The History Of The Actors’ Group (TAG)

2001-2002

Compiling the history of any organization can be a great challenge, particularly when the core group is small and rather than chronicle events, had spent their energy towards merely keeping alive. So is the case with TAG. As it evolved from a creative curmudgeon to become one of Hawaii's finest community theaters, all TAG could do was focus on its next production, for it had little time for anything else. Hence, this history has been cobbled together utilizing the recollection of participants at the time, dog-eared old files containing memorabilia and other forms of information, photos, newspaper articles, and recovered video footage that is often way past its prime if not damaged. Nonetheless, these have been the sources to create the history of TAG - The Actors' Group, told in a series of posts chronicling time periods unique to its development.

The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

To begin TAG’s 2001-2002 season, Dave Schaeffer directed “The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The Moon Marigolds,” by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher, who received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for his work. TAG’s production would feature Betty Burdick, one of Hawaii’s best actresses, giving an absolutely riveting performance as Beatrice Hunsdorfer, the cynical single mother of two daughters who she verbally abuses, while her life goes awry through self-loathing and drug abuse.

The Program For “The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds”

As the play’s main antagonist, Burdick brought a depth of performance that dominated the stage, playing Beatrice as narcissistic, domineering, and brutal with her short temper which is only worsened by her drug addiction. Supporting her were an excellent cast of outstanding actors. Carrie Smith portrayed Tillie, actually the main protagonist of the play, who is quiet and introverted and teased at school, and who copes with her life by immersing herself in science. Jessica Haworth played Ruth, Tillie’s older sister, brash but confused, who looks to others for advice, and who suffers from epilepsy and night terrors. Kathleen Anderson, played the Nanny, a boarder in the Hunsdorfer household, who is really just another burden in Beatrice’s stressed out life. Kennly T. Asato portrayed Janice, Tillie’s rival at the science fair, whose experiment involves boiling the skin off a dead cat so she may use its skeleton. As for the supporting crew, the following helped with the production. Patricia Gillespie and Sam Polson served as producers. Kennly T. Asato was the stage manager and ran the lights. Set construction was handled by Patrick Casey, Todd Middleton, and Ray Street. Patricia Gillespie also served as costume consultant. Patrick Casey also handled special makeup. The lighting design was the work of Hayden Yates. Jim Hesse was in charge of sound effects. And Dorothy Stamp served as the house manager. Director Dave Schaeffer also gave special thanks to Terry Olival, Sue Kaulukukui, and Mid-Pacific Institute. All in all, “The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds” was an outstanding success which played to very enthusiastic houses, opening on Thursday, August 16th, 2001 and ran for 16 performances (Thursday through Saturday shows at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 4:00 pm), and closed on Sunday, September 9th, 2001.

The Review Of “Marigolds” As Written By The Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s John Berger

Equus – Horse Stepping TAG To Yet Another Level Of Production

The irony about “Equus,” what would eventually go down as one of TAG’s most memorable productions ever, is that it really had not been part of Brad Powell’s original line up for the 2001-2002 season. In dusty old file folders containing information about TAG’s earliest plays, when the list of six plays for TAG’s 2001-2002 season was made public, another play appeared in the slot that eventually was filled by Equus. But soon thereafter, in fact, sometime before Marigolds opened (since its program announced Equus as the next play up), Equus was indeed the production that would come to anchor and incredibly interesting and challenging season. According to Brad Powell, TAG’s artistic director, after the success of Gross Indecency, he was looking for another challenging and powerful play. When Noah Johnson, who would go to play Alan Strang, suggested Equus, Brad initially thought it would be too difficult to stage it in TAG’s small theater. But with Noah’s encouragement, Brad elected to try it anyway and would be rewarded with what he would term to be one of the most satisfying of the plays that TAG had produced to date. TAG, the relative new kid on the block in the Hawaii performing arts scene, the theater that started off doing plays based on improvisational exercises and had attained a reputation of having cheesy sets and impossibly humid audience conditions, was now producing plays of daring and power. While many others would contribute to TAG’s burgeoning reputation, Equus could possibly be the production that solidified the notion that this tiny theater that ran out of a hole-in-the-wall venue in Kaka’ako, a highly industrial section of Honolulu at the time that certainly no one deemed would ever be anyplace other than one to avoid, was willing to tackle any play of notoriety.

