Guys and Dolls

By Tina Arth

I confess – I am an ardent, almost rabid fan of Loesser, Swerling and Burrows’ Guys and Dolls. The show made its Broadway debut in 1950 and received the Tony Award in 1951 for Best Musical (as well as being chosen for the Pulitzer Prize the same year, an award that was never granted because the House Un-American Activities Committee disapproved of Burrows’ politics). In terms of play structure, interwoven story lines, and integration of music with book, it is as close to perfect as a musical can be (at least in my opinion). In addition, the great songs all fit exactly where they are placed, and the dance numbers correspond just as closely to the demands of the tale. Consequently, I set a high bar – a VERY high bar - for any theatre group that ventures to present this paragon. Opening weekend, Broadway Rose laid down the gauntlet for all other local troupes.  The synthesis of vocal ensemble, blocking, acting and choreography is so good that at the end of Act II’s “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” I leaned to my neighbor and whispered, in all sincerity and with just a touch of melancholy, “I will never see this number done this well again.”

Guys and Dolls is adapted from some of the short stories of Damon Runyon, and follows the stories of two interconnected couples in the New York underworld of the twenties and thirties.  Nathan Detroit, the promoter of a long-running floating crap game, needs a place to hold the game, and he needs to hide the game’s existence from the disapproving Adelaide, his showgirl fiancée of 14 years. Enter Big Jule, a Chicago mobster insistent on finding a game, and Sky Masterson, a high roller who will bet on almost anything – but not marriage. To finance a locale for his crap game, Nathan bets Sky that he cannot talk local missionary Sarah into a quickie visit to Havana. As the tale follows the fates of the two couples, bound up in the fate of the failing Save A Soul mission, good conquers evil and love conquers all.

One flaw common to many Guys and Dolls productions is the casting of a Sky Masterson who can sing the role, but who just doesn’t capture the “bad boy” charm needed to make the romantic bonfire with Sarah credible. The choice of Ryan Reilly for the role is inspired – he is drop-dead handsome, with a just a touch of danger – all women want him; all men want to be him.  He claims not to believe in lasting love, but in “I’ll Know” he signals he’s ripe for a fall, and by the time he delivers his exquisite rendition of  “My Time of Day” it’s clear that he’s beyond redemption. Dru Rutledge (Sarah) is a worthy adversary – feisty, independent, superficially righteous but obviously intrigued by the hint of a world beyond her mission even before she tastes her first Dulce de Leche. Rutledge’s gorgeous soprano voice is always impressive, but is at its best in “If I Were a Bell” and “Marry the Man Today” when she suppresses her superb operatic training into a more relaxed delivery.

Joe Theissen and Emily Sahler are flawless as Nathan and Adelaide. Director Sharon Maroney made the interesting (and immensely satisfying) decision to allow them to fulfill their roles as the show’s comic leads without turning them into over-the-top cartoon characters with absurdly exaggerated Brooklyn accents. Both renditions of “Adelaide’s Lament” are appropriately pathetic, but Sahler retains her dignity throughout, and her “Sue Me” duet with Thiessen works in part because Nathan is played as sincerely love-struck, despite his history of deception and the unusually long engagement.

While there are no weak links in the ensemble, two performances demand special recognition. Margo Schembre’s portrayal of the seemingly upright and uptight General Cartwright is a comic jewel. It’s a cameo role, but she makes the most of it as she coyly flirts with Sky and the other gamblers. Brandon Weaver’s loveable Nicely-Nicely earns the hooting and hollering at his final bow for his amazing lead vocals from “Fugue For Tinhorns” at the start of Act I through the previously mentioned “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”

The powerhouse vocal ensemble work is rivaled by Maria Tucker’s equally energetic choreography, especially in concert with the always wonderful orchestra in “Havana” and “Crapshooter’s Dance.” The result is a colorful, energetic tour de force of the best of musical theatre. In her Director’s Note, Sharon Maroney says she’s wanted to produce and direct this show for 27 years.  She should be very, very proud. Friday night’s standing ovation is a testament to a remarkable achievement  - do not miss this high point in her already illustrious career.

Broadway Rose’s Guys and Dolls runs through August 19th at Tigard High School’s Deb Fennell Auditorium.

