Maple and Vine and Loch Ness named best productions of the year
Congratulations to our casts, creative teams and crews for Maple and Vine and Loch Ness, a new musical who were singled out in last week’s OC Weekly’s Best of 2015 issue as “Best Play” and “Best Musical Production”, respectively. Read more below, and read the entire OC Weekly Best of 2015 here.
Best Play Orange County 2015 – Maple and Vine
Jordan Harrison’s 2011 play Maple and Vine turned Mad Men-like nostalgia on its head, as contemporary urbanites, fleeing from the frightening ubiquity of 24-7 technological connection, sign up with a strange movement that has meticulously re-created 1955 in a huge gated community in Somewhere Middle America. No Internet, smartphones, poly blends, poke bowls or Donald Trump. It was a smart play, with no small amount of menace, and underscored the problematic nature of pining for an idyllic past that never truly existed. Staged at the Chance Theater, Mark Ramont’s strong direction led a fine ensemble, paced by Jennifer Ruckman, who aches the most for “authenticity,” and Daniel Fagan, as the impossibly slick head of the Society of Dynamic Obsolescence.
Best Musical Production Orange County 2015 – Loch Ness
Marshall Pailet’s world-premiere musical at the Chance Theater is still early in its development, and a few wrinkles need to be ironed-out, but this smart, funny musical contained genuine heart and just enough goofy humor to offset the sincere examination of a teenage daughter dealing with the loss of her mother—as well as meeting the real-life Nessie, the fabled creature rumored to exist in the murky depths of Scotland’s Loch Ness. It hit the maximum on LA Bitter Lemons’ lemonmeter (basically an aggregate ranking of theater reviews), with all six schlubs, including the Weekly‘s own, bestowing much praise on it. Pailet is still in his 20s, so keep him on your radar.
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