The Play Program For “Equus”

“Equus” is a 1973 play by Peter Shaffer, about a child psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. He was inspired to write the play when he heard of a crime involving a young boy who blinded six horses in a small town in northern England. Based on this inspiration he wrote a fictional account of what might have caused the incident. The narrative of the play follows the attempts of Dr. Martin Dysart to understand the cause of the boy’s (Alan Strang) actions while wrestling with his own sense of purpose and the nature of his work. It originally ran at the National Theatre in London between 1973 and 1975, and then was staged on Broadway for 1,209 performances. Shaffer would later adapt the play for a 1977 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Burton as Dysart. An emotionally riveting play, Equus would feature a nude scene between Alan and Jill Mason, a young, outgoing, and free-spirited young woman who works for a local stable owner, who Alan has taken a liking to. When Jill asks Alan to take her to an adult movie theater, they run into Alan’s father, which traumatizes Alan, but also makes him realize that sex is a natural thing for all men, even his father. Alan walks Jill home after they leave and she convinces him to go to the stables with her. There, Jill seduces Alan and the two undress and attempt to have sex. However, Alan hesitates when he hears the horses making noises in the stables and he is unable to go through with the tryst.  beneath, and he is unable to get an erection. Jill tries to ask Alan what the problem is, but he shouts at her to leave. After Jill dresses and walks out of the stables, the still-nude Alan begs the horses for forgiveness. Shortly thereafter the imagery conveyed is that Alan goes on to blind the horses in the stable. In discovering what happened, Dysart is faced with attempting to come to terms with his own desires for unbridled passion while living a life of complete conformity. Equus is a controversial play where we traverse from the central storyteller, Dysart, to flashbacks which represent Alan’s recollection of the past, and where actors dressed in horse’s heads come to symbolize his equine fascination. Why does Alan commit such a horrific act? In truth, Equus often leaves audiences with more questions than answers, but for certain, they are entreated to a unique theatrical experience.

The Wayne Harada Article On “Equus”

Brad Powell returned to directorial duties to take on Shaffer’s haunting “Equus,” which at the time was TAG’s most daring and complicated production ever undertaken for many reasons. For one, the story has the required nude scene. For another, the tiny space of Yellow Brick Studio seems too small to feature the built-in carousel that Powell wants to help symbolize a variety of dream and fantasy sequences. And third, all of the actors will have to deal with an immense dialogue driven script which require Scottish accents. But Powell persisted. He designed a rehearsal schedule that strategically works to break down the natural inhibitions that the actors who must do the nude scene would naturally have and then establishes a drawn scrim that fronts the stage, serving as a tactful veil which lessens the shock value for the audience. It results in Noah Johnson and Devon Leigh, portraying the young lovers, not only pulling off the nude scene with little problem, but return performances that are poignant and beautiful. To provide sufficient space for the carousel, Powell demanded that the TAG stage (the back of which is shaped at an angle that severely reduces the total square footage of the play area) be opened up and squared off. Todd Middleton, who appears in the play as one of the symbolic “horses,” does the actual construction (along with a friend) and opens up the space. He also manages to use a jackhammer to bore through the concrete stage in order to secure the center pole, and finally puts the finishing touches on the carousel a mere hours before preview.

The Star-Bulletin Review By John Berger

The Cast Of TAG’s “Equus”

