Second play, ‘Raised in Captivity,’ produced by Live Oak High
School graduates
About 25 years ago, two friends performed theater together in the Gilroy and Morgan Hill area. After going their separate ways and working in other parts of California, they’ve reunited, this time with three actors and a new vision: their own theater company.
Morgan Hill resident Julie James and San Martin resident Lance LaShelle, both graduates of Live Oak High School, are the artistic director and associate artistic director, respectively, of the Jewel Theatre Company. The two produced their first play last summer, and now they’re back with a new production, “Raised in Captivity” by Nicky Silver, running through May 14 at The Broadway Playhouse in Santa Cruz.
The play is a look at how tragedy and twists of fate can actually patch up estranged relationships. A brother, played by LaShelle, and sister, played by James, are brought back together after several years when there is a death in their family. Actors Ruth E. Mullins, who is from the Midwest and moved to Morgan Hill in the mid-1980s; Andrew Ceglio, a San Jose resident; and Steve Beck, also a Live Oak graduate, join them in roles as husband, therapist, mother, felon and date.
The show is humorous but also offers real insight, James said.
“It’s a small cast. It’s funny but it’s real, and it has some drama as well and some meaty stuff, not just the funny stuff,” said James, who was born in Mountain View and has lived in the Bay Area most of her life. “It was along our line of what we wanted to do.”
The show is being performed in Santa Cruz mainly because James has family and a fan base there, she said, but in the future, the company would like to bring its productions to the South Valley.
“It’s definitely going to happen one way or another,” said LaShelle, who has also worked with Rod and Marion Pintello of Pintello Comedy Theater. “Julie and I are really lucky to have the three actors who are working with us. We want to work with new people, but it’s also really great to work with old friends.”
LaShelle and James also worked together on a few productions at Gavilan College. They founded Jewel in early 2004.
“Last year Lance and I had recently moved back to Morgan Hill after being away in L.A. and other places doing theater, and in the middle of it, we decided that we should make it a company,” James said.
Their first production, “Love Match,” was a collection of one-act plays about relationships, and James and LaShelle were the only actors. “Raised in Captivity” is the company’s first full-length play.
“It’s called a comedy, but it’s very unpredictable as far as comedies go,” LaShelle said. “A lot of the stuff sneaks up on you. What’s interesting is the way the author’s written (the characters) – they’re very specific. … They go through this whole transformation to something pretty much entirely different.”
After the show wraps up this weekend, plans will be under way for Jewel’s next production – hopefully a family-friendly, holiday-type show to run in November, LaShelle said.
