tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73391192642313460672024-03-20T08:11:56.226-07:00Westside Theatre ReviewsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger368125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-32895767496163869242023-01-31T16:43:00.005-08:002023-01-31T16:43:37.405-08:00Snapshots So Much More Than A Scrapbook by Tina Arth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXYsCjeOqvkK9dBDogcwnT9mXVUf_uTVOd-StrPjQVirxzpdIq6AumATZFDmuka77x7CNbwCfkAMBvEpEBjo0xIcLI7efPiJFbRbGfJDLpNhROdWbAYer7zKXCHMlzto1WcFkNi8QfhFnIuMcogGwH70LuGpswOtOpLmC_IqqIbaa2dX7jLbWK3MZ/s2560/Snapshots-Press-2-scaled.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXYsCjeOqvkK9dBDogcwnT9mXVUf_uTVOd-StrPjQVirxzpdIq6AumATZFDmuka77x7CNbwCfkAMBvEpEBjo0xIcLI7efPiJFbRbGfJDLpNhROdWbAYer7zKXCHMlzto1WcFkNi8QfhFnIuMcogGwH70LuGpswOtOpLmC_IqqIbaa2dX7jLbWK3MZ/s320/Snapshots-Press-2-scaled.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">A Musical Scrapbook is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850</div><div style="text-align: center;">SW Grant Avenue, Tigard through Sunday, February 19th.</div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Although I love musical theater, I still generally have modest hopes for musical</div><div>revues, even in the deft hands of a company as skilled as Broadway Rose. I expect</div><div>to hear memorable songs sung by strong vocalists with clear solos and complex</div><div>and beautiful harmonies. I expect to see all of this draped loosely around a story</div><div>line that sometimes fits, sometimes feels like an afterthought. However, I do not</div><div>expect to be moved – much less driven to tears – by the beauty of a tale that</div><div>unfolds on stage and is enhanced rather than limited by the music. To say that</div><div>Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook exceeded my expectations is a vast</div><div>understatement.</div><div><br /></div><div>The show is based on thirty + songs from the rich musical catalogue of</div><div>playwright/songwriter Stephen Schwartz (think Wicked, Godspell, Pippin,</div><div>Enchanted, Children of Eden, as well as a few shows I’ve never heard of and a</div><div>couple of songs written just for Snapshots). Among the many unique features of</div><div>this utterly original work, perhaps the most extraordinary is that Schwartz</div><div>collaborated closely with playwright David Stern, actually rewriting the lyrics to</div><div>some of his most iconic songs to conform to the needs of the book. The result is a</div><div>completely new story, woven seamlessly around music that is often familiar but</div><div>that can be experienced in an entirely new light.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story covers thirty + years in the relationship between Sue and Dan,</div><div>childhood friends/buddies who eventually marry, raise a son, and find themselves</div><div>drifting apart. Sue is planning to leave her husband, and comes across a box of old</div><div>snapshots while packing in the attic. As she and Dan look at the snapshots they</div><div>relive the path that has brought them to this point. Vignettes from various</div><div>periods in their lives are handled by six actors – the mature Sue and Dan (Ali Bell</div><div>and Andrew Maldarelli), the young adult Susan and Daniel (Marin Donohue and</div><div>Alex Trull), and the children Susie and Danny (Sophie MacKay and Collin Carver).</div><div>While the story shifts frequently between past and present, it’s easy to adjust to</div><div>the rhythm, and it’s fascinating to watch Sue and Dan interact (through their</div><div>memories) with their younger selves.</div><div><br /></div><div>The entire cast brings remarkable vocal and dramatic prowess to each scene; the</div><div>solos and vocal ensemble work are equally sublime, and the mixture of nostalgia</div><div>and loneliness is leavened by frequent moments of witty awareness and even flat-</div><div>out comedy (MacKay’s sassy charm and Carver’s defensive insecurity are</div><div>wonderful, and as cheerleader “Marilou” Carver is simply stunning). A high point</div><div>in the show, for me, was finally hearing Maldarelli utter the last words in “With</div><div>You,” and Bell drove me to tears with the quiet “The Hardest Part of Love.” In a</div><div>show replete with strong voices, Trull still manages to stand out, and he and</div><div>Donohue are unforgettable in the much-reprised “If We Never Meet Again.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Music Director/Conductor Colin Shepard manages to weave piano, bass, drums</div><div>and guitar into orchestral accompaniment worthy of each song’s illustrious</div><div>origins, and Director Annie Kaiser has navigated the swirls and eddies of an</div><div>incredibly complex show so that it flows smoothly. Scenic Designer Larry Larsen</div><div>has built a beautifully cluttered, utterly believable multi-level attic perfectly suited</div><div>to the mood of the show. In short, I could not love it more.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-75145104263943927112023-01-27T18:26:00.000-08:002023-01-27T18:26:14.737-08:00Proof – I’m Convinced by Tina Arth<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM7AbR7eyQfAaheam1RwXn7BcEz5SBjr5BT3OmWfrVarPHzYXbWrI_s3sQuFIQalvf5FjCPPIj8L5OnNr9FbH9oWN9bydCvDFtb5dP2rYbusINCnrtjWAklIapdy6Ey3D-Aatx7YtxU5nQwLU_CdfC58Cv-9Q5f_ViTuB-bAW6gJmI7bdvuFJwubl/s3339/345EEC48-1D79-4D8A-84F9-7C39FA3DF54A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3339" data-original-width="2837" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM7AbR7eyQfAaheam1RwXn7BcEz5SBjr5BT3OmWfrVarPHzYXbWrI_s3sQuFIQalvf5FjCPPIj8L5OnNr9FbH9oWN9bydCvDFtb5dP2rYbusINCnrtjWAklIapdy6Ey3D-Aatx7YtxU5nQwLU_CdfC58Cv-9Q5f_ViTuB-bAW6gJmI7bdvuFJwubl/s320/345EEC48-1D79-4D8A-84F9-7C39FA3DF54A.jpeg" width="272" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; text-align: start; word-spacing: 1px;">Photo by Beth Moore shows Katie Souza, Amelia Michaels, and