Los Angeles Review: Al Pacino reading benefits Military Veterans
Los Angeles Review: Jill Weinlein - Chief Los Angeles Theatre Critic
Last night, Sunday, March 8, award winning actor Al Pacino (The Irishman, Scent of a Woman, The Godfather) revisited his Tony Award winning title role of Pavlo Hummel from the 1977 Broadway Production THE BASIC TRAINING OF PAVLO HUMMEL. Written by Award-Winning Vietnam Veteran Playwright David Rabe, the sold-out audience at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, eagerly awaited to watch the staged reading by the Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award-winning Pacino.
Rabe’s acclaimed Vietnam War play is part of a trilogy that follows a naive and directionless young man drafted into the U.S. Army. Alienated from his fellow soldiers and searching for meaning and status, the story of Hummel’s life and military experiences unfold backwards after a fateful encounter in a Saigon brothel.
“The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel has great meaning for me.” says Pacino. “The play was the first of its kind to explore the national trauma of Vietnam and has as much relevance today as it did 40 years ago. It’s wonderful to be doing this masterwork of David Rabe’s in this setting as a reading, especially because it will benefit such a great cause for our veterans.”
Proceeds from the reading benefit the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ Veterans in Art program a transitional training and employment initiative for chronically unemployed veterans enrolled in vocational rehabilitation programs in technical theatre, and also the National Association of Veteran-Serving Organizations (NAVSO), www.navso.org dedicated to improving the lives of veterans and military families.
The dynamic staged reading of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, a two-time Golden Globe and five-time Emmy Award nominee and veteran director of Broadway and London’s West End. In addition to Pacino, the cast included Joel Steingold (Ardell), Anzu Lawson (Yen/Mrs. Sorrentino), Rif Hutton (Sgt. Tower/Parham), Matthew Wolf (Kress/Mickey), Matt Nolan (Pierce/Sgt. Wall), Robert Baker (Parker/Brisbey) Darren Richardson (Corporal/Hinkle), Sheldon Donenberg (Jones/Grennel/Ryan), Karen Strassman (Mrs. Hummel), Chase Fein (Captain/Officer/Burns), Kazumi Aihara (Mamasan). Takuma Anzai, Toru Uchikado, Gavin Lee, Taishi Mizuno and Shin Shimizu played the “Chorus”.
Seven production interns from Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ Veterans in Arts program also gained vital professional theater experience in technical roles: Chad Rowlett, Technical Director Intern, veteran US Navy Seabee Builder & Engineer; Kevin Lamb, Propsmaster Intern, formerly US Army Infantry; Joe Casillas, Front of House Intern, formerly Sgt. US Army; Darrell Morrison, Sound Board Operator Intern, formerly US Marines, Infantry E; Derek McGee, Production Management Intern, formerly US Army Security Forces; Joshua Valdez, Costume Coordination Intern, formerly US Air Force F-15 Crew Chief.
About The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles
The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles has more than 30 years of award-winning history producing plays and programs that reflect and engage the people, landscape, and history of Los Angeles. By producing world-class Shakespeare-inspired plays and offering best practices arts education and award-winning arts-based workforce development programs targeting under-served youth and veterans, the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles demonstrates that high-quality accessible immersive arts engagement builds community and changes lives. SCLA offers outreach programs such as Will Power to Youth, an employment and enrichment program that combines hands-on artistic experience with paid job training, specifically created to provide an arts immersion for at-risk youth; Will Power to Schools, a program providing free tickets to students to see Shakespeare and professional teacher training; and Veterans In Art, which provides employment, training and educational opportunities for underemployed military veterans. SCLA’s Veterans in Art provides participants with paid experience in entertainment industry production roles, including venue and scenic technicians, audio engineers, wardrobe assistants, ushers, parking attendants, site specific marketers, technical director, and actors. In 2018, more than 40 Veterans in Art participants were employed by the nationally acclaimed, award-winning SCLA production of Henry IV, directed by Daniel Sullivan with Harry Groener, Tom Hanks, Hamish Linklater, Joe Morton and Rondi Reed, on the West Los Angeles VA Campus. SCLA offers veterans, active military members, their family members and caregivers, free admission to professional theatrical productions and programs. For more information about SCLA and the SCLA development programs, visit www.shakespearecenter.org.