The Year in Review: The O.C. theater scene was a pale shadow of reality : Behind Footlights, Highlights and Blind Spots

This has been a banner year for tragedy, a provocative one for theater of the absurd. But the most riveting shows in both categories came from the real world, not from Orange County’s stages.

In a period that brought Citron’s Folly, the Nixon Elegies and the Adventures of O.J.--not to mention Serbian genocide, Rwandan genocide, Chechnya, Haiti, the Cuban exodus, Mexico, the Middle East and Proposition 187--the local theater scene was a pale shadow of reality. It often seemed irrelevant and insular, churning out hundreds of productions that barely took notice of the world beyond the footlights.

This is not to say some stage presentations couldn’t hold their own among the best nationwide. Several plays at South Coast Repertory did, as did a couple of touring musicals at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

But productions of new or recent works cued to contemporary issues seemed few and far between, although a handful of notable exceptions immediately come to mind:

* George C. Wolfe’s “Jelly’s Last Jam” was a snazzy 1992 Broadway musical about the roots of black-on-black racism in African-American culture (Orange County Performing Arts Center, December).

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* Athol Fugard’s “Playland” presented an intense and eloquent drama about the dilemma of race relations in post-apartheid South Africa (South Coast Repertory Second Stage, January).

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* Richard Greenberg’s “Night and Her Stars” offered an ambitious satirical take on moral corruption, media money and fame as seen through the lens of the ‘50s quiz-show scandals (SCR Mainstage, March).

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* John Twomey’s “Teachers’ Lounge” was a lively piece of gallows humor about the decline of urban public schools and teacher burnout (Laguna Playhouse Moulton Theatre, January).

Of course, there were other productions--usually classics from the standard repertory but not always--that dealt with longstanding issues that still relate:

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* Elmer Rice’s “The Adding Machine” (1929), about the regimentation of a technological society (Cal State Fullerton Recital Hall, December).

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* Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” (1953), about McCarthyite fanaticism in the guise of the Salem witch trials (Vanguard Theatre Ensemble, November).

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* Lorraine Hansberry’s “Raisin in the Sun” (1959), about minority dreams of upward mobility (Alternative Repertory Theatre, February).

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* Fugard’s “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act” (1972), about interracial sex and police rule (UC Irvine Fine Arts Village Theatre, February).

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* Frank McGuinness’ “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” (1992), about terrorist hostages (SCR Second Stage, March).

Some of these were successful, some not. Either way, they served as reminders that theater need not exist in a vacuum.

But now to one man’s opinion of 1994’s best and worst--regardless of agenda and in no particular order.

Most enthralling production: “Henry VI--The Battle for the Throne” by William Shakespeare (Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, November). Actually, you couldn’t come across a more inspired presentation in or out of the county--Shakespearean or otherwise. Steeped in the aura of the late Middle Ages, this revelatory production by the Royal Shakespeare Co. was totally accessible and deeply moving. The velvet solemnity of the liturgical chants topped everything.

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Best new play: “Green Icebergs” by Cecilia Fannon (SCR Mainstage, October). Serious issues emerged between bright shafts of laughter in this witty and beguiling exploration of modern mores. It probed the meaning of marriage and loyalty, love and betrayal, sex and art. The smart writing couldn’t have been more savvy, the spare production more handsome, the ensemble more winning. David Emmes directed.

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Most soul-searching philosopher: “Gray’s Anatomy” (Irvine Barclay Theatre, May). Spalding Gray, who is a more amusing hypochondriac than anybody in show-biz, delivered his latest introspective monologue about “the Bermuda Triangle of health.” With his typical genius for metaphysics, Gray elaborated on an injury to his left eye and came up with wildly funny speculations about the profundities of life.

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Most charming one-man revue: “Mark Turnbull and Friends--A One-Man Show” (Way Off Broadway Playhouse, April). A genuine local artist who may still become rich and famous, Turnbull offered bittersweet reflections about his downward climb on the mainstream ladder of success. He had coffeehouse charisma and a talent for combining the heartfelt with the facetious in song and story.

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Bravest confession of an Oscar-winning actor: “An Evening With Rod Steiger” (Irvine Barclay Theatre, September). Once a top Hollywood star, Steiger dwindled into a sullen ghost of himself during a decade-long bout with clinical depression. He spoke with remarkable candor of his screen career, artistic beliefs and personal life.