Venus in Fur – Hot Evening, Hotter Show

Jeff Giberson and Jaiden Wirth
Photo by Alicia Turvin

By Tina Arth

The streets of Portland were sizzling last Saturday night, but inside the Twilight Theater stage provided fierce competition, as Venus in Fur started out cool, gradually moved through simmer, then 90 minutes later closed at a full boil. Playwright David Ives’ compelling mixture of comedy and eroticism has been entertaining, disturbing, and disorienting audiences since its 2010 debut, and Twilight director Alicia Turvin has done a superb job of steering the two actors through a non-stop roller coaster ride of a script.  Twilight’s theme this season is “The Play is the Thing” and Venus delivers a three-fold dose with a play within a play about a play.

Begin with Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novel, Venus in Furs. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that Sacher-Masoch is the cheery lad who gave us the “Masoch” part of sadomasochism. Fictional playwright Thomas has written, and is now casting, a play based on Venus in Furs – but he’s having a tough time finding just the right actor to play the role of Vanda, the proper young woman who overcomes her initial distaste and enthusiastically embraces the role of dominatrix. Thunder, lightning, and voila! In walks a woman coincidentally named Vanda – and at first glance she could not be less appropriate. She’s a couple of hours late, brash, disorganized, angst-filled, frantic, seemingly lacking every quality Thomas seeks – her only redeeming quality is her persistence. Refusing to take “no” to her demand for an audition, she sheds her rain-oaked attire and awkwardly wrestles her way into a Victorian dress. The dramatic transformation captures Thomas’ attention, and he agrees (reluctantly – he’s a playwright, not an actor) to read a scene with her. Vanda’s surreal entrance presages a fascinating exploration of obsession, power, and gender roles, a closed world where Thomas and Vanda first become the characters in the play, then gradually reshape the play to fit the actors. When Vanda insists that the male lead, Severin, be called Thomas, it becomes clear that the lines between theatrical and real life roles are starting to blur. In addition to shifting sexual dominance, the powerful positions of author and director begin to shift, and what starts as humorous interplay between the two becomes deadly serious.

Jeff Giberson (Thomas) and Jaiden Wirth (Vanda) lead the audience on an emotionally exhausting trip through the physically and mentally demanding story. Wirth is physically perfect for the role – her sveltely muscular body is tantalizing, but not voluptuous, and she wields it as a comic, dramatic, and flat-out sexual weapon. She is hilarious as the desperate klutz, even when stripped to bra and panties - which makes her transformation into hyper confident femme fatale particularly stunning. Giberson navigates an equally challenging path; as Vanda spurs him into growing self-awareness, he must transform himself from the all-powerful author to quivering, sweating victim of his own desires. Most important, both Wirth and Giberson fully commit at every stage of the play – as they lose track of the distinction between actor and role, they bring the audience into their journey.

Lighting designer Robin Pair and light and sound operator Spencer Wallace keep what could be a static single set constantly alive, as flickering lights and the off-stage storm first define the comic elements and later emphasize the characters’ utter isolation from any objective, outside reality. Alicia Turvin developed a clear vision of the incredibly intricate characters, story line, and under her direction the cast and production team fully deliver the eroticism, humor, and suspense of David Ives’ quirky play.

Despite the absence of actual nudity or overt sexual activity, the play is definitely not appropriate for younger audiences (or for adults who are uncomfortable with overtly sexual themes). Beyond that cautionary note, I unqualifiedly endorse the production – it is a perfect fit for Twilight’s generally sophisticated, edgy approach to community theater!

Twilight Theater Company’s Venus in Fur is playing at the Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through August 12th with performances at 8 P.M. Friday and Saturday and 3:00 P.M. Sunday. There is also an 8:00 P.M. performance on Thursday, August 9^th.

Masque Offers an Al Fresco Look at The Misanthrope

Troy Sawyer, Mikayla Albano, Laine Wagner (top row)
Rain Turner, Erik Montague, Fayra Teeters, Kenneth Dembo

By Tina Arth

For the next month, local lovers of Moliere, outdoor theatre, Commedia dell’arte, or just fun, live theatrical production can enrich their summer entertainment with Masque Alfresco’s peripatetic offering of The Misanthrope. (Truth in advertising: the final three performances will take place in my backyard, so I am not a completely disinterested reviewer!). Given Moliere’s penchant for satire, it is neither surprising nor inappropriate that artistic director Fayra Teeters’ adaptation incorporates an endless stream of contemporary political and cultural references, meant to remind the audience that the plague of lying and hypocrisy among power elites is no less prevalent in 2018 than it was in 1666 when the play made its debut. Director Kenneth Dembo ensures that the core story is delivered by a vibrant cast who break the fourth wall enough to ensure that the audience shares the cast’s commitment to the tale and to the lazzi (schtick) – stock comedic routines the define traditional Commedia dell’arte productions.

