Theatre West Presents The West Coast Premiere of
ROCKERS
by Sherwood Schwartz

A NEW COMEDY FROM THE CREATOR OF “GILLIGAN’S ISLAND” AND “THE BRADY BUNCH”

Nov 10- Dec 10, 2006

RESERVATIONS: (323) 851-7977
Buy Tickets On Line

Friday and Saturday at 8, Sunday at 2. General Admission:$20. Seniors: $15. Students: $5. Group rates available upon request.


In “Rockers,” the three ladies who occupy these rockers share their lives, their joys, their fears, their hopes, their dreams and the many problems that complicate their days and nights. This includes Sunday visits from their children. The remaining character is a resident aging gent who has not lost his appeal as a prospective future companion for one of the elder ladies. The warmth, the wit, the humor, the laughs are just what you would expect from one of America’s beloved dean of comedy writers.


Directed by Marcia Rodd

Produced by  Lloyd J. Schwartz and Bonnie Kalisher Dukes

With
Pat Crawford Brown • Matthew Hoffman • Jack Kutcher •
Arden Lewis • Lee Meriwether • Elsa Raven

Theatre West Executive Director
John Gallogly


All Shows at Theatre West are Wheelchair Accessible. Bathrooms are not Wheelchair Accessible.


A photo on stage from the Gala opening night of "Rockers", celebrating Sherwood Schwartz's 90th birthday. Mr. Schwartz also received a special commendation from the City of Los Angeles presented by Mitchell O’Farrell, the Director of Constituent Services for City Council President Eric Garcetti, in the name of Mayor Villaraigosa, and Councilpersons Garcetti and Tom LaBonge. Pictured from left to right are Elsa Raven, Pat Brown, Jack Kutcher, Arden Lewis, Theatre West Executive Director John Gallogly, Sherwood Schwartz, Mildred Schwartz, Lee Meriwether, Matthew Hoffman and Mitchell O'Farrell. Photo by Charlie Mount.


ABOUT "ROCKERS"

Theatre West will present the West Coast Premiere of “Rockers,” a play by Sherwood Schwartz, whose writing career spans seven decades. The November 10th opening will occur on the week of his 90th birthday. He is best known for his work in television, including “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch.”

Schwartz started writing professionally in 1939 on the Bob Hope Radio Show. After four years in the Army with Armed Forces Radio, he returned to civilian life with “Ozzie & Harriet” and “The Beulah Show” in radio before writing television, with “The Joan Davis Show” and then, “The Red Skelton Show.” As head writer (now known as the show runner) on the Skelton show, he won an Emmy in 1961 and was nominated for another in 1962. Schwartz also won three awards from the Writers Guild, plus other nominations and awards.

The title of the play “Rockers” refers to the favorite chairs occupied by three very different ladies who are in residence at the Garden Palace Retirement Hotel. The women are played by three of Theatre West’s most recognizable actresses: Lee Meriwether, the former Miss America who had starring roles on nine television series, still recurs on daytime TV’s “All My Children,” and will star with James Garner in the new movie “The Ultimate Gift” ; Pat Crawford Brown, known for recurring roles on “Desperate Housewives” and “The Gilmore Girls”; and Elsa Raven, best known for roles on “Days of Our Lives, ” “Amen,” and “Wiseguy.” Rounding out the cast are Matthew Hoffman (who co-wrote the hit film “What The Bleep Do We Know?”); King Stuart; and Arden Teresa Lewis. All are familiar to regular members of the Theatre West audience.

Directing “Rockers” is Marcia Rodd. The Broadway veteran won a Drama Desk Award for “Your Own Thing,” was nominated for a Tony for “Shelter,” and starred in the Broadway productions of “I’m Not Rappaport” and “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” In the L.A. area, she has recently played leading roles in “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Last of Mrs. Lincoln,” “Agnes of God,” and “Full Gallop.” She starred in the films “Little Murders” and “Citizen’s Band” (a.k.a. “Handle With Care”) and has appeared frequently on TV. Marcia often directs theatre in L.A.

Producing “Rockers” are Lloyd J. Schwartz, Sherwood’s son and frequent creative partner, and Sherwood’s longtime associate Bonnie Kalisher Dukes. Lloyd and Bonnie are both Theatre West members. Lloyd has partnered with his wife Barbara for over two decades in Storybook Theatre, the resident professional children’s theatre at Theatre West, in whose productions Bonnie has also often appeared. Lloyd has also written, directed and produced for film, TV and stage, including plays at other venues.

