It is always the best policy to speak the truth — unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good storyteller. This morning I heard an orator at Lilly’s Cafe say, “Malibuites are really uncompromising people.”
They’ve had a bumper sticker made up for a city of Malibu council incumbent that is on the rear bumpers of several cars and SUVs. It reads, “run Walt run.”
However, the Lilly’s 8 a.m. coffee group is putting the bumper decals on their front bumpers.
Tom Fakehany
Amadeus: The measured malice of music
Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” may be the theater’s most exhilarating depiction of music history, fictionalized or otherwise. Perhaps more importantly, however, it is a depiction of man’s relationships with art, artistic tastes, God, faith and fate.
To lead the audience to such matters, Shaffer poses the question, did composer Antonio Salieri murder his contemporary, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? The question is apparently not without historic support and has been asked by other playwrights.
The better questions are posed by Salieri once we are past the play’s setup. Why would God give Salieri the desire to praise him, then make him essentially mute? How long would Salieri go unpunished while Mozart dressed in rags?
Since childhood, Salieri prayed he would be a composer and sufficiently famous to enjoy it. In exchange, he promised God he would live a chaste, honorable life. He did not count on having a contemporary the likes of Mozart.
Mozart behaves like a child, full of scatological immaturity, but he is attuned to an eternal pinnacle of perfection, skilled beyond measure in music, and dying, possibly of “poisoning” by Salieri, probably of poverty.
Peter Hall directs the current production of Amadeus at the Ahmanson Theater with aesthetic and practical staging, making visual a relatively cerebral play.
David Suchet portrays Salieri, the actor’s intelligence burning its way to the back rows of the Ahmanson, a singer’s range and power in his speaking voice.
In a miracle of casting, Michael Sheen looks like the Mozart we see in the tiny etchings of the composer as a child. Sheen effervesces with the silly giggle and youthful energy of the character.
Designer William Dudley and lighting designer Paule Constable make exquisite sets and seamless scene changes with floor-to-ceiling transparent backdrops, sometimes reflecting the audience, sometimes showing projected images of Viennese streets or parks. Lighting ranges from mysterious to radiant, costumes are amply detailed.
Not incidentally, Suchet and Sheen are not playing the clavier onstage, but they certainly convince the naked eye and ear otherwise.
“Amadeus” plays through Nov. 28, dark Mondays, at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Los Angeles Music Center. Tel. 213.628.2772 or online at www.TaperAhmanson.com.
Uncle Vanya: Not on the Chekov list
Despite a strong script and skilled actors, this is the perfect example of how disappointing theater can be.
“Uncle Vanya,” in production at the Geffen Playhouse, and co- directed by Michael Langham and Helen Burns, suffers because it leaves little to the imagination of the audience.
Young Sonya is in love with Dr. Astrov. He asks if he might speak with her as they are alone. In this production, the actress playing her looks at the audience and mouths “Oh, my God!” — words not in the script. Because we are human, we can easily imagine Sonya’s heart beating, her mind spinning, without this overt visual aid.
The acting style throughout is “indicated,” the speeches declamatory. From the first entrance, an actor mimes “outdoors” by taking a deep breath and squinting at the sun.
What is not made clear to the audience, however, are the motivations of the characters. Does Dr. Astrov love Sonya’s stepmother or is he manipulating her? Does Sonya blame her stepmother?
Instead of a subtle indication of rain, which the characters are already talking about, we are shown rain pouring down the glass windows. And, in creating the effect of the rain, we see the hose shooting the water from backstage, with the sound of the rain miked.
The blocking is also problematic. Despite a large, unused backstage area visible behind the set, characters enter from the side doors of the theater, taking our focus off the stage.
There are some natural moments of acting. When he first appears, Peter Donat (the professor) is immersed in character — ill and pondering something of great importance to him. Portraying the family matriarch, Anne Gee Byrd, probably because her characterP has so little to do with the story, is given little to do and therefore sits as a place for the mind to rest in the eye of this storm.
The otherwise seasoned cast also includes Gloria Dorson (the nurse), Stephen Pelinski (Dr. Astrov), Robert Foxworth (Vanya), Fred Applegate (the house guest), Megan Follows (Sonya), Christina Haag (Elena) and Michael Rothhaar (the workman).
For their speedy and carefully choreographed set changes, the movers take a deserved bow.
Adapted by Vanessa Burnham, the script includes some modernizations. A word that is sometimes translated as “odd” becomes more 1990s: Astrov says, “The people around here are so weird,” and “I’m turning into a freak.” He hypothesizes about what people would remember 100 years later, asking, “People in 1999, will they have one good word to say for us?”