“Equus” opened on Wednesday, October 17^th, 2001, and ran for 16 subsequent performances (17 shows in total) and closed on Sunday, November 11^th, 2001. Curtain for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shows was at 7:30 pm, and Sunday matinees began at 4:00 pm. Brad was fortunate to assemble a great cast and crew. The cast – Noah Johnson (Alan Strang), Eric Nemoto (Martin Dysart), Hayden De M. Yates (Frank Strang), Frankie Enos (Dora Strang), Dorothy Stamp (Hester Solomon), Devon Leigh (Jill Mason), Peter Bunn (Harry Dalton), and Kathleen Anderson (Nurse) – did.o their best to work the Scottish in, if not perfectly, at least on a reasonable basis. Middleton and William Raye Street would don the expertly crafted horse heads and clogs while managing to both stand on and rotate the carousel respectively. Mike Mazzola served as the production’s producer, lighting design was created by Hayden De M. Yates, Todd Middleton (as mentioned) was the set designer (with Ray Rodrigues, Dorothey Stamp, Joyce Powell, and William Raye Street, providing assistance), Kurt Wurmli created the amazing horse’s head masks worn by Todd Middleton and William Raye Street, and Jill Ralston, Angie Yates Blichfeldt, and Jim Nieman helped as stage managing, and sound and light operators. Brad would additionally recognize special thanks to Hawaii Pacific University, Joyce Maltby, Ben Moffat, Ray Rodrigues, Joyce Powell, Jill Yates, Yellow Brick Studio, Angie Blichfeldt, Michael Powell, Sam Polson, Patricia Gillespie, and Jim Niemann. All this combined to make “Equus” another unqualified success for Powell, who is now developing a local reputation as being one of Hawaii’s best directors of dramas. On a side note, the play is the TAG debut of Frankie Enos, a relative newcomer to the Hawaii stage at the time, who will eventually go on to become one of TAG’s great leaders.

The Horse Mask – Created By Kurt Wurmli – That Would Come To Symbolize TAG’s “Equus”

The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A. Lincoln

Next up, Brad Powell directed playwright Richard Caulfeild Goodman’s “The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A. Lincoln.” This play was inspired by Brad’s association with Hawaii Pacific University’s artistic director, Joyce Maltby. Two summers previously, Joyce asked Brad to be part of her summer play reading program. One of the plays that they read that summer was Goodman’s “The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A. Lincoln.” Brad would recall this as a wonderful experience for him as an actor, which was doubly wonderful because he got to meet and know Richard Goodman.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin Review Of “The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A. Lincoln”

In conversations with “Dick” and encouragement from Joyce, Brad decided that TAG was a good place to present his play as a full production. To bring this fruition, Brad once again assembled a great production team and cast. To portray the titular lead, he got veteran actress Jan McGrath, one of Hawaii’s finest actors, in what she would come to describe was her favorite all-time role, that of Mary Lincoln, wife of the 16th president of the United States. Jan would go on to act in many other plays but this production would be her debut with TAG. It would also be the TAG debut of other actors who will go on to contribute to TAG as board members, such as Jim Tharp (Dr. Patterson), Virginia Jones (Mrs. Harrington), and Richard McWilliams (Frank Wilkie). The rest of the cast would include Jennifer Vea and Ruth Le’au (sharing the role of Mary Gavin), Richard Valasek (Leonard Swett), Todd Middleton (Robert Lincoln), Karen Valasek (Myra Bradwell), and Mary Frances Kabel-Gwin (Elizabeth Edwards). Playwright Goodman would also act, playing the role of Dr. Danforth. Dorothy Stamp served as producer and Jessica Hawkins was an assistant to Brad. For her advice, encouragement, overall support and inspiration, Brad, along with playwright Richard, dedicated the production to Joyce Maltby. “The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A. Lincoln” opened on Wednesday, January 9th, 2002 and closed on Sunday, February 3rd, 2002. It ran for another 16 performances (17 in total), with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shows at 7:30 pm, and Sunday matinees at 4:00 pm), and drew in healthy audiences who enjoyed the show, and the revenue from which helped greatly to sustain TAG. While attracting mixed reviews, it proved to be another outstanding production from TAG which was proving to be one of the most innovative of theaters, capable of doing anything.

The Honolulu Advertiser Review Of “The Insanity Case Of Mrs. A Lincoln”

Harvey Again – Why Not?

