TITG”s Bright Superstar

Dan Bahr, Matthew Brown, Zachary Centers, Zachary Johnsen, Travis Schlegel.

By Tina Arth

When Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber first released Jesus Christ Superstar as an album in 1970, they could not have anticipated the effect this powerful rock opera would have on subsequent generations of theater lovers. Theatre in the Grove’s current offering is the latest in a long string of productions bringing the authors’ vision to the public, and it definitely merits its place in the august lineup. Director Ken Centers, music director Michelle Bahr, and choreographer Jeananne Kelsey have collaborated to give the show its own unique flavor while remaining generally faithful to the now-classic words and music of the original. Quite appropriately, the solo vocals are not always pretty – often imbued with a gritty individualism – while the ensemble work flawlessly mirrors the groupthink of the adoring crowds.

The entire story is told in song (like Lloyd Webber’s earlier Joseph, some rock, some pop); with no spoken dialogue, the show is truly an opera. Although set in ambiguously modern times (wardrobe, machine guns, even a man-bun) it revolves around the period leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, seen primarily from the perspective of the title character and his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. Judas is angry – he sees Jesus as a man who has succumbed to his own hype, now betraying the original mission, and buying into the hero-worship of fans who view him as the King of the Jews.  Judas is also furious about Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene – he believes that consorting with a woman in her profession opens them up to criticism and violates the group’s principles. Jesus is exhausted from the pressure of his role – he sums it all up in “Gethsemane” when he sings “I’m not as sure as when we started. Then I was inspired, now I’m sad and tired. Listen, surely I’ve exceeded expectations. Tried for three years, seems like thirty.” Both Jesus and Judas begin to realize that they are pawns of inexorable forces– one compelled to suffer and die for a cause he cannot fully grasp, the other compelled to betray his closest friend in order to bring the story to its tragic conclusion. The story deviates pretty significantly from the Biblical version(s), but in doing so it sheds a powerful light on the age-old dilemma of reconciling Jesus the man with Jesus the agent of God.

Matthew Brown (“Jesus”) eases gradually into his role – at first a tepid participant in the crowd’s worship, then overwhelmed and frantic in the leper scene – and when he cries out “Heal yourselves!” we cannot help but empathize with his plight.  While this depressed and downtrodden Jesus has bursts of strength (especially in “The Temple”) Brown does a fine job of conveying his character’s confusion, fear, and ultimate resignation to a fate he never sought. Micaiah “Ky” Fifer is just the opposite – from his first moment on stage he is bursting with furious energy as he tries in vain to steer his friend away from certain doom.  Fifer’s strident vocals (and bulging biceps) combine to define his persona, setting us up for his moving reprise of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and, ultimately, “Judas’ Death.” The third key character is Anna McKie (“Mary Magdalene”), who simply nails every song and scene in which she appears. She’s calm and caring, with a sinewy fragility that embodies both Mary’s femininity and her quiet strength. Her voice is lovely, and her delivery of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Everything’s All Right” are the perfect counter to Fifer’s pent-up rage.

Other particularly impressive and often fun portrayals (it may not be obvious, but there are lots of comic touches) are Zachary Centers’ “Caiaphas,” Travis Schlegel’s “Pontius Pilate,” Zachary Johnsen’s “Annas” and Jeannane Kelsey (sinuously eye-catching swiveling around in her black short-shorts).

Much of the show’s ambience is created through technology, done beautifully. The video screens give Zach Centers a disembodied eeriness and enhance Jesus’ death scene with gripping images of crucifixions, while the elevator cross injects a modernist note into a barbaric ancient practice. In some places, elaborate lighting effects create a carnival-like atmosphere that works perfectly for a mindless crowd.

The importance of Michelle Bahr’s work as both music director and conductor cannot be overstated. Synthesizer, guitar, flute, horns, drums and all the rest work together to support the vocalists and to introduce shifting moods as the show progresses through the story and through a variety of musical styles.

Audiences familiar with the original 1970 Jesus Christ Superstar album or the subsequent stage and movie versions will not be disappointed with Theatre in the Grove’s 2017 take, and newcomers should be converted into fans rushing to Amazon or YouTube to explore earlier executions of the work. The show runs only three weekends, and the best seats should go fast.

Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove through May 7th, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

BCT’s Absurd Death By Design – Undemanding Fun

Greg Mansfield, Jemi Kostener Mansfield, and Sam Roberts

By Tina Arth

Beaverton Civic Theatre’s current offering, Death By Design, is a light-hearted murder-mystery-farce that asks little of its audience other than hearty enjoyment. The script, kind of a mash-up of Agatha Christie, Noel Coward, and the Marx Brothers (with just a touch of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), is laden with clever one-liners, plot twists (some predictable, some not), and unabashed slapstick.  Director Susan Giberson has chosen her cast well, and directed them to go after every possible laugh like terriers with a rat’s nest – subtlety has little place on stage in this production.

Playwright Rob Urbinati’s story is set entirely in the living room of Cookham, an estate near London, in 1932. Fictional playwright Edward Bennett (Ira Korum) and his uber-diva actress wife, Sorel (Jemi Kostiner Mansfield) have retreated to their country house to lick their wounds after receiving devastatingly bad reviews on their latest play, each blaming the other for the show’s poor reception. The stage gradually fills with the arrival of unexpected and eccentric houseguests (plus the staff – a maid and chauffeur who provide a running commentary on the antics of their betters). A guest, the well-connected and lecherous politician Walter Pearce (Gregory Mansfield), is apparently slain; everyone is potentially a suspect, and it’s left to Bridget (Teresa Chrisinger), the maid and true-crime aficionado, to solve the mystery.

Korum and Kostiner Mansfield have the right chemistry to pull off their mercurial and sometimes violent relationship: when sparks fly, they may be passion or they may involve flying vases. Helped by copious quantities of whiskey, Korum is calmly sardonic throughout, despite his eccentric wardrobe choices that do nothing to disguise the wounds he has sustained from his wife’s frequent tantrums. Kostiner Mansfield moves smoothly from seductress to hellion, shifting from languor to fury in the blink of an eye. A personal favorite of mine is Eric (Sam Roberts), the fiery anti-establishment radical who inexplicably appears on the scene and spends the night hurling his social-justice warrior invective at rest of the cast.

The broadest physical comedy falls to Priscilla Howell (as the bohemian artiste Victoria Van Roth). Playing on the character’s unusual grooming choices, extraordinary dancing, and truly awful artworks, Howell succeeds in making us laugh (and groan) while repelling the houseguests (especially the uptight Pearce).

Chrisinger’s “Bridget” is the real star, and she dominates the stage (and the household) with a stolid Irish determination and a dose of common sense. Her accent is consistent (always a plus when dealing with British comedy), and her timing precise. Although she is often quietly perched stage left, the audience cannot help but watch her as she uses her mobile face to silently comment on the insanity around her; when she speaks, her sardonic disdain for her employers and their guests makes it clear that she is really in charge.

Lights, sound, costuming and technical effects all complement the scene - from the timing of the gunshot knocking down Van Roth’s beloved painting and the strobes that partially illuminate each potential murderer to the bizarre match between Sorel’s bright crimson hair color and the lavish draperies. These and dozens of other touches help to keep the comedy moving and provide an internal consistency to the absurd story.

Like many farces, the script and stagecraft sometimes wear thin in Act II – we know the characters’ quirks, we’ve seen the running gags one time too many – but Giberson has paced the show well; it runs under two hours with intermission, and this helps to keep the audience engaged. Urbinati has laced the show with enough witty throwaway lines to amuse an alert audience – I particularly enjoyed his prescient sporadic barbs about cuts in government funding for the arts. The show is generally PG-13 – appropriate for older children, although many of the best lines may be wasted on them.

Death By Design runs through Saturday, May 6^th at the Beaverton City Library Auditorium, 12375 SW Fifth Street, Beaverton, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Gallery’s The Gin Game Darkly Powerful

Kathleen Silloway and Gary Romans

By Tina Arth

I rarely make the trek to Gallery Theater, as McMinnville is a hefty ride down the 99 from SW Portland – but their current production of The Gin Game was well worth the drive. Director Joe Silva and Co-Director Valerie Steele clearly understand this oddly compelling cautionary tale about the perils of aging, and they have drawn from their actors exactly the performances the material demands.

D. L. Colburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1976 play provides plum roles for two strong actors “of a certain age” - in this production, Gary Romans (Weller) and Kathleen Silloway (Fonsia). Like other shows that deal with the last act in our lives, The Gin Game delivers a hefty dose of laughter leavened with sadness, anger, and depression – but unlike many such shows, it reveals no convenient silver lining to warm our hearts as we exit the theater. Had I not been faced with the drive home, I might have been inspired to go in search of a spot of gin for myself (the beverage, not the card game).

