Every playwright hopes to see their work on a stage where their characters, stories and carefully selected words are brought to life, with the best production values and talents possible—and CVRep’s ORIGINS new-works program makes this happen for one talented playwright each season.
This year’s selection concludes CVRep’s 2024-2025 season. Adam Karsten, CVRep’s executive artistic director, said on opening night that Gregg Ostrin’s The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks was selected over numerous other scripts that were read and considered by the ORIGINS selection committee. CVRep’s talented creative professionals have given Ostrin a solid and impressive foundation for his script.
While I have never personally visited the Beverly Hills Hotel, the name conjures a number of adjectives: sophisticated, classy, chic, elegant, impressive. Displayed for the audience’s inspection on the curtain-less stage is Jimmy Cuomo’s set. It is definitely not a Motel Single-Digit place to stay. Moira Wilke’s wonderful lighting validates those descriptors I mentioned: The colors are rich but not overdone. Furnishings are quality but comfortable. The suite is spacious, with hints of additional amenities elsewhere. Tom Mitchell’s props include a number of food items that are served but not necessarily eaten.
Oh yes, the plot, which is based on a true story: It is the mid-1960s, with many things going on in the world. Change is the new constant in music, culture, civil rights and geopolitical issues (some new, but many seemingly endless, never to be resolved). The specific focus of this story is the making of the film version of the musical Funny Girl. Barbra Streisand, who starred in the Broadway show that catapulted her to stardom, is cast to reprise her portrayal of Fanny Brice. Ray Stark, Fanny Brice’s son-in-law, is producing the movie.
Cast to play Fanny’s love interest, husband and father of their daughter, Frances (who is married to Ray Stark) is Omar Sharif. Streisand is Jewish; Sharif is an Egyptian Arab. (Please refer back to those geopolitical issues that are seemingly endless, never to be resolved.) The fact that a Jew and Arab would kiss onscreen and maybe exchange other intimacies sparked a brouhaha from Israel and Egypt—with demands for Sharif to be replaced. “Peace talks” are to be held at our swanky oasis, including Stark and the chief diplomatic officers to the United Nations from both Israel and Egypt.
Experienced and lauded director Randy Brenner is at the helm of this world premiere. He has brought in two men and two women, seemingly direct from central casting, to portray the characters we meet at the hotel. Playwright Ostrin has given his actors much information (aka many lines) to present to the audience about who they are as people, their relationships with others in their lives, and their jobs, goals and attitudes. There is much exposition to be shared about the background of what’s happening before we get the phone call that shifts the storyline abruptly, and leads us into unexpected territory—but the longstanding geopolitical tensions are never too far away.
Josh Breslow plays Shelly Ross, an assistant to Stark at Columbia Pictures who carries much responsibility about getting the movie to the finish line. He’s insecure about who he is—the poster boy for worrying. He is also kind and smartly listens to his cohort, Freddie, played adroitly with worldly wisdom by Geri-Nikole Love. Her Freddie is an observer who doesn’t miss much of what’s happening around her, quickly processes the information she has gathered, and puts it to good use when necessary. She’s grateful to have the job, but she has other aspirations for her future. As for Breslow: He may want to temper the nervous tics and mannerisms when the audience first meets him so he has somewhere to go when he gets the phone call that really should detonate his anxiety mechanism.
The next person we meet is Dalia, the Israeli negotiator, portrayed with aplomb by Olivia Zane Coen. She enters with a take-no-prisoners physical menace. Her severe hair style and uniform wardrobe, together with her body language and staccato delivery, show a defensive nature and posturing—and it’s fun to watch her change as the story progresses. A word of caution: Any performer using a dialect or speech pattern needs to ensure that the words are understood and not lost; the audience (and playwright) depend on clear diction, with endings put on words and sentences. One additional factor is that some theater-goers may have diminished hearing acuity. Microphones may make things louder, but volume without speaking clearly isn’t enough.
The last member to be added to the mix is Rami, played with smoldering swagger by Ali Zahiri. He displays many years of festering hatred, and he, too, is poised to prove there is no such thing as compromise—and this is before he discovers the added indignity of being forced to deal with a female Israeli diplomat rather than a man. He is fun to watch as he transforms from complete menace into a person with a passion. What I said previously about dialects and speaking clearly applies to Zahiri’s performance as well.
Hannah Chalman’s costumes helped define the characters very nicely.
My overall impression of this world-premiere production is positive; I’d call it “good.” We were told at the beginning that the cast had two weeks of rehearsal time. With some additional performances and improved intelligibility, it should become “very good”—if not better.
The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks will be performed at 7 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, through Sunday, June 1, at the CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. General admission tickets are $60. For tickets or more information, call 760-296-2966, or visit www.cvrep.org.