Since its inception TAG had been known to be the theater that would do any play, and doing so purely for creative reasons, and not because it depended on the revenue. It also was a theater that had never done a reprise of any of its previous plays. Both of these facts would change when TAG chose to produce “Harvey” for a second time in as many years. This time, however, Brad Powell tapped another director to direct this comedy classic. Jake Capone, a native of Brooklyn, New York, who came to Hawaii by way of Los Angeles, where he had worked as a director, screenwriter, script doctor, and dramaturge, would take over the directing duties this time.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin Review By John Berger

In support of Jake Cafone would come an impressive cast and crew. Sam Polson, Mary Frances Kabel-Gwin, and Patrick Casey would reprise their roles of Elwood, Veta, and Dr. Chumley respectively. The other members of the cast and their (roles) were Devon Leigh (Bertha), Dorothy Stamp (Myrtle Mae), Frankie Enos (Mrs. Chauvenet), Elisabeth Wenzel and Lisa C archedi (sharing the role of Nurse Kelly), William Raye Street (Wilson), Ely Rapoza (Dr. Sanderson), Ginnie Little (Mrs. Chumley), and Richard McWilliams (E.J. Lofgren). Brad Powel was the producer, and Devon Leigh, in addition to acting, served as the assistant director. Director Cafone also served as the set designer, while Patricia Gillespie was in charge of costumes, Mike Powell created the lighting design, and Patrick Casey and William Raye Street handled the set construction. Greg Punch and Lisa Carchedi worked as the light and sound technicians, Richard McWilliams took care of the props, and Sam Polson served as the playbill editor. Jake Cafone also recognized the following in his special thanks: University of Hawaii; Hawaii Pacific University; Peggy Krock; Shannon Gray; Hawaii Opera Theatre; Ruthie Wells; David Kaminskas; and John White. The reprise of “Harvey” opened on Wednesday, March 13th, 2002, played on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm,and Sunday matinees at 4:00 pm, closing on Sunday, April 7th, 2002. As the reviews depicted, the reprise turned out to be as successful as the original.

Rain – The Story Of Miss Sadie Thompson

“Rain” is a 1932 movie that starred Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson. Directed by Lewis Milestone, it was set in the South Seas, wherein the production was filmed partly on Santa Catalina Island and what is now Crystal Cove State Park in California. The film also features Walter Huston in the role of a conflicted missionary who insists that Sadie end her evil ways, but whose own moral standards and self-righteous behavior steadily decay. The plot of the film is based on the 1922 play Rain by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, which in turn was based on the 1921 short story “Miss Thompson” (later retitled “Rain”) by W. Somerset Maugham. Actress Jeanne Eagels had played the role on stage. There were two other movie versions of the story. This was the 1928 silent film titled Sadie Thompson starring Gloria Swanson, and Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), which starred Rita Hayworth. While contemporary viewership would find the subject matter – a free spirited prostitute to whom a religiously devoted missionary man ultimately succumbs to – to be tame and capable of soliciting only a shoulder shrug these days, back in the 1920’s and 1930’s it was considered taboo and pushing the envelope of pre-code Hollywood. In its day, it was a bonafide hit. It certainly caught the attention of Hawaii actor David Starr, when he was a teenager.

The Promotional Flyer For “Rain”

David Starr (see photo right), a frequent performer on many of Hawaii’s stages, had been intrigued with “Rain” for years, ever since he read W. Somerset Maugham’s short story and then saw the Joan Crawford movie version as a teenager. With its tropical setting, eclectic assortment of characters, dramatic confrontations, colorful and somewhat archaic dialogue and ruminations on religion and sin and spirituality, he was fascinated by its rich package of delicious theatrical possibilities. So, when when Artistic Director Brad Powell opened the doors of TAG and invited him to direct, he wholeheartedly jumped in.

The Playbill For “Rain” – The Shot Of Melinda Maltby (As Sadie) Would Adorn Every Publicity Announcement

David brought with him an impressive cast (role) and crew (duties). Melinda Maltby (Sadie Thompson), Dan Furst (Rev. Davidson), Frankie Enos (Mrs. Davidson), Roger Wilko (Tim O’Hara), Bernice Poaha Balderama (Ameena Horn), Richard McWilliams (Dr. MacPhail), Victoria Gail-White (Mrs. MacPhail), Jay Hebrank (Quartermaster Bates), Sam Olecki (Jack Griggs), and Ricky Fernandez (Bill Hodgson), were the players. While crew included, Eric Nemoto (producer), Sam Olecki (assistant director), Jason Taglianetti (sound), Todd Middleton (set construction), Victoria Gail-White (costumes), Mike Powell (lights), and Frankie Enos (props). Director Starr also paid special thanks tribute to the Castle High School Performing Arts Center. “Rain” opened on Wednesday, May 8th, 2002, and played for four weeks. Friday and Saturday night performances were at 7:30 pm, and Sunday matinees were at 4:00 pm. It proved to be a very successful production that was enjoyed by many who attended.

