[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Bonnie Kalisher Dukes and Playing Production’s How High the Moon, written by Barbara Nell Beery, directed by Asaad Kelada, and playing at Theatre West through August 16.
This riveting intermission-less play follows the stories of two families during the 1952 4th of July weekend in the San Fernando Valley. Neighbours for decades, their kids have grown up together and their lives are inextricably entwined.
When the eldest son of one family arrives unexpectedly, both families are thrown into chaos. He was engaged to the youngest daughter of his neighbor’s family, but during the war he was reported killed in action. After some time, his fiancée married his brother, and then he returned, very much alive. The joy and the pain for all of them was unimaginable. Since then he has stayed away, moving to San Francisco and making a life for himself very separate from them all.
But family and a sense of belonging brought him home this one weekend, and what could have brought more sadness, once the anger had subsided, heals them all.
It’s a lovely story filled with poignant moments and pithy characters. In the end, it is the younger generation that finds the way, reminding us not to underestimate youth and not to believe that wisdom is only for those of us with greying hair and brittle bones.
Stories like these are more important than ever these days. When the world is filled with broken bonds, suspicion, hate and fear. How High the Moon is aspirational and hopeful and beautifully written. It echoes all our hearts as we navigate a treacherous and fragile existence. We all yearn for stories like this and the good people at Theatre West always seem to understand how theatre can give us exactly what we need.
John Posey, Jennifer Ashe. Photographer: Garry M. Kluger.
Theatre and art in general are one of the only ways to unite us. Sitting in the lovely Theatre West, surrounded by strangers, all of us quiet and thoughtful and watching the same story together, I found a little peace in all the chaos outside, and I know my disparate neighbors in the seats around me found a little too.
I highly recommend How High The Moon, with its brilliant cast and gentle director who let the story and these gifted actors do the work they were born to do.
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-high-the-moon-tickets-1991900688580
Where:
Theatre West
3333 Cahuenga Blvd W, Los Angeles
When:
July 24-August 16
Friday and Saturday at 8:00, Sunday at 3:00
The Cast
The cast of How High the Moon includes Jeanine Anderson, Kathie Barnes, Lane Compton, Matthew Gademske, John Posey, Anya Profumo, Caroline Quigley and David Nathan Schwartz.
Assistant director: Alexandria Sanders. Set design: Thomas Meleck. Lighting design: Cameron Massey. Costume design: Michael Mullen. Stage manager: Sarah Acuna. Social media: Briana Burnside, Alexandria Sanders.
The How High the Moon Team
Barbara Nell Beery is the playwright. Her previous plays include The Socialization of Ruthie Shapiro (which debuted at Theatre West); Loretta, I’m Sorry; My Them; Worst Fear; Do You Smell Autumn in the Air?; and Bar Off Melrose (co-authored). She is a lifetime member of Dramatists Guild and WGA.
Asaad Kelada directs. He has directed locally at Mark Taper Lab, Tiffany Theatre, Matrix Theatre, El Portal, Greenway Court Theatre, and South Coast Repertory. He has also directed over 500 episodes of television, including Who’s the Boss?, The Last Resort, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Facts of Life, and more. He will direct Maxwell Caulfield in The Lost Gospel of Pontius Pilate at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Asaad is a graduate of Yale School of Drama and American University in Cairo.