A New Theater Group at Willow Theater

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A New Deal at Willow Theater

By Skip Sheffield

Boca Raton has a new theater group, and its first production of a three-play season, “Scenes From a Chinese Restaurant,” plays through Nov. 15 at the Willow Theater of Sugar Sand Park.

The producer is The Playground Group LLC, whose home base is the Glades Road Branch Library. The playwright is local resident Tom Andrew, who also built the elaborate set pieces. The director is Joyce Sweeney, assisted by David Erlich.

As the title indicates, the play is a series of five scenes set in the Xu Shin Chinese Restaurant. We never see Mr. Shin but we do see his portrait and hear his wise words from famous thinkers as a preface to each scene. The cast is large (15) and diverse, skewing to an older demographic.

In the first scene we see three women and a man seated at their table, deeply engrossed in their handheld devices. A younger man Artie (Daniel Gil) makes his entrance carrying a bag. He apologizes for being late, but no one even looks up from their computer toys. The gag is no one ever acknowledges Artie even though he has brought expensive gifts for each one of them. Such is life in the plugged-in, tuned-out 21^st century.

The second scene is called “The Skeptic.” That would be a grump played by George Wentzler, who doesn’t believe in a higher power, good luck and certainly not the predictions inside fortune cookies. In this funny vignette, George’s four female friends (Maja Nile, Teresa Biber LoMonte and Darcy Hernandez) show how wrong he is.

Scene three is the bittersweet 25^th wedding anniversary of a couple (Brian Dever and Fran Friedman), which is the most emotional and poignant segment of the show.

The fourth scene and my favorite is called “The Early Birds,” for it is so Boca and so true. Four senior citizens (Don Grimme, Peter Hawkins, Penny Mandel and Elayne Wilks) have come to Xu Shin for its 5-7 p.m. $12.95 Early Bird Special of dinner and a bottle of beer with refill privileges. Peter Hawkins wears a plastic oxygen mask that makes him impossible to understand and lugs a large oxygen canister on wheels. The ever-patient hostess (Robin Alexander) smiles unfailingly as the loutish elders make is clear they don’t want to spend a penny more than $12.95, and they intend to get the most for their money. Sadly this goes on all the times at all-you-can-eat buffets, bit it is also the funniest bit.

The final scene features two couples (Jill Brown and Fran Friedman and Brian Dever and Nick LoMonte) wearing spectacle-style computer gizmos that enable them to gain insights into the character of potential love mates. Things don’t turn out quite as advertised, but that’s how it is with computer dating.

Shows are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 ($15 group). Call 561-347-3948.

"Assassin" a Chinese Sensory Treat

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Qi Shu as The Assassin

Chinese “Assassin” in Lake Worth and Fort Lauderdale

By Skip Sheffield

In the mood for some exotic? How about an elaborate 8^th century Chinese costume drama?

“Assassin” is a beautiful, brutal and baffling martial arts film that doubles as a drama about courage, family, loyalty and revenge. The closest theaters to us are the Lake Worth Playhouse and Cinema Paradiso.

Based on a short story written during the Tang Dynasty, “Assassin” tells the tale of Nie Yinniang (Qi Shu) who was kidnapped by a nun as a 10year-old girl and trained in martial arts, swordsmanship and special skills to use any item at hand as a weapon. It is the 8^th century. The Tang Dynasty (618-807), considered to be the high point in Chinese civilization, is in decline. Weibo Province to the north has emerged the strongest province. After 13 years in exile, Nie has been ordered by a provincial General to assassinate his political rival, Lord Tian Ji’an (Chen Chang).

The trip to Weibo is perilous. Nie is ambushed but she fights back fiercely, killing rivals and displaying her balletic martial arts skills. Instead of assassinating her target, Nie becomes so enamored with him she decides to join forces. This evidently challenges the balance of power and threatens the stability of the whole region.

This plot description may not be entirely correct, for “Assassin” is indeed mystic and baffling to American eyes. What it is for sure is its amazing sensory experience: exquisitely beautiful visually and aurally, with sumptuous costumes, exotic dances and musical instruments, folk singing, hard-charging horseback riding, majestic scenery and of course impressive, meticulously choreographed fight scenes that are almost like dances. The dialogue is in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

A Bigger, Noisier, Longer Bond

Babes, Bond and Blofeld

“Spectre” Ups James Bond’s Ante as He Visits His Past

By Skip Sheffield

Bigger explosions. Crazier stunts. Faster chases. Gorier fights in more exotic locations. And of course those sexy Bond girls.