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Most passionate revival: “Playland” by Athol Fugard (SCR Second Stage, January). The furious sweep of the performances by Richard Doyle and Kene Holliday brought Fugard’s plea for racial conciliation to life with vital force. Martin Benson directed.

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Most brooding revival, also most daring: “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen (SCR Mainstage, January). The operatic concept behind this production--reinforced by the melodramatic design--lent a grave and an uncompromising sense of doom to this bleak tragedy. David Chambers directed.

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Most elegiac revival, also the prettiest: “Dancing at Lughnasa” by Brian Friel (SCR Mainstage, June). Poetic texture, nuances of mood and an able cast enriched this atmospheric memory piece. Though tinged with sadness, it was remarkably good-humored and told an old-fashioned tale of heartbreak without wearing its heart on its sleeve.

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Most overrated revival: “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams (SCR Mainstage, September). When Blanche’s tragedy provokes titters in the audience--as happened the night I saw it--something has gone terribly wrong. For me it was the casting of Blanche and Stanley. She seemed merely overwrought; he seemed tepid. As a result, their clash struck few sparks and had no tragic dimension. The conflict between them looked like nothing more than spite.

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Most overrated musical: Tommy Tune’s production of “Grease” (Orange County Performing Arts Center, March). This Day-Glo revival was a great big hit for no good reason. The content was as empty as the style, an exercise in watered-down doo-wop. And, yes, it went on to Broadway, where it became an even bigger hit.

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Second most overrated musical: “The Who’s Tommy” by Pete Townshend (OCPAC, May). This rock opera had high-impact visuals and low-impact drama. It featured grandiose pantomime that looked silly from beginning to end and a score that sounded better on the Who’s original album. The effect was as catatonic as Tommy himself.

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All-time overrated musical: “The Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber (OCPAC, July). Need we say more?

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Most underrated performance in a musical: Maurice Hines in “Jelly’s Last Jam” (OCPAC, November). Although this snazzy show was ultimately more admirable than engaging, Hines depicted Jelly Roll Morton with stiletto-sharp style. George C. Wolfe’s book and direction, not Hines’ performance, kept Jelly at arm’s length.

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Most heartfelt post-performance: After the “Jelly” cast took its bows, Hines introduced his mother to the audience with an “I love my Mommy” speech that was in a class of its own.

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Most endearing Shakespearean production: “Twelfth Night” (Shakespeare Orange County, July). An Alice-in-Wonderland concept worked like looking-glass magic. The fairy-tale overlay (director Carl Reggiardo’s steal from Lewis Carroll) brought whimsical charm to this production.

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Funniest show: “Inspecting Carol” by Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Theatre (Laguna Playhouse’s Moulton Theatre, November). This satirical Yuletide farce lampooned a down-at-the-heels drama troupe putting on its moth-eaten version of “A Christmas Carol.” The first act was funny, the second act a scream.

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Actors who gave terrific dramatic performances: Lynnda Ferguson and Nicholas Hormann (in “Hedda Gabbler”), Hal Landon Jr. (“Green Icebergs” and “Dancing at Lughnasa”), Robert Curtis-Brown (“Night and Her Stars” and “Green Icebergs”), Kandis Chappel (“Lettice & Lovage” and “Lughnasa”), Richard Doyle (“Playland” and “Later Life”) and Kene Holliday (“Playland”).

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More actors who gave terrific dramatic performances: Jill A. Johnston (in “Later Life”), Ron Boussom (“A Christmas Carol” and “Later Life”), Patrick Breen and Peter Frechette (“Night and Her Stars”), Jim Norton (“Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me”), Ron Campbell (“Strange Snow”), Daniel Bryan Cartmell (“King Lear”), Alan Schack (“M. Butterfly) and Jill Cary Martin (“The Crucible”).

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Most likable storefront shtick: “Searching for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe” (Alternative Repertory Theatre, May). Though written for Lily Tomlin as a one-woman show, this revival split her many impersonations among several players and made imaginative use of the postage-stamp space.

Drum roll, please. Blast of trumpets. Curtain.