Well, certainly we do about the writing of the time.
“Uncle Vanya” runs through Oct. 31 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood Village. Tel. 310.208.5454.
A crowd of 400 filled last Thursday’s Town Hall meeting at Malibu High School to grapple with the impacts of a 300- 500-youth beach party that grew violent, a student who brought a loaded gun to the school and a bomb threat hoax made from a campus pay phone, all happening the first week of October.
School Governance Council Chair Jeff Jennings, who moderated the discussion, shared the stage with Principal Michael Matthews and introduced officials from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, City Council members Joan House and Harry Barovsky, and Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Members Pam Brady, Tom Pratt, Dorothy Chapman and Julia Brownley.
“There was no adult at the party,” said Lt. Thom Bradstock, Malibu’s liaison with the Lost Hills Station, referring to the large group at the beach that grew violent. “That is the thing I am concerned about as a parent and as a peace officer.”
Noting the importance of sports, music and arts, as well as the school’s Peer Mediation Program, Matthews said, “We have got to involve our students in school.”
Matthews also announced new measures for conflict resolution and campus safety.
Other possible costs include, per year: an additional security guard, $40,000; an additional high school counselor, $60,000; three guidance “technicians,” $120,000; and full-time bilingual staffer, $20,000.
Councilman Barovsky, who, along with House, serves on the city’s Public Safety committee, noted the city funds the sheriff’s Juvenile Intervention Team, counseling service at the school and enhanced weekend beach patrols. The city is forming a youth commission that will include more than honor students, he said. “If the nonhonor students have problems, it may help them,” he said. “The city will work responsibly,” he pledged.
In response to Barovsky’s comments about parental responsibility, especially knowing where children are, Malibu High School senior Laurel Smylie said, “Parents are not talking to their kids enough. Talk to them about things you don’t want to hear. It means they feel they can trust you.”
Parent Francesca Alvarez, who spoke through a translator, asked for suggestions on what to do if she refused to allow her child to go to a party. Children have been known to threaten to report a parent for child abuse to get their way, she said.
Matthews responded, “A majority of kids believe everyone else is going. Never forget you are in charge and you are the boss.” Parents should call the J-Team so deputies can back them up, he suggested.
Another parent, Robin Baltrushes, noted the honors program causes anger and angst for those students not in the program. She suggested reaching out to make those students feel included. In a similar vein, parent Skylar Pete asked what motivation existed for children not planning to go to college. Matthews said, “I hear more and more that kids not in honors program feel left out. I will commit to making every student feel they are making the right choices.”
Douglas Simpson said more should be done to address boys’ insecurity. “Boys have a desperate need to feel capable of something, even if it means bringing a gun. The community has to identify these kids early on and give them the sense they are capable.”
Parent Barbara Mills addressed the issue of guns on campus. “Where did the student get the gun,” she said to applause. “How many of you have guns at home? Are they kept where your kids can’t get to them? I know this might be a politically incorrect thing to say, but most civilized countries don’t have guns available.”
Carey Peck and Guy Thomas, who have children at both schools, said more should be done to address fears at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School right across the street. Tallying up the nearly $400,000 in costs listed by Matthews, Thomas offered to write a check for $1,000. “I mean, this is Malibu,” he said looking at the audience. “You just can’t gamble with kids. Don’t ever let that happen again.”
Two resources will soon be available to parents. Parental Resource classes on Oct. 23, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., sponsored by the sheriff’s Juvenile Intervention Team, will cover topics such as common juvenile problems, parental responsibilities, peer pressure, substance abuse and professional referrals. A meeting of the Malibu Youth Coalition is scheduled for Oct. 29 at the high school.
What’s happening here? A series of incidents during the last two weeks point to potentially violent situations in our schools and on our beaches.
Around 11:30 p.m. Oct.1, 200 to 300 youths from Malibu and Santa Monica-area high schools gathered at Little Dume Beach to continue a party from the week before. The only way the kids could have gotten there is by invitation, for only homeowners have keys. Known as Malibu Riviera for the quiet, private, beautiful beach, it is an area where several generations of youths have congregated, some say for sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and fights.
Somehow, something got out of hand that Friday night. Lost Hills Sheriffs Station deputies say a “group” or “crew” (not a gang) of 10 kids got into a fight. There were four victims, six “subjects” (not suspects) and three witnesses. One Santa Monica High School student was kicked in the head and body repeatedly while he was on the ground. Deputies received the 911 assault call, and the boy was airlifted out. He was treated for his wounds and perhaps a concussion but was released the next day. The two main subjects could face felony charges, said Sgt. Cally Barrier, who, along with Lt. Thom Bradstock, serves as Malibu’s liaison with the station.