Despite the absence of Twitter and Facebook, Paris in the 1660s was as scandal-ridden as today’s Washington D.C. In this milieu, we meet Alceste, an “honest fellow” who consistently speaks his mind, much to the dismay of his peers. His fiancé, the coquette Celemene, provides Alceste with a slew of romantic rivals with her incessant flirting. In the meantime, the aging gossip Grand Dame Prude, Arsinoe, relentlessly pursues Alceste while slandering Celemene in her attempts to break up the affianced pair. Celemene’s bestie Eliante would also gladly hitch her star to Alceste, were he available – and Alceste’s loyal friend Philinte pines for the virtuous Eliante. In the end, of course, the worthiest find love and the rest get what they deserve.

Alceste and Celemene are convincingly portrayed by the dashing Erik Montague (yes, he does look like Adam Scott) and the lovely Laine Wagner (who looks nothing like Amy Poehler). Montague conveys his dark disdain for all of the superficial people and conventions of modern society, yet he also manages to reveal his smoldering obsession with Wagner, whose character seems to embody everything he despises. Wagner gives Celemene a complementary dual nature – she is believable as the tease who pretends to adore all suitors equally, yet she subtly telegraphs the (well-hidden) sincerity of her character’s love for Alceste.

Among the rest in a strong cast, Fayra Teeters is marvelous as the aging, conniving seductress Arsinoe, John Bryant is wonderfully absurd as would-be poet/suitor Orante, and Rian Turner captures the essence of Commedia clowning as Philinte.

Costumer Nan Frederick, resisting the ubiquitous urge to update (not a trend I always endorse), has done a fine job of recreating the necessary period attire. Two tiny glitches in an outdoor environment (not counting the brightness of the setting sun – not something over which Dembo has control): Wagner’s fiddle work is fun and effective, but perhaps a bit loud in an early scene when she is playing over the dialogue, and Mikayla Albano’s sweet Eliante is, at times, a bit too soft-spoken.

Masque Alfresco’s Moliere is staged in three outdoor locales, and all productions are free (although the cast passes the hat at the end, and donations are openly sought and gleefully accepted). Audiences can choose 7:00 pm performances on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at Lake Oswego’s George Rogers Park through August 5, Beaverton Library Lawn from August 10 -19, and at Theatre in the ‘hood (9020 SW Caroline Drive, Portland) August 24 – 27.

As You Like It – Lots to Love in This Forest!

Signe Larsen and Roxanne Stathos

By Tina Arth

After her solo directing debut in 2018’s Death and the Maiden, it was clear that Cassie Greer was a superb choice as Associate Artistic Director at Bag & Baggage. Anyone harboring even the faintest lingering doubts should immediately buy tickets to see As You Like It or, Love in a Forest, Greer’s first independent foray into the world of B&B Shakespearian adaptations. The production is simply wonderful – witty, innovative, accessible, lighthearted yet full of heart.

As usual with B&B adaptations, the show has been streamlined (but not “dumbed down”) a bit, which allows the actors time to deliver the lines with clarity and deliberation, selectively emphasizing important points. This, combined with pacing that leaves room for plenty of physical comedy, ensures that even the most Shakespeare-phobic can understand and enjoy the story. To give added context, Greer provides detailed analytical director’s notes that discuss the evolution of the tale from 1350’s The Tale of Gamelyn through Charles Johnson’s 1723 adaptation, Love in a Forest.  In a perfect universe, these notes would be required reading for all audience members before the opening bell – but even a quick glance at intermission provides useful background.

Briefly, As You Like It tells the story of cousins Rosalind and Celia, daughters of sibling Dukes Senior and Frederick. Frederick has usurped his brother’s throne and banished him to the Forest of Arden, while allowing Rosalind to stay in court as a companion to Celia.  The noble Orlando, son of another of Frederick’s enemies, vanquishes court boxing champ Charles in a major upset victory, which makes Frederick furious. In the meantime, Rosalind and Orlando have fallen in love, which further angers the already irate Frederick. Orlando flees, Frederick banishes Rosalind, and ultimately both Celia and Rosalind flee to the forest (with Rosalind disguised as a man named Ganymede). The story continues from there, with lots of Shakespearean mistaken identities and the clever tricks that so often lead to The Bard’s women winning the day (at least in his comedies).

