Keeping up with ‘ e Realistic Joneses’

Two couples share last name and more in Rubicon Theatre Company production

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Two men share the same last name — and the same disease — in “The Realistic Joneses.” with the Gare St. Lazare Ireland theater company and the Laguna Playhouse.

Emmy-winning actor Joe Spano (“Hill Street Blues,” “NCIS”) and internationally acclaimed theatrical actor Conor Lovett play Bob Jones and John Jones respectively in the Rubicon Theatre Company production, which continues through Feb. 12 at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura.

Faline England, whose credits vary from the Santa Barbara Dance Theatre to Shakespeare Center L.A. and CBS shows such as “Numb3rs” and “Criminal Minds,” plays Pony, John’s wife. Award-winning theatrical actress Sorcha Fox portrays Jennifer, Bob’s wife.

The play, which was written by Will Eno, is directed by Judy Hegarty-Lovett, who rehearsed it with the actors in Maricourt, France, before the four actors performed it last year in Dublin.

Mr. Spano said that after the play wraps up its run in Ventura, the same actors will perform it again, in April and May at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach.

“The Realistic Joneses,” which is about neighbors with the same last name, is making its Southern California premiere in Ventura.

“The play is a tragic comedy about two married couples who meet in somewhat odd but extremely domestic circumstances,” Mr. Spano told the News-Press by phone from his home in Calabasas.

“It’s about four people — two

Calendar

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@ newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann.com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The Search for the Modern West,” an exhibit, continues through Feb. 20 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, see sullivangoss.com or call the gallery at 805-730-1460.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit “Parliament of Owls” runs through Feb. 5 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, go to www. sbnature.org.

7:30 p.m. “The Gin Game” is being performed at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo. Tickets cost $21 for general admission and $18 for students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. There is no late seating.

Feb. 4 2 and 7:30 p.m. “The Gin Game” is being performed at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo. Tickets cost $21 for general admission and $18 for students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. There is no late seating.

FEB. 5

Free admission will be available on this day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Ventura County, the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum and the Santa Paula Museum. For more information, visit socalmuseums.org.

“Realistic

Rubicon is presenting “The Realistic Joneses” in association

Please see JONESES on B2

2 p.m. “The Gin Game” is being performed at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo. Tickets cost $21 for general admission and $18 for students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. There is no late seating.

FEB. 8 from witness chair. He complimented her and said, ‘You’re a really good actress.’

8 p.m. Transform Through Arts will present 10 dance companies in “Colors of Love” at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. General admission costs $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are $25 for students. To purchase, go to www.centerstagetheater.org.

FEB. 12 Noon. Participants in Ted Nash’s workshop will go on stage at the Mary Craig Auditorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. The free program is called “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance and Evolution” and will feature student composers, performers and writers from Mr. Nash’s workshop.

“She understands how to work in front of the camera. She can lose herself in a character,” Ms. Danner said. “She really inhabited the skin of Patricia Weir. Every single moment, I was blown away by her work.”

Ms. Danner said she was also impressed by the connection Ms. VanCamp and Ms. Breslin had together as they played sisters. She added that Mr. Sutherland has always been one of her favorite actors.

“Luke Wilson plays the prosecuting attorney, and very well, I might add,” Ms. Danner said.

“He has not seen the movie yet, but is coming up to Santa Barbara. He had a few ad-libbed moments. He said, ‘Are you serious?’ (to the lawyer representing Mr. Miranda). I just love that moment. I kept it in.” Ms. Danner said Mr. Quinn, who plays Mr. Miranda, resembles him and does a “fantastic job” in the role. “Sebastian did a lot of research, and we rehearsed quite a bit,” Ms. Danner said.

“Andy Garcia plays the first lawyer that Ernesto Miranda has, the first lawyer who started to defend the rights of people arrested without being read their rights,”

Ms. Danner said. “I’ve always loved Andy Gracia.

“Every single actor came with not just their A game but their A-plus-plus game,” Ms. Danner said. “Everyone felt this was an important story that needed to be told.”

“I hope this is a story where they (the audience) sees someone who makes a choice to be brave and thereby inspires other people to keep being brave.” email: dmason@newspress.com

FYI

“Mirandra’s Victim,” directed by Michelle Danner and starring Abigail Breslin, will screen at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St., to open the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. To purchase tickets, go to sbiff.org. The festival runs Feb. 8-18 at various Santa Barbara venues.

Los Alamos library adds Saturday hours

LOS ALAMOS — Starting this weekend, the Los Alamos Branch Library, 405 Helena St., will now be open on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The library is part of the Santa Maria library system.

