Art in the Mist

by Frank Furnari, New Pre Reviewer

Bakersfield Mist, a new play presented at New Rep as part of a rolling world premier, is a play about art and its authenticity. 'Another play about art?' you might ask – isn't this the second one in New Rep's season, not to mention it being the topic of plays at other theaters? While it's true the play is about art, it's not typical, and it is based on a true story.

Maude was recently fired from her bartending job, lives in a trailer and is not your typical art collector or connoisseur. Maude, convincingly portrayed by Paula Langton, is what you might think a trailer park resident would look like – leopard print top, leather boots, a tattoo with her ex husband's name. She has, however, acquired what she believes to be an authentic Jackson Pollock painting (from a thrift shop no less!), and has hired Lionel Percy (Ken Cheeseman) to verify that the work is in fact by Pollock. Lionel arrives he appears to exude self-confidence – he is wearing a suit, has his hair slicked back, carries a briefcase, and he used to work at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. The play gives each actor some great moments and each actor under Jeff Zinn’s shines really shines. During Maude’s monologue about her son, her recounting of events enthralled me and it seemed the rest of the audience was as well. The performance is brief (only 75 minutes), it touches on issues of what art is, who or what determines its value, and who is fit to own and appreciate art.

The set (Jiyoun Chang) and props (Nick Dorr and Mary Fritz) were perfect for the show. Upon entering, I was drawn to the small trailer on stage - it was a space that felt like it had been lived in for years. My eyes kept getting drawn to the various tchotchkes and other ‘artwork’ in the small space.

I was not excited about this play when I first read the description, but I am certainly glad I saw it. The play turned out to be interesting, funny at times, and very well done. Given the writing and the caliber of this production, it is no wonder that this show has been selling out so many performances. Back to my original question – another play about art? Yes – one that shows you to not always trust your first glance - this led to an enjoyable evening.

Bakersfield Mist Examines Authenticity

by Jana Pollack, New Rep Reviewer

"Bakersfield Mist", by playwright Stephen Sachs, is a study of authenticity. Authenticity of art is the subject of the play, and what unfolds is a discussion of what it means to live authentically. Unfortunately, it all seems fake.

The play opens when Lionel (Ken Cheeseman), a renowned New York City art expert, comes to the trailer park home of Maude (Paula Langton), a down and out former bartender. Maude believes that a painting she bought for $3 at a thrift store is, in fact, a Jackson Pollock. Lionel is there to provide his expertise on the matter, and he almost immediately pronounces it "not real." But, at Maude's urging, he stays a good while longer, taking shot after shot of Jack Daniels as they both reveal layers of themselves. Maude unsuccessfully uses various tactics to get Lionel to say that the painting is a Pollock. As each reveals personal traumas they've endured, a bond is created and they are able to see beyond their initial impressions of the other.

This is all well and good, and could provide an interesting study of why we latch on to certain ideas of truth and are unable to give them up. However, Sachs’ play does not allow for such depth. It is a predictable and surface-level look at these two people. Within the first five minutes, it’s clear that the playwright has placed them in this trailer so that they can spend 90 minutes learning to see each other differently. As a result, all of their admissions of personal truths seem forced, and cliché after cliché is hit as they recount their troubles. The playwright has taken the easy way out at every turn, and I left the play feeling empty and frustrated at the missed opportunity.

Langton and Cheeseman do their best. These are not bad performances, but they are strained by the lack of workable material. As usual, New Rep provides an evocative set, allowing the audience to feel like they are sitting comfortably inside Maude's homey trailer.

Long Day's Journey Into Night: First Rehearsal

Today New Rep subscribers and donors were invited guests to the First Rehearsal of our upcoming production of LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT. Director Scott Edmiston, winner of the Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence (2011),  shared his inspiration for Eugene O’Neill and the overall process he and the designers have developed over the past year in order to bring the world of the Tyrone family to life. The design team, charged with creating an artful, theatrical world representative of a seaside New England cottage in 1912, shared costume sketches, electronic set plans, and original music composed for this production.

Guests are welcomed with home-baked cookies and snacks, before heading into the rehearsal hall.

Props around the room transport the viewers back in time before the read-through.

Guests, staff, designers, director, and cast mingle, while tidying up paperwork before the rehearsal.

Long Day's Journey Into Night director Scott Edmiston shares his insights on the play,
and describes playwright O'Neill as his first "creative hero."

The cast views images compiled as inspiration for the production designers.

Scenic designer Janie E. Howland describes their trip to Monte Cristo, O'Neill's family home in Connecticut.

Howland shows viewers the preliminary set design concepts.

 

Charles Schoonmaker, (front left) costume designer, shares insights on period wardrobe choices.

Guests view contextual images for each character, and the set.

Lighting designer Karen Perlow describes the challenges and excitement of lighting
the set, as the play progresses from day into night.

Sound designer Dewey Dellay showcases original music he scored for various scenes and theatrical moments. 

"Bakersfield Mist": Treasure Trove or Trailer Trash?

by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer

There must be something in the water, as we’ve recently been treated to a goodly number of artful, and artfull, local productions involving painterly creative works, given Speakeasy’s “Red”, New Rep’s “ART”, and now, again from New Rep, “Bakersfield Mist”. (Surely someone ignored the memo and should’ve been inspired to present a version of “Pitman Painters”). “Bakersfield Mist” is the new play by Stephen Sachs, part of the National New Play Network and a co-production with WHAT (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater). It comes to New Rep with its collaborative team intact, including its Director Jeff Zinn (WHAT’s former Artistic Director), Scenic Designer Jiyoun Chang, (WHAT’s resident Set Designer at the top of her form) and the two stars of the previous run, Ken Cheeseman as Lionel Percy and Paula Langton as Maude Gutman.

The title of the play, which takes place in Bakersfield, CA, is a clever reference to one of Jackson Pollock‘s more famous titled paintings, “Lavender Mist”. Based on the true story of a retired truck driver (with only a grammar school education), living in a mobile home, who bought a painting for five dollars at a thrift sale only to be told it might actually be a Pollock, this short (75 minute) work is full of biting wit. Its brevity means that subtlety, of necessity, suffers a bit.

Cheeseman as Percy (a perfectly apt name for such a snob), an art expert contacted by Maude to pronounce his judgment on the painting, makes the most of his character‘s strengths and shortcomings. His elegy to the effects of Pollock‘s creative process is a hilarious physical recreation of love at first blink. No wonder that his professional (and, as we come to realize, personal) life rests on a tenous reputation for making snap judgments as to the authenticity of paintings (and people). Langton as Maude, ever within reach of a cigarette and a shot of bourbon, sporting a very visible arm tattoo to “Eddie”, captures her vacillation between tentative hope and dreaded desperation with both her waivering voice and sly body language. It’s not surprising that the bios of both actors evidence considerable Shakespearean experience.

The play is all about authenticity, in several forms, and the ability to recognize forgery when we encounter it. Percy proclaims that the awful truth is that the world wants to be fooled, yet he urges Maude to “be a person” (as she volleys back to him later in another context). It’s also about what matters more regarding the proof of the painting‘s provenance, the money it might bring or the validation she is seeking. Percy declares that his opinion means something, while hers does not. This may sound dry and pedantic, but it’s more often than not an extremely funny two-hander in these capable hands. There are occasional easy targets; Percy opines that “the Metropolitan is the Vatican of the art world”, to which Maude responds “out of touch with reality?”. Most often, Sachs hits the mark fairly and squarely. The bottom line, for this reviewer, is that this is a “Bakersfield” not to be “Mist” and earns a decidedly authentic and verifiable …..thumb up.