‘A Perfect Ganesh’ is a Magical Mystery Tour of India | |
‘A Perfect Ganesh’ is a Magical Mystery Tour of IndiaIn A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally, two wealthy middle-aged women and long-time friends from Connecticut embark on a two-week journey to India to seek forgiveness, answers, and absolution. Avoiding their usual, safe vacation spots and unaccustomed to foreign travel, Margaret Civil (in a brilliant performance by Melora Marshall) and her friend, Katherine Brynne (played to perfection by Ellen Geer) blunder, bicker and banter their way from the United States to Mumbai and beyond. |
 Wendie Malick has graced our screens with an illustrious film and television career for decades. In addition to her ongoing support of Theatricum, Wendie lays claim to other philanthropic achievements: she is on the Board of the Environmental Media Association, and the Advisory Board of Return To Freedom, a wild horse sanctuary and advocacy group. Through their charitable gift fund, “A Drop in the Bucket,” she and her husband, Richard Erickson, support a medical center in Congo. They live on a ranch in the Santa Monica mountains, with two dogs, three horses, and a miniature donkey. Margaret is a fussy perfectionist and Katherine is more of a flibbertigibbet who is forever forgetting things along the way. Yet, during their travels, the two women begin to embrace India like a warm hug while attempting to reach enlightenment and understanding of their miserable lives.
The play begins with a comic sequence as they arrive at the airport with entirely too much luggage, encounter a mix up with their tickets and leave a bag behind. As the trip continues, however, and they trek deeper into the country, the two friends are immersed in the transformative powers of India and are soon able to break free of worldly things.
Guiding them throughout their travels is the cheerful, benevolent, elephant-headed Ganesha, the Hindu god of “wisdom, prudence, acceptance and love.” |  Pamela Adlon is an Emmy® Award-winning creator, actor, writer, producer, and director with one of the most distinct and essential voices in Hollywood. In addition to her extensive screen work—both in front of and behind the camera—Adlon also leads her own all-female production company, Slam Book Inc., where she currently oversees more than a dozen handpicked projects in development, each focused on unique characters sharing their own personal stories. Played beautifully by Mueen Jahan, Ganesha is everywhere, all the time, and also exists in the many people they meet along the way. In his charming, childlike manner, Ganesha, also the remover of obstacles, accompanies Margaret and Katharine from teeming Mumbai to the Chittaurgahr Pass, Jodhpur, the Ganges and finally, the Taj Mahal.
“Their journey is at once geographical and deeply internal as they wrestle with their failings as wives, mothers and friends,” explains the play’s director Mary Jo DuPrey. “Through their journey, McNally incriminates the unforgiving prejudices, superficial values, emotional denials and cultural superiorities embedded in contemporary American culture that can lead to personal destruction if not tempered with insight, searing truth and compassion. At the same time, he humorously skewers the orientalist, colonialist stereotype of the Western ‘seeker’ finding solace in ‘trips to India,’ rather than simply facing themselves where they are.”
Indeed, much happens during in the three-hour-long play, and at the end one actually feels like they have also been traveling to India and back again.
All obstacles are overcome as it’s a joy and privilege to see two such stellar actors as Geer and Marshall onstage together as they play off of each other perfectly. Their performances are worth the price of admission.  |  Debbie Allen is honored with this year’s Will Geer Humanitarian award presented annually to an individual who epitomizes and advances human welfare and social justice championed by Will in his lifetime. She is an award-winning producer, director, writer, actor, and choreographer who has choreographed the Academy Awards® a record 10 times. She received the Golden Globe for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1980s hit series Fame, the Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story, and is a three-time Emmy Award® winner in Choreography for Fame and The Motown 25th. She has a long and robust history as Artist-in-Residence with the Kennedy Center creating more than eight productions for young Multi-talented actor Rajiv Shah skillfully portrays all the other characters and travelers in the play, ranging from comic to tragic effect.
Choreographer Shivani Thakkar heightens the ambiance of India whenever she appears, unannounced, in full regalia. Without a word, traditional Indian dance brings the empty stage to life and speaks volumes.
The Theatricum cast includes dancers Simi Fulton, Emily–Mae Kamp and Liza Rash.
The creative team features assistant director and cultural consultant Shivani Thakkar; set and properties designer Ian Geatz; lighting designer Hayden Kirschbaum; sound designer Charles Glaudini; and costume designer Vicki Conrad. Karen Osborne is the production stage manager.
As a fabulous venue, the outdoor Theatricum is the most enchanting theater under the oaks in the heart of Topanga, and it was a perfect summer evening to see an utterly engrossing play that leaves one pondering the true meaning of life and our relationships.
Highly recommended! | A Perfect Ganesh by Tony-award winning playwright Terrence McNally (Kiss of the Spider Woman; Ragtime) premiered Off-Broadway in 1993. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1994.
A Perfect Ganesh continues through October 7. A prologue (pre-show discussion) is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.; go to theatricum.com for a complete schedule of performances.
Tickets range from $15 to $48. Premium seating is available for $60. Pay What You Will ticket pricing (cash only at the door) is available for the performances on Friday, Aug. 4 and |  Top left: Katherine (Ellen Geer) gets a hug from Ganesha (Rajiv Shah) as she begins to embrace India’s culture.
Top right: Margaret (Melora Marshall) and Katherine (Ellen Geer) arrive at the airport.
Above: Margaret (Melora Marshall), freed by the transformative powers of India, dances with fellow traveler (Rajiv Shah).
Left: Choreographer Shivani Thakkar, as an apsara, mysteriously appears throughout heightening the ambience with traditional Indian dance.
Friday, Sept. 1.
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.
The amphitheater is terraced into the hillside, so audience members are advised to dress casually (warmly for evenings) and bring cushions for bench seating. Patrons are welcome to arrive early to picnic in the gardens before a performance.
For more information, go to theatricum.com. | | | | | | | | | | |
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