"Of Mice and Men" extended through April 13 at Cinnabar Theater

“Of Mice and Men” Extended At Cinnabar!
By Sandy Riccardi

There are a few productions in Sonoma County every year which lead me to wonder what the difference in quality is between this-and-the-same-play-on-Broadway would be. Having lived in NYC for 11 years working in theater, my pondering comes from a wealth of experience seeing incredible plays with outstanding actors. Cinnabar’s “Of Mice and Men” is top of this year’s list of Broadway-quality shows.

It is the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two migrant farm hands working in California, and dreaming of the day when they will “live off the fat” of their own land. Lennie is developmentally disabled but enormously strong, and frequently harms small animals and occasionally people with his giant hands, but is worth his weight in gold to the farmers as long as things don’t get too bad. George stands by him like a brother and is often left picking up the pieces after Lennie’s lack of judgment has left them in tricky situations that take them further away from their American Dream.

Keith Baker is a tour-de-force as George, the long-suffering, hard-working, deeply loyal friend of Lennie, the low-IQ’ed giant, played to perfection by Samson Hood.

The rest of the cast was flawless as well, including Anthony Shaw Abate (Carlson—the somewhat heartless and selfish worker), Jimmy Gagarin (Curley—the jealous, insecure, pugnacious son of The Boss), Tim Kniffin (Slim—the real leader of the farm hands and great appreciator of George and Lennie’s deep friendship), Dorian Lockett (Crooks, the book-loving, isolated, injured African-American who graciously tolerates the clueless Lennie), Clark Miller (Candy—the aging, disabled worker who will soon be jobless, who wants to financially help make George and Lennie’s dream come true if it can benefit him as well), Ilana Niernberger (Curley’s Wife—the attention-starved, flirtatious and provocative new wife of the boss’s son), Kevin Singer (Whit—the youngest ranch hand) and Barton Smith (The Boss). Even Summer the Dog gave an endearing performance.

These actors all took this magnificent work very seriously, without ego, with every moment dedicated to fulfilling the intentions of the playwright John Steinbeck. Kudos go  to director Sheri Lee Miller for pulling this stunning performance out of these talented actors, and making my first experience with this story a pitch-perfect one. Spot-on designs by Joe Elwick (set), Pat Fitzgerald (costumes), Wayne Hovey (lighting) and Jim Peterson (sound).

Extended through April 13th.

For tickets and performance schedule, please contact Cinnabar Theater at (707)763-8920

3333 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma CA 94952

www.cinnabartheater.org