Bag & Baggage newcomer Amber Bogdewiecz delivers a feisty, thoroughly likeable Rosalind/Ganymede. Her weak-kneed initial infatuation gives way in the forest to a skeptical, directive trickster who is clearly having a lot of fun testing Orlando’s professed love. Orlando is played with equal skill by another newcomer, Israel Bloodgood. At first glance he is not terribly prepossessing – he is clearly the underdog in the boxing match, but he immediately telegraphs the pluck that allows him to defeat the favorite, and his transformation into a helplessly ardent suitor in the forest is absolute. Signe Larsen displays her pugilistic skill as Charles (and also serves as the show’s fight choreographer), but she really shines as the snobby shepherdess Phebe, whose obsession with Ganymede is classic Shakespearean humor. Music director/actor/vocalist Jared Mack (Le Beau/Amiens) leads the cast in a few nice bits of minstrelsy, lending his fine voice to an already strong production.

My favorite performance comes from Roxanne Stathos, a third actor making her Bag & Baggage debut. In the small role as the Marshall she absolutely rocks her skimpy attire, in particular the fishnet stockings, and she is appropriately decrepit as the ancient Adam. However, it is as the love-struck shepherd Silvius that Stathos uses her diminutive stature and wonderful voice to best effect – it would be worth it to see the show again just to watch her.

Bag & Baggage once again makes full use of the technological wonders available at The Vault, using projection of a lush forest to complement the cartoonish, bare bones trees on set. The changing signs projected on the wall set the stage for a moving and beautiful epilogue delivered by the entire cast at the end of the production – a compelling statement about current events that was unexpected, but clearly not unwelcome to the audience.

As You Like It or, Love in a Forest is playing at The Vault, 350 E. Main Street, Hillsboro, through July 29th, with 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinees. 

Shelf Life – A Bookstore Worth Saving

Isabella Steele, Les Ico, and Kira Smolev

By Tina Arth

HART  (Hillsboro Artists’ Regional Theatre) is in its sixth year of offering “Page to Stage,” a competition among local playwrights for the opportunity to see one of their new, original works fully produced on the HART stage. This year’s selection is Shelf Life, An Adam and Cora Murder Mystery, under the direction of William Crawford.  Author William Ferguson’s entertaining whodunit has drawn a fine cast of actors brave enough to workshop an unknown product, and they do a nice job of bringing Ferguson’s vision to life.

The story revolves around events at Shelf Life Bookstore, owned by siblings Adam and Cora Vance. The store is on the verge of bankruptcy, but the pair hopes to resurrect its fortunes by bringing in a wildly popular mystery writer for a book signing. Inclement weather and old wiring conspire to cause a power failure at the height of the event, and the author’s murder during the blackout derails the promotion. Adam and Cora, aided by aggressive and seductive reporter Maggie Gloss, set out to identify the killer before news gets out and completely demolishes their hopes of saving the store. There are plenty of the usual suspects (plus one stereotypically clueless cop) – the author’s husband, agent, former agent, a determined Hollywood producer – as well as some less obvious candidates like a local dermatologist and a lawsuit-happy customer. All is, of course, revealed at the end – and I give the author and actors credit for keeping me in the dark until the last scene.

Les Ico brings his usual comedic flair to the role of Adam; his mobile face and quick-change emotions create an entertaining mix of gregarious shop keep, worried man, cheery optimist, love-struck suitor, and man on the edge as he frantically tries to keep the peace and save the store. As sister Cora, Isabella Steele is the complete opposite – a dour, antisocial pessimist in serious need of an anger management class. Steele’s physicality work fine – she rarely looks up as, shoulders hunched, as she grimly strides around the store. However, she raises her voice a bit too often and too quickly, even for someone in the grip of frequent rage – a little modulation would go a long way in establishing Cora as a fully realized character. While she is angry at the world, Cora’s particular target is reporter Maggie Gloss (Kira Smolev). Smolev, although less volatile than Steele, still fights back quite effectively – and she is able to quickly change gears when the script calls upon her to beguile young Adam.