That same evening on a different beach, a 14-year-old Malibu High School student got into a fight with a Malibu boy. He allegedly hit him over the head with a roll of pennies, said Michael Matthews, Malibu High School principal. The student, who came from Northern California last May and who lives with a sibling guardian, had already been suspended for fighting, Matthews said.
On the following Tuesday, the MHS student brought a loaded .38 caliber Smith & Wesson — what Barrier describes as a “typical police back-up weapon” — to school during first period. Saying he was afraid of retaliation from the Friday night fight and telling other students not to “tell,” the student said he brought the gun to show off, according to Det. Chris Germann.
Columbine High School-inspired sensitivity paid off. A student reported the gun to a teacher, and, by 9 a.m., both the boy, who reportedly hid the gun at the home of a friend nearby, and the gun were in the custody of sheriff deputies. The youth was taken to Sylmar Juvenile Hall and arraigned last Thursday on felony charges of possession of firearms in public schools and terrorist threats. According to deputies, he could be incarcerated in county or state youth facilities for years.
Last Thursday, Matthews made a presentation to the school district’s Board of Education meeting at John Webster Elementary School. Not only did he recount the story of the boy bringing the gun to the 1,100-student campus, he reported a bomb scare that very morning. School officials believe a student used a campus phone to say that a bomb was on the grounds. Again, quick response brought deputies to the scene. Matthews offered a $100 reward for information, and by the next morning, parents had offered to chip in another $400.
Several meetings with students and staff, the PTSA and Associated Student Body officers, and a town hall evening meeting were scheduled for early this week, to be mediated by MHS Governance Committee Chair Jeff Jennings. Another meeting that day, about campus security, was to take place between the school, city and sheriff deputies, deputies said.
That same board meeting revealed fissures in perception of the incidents by parents and the school board. Parents took offense to remarks by board president Margaret Quinones.
On Saturday at the Michael Landon Center in Bluffs Park, 65 people, many bringing their children, attended the city’s second community workshop on creating a Parks Master Plan. For years, they have lobbied the city for ballfields, youth programs and a teen center. Former Malibu Little League president Heather Beck summed it up: “This community should give kids every opportunity of things to do so there won’t be a repeat of what happened at Malibu High School.”
For an opportunity to express your concerns, come to a discussion titled, “Building Safe Communities in the 21st Century: Leaving Guns, Violence and Intolerance Behind,” Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Malibu School, Winter Canyon Road across from Webster School. Panelists include L.A. County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, Malibu High School Assistant Principal Esther Winkleman, Radio Talk Show Host Mr. KABC and family therapist Kris Smiley. For information call 310.456.7375.
The April 2000 City Council race got a little more crowded this week when present Mayor Carolyn Van Horn and former Mayor Jeff Jennings announced they will be candidates for the council.
Van Horn, the longest-serving member of the council, was elected to a two-year term on the first Malibu City Council, in 1990. Thereafter she was re-elected to a full, four-year term in 1992 and to another four-year term in 1996.
Jennings served one term on the council, from 1994 to 1998, after an election in which he edged out Councilman Walt Keller by 51 votes. In his bid for re-election in 1998, he was defeated by 29 votes by Councilman Tom Hasse.
There are currently three open seats in the next council election, and, as of now, there are four officially announced candidates with a fifth probably jumping in shortly. The field also includes Councilwoman Joan House and Planning Commissioner Ken Kearsley. The only other incumbent who has not yet announced is Walt Keller.
Although the names of all of the candidates are the same, what has changed significantly is that there have been and continues to be major shifts in the alliances on the council. Initially, Keller, Van Horn and House were allied. In the last few years, however, that relationship has worsened significantly until it has become evident that Keller and Van Horn are barely on speaking terms with House, and House is often the object of attacks by Keller and Van Horn or their surrogates. The alliance that brought Keller, Van Horn and House to overwhelming victory in 1996 seems totally shattered, and House, who is allied with Councilman Harry Barovsky, is not only running for re-election but is championing the cause of Kearsley.
In another very strange turn of events, Hasse, who is not up for re-election until 2002, has also split with his former allies Keller and Van Horn, and, as is apparent from the letters to the editor (see Keller letter this week in response to Hasse letter last week), it is a split that appears to be growing wider and more acrimonious as time passes. The council tends to split 2 to 2 with Keller and Van Horn on one side, Barovsky and House on the other, and Hasse frequently the swing vote.
