This will be my first time reviewing a production of Rogue Artists Ensemble and in advance, I was told to expect “hyper-theater,” a form of theater that utilizes original, immersive, multi-dimensional experiences to tell their stories. With the partnership of Los Angeles LGBT Center, Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular certainly lived up to this art form while also being a fascinating play that is all parts ambitious, messy as hell, unapologetic, and heartfelt.
Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring, I am now detecting a pattern in her playwrighting work that has made me enjoy her incredible Hungry Ghost and to a slightly lesser extent, Kairos. A strange pulse of intimate raw humanity pervades through her work and it most definitely courses through this play, which is at its absolute strongest when the main love story is in focus.
David Ellard, Kurt Kanazawa and Amir Levi star in a story about the professional and romantic rise and fall of two queer, closeted stuntmen in the Hollywood world of faux masculinity. Placing the intoxication of film trickery and its toll on the body and psyche center stage through life-size and miniature puppetry, live video, cinematic illusions and heart-pumping physical acts, this exuberant production is a joyful tribute to the resiliency of the LGBTQIA+ community. Based on true-life stories and direct testimonies, Happy Fall illuminates issues of racial and cultural identity in the industry and uncovers the real price of a love story, unmasking the importance — and danger — of being true to oneself. Rounding out the cast are ensemble members Lucas Brahme, Carlos R. Chavez, Gabriel Croom, Kelsey Kato, Maia Luer, Candy Pain, Tiana Randall–Quant and Kody Siemensa.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
Out of all the adjectives I used to describe this play earlier in this review, messy is one of the biggest ones. While messy does not make a production any less enjoyable, it certainly needs to be mentioned for this particular one as there were so many aspects of this show that felt off, slightly unrehearsed, or unnecessary. I will need to emphasize again that I enjoyed this strange darling of a show immensely but I will start with the Debbie Downer criticisms before going into its stunning and beautiful strengths.
It starts from the get-go when we are drawn into a world of gimmicky audience participation and introduced to the play’s host (Amir Levi) who serves as the omnipotent narrator. While I appreciated the host explaining the harsh realities stunt people go through and their frequent switch into Greek chorus mode to provide amusing commentary, the character became more and more grating and unlikable as the play went on. While Levi certainly put a lot of passion into the role, it was unfortunately a distracting one at best when they would constantly stop the show to provide commentary and halt the flow. Near the end, the host particularly made no sense when they would stop the production in a meta way to say “it’s my show”. Without establishing in any way who this character is to the rest of the world, the character unfortunately was unnecessary to me as much of the exposition could have been shared with the rest of the ensemble, who mostly served as glorified stage hands.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
When it came to the stunts themselves, they were okay at best and woefully under-rehearsed at worst. Considering that the play literally has “Stunt Spectacular” plastered on its title and repeated constantly throughout, one would expect a certain… spectacular quality of stunts that wasn’t quite there. To be fair, I would say that like all theatrical productions, I imagine this will improve as the show continues its run after the opening night performance and also to be fair, not all of the actors are professional stunt folks. But let’s get into the beauty and strength of this play and that is the love story which occurs between Felix (Kurt Kanazawa) and Clay (David Ellard) and the delightful imagination to tell this story utilizing puppets and multimedia.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
When you strip away all the meta commentaries and showcases (which were delightfully fabulous but unfortunately unnecessary), at the core of the play is a love story between the two main leads which were played with such raw vulnerability, grace, charm, and pathos by Kurt Kanazawa and David Ellard. I was instantly drawn in by their chemistry and just loved how they would incorporate a puppet to stand in for Ellard whenever he could not confront his feelings and allow his toxicity and pride to take his place instead. I’ve never seen anything like it before (I would make a guess that if I saw more Rogue Artists Ensemble productions, this wouldn’t be the last) and in no way did this storytelling device felt gimmicky. The puppet only enhanced this love story into what I believe is the playwright’s unique gift in telling intimate relationship stories but done in such a strange, bewildering way that it simultaneously shows the intimacy but also the vast alienation & uncertainty of the universe crashing into two people trying to fall in love. It sounds heady for sure but that’s the feeling I get when I see Dring’s work into action and I love it.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
It is undeniable that there is a raw beating heart that courses through this messy play but there is so much to commend for it as I would rather watch that than a polished high budget piece of theatre that has no soul whatsoever. A long list of kudos must be given to the play’s crew and I start with the director Sean Cawalti (who also video designed and co-scenic designed the play), lead puppet designer Jack Pullman, puppet miniature designer Adrian Rose Leonard, puppet designer and fabricator Greg Ballora, assistant puppet designer & fabricator Kelsey Kato, associate puppet designer and fabricator Morgan Rebane, co-scenic designer Keith Mitchell, choreographer Cody Brunelle-Potter, costume designer Andrew Jordan, lighting designer Amber Shift, sound designer M. Glenn Schuster, prop designer & associate scenic designer Lily Barnstein, and fight & intimacy coordinator Celina Lee Surniak. It’s not often I’ll list out the entire crew for a review but this is an extraordinarily ambitious theatre production that also requires shoutouts given to production manager Alexis Nicole Robles, stage manager Deena Tovar, and assistant stage managers Grace Wilkerson and Ashley Weaver for putting it all together because so many things could go wrong in lesser hands.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
One thing is for sure, you won’t see theatre quite like this. And to have such a show written by an Asian American and starring an Asian American as one of the main leads is monumental considering that the story is not dependent on being about Asian identity but does not ignore it either. This is once again the future of theatre where I incessantly encourage all companies to forge tales that celebrates underrepresented identities without being restricted by it. Especially when it comes to the LBTQIA+ community where more often than not, global majority folks are often excluded in having a significant voice and for that, I appreciate this play so very much.
Photo by Bryce Darlington
Performances Aug. 22–Sept. 8
• Thursdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 22 (opening night), Aug. 29, Sept. 5
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 23, Aug. 30, Sept. 6
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 ONLY (dark Aug. 24)
• Sundays at 3 p.m.: Aug. 25, Sept. 1 (understudy performance), Sept. 8
Special events:
• Sunday, Aug. 25: an interactive stunt demonstration with stunt coordinator Celina Lee Surniak follows the performance.
• Thursday, Aug. 29: a pre-show stunt puppet-making workshop (7 p.m.) at the Advocate & Gochis Galleries; create your own puppet and learn how to get involved in the puppetry community.
• Friday, Aug. 30: a pre-show “Meet-the-Artists” celebration (7:15 p.m.) at the Advocate & Gochis Galleries, to uplift the visual artists whose work is on display at the “Take/Action: Stunts, Spectacle and Queer History” exhibit.
• Saturday, Aug. 31: a pre-show blessing from the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and a post-show discussion on the history of drag. Come dressed to express and join in the fun!
• Sunday, Sept. 1: post-performance Rogue Artists Ensemble VIP Fundraiser celebrating 20 years of groundbreaking new work in Los Angeles (ticketed event/separate admission; information at rogueartists.org)
• Saturday, Sept. 7: a post-performance conversation with Happy Fall composer Adrien Provost.
• Sunday, Sept. 8: an Action Star Dress–Up event; come dressed as your own action star and join Rogue Artists for a special fashion runway with prizes for selected winners.
WHERE:
Renberg Theatre
Los Angeles LGBT Center
The Village at Ed Gould Plaza
1125 N McCadden Place
Los Angeles, CA 90038
TICKETS:
Ticket Link – bit.ly/happyfall24
$45-$78 (including fees)
Understudy performance on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.: Pay-What-You-Can