CUCKOO’S NEST SOARS AT THEATRE IN THE GROVE

 

The Cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Theatre in the Grove.

 

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker 

Theatre in the Grove does not shy away from productions that jar their audiences’ sensibilities, as is amply demonstrated by the current production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. While the mental health system has changed radically since the late fifties (electroshock therapy and frontal lobotomies are no longer treatments du jour), the darker theme of a social order imposed by mindless obedience to an arbitrary rulebook is at least as relevant now as when the play (and book) were written.

The play (by Dale Wasserman and based on Ken Kesey’s iconic 1962 novel) portrays life on the men’s ward of an Oregon mental hospital. Despite the breadth of lunacy on the ward, order is maintained by Nurse Ratched, whose rigid rules dictate every facet of the inmates’ lives. This simmering tranquility is brought to the boiling point by the arrival of R. P. McMurphy, a very sane petty criminal and con man who feigns mental illness so that he can sit out his five month sentence in the mental hospital. The inevitable conflict between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched drives the play to its powerful and jarring conclusion.



Stevo Clay as R.P. McMurphy (right)
and Zachary Centers as Billy Bibbit.

Director Dan Harry has assembled a generally strong cast from whom he draws a number of superb performances.  Stevo Clay (R.P. McMurphy) delivers flawlessly, and is well-worth the price of admission. He is engaging, charming, iconoclastic, fast talking – the Harold Hill of the wacky factory.  Further, he seamlessly manages the character’s transitions from con to conformist to martyr.  Aleks Merilo plays Harding, the “bull goose loony” who loses top dog status to McMurphy, with intelligence and sensitivity despite the character’s sardonic bent. Zachary Centers is simply amazing as pathetic, stuttering, virginal, suicidal momma’s boy Billy Bibbit. His portrayal displays the depth of Bibbit’s complex neuroses, and he easily earns the audience sympathy that is essential to the play’s climax.

The stage is set in many ways by the slow and deliberate narration of Chief Bromden (Jim Feemster), who is able to grow psychologically into his hulking physical presence.

The rest of the patients on the ward (Ted Felt as Scanlon, William “Chandano” Fuller as Cheswick, Joshua Willis as Martini, Fred Sherrill as Ruckley, and Joey Steve as Chronic Patient), each maladjusted in his own way, manage to express their various psychoses with a flamboyance tempered by respect for the characters they portray.  Even at their looniest, there is no sense of comic mockery. Many thanks to the cast and director for their sensitivity in crafting this bizarre but restrained microcosm.

 Anita Zijdemans Boudreau brings her own interpretation to the role of Nurse Ratched. Her intent (based on what we read on-line) is to humanize the key female character by portraying her as sincerely concerned with the patients’ welfare. From our perspective, this is problematic because the role as written simply does not sustain the approach. Kesey and Wasserman drew a Nurse Ratched who would require unanimous votes on ward policy when one of the voters is catatonic, who would drive Billy Bibbit to suicidal despair, and no reading of the script really allows for the benign mindset Boudreau seeks. However, she emanates a passive-aggressive, sterile malice that pushes all of the right buttons. In stark contrast to Nurse Ratched’s sterility is prostitute Candy Star (Ashli Zijdemans), whose overt sexuality and effusive enthusiasm bring astonishing vitality to the ward whenever she appears.

The set, lighting, and sound combine to evoke an eerily institutional feel that provides the perfect background for the show’s action. The near-capacity audience (at a Sunday matinee!) was clearly as impressed as we were with the entire production. Caution – this is not a show for children or the faint at heart – both the language and themes require a mature sensibility!

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest plays at Forest Grove’s Theatre in the Grove through March 10^th.

YOU’LL LOVE HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES



By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker


 

The cast of "How the Other Half Loves"

H.A.R.T. Theatre’s production of How The Other Half Loves delivers a hearty dose of fast-paced drawing-room comedy to the Washington County theater scene, and Dan Kroon tackles this extraordinarily challenging show with a skill that belies his status as a first-time director.

At first glance it may not seem like that complex an endeavor – after all, there’s only one set and six actors. However, the “one” set is, in fact, two separate apartments simultaneously occupying the same space, and the six cast members (three 1990’s era British couples) inhabit one locale or another within this space depending on the demands of the script. Worse (or better) yet, in a pivotal scene one couple attends two different dinner parties (one in each apartment) with different hosts, on different evenings, at the same time and at the same dining table!