The play revolves around two residents of the Bentley Nursing Home, old hand Weller and newcomer Fonsia. Unlike most of the home’s residents, these two are neither mentally nor physically impaired – they are just too old to live alone and apparently unwanted by neglectful relatives. Weller sums it up nicely: “I have one of the most advanced cases of old age in medical history.  The mortality rate’s incredible.” As the show progresses we get hints of the character traits that have contributed to their abandonment. They cling together over a three-week time span, at first united and ultimately divided by a series of card games (gin, naturally) that grow increasingly tense, until the final explosion leaves Weller, Fonsia, and the audience profoundly shaken.

Roman’s “Weller” is a wonderful mix of charm, persistence, impatience, anger and abusiveness, and he makes the most of every moment on stage. His comic and dramatic timing are superb, and he switches from one mood to another with Jekyll and Hyde-like precision.  Silloway’s “Fonsia” has an emotional subtlety that almost fools us into thinking that she’s just a sweet old lady, done wrong by an uncaring world – it takes time to penetrate her strategy (at cards and life). Each time she lays her cards down and says “gin” we come closer to understanding her passive-aggressively manipulative side; although she never really drops her pose of fragility and innocence, she gradually shows her hand.

James Steele’s set functions almost like a third character.  As silent nursing home attendant Jordan Mackor “fixes” the broken finial with chewing gum, breaks the flower pot, and props the window open with a roll of toilet paper we are drawn to the key details of a set – a lonely patio, cluttered with once-lovely touches now in the throes of inexorable decay - that functions as a detailed metaphor for the lives of Bentley’s inhabitants.

Co-directors Silva and Steele have paced the show nicely, bringing it in under two hours even with intermission.  Lighting designer Jason Alexander and (14 year old!) light board operator Kylee Longaker help create a variety of daytime and evening moods that complement and enhance the scene, accenting the characters’ changing emotional states.

The Gin Game is running at Gallery Theater, 210 NE Ford Street, McMinnville through Saturday, May 6 with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.

BEEHIVE Takes Broadway Rose By Storm

By Tina Arth

I always expect to be impressed by the quality of Broadway Rose productions, yet their current offering still surprised me. Like many of their shows on the smaller New Stage, Beehive isn’t really a play, it’s a concert garbed in a thin wraparound story, but this is by no means a criticism.  During the brief narrative moments (and the two songs specifically written for the musical) I was chafing for them to get back to the meat of the production – a 5-piece band and 6 female vocalists delivering stunningly accurate renditions of all or part of 39 popular songs from the 1960s.  Despite its name, the show is much more than a parody of the exaggerated hairstyles, wardrobes, kitsch and melodrama of artists like Shirley Ellis, Leslie Gore, Connie Francis, and the Shangri-Las.

Like the decade on which it is based, Beehive is divided into two sharply different segments. Act I reflects the innocent optimism attributed to the early ‘60s, with silly or self-absorbed numbers like “The Name Game,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” and the triumphantly petty “Judy’s Turn to Cry.” Following intermission (which comes much too soon) the tone, much like the decade, is transformed. The harsh realities of the Kennedy assassination and civil rights movement contribute to darker moods and heavier themes, moving inexorably toward an awesome rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Ball and Chain.”

The 6 women who bring it (literally) to the stage are unbelievable. Their timing and harmonies are sharp, and they manage to emulate the original artists respectfully, lapsing only rarely into parody (sorry, Annette!). Narrator Alyssa Birrer sets the tone for both acts, as the audience’s cheerleader for “The Name Game” and opening Act II with the somber predictions of “The Beat Goes On.” Kayla Dixon has fun spoofing Annette Funicello and playing with Diana Ross’ well-known ego during the Supremes medley, but tears our hearts and hers out in the Tina Turner medley.

Andrea Enright masters several ‘60s genres including the haunting melodrama of “Remember” and the bubble-gum self-absorption of “It’s My Party” and “Judy’s Turn to Cry.” Her “You Don’t Own Me” is a wonder of nascent feminism, and she demonstrates the depth of her vocal soul in the “Natural Woman”/”Do Right Woman” medley. Malia Tippetts demonstrates a truly remarkable vocal (and acting) range: unbearably perky in “My Boyfriend’s Back,” dripping with pathos in “I’m Sorry,” channeling Petula Clark in “Don’t Sleep In the Subway,” then dragging us into the reality of racism with an exquisite “Society’s Child.” Janis Ian would be proud.  

