DREAM CATCHER
Written by Stephen Sachs (author of CITIZEN, BAKERSFIELD MIST, CYRANO, HEART SONG)
Directed by Cameron Watson (director of PICNIC, TOP GIRLS, COCK, THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION)
Produced by Simon Levy and Deborah Lawlor
Starring Elizabeth Frances & Brian Tichnell
EXTENDED! until March 28th
“VISCERAL, HOT BLOODED… Opposites attract, and collide, in Fountain Theatre’s ‘Dream Catcher.'” – L. A. Times
RAVE! – Discover Hollywood – “A REMARKABLE PRODUCTION!… A FEAST FOR THE FIVE SENSES TO BEHOLD!… Multi-dimensional characters… excellent actors… a remarkable production all the way around and everyone involved should be commended.” – Erin Fair
RAVE! – LA Splash – “THOUGHT PROVOKING… TIMELY… STUNNING PERFORMANCES… a very personal story of two people who are faced with the ultimate test of their love. How will their decisions, moral and personal, impact upon their future and the futures of all of us?… Director Cameron Watson strikes just the right note in this scientific yet spiritual play… Elizabeth Frances (Opal) and Brian Tichnell (Roy) give stunning performances as the lovers thrown into a moral dilemma.” – Elaine L. Mura
RAVE! – San Diego Jewish World/Examiner.com/Santa Monica Daily Press – “ONCE AGAIN THE AMAZING AND CONSISTENTLY FABULOUS FOUNTAIN THEATER HAS MOUNTED A PLAY THAT, LIKE MOST OF THEIR OTHERS, IS A MUST SEE!… perceptive and thought-provoking explorations of the issues and controversies of our time… everything she (Elizabeth Frances) and Roy (Brian Tichnell) do is priceless. They are absolutely perfect in their roles and director Cameron Watson incontrovertibly brings out the best in each of them… But as they say, the proof is in the pudding. And in this case the pudding is Stephen Sachs’ extraordinary script.” – Cynthia Citron
WOW! – StageSceneLA – “HIGHLY-CHARGED SUBJECT MATTER, DYNAMIC PERFORMANCES, AND ENOUGH SEXUAL HEAT TO MATCH THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURES IN THE MOJAVE DESERT SPARK STEPHEN SACHS’ THOUGHT-PROVOKING DREAM CATCHER, NOW ELECTRIFYING AUDIENCES IN ITS WORLD PREMIERE ENGAGEMENT AT THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE… The needs of an endangered planet vs. respect for an ancient civilization is just one of the questions raised by playwright Sachs in a play certain to provoke much post-performance discussion… Under Cameron Watson’s incisive direction, Cal Arts alums Tichnell and Frances deliver powerhouse performances that never quit, their palpable chemistry only adding to the excitement and authenticity of their work… Expect to be on the edge of your seat from start to finish.” – Steven Stanley
RAVE! – BroadwayWorld – “AN INTENSE, SPIRITED WAR OF WORDS… The world premiere of playwright Stephen Sach’s Dream Catcher receives a strong mounting at the Fountain Theatre powered by the intensity of its two strong performers Brian Tichnell and Elizabeth Frances… Tichnell’s high energy excitement in his extended exposition/greeting to Opal ranks as an incredible tour de force… Dream Catcher‘s off to a roaring start.” – Gil Kaan
EXCELLENT! – People’s World – “THE TWO ACTORS ARE BEYOND WONDERFUL… There’s an Ibsen-like cast to Sachs’ theme: modernity and the contradiction between two values of seemingly equivalent valence, plus the emergence of today’s woman from under the male thumb… The theater-in-the-round setting works well: We feel the heat, the dust, the wind, the sounds of the desert. In this hothouse we find ourselves bouncing in sympathy between two arguments of consummate worth… a taut, uninterrupted 80 minutes of high drama between two passionate characters.” – Eric A. Gordon
RAVE! – Show Buzz NYC – “AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER THRILL RIDE in the charming Fountain Theatre, reconfigured to have audience on all sides and the stage covered in sand. Brian Tichnell gives a masterful performance as an engineer brought to the Mojave desert to build a solar energy plant and Elizabeth Frances plays a woman from the Reservation that may hold his heart, but definitely has the sacred artifacts which could derail his project. The smart script really runs this pair through their paces and there is never a false moment in their fiery journey. I especially appreciated that there was no clear-cut winner in this duel between the spiritual and the scientific.”
