Any Given Day
April 13, 2012 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
Any Given Day: Drama. By Linda McLean. Directed by Jon Tracy. Through April 22. Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, S.F. 80 minutes. $20-$60. (415) 441-8822. www.magictheatre.org.
It’s raining hard in Glasgow but it’s a special day for Sadie and Bill, the odd pair of shut-ins we meet in the first act of Linda McLean’s achingly poignant “Any Given Day,” which 
opened Wednesday at the Magic Theatre. Childlike and fearful of the outside world – not without reason – they’re awaiting a visit from Bill’s niece Jackie.
It’s a pretty ordinary day for Jackie (Stacy Ross) and Dave (James Carpenter) in the tavern where they work on the other side of the Scottish city. Until she gets a phone message. After that, the day starts looking pretty good.
It isn’t, I hope, a spoiler to say that some things don’t turn out well and others end on a deeply moving, ambiguous note. What’s important is that director Jon Tracy’s skillfully staged and sumptuously performed American premiere of this beautifully bifurcated 2010 drama is a special occasion for lovers of strikingly original character-driven theater. Read more
Linda McLean’s ‘Any Given Day’ at the Magic Theatre
April 5, 2012 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
Filling in for a few performances of Any Given Day at the Magic Theatre.
Directed by Jon Tracy.
American Premiere/Begins March 29
ANY GIVEN DAY
A story about the moment when everything changes
It’s 2pm in the East Side of Glasgow: Bill and Sadie are preparing for the arrival of their favorite person. It’s all going like clockwork until they discover they’ve forgotten the bread. Buying bread means going outside. Uh oh.
It’s 2pm in the West Side of Glasgow: two people are closing up the bar for the afternoon. A chance call opens up the opportunity for a future that they have stopped imagining. Leading Scottish playwright Linda McLean explores the fleeting nature of love and happiness set against a backdrop of violence and disappointment.
Featuring: James Carpenter, Amy Kossow, Christopher McHale, Daniel Petzold & Stacy Ross.
SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nomnoms
March 4, 2012 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
The SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle came out with their 2011 nominations.
My name is on there a couple times and I’m in good company.
Congrats everyone!
Drama Principal – Male, 100-300 SEATS:
Alexander Alioto, Reborning, SF Playhouse
Patrick Alparone, Phaedra, Shotgun Players
Alexander Crowther, Metamorphosis, Aurora Theatre Company
Chad Deverman, Honey Brown Eyes, SF Playhouse
Rod Gnapp, Annapurna, Magic Theatre
Ken Grantham, A Delicate Balance, Aurora Theatre Company
Dan Hiatt, To Kill a Mockingbird, Center REPertory Company
Nicholas Pelczar, The Glass Menagerie, Marin Theatre Company
Patrick Russell, Care of Trees, Shotgun Players
Tobie Windham, Seven Guitars, Marin Theatre Company
Drama Featured – Male, 100-300 SEATS:
Patrick Alparone, Period of Adjustment, SF Playhouse
Kevin Clarke, God’s Plot, Shotgun Players
Charles Dean, A Delicate Balance, Aurora Theatre Company
Charles Dean, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Aurora Theatre Company
Patrick Jones, Metamorphosis, Aurora Theatre Company
Jeremy Kahn, Tigers Be Still, SF Playhouse
Craig Marker, The Glass Menagerie, Marin Theatre Company
AWARDS CEREMONY & GALA RECEPTION ON APRIL 2, 2012
more info and full list of nominees at the Critics Circle
Whitney Trailer
November 16, 2009 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
Mrs. Whitney Press
November 1, 2009 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
Her [Margaret Whitney] decision to track down her former husband, the irresponsible, philandering mess she’d kicked out two decades earlier, turns into a very funny odyssey of unexpected meetings with delightfully original characters. [Read the full article here]
Mrs. Whitney engages the audience to laugh at the foibles of love in the real world while it dangles you dangerously above the jaws of heartbreak. [Read the full article here]
Patricia Hodges as Mrs. Whitney is absolutely flawless and superb! It is worth seeing the play to see her luminous performance. The play itself explores themes of love and loneliness with some very intelligent and insightful dialogue. It is very funny but also searing in its themes. A great evening out.
Kolvenbach’s production, a bittersweet domestic comedy, marries rhythmic pacing and lively blocking with sensitive performances from the entire cast.
Mrs. Whitney opens Oct. 21
October 19, 2009 | Filed Under patrickalparone | Comments Off
