SDGLN.com - 28/Sep/2012

[Source]

THEATER REVIEW: Luke Macfarlane stars in “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir”
Jean Lowerison - SDGLN Theater Critic
September 28th, 2012

Photo credit: J. Katarzyna Woronowicz

Luke Macfarlane of "Brothers & Sisters"

fame stars in Keith Bunin’s “Sam Bendrix

At The Bon Soir.”

Bartenders spend their working hours listening to tales of love, loss and desertion. But it’s not often that a bartender is the storyteller.

It’s a cold, snowy night in Greenwich Village and barkeep Sam Bendrix (Luke Macfarlane) has decided to leave New York. On this, his last night, he gets a chance to provide the entertainment and tell his story.

Keith Bunin’s “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir” is the third in La Jolla Playhouse’s “Without Walls” theater series of off-campus productions. Martini’s Above Fourth in Hillcrest is the location (the first time an actual bar has been used) for the show that has already been extended through Oct. 17. Mark Rucker directs.

It’s pre-Stonewall 1958, a time when even talking about being gay could lead to unpleasant consequences, and doing more might mean loss of job or even life.

Backed up by a boffo three-man combo on piano (Charlie Reuter), bass (Kevin Cooper) and percussion (Danny King), the closeted Sam sings nearly 20 songs and tells the sad “Story of My Life,” beginning with his father’s desertion and ending with another unhappy event.

Sam describes childhood with his single mom in Nebraska, where “the landscape is so flat, you can watch your dog run away for five days.” It was here that his mom gave him a cello and encouraged him to sing.

After the war, he goes to New York, where he meets the no-nonsense Helene from Joliet, Ill. (“It’s the biggest maximum-security prison in the country. And there’s a jail.”), who becomes his best gal pal. When he mentions he’d like to sing, she advises him to work in a bar and take it from there.

The other major person in Sam’s New York life is Joel, also closeted and fearful of exposure, who brings both joy and sadness for Sam.

Macfarlane, perhaps best known for his work as Scotty on the TV series “Brothers & Sisters,” is a convincing actor, but his too-cautious approach to singing gets in the way of connecting with the audience. It’s a pity, because many of the songs – by the likes of Kurt Weill, Cole Porter and George Gershwin – are classics.

Still, the band is great, the martinis are strong, and where better for a show like this than a nice Hillcrest bar?

The details

"Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir" plays through Oct. 17 at Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Suite 200, Hillcrest.

Monday through Wednesday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 2 pm; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 pm.

For tickets, call 858-550-1010 or visit HERE.

To read more reviews by SDGLN Theater Critic Jean Lowerison, click HERE.

La Jolla Playhouse - 24/Sep/2012

[Source]

A Without Walls Presentation Luke Macfarlane in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir September 24 - October 17 Martinis Above Fourth – 3940 4th Avenue By Keith Bunin Directed by Mark Rucker

Luke Macfarlane (ABC's Brothers and Sisters) transforms Martinis Above Fourth in Hillcrest into a Greenwich Village nightclub in 1958 - a decade before the Stonewall riots. The drinks and music flow as a young singer and his band take the stage for their last performance before leaving New York City for good. Macfarlane and his band showcase a musical score of American song classics that you won't want to miss.

> Learn more about the WoW Program

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• > Food and drinks are available to purchase before and after the show. Doors open at 5:30 pm for the 7:30 pm performance and 12:00 pm for the 2:00 pm performance. Food will not be served after Sunday evening performances.
• > We recommend arriving 30 minutes early to order drinks and an hour early to order appetizers/dinner. Your ticket purchase is also your table reservation if you choose to order food (food and alcohol not included in ticket price).
• > Parking Options: street parking (metered) and several pay lots around the venue. Note that some parking lots are cash only.
• > Martinis Above Fourth is Cabaret-style seating. You will be assigned a seat at the table number you purchased when you arrive at the venue. You might be seated next to patrons not in your party. Be neighborly!
• > Patrons Must be 21+ to purchase alcohol.
• > NO LATE SEATING

A.C.T. - 23/Sep/2012

[Source]

"8" The Play | October 7, 2012, at 7 p.m.

by Dustin Lance Black
Directed by Mark Rucker

An unconstitutional proposition.
An unprecedented decision.
An unforgettable play.

In association with the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact, A.C.T. is proud to present a one-night-only reading of "8," the landmark play chronicling the historic trial in the federal constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award?winning screenwriter of Milk, "8" is the unprecedented account of the federal district court trial Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the freedom to marry. Black based "8" on the actual trial transcripts, firsthand observations of what went on in the courtroom, and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families. This one-night-only event will feature playwright Dustin Lance Black, legendary LGBT activist Cleve Jones, actor Luke Macfarlane (TV’s Brothers & Sisters), and other special guests.
Proceeds from the reading benefit AFER and LGBTQ youth participating in A.C.T.'s ArtReach program, which offers free student matinee tickets and theater-based pre- and post-show workshops at no cost to 23 public high schools in the Bay Area (including all 18 San Francisco public high schools) with large populations of underserved, low-income students who otherwise would have little exposure to the arts.
Tickets are available for $50 to $100. A limited number of $250 VIP tickets are available and include premium seating and access to a postshow reception with the cast. This performance takes place at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco.

