Harry Hamlin and Loretta Swit star in the world premiere of "One November Yankee," written and directed by Josh Ravetch and now playing at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. / Photo by Robert Arbogast
The world premiere of “One November Yankee,” deftly written and smoothly directed by Joshua Ravetch, should merit a very nice run at the NoHo Arts Center with the marquee draw of its two actors, TV favorites Harry Hamlin and Loretta Swit. Besides getting the chance to see these two talented actors up-close and personal, the audience will receive the added treat of Hamlin’s booming stage presence, Swit’s incredible command of not one, but two very wordy monologues delivered with machine gun precision and rapidity, and a script that’s cleverly cohesive and smart.
The play consists of four scenes with Hamlin and Swit portraying three different sets of brother and sister. “One November Yankee” refers to the name of the crashed plane (stunningly recreated by set designer Dana Moran Williams and placed center stage) that’s central to the three sets of siblings. Hamlin is most effective as the injured plane crash victim in the second scene. With their acting expertise aided by Kate Bergh’s spot-on costuming, both actors succeed in completely morphing into the distinctly different characters.
One little detail amiss: the video of the yellow plane featured has different ID letters and numbers on it than the set piece’s “N241NY.”
—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA
Performances continue through Jan. 5 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood 91601. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. (no performance Thanksgiving, Nov. 22). For tickets, visit www.thenohoartscenter.com or call (818) 508-7101, ext. 6.
I saw Josh Ravetch’s GIRDERS premiered in Los Angeles in the 1990’s and was really struck by his stage writing prowess. Very evocative of the ‘Angry Young Men’ of British realism theatre in the 1960’s. I am so sorry we can’t see it here in the UK! Can anyone bring it over please?
HOLY SH*T!! A group of us went Saturday night because we loved MASH growing up and wondered what happened to Hot Lips. The evening turned out to be one of the most amazing plays we’d ever seen. Funny, smart, unexpected, original and involving in a way I had never experienced before. And Loretta Swit was nothing like Hot Lips. She plays three characters and you feel as though there are three different women in this cast. Harry Hamlin is also amazing and also plays three characters and he too is remarkable! One character is so different from the others that you don’t feel like it’s the same actor. You just can’t take your eyes of either of them for two hours. This is the funniest, most touching, most clever play I have ever seen. And in the middle of the play stands a crashed airplane!! The main word that comes to mind here is WOW!