Disasteroid!

written by Zachary Bernstein
directed by Guy Picot

Fridays @ 11pm
April 6, 13 & 20, 2018

Tickets: $12
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Sometimes the end of the world isn't the end of the world.

She's a philanthropist trapped in a loveless marriage; he's an amateur astronomer trapped in a tax office. But he has a secret: the earth is shortly going to be destroyed by an asteroid. So what the heck, let's fall in love and grab life by the throat while we still can.

Will Mabel and Arthur find meaning in their lives just as they are to be cut short? But what if he's wrong and the planet keeps spinning? That really would be the end of the world.

This charming original musical by Zachary Bernstein explores love, backyards, and tax deductions.

Performing in the Broadwater Black Box (Entrance at 6322 Santa Monica Blvd.)

Review

"Smartly directed by Guy Picot, the show boasts a cast of actor/singer/dancers who, from first note to last, invest the musical with precise style and unflagging verve... Don't miss it" -Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes

"RECOMMENDED... Fun. Delightful. Totally satisfying." -Gia on the Move

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Photos

Cast

Heather Roberts as Mabel Bellcoat
Dagney Kerr as Mitzi Stern / Observer / Daisy
John Bobek as Arthur Edgley
Matthew Bohrer as Pete Petty / Richard Bellcoat

The Band

Gordon Wimpress - Guitar
Eric Radoux - Bass
Zachary Bernstein - Drums

Crew

Produced for Sacred Fools by David Mayes
Composer & Music Director
- Zachary Bernstein
Choreography
- Sarah Marquelle Kruger
Stage Manager
- Jessaica Shields
Graphic Design / Projection Design - Jim Pierce
Publicity & Show Photography - Scott Golden

- Sacred Fools Company Member

Review

Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes

If Sacred Fools Theater Company specializes in anything, it is in producing theatre works that are bold and innovative. Most often they are new plays like the recent Denim Doves, The Sirens of Titan, and their current hit, The Art Couple, that stimulate the senses, arouse the psyche, and challenge the audience. Sometimes the company mounts plays that have had productions elsewhere like Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, which was a hit at ACT in San Francisco and later at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. I saw the Guthrie production. The Sacred Fools version, under the inspired direction of Jaime Robledo, in which the audience migrated through all three of the Broadwater stages - Black Box to Second Stage to Main Stage - worked far better for this audience member.

The latest entry into the company's canon, Disasteroid!, written and composed by Zachary Bernstein, who also serves as musical director and show drummer, is the perfect late night capper (lights up at 11pm) for those on the town. Smartly directed by Guy Picot, the show boasts a cast of actor/singer/dancers who, from first note to last, invest the musical with precise style and unflagging verve.

Arthur Edgley (John Bobek) is a mild-mannered IRS auditor, an apparatchik brow-beaten by his boss, Mitzi Stern (Dagney Kerr), into working on a Saturday out-of-contract. He sits opposite Pete Petty (Matthew Bohrer), a man who makes Casper Milquetoast look heroic. Arthur has a secret life as an amateur astronomer. While peering through his telescope to view a comet, he discovers a huge asteroid headed towards Earth, the kind that, if it proceeds in its trajectory, would mean the end of life on our beloved planet.

Meanwhile, the scene shifts to an upscale home where an obnoxious, self-important rich guy, Richard Bellcoat (Mr. Bohrer), is dismissive of his beautiful wife Mabel (Heather Roberts), who, because of her husband's reckless ways, must face an IRS audit where she encounters our hero, Arthur Edgely.

Yes, Disasteroid! is a sweet love story given urgency by impending doom and boasting a score with countrified songs and characters of minimum depth who are nonetheless appealing or satisfyingly obnoxious. The dancing, choreographed by Sarah M. Kruger, is vigorous, precise and amazingly energetic given the limited space of the Broadwater Black Box. My favorite terpsichorean turn is a pas de deux by the besotted couple who deliver short riffs on the dance styles of the late 1950s and early '60s including the Twist, the Frug, the Swim and more. The singing in the show matches the precision of the dancing with close country harmonies that are frequently backed up by the excellent three-piece band - Bernstein on drums, joined by Gordon Wimpress on guitar and Eric Radoux on bass.

Due to scheduling conflicts, I was unable to make the opening, so I was granted the privilege of attending the final dress rehearsal. The Disasteroid! I experienced is sharp as a tack and tight as a tick as it speeds down the track with locomotive energy. The place will be jumping with a full house.

The Sacred Fools Theater Company production of Zachary Bernstein's Disasteroid! has a very short run with only two more performances scheduled for April 13 & 20, Fridays at 11pm, at The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles. Don't miss it.

--Paul Myrvold
Ⓒ 2018 Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes

Gia on the Move (Recommended)

Fun. Delightful. Totally satisfying.

Read the full review at the link below.

--Tracey Paleo
Ⓒ 2018 Gia on the Move