In “Rockers,” the three ladies who occupy these rockers share their lives, their joys, their fears, their hopes, their dreams and the many problems that complicate their days and nights. This includes Sunday visits from their children. The remaining character is a resident aging gent who has not lost his appeal as a prospective future companion for one of the elder ladies.

The warmth, the wit, the humor, the laughs are just what you would expect from one of America’s beloved dean of comedy writers.The opening night performance of “Rockers” will also be the Gala 90th Birthday celebration of Sherwood Schwartz.

“[Schwartz] knows how to cram action into each scene and how to season the dialogue with insightful wit.” -----Blake Samson, Greenville (South Carolina) News, on the original production.

“Rockers” received its initial earlier production on the East Coast (when many people expected it to be a play about a rock & roll band).

Press/media contact: Philip Sokoloff, (626) 683-9205

 

 

Photos By Bonnie Kalisher Dukes

 

 

 

 

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!

"ROCKERS SELLS A WINNING WHIMSY...IN SCHWARTZ'S (WHO GAVE US GILLIGAN’S ISLAND and THE BRADY BUNCH) FREEWHEELING, INNOCENT STYLE OF COMEDY”. Los Angeles Times

 "WRITER SHERWOOD SCHWARTZ’ ZESTY ONE LINES PERMEATE “ROCKERS”, AN OFTEN HILARIOUS LOOK AT THE LIVES OF THREE ELDERLY WOMEN...SOME SERIOUS MOMENTS OFFER A NICE COUNTERBALANCE TO THE GENERAL ZANINESS." Variety
 
“LEE MERIWETHER’S LOUELLA EXUDES A TOTALLY CAPTIVATING CLUELESS GENTILITY. ” Variety
 
ELSA “RAVEN’S ROSE IS SO ADEPT AT THE WELL-TIMED ONE-LINER THAT IT SOUNDS AS IF SHE HAS SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME ON THE BORSCHT BELT.” Variety
 
"HILARIOUS...HARD TO RESIST"...and SIT BACK, LET THE GIRLS ROCK AWAY AS YOU LAUGH AND DELIGHT. ShowMag
 
 "ONE CAN LAUGH, SHED A TEAR, AND OVERALL, HAVE A GREAT TIME IN THE THEATER WITH A REAL GROUP OF 'GOLDEN GIRLS" ....and "MUCH CHARM AND LAUGHS AND GENUINE WIT." Accessibly Live
 
“PAT CRAWFORD BROWN IS HILARIOUSLY CAUSTIC…JACK KUTCHER IS A RIOT!” The Tolucan Times


'Rockers' sells a winning whimsy

Three retirement hotel residents are daffily off their "Rockers" in Sherwood Schwartz's comedy at Theatre West.

At 90, the veteran Schwartz (who gave us "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch") can still sling retro Borscht Belt groaners with authority. "Those eggs," grumbles the curmudgeonly Irish Kate (Pat Crawford Brown) about the home's institutional food, "no self-respecting hen would admit to laying them."

Rose (Elsa Raven) is given to Yiddish-flavored one-liners ("Worrying is a mother's job — if they didn't worry they'd be fathers"). Rounding out the trio is Lee Meriwether's Louella, a pitch-perfect bubble-headed Southern belle. When Rose asks why God doesn't take her instead of another gravely ill character, Louella chirps a comforting "maybe He will."

It's character definition by way of punch line, and under Marcia Rodd's affectionate direction the three actresses all demonstrate the chops to sell it. The primary appeal here is to fans of the freewheeling, innocent style of comedy Schwartz honed as head writer for "The Red Skelton Show."

A few serious themes ripple across the surface — mortality, aging, parental tensions between Rose and her daughter (Arden Teresa Lewis) — but seldom bog down the whimsical tone.

Things take a decidedly highbrow turn with a visit from Rose's son (Matthew Hoffman), an actor who's just been cast in an off-off-Broadway production of "King Lear." His big break affords an opening for the three leads to play Lear's daughters in an impromptu bit of clowning. Sure it's contrived, but some sort of nod to Shakespeare has been a Schwartz signature since Gilligan and the castaways staged a musical version of "Hamlet" (the Skipper remains the definitive Polonius). The "Lear" scene here doesn't rise to that pinnacle, but it's reassuring to see a fine tradition upheld nonetheless.