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Special Events

To buy tickets, click here or call 415.749.2228.

This performance takes place at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco.

Gay San Diego - 21/Sep/2012

[Source]

Luke Macfarlane takes ‘Sam Bendrix’ out of La Jolla

Posted: September 21st, 2012 | Arts & Entertainment, Featured |

Cabaret-style play addresses LGBT history; comes to Hillcrest for West Coast premiere

By Anthony King | GSD Editor

Luke Mcfarlane as Sam Bendrix
(Photo by Suellen
Fitzsimmons/City Theatre
Company)

The La Jolla Playhouse ventures into Hillcrest with their latest Without Walls production, “Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir.” The show, taking over Martinis Above Fourth from Sept. 24 – Oct. 10, was written by Keith Bunin and directed by Mark Rucker. The one-person play sees out actor Luke Macfarlane return to the role he originated last fall.

Macfarlane, who played one half of the gay couple on “Brothers & Sisters,” began discussing the Sam Bendrix role with Bunin while he was filming the ABC series. The two, who became friends, were looking to recreate a part of LGBT history that slightly mirrored Macfarlane’s own experience coming out in Hollywood.

“It was around the time that he was on a television show where [Macfarlane] was playing a gay character,” Bunin said of creating the play. Macfarlane was a semi-closeted gay actor at the time, who was thinking of coming out publicly.

“It was a very big thing to think about, because obviously it’s a big thing to weigh for an actor.” Bunin said. “We were talking about the history of people who had done that. I had been doing this research, and we talked about what it would have been like for someone like him, 50 years ago.”

The play focuses on the title character, a lounge singer, taking the stage one last time before he leaves New York City. Bunin, who set “Sam Bendrix” in 1958 very purposefully, said the show is a play disguised as a cabaret act.

“I’ve been interested in gay American history, and this particular generation,” Bunin said. “In a way, its sort of like an homage to these generations of gay men and women … who came from small towns and served in World War II, and then sort of discovered a community they didn’t know existed.”

While the show is grounded in music, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Kurt Weill and George Gershwin, Bunin said his research involved more than just musicians: he felt all artists, including poets and dancers, contributed to his understanding of the period and helped him in shaping the story.

“I hope they all show up in their own little ways, here and there,” he said. “There was this very strong subculture that was 10 years before Stonewall,” a point, he added, that is important for the audience to understand.

Bunin said he “cast” the audience as that of a cabaret act from the 1950s. “Sam, the cabaret singer, is talking to the audience as he would have been talking to the audience that night,” revealing more about his life than he first set out to do, Bunin said.

“The audience’s responsibility is to understand how dangerous that would be in 1958,” he said. “I think a lot of times when you see a period piece, the response of the audience is to feel, ‘oh, we’re past this’ or ‘I’m just grateful I’m not living in that time.’ Part of the fun of this is to feel like you’re in this space and this time, and [to] think about what … your reaction would be if you were hearing this in 1958.”

After appearing as part of regular company’s season in Pittsburg, Penn. last fall, where the play was staged in a typical theater setting, Bunin said he is excited Martinis Above Fourth will be the stage for the West Coast premiere.

“I’m actually excited about doing it in an actual cabaret space,” he said, calling Martinis the right size and saying Hillcrest is the perfect setting, primarily because of the predominately LGBT audience.

Choosing Hillcrest as the latest location for La Jolla’s Without Walls series was purposeful for Artistic Direct Christopher Ashley as well. The theater company staged two other productions as part of the series, one at the San Diego Botanical Garden and the other – conceived by Paul Stein – set in a series of automobiles.

“The central idea of Without Walls is presenting theatrical events in non-traditional spaces that allow you to experience the show in a completely new way,” Ashley said. “Keith’s play is set in a nightclub in 1958 – a decade before Stonewall, when being open about your sexuality could still land you in jail. By producing this play at Martinis Above Fourth, in the heart of Hillcrest, we get to highlight just how far the cause of equality has come.”

Macfarlane will take on “Sam Bendrix” Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. from Sept. 24 – Oct. 10. Martinis Above Fourth is located at 3940 Fourth Ave. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased through the La Jolla Playhouse at lajollaplayhouse.org or by calling 858-550-1010. Food and drinks will be available before and after the show, but not during.

KUSI News - 20/Sep/2012

[Source(http://www.kusi.com/video?clipId=7742847)-deleted]

Luke Macfarlane stars in "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir"
Last Modified: Sep 20, 2012 3:56 AM