“Spectre” follows a time-tested formula and ups the ante. This is Daniel Craig’s fourth appearance as British secret Agent 007, the man with “A License To Kill.” Craig is fully invested in the 50-year-old series, as he is co-producer of this 24th installment in a series that started in 1962 with “Dr. No.”

“Spectre” reintroduces some characters from the original Ian Fleming stories. Principal among these is supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who was thought dead but has been resurrected thanks to the solution of a court case involving intellectual rights. The script is by a committee of four, who have thrown in every trick they can to keep an audience excited.

The story begins in a gaudy, spectacular fashion during the day of the Dead celebration in Mexico City. Bond is disguised in a skeleton suit, babe on his arm. They check into a hotel room, where Bond doffs his disguise, climbs out a window onto a ledge toting a huge gun, and joins the raucous crowd in hot pursuit of a man in a white suit who is plotting to blow up a stadium full of spectators. A most spectacular fight ensues aboard a helicopter. Of course Bond knows how to expertly pilot a helicopter just as he can drive at breakneck speeds through narrow streets and pilot an airplane even when its wings are being torn off, and fight every kind of hand-to-hand combat while hardly raising a sweat or wrinkling his tailored suit.

James Bond has morphed into some kind of superman since brawny, suave Scottish actor Sean Connery first created the movie character in “Dr. No.” Daniel Craig has created the best calm, collected and brilliant Bond since Connery. The past is dredged up in the form of personal effects from the “Skyfall” mission sent to Bond. Dame Judi Dench’s M has been replaced by Ralph Fiennes’ cultivated, sympathetic boss, whose very existence is imperiled by a young hotshot known as C (Andrew Scott), who wants the Brits to join in some kind of worldwide surveillance and security scheme. In order to protect himself and the whole M16 00 program, Bond must go rogue to protect himself, his colleagues and the very concept of democracy, which is menaced by a taunting character known as Oberhauser (Christolph Waltz in fine villain fashion). He is aided by a much-young Q gadget-maker, played by Ben Whishaw. But first he must seduce a beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) in Rome, flirt with Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) in London, and lay his life on the line for Dr. Madeleine Swann (French actress Lea Seydoux) in Austria and Morocco.

If you look for consistency, logic or believability in an action movie, you’ll go “Oh come on!” But if you want two and hours of violent action, witty quips and innuendoes under the sure hand of director Sam Mendes (“Skyfall”), this should be your cup of tea.

Women's Rights Were Not Easily Won

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Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, center

The Fight For Women’s Rights Was Never Easy

By Skip Sheffield

It’s hard to believe there was a time when women were disenfranchised and did not even have custody rights of their own children.

“Suffragette” dramatizes the long, torturous struggle by women to earn the right to vote in England. The setting is early 20^th century London. A woman named Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) has been campaigning tirelessly for women’s right to vote through an organization called Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). The men in power have reacted with increasing vehemence and violence, enforced by police.

Meryl Streep’s role is really just a cameo. The main characters are the working-class foot soldiers in the fight for suffrage. Writer Abi Morgan (“Iron Lady,” “Shame”) created the lead role of Maud Watts, a struggling laundry worker played by Carey Mulligan. Maud is married to a man called Sonny (Ben Wishaw), and they have a 6-year-old son. Maud’s co-worker Violet Miller (Ann Marie Duff) is an increasingly radical supporter of the women’s rights movement. So is shopkeeper Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter), whose husband (Finbar Lynch) is fully sympathetic.

When Mrs. Pankhurst calls on women to smash windows and destroy property, shouting “Deeds, Not Words,” the effort becomes more like a guerilla war. Maud Watts had spent virtually her whole life toiling in the laundry, but the police brutality radicalizes her and alienates her husband. Trying to maintain an uneasy truce is Police Inspector Arthur Steed (Brendan Gleeson) who tries to get Maud to snitch on fellow WSPU members in exchange for lighter punishment. The conflict comes to a head dramatically at a horse-racing Derby attended by King George V himself. “Suffragette” is a highly dramatic history lesson that illustrates how difficult it was for women to get the same rights men take for granted. Stay until the end credits and you will see the fight for women’s right is not over.