Jason Paris<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">Mask & Mirror’s latest is one of those “stop reading right now, get your tickets, then come back if you are so moved” shows. I would say this if it were playing in a 500-seat theater, but my</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">advice is all the </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">more urgent because playwright David Auburn’s </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.6px;">Proof</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> is on stage at the tiny Tualatin Heritage Center and there are only six remaining perfor</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">mances. The Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">winning play, in the hands of Director Tony Broom and four superb actors, is hands down the most powerful and</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> moving thing</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> I’ve seen since local stages reopened after the pandemic shut-downs. </span></span><br /><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; text-align: start; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">Other than my general awareness that the play involves mathematical theory, I had no idea what to expect – </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">I had </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">never seen the stage play before, nor have I seen the 2005 movie version. To say that I was blown away is an understatement – the </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">script is brilliant, and clearly informed by the author’s deep understanding of the nuances of both mental illness and the mathematical mind. Even the best script requires careful direction of the right actors to real</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">ly shine, and Broom has guided his</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> fine cast through both character and plot twists </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">with a subtle, steady and knowing touch.</span></div><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">In a </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">spoiler-free nutshell</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">: Catherine (Amelia Michaels) remains in her family home, where she has been caretaker to her </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">recently deceased </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">father Robert (Greg Prosser)</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">, a once</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> brilliant mathematician whose mind has succumbed to mental illness. Catherine’</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">s sister Claire</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> (Katie Souza) is determined</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> to convince</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">the obviously depressed Catherine come live with her in New York. One of Robert’s former s</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">tudents, Hal</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> (Jason Paris), </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">suspects</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> that his previously</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">-gifted</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> mentor </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">may have left a spark of genius in his hundreds of notebooks (many filled with drivel), and he is determined to search them all. </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">By the </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">end, </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">Hal</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> finds both </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">the </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">proof (mathematical) and proof (as in compelling and irrefutable evidence) that nicely ties the strands of the plot writ large and the human relationships together into a satisfying whole.</span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">Michaels delivers a master class in acting throughout the show – there was not a moment that she was on stage that I was not riveted by her performance as she reve</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">aled</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> herself and developed her very different relationships with </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">her fellow </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">cast members. </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">During the </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">few times that she was on</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> the sidelines I was</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> torn about who to watch, so my head swiveled back and forth to catch every movement and expression.