Second Fire at Lombard

November 18, 2015 Palisades News Page 25
Theatre Palisades Offers Delightful Evening
By SUE PASCOE
Editor
Palisades Artist’s Show
Examines Mannequins
By SUE PASCOE
Editor
Long-time Palisadian Carol Kleinman’s
show, “Once Upon a Mannequin,”
opened at the TAG Gallery at Bergamot
Station on October 27 and will run
through November 24.
Her single-exposure photography presents
an almost collage-like look. “What you
see in my images is what I saw,” Kleinman
said. “Through a series of unique photographs
of reflections on store windows, taken
in Paris, New York and Pacific Palisades, these
works, printed on canvas, reveal realities most
people do not normally notice. A great deal
of their impact stems from the fact that they
actually existed at a specific time and place
and are not creations or manipulations.”
After growing up in Hawaii and San
Francisco, Kleinman attended school at the
University of Hawaii and Lone Mountain
College (San Francisco). She received two
master’s degrees in art from Claremont
Graduate University.
Shooting reflections started more than
20 years ago when Kleinman was on a train
between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The
reflections in the windows, the Russian
countryside, the steel dining car, seemed to
Kleinman to reveal deeper realities than a
simple train ride. She pulled out her camera
and started shooting.
William Gillette (John Mawson, left) and James Lujan (Felix Geisel) carry theater
critic Daria Chase (Maria Pavone) to a secret room.
Photo: Joy Daunis
The Game’s Afoot; or Holmes for the
Holidays, a play by Ken Ludwig,
opened at Pierson Playhouse on
November 6 and will run though Sunday,
December 13 at 941Temescal Canyon Rd.
The production starts with a play within
a play and an attempted murder. It stalls
briefly in the first act, but then picked up
steam and the second act is filled with
laughs, lovely double takes, a dead body, a
secret room and one of the most masterfully
choreographed fights ever seen on a
Pacific Palisades stage.
It’s Christmas Eve, 1936, and William
Gillette, the first actor to portray the iconic
Sherlock Holmes on stage and in silent
film, is recovering from a gunshot wound
inflicted during curtain call.
Gillette, who has Holmes aspirations, attempts
to learn the identity of his wouldbe
assassin by inviting his cast and an
acerbic theatre critic to his home for the
holidays. It is soon learned that an additional
theater person has been murdered,
and the plot thickens.
Shortly after a séance, another person is
stabbed in the Gillette residence and it becomes
imperative to determine the murderer.
The play, which won the Mystery Writers
of America’s 2012 Edgar Award for Best Play,
is produced by Nona Hale and Pat Perkins.
Especially excellent in her role is Maria
Pavone as the theatre critic Daria Chase,
who is so forceful, one rarely takes one’s
eyes off her.
Since that time, she has worked to develop
techniques to reveal the natural interplay
between objects and people at a unique moment
of time. Her work does not combine
exposures. She does not use Photoshop.
The viewer sees exactly what Kleinman did
in the moment the photo was captured.
“The ultimate goal of my work is to help
people look more closely at the world and
see the richness and depth of everyday experience,”
said Kleinman, who, over the
past 40 years, has worked in many artistic
media, including sculpture, oils, watercolors,
glass, collage and construction.
“This type of photography combines a
great deal of what I’ve learned from these
media. The most exciting thing to me about
the photography I do is its direct connection
to reality—the capture of a moment in time.”
Kleinman has been active in the Palisades
Art Association and at Kehillat Israel. She
is the former president of TAG Gallery
and currently serves as vice president on
the board. She is also a member of the Los
Angeles Art Association, Gallery 825 and
Woman Painters West.
Her show at the Bergamot challenges the
viewer to ask, “Do mannequins have ‘lives’?
Do they have the capacity to think? To
dream? Are they inanimate objects, or dynamic
beings that can challenge our imagination?
Are we watching them, or are they
watching us?”
Equally fine are Andi Wagner (Madge
Geisel) and her stage husband James Lujan
(Felix Geisel). Their theatrics are fun and
energetic and exactly what the show needs.
Matthew Godfrey (Simon Bright) and
Nicole Knudson (Aggie Wheeler) are one of
the reasons to see this show—perfectly suit -
ed for their roles, they give the show zing.
Carol Kleinman’s work is on display at Bergamot Station.
Kleinman captured images in Hawaii,
Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Paris, Moscow,
New York and Chicago. “These images are
the result of years of wandering the streets,”
she said. “Sometimes I’ll walk for hours and
not take any photographs. It’s like going on
a treasure hunt. Then I’ll spot a complex reflection
on a window and get captivated.”
Her work has been recognized in shows
in Los Angeles, Palm Desert, Seattle, Washington,
D.C. and Moscow.
Kleinman is married to Bert Kleinman, a
Directed by Gene Franklin Smith, the
show was fun on opening night, and as the
cast settles in, I suspect the show will become
even tighter. I also urge the actors
to remember this is live theater and every
word need to be enunciated and projected.
Sherman Wayne, Theater Palisades, ace
set designer, has outdone himself with Wil -
liam Gillette’s mansion located on the Con -
necticut River. The secret room is particularly
interesting.
Having lived in New Jersey for many Decembers,
I was particularly bothered by the
thunder and lightning during the show,
which was supposed to have happened at
a Connecticut Christmas during a snow
storm. Heavy winds howling, snow whipping
around, yes, but thunder? No. A quick
reference check showed that March is the
peak month of “thundersnow” in the Unit -
ed States and on the average only 6.3 events
are reported per year.
The costumes are to “die for” and June
Lissandrello has created some exquisite
gowns.
The Game’s Afoot offers a delightful eve -
ning of fun. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays
at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets
are $20 for adults and $18 for students. Call
(310) 454-1970 or visit theatrepalisades.org.
radio programming and management consultant
who is currently developing FM station
for the Voice of America in Africa. The
couple have three daughters (two graduated
from Palisades High School) and six
grandchildren, three of whom attend Marquez
Elementary.
TAG Gallery is located at 2525 Michigan
Ave., Space D3 in Santa Monica. Hours are
Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday
noon to 4 p.m. Visit: kleinmanart.com.