The politics of the next election may also be very different. Because the old, slow-growth alliance (of Keller and Van Horn) is apparently now estranged from Hasse, the two have lost what they thought was going to be a dependable third vote on the council, and they are rumored to be looking at a third candidate to run with them. The names of Planning Commissioners Jo Ruggles, Charleen Kabrin and Andy Stern have been mentioned. It is rumored Stern is reluctant to run and the Ruggles candidacy is opposed by Gil and Joanne Segal and some others in that group. It’s unclear if Kabrin is even interested in running. Since Kearsley and House, as did Hasse, also come from that slow-growth group, it’s far from clear how their core group of voters, who have always been very loyal, will vote when faced with having to choose between people they supported in the past and who are now running against each other.
This letter was sent to Catherine Walter, director of Malibu Parks & Recreation.
At the recent Parks & Recreation meeting, there was much enthusiasm for a Community Center that will have enough space for meeting rooms. I am wondering what sort of policy will be enforced regarding the use of these rooms. Will there be a charge? If there is a charge, I presume this will be for private meetings only.
Last year I was astonished when I discovered that the senior citizens were being charged for the use of meeting rooms. There were other groups such as the Malibu Art Association that were also being charged. Although I support ways of procuring income for the city, I feel that groups that benefit Malibu (such as the senior citizens and Malibu Art Association), as well as the many other volunteer groups in Malibu, should not have to pay or at least get a large discount. These groups contribute greatly to Malibu and this could be one way to give gratitude.
Jim Petersen
Recent events that we never before associated with our town have brought us a pointed reminder. A gun in school, a bomb scare, walls covered with graffiti, all tell us that even as we turn the century’s corner, the pressures and ills of the decade just passing will not give Malibu a free ride. As the parent of three teen-age boys, and through my involvement in Malibu H.S. governance process, I have had a close-up view of the effects of these pressures on some of our children and I am convinced that there is an opportunity for the city of Malibu to play a positive and affirmative role in meeting these challenges.
I look back on the four years I spent on the Malibu City Council as one of the most gratifying and satisfying, and at the same time, most frustrating experiences of my life. It was an experience I left with a sense of unfinished business. That is why I’ve decided once again to become a candidate for a City Council seat.
My hope is that I will be able to help bring together a deeply divided City Council so that we can direct our energy toward the challenges of the coming century. What is the most effective way to help guide and protect our children? How will we provide for our seniors? Will we unite to prevent over development of this fragile environment without giving in to paranoia? Can we work effectively with county, state and federal agencies to address our common problems?
The recent political history of Malibu is not particularly encouraging. The tactics of division, of personal attack, of scripted letters to the editor, of unattributed ads, have not helped to solve our problems. They’ve simply driven many good people out of the political process altogether. It’s time to change that history. The past must be left behind. Our choices are not between young and old, between the environment and city facilities, between traffic and no traffic, between ballfields and hiking trails. Our choice is whether we face the future with optimism and the certainty that the quality of our lives can be sustained and enhanced or whether we constantly look back over our collective shoulder and mourn the passing of a bygone yesterday.
I pledge to commit myself to helping our town and all its citizens find our path into the new century and that is why I am running.
Jeff Jennings
OCEANSIDE — By a vote of 6-2, the California Coastal Commission on Oct. 12 gave its approval to Pepperdine University’s plans for a 50-acre graduate student facility, known as the Upper Campus. Discounting environmental concerns, members of the commission said the “footprint” of the project remains the same as a university proposal approved in 1989.
The Upper Campus sits to the northwest of the already developed 230-acre Lower Campus. The expansion will include graduate schools, student and faculty housing, and some 1,300 parking spaces. The university projects the new campus could accommodate up to 500 students. The campus will add 95,500 square feet of floor space to house the schools of business and management, public policy, education and psychology.
Speaking on behalf of Pepperdine, Andrew K. Benton stressed that the components of the upper campus will sit below the skyline ridge. He added that 550 acres of the 830-acre campus will be kept as open space.
The vote of the commission approved Pepperdine’s move to change its Long Range Development Plan. The key was an amendment to grade 4.5 million cubic yards of earth, rather than the 3 million figure approved a decade ago.
A commission staff report unveiled some two weeks ago condemned the plans as involving an excessive amount of land alteration. The report said the magnitude of the landform changes were beyond those ever before approved by the commission.
The staff also urged disapproval of the expansion because it would eliminate an eight-acre stand of needle grass, a rare native grass species. Sara J. Wan, who cast a dissenting vote, remarked the university had declared an open zone but had not designated the land as open space in perpetuity. As for the needle grass, “in my opinion, this is very rare,” she said. “It’s a grassland habitat, not just a clump of grass.”