Genius is Not Easy

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Brilliance is No Simple Matter

By Skip Sheffield

It’s not easy being smart. “A Brilliant Young Mind” dramatizes the trials of a 14-year-old British math genius named Nathan (Asa Butterfield of “Hugo”) when he wins a spot on the national British team competing at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Taiwan. The script by James Graham was inspired by director Morgan Matthews’ film documentary “Beautiful Young Minds.” The story begins with Nathan at age 9 witnessing the traumatic death of his father in a gruesome auto crash. It then flashes forward to Nathan at 14. He is very shy and awkward around other people, but his math teacher, Martin Humphreys (Rafe Spall), recognizes his brilliance and encourages Nathan to try out for one of the six available spots on the British team.

Watching a bunch of brainy young kids solving math problems is not very entertaining, so attention is paid to Nathan’s windowed mother Julie (Sally Hawkins) and her boyfriend who is trying to be a substitute father. It’s no spoiler to reveal Nathan makes the team and travels to Taiwan where he meets a lovely young female genius named Zhang Mei (Jo Yang). Love blossoms against the backdrop of intense intellectual competition. It culminates with the world IMO competition at Cambridge University back in England, where the dramatic climax takes place.

If nothing else, “Brilliant Young Mind” demonstrates brainiacs have their difficulties just as ordinary people do. In fact they may have more.

A Recent History Lesson of Israel

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Yitzak Rabin with Henry Kissinger

Israel’s Modern History is “The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”

By Skip Sheffield

If you are interested in the history of modern-day Israel, “The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers” will be a movie documentary for you.

The film is a follow-up to Moriah Films’ “The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers.” It is largely narrated by the late Ambassador Yehuda Avner, who passed away in March of this year, and who wrote the book on which this series is based.

“The Prime Ministers” begins with a flashback to Nov. 14, 1947, when a civilian cargo ship was attacked by Palestinians, referencing Israel’s turbulent, precarious past. The bulk of the action begins in 1974 with the election of Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, who was Israel’s first native-born leader. Rabin negotiated the first bilateral treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1975, and helped launch its daring rescue of hostages in Entebbe in 1976.

Yehuda Avner signed on to continue as roving Ambassador when Menachem Begin became Prime Minister in 1977. The documentary looks back on American Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Bush, and documents the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. Michael Douglas recreates the voice of Rabin and Christoph Waltz speaks as Menachem Begin. One comes away from this film with an undeniable admiration for the courage and resilience of Israel’s people.

Sexy, Very Funny "Sex With Strangers"

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There is More to “Sex With Strangers” Than Just Sex

By Skip Sheffield

The title “Sex With Strangers” certainly grabs your attention. Laura Eason’s smart, ironic and very funny R-rated romantic comedy runs through Nov. 15 at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach.

If you are familiar with Arts Garage you will notice the address is different. The entrance on N.E. First Street is now blocked off. You have to walk around the building to find your way in. There is a new team at Arts Garage. Genie Croft, director of this show, is Resident Director. Keith Garsson, formerly of Boca Raton Theatre Guild, is producing director.

There are just two characters in “Sex With Strangers.” Jacqueline Laggy is Olivia Lago, a once-promising novelist who has lost her confidence and retreated into teaching.

Michael Uribe is a 28-year-old blogger who calls himself Ethan Strange. Ethan is totally plugged in to the digital age. His blog, which has the same name as the play’s title, has as many as 1 million hits a month. He books a room at the same writer’s retreat as Olivia, because he admires her first novel and he envies the fact she is legitimately in print.

Ethan is a good-looking charmer, and Olivia soon succumbs to those charms. Ethan has ulterior motives, as we learn in the course of nine scenes in two acts. “Sex With Strangers” is as much about the art of writing and the protection of intellectual property as it is about sex or love. Love is a complicated tango, and Jacqueline Laggy and Michael Uribe are expert dancers. I have seen Laggy in a number of shows; most memorably when she got down on all fours to play a dog in “Sylvia.” This is her time to shine as a smart, sexy yet vulnerable woman. Olivia is supposed to be “older;” turning 40, but if anything that makes her even more alluring.

Ethan is a cad, pure and simple, but newcomer Michael Uribe humanizes him. I think we will be seeing more of this actor on South Florida stages. See him now pulling out the stops (and pulling off his shirt).

There are three more plays planned for the season at Arts Garage; all of them new and provocative. This production bodes well for the new team.

Tickets are $30 general admission, $40 reserved seat and $45 premium. Call 561-450-6357 or go to www.artsgarage.org.