The Los Alamos Branch Library offers 24/7 digital resources including downloadable eBooks, movies, magazines and audiobooks. Online databases and programs, email reference service, veterans’ resources, updates about the Library’s operations, hours and more are available at www. cityofsantamaria.org/library. Patrons may also apply for a free library card at the website.

Continued from Page B1 couples — trying to connect,” he said.

The couples learn they have more in common than their last names and identical homes.

Mr. Spano said his character, Bob, and Mr. Lovett’s character, John, are dealing with their disease in different ways.

“Yeah, there is a roller coaster of emotions, but we don’t play it as emotive,” Mr. Spano said. “I think the emotions play in the lives and the hearts of the audience as they see these people hack their way into a connection or try to. It’s made me realize how complex it is to have a relationship with another person.”

In a separate phone interview from her home in Los Angeles, Ms. England, who plays Pony, talked

Cirque FLIP Fabrique

Muse

Sun, Feb 5 / 7 PM

Granada Theatre

Canada’s thrilling FLIP Fabrique explores what it means to be your true self in Muse, a refreshing view of contemporary circus that combines breathtaking artistry and athleticism and challenges gender roles.

Kodo

Tsuzumi:

One Earth Tour

Fri, Feb 10 / 8 PM

Granada Theatre to the News-Press about what she loves about “Realistic Joneses.”

“I love how generous the playwright is,” she said. “I love that he has us exploring questions about vulnerability, about not being able to connect with another human being.”

She said the play examines the need for connection.

“It’s an exploration into how to live a good life,” Ms. England said.

“I think that’s what every good play touches on, how to be a better person and how to live a good life.”

“I had never read a Will Eno play, let alone been in one,” said Ms. England, who earned her bachelor’s of fine arts in theater at UCSB. But she said she was impressed with the script and the acting challenge that it posed when the director sent copies to her and Mr. Spano, who discussed his character with the NewsPress.

“Bob is a workman, a purchaser for a city transportation unit,” Mr. Spano sailed. “He has this disease, which he does not like to talk about.”

He said Bob doesn’t want to go to the doctor.

“What else about Bob? I’ve been told he’s a little bit cranky,” Mr. Spano said. “I don’t intend him to be cranky, but evidently he is. He’s confused a lot of the time.”

Mr. Spano said Bob isn’t unfeeling but has trouble expressing his feelings.

He described Jennifer, Bob’s wife, as “a wonderfully patient person who aggravates him a lot, but not because she’s aggravating.”

Mr. Spano said the audience will see Bob evolve as the play progresses.

Last fall, Mr. Spano reprised his recurring character of former FBI special agent Tobias Fornell on CBS’ “NCIS,” but said he doesn’t

Nina Totenberg

know when he will be asked to play the character again. He said there are less opportunities for Tobias to be in the stories because Mark Harmon, who formerly starred as the longtime NCIS special agentin-charge, Gibbs (Tobias’ friend), no longer acts on the show. But Mr. Spano did have a previous connection with Gary Cole, who stars as Alden Parker, the new agent in charge on “NCIS.”

“He’s a great guy.”

“I did one of his shows, ‘Midnight Caller,’ filmed up in San Francisco,” Mr. Spano said, referring to the 1988-91 dramatic series on NBC. “As a result of the character I played on death row, I got an Emmy.”

Today, Mr. Spano said he has no movie or TV projects. “The pandemic slowed everything down for me.” Mr. Spano, 76, added that there are fewer TV and movie roles

Dinners with Ruth: The Power of Friendships

Tue, Feb 7 / 7:30 PM

Granada Theatre

“Outsiders think of Washington as a place of poisonous rivalries, not deep friendships.

Nina Totenberg knows differently.”

Ruth Marcus, Washington Post

Swan Lake

Ballet Preljocaj

Two Performances!

Sat, Feb 25 / 8 PM / Granada Theatre

Sun, Feb 26 / 3 PM / Granada Theatre (matinee) available for him because of his age. email: dmason@newspress.com

“That’s fine with me,” he said, explaining he’s glad to have no scheduling conflicts as he makes time to do what he loves on the stage.

FYI

The Rubicon Theatre Company is continuing its performances of “Realistic Joneses” today through Feb. 12 at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Curtain rises at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A talk-back follows the 7 p.m. Wednesday performances.

Tickets vary from $30 to $79.50. To purchase, go to rubicontheatre.org or call the Rubicon Theatre at 805-6672900.

You can follow the library on social media for updates on programming, resources, and services. On Facebook, search for Santa Maria Public Library and, on Instagram, it’s: @ santamaria_publiclibrary.

Questions may be directed to 805-925-0994, ext. 8563.

— Caleb Beeghly

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SUNDAY voices@newspress.com