</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> Prosser’s “Robert”</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">has</span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> just the right flat, mindlessly abrasive affect to convey his mental illness, and is surprisingly passionate in the moments when he is (or thinks he is) in control. Souza is hard to love </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">as Claire </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">–</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> trying to be the “good” daughter but coming across as appallingly pushy and domineering – but she ultimately </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">shows us enough of her background to convince</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> us that she’s not a monster. Paris is simply fabulous as Hal – </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">naïve, </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">academically ambitious, good-hearted but utterly clueless in the ways of the world, crushing on his mentor’s daughter and still enamored of his professor’s former brilliance. </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">A final note </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">– the set</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">s</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> at the Tualatin Heritage Center is notoriously, necessarily minimalist, and never more so than in Mask & Mirror’s staging of </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.6px;">Proof</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> where the set décor </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">consists almost completely of a folding tab</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">le, three chairs</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">, and a snow shovel. I can give no higher praise for </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">this show than to say that it simply doesn’t matter – it’s the performances that make the show, and an elaborate set would have been at best a distraction.</span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">Mask & Mirror’s</span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.6px;"> </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.6px;">Proof </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">is</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> playing at The Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tual</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">atin, through Sunday, February </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">5</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">, with performances at </span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, 3</span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;">:00 on Sundays.</span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-51753923835920718302023-01-26T15:24:00.005-08:002023-01-26T15:24:53.576-08:005 Lesbians Eating a Quiche – a Light Snack at Twilight by Tina Arth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjzqpvnesMF0UIBjPyg_Bxn7NhapxCSykiKeWtITh_RUNuPZFNQC2yn74ZqVrqJoR97qJYL9yVFCDq6gvootd4d0Koix8Vu3s2zjCazGky2CHKV7lKV0RpqxaWN5qfaB22khY1PSIZMnfeBkbwrZY-TE7o1ZtYfm3VuGSVTNMAvJ9qmUK4HLaQFra/s3600/5%20Lesbians.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2246" data-original-width="3600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjzqpvnesMF0UIBjPyg_Bxn7NhapxCSykiKeWtITh_RUNuPZFNQC2yn74ZqVrqJoR97qJYL9yVFCDq6gvootd4d0Koix8Vu3s2zjCazGky2CHKV7lKV0RpqxaWN5qfaB22khY1PSIZMnfeBkbwrZY-TE7o1ZtYfm3VuGSVTNMAvJ9qmUK4HLaQFra/s320/5%20Lesbians.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Fey Devro, August Wygal, Alicia Turvin, Jenny Tien, and Brit </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Eagan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>There is a lot to like about Twilight Theater Company’s current production, 5 Lesbians Eating a</p><p>Quiche – the comic chops of the five actors, the careful fidelity of the set, costumes, and</p><p>makeup to the show’s time and place, some fun special effects with both lighting and sound,</p><p>and director Jeremy Abe’s attention to his cast’s blocking, delivery, timing, and pacing. Can you</p><p>feel a “but” coming? Here it is: I really am not thrilled with the script. I know it’s not fair to</p><p>expect a lot of depth from any farce, even with a topic as deliciously dark as this one, but 5</p><p>Lesbians feels more like a super-sized The Kids in the Hall sketch than a fully realized, two-act</p><p>comedy.</p><p><br /></p><p>Playwrights Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood begin with a premise ripe for exploration and</p><p>exploitation – it’s the annual Quiche Breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of</p><p>Gertrude Stein (just in case the title didn’t cue us in on the lesbian angle?). The entire audience</p><p>is made part of the club – we have been randomly issued name tags giving us overtly female</p><p>identities before we enter the theater, and the cast frequently alludes to our presence as</p><p>society members. The five lesbians referred to in the title are, of course, the five actors on a</p><p>stage that represents a middle-American community center basement/bomb shelter at the</p><p>height of Red scare paranoia in 1956. These are Officially Good Christian Women who are either</p><p>heavily closeted or truly unaware that they are lesbians, despite their overt disgust with all</p><p>things male and frenetic devotion to all things egg-related. There are definitely lots of laughs,</p><p>drawn in large part by fine physical comedy, but by the end of a very brief Act I most of the core</p><p>jokes have been trotted out (for the first time, at least).</p><p><br /></p><p>That said, it’s a fun show to watch - - just keep your literary expectations low and immerse</p><p>yourself in the performances. Jenny Tien (“Ginny”) sports a wonderful accent, her</p><p>pronunciation of “quiche” is captivatingly inept, and her full-throated/utensil-free attack on the</p><p>winning quiche is worth the price of admission. August Wygal (“Dale”) goes from peppy</p><p>photographer to trauma-laden hysteric in a smooth arc, and her final incarnation as athletic</p><p>hero is oddly hilarious – as is her demise. The real power in the Susan B. Anthony Society is held</p><p>by Lulie (the president, played with admirable ferocity by Alicia Turvin), Wren (Brit Eagan, a</p><p>twittering dynamo of an events chair), and the overtly butch Vern (Fey Devro), facilities</p><p>manager/construction guru who takes no crap from anybody. Each of these power players</p><p>helps to drive the utterly implausible script, laden with PBOT-sized plot holes, to the show’s</p><p>appropriately illogical conclusion.