Saturday, April 03, 2010

One BIG Talent . . . One GREAT Show !!


Though she’s lived in Southern California for 14 years, there’s still a seductive twang in the speech of Clarinda Ross. It breeds trust and honesty and a down-home humor that is rarely exhibited in Hollywood theater-types. It’s doubtful her closet faire is emblazoned with designer labels and one-of-a-kind gowns. Jeans seem more appropriate. Given her upbringing, catfish is probably more likely to be on her shopping list than halibut. It’s doubtful there’s a Mercedes in her garage.

The Santa Monica resident brings her storytelling flair in a one-woman show to the Hermosa Beach Playhouse now through April 4, produced by Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities (CLOSBC). “Spit Like a Big Girl” is Ross’s monologue tribute to her dad and a gut-checking commentary on personal survival when a parent is faced with raising a special needs child. You can leave the Kleenex at home, however. We’re not talking dark here, just real and totally applicable stuff to anyone who has survived at least a breath or two on the planet.

Reviewed in the Easy Reader by Tom Fitt

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