Romeo returns! Sal Romeo is directing the world premiere of Kevin Hincker's play The Guards, set to open Feb. 28 at the Hudson Mainstage in Hollywood. This is wonderful news to aficionados who fondly recall his Friends & Artists Theatre Ensemble during its heyday in the 1980s. Looking bohemian, rather hippie-like, hair in a ponytail, FATE mentor Romeo could be seen guiding patrons to spaces in the parking lot behind his Vermont Avenue theatre, which provided some of the best theatre in town. FATE's first, The Firebugs, was a surprise success. Its astonishing Marat/Sade confirmed this as a company to watch. FATE's environmental wraparound staging of Balm in Gilead at the Heliotrope was the best I ever expect to see. They did the Russian play The Suicide, and it was the clincher. Directed by Florinel Fatulescu, just arrived from Romania without a word of English, it made me a fan for life. Fatulescu and his tuned-in cast, bolstered by Romeo's encouragement, provided unforgettable theatre.
"God, that was a thrilling experience! Wild and crazy Florinel!" Romeo enthused when we talked over a vegetarian lunch at a neighborhood Italian restaurant in 1989. "Fatulescu and his composer wife, Rodica, came to see Marat/Sade. That play always sold out in advance. The box office people came running to get me where I was working in the parking lot. They said, 'There's this man here and he doesn't speak any English and we think he's a director and he wants to see the show.' I said, 'There's lots of directors and the show is sold out.' And they said, 'Well, he doesn't speak English.' So I go over to them, and somehow we establish that he's always wanted to see Marat/Sade because it was banned in Romania. You know, Florinel was artistic director of the second largest theatre in Romania, the Brashov, before he fled the oppressive regime. He was very moved by our show, and later we went out to lunch together. Florinel, with Rodica's help, communicated his wish to direct his first play in America at our theatre—as soon as he could speak the language. I said, 'Why wait? Do it now!' He said, 'Nooo!' I said 'Yes! Yes, we can do it!' When he realized I was serious, he broke down and wept right there in the restaurant. He directed The Suicide; it was a masterpiece. He communicated in the language of volume, the language of gesture, the language of passion. It was thrilling for me to work as his helper."
At that time we were in the midst of the so-called Equity wars. The future of Equity Waiver theatre was in danger. "We're watching a lot of theatres go under because of operating costs," Romeo observed then. "This building on Vermont we rented in 1987 for $1,200 is now $1,650. In a year it will probably be $2,000." Romeo vowed, "They can take our theatre away, they can take our money away, but they can't stop us from doing theatre in the street. They can't stop us from doing theatre."
The harsh reality was, he had to stop doing theatre—for years. After a long hiatus, Romeo is back doing theatre. I spoke with him the other day, and he told me, "When we had to disband Friends & Artists, my wife Laurie and I were $50,000 in debt. We had to pay that off. We had obligations, had to make a living, pay the bills. I'm teaching, conducting actors training workshops, and now I can start directing again. I saw this new play, The Guards, when producer Bill Kohne was workshopping it. It made me laugh—with unionism, high technology, and privatization all clashing together. It's about a family of corrections officers living together in Wyoming, and it's crazy and so much fun."
Cast in The Guards are Courtney Gains of Sweet Home Alabama, Marnie Crossen, Laurie Wendorf, Rob Tepper, Gary Bell, Kelly Johnston, and Beth Patrik. Producer Kohne was a founding member of FATE—thus presumably another theatre addict. In Romeo's words, "The play is at the core of the work, but the work is more than just the play. It's the entire experience. If you're an addict you're an addict."
Memories of The Suicide led me to call the Fatulescus. Rodica told me her husband is looking for a venue in which he will direct a new play by Romanian-born French playwright Matei Visniec. "The play is about the death of Chekhov. It has a strange name: Chekhov's Machine," Mme. Fatulescu related. "Next year will be the 100th anniversary of Chekhov's death." She said she and her husband still get together with FATE actors.
Down to the Wire
Coming up at Santa Monica Playhouse tomorrow night, Feb. 14, is a special Save the Playhouse Valentine's Day night performance of A Private Spirit: Noël Coward and His Gal Pals, created and performed by actor/singer Don Snell, directed by Robert Schrock, with special guest Shano playing the gals: Tallulah Bankhead, Gertrude Lawrence, and Marlene Dietrich. It features a dozen of Coward's witty, sophisticated songs, with live piano accompaniment. The Playhouse people promise an "elegant, debonair" Coward evening.
Jan. 31 was a white-knuckle, cliffhanger evening as an 11:59 p.m. deadline approached for the second $200,000 installment to keep the Playhouse afloat for one more fund raising go-round. Evelyn Rudie and Chris DeCarlo must buy the building this year or get out. "It really has come down to do or die," declared perennially optimistic Rudie; I seemed to detect unaccustomed grimness in her statement. Onstage on Jan. 31 was David Beeler's benefit performance of Booth, his study of John Wilkes Booth's brother Edwin, greatest tragedian of his day. Beeler performed his one-man play at the Edinburgh Festival and won a Fringe First Award.
Before Beeler's performance Rudie took the stage with word that $15,000 had to be raised within the next couple of hours to meet a mandatory deadline in the terms of the purchase deal. The play over, donations counted—and it was time for jubilation. "We made it!" a beaming Rudie announced. But there's still another hurdle to surmount: The Playhouse has six months to raise the remaining $225,000 for a down payment or close up shop.
There were congratulations, felicitations, and hugs as playgoers, Playhouse members, and actor Beeler gathered round. "I think you bring us luck," Rudie told the actor. "We'll have to ask you back on June 31 for our next $225,000 deadline." Beeler turned to the tall young woman at his side, who smiled and shook her head. They've a June wedding, their own, to attend. They met when she came in, a model from the Netherlands, for a camera shoot he was doing with a makeup artist friend. Her name is Marieke, also the name of one of Jacques Brel's most beautiful songs. The late Brel was also from the Netherlands.
After 40 years of renting what they have transformed into their gem-like state-of-the-art theatre on Fourth Street in Santa Monica, with the rent steadily rising, the Playhouse—reportedly the city's oldest continuously producing theatre company and conservatory—won the opportunity to purchase its building. Friends & Artists Theatre Ensemble couldn't keep paying the rent, and it's sorely missed. Loss of Santa Monica Playhouse would be grievous indeed and have far-reaching ripple effects. We echo James Whitmore's words: "Don't let this proud little theatre die!"