Trent Orr also cast a dissenting vote. He insisted the commission’s role is to rigorously protect the environmentally sensitive habitat. He urged it was not sufficient under state law for the university to pledge it would mitigate the impact by restoring endangered grasslands elsewhere.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky opened the half-day hearing with the observation, “A university is not like a local 7-Eleven.” He urged the university’s plans reflect decades of planning, including the raising of funds and endowments. “They played by the rules,” he said, describing the university as a “solid neighbor in Malibu.”
Barbara Carey, a coastal program analyst who was one of the authors of the staff report, stated one of the buttresses needed to eliminate a potential landslide was 700 feet long, 300 feet wide and 120 feet deep.
Greg Athergood of the Malibu Road Association said the staff report was compelling and that the true figure of earth removed for grading will be larger than currently forecast. “One-and-one-half million cubic yards is not something we can ignore,” he said. “There are places which should not be developed, and Pepperdine’s Upper Campus is one of the them.”
Mark A. Massara of the Sierra Club denounced the project as a disaster for the Santa Monica Mountains. He warned no amount of education justifies this level of destruction. He pegged the grading effort at 10,000 cubic yards per student.
Pat Healey of the Malibu Coalition for Slow Growth alluded to a high risk of fire. She noted a new road in the shape of a “Figure 8” was added to the project based on fire department warnings, but concluded even with the road change, there is only one escape route from the property.
Malibu Planning Commissioner Ken Kearsley, of Save Our Coast, testified the two to three hundred students could be put elsewhere, including South Central Los Angeles. He said the proposed grading and earth-moving was equivalent in size to the Great Pyramid at Giza. He suggested Pepperdine should erect a sign, “Free dirt, help yourself.”
Tempers flared last Thursday about a perceived callous reaction of the school board to a report of back-to-back, potentially violent incidents at Malibu High School.
As Malibu High School principal Michael Matthews prefaced his report with the statement, “It’s been a miserable week in Malibu,” board president Margaret Quinones laughingly said, “It seems every time we come out to Malibu, something bad is happening.” That remark, and her comment after the report that these were not isolated incidents in the district, caused sharp retorts from parents Bob Katz and Denise Peak.
A boy brought a gun to school Tuesday and there was a bomb scare Thursday, Matthews told the Board of Education of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District meeting in Malibu.
The youth who allegedly told other students, “Don’t tell,” was scheduled to be in court Tuesday on charges of possession of firearms on campus and terrorist threats. Matthews said he will recommend the youth be expelled from all schools in the district.
“Certainly it is a scary time, a coming of age,” Matthews said. “We have not experienced it before.”
Authorities believe the call to 911 about a bomb in the school came from a student using a campus phone, Matthews continued. The Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department responded right away, and students and staff are helping with the investigation.
“We are not as concerned about the bomb call, but there is a mood of high anxiety, certainly some fear.” Matthews said. “Some people have requested a metal detector, but with a 40-acre campus it wouldn’t work.”
Matthews announced an assembly for students early in the week, a daytime meeting of the PTSA governance council and an evening town hall meeting Tuesday.
“I am outraged by the board’s attitude about what happened at Malibu High School,” said Katz after Matthews’ presentation. “It is not a laughing matter.
“What will you do to beef up security?” Katz continued. “This 40-acre campus has 1,100 students. How come there are only two security guards? Who cares whether it is an isolated incident?”
“I am deeply traumatized by the gun,” Denise Peak told the board. “This is a trying time, a wake-up call. Just because the boy was caught doesn’t mean the situation is over. We need to address our fears.
“I know money is not enough,” Peak continued. “We need people detectors too in order to guard 1,200 students. We need more of an adult presence on campus.”
Board members were quick to respond.
Quinones said her remarks were not meant to be flippant. “I meant no disrespect,” she said. “I live in Santa Monica where there are many Chicanos. I have lost two members of my family to violence. We live with it on a daily basis. It will be addressed.”
Board member Pam Brady said the board should get notices of the Malibu High meetings. Board member Dorothy Chapman suggested that a “special therapeutic time for students” could be set aside when the board has a Special Education Workshop Oct. 28.
Malibu High School’s troubles completely overshadowed two items of good news announced by superintendent Neil Schmidt before Matthews’ report: a $20,000 grant for athletic directors and the appointment of Malibu High School parent Wendy Carey to the district’s new Financial Advisory Committee. The $20,000 grant was in addition to one of $15,000 per school, Schmidt said.