Two performers, Antonia Darlene and Kristen Calvin, ultimately dominate the show with their work in Act II. Darlene’s “Respect” demands the audience cheering it receives, and her part of the “Natural Woman”/”Do Right Woman” medley is earthshaking – the perfect set-up for the final Janis Joplin medley. When Kristen Calvin first appears on stage in her Joplinesque hippie attire and exaggeratedly wild hair, the audience succumbs to brief moments of laughter; as a serious aficionado I was mildly annoyed by the sense of parody - then she launched herself into “Piece of My Heart” and I knew all was well. By the end of “Ball and Chain” I was swept up in the excitement that brought the audience to its feet to honor the 6 women (and Jeffrey Childs’ band) for a tour de force that transcends nostalgia. My only real complaint is that this was not a “real” concert, so we couldn’t clap and scream for encores.

Director Sharon Maroney, choreographer Dan Murphy, and costume designer Brynne Oster-Bainnson can bask in their successful recreation of so many iconic moments from one of our nation’s most turbulent and creative eras. Seats are going fast, so buy your tickets soon!

Beehive is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Avenue, Tigard through Sunday, May 14^th.

Funny, Funny Farm

 The cast of Born to Be a Cowboy.

By Tina Arth

In 5 years, and over 150 reviews including many youth productions, nothing quite prepared me for the Funny Farm Early Learning Center’s dinner theater production of Country Fair Jamboree. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds (including, most notably, a last-minute rescheduling from Friday night to Saturday afternoon for the one-time event) this remarkable group of staff, volunteers, and preschoolers proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that age is no barrier to immersion in the theater arts. Funny Farm doyennes Laura Rawlins and Marcy Wells (filling numerous roles as organizer, author, adapter, director, emcee, auctioneer, choreographer, and so much more) assembled a team so skilled and flexible that the 22-hour delay in opening the curtain caused no apparent snags, and Funny Farm parents, grandparents, and friends cheerfully reorganized their schedules to accommodate last Friday’s horrific windstorm and subsequent power outages.

Elouise Surmi and Axel Dubois
(as Cowboy Roy and Horse) 

If I counted right (several kids filled roles in different numbers) no fewer than 26 singing, dancing, acting preschoolers appeared on stage. They conclusively proved that they could master singing in unison (and in time with the music), blocking, dialogue, comic timing, and quick costume changes (for four musical numbers and three narrated dramas) like a bunch of tiny pros.  For most, it was their first time on stage – but it definitely will not be their last.  

Playing on the actors’ natural affinity for silliness made it possible for the cast to overcome potential stage fright and give it their enthusiastic all. Each number had its own unique charm, but while it is not easy to isolate specifics, I did have a few personal favorites. The Pie Song gave the kids their first chance to shine as individuals, and they made the most of it – they really rocked their pie faces! Born to Be a Cowboy incorporated Laura Rawlins’ skilled choreography – those of us challenged to chew gum and walk at the same time could only envy those singing, dancing little cowpokes. Axel Dubois, making his Funny Farm debut as “Cowboy Roy,” was articulate and earnest in his search for a steed. For me, the best moment in the show was when he finally located a horse (the captivating Elouise Surmi), disappeared backstage with horse and saddle, and emerged with the horse riding the cowboy – a nice plot twist, but more than that, an expression of the humane values so critical in early childhood education. 

Veteran Funny Farm performer Selina Applestill gave Axel stiff competition in the best acting category – her “Little Old Lady” was truly fearless, and kept her amazing array of followers on point. For sheer, unbridled fun nobody on stage could compete with Alex Thompson (also a veteran actor), whose “Duck” in Dooby Dooby Moo provided the perfect finale and kept the house (on and off stage) in stitches. I see a bright future for this young man as either an Elvis imitator or a flock leader – or maybe both.

On the adult side, Marcy Wells’ narration was brilliant – flexible, just slightly sardonic, and apparently (although not really) spontaneous, and her skill as an auctioneer deserves special mention. Marcy also gets credit (along with Margaret Farnsworth) for the fabulous costumes. Sets and scenery (Marcy and Margaret again, plus the multi-talented Chris Byrne) added immeasurably – I was particularly taken with the forest backdrop and the wonderful and flexible cornstalks.

One tiny note of criticism: I was surprised to see, in the (absolutely wonderful!) program, that folks were invited to get autographs from their “favorite actors and actresses.” In 2017, the gender distinction between male and female performers is becoming a linguistic anachronism, and I hope that Funny Farm considers moving to gender-neutral labels for future productions.

Funny Farm ELC’s production of Country Fair Jamboree played one performance only, on Saturday, April 8 in the Garden Home Recreation Center Auditorium. I strongly recommend that you buy your tickets early for next year’s show – this one was clearly a sell-out performance!