The Star-Bulletin Review Of “Rain” By John Berger

The Honolulu Advertiser Review By Joe Rozmiarek

Anna – A New Play By A Refreshing New Playwright, Nancy Moss

Anna Akhmatova, was a Russian poet, one of the most significant of the 20th century, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965 and 1966. Her work ranges from short lyric poems to intricately structured ones such as Requiem, which is considered her masterpiece about the Stalinist terror. In fact, her work was condemned and censored by Stalinist authorities, but despite this, chose not to emigrate and remained in the Soviet Union, acting as a witness to the events around her. Her perennial themes include meditations on time and memory, and the difficulties of living and writing in the shadow of Stalinism. Many of those who were close to her died in the aftermath of the revolution. Akhmatova’s first husband, Nikolay Gumilyov, was executed by the Soviet secret police, and her son Lev Gumilyov and her common-law husband Nikolay Punin spent many years in the Gulag, where Punin would come to die. The portrait to the right was painted by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin in 1922.

At the time TAG first became associated with Nancy Moss (see photo left) she was a teacher at ‘Iolani School, and a refreshing new playwright, whose play “Anna: Love In The Cold War,” was tabbed by TAG’s artistic director, Brad Powell, to be the final play in TAG’s 2001-2002 season. But beyond her playwriting contributions, she would also go on to become one of TAG’s most influential board members. But that, as they say, is another story, one that will eventually be told in future parts of TAG’s history. For now, as we are discussing her and her play, “Anna,” a brief retrospective into her writing career is in order. The following is paraphrased from her website. ••• Nancy Moss’s play Deception won Portland Civic Theatre Guild’s 2014 playwriting contest, had a staged reading as part of Portland’s 2016 Fertile Ground festival and was a 2017 Oregon Book Award finalist. Her 10-minute play, Detained, was part of Portland’s 2020 Fertile Ground Festival and will be produced by Chapel Theatre in March, 2021. New York’s Nylon Fusion Theatre produced her play, Conviction, in 2017. Her play, Will the Real Charlie Chan Stand Up? – about the Honolulu police detective who inspired the fictional Charlie Chan – had a successful run at Honolulu’s Kumu Kahua Theatre in 2012, after winning Kumu Kahua’s Hawaii prize. Her ten-minute play The Pilot, about a drone pilot, was part of the Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s 2013 April festival in Eugene, Oregon. The Actors’ Group in Honolulu produced her play, Anna: Love in the Cold War, about the Russian poet Akhmatova, in 2002 and 2012, which also had a showcase in the Abingdon Theatre in New York City in 2011. Her play, Hostage Wife, about the Iraq War, won the Abingdon Theatre’s Wolk Award in 2005 and had a staged reading at the Abingdon Theatre in 2006 and a 2007 production at the Kumu Kahua Theatre in Honolulu. Her musical, Infinite Jest, had a 1998 production in Honolulu and a 2002 showcase in New York City. ••• Since leaving Hawaii in 2012 to live in Portland, Oregon, Nancy has continued her writing and is currently the editor for 3550 Magazine, a publication by and for the residents of Mirabella Portland, a not-for-profit continuing care senior living community with resort-like amenities, memory care, skilled nursing & more.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s Review By John Berger

“Anna” opened on Wednesday, July 17th, 2002, and had a very successful five week run (Thursday through Saturday night performances at 7:30 pm, and Sunday matinees at 4:00 pm), closing on Sunday, August 18th, 2002. It was directed by TAG artistic director Brad Powell, and featured two outstanding performances by Frankie Enos (as Anna Akhmatova) and Peter Webb (as Isaiah Berlin). While it received mixed reviews, it still completed another year of interesting and thought-provoking productions, further establishing TAG as the go-to place for plays that audiences would not see anywhere else.

The Honolulu Advertiser Review Of “Anna” By Joe Rozmiarek