-- P.B.

"Rockers," Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. W., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends Dec. 10. $20. (323) 851-7977 or www.theatrewest.org. Running time: 2 hours.


VARIETY
By JULIO MARTINEZ

Veteran TV/legit scripter Sherwood Schwartz (celebrating his 90th birthday) honed his zinger skills as head writer on such TV variety and sitcom fare as "The Red Skelton Show" and "The Joan Davis Show." His zesty one-liners permeate "Rockers," an often hilarious look at the lives of three elderly women living in the Garden Palace Retirement Home just outside Gotham. Helmer Marcia Rodd is thoroughly in sync with Schwartz's sitcom rhythms, guiding a talented ensemble that instills impressive levels of character depth in their comedic personas. Ruling over the front-porch rocking chairs of their haven for the aged are relentlessly grumpy Irish-American Kate (Pat Crawford Brown), yenta-to-the-hilt Rose (Elsa Raven) and Louella (Lee Meriwether), the ultimate ditzy Southern belle.

Schwartz and Rodd balance the action effectively, giving each of these divas ample opportunity to offer her colorful perspective on herself and her compatriots in repose, the staff of their group "home" and the well-meaning but hapless kin who come to visit. They also level prickly barbs at the other residents, including would-be lothario Mr. Fletcher (Jack Kutcher).

Brown's Kate is the ultimate curmudgeon, finding fault with everything from the retirement home's menu to the placement of her chair on the porch. Raven's Rose is so adept at the well-timed one-liner that it sounds as if she spent considerable time on the Borscht Belt circuit. Meriwether's Louella exudes a totally captivating clueless gentility. When Rose rants at God, asking why He took another elderly resident instead of her, Louella offers a sympathetic and heartfelt, "Maybe he will."

Some serious moments offer a nice counterbalance to the general zaniness. Kate's daughter Peggy, played with an amalgam of guilt and staunch resolve by Arden Teresa Lewis, denies her mother's request to live with her so that she can continue to love her. Louella's successful, globetrotting son is too busy to spend time with his mother.

A highlight of the production is the arrival of Rose's son Marty (Matthew Hoffman), an actor about to go into rehearsal in a way Off Broadway staging of "King Lear." Rose's reaction is a dismissive, "Shakespeare was good, but he was no Neil Simon!" But it gives the ladies a great opportunity to clown their way through a farcical introduction to Lear's three daughters.

Complementing the shenanigans of these three grand old dames is Joseph M. Altadonna and Daniel Keough's spacious front-porch setting, highlighted by Yancey Dunham's realistic, sun-drenched lighting.


Showmag.com
 
 Sherwood Schwartz tell us that he received his inspiration to pen Rockers from some words of Shalom Alecheim: "...And God grew weary of everybody complaining about their problems, and he said to them, 'Put your problems in a bag and hang it on one of those pegs on the wall.' And everybody did as God commanded. Then God said, 'Now each of you go up to the wall and take any bag, and that problem will become your problem.' And everybody went up to the wall and took his own bag..."

In this West coast premiere which opened November 10 at Theatre West for a four week run, the venerable Schwartz (90) takes us to the Garden Palace Retirement Hotel outside of New York City to view the ongoing complaints, insights, and, especially, good-natured antics of three of its residents. They may be old, but they all maintain their sense of humor and an upbeat sense of purpose.

You'll meet Rose (Elsa Raven) and the scarf she's knitting for a giraffe; Kate (Pat Crawford Brown) and her complaints about the food, service and the other guests: "The eggs they serve here no self-respecting hen would admit to laying them"; and Louella (former Miss America,  Lee Meriwether) the belle of the South whose sweetness may make you diabetic.

The supporting cast of Matthew Hoffman as Rose's son Marty, Arden Teresa Lewis as Peggy, Kate's daughter who refuses to allow her mother to come live with her so that she can continue to love her; George Spelvin as William, Louella's very busy son who makes a brief stop en route to Europe to see his mother; and, Jack Kutcher as Mr. Fletcher, a cameo role, doing his morning stroll about the hotel; his two-step creates the sarcastic, "Mr. Fletcher, where are you running to?"

Schwartz is a veteran of seven decades of comedy writing and the master of the one-liners and they come quite steadily here:

"Baby, I'd like to get into your pants!" Response: "Sorry, there's only room for one butt here!"

"What's a four letter word for an Indian dress?" Response: "Sari." "Forget about being sorry and tell me what it is!"

"I had no talent for showbiz."  Response: "Who told you that?"  "Everybody!" (Old joke.)

The set for this Theatre West production is quite lovely: Designed by Joseph M. Altadonna and Daniel Keough, they are deserving of large kudos. Yancey Dunham's lighting design retains our interest for its bright enough without the glare of daylight. And a round of applause for Marcia Rodd's superb direction in keeping our focus both on and away from those ever-present, huge rocking chairs on center stage. I liked the scrim showing the emerging presence of one or another of the ladies as they made their way from inside the house to the outside porch.

The audience in attendance on the day we were there could rival our three stars in age. Their reaction told me they were responding wholly to so much of the dialogue they were hearing and the resonance levels were quite high, indeed. But I truly don't think you have to be a senior citizen to enjoy the hilarious, meaningful repartee issuing from the characters on stage. Schwartz's jokes are hard to resist. In discussing Shakespeare, mother Rose says, "Shakespeare was good, but he was no Neil Simon!" 

This is a play to sit back, let the girls rock away as you laugh and delight during its rapid, two hour run.

~ Joseph Feinstein
 
Rockers,  by Sherwood Schwartz  Theatre West   3333 Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, 90068
Tel.  323-851-7977  Plays Friday & Saturday @ 8:00 p.m.; Sunday @ 2:00 p.m.
Admission $20; Seniors $15, Students $5   November 10-December 10
 


Accessibly Live

Theatre West presents ROCKERS, Sherwood Schwartz' comic play of three women living in their retirement community who deal with their children, their little dilemmas, and each other, makes its west coast premier.

The scene is the front porch of the Garden Palace Retirement Hotel, a nice little place where one can spend their sunset years. Three women call this place home. There's Kate (Pat Crawford Brown), an Irish lass who can be pleasant providing that she doesn't get her "Irish" up, Rose (Elsa Raven), a sweeter and gentler "Bubbie" type, and Louella (Lee Meriwether), a southern belle fresh as a mint julep. Every Sunday, these three spend the day on their porch while Rose and Kate await for their grown children to pay a weekly visit. Kate has a daughter Peggy (Arden Teresa Lewis) a buyer for a retail store, and Rose has her son Marty (Matthew Hoffman), an actor. Among these visits, as well as life around the retirement home, Kate, Rose, and Louella face many of the elements that occur within their lives, from Kate wanting to live with her daughter and granddaughter, to Rose wanting the best for her son, to Louella who speaks about her son William taking her out of the hotel to her own condo in Florida. These three talk, bicker, and agree with each other as much as they disagree. It's just another Sunday on the front porch around the old homestead!

This comedy has as much charm and laughs one can expect in such a work. The three leads do justice within their roles, playing their parts in a way that anyone who had a mother and/or grandmother could relate to. Playwright Sherwood Schwartz, who has been writing for radio and television for generations, creates many witty situations and some funny one-liners that make this an old fashion comedy that unitizes genuine wit rather than relying upon "cheap" laughs! Besides content and performance, Joseph M. Altadonna and Daniel Keough's set design presents a bright front porch of the home where rocking away can pass the time away, if not presenting this activity as downright fun!

Also in the cast is Jack Kutcher as Mr. Fletcher, one of the few men living in the hotel, and George Spelvin as William.

Directed by Marcia Rodd, ROCKERS does indeed "rock"! One can laugh, shed a tear, and overall, have a great time in the theater with a real group of "golden girls"!

Oh yes...this play marks Sherwood Schwartz' 90th birthday celebration! He's been writing comedy for 65+ years, and still has yet to run out of ideas! Many of the greats in comedy such as Bob Hope and George Burns lived to see their century mark! Since Sherwood was a writer for both of these comic legions, we can look forward to more plays from this man for many years to come!

~ Rich Borowy

ROCKERS performs at Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles (Universal City), until December 10th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights @ 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons @ 2:00 PM. Reservations and information, call (323) 851-7977. Visit the website at http://www.theatrewest.org