CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com



HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us

A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review
The Projectionist


Your student film was nominated for the Academy Award!— Ian
Yes. — Randy
And--?— Ian
And — a star was NOT born.— Randy
A "B" movie thriller leapt from the screen of what used to be a movie house and is now The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City and became a play in the theatre's lobby where the audience can chew free popcorn while watching Michael Sargent's hilarious and poignant 90-minute event. It's part of CTG's DouglasPlus, a limited-run "eclectic mix of theatre choices."

Although it's set in a 2nd run movie house on Hollywood near Vine in 1983, the era when the playwright grew up, the hero, and he is one as you will see, projectionist Randy Shaw (Hamish Linklater) is a victim of modern existential angst. The promising writer no longer writes and has retreated into this lair of a movie theater, sitting in the dark watching other peoples' dreams. His worst nightmare comes true when he's discovered in the lobby by a former classmate Ian Glickman (Christian Leffler), now as Randy says morosely, a big success "by most of the world's standards."

A golden-haired punk elf in the person of Kim (Brittany Slattery), a teen-age girl looking for a job who becomes his popcorn girl, brings a ray of light into this drab lobby. The whole concept of life in a lobby parallels an ante-room to hell where the main ridiculous violent event occurs behind closed doors. But not this time. The theatre's glamorous owner Ziba, an Iranian magnate vividly played by Lauren Campdelli, storms in and winds up in a confrontation with Sal (Barry del Sherman), the menacing manager she's just fired. Sal is accompanied by an equally glamorous blonde, his psychotic girlfriend Tiffany (Tara Chocol Joyce). Guns are drawn, knives flash and the action/suspense quotient reaches pounding heights.

Director Bart de Lorenzo creates a throbbing ambiance that brings out the macabre humor and jumpy conflict inherent in any world that remotely touches the arts. Even though we never know why Randy stopped writing and spends most of his time on the pay phone to his dealer Chico (Maynor Alvarado) trying to get the pills he pops, he's an authentic lost soul as projected by Linklater, with assist by de Lorenzo.

Ann Closs-Farley gets to show her designing chops in the colorful character-driven costumes. Scenic designer Chris Covics has turned the normally sleek Douglas lobby into a shabby venue of yesteryear, complete with floral carpet, photos and posters of old movies, a popcorn machine whose butter dispenser is stuck. DeLorenzo makes use of the beautiful vintage ticket booth, now dysfunctional, that still stands in front of the Douglas, perhaps as an homage to its past and a reminder that its founder, Kirk Douglas, made his bones just down the street when Sony used to be MGM.

The Projectionist
Playwright: Michael Sargent
Director: Bart DeLorenzo
Cast: Hamish Linklater (Randy), Brittany Slattery (Kim), Lauren Campedelli (Ziba), Barry del Sherman (Sal), Tara Chocol Joyce (Tiffany), Christian Leffler (Ian Glickman), Don Oscar Smith (Duncan), Hugh Dane (Jerry), Maynor Alvarado (Chico).
Scenic Design: Chris Covics
Costume Design: Ann Closs-Farley
Lighting Design: Anne Militello
Production Stage Manager: Erica R. Christensen
Sound Design: John Ballinger
Fight Director: Steve Rankin
Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Running Dates: March 26-April 4, 2009
Where: The Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd, Culver City. Reservations: (213) 628-2772.
Reviewed by Laura Hitchcock on March 27, 2009.
REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of The Projectionist
  • I disagree with the review of The Projectionist
  • The review made me eager to see The Projectionist
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

You can also contact us at Curtainup at Facebook or Curtainup at Twitter
South Pacific  Revival
South Pacific


In the Heights
In the Heights


Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide


amazon
Sweeney Todd DVD

broadwaynewyork.com


The Broadway Theatre Archive>


amazon



©Copyright 2009, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com