Theatre for Everyone!

Frédérik SisaA&E

When I arrived at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, I was a bit surprised by the usher accompanying her verbal greeting with its sign language equivalent. But the reason became clear soon enough. Sitting in the lobby, I saw it fill up with people holding conversations both verbally and in sign language. It all makes sense when we consider that “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” is a joint production of the Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre.

Of course, I wondered how a musical, of all things, could be made accessible to both hearing and deaf members of the audience. Would they have an interpreter on the side of the stage, translating dialogue and song lyrics? As it turns out, the answer is more wonderful and inventive than that: The actors themselves signed their parts, in addition to speaking and singing. Bringing to mind the hand gestures of the classical Indian dance performance I’d recently attended, the expressiveness of the actors’ sign language and how they integrated it smoothly into their performances is the stuff of awe. Huzzah, then, for a bold production that fosters inclusion and accessibility in art.

Sorry, but Disney Ain’t Pixar

Frédérik SisaA&E

The difference between an animated Disney film and a Pixar film could very well boil down to this: Enough is just right for Pixar, more tends to be better for Disney. More sentimentality. More exaggerated and cartoonish mannerisms for characters. Just…more. Exhibit A is the villain in “Meet the Robinsons”: A bowler-hat, moustache-twirling villain lacking only a girl to tie to railroad tracks. But at least there’s something amusing, even sympathetic, in this rather goofy, none-too-bright fellow. Exhibit B just shows how easy it is to get carried away. The robot servant of the Robinsons, Carl, graced with extendable head and limbs, and prone to go-go-gadget silliness, is as trite and irritating as the animatronic robot greeting visitors in Disneyland’s Innoventions. Maybe Carl is intended to fill the comic relief role, but in a film full of arbitrarily eccentric characters, that’s not saying much.

A ‘12’ That Is Worthy of a 10

Frédérik SisaA&E

It’s a brilliant play, layering on a high-stakes courtroom drama atop the simmering character study of 12 very different men called in to decide the fate of a young man who allegedly murdered his father. And it’s a virtuoso production. The robust set design – a single jury room, complete with table, chairs, overhead lights, windows – casts the audience in the visceral and immediate role of fly on the wall. Richard Thomas and George Wendt headline the cast, but they all deliver equally brawny and magnetic performances. There actually is a great deal of humor, too, but not the kind of joking that makes a comedy out of the play. Instead, it’s the kind of humor that arises naturally out of the everyday absurdities and quirks that afflict people. It’s yet another way in which the play achieves a flawless pacing of tension and release, confrontation and compromise.

Having Multiple Problems with ‘Reign Over Me’

Frédérik SisaA&E

The trouble with “Reign Over Me” is that it isn’t remarkable enough one way or another to even get worked up about writing a review. It’s not a dull movie, but neither is it consistently fascinating. The performances aren’t bad, but there are also no standouts. And while the plot has potential, albeit only as a much tamer photocopy of “The Fisher King,” it’s, well, not “The Fisher King.”

Enough with the Protests!

Frédérik SisaOP-ED

Did you notice them? The anti-Bush protesters occasionally hanging around Mar Vista park or on Centinela Boulevard, not far from the SMC campus? Obviously, I have, and boy, am I puzzled.

Of course, I sympathize with their point of view. With polls showing how unpopular the war is, the President and an increasing minority of war cheerleaders are at greater crossroads than they’ve ever been. Stay the course? Or stay the course? What I really find strange is how the President and the rest of his administration can still have any support on Iraq at all. Are people so afraid of a terrorist attack that they suspect their own shadows of being in league with Al-Qaeda? Or is it just a pathological need to bully everyone into agreeing with them so they don’t have to acknowledge that they made a mistake? And by bully, I do mean bully. Name-calling, accusations of being “anti troops,” liberal conspiracies so pervasive that they include snatching socks from dryers to break up pairs – it’s all out there, lingering like an unpleasant smell and stifling real discussion.

Smitten with Classical Indian Dance

Frédérik SisaA&E

My relation to dance has always been, well, spotty. I respect it greatly, of course, and I certainly appreciate the talent and skill that goes into it. But beyond that, I can’t say I’ve ever really connected with dance. Hip-hop? Fuhgettaboutit. Western Ballet? Yawn. Tap and Broadway-show style dance numbers? Okay, I’ll bite. Ballroom? I’ve tried it, it turns out I don’t have two left feet, I like it. Bellydancing? You got me: I fully admit to being enchanted with this and other Middle Eastern dances. And that Gothic Bellydance DVD, however flawed, left me infatuated with its blend of goth and dance, and a willingness to experiment. But cementing my reevaluation of dance as something that’s more than simply enjoyable to watch is classical Indian dance. Here’s something else to fall in love with.

Culture Watch: The Darker Side of Dance

Frédérik SisaOP-ED

Ornamentation is a lot like alcohol. In moderate doses, it brings out that warm, fuzzy feeling. Overdo it, though, and you’ll either run someone over or die of liver poisoning. That, in a nutshell, is the critical lesson to be learned from World Dance New York’s March 2006 DVD release, the fantastically ambitious Gothic Bellydance: the Darker Side of Fusion. (http://www.worlddancenewyork.com)

Into Great Silence…and Cinema

Frédérik SisaA&E

At 2 hours and 42 minutes in length, it’s inevitable that “Into Great Silence” will feel long, even a bit repetitive at times. It’s the kind of movie length that, without any intermissions, is liable to induce fidgeting and the occasional leg cramp. But if that’s the price for experiencing a sublime cinematic achievement, so be it. It’s a small price, and well worth paying.

As the almost legendary story behind the film goes, directed by Phillip Groening asked the Order of the Carthusians to film at their Grande Chartreuse monastery in 1984. They said the time was not yet right — perhaps it would be in 10 years or so. Sixteen years later, Groning receives a call telling him that the time had come. Equipped with various cameras and essentially alone in filming, he spent six months documenting the monks.

Amazing Grace: How Sweet the Sound

Frédérik SisaA&E

If you were to run a search on William Wilberforce, religion, and the abolition of slavery, you’d come across a small controversy about “Amazing Grace” that hasn’t spilled over into the headlines. There are those who would use Wilberforce as an example of how atheism failed to abolish slavery where religion succeeded, while others point out that Wilberforce wasn’t as shiny, holy or even important as he’s made out to be. But the arguments aren’t particularly illuminating.

The Hidden Side of Global Warming

Frédérik SisaOP-ED

If I may, I’d like to start out this week’s column with an answer to S.E. Harrison’s question about the appeal of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Freakonomics. Granted, it’s not a book to appeal to specialists in statistics, economics and the like. It’s also not a book for anyone looking for in-depth analyses on any particularly issue. But the book’s subtitle, A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything, does give a clue as to its purpose.