Sound confusing? It could be, but the combination of author Alan Ayckbourn’s warm and witty script, Kroon’s deft direction, a brilliant set, and six solid performances keep the audience on track and engaged for 2+ hours of comedy that flies by. The story itself adheres to many classic “comedy of errors” traditions – marital infidelity (actual and illusory), discontented spouses, stereotypical British class warfare, lies, gossip, and bullies who get their comeuppance.
 

 



Michael Rouches as Frank Foster

Michael Harry Rouches plays Frank Foster, the older, gentrified boss whose wife Fiona (Danielle Valentine) is having an affair with one of Frank’s subordinates. Rouches is charmingly befuddled throughout, and one of the most consistently likeable characters in the show – a stark counterpoint to Valentine’s brittle and condescending British matron. Valentine’s comic timing and clipped British accent provide an effective foil to Rouches’ performance as the hapless cuckold.

 

Dennis Kujawa and Meghan Daaboul (Bob and Teresa Phillips) represent the other end of the class spectrum – he the glib, bullying, self-centered misogynist and she the angry and thoroughly disenchanted working-class new mom who is sure (for good reason) that her no-good husband is cheating.  Kujawa does an outstanding job of making the audience despise him, while Daaboul earns a little sympathy although her maternal skills are somewhat impaired.



Dennis Kujawa and Meghan Daaboul

Brick Andrews as William Featherstone and Holly Danelle as his wife Mary, while given a bit less stage time, are figuratively and literally caught in the middle. Andrews and Danelle carry the dinner party scene on their able shoulders, instantly and fluidly switching between Thursday’s dinner with the boss and Friday’s awkward meal at the Phillips’ apartment. While the entire show calls for exquisite timing, this scene is by far the most demanding, and both Andrews and Danelle rise to the challenge. Furthermore, Danelle does a superb job of navigating her character’s transition from mousy, insecure doormat to, if not Margaret Thatcher, at least a decently assertive and confident woman.

Thanks to director Kroon for assembling a cast capable of making us (and our fellow audience-members) laugh over and over throughout the evening.  The packed house was well-deserved, and we hope that the show enjoys continued strong attendance!

 

How The Other Half Loves is playing at Hillsboro Artists’ Regional Theatre through March 3.

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

Photo by Chris Ryan. Pictured from left is Amy Jo Halliday, Joshua Stenseth, Leah Yorkston, and Colin Wood.

Broadway Rose kicks off its 2013 Season

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker
 

Broadway Rose Theatre Company’s theme this season is “Discover a Season of Unforgettable Memories in 2013” and the opening show, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change fits comfortably into the mold. The long-running show (12 years - second only to The Fantasticks in the length of its Off-Broadway run) has consistently amused and entertained audiences since its 1996 debut, and will probably continue to do so for many years to come.

The show makes no pretense at being cutting-edge, and even when it was first produced some of author Joe DiPietro’s vignettes were based on time-honored clichés about the full spectrum of complications when man and woman try to get together. On the other hand, it is the enduring commonality of these situations that makes the show’s humor so accessible to its audiences – despite the advent of Twitter and Skype (or whatever this week’s media-of-the-moment might be), in many ways nothing has changed in the world of dating, love and marriage.

With no unifying plot and only four actors, each one occupying a character who lasts only as long as a song/dialogue vignette (and there are 21 in the show!), it is a challenge to fully engage the audience. Happily, Director Sharon Maroney peoples her cast with four heavy hitters (all regulars in top-notch Portland area productions) who have the amazing voices, timing, and comedic skill to keep the customers satisfied.

Some of the show’s best moments come in numbers where all four cast members perform together, delivering intricate harmonies and powerful solos sandwiched in the crisply delivered comedy. In an evening filled with laughs, the audience was especially receptive when Amy Jo Halliday and Colin Wood portrayed grandchild-seeking missiles frustrated by son Joshua Stenseth’s inability to commit, and girlfriend Leah Yorkston’s focus on her career over marriage and family. Who among us has not been there, either as parent, child, date, or all three? 

