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<\/a>(L-R) Katherine Henryk, Jean Kauffman, Melinda deKay, Flora Plumb, and Lary Ohlson. Photo by Mona Lee Wylde.<\/p><\/div>\n
On opening night, I thought the action seemed a bit familiar.\u00a0 So, when I researched it later, I wasn\u2019t surprised to see that the original play became a British film in 1960, called Make Mine<\/em> Mink<\/em>.\u00a0 When I used to have more leisure time in life, (before I started this e-zine, which takes up just about waking moment of mine, and many of my sleeping ones as well!,) I used to watch tons of old movies.\u00a0 And this is one I had seen years ago.\u00a0 But, now that I\u2019ve also seen the play, I actually like it better than the film.\u00a0 Part of that may be because the man who starred in the movie, Terry-Thomas, always made me a tad nervous.<\/p>\n While we\u2019re on the subject of Breath of Spring<\/em>\u2019s origins, it was written in 1958, and is not<\/em> about the future.\u00a0 So, I don\u2019t understand why the program states that the setting is 1960<\/em>.\u00a0 And, as much as I enjoyed the Jeff G. Rack-designed set as much I usually do, my friend John and I both agreed that it looks more like 1950 than \u201860, or actually like it came right out of the \u201840s!\u00a0 But it takes place in England, so maybe they were very behind the times with their d\u00e9cor back then. It doesn\u2019t really matter to the action, though; it\u2019s just a tad confusing.\u00a0 So, when you see it yourself, just know the time frame is very long ago, no matter the exact year, and go with it.<\/p>\n (L-R) Alison Blanchard, Melinda deKay, and Katherine Henryk. Photo by Mona Lee Wylde.<\/p><\/div>\n The weird thing is that, as cute as the title is, it doesn\u2019t really fit the show.\u00a0 That moniker refers to a type of fur stole, or the company that makes it.\u00a0 And the show is somewhat about furs.\u00a0 (As usual, I\u2019m not telling you the plot, because you know that I feel it\u2019s so much more fun to watch it unfold for yourself.\u00a0 But I will<\/em> tell you that this one had something to do with stealing fur coats.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t known better, I would have thought it was inspired by Lindsay Lohan!) [Note: John thought the title might also refer to the story pertaining to the \u201cSpring\u201d of the characters\u2019 lives, but he\u2019s much deeper than I am.]<\/p>\n But none of these observations has to do with this particular production, which is basically charming and engaging, as are most of Theatre 40\u2019s offerings.\u00a0 I love seeing all the old-timey plays they bring us each season!\u00a0 It\u2019s like the Turner Classic Movies channel comes to life in front of our eyes!<\/p>\n Beverly Hills High School.<\/p><\/div>\n So, while I\u2019m on the topic of this theatre itself, I have to digress to discuss it a bit more.\u00a0 I think that every student of acting should visit this place.\u00a0 Often. There\u2019s so much to learn there, especially from the predominantly senior actors, whom I really appreciate seeing ply their craft.\u00a0 When John realized that the location was actually right in Beverly Hills High School, he commented about what a wonderful opportunity it is for the kids to get to see professional theatre so close to them!\u00a0 I just hope that he is correct, and that the members of the school and its community frequent the theatre.\u00a0 I only wish I<\/em> had known of it when I was a young actress starting-out in LA.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s always so comfortable in there, especially with their good air-conditioning in this summer\u2019s heat, that I can\u2019t see any reason for not seeing every show there each season.\u00a0 The tickets are very affordable, and there\u2019s free parking right under the theatre, steps from the entrance. You can’t do better than all of that with a Los Angeles entertainment!<\/p>\n Lary Ohlson and Melinda deKay. Photo by Mona Lee Wylde.<\/p><\/div>\n So, now back to Breath of Spring<\/em>.\u00a0 It has many good laughs, and moves along well enough, although it could be a tad shorter. Some of the action is unnecessary, but I\u2019m assuming they\u2019re playing it as written.\u00a0 Each actor really fit his or her role, which is not always the case, so that\u2019s also a plus.\u00a0 And I really enjoyed the occasional amusing Pink Panther<\/em>-esque music that adds so much to the proceedings.<\/p>\n Yes, the play itself is<\/em> a little old-fashioned for nowadays, but it\u2019s actually a great breath of fresh air (see what I did there?,) to get to enjoy a painless show in these days of so many serious theatre pieces about the violence and dysfunction in the world today.\u00a0 With all the news on TV and the internet, I really appreciate getting away from all that negativity.\u00a0 (But something funny happened about that retro-ness.\u00a0 At one point, when the characters were trying to figure out how to spell a certain flower\u2019s name, one of them suggested to just use \u201csnapdragon.\u201d\u00a0 It took me a minute to realize he was talking about another flower\u2014my modern mind at first thought he was talking about an app<\/em>!!!)<\/p>\n (L-R) Alison Blanchard, Jean Kauffman, and Joshua Olkowski. The two on the ends are the ones who did the song and dance. Photo by Mona Lee Wylde.<\/p><\/div>\n But there was a seemingly inexplicable musical number that was inserted between the two scenes in Act II.\u00a0 I thought it was going to portend something about the end, like that maybe those two characters would be in cahoots to steal the booty.\u00a0 Or, alternatively, maybe these two actors have some side vaudeville act someplace, and it\u2019s in their contracts here that they would get to do a number from it even though this is a non-musical play.\u00a0 I really enjoyed the song and dance, and both performers were excellent in it; it was just confusing as to what it was doing in there. (I\u2019m pretty sure it was to give the other actors time to do a full change, since the following scene takes place six months later. As delightful as it actually is, it\u2019s just strange because we\u2019ve never even seen the guy in the duo hitherto that. At first, I thought it was some crazy guy from the audience! You never know nowadays. At least he wasn\u2019t a streaker! Or maybe he should have been because he\u2019s cute!)<\/p>\n Taking everything into consideration, I recommend that you spend a summer night seeing Breath of Spring<\/em> at Theatre 40. Enjoying fun live theatre is a much better way to get away from it all than seeing yet another movie flop!<\/p>\n Breath of Spring<\/em> running through August 21, 2016<\/strong> BREATH OF SPRING This new production at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills is a nice respite from the very many horrors in the world these days. \u00a0 Breath of Spring is a tad silly, but it\u2019s also entertaining.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what a distraction should be. On opening night, I thought the action seemed a bit<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Theatre 40 241 S. Moreno Drive Beverly Hills 310-364-0535 www.theatre40.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"