Among the rest of the cast, special props must be given to Karen Huckfeldt (as the irate customer Sheila Noisman).  Huckfeldt is abrasive, pushy, entitled – the kind of customer everyone in retail has learned to hate – and she captures the role perfectly. Huckfeldt and Ico have some great moments together, but Kaye Burnett (as dermatologist Harriet Price. M.D.) gets the honor of really putting Noisman in her place with one elegantly delivered insult.

Director Crawford also designed the set (primarily a simple backdrop of trompe l’oeil bookshelves that serves as an appropriate setting for both lobby and reading room in the bookstore). Author Ferguson similarly serves double duty as light and sound board designer and operator – in a show littered with lightning strikes, thunder, and blackouts he has little time to enjoy the audience reactions.

As is often found with “Page to Stage” and similar premieres by local authors, some places in Shelf Life cry out for the services of a skilled script doctor to shine an outside light on problems in the play’s internal logic. However, the HART cast and production team have done a solid job of bringing Ferguson’s light-hearted mystery to an appreciative audience. For the past six years, HART has done a real service to both authors and audiences by offering them a place to share and celebrate the rich creative potential of local playwrights and community theatre.

Shelf Life is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through July 29th, with performances at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 on Sundays.

Meaning of Eleemosynary UnMasked

Jenny Newbry, Kathleen Silloway, and Katy Philp
Photo by Katherine Roundy

By Tina Arth

When I was a rock-collecting kid, I loved geodes – it was the thrill of breaking into the inscrutable exterior and finding a sparkling world of crystals nestled inside. Occasionally I’ll have the privilege of watching a play, heretofore unknown to me, that has the same thrilling effect. Playwright Lee Blessing’s Eleemosynary, part of Mask & Mirror’s edgier “UnMasked” collection, is definitely a contender for top honors in my geode category.  Director Dan Hobbs clearly understands the play well (how a male playwright and a male director can “get” the complexities of mother-daughter relationships with such precision is a happy mystery to me); like the exterior of the geode, his deceptively simple staging opens up to reveal stunningly beautiful performances by the three women in the cast.

The play examines the plight of three exceptionally intelligent women (grandmother Dorothea, daughter Artemis, and granddaughter Echo) raised in three very different eras, and the strange relationships that have developed among them.  Dorothea, denied an education and forced into an unsought marriage, has chosen extreme eccentricity and magical thinking as her path to intellectual freedom. Artemis (“Artie”) escapes her mother’s overpowering personality by running away (several times) and choosing to embrace the logical boundaries of science in place of her mother’s determined rejection of observable reality. When Artie’s husband dies, Dorothea moves in and takes over the job of rearing and educating Echo; Artie soon runs away again, abandoning her daughter to the grandmother’s care. The play jumps around chronologically, but begins with the comatose and dying Dorothea being cared for by Echo and ends with Echo committing to establishing a loving relationship with Artie. In between, let us just say, ”stuff happens.” The play makes perfect sense when done properly, but a more detailed synopsis would just sound absurd.

I cannot overpraise the performances of the three women. I was particularly moved by Katy Philp’s heart wrenching take on Artie – her silent pleas for salvation from her mother’s delusions, the moments of humanity that peep out of the rigid wall she has built around her psyche, her fierce intelligence mixed with perhaps a touch of autism, her frustrating inability to stay with her daughter yet maintain her autonomy. Irrespective of age (like the others, she plays herself at several stages of her life) she conveys her character’s tortured inability to express her emotions, maintaining the same awkward posture and diction throughout. Kathleen Silloway’s portrayal of Dorothea is, in contrast, charming but maddeningly unmoored – my (perhaps too rational) self wanted to just slap her for her enthusiastic embrace of delusion and her absolute inability to see what she was doing to her daughter through the years. And then there’s Jenny Newbry’s irresistible Echo – a fine mix of her mom and grandmother, and yet somehow completely her own woman. Even in her most hypercompetitive moments, Newbry’s smiling enthusiasm and bizarre optimism shine through. One of Artie’s most poignant lines is “Never have a daughter. She won’t like you,” and Newbry’s charitable insistence on breaking this pattern finally absolves both Artie and Dorothea of their extreme shortcomings.

With minimal sets and little space on stage, the lighting is used brilliantly to create the spaces and breaks that define the show’s sometimes-peripatetic progress. Audience proximity (the Tualatin Heritage Center) is a real plus, as everyone in the room gets to see 90 minutes of superb acting up close and personal – the only way to see it, in my opinion. UnMasked productions have only a two week run, so it is essential that you get tickets right away for one of next weekend’s performances – in a just universe they will sell out quickly.