Wood is especially effective in “Shouldn’t I Be Less in Love With You?” which is essentially a solo spot in the spirit of Fiddler on the Roof’s “Do You Love Me?” (wife Halliday is on stage throughout, but is so wrapped up in the morning paper that she barely glances his way).  However, all four cast members give us memorable moments well beyond the demands of the material.

Amazingly for a show with as many quick character changes as I Love You…, there were no discernible technical errors – quick changes in sound, lighting, costumes, and sets were accomplished without a hitch. While this is a “small” show in some ways, the production is deceptively complex. The director, tech crew, and musicians as well as the actors clearly put in the time and thought required to make the first offering of Broadway Rose’s 2013 season unforgettably memorable.

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change plays at Broadway Rose’s New Stage in Tigard through February 24^th.

TITG Does a Big Job on “The Little Mermaid, Jr.”

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker

In addition to its regular community theater offerings, Forest Grove’s Theatre in the Grove offers educational youth theater programs and productions to bring the next generation of actors and audiences into the fold. “The Little Mermaid, Jr.” is one of a series of children’s theater standards that has been condensed from its original format to facilitate and maximize the opportunities for kids to get involved. While these plays do, inevitably, lose something in translation, they are still a great vehicle to serve as an introduction to acting and stagecraft for children.

Because of an error on a third-party website, we missed the first 45 minutes of the show, and we apologize if we inadvertently slight some performers. When we walked in almost half-way through the show, we were struck by the fact that we were lucky to find two empty seats (and these were near the back of the theater) – the audience turnout was spectacular, and the cast’s enthusiast performance was matched by the audience’s equally enthusiastic response.

The cast is simply huge – by our count, almost 60, all young people (some of them very young, indeed!). This could have led to utter chaos, but instead (thanks to director Jeanna Van Dyke and her able crew) the audience is treated to finely controlled chaos (think Keystone Kops) as small schools of children (pun intended) swim, skate, glide, and pound the boards of the stage and aisles. Especially riveting is the number where a manic herd of tiny sous chefs pursue Sebastian (David Van Dyke), knives flailing, in their efforts to include a touch of crab in the evening’s repast. Evan Tait delivers a strong and menacing performance as Chef Louis, as well as tackling the key role of King Triton. As the Little Mermaid herself, Ariel, is silent for most of the latter part of the show, we weren’t able to hear much of Emily Upton’s voice. However, what we heard was lovely, and she does a great job of wordlessly expressing herself, especially in the scenes with Prince Eric (Avery Cackler).  Tiare Zijdemans (as King Triton’s sister, the evil sea witch Ursula) is in full voice throughout, and her strong and strident vocals effectively convey her character. Both Ian Romig (Grimsby) and David Van Dyke (Sebastian) are audience favorites who put a lot of hard work and energy into creating their comic roles.

Special recognition is definitely due the costume crew, who have done a great job assembling the myriad costumes required by a cast of mermaids, fish, crustaceans, roller-skating electric eels, seagulls, and other assorted creatures of land, sea, and air. The sets are attractive and effective, simple enough not to interfere with the cast members as they maneuvered around the stage with legs, fins, feet, and boats. The sound is handled well for principal characters, all of whom are audible and clear – and the choral numbers, many utilizing the entire cast, provide some of the show’s best moments.

“The Little Mermaid, Jr.” runs through Sunday, January 27^th at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove. www.theatreinthegrove.org

“CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN” – Large Cast for the Price!

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker

It’s always fun to attend a production by a group we’ve never seen before, and doubly so when it’s youth theater. As lovers of live performance, we are concerned with the development of the next generation of stage actors and audiences – and groups like STAGES Performing Arts Youth Academy (STAGES) are invaluable on both fronts. With its huge cast of children, “Cheaper By The Dozen” is an ideal vehicle for showcasing youth talents in acting and all other aspects of live theatrical production (the stage manager is a 12-year old!).

The play is an adaptation by Christopher Sergel of the book by the same name (authored by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey), and deals with the period immediately preceding the death of efficiency expert Frank Gilbreth, Sr. The story revolves around the twelve Gilbreth children (hence the title) and their relationships to each other, their parents, and the outside world. Despite the huge size of the family and the parents’ constant focus on efficiency, the Gilbreth clan is painted as a loving unit with the flexibility needed to accommodate so many individuals. As the children (especially the older daughters) approach maturity, there are inevitable conflicts (Frank Sr. jokingly reprimands his wife for ignoring his request that she bear only boys, as he has little experience with adolescent girls!).

