![\"Frances](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2018_Native_Gardens_0182_1200.jpg\")
<\/a>Frances Fisher and Jessica Meraz. Photo by Jenny Graham, as is the big one at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n
All the people who ask Mr. X and me how we\u2019ve lived in this house for so long, yet barely know any of our neighbors, need to see this play\u2014you\u2019ll have your answer then.<\/p>\n
This very clever comedy about a property issue\u00a0between new neighbors hit a bit close to home for me, as I have a feeling it did for a few others in the opening night audience. I recognized a lot of knowing chuckles. Mr. X and I own part of the land that\u2019s considered to be next door to us, but we don\u2019t have the heart to take it back.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Christian Barillas and Jessica Meraz and their oak tree (which does not hold a candle to mine, by the way!) Photo by Jenny Graham.<\/p><\/div>\n
And I totally understand why the girl in this tale loves her oak tree\u2014those timbers are things of beauty. We<\/em> have the most giant one I\u2019ve ever seen; it takes up our entire back \u201cyard,\u201d (which is a hill, actually.) When we had the land inspected before we bought the house, the inspector said, \u201cWhat a great oak tree!\u00a0 It\u2019s very<\/em> valuable!\u201d All these years later, I still don\u2019t understand how it\u2019s valuable, but oh well. No one can buy<\/em> it! I\u2019d love to have a pool back there, but there\u2019s no way I would ever kill that tree. And you know what? For several years now, it\u2019s been\u00a0illegal\u00a0<\/em>to cut down oak trees in Los Angeles. So those two aspects of the play really made me wince a tiny bit.<\/p>\n The play, on the surface, is about a garden property dispute between a young Latino couple, who are Democrats, and their much older white Republican next door neighbors. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s some heavier political message in there, but since we Americans deal with so much craziness on a daily basis these days, I wanted a little respite from all that, so I just took this few-years-old comedy at face value. And let me tell you what a pleasure that was! I\u2019m so glad that after being produced in about a dozen theatres across the country, it has finally made its way to the venerable Pasadena Playhouse!<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Native Gardens<\/em> is fun from the get-go. As my friend and I walked into the theatre, we actually gasped at how beautiful David Meyer\u2019s set is! It\u2019s two adjoining backyard gardens, one with colorful flowers and the other with grass, leaves strewn all over, and the aforementioned oak tree. This is the lushest set I\u2019ve ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on! Not an inch lies unadorned.<\/p>\n Then, as the audience is settling in, and before the real action begins, a trio of \u201cgardeners\u201d appear, and \u201cwork\u201d the set. By the time the assemblage is ready to start paying attention, the guys start taking selfies, with us<\/em> as the background.<\/p>\n (L-R) The Gardeners! Richard Biglia, Julian Armaya, and Bradley Roa II. Photo by Jenny Graham.<\/p><\/div>\n But their shtick goes way beyond that. They have many creative bits all throughout the show. Don\u2019t take your eyes off them for a second, or you\u2019ll miss the set-ups for the next scene. The music and crazy dancing really pumps-up the crowd. They add sooo much zest to the proceedings!<\/p>\n And then the play begins, with an absolutely stunning opening image. If the stage had just stayed like that for the entire hour and a half, and no one said anything, I would have been just as happy. I wanted to live in that visual. (I guess I was telling the truth when I said I need a break from the troubles of the world.)<\/p>\n (L-R) Bruce Davison, Frances Fisher, Jessica Meraz, and Christian Barillas. Photo by Jenny Graham.<\/p><\/div>\n The entire show is wonderful! The four actors have wonderful comic timing, (I can’t imagine any of the twelve previous casts around the country being better than this<\/em> quartet,) and the action flows from one hilarious line to the next. As the gardeners count down the days and nights till the characters\u2019 time-sensitive issues must<\/em> be resolved, I could not figure out how it would all conclude. After so many sad endings of laughter-filled plays earlier in the week, I was dreading another one here. So I was very relieved that that was not the case with Native Gardens<\/em>. There\u2019s nothing to fear here. I thank playwright Karen (great name, by the way) Zacarias for allowing me to leave a theatre in an upbeat mood for once.<\/p>\n If you really need to know more about the plot\/action, check-out the reviews of other critics, who feel the need to spoil the entire storyline for their readers. But I promise you, at just ninety minutes, you\u2019ll want to discover Native Gardens<\/em> for yourselves, knowing no more than I\u2019m telling you here.<\/p>\n The opening night after-party in the courtyard. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I highly recommend this one. So just go to Pasadena and enjoy.<\/p>\n One auxiliary note before you go: There was one aspect of opening night that had me ashamed of myself. I\u2019m usually the most goony celebrant, so I\u2019m a bit embarrassed to report that many audience members thought to wear flower-filled and garden-themed outfits, (native gardens<\/em>\u2014duh!,) but it didn\u2019t even occur to me<\/em> to do so!!! How did I miss this opportunity to be a properly-attired goofball???<\/p>\n Native Gardens<\/em>\u00a0running through September 30, 2018<\/strong> [Note: The Emmys are on Monday this year, as opposed to the usual Sunday, but I\u2019ll still be live-tweeting them then. So, if you don\u2019t already follow me on Twitter, (or think you do\u2014I was recently hacked there, so you might want to check,) this would be a great time. @MajorCelebrity<\/strong>. I\u2019ll meet you all there on Monday.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NATIVE GARDENS After reviewing two excellent but tension-filled plays in the nights leading up to the Native Gardens opening at the Pasadena Playhouse, I was soooo ready for this fun one. For one of the few times ever, I have nothing negative thing to say about a production! All the people who ask Mr. X<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue Pasadena 626-356-7529\u00a0www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n