Mask & Mirror’s Eleemosynary is playing at The Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tualatin, through Sunday, July 22, with performances at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, 2:00 on Sundays.

Experience Theatre Project Reaches for “Time’s Up” Moment

Picture of The Company by Casey Campbell

By Tina Arth

For rampant misogyny and sexism, few of Shakespeare’s plays can rival The Taming of the Shrew, yet it’s one of the Bard’s wittiest works, and its enduring comedy still has lots of audience appeal. How are enlightened modern theatre companies to produce a show like this without violating their own ethos of equality and inclusiveness? Alisa Stewart, artistic director at Beaverton’s Experience Theatre Project has chosen a novel approach – asking her director to develop an adaption called The Taming and the Shrew that includes most of the original dialogue and action, but is laden with lightning-fast gender-bending and open disdain for some of the original play’s most offensive passages. Director/Adapter Sara Fay Goldman sums up her hesitation at undertaking this task in her director’s note, explaining that she “was trained in a very conservative theatre tradition of professional protocols which values the ability to create personal boundaries and emotionally separate from our work.” She goes on to credit Shakespeare, who “publicly and professionally exposed a history of silenced women, perhaps taking a risk that his female contemporaries didn’t have access to.” Seen in this light, Experience’s lively, fun and very chaotic production makes sense – but probably only to an audience already familiar with the original work (or at least with the musical Kiss Me, Kate)!

A unique feature of Experience is that it delivers theatre without a theater – the current production will move from the south lawn of the Beaverton Library to a quartet of local wineries (Ardiri, A Blooming Hill, Helvetia, and Stoller).  The outdoor venue offers enormous freedom of movement, but that brings challenges like the sun (bring sunglasses AND a wide-brimmed hat to be on the safe side), competition from traffic noise (perhaps not so much at the wineries, and still much better than dueling with last year’s MAX noise at the Beaverton Round!), and fluctuations in the weather (come with short sleeves, but armed with a jacket in case the wind picks up).  Expect a lively, rollicking afternoon or evening, with a taste of audience participation facilitated by the “play within a play” nature of the original work.

The set-up, in a nutshell: drunken tinker Christopher Sly is tricked into believing that he is a lord, suffering from amnesia. To help him “recover” his supposedly lost memory, his deceivers present a play about the wealthy Baptista and his daughters, Kate and Bianca in Padua.  Student Lucentio falls in love with the fair Bianca, but Baptista will not let her marry until he finds a husband for the foul-tempered Kate. Petruchio arrives in Padua in search of a rich wife, and determines that he will tame Kate (the shrew) and make her his bride. By this point in the Experience production, Mickey Jordan (playing Sly) has assumed the role of Petruchio to Kaia Maarja Hillier’s “Kate” – but only temporarily. When Petruchio begins to “tame” Kate, Hillier soon trades parts with Jordan and has him playing the role of the bride-to-be, she the suitor (just one of a series of role changes and reversals to keep us on our toes). I won’t even try to explain the rest – just take my word that it’s nothing like any Shrew, tame or otherwise, that you’ve ever seen before.

In an outdoor setting without microphones, vocal volume can be as critical factor as acting skill in telling the tale, and both Jordan and Hillier excel at making themselves heard. Jordan also makes a great drunk, and he falls well and often (not as easy as it might sound!). I was particularly happy with Catherine Miller’s stolid yet wry portrayal of “Bartholomew” the page, and Emilie Landman’s minstrel “Soto” was invaluable in setting up the initial story and keeping us more or less on track.

The trend of bringing live theatre out of the strict confines of formal theaters is one I welcome, as it makes productions accessible and attractive to a much wider group of people. Experience Theatre Project is a local leader in this growing movement, which will ensure robust audiences able to tear themselves away from their digital realities for another generation!

Shrew performances will remain at the Beaverton Library South Lawn through Sunday, July 15^th before moving on to Helvetia Vineyards (July 10-21-22), Ardiri Winery (July 27-28-29), A Blooming Hill Vineyard (August 3-4-5) and Stoller Family Estate (August 10-11-12). See the Experience Theatre Project website for times, as they vary form venue to venue. All performances are “pay as you will” with the players passing the hat for donations.