The few adults in the show (Donald Cleland as Mr. Gilbreth, Beth Self as Mrs. Gilbreth, Cindy Bartell as Mrs. Fitzgerald, and Scott Rushford as Dr. Burton) are effective anchors for the show’s real stars, the children. Director William Crawford maximizes the opportunities for youthful actors by using them not only as children, but in several adult roles. The entire youth ensemble displays a cohesive professionalism (not easy with so many people on a small stage!), but there are too many of them to recognize each individual. However, we must recognize the standout performances delivered by the trio of elder daughters, Hannah Solheim (Anne), Frankie Woodman (young Ernestine), and Hannah Wilson (Martha). Of course, whenever they are visible, ParkerPup (the $5.00 Dog) and 2 ½ year old Grant Davis (Robert, the baby of the family) steal the show.

Director William Crawford is a man of many talents. In addition to assembling and organizing an enormous group (21 humans, one dog) into an effective cast, he also designed and helped built the attractive and very functional set. The show moves smoothly, with very few lapses in the action. Certainly the speed with which all of the children can be assembled on stage (it varies between 9 and 14 seconds!) reflects the show’s efficiency expert pedigree!

While the show is enjoyable on its own merits, more important still is the role that STAGES is playing in the early introduction of children to the multiple facets of theater arts. Many of the cast members have studied theater with Donald Cleland, and they must have taken special delight in being able to share the stage with their mentor. As arts education continues to dwindle in the K-12 school system, it is especially important for the entire community to support programs that promote youth theater.

“Cheaper By The Dozen” is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington Street, Hillsboro through Sunday, January 20^th with 8:00 p.m. performances on Friday and Saturday and a 2:00 matinee on Sunday.

"Narnia" at Theatre in the Grove

 

 

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker

For its foray into the world of holiday theater, Forest Grove’s venerable Theatre in the Grove tackles “Narnia,” based on C.S. Lewis’ much beloved children’s tale “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” The production captures both aspects of children’s theater – it is theater for children, and the majority of the cast members are young people.

In order to fully appreciate the show, it is essential to see it through the eyes of a child – happily, we were able to do this because the audience contained an abundance of young people enthusiastically embracing the show’s magic. The cast consists of 20 young people (whose ages range from elementary school through college) and 8 adults. Director Michelle Friend, faced with the challenge of taking over the show halfway through the production process, has done a fine job of synthesizing this large and disparate group into an effective ensemble.

The Leopard (Iris Cebola) sums it all up beautifully in her cast bio: “…it’s cool how people audition for these plays, and then they do all the hard work of running a show, and the actors don’t even get paid in anything but the wonderful experience of acting in live theatre…it means that the actors don’t care that they aren’t earning profit, they just want to entertain the community and have fun. That…is truly awesome” – and it is!

While all of the actors, musicians, crew, and house staff contribute to this “awesome” enterprise, a few merit special mention. Natasha Kujawa (who, with her mom Carla, choreographed the show) opens the evening with the first of several ballet numbers. Her graceful movements and delightful smile set the tone for much of what follows. John Ollis (Professor Digory/Father Christmas) is charmingly avuncular and conspiratorial in his role as the children’s uncle.

Breanna Grimes (Edmund Pevensie) has perhaps the greatest challenge, playing a male role so convincingly that only the program betrays the secret of her gender. She is deliciously venal, and the incessant squabbling between Edmund and Lucy (Aubrey Crouch) provides some of the evening’s most amusing moments, despite the plaintive efforts of older sister Susan (Lindsay Partain) to mediate. The fight scenes between Peter Pevensie and various snarling foes are lively and well-executed – two younger boys were overheard at intermission marveling at the authentic swordplay.

Comic relief rests in the able hands (or, perhaps, paws) of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver (Tom Robinson and Dusti Arab). Often in the background, their verbal and physical interactions frequently steal the scenes, and they provide some of the strongest solo and choral voices in the cast. Pruella Centers uses her roles as Mrs. McReady and the White Witch to portray stereotypically angry and nasty (but terribly funny) old women in both the real and fantasy worlds of the play.