RAVE! – Edge Media Network – “AN ASTONISHING LOOK AT THE CROSSROADS OF SPIRITUALITY AND SCIENCE … remarkable writing… What is so glorious about this show is the way author Sachs develops his fine balance of characters’ needs: Roy wants to save humanity; Opal wants to save her tribe. Unequal needs cleverly unspooled in a fascinating display of talent and concern… Director Cameron Watson has cast it splendidly… Tichnell and Frances pour out Roy and Opal’s emotional and sexual needs, making their moments together electric and sorrowful… This is an important piece of theatre, a two-hander that never flags and should be seen or read by everyone interested in the future plight of humanity. Sachs, Watson, Tichnell and Frances has given us a thrilling evening of theatre, of strong intellectual and emotional clout. Do not miss it!” – Dale Reynolds
RAVE! – New Energy News – “RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES, TORN FROM THE HEART … Artistically, Dream Catcher, a new play at the Fountain Theater in Hollywood, is satisfying in every way. And it is much more… This list of some of the opposites their struggle eventually embraces is an injustice to Sachs’ writing and the acting talents and Frances and Tichnell because the tensions of these opposites are almost never abstract. As the actors passionately circle this piece of seemingly desolate and yet all too crowded empty desert space, themes cascade over the audience… It is environmentalists versus progress, the holiness of the past versus the desperation to salvage the future, the needs of the many and the needs of the few.” – Herman K. Trabish
RAVE! – Arts in LA – “THE PROLIFIC SACHS HAS WRITTEN HIS MOST ARRESTING PLAY YET: a virtual theatrical rollercoaster ride… high-intensity confrontation between progress and spirit, between technological advancement and respect for those who blazed the way before us… Whether the continuously combustible exchange between these two amazingly courageous actors is part of the playwright’s plan or whether the perpetual physical almost dance-like circling and continuously overlapping dialogue is part of Watson’s vision, the pair is a match made in theatrical heaven, made even more striking by the casting of Frances and Tichnell.” – Travis Michael Holder
RAVE! – NoHoArtsDistrict.com – “THIS IS A GO-FOR-BROKE, NO-HOLDS-BARRED, SEXUALLY-CHARGED NEW PLAY by the Fountain Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director that leaves nothing behind in terms of story, direction, performance, ambiance or vision… If you are interested in a play about the searing relationship between a man and woman, look no further… Sachs’ language is energetic, realistic and full of insightful commentary on contemporary American male-female bonding… Cameron Watson’s direction gives the two actors so much to work with that it almost becomes a third performer on stage. Watson’s direction is not only kinetic, vibrant, electric and raw, but also brilliant in substance and style as it gives the play its edge, its very tortured and self-destructive personality… stellar cast… Kudos to the Fountain Theatre for having the intestinal fortitude to tackle this politically-charged, intimately-written and bravely-realized project head on and succeed.” – Radomir Vojtech Luza
RAVE! – DiversionsLA – “CATHARTIC AND HEART-BREAKING… extremely timely… the steamy, always morally provocative dialog rockets the audience through the single act play constantly on edge. Who is right and who is wrong here?… Take this one in – it’s the kind of tough, makes-you-think theater we need more of in a city of thoughtless celluloid super heroes.”
RAVE! – USC Annenberg Media – “IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A VOLATILE PRODUCTION THAT LEAVES YOU SHAKEN AND WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS, “DREAM CATCHER” HAS MUCH TO OFFER… Typically when we are presented with quandaries about global warming or reparations for indigenous peoples, we get a black-and-white story with an aggressor and victim — one group is on the right side of history, the other is not. ‘Dream Catcher’ eliminates this ability to take the moral high ground. It forces its characters and its audience to live in a grey area and grapple with questions of science, spirituality, and moral certitude… Masterfully directed by Los Angeles treasure Cameron Watson, the play pulses with anger and sex. The Fountain Theatre is known as the premiere home of Flamenco dancing in Los Angeles and ‘Dream Catcher’ seems another iteration of this — a heat-filled dance between two equal partners. Opal and Roy both desperately seek validation from each other as they attempt to unravel who has manipulated and lied to the other more, all within the context of an age-old battle between science and faith… For Watson, his productions are always about telling the truth and the raw beating heart at the core of each character and performer. This play takes those instincts to visceral extremes, as the characters caress, claw at, and castigate each other. In such an intimate setting, any false moves would be immediately visible to an audience. It speaks to both Watson’s attention to detail and the talents of his actors that no such moment arises.” – Maureen Lee Lenker
RAVE! – Los Feliz Ledger – “The story, inspired by a true event, captures the consequences of personal choice when faced with alternatives that threaten one’s moral certainty… The high energy acting by Elizabeth Frances as Opal and Brian Tichnell as Roy captures the unresolved passions, both philosophical and personal, that fuel this play… the play movingly conveys the message that moral certitude is not the same for everyone.” – Marilyn Tower Oliver
Performances thru March 21
Sat 8 | Sun 3 | Mon 8
Come experience the NEW Fountain 360. In the round. Even more intimate. More personal.
Stephen Sachs, the multi-award winning author of CITIZEN, BAKERSFIELD MIST, CYRANO, HEART SONG, heats up the stage with his new play.
Solar power confronts spirit power in the Mojave Desert.
Cameron Watson (multi-award winning director of PICNIC and TOP GIRLS at Antaeus) directs Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell in this hot (literally!) world premiere, running through March 21st at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
