Out with ACT: Scorching Humor

While I am still supposed to take it easy, and am weaning from the coughing fit remnants, I was happy to escape to something social last week: ACT's production of Scorched.

It was epic, and ugly-beautiful, and serious.  And a complete 180 from the previous production, which was Lorenzo Pisoni's super-happy-poignant-funny-funny-awesome-awesome Humor Abuse.  (I am going to write in Chinese restaurant/donut shop names today, apparently).  Which also reminds me that I never got around to reviewing or posting about that one.  If I were at all timely, I would have told you then to RUN DON'T WALK to see Humor Abuse.  As it was, I just told every one I saw instead of blogging about it.  Lorenzo Pisoni was born into the circus, was maybe the only kid to runaway from the circus to go to school, and as Tarzan was raised by apes, Lorenzo was raised by clowns.

Lorenzo is a self-identified "straight man."  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  Although when he stated that fact proudly at the opening of the show on "gay night,"  we heard a very different meaning of "I'm a straight man."  It took us a second to clue in.




Pisoni's one-man life story is brilliantly written and performed, and elicited a respect and love for clown performance I never thought possible.  I do not like clowns.  His own performances within a performance of his and his father's work is impressive.  This show is well crafted comedy and showmanship.  With enough pathos and reflection, and some good comic timing of dialog contrasting the good coming timing of mime work, to bounce your spirits like a buoy on a thoroughly entertaining tide.  Added bonus, who knew a clown could be such a hottie?

He's been performing and improving the show for years, so you may be able to catch it again sometime.

Bar Adagio across the street offers specials for Out-with-ACT'ers from time to time, and Kevin and I took advantage of the parking and dining discounts with fellow fun people, including host Randy and his charming beau Dominic.




ACT followed light-hearted Humor Abuse with the deeply dark Scorched. One could not be more unlike the other, but Kevin and I did appreciate the cameo appearance of a clown nose to tie our two experiences together. I think, as far as commentary to Scorched, the less said the better. It is a powerful and passionately performed play, almost epic in it's three-hour run time, entirely engaging, and a remarkable work worthy of your time and attention. It's heavy but completely accessible.  The burden is not a boulder, but a series of small stones added a pebble at a time until you can bear no more. I highly recommended it.

When I first thought about posting about Scorched, I was going to limit myself to a single sentence: "A discovery of brutal, epic ugliness, beautifully rendered."

The acting is superb, as is the crafting of the production in general. The line that stayed with me the longest, and encapsulates the story well, is that some truths cannot be told, but must be discovered.

A final note on Scorched: I love Academy-and-Many-Other-Awards-Winner David Strathairn as much as the next guy (actually, I've always thought he was pretty sexy too), but his top billing and face-of-the-play is a bit misleading. This is very much an ensemble work, and Straithairn's role is more of a Chorus part.  He moves the story along at times and adds some malapropism comic relief. But he is by no means the star of the play nor the a leading role. He's a famous name and face to the show, and delivers a perfect performance for his part. There's just not much to that part and it's inconsistent that he was made such the public centerpiece of the marketing. I do recommend not reading any reviews beforehand as this is best experienced without spoilers.

David Stratharin first came to my attention as the "blind guy" in the San-Francisco-set-and-filmed movie Sneakers starring Robert Redford, Dan Aykrod, Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix and Mary McDonnell. I was prepped with some SF-themed questions for the meet and greet, but as the performance didn't end until after 11:00 p.m., the reception was sparsely attended by patrons and disappointedly unattended by the cast.

With ACT, the shows tend to be hit or miss, with the misses really missing, and the hits really hitting. So far, this season has been one hit after the other.

In other ACT news: The American Conservatory Theater has bought the derelict Strand Theater at Mid-Market and will restore it to a grand actor's theater, with a more manageable size for smaller, forward productions. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with the place. And hoping it will also have a decent bar, of course.

From the Subscriber Newsletter:

For nearly 100 years, this former cinema was at the center of the San Francisco film scene. It opened in 1917 and closed its doors in 2006. Thanks to a generous gift from A.C.T. Board Member Jeff Ubben and his wife, Laurie, plans are already underway to transform this historic space into a new A.C.T. venue, which will include a 300-seat performance space; a mixed-use space for classrooms, rehearsals, and cabaret performances; and a restaurant.

We're excited about the ways that The Strand will expand the scope of A.C.T. productions, giving us a tremendous opportunity to take greater artistic risks on material that calls for a more intimate setting than our 1,040-seat home, the American Conservatory Theater. We can't wait to bring these imaginative projects—both classical and contemporary—to life in this brand-new proscenium space, just down the street from our gorgeous mainstage.

With this expansion, we're excited to be able to increase our capacity as an arts and educational institution and to continue to play a strong role in revitalizing the Mid-Market neighborhood, an area that has been a home to us for years. In our bustling costume shop (located just next door to The Strand at 1117 Market Street), artisans create the beautiful garments you see on our stages; at the front of the shop, we recently opened up a new performance space known as The Costume Shop, a 49-seat black-box theater that has already housed thrilling new productions from our A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program and other local arts organizations.