James Grimes is well cast as Aslan, the thematic key character of the story. Kudos to the makeup and costuming crew for giving him an other-worldly physical mystique that complements his powerful role in the bizarre world of Narnia. He delivers his lines crisply and firmly, yet conveys a compassion that justifies his martyrdom. In addition, he has a powerful and compelling voice that anchors the choral work of much of the show.

The orchestra, conducted by music director Seung Jin Bae, is really quite wonderful.  The score is complex, and the musicians never miss a beat. The sets are effective, especially the wonderful wardrobe door – only when the house lights are full was it apparent that the seemingly ornate carvings are really just painted on.

Close reading of the program reveals the extent to which “Narnia” is truly a family affair – not just for the audience children in their holiday finest, but for the cast, which is generously peppered with parents, children, and siblings. Theatre in the Grove brings something special and unique to the Forest Grove community.

 

“Narnia” is playing at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, through December 23d.

Bag&Baggage's 'A Christmas Carol' Twist

Farndale Avenue in Hillsboro

 

By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker

 

Hillsboro’s Bag and Baggage Theatre Company prides itself on its ability to “push the envelope and defy expectations.” There is no question that “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen Guild’s Dramatic Society’s Production of a Christmas Carol” (aka “TFAHETGDSPOACC”) defied any expectations we may have had as we entered the elegant interior of the Venetian Theatre – despite the fact that we had never seen a Bag and Baggage production, and therefore had no idea what to expect!

Prior to last Friday, we had not been faced with the challenge of evaluating the merits of a show that is built exclusively and overtly on the absence of any theatrical merit. However, as director Scott Palmer makes clear in his notes, and the company in its performance, TFAHETGDSPOACC’s goal is to transcend “serious theatre into farce,” and to achieve this goal via the “abysmal acting” of a drama troupe consisting of “women playing men’s parts, and all of them doing it dreadfully” – with the added twist that four of the five women playing men are actually men playing women playing men.

Driving home, mulling over what we had seen, we realized that as the show’s only goal was to make its audience laugh, the Bag and Baggage production was a raging success. The very full house was convulsed with laughter throughout the evening as Farndale thespians Thelma Greenwood (Ian Armstrong), Mrs. Phoebe Reece (Patrick Spike), Mercedes Blower (Sean Powell), Gordon Pugh (Rosalind Fell), and Felicity Boleyn Stafford (Tylor Neist) did their best to destroy Dickens’ ubiquitous Christmas classic with vile makeup, terrible costuming, an appalling set, bizarre (and bizarrely utilized) props, horrendous accents, mediocre singing (to be fair, they sang a lot better than they danced), and a level of physical comedy that would put the Three Stooges to shame. The humorous effect was heightened by a steady stream of local references (there is a surprising amount of comic potential in the word “Aloha” to a Hillsboro audience, and references to the Woodburn Outlet Mall and Gresham were similarly received – one wonders how they overlooked the hilarity that is Beaverton!).

While TFAHETGDSPOACC is clearly an ensemble show, we cannot fail to mention the astonishing performance of Mrs. Phoebe Reece, who set the tone for the entire performance (and entertained us while the majority of her cast members were allegedly stuck in traffic on “Television Highway”). The bounteous, strident and overbearing Mrs. Reece was as comfortable kibitzing with the audience as she was commanding her ill-prepared thespian troops, and her performance set the tone for an evening of brazen theatrical excess.

Despite the show’s determination to give its audience a truly terrible evening of theatre, Bag and Baggage provided quality where it counts. The crew/production team never missed a beat, and the sound, lighting, make-up/wigs/costuming, and props delivered with a professionalism that belied and enhanced the “dreadful amateur” shtick of the production. Fans of Monty Python, Benny Hill, “Fawlty Towers,” or “Keeping Up Appearances” will recognize and appreciate the lovely ladies of Farndale Avenue for bringing such an over-the-top slice of British farce to the Greater Hillsboro area. We are grateful to Scott Palmer and Bag and Baggage for undertaking this noble work.

“TFAHETGDSPOACC” is playing at the Venetian Theatre, 253 E. Main St. Hillsboro through December 23rd.