images are found throughout the play, such as Hannah’s “washing” of Fanny’s feet before she leaves on a long journey. It’s a scene that lasted only a few moments, yet was so intense, you could hear a pin drop.

In another instance, Hannah confronts Fanny about her “visions,” saying that Mother Ann would never appear to her, a lowly prostitute, but rather to one of the elders, who knew her on earth. This is a direct contrast to their Christian belief that God and Jesus,  a lowly carpenter’s son, are one.

Although the speech and staging is simple, this Shaker play covers such difficult subjects as prostitution and incest.

“I liked the fact that they did it subtlely,” said Kim Henderson, Chair of the Creative Writing Department at Idyllwild Arts. “Otherwise, subjects like that can easily take over an entire play.”

Fanny, as her name implies, was considered a “fallen woman” before she arrived in the Shaker community. She became a prostitute out of financial desparation, and was shunned by everyone, except the Shakers. However, she is the only one who sees Izzy’s situation clearly. As Izzy was being taken away by her father, Fanny shouts to her: “If he does anything wrong to you, Izzy, run away! Run away!”

Only poverty, depression and infant mortality is overtly discussed by Jane, a grieving mother, played by Nina Brett.

“Six babies I bore, and six babies died. All that pain for nothing,” Jane wails. “No, I don’t miss marriage at all. You young girls think it’s all pretty words and bouquets of flowers. But then your sick children are going to die.”

When Izzy interrupts her, saying that the mother cat wouldn’t clean her newborn runt, Jane quips: “Cats are smarter than people. They know when to give up on a sickly child.”

Ari Howell, as Hannah, the “Mother Superior” Shaker, tries unsuccessfully to “run roughshod” over Fanny and Polly with angry outbursts, shame and fear. (All the characteristics not becoming of a humble Shaker).  Soon, however, as Fanny gains power, Hannah, tries more desperate measures. She instructs the men to bulldoze the meadow, thereby removing the angels from Fanny’s view, and then orchestrates a fake angel-viewing ceremony of her own. It is inevitable, yet painful to watch Hannah’s downhill slide.

The acapella singing of the Shakers starts out clear and angelic, but becomes strained, and then outright angry by the end of the play. The voice of Peggy, played by Brooke Hebert, comes straight from the heavens, yet becomes heavy with emotion as she confronts the changes.

Coral Miro Cohen, who plays Rachel, adds humor to the simple songs.

“If we’re going to add harmony to our songs, we might as well be Methodist,” she quips.

On the other hand, songs by Phebe (played by Becca Goldberg) become increasingly angrier as she unsuccessfully confronts Hannah, and finds comfort and solace in everyday Shaker songs. In the end, there is only bitterness left in Phebe’s voice, as she spits out the lyrics. Quite possibly, Phebe is the only Shaker who becomes a true believer.

“As it is in Heaven” is a must-see for anyone who has ever practiced organized religion or believes in the power of angels. For more information, call Idyllwild Arts at (951) 659-2171, or visit “Center Stage” at www.idyllwildarts.org.