Six Joan Crawfords, a comedy in three acts by playwright Mike Broemmel, made its world premiere at the newly established West End Theatre & Arts Center in Lakewood, a bedroom community in the Denver-metro area.
Six Joan Crawfords is the tale of a half dozen has-been divas who star in a faltering stage play, Miss Tangerine’s Diary, as it tours from Toledo to Topeka to Tupelo. Enormous egos and lack of introspection abound, resulting in comedic turns from one scene to the next. The comedy unfolds backstage, over the course of a trio of acts set in three separate cities. A character study, Six Joan Crawfords features six women who view themselves as larger than life despite life largely leaving them behind.
Six Joan Crawfords features a strong ensemble cast featuring six female actresses cast as the divas appearing in the show-within-the-show, a seemingly doomed production christened Miss Tangerine’s Diary. The six diva roles have been cast by an interesting blend of both highly experienced actors as well as a couple who are new to the stage.
Lindsay Rom, with both film and stage credits to her name, appears as Constance Wolfe. The Constance Wolfe character is described as the former Florida Grapefruit Juice Queen (eat your heart out Anita Bryant) who routinely is mistaken for a male drag performer. Quite like the real world Bryant in the 1970s, Constance Wolfe is on a vitriolic anti-gay crusade. Rom pulls off a spot-on performance of a female actor regularly confused with being a man in a gown.
A newcomer to the stage, Sarah Rose, gives a delightful and strong performance as Taber Taylor. The Taber Taylor character saw her career hit the skids because of a sex scandal arising out of an incident at a Midwestern motor lodge. Evidently as the result of the motel tryst, Taber Taylor became something of a Born Again Christian, without any real understanding of the faith or any actual moorings regarding its practice. She alternately appears to be channeling Tammy Faye Bakker or Suzanne Somers as Chrissy Snow in Three’s Company. And Rose does it all very well.
Speaking of channeling, LaDios Muhammad as Leeza Spain does a catwalk turn during the show that brings Diana Ross front and center. Muhammad is also flush with film, television and stage credits, including two recent dramas in Denver: The Baptism and Goddess People. During a recent talkback following a production of Six Joan Crawfords, Muhammad remarked that Six Joan Crawfords was her first comedy. Her timing and delivery are solid and portend a future in comedic productions.
Cathy Washburn, an actor with a long history on the Denver stage, appears in Six Joan Crawfords as Cloria Ronson. The Cloria Ronson backstory includes being fished out of a fountain in front of a Beverly Hills hotel wearing only a gentleman’s top hat. Washburn is wry and witty in her portrayal of Cloria Ronson. Cloria Ronson is something of a foil of all the other divas and Washburn delivers with impact and wit. Even when playing in something of an over-the-top comedy, Washburn displays grace on the stage.
Another actor, OD Duhu, with experience takes the stage in Six Joan Crawfords. Duhu portrays Veronica Wonder, a fading entertainer with a fixation on Zsa Zsa Gabor and a penchant for stalking and being stalked. Duhu is another cast member who seems to be successful in channeling legendary performers. In the case of Duhu, she has a presence highly reminiscent of Pam Grier. Her performance as Veronica Wonder is both outrageous as well as magnetic.
Six Joan Crawfords features another relative newcomer in the cast as one of the divas. Tyler Kingsbury plays Claireen Fyck and brings to the stage a character that smacks a bit of Cloris Leachman in Young Frankenstein. Her dry delivery style, coupled with a Russian-like accent, renders her portrayal of Claireen Fyck memorable.
The cast includes characters beyond the six divas that are associated with the name of the production. On this list is a shrill, vindictive and flamboyant theater critic called Helgore Fine. Helgore Fine is another well-known stage present in Denver, Kathi Baerns. Baerns provides a robust performance, leaving those who may recall her feeling like Heddy Hopper paid a visit to the stage in Denver on which Six Joan Crawfords is performed.
This writer does avoid being the spoiler, but also notes that a unique turn in the casting of the show is found in the character of Ginger Snow played by newcomer Matahji Ameen. Ameen is the real life daughter of LaDios Muhammad, another of the players in the production. Ameen displays an essential sweetness in her portrayal of the awkward Ginger Snow.
Three men are round out the cast of Six Joan Crawfords, including veteran Paul Escobedo as Rock Plymouth. (If this writer has any issue with the production, it is with actually naming a character “Rock Plymouth.”) Escobedo is entertainingly outrageous in his performance. He is able to make an audience member not only laugh heartily at his portrayal of the floundering playwright but also ensures that those in attendance actually care for the chap.
Eric Tausch, a seasoned actor, portrays the generally intoxicated director Theodore Nixon. He is able to effectively convey different levels of sobriety – or lack thereof. He provides something of a centering factor in a production otherwise ensconced in quick quips. With that noted, he also delivers humorous dialogue with certainty.
Finally, Justin Vaughan portrays Freddy, the beleaguered stage manager. In the end, it is Freddy who is in the midst of the storm that brews between the six overblown divas, an obnoxious theater critic, a troubled playwright and a stalker. For anyone who has spent time backstage, Vaughan provides a believable and at times insightful performance as a theatrical stage manager.
Six Joan Crawfords is the brainchild of playwright Mike Broemmel, who also directed the production. Broemmel’s most recent directorial credit is for last year’s revival of Jeffrey at The Vintage Theatre in Aurora, Colorado. 2015 has seen two of Broemmel’s other scripts hit the boards: The Baptism and Goddess People, both serious and somewhat controversial three-act plays that premiered in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe earlier in 2015.
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Tickets: http://theatrix-usa.ticketleap.com/six-joan-crawfords/
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