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CAMILLE GAVIN: 'Wrinkles' will give you laugh lines

By camille gavin Contributing columnist | Wednesday, Oct 26 2011 05:06 PM

Last Updated Wednesday, Oct 26 2011 05:09 PM

It's hard for me to accept that Kathleen Grainger Shaffer, who was only in her teens when she first thrilled local audiences with her gorgeous singing voice and natural acting talent, is now a senior citizen.

Yet now she's only a tick or two past 60 and still sparkles as brightly as she did in the early 1970s and for several decades beyond. She's far from idle, however.

Shaffer is at the helm of a musical revue called "Wrinkles," which features a cast of 42 "old-timers," ranging in age from 55 to 86. A production of Bakersfield Music Theatre, it opens Saturday at Harvey Auditorium.

"We had a casting call in July, and the response was wonderful," she said. "Each performer chose what they wanted to present -- a group of lovely people, giving a 'gift' to our community."

As Shaffer points out, some have been local performers, directors and teachers for decades, some have done work in professional theater, and many still appear in current productions and/or sing in church choirs.

"Wrinkles" takes place in a retirement home called "The Twilight Home for Aging Thespians." Incidentally, BMT is using a set built by a Bakersfield High School crew for the school's November performances of "Arsenic and Old Lace," directed by Jacquie Thompson-Mercer.

"We decided to help each other," Shaffer said. "We are sharing the beautiful set, the inside of a two-story Victorian mansion."

Written by Shaffer, Patricia Johnson and Char Gaines, and choreographed by Gail Johnson, "Wrinkles" is a revue of Broadway songs and scenes.

Shaffer describes it as an ensemble show with solos, duets, quartets, ensemble numbers and full cast numbers. The characters reminisce about the good old days as they drift onto and off the stage as they sing and do various routines.

"We have four narrators," she said, "and one dotty old Shakespearean actor who introduce the scenes."

She was willing to name the four narrators: Jim Fillbrandt, Hank Webb, Dan Shaffer and Norman Maes. But we'll have to wait to see the show to learn the identity of the Shakespeare fellow.

"I know the dotty guy wants his character to be a surprise," Kathleen said. "So I'm honoring his wishes."

As for other performers, here's a partial list: Bill Ryan, Dan Marble, Michael Izquierdo, Virginia Lennemann, Eunice Sears, Randy Jelmini, Michael Hayward, Karen DeWalt, Mickey Farley, Jackie Hicks and Gerry Starr. The cast also includes a barbershop quartet called "FOGS" (Four Old Guys Singing).

The third and final performance for "Wrinkles" is at 2 p.m. Nov. 6.

Art faculty exhibit

When I visited the Bakersfield Museum of Art a few days ago, two things struck me about "Convergence," one of the three exhibits now on display.

One was the variety of materials used -- everything from rusty hinges to cardboard to banged-up minivans.

The other was the range of styles represented, which is significant since the collection is made up of work done by art teachers at our two institutions of higher learning -- Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield. Both the artwork and the statements written by each faculty member provide insight into their background and often, an explanation of the work itself.

Among the pieces that stood out for me were two wall hangings by Joyce Kohl. Each is a separate piece but both are made from found materials, mainly rusted pieces of steel the sculptor has picked up from junk yards in the San Joaquin Valley.

She has a fascinating ability to create, out of many disparate parts, fascinating and unified sculptures. Kohl also includes natural elements in her work in the form of adobe.

I also enjoyed Nan Gomez Heitzenberg's "Nuevo Mexico," a series of female saints made from carefully folded cardboard; Nina Landgraff's"Ghost of the Past," a sensitive etching of a figure with a ghost-like face hovering in the background; and Claire Putney's two large paintings, "Alone Together," that depict a child and a grandfatherly figure superimposed over enlarged maps of city streets.

The two most unusual contributions -- at least to me -- were those of Cameron Brian and Jesse Sugarman. For me, both are examples of the way art often is a commentary on the world around us.

Brian's "Cherry Planet," is a 7-by-4 foot piece that resembles a gigantic green lollipop anchored to the floor by a slender black pole. The orb on top is spiked with tiny red alien-like creatures, each one desperately clinging to the "planet." It is both amusing and thought provoking.

Sugarman's "Silver Anniversary" is a three-panel digital video series that shows two white mini-vans and a tow truck, although the truck is represented mainly by the sound of grinding gears and the appearance of two parallel bars that enter the first picture to grasp and then lift one of the vans.

In a lengthy statement accompanying the series, the artist explains what he sees as a connection between the initial popularity of the vans and the optimistic period that came to an end in 1986 with the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in which schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe died.

"This hope was abruptly lost," says Sugarman, "and the minivans that remained shifted from vessels of optimism to sad souvenirs."

The exhibit occupies the central portion of the art museum and will be up through Nov. 20.

The Empty's Pitch Day

If there's a comedy, drama or musical that you're yearning to produce, direct or act in, Saturday is your chance to suggest it as a possibility for The Empty Space's 2012 season. It's the theater's semi-annual Pitch Day. All are welcome but Bob Kempf, artistic director, asks that you make an appointment in advance by writing to him via email at bobk90039@yahoo.com.