</p><p><br /></p><p>From the abundant laughter on opening night, it was clear that the audience was amply</p><p>entertained, and sometimes that’s all that’s required. If you need some laughs and a light</p><p>evening out (as we all occasionally do) then I definitely recommend 5 Lesbians…just be</p><p>prepared for a theatrical snack rather than a hearty meal!</p><p><br /></p><p>5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon</p><p>Avenue, Portland, through February 5 th with performances at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday and</p><p>3 pm on Sunday. There is an additional 8 pm performance on Thursday, February 2 nd .</p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-43823890264271688162022-12-07T16:07:00.001-08:002022-12-07T16:07:14.600-08:00Strap Yourself in for Bag&Baggage’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by Tina Arth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPhYI2jPXJbi8gB2vbrfi0Sn9C0AkgNEo8xAkyy75CWaYqnteUe2pQBPCAXZA_1TkpffkBbI072qkRo31Oomri-IPhxQpvBT_zx1jRMSS4htP3wWgt6YsVbTeeDMmETNm7pOk362Dv7aECqN2f6W8PB-_jMzljnKx1XkPNpGNsuu216Bt3tMpOceH/s5602/2022-11-29%20BNB%20Danny-99-2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3740" data-original-width="5602" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPhYI2jPXJbi8gB2vbrfi0Sn9C0AkgNEo8xAkyy75CWaYqnteUe2pQBPCAXZA_1TkpffkBbI072qkRo31Oomri-IPhxQpvBT_zx1jRMSS4htP3wWgt6YsVbTeeDMmETNm7pOk362Dv7aECqN2f6W8PB-_jMzljnKx1XkPNpGNsuu216Bt3tMpOceH/w467-h312/2022-11-29%20BNB%20Danny-99-2.jpg" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Janelle Rae and Jayna Sweet<br /><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>I mean it – Bag&Baggage’s production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is a wild ride – 70</div><div>minutes of some of the most intense emotional and physical theater I’ve ever experienced.</div><div>“Enjoyable” may not be the right word to describe it – perhaps try “riveting” and</div><div>“heartbreaking” and ”authentic” and “intimate” and “raw,” but ultimately two exquisite</div><div>performances that kept me vibrating for hours after the stage went dark. In 1984, playwright</div><div>John Patrick Shanley (better known for Moonstruck, Doubt: A Parable, and other later work)</div><div>emerged as a playwright of note when he brought Danny to New York and London stages.</div><div>Director T.S. McCormick honors Shanley’s original vision with laser-like focus, and his actors are</div><div>simply brilliant.</div><div><br /></div><div>The play brings Danny and Roberta, two severely damaged, sometimes explosive, and</div><div>psychologically fragile people, together in a deserted bar where they literally and figuratively</div><div>crash against each other as they reach out for a human connection. Each is tortured by a secret</div><div>– a “bad thing” that they have done, and that they believe is so unforgiveable that they do not</div><div>deserve love. As they work through Danny’s nearly uncontrollable rage and Roberta’s crippling</div><div>shame, they manage for at least one night to find comfort, peace, acceptance, and a touching</div><div>version of love in each other’s arms.</div><div><br /></div><div>The on-stage chemistry between Janelle Rae (“Danny”) and Jayna Sweet (“Roberta”) is electric -</div><div>props not only to the actors and director, but to intimacy choreographer Amanda Vander Hyde</div><div>for helping to make this unlikely coupling believable. Rae is violently jacked up for most of the</div><div>play, with open wounds on their face and hands serving as mutely powerful testimony to</div><div>Danny’s dangerous physical and mental state. Sweet’s character initially seems unreasonably</div><div>calm – Danny’s fury is met with a fearless combination of seductiveness and sauciness that</div><div>makes sense only when her despair leaks though and we learn that she’s not afraid because, in</div><div>her despair, she really doesn’t believe that her life has any value. Rae and Sweet each commit</div><div>100% to their characters and lend their transformation a gripping authenticity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blanca Forzán’s scenic design is perfectly proportioned to the action - two simple but detailed</div><div>sets on a rotating platform to create a seamless transition from bar to Roberta’s small room.</div><div>Gabe Costales’ lighting design – in particular, the use of artificial light in place of open sky –</div><div>embraces the themes and enhances the moodily surreal atmosphere. A final note – Director</div><div>McCormick’s choice to set the action at Christmas time is inspired. While nothing in the script</div><div>implies a holiday setting , the small touches highlight the vast divide between conventional</div><div>familial warmth and the desperate loneliness of so many trauma victims. Danny is a show that</div><div>will stay with its audience for a long, long time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Content warning: due to mature language and themes of sexual violence, the show is not</div><div>appropriate for children, and could be triggering to some survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bag&Baggage’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is playing at The Vault, 350 E. Main Street,</div><div>Hillsboro, through December 18 th , with 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday</div><div>and 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinees. There will be a meet and greet with B&amp;B’s new artistic</div><div>director, Nik Whitcomb, following the December 16 th performance.</div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-78427843878318145112022-12-05T13:58:00.003-08:002022-12-05T13:58:40.215-08:00Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story By Tina Arth<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9FrLULnbMlz7_UiDlqMxd69fHYuQ2SqM9v7wkSkReMltