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John Barry, Tropic Editor

Stardom seemed just a bow away for a young Miami acting troupe doing daring theatre behind a downtown Filipino restaurant. But then the money ran out, two leading men vied for one leading lady. And nobody stayed for squid adobo. How the Black Box Theatre got an expensive lesson in real life.Stardom seemed just a bow away for a young Miami acting troupe doing daring theatre behind a downtown Filipino restaurant. But then the money ran out, two leading men vied for one leading lady. And nobody stayed for squid adobo. How the Black Box Theatre got an expensive lesson in real life.

The Miami Herald

Exploring Lives of Two Legends

Gregg Fields, Herald Staff Writer

An Evening With Two Legends, the current offering of 3rd Street Black Box in downtown Miami, delves into the psyche of two of the 20th Century's more interesting women: Anais Nin and Judy Garland.

Essentially two one-act plays, the evening begins with great promise. As Anais opens, the young Nin is singing to herself in a New York parlor, longing for the father who has left her and her mother.

The childlike innocence would be more touching, of course, had her father not recently molested her, sending her careening into a perpetual cycle of sexual exploration.

That cycle begins quickly. Under the steady hand of actress Jennifer Smith, who also wrote the play, little-girl Nin is transformed into a seductress with insatiable appetites; the parlor becomes a steamy sex palace.

It's no small miracle of set design, considering the logistical confines of the space, which is in the back of bustling San Villa restaurant

Liasons portrayed

As a piece of erotica, the play succeeds quite well. Nine, trapped in a passionless marriage to Hugo, embarks on a dizzying succession of affairs as an expatriate in Paris. Most notably, her tumultous liaison with Henry Miller, author of Tropic of Cancer- and played by Ralph de la Portilla- prods her into a burgeoning career as a pornographic writer.

Later, she becomes more heavily involved with Miller's wife, June, portrayed perfectly by Kelly Briscoe. And then there's her father, who reappears and becomes her lover. She even sleeps with her husband on occasion. In this play, that somehow seems kinky.

The author is playing the lead, and it's fine casting. Smith has a girl's face and a woman's body, which not surprisingly spends much of the evening in various stages of undress.

To be sure, this is a sympathetic, one-sided portrayal of Nin. But she was interesting.

The rewards of the evening's second play, The Other Side of the Rainbow, are in the raw talent onstage. Kelly Briscoe, the author, has an excellent singing voice. And if you close your eyes it's amazing how much she can sound like Garland when she talks.

Judy Garland, like Nin, had a personal life at least as interesting as her career. But unlike Nin, Garland was world-class talent, whose body of work includes many timeless classics.

Nevertheless, there are problems with this story of her life, and they are apparent pretty quickly. Briscoe, the author and star, doesn't look much like Garland. It perhaps wouldn't matter so much if Garland impersonators- particularly the male variety- hadn't done such a good job through the years.

More problematic is the raw material. With Nin, the audience gets the chance to learn about someone who has faded into relative obscurity. With Garland, the subject of countless books and magazine articles, who has been a towering presence in the American imagination for 60 years or so, there's much less unmined territory.

Familiar ground

Yes, there's her traumatic relationship with her mother, her bullying by Louis B. Mayer at MGM, and her lfelong drive down a liqour-slick highway paved with pills.

But didn't we know that already?

Garland is just too big a character to squeeze into one act. When the performance ends, it leaves the clear but unfortunate impression that this tribute, though well-intentioned, is nonetheless incomplete.

Engrossing play, controversial in Cuba, arrives in South Florida

Marta Barber, Herald Staff Writer

There are inherent dangers in staging a play better known for its political content than for its theatrical value. When Manteca (Lard), by Cuban playwright Alberto Pedro, had its premiere at Cuba's 1993 International Theatre Festival, the Havana's public's reaction was so loud that it was reported by El Nuevo Herald. Attending Cubans saw in Manteca's subject a not-so-open but fairly obvious critcism of the Castro regime. Three and a half years later, Alberto Sarrain and his Grupo Cultural La Ma Teodora bring Manteca (in Spanish only) to South Florida to show us what all the fuss was about.

Reaction from the sellout crowd at Friday's opening at 3rd Street Black Box Theatre indicated it was well worth the crossing. Funny, dotted with lyrical language, and intellectually motivating, Manteca touches on themes well-known to Cubans on both sides of the Straits: making do with little, the fear of living with secrets, the importance of family. Yes, it is a timely satire, but it also is an entertaining and engrossing play.

Two brothers and a sister live in a run-down apartment where a scarcity of food is overlapped by an abundance of pent-up emotions. Pucho is a writer, an intellectual whose sexual preference must be kept in the closet. Celestino is an engineer, a man unhappy that his Russian wife has returned home with their kids. And Dulce is the pragmatic sister, the balancing act between the siblings. They face a dilemma: what to do with the idol who has become the cause of all their problems. After many comic allusions, they tell you this idol is a pig.

Director Sarrain, whose recent production of Mario Vargas Llosa's La Chunga felt overproduced, is able to show his considerable creative talents here with a bit more restraint. Manteca is still not played straight, but that keeps the guessing game of double entendres and your imagination going. So does the well-thought-out and ingenious set.

Juan David Ferrer shows well the highs and lows of Celestino, the forlorn scientist, and Gerardo Barrios is a delight as Pucho, the poet and writer. But hats off to Adela Serra, who uncovers the warm Dulce hiding under hair rolls and sequined gown.

Manteca is another link in bridging people split by a diaspora. Cubans who left the island 30-plus years ago will find an affinity with the play, despite obvious differences. These brothers and sister will do anything to keep the family intact. Perhaps there's a lesson there for the split Cuban family. When, in pain, Celestino screams "I am a Communist," he's telling that his need to cling to his identity is as strong as his love for his homeland. That is something that many of us, Cuban or not, can relate to.

The New Times

Entertainment News and Views

"Take Me Under The Tree" Celebration At The 3rd Street Black Box

August 2 - August 8, 1996

Lynn Roberson, Arts Writer

It's a fable- a quirky Secret Garden meets "Citizen Kane" with a dash of Dorian Gray and a liberal spice of Busby Berkely. Celebration, a musical comedy in two acts, is so full of life that it fairly snaps the seams of the 3rd Street Black Box Theatre. Featuring a cast of ten singing and dancing thespians, a drummer, pianist and electric keyboard, Celebration is as refreshing as a cool drink of water in summer drought.

Musical theatre is a demanding and costly genre. It is a rare company that can succesfully recruit talent who sing, dance and act, all at the same time. Generating the resources to pay talent is one hurdle, and rehearsing tham all to the music is another. Despite a few niggling flaws, Ralph de la Portilla and his fledgling troupe deserve an A+ for Celebration, a play written in 1969 by Harvey Schimdt and Tom Jones, creators of The Fantasticks.

Director Ron Headrick creates a love letter to the big, classic musical on a very small stage. His direction and choreography for the six Revelers (four girls, two men) who variously play raggy winter winds, sissy beauticians, mincing Shirley Temples and wire-ensnared modern dancers, flaunts a touch of camp and a sneaky sense of fun. Jennifer Smith is especially silly hopping around as "Summer". Celebration's wall-to-wall staging, however, sacrifices acoustics and sight lines for no apparent reason.

Musical director Gene Palumbo overpowers the un-miked ensemble with blasts of intrusive electronic sound. Was a wired trio of piano, keyboard and drums really necessary? Think about it, Mr. Palumbo.

Tenor Faisal Hasan is the agile gypsy who guides us "into the woods" of this fairy tale about an old man, a young boy and a pretty girl. He plays Potamkin, a rogue of all trades, whose genius is "putting things together." Mr. Hasan is an impelling force in Celebration, and particularly strong in "Survive", his first act solo, with the Revelers.

The Orphan, acted by Jason Allen, first appears in a "Prodigal Son" mode, being set upon and stripped bare by the Revelers. Mr. Allen's tenor voice, at first forced and raw, takes an act to warm up. He hits an heroid stride in "Fifty Million Years Ago" and does look delicious bare-chested.

Sultry soprano Kelly Briscoe is the fallen angel who wants "to be somebody." In spite of her "smallish breasts," Ms. Briscoe is warm, inviting, magnetic. Further, she is an ornament whether she's wearing gold sequins or bunches of cherries on her nipples. In "Love Song," Ms. Briscoe injects a blast of sex into the production. In "Under the Tree," she creates a luscious finale.

"If you could see inside of my stomach," baritone Jean-Paul Molero sings as the bloated Edgar Allen Rich. Mr. Mulero's comic performance as this Charles Foster Kane clone offers as many facets as a 10 karat diamond- he pops up with something new every minute he is on stage. Swathed in yards of padding, baritone Mulero is fresh, flawlessly paced and wickedly funny.

Splendid Ladies At 3rd Street Black Box Theater

September 6 - September 12, 1996

Lynn Roberson, Arts Writer

Anais Nin and Judy Garland- two women worlds apart, both with a talent to do more than amuse- are showcased by 3rd Street Black Box Theatre throughout September. Anais, written and performed by Jennifer Smith, and the Other Side of the Rainbow, ditto by Kelly Briscoe, are brave, riveting works, particularly so considering the youth of the artists. Daughter of a philandering Spanish piano virtuoso and a Danish emigre, Anais was a dancer, novelist, a psychotherapist, the lover/patroness of Henry Miller and one of the world's most dillegent journal keepers. "My diary is my kief, hashish, and opium pipe," she wrote. A carefully cultivated air of seduction emanated from her like a rare perfume.

As a writer, Ms. Smith chose high points of Nin's fascinating life to reveal Anias' incestuous passions, her fascination with "the entanglements of reality and unreality," the succession of masks she wore throughout a studiedly enigmatic life, are brushed with impressionist delicacy. More heavy handed is a bit of breast baring, effective in the first instance, less so in the second.

Cognizant of Nin's complexity, Ms. Smith has had the good sense to create more than a monologue. Kelly Briscoe plays Mama and June MIiller with exotic feminity. Ralph de la Portilla cameos sexless husband Hugo, tit-grabbing Henry Miller, elusive father Joaquin and silly-wig- wearing therapist Dr. Allendy.

As an actress, Ms. Smith develops Nin from an 11-year-old, clutching her diary to her bosom, to an eroticized adult who "will fulfill herself." She draws black silk stockings over pointed feet in a delicious batterie, she poses like a disappointed "naked amja" on her wedding night, she giggles with delight in an amorous frolic with June.

Sylvia Minchew-Marchman, Pete Beers, and Ms. Smith create a set adorned with flickering candles, creamy fringe, red satin and full blown petak scattering roses. A lacy bed canopy occasionally threatens to entangle lovers at awkward moments. Ralph de la Portilla designs subtle, velvet light.

Ms. Kelly Briscoe displays admirable skill making the transition from throaty, crude, sensual June Miller in Anais, to the etoile of her own Judy Garland tour-de-force, The Other Side of the Rainbow. She gives us a woman who has fallen way over the spectrum, pitiful in pearl studded flame chiffon, wired to the toes of silver lame slippers, but still mistress of a voice and ruled by a passion to use it.

Everyone knows the sad details of Judy Garland's history, but Ms. Briscoe infuses fresh life into the old story and plays Jusy with an eerie versimilitude. She speaks with a jagged "Toto and back to Kansas" gush. The thrill of singing for an audience, she says, is still better "than 19,000 wake-up pills."

A joyous "Forget Your Troubles," an embellished "I'm Gonna Love You," and a plaintive "Man That Got Away" wasn't enough of a taste of Ms. Briscoe's glorious voice. Perhaps a touch more music and a tad less biography would serve her better next time. But, as "Judy" sways nervously at the mike, splaying out slender fingers to "touch" her audience, stillettoing her pinkie just so, Ms. Briscoe soars.

A suave David Nagy at the piano (as Harold Arden) is an asset to The Other Side of the Rainbow.

Third Street Black Box Bounces Back With The Tourist Guide

May 2 - May 8, 1997

Lynn Roberson, Arts Writer

It wasn't so long ago that the Miami Herald's Tropic magazine devoted a cover story to Third Street Black Box Theatre. Whether the Herald did justice to the brace and improvident cadre of young artists is questionable. In any case, after Tropic broadcast gossip statewide, founders Ralph de la Portilla and Jennifer Smith took a time out from producing "innovative and contemporary plays." It is a relief to know that Third Street is back on course. Downtown Miami needs a theatre company, especially one with the chutzpah that Third Street has demonstrated.

"We're opening on June 9th with what we believe is an American premiere," Jennifer Smith says. "The Tourist Guide is a German play by the internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, and playwright Botho Strauss." According to Ms. Smith, The Tourist Guide is a natural for Third Street to produce. "It's a chamber drama, set in Greece, with two speaking parts- a man and a woman." Ms. Smith appears as the young tour guide Kristine. "She is very passionate, very natural."

Opposite Ms. Smith, playing an intellectual in crisis, is Carbonnel Award-winning actor Andrew Noble. Mr. Noble, last seen in New World Repertory's moving Faith Healer, makes a welcome return to the stage as Martin. Mr. Noble's Martin is a man disillusioned by the 20th century and troubled by painful questions. Martin travels to Greece, the birthplace of Western civilization, seeking reassurance. Surely, on Olympus, home of the entire Greek pantheon, he can find order and reason. Martin, however, opens up a Dionysian can of worms, sex, emotion, instinct, and myth. The Appolonian calm he seeks is only a shadow.

Directing the Tourist Guide is Phillip Church who makes a debut, along with Mr. Noble, at Third Street Black Box. Well known for his work in the FIU theatre department, Mr. Church is also and accomplished actor and filmmaker. His original video drama, Conditions of Secrecy, is now on the shelves at Blockbuster. It's appropriate that Mr. Church is directing The Tourist Guide, which is so imbued with Greek myth and metaphor. He is presently at work on a television project, Classics for Classrooms, highlighting the glories of classical literature and language.

Third Street Black Box Theatre still enjoys a beneficent arrangement with San Villa Oriental Restaurant. The Black Box is in San Villa's back room- a space transformed with proper seating, seat-of-the-pants light and sound, and ever imaginative set design. The linking of a theatre and a restaurant is often a recipe for success- the old Acme Acting Company and Strand Restaurant come to mind. In this case, theatre patrons cannot only partake of San Villa's excellent Asian delicacies, but also use the restaurant's free and spacious parking lot.

In 1995, when Third Street Black Box opened its doors, the brash young founders said, "We're gonna kick-start Miami into the 21st Century." Two years later, with dark comedies like Line, the joyful musical Celebration, original dramas like John Barrymore, Anais, and The Other Side of the Rainbo under their belt, Third Street returns from a brief intermission rededicated to bringing theatre downtown. Founder Ralph de la Portilla says, "We're glad to be back."

The Tourist Guide, starring Jennifer Smith and Andrew Noble, directed by Phillip Church, opens June 9th at the Third Street Black Box Theatre. Remember, the theatre is inside San Villa Restaurant, 230 N.E. Third Street. For information, call 371-9619.

Third Street Black Box Demolition Imminent: Square One May Be Finale

August 1-August 7, 1997

Lynn Roberson, Arts Writer

Damnation! Just when Ralph de la Portilla and the Third Street Black Box Theatre were getting back on track, a major roadblock rears its ugly head. The Black Box, ensconced in the back of San Villa Oriental Restaurant, is downtown's only theatre company. For the last 20 months, the Black Box has struggled to present consistent theatre- no easy task in today's climate. Their work has been fresh, memorable, brave. The Black Box brought back a neglected musical, Celebration, to life. The Black Box nurtured new work like Anais and Over the Rainbow. The off-Broadway gem, Line, got a thoroughly dancy outing at the Black Box.

Not only was the Black Box finding its way though the dramatic reportoire, but also the theatre fostered a unique mix of artists. Where else would theatre veteran Andrew Noble be sharing the stage with ingenue Jennifer Smith? Seasoned hoofer Ron Headrick lent his directorial and choreographic talents to the Black Box, as did his colleague Sylvia Marchman. The theatre gave strong young actors like Eric Fabregat and Matt Glass a chance to flaunt their chops. Though the cast was constantly changing, there was always a "try anything" quality to the Black Box and a good-humored ensemble feel.

But hey, this is Miami, and what Miami needs is another parking lot (possibly to accomodate the raucous crowds that flock to BaySide in increasing numbers.) As of mid-August, both the Black Box and San Villa Oriental (with its remarkable pan-Asian menu) are out of business. Why? Because Rafael Kapustin has increased their joint rent to an astronomical level. No matter that restaurant owner Bobby Villanueva holds a ten year lease on the property. Mr. Kapustin wants to raze the building and create a parking lot. It's more profitable for him. Parking lots are flat, ugly, arid. They reflect and hold ehat. They encourage personal vehicle use (don't we have a Metrorail?) thereby enhancing atmospheric pollution and global warming.

The Black Box/ San Villa combination not only affords the community an artistic and fdining experience heretofore described, but also (and in Miami this is important) it is multi-ethnic with a capital M. 230 North 3rd Street is a site where you can wire money to Manila, speak Tagalog with a cook, play pool with teenagers from Taiwan, arrange airfare to Malaya, bounce up and down to loony karaoke music.

Bah, Mr. Kapustin! Do you really need the money?

Gutsy to the end, the Black Box has mounted Steve Tesich's Square One, which will run though mid-August. Ironically, this is the show that would have kicked off the Black Box's 1997/98 season. Directed by Stuart Meltzer, Square One is the Black Box's swan song at its present site. The theatre will continue, artistic director Ralph de la Portilla vows, "but I'm not sure where."

Square One confirms the Black Box's ability to come through despite adversity. Playwright Tesich, an Academy award winning screenwriter, takes us to a country where "old ones scream" in the middle of the night, where the public can "dial the tyrant of their choice," where nothing "is about hope." Though Mr. Tesich's roots are middle European, and his play is heavy on cold war ideology, director Meltzer adds a lot of red, white, and blue to rocket the play past detente and into the realm of American possibility. Mr. Meltzer's plan forhis actors is more faulity navigated.

Adam, deftly played by Jason Hewitt, is the star of "The Patriotic Variety Hour." He is a "general entertainer with a specialty in singing," "a certified state artist 3rd class." Mr. Hewitt has a Tom Hanks-ish charm, a pleasant baritone voice, and nimble, tap-dancing feet. His Adam is an unswerving party-liner who, for inexplicable reasons, falls in love with a girl he meets in the park.

Diane is the girl and she has imagination and an off-the-wall ditziness that just doesn't mesh with beauracracy. Played by Patricia Merrill, Diane's best scenes are in Act II. She sits numb in a straight-backed chair, the vacuum cleaner roars in the dark. "You don't want to have a nose-bleed around a bunch of sharks," she says.

Eclectic, incongruous music- Schumann, Strauss, '40's big band swing, classic jazz ballads- gives Square One a timeless, placeless dimension.