The Los Angeles Media & Education Center’s New Ivar Festival Gala Opening Night

Starring: The Cast and Friends of “General Hospital”

January 14, 2001

~Recapped and reviewed by nicholsevansfan~

On January 14, 2001, The Los Angeles Media & Education Center (LAMEC) held a gala opening night of their New Ivar Festival, featuring the cast and friends of General Hospital in scenes from the American Theater. Below are my review and recap of the event. Everything you read below is merely my opinion and no one else’s.

Scenes from the American Theater:

The evening began with a special appearance by Nicholas Cage, who came to show support for LAMEC and its efforts to support arts education for the youth in Los Angeles, and to introduce his high school drama teacher and good friend, John Ingle (Edward, GH). John joined Nicholas on stage and discussed what Nicholas was like in school, as well as the importance of what LAMEC does.

John Ingle and Leslie Charleson (Monica Quartermaine, GH) introduced each scene.

Later in the evening, John did a solo skit that was hilarious, called YMA Dream. Do you remember David Letterman saying, ”Uma meet Oprah” at the Oscars the year he hosted? Well, John’s skit was sort of along those lines…but expanded, LOL! It was classic.
Lisa Vultaggio (Hannah Scott, GH) and Tava Smiley (Chloe Morgan, GH) performed a scene from Graceland. Graceland is about a couple of real Elvis fanatics. Their performances were truly FUNNY, and high energy. It was great fun seeing the actresses in roles so far removed from the characters they play on General Hospital.
Next was Logan O Brien (Lucas, GH) with Wendy Cutler (Wendy isn’t on GH) in a scene from The Bad Seed. He played a murderous child. Creepy!, and perhaps a little too bizarre.
After them came Lane Davies (ex-Mason, Santa Barbara) and Nancy Grahn (Alexis Davis on GH, formerly Julia on Santa Barbara) in a scene from The Sure Thing. Theirs was easily one of the favorites of the night. If you remember Mason and Julia on Santa Barbara, this scene was just their style, that witty romantic comedy. And Loren Freeman who plays Eldon on GH was cupid in the scene. I really enjoyed that one.
Next came Vanita Harbour (Dara, GH) and her real life husband in a scene from It Had To Be You. Not a lot to say on that scene, I am not sure I really *got it*, I think I’d need to see the whole play. It sort of fell flat, but maybe it was just me.
At the end of ACT 1, Jonathan Jackson (ex Lucky, GH) and his brother Richard Lee performed a scene from True West, a Sam Shepard piece. Jonathan was truly magnificent. He blew us away.
The first scene in Act 2 featured STEPHEN NICHOLS (Stefan, GH) AND MARY BETH EVANS (ex-Katherine, GH) in a scene from Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams. Mary Beth played Hannah Jelkes, a middle aged “spinster”, and Stephen played T. Lawrence Shannon, the defrocked priest. The scene opened with Lawrence writhing, tied up on a hammock trying to get free. Mary Beth’s character was drawing him. They were both WONDERFUL. There was a lot of sexual tension between the characters, and they play that so well. There was a very involved discussion between the characters, mostly about her lack of experience (ahem), and he seemed to really want to reach out to her. Where Lawrence was angry, cynical or edgy, Hannah was his opposite; fragile, sensitive, pure. And yet the connection between the characters was strongly felt. You could see why Lawrence wanted to reach out to Hannah. And you longed for Hannah to let her guard down and let him in. I didn’t want the scene to end.

Of Note: Stephen and Mary Beth both have SUCH stage presence, and it’s not something I can explain …you have to see it for yourself. They know how to work the stage; they belong up there. And if you have ever been moved by their work on screen, in the smallest scene, just multiply that a thousand-fold, and you might have a vague idea of how they work the stage. They are just magical performers. And the CHEMISTRY! WOWSA! On a vain note: I LOVED what Stephen wore in the scene, and how his hair looked… he is so FINE! LOL. Mary Beth looked vibrant, and very Grace-Kelly. Ok done gushing…on with the rest 🙂

Next was The Owl and The Pussycat played by Lisa Nichols , Stephen’s wife, and Landon Wine (Andreas, GH) She played a ditzy prostitute and he was a professor. Her character and performance was the standout in that scene.
After that came a scene with Scott Egan (Johnny, GH) and Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) from American Buffalo. I haven’t seen the movie or the play and I can’t really be sure what the scene was about. I don’t think it was a particularly memorable or special scene. Maurice’s character was like Sonny on Speed.
The last scene of the evening was Sarah Brown (Carly, GH) as Lizzie and Chad Brannon (Zander, GH) as *Star Buck* in a scene from The RainMaker. Sarah was the standout. She knows how to draw the audience in. She played so many emotions in the scene, all so convincingly.

Robert Guennette (director of LAMEC) came out and thanked the cast, and especially Stephen for his involvement, and urged audience members to continue their support of LAMEC.

All in all, I would have to say my favorites were as follows:

1. Stephen and Mary Beth’s scene from Night of the Iguana
2. Nancy and Lane’s scene from the Sure Thing
3. Sarah as Lizzie in The Rain Maker
4. Jonathan Jackson in his scene from True West
5. John Ingle’s skit YMA Dream

The After-Party:

After the event itself, there was a private party in a tent right outside the theater. A small street was closed off to accommodate the party. There was a lot of press in the tent, where lots of actors and their families mingled with the fans. Inside the tent was a WONDERFUL buffet spread, a bar, and a coffee bar.

The event itself was very laid back/subdued. It wasn’t a lot of pressured people with autographs to sign; it was more of a cast party with some fans there. The actors were happy to meet the fans, and everyone was genuinely in a good mood. So it was pretty mellow, which made it SO fun to just be able to take in the environment. If you did want pictures though, finding a good time to take the pictures without interrupting conversations or being disruptive was difficult. You just had to go with the flow. And that worked out well, made it more relaxed, and all the actors seemed to stay a long time.

Stephen’s wife and three kids were all there. Mary Beth was there with her oldest, Danny, and her husband Michael. When we talked to Stephen, and told him we enjoyed the play, he said the scene from the play was a “Tree’s dream come true”, and boy was he ever right… LOL! (Referring to members of the Crystal Tree, online Stephen and Mary Beth fans). He then told us that he had just been offered the role in a full production of “The Zoo Story” at the New Ivar, for a 6 week run. We were SO excited to hear that news! He was great with his fans, as always, making us feel special.

When we talked to Mary Beth, she thanked us for all we contribute to the Aliso/Rancho Viejo school; she truly appreciated it. She told us how the school is growing. She was so great! 🙂 She must have talked to every person in the room that night and was just lovely. I saw a lot of different people come up to talk to her, greet her, hug her. Coltin Scott and John Ingle were among them…and Stephen obviously, LOL.

By one in the morning, everything was winding down, but we were still having a great time (though exhausted! LOL). Stephen gave me and his other fans who were leaving at the same time (other Trees and Angels) great hugs! The man is a gem. 🙂 It was SO wonderful to see his efforts with LAMEC become such a success.

FYI:

LAMEC is a non-profit organization. On the inside of LAMEC magazine cover, this mission statement is printed: “The Los Angeles Media & Education Center (LAMEC) is dedicated to bringing the people of Los Angeles together through the arts. We believe that self expression promotes self-esteem and that people who can play together can learn to work and live together.” For more information or to become a member of LAMEC, go to the web site: www.lamec.org

Gallery: Click on the picture to view a larger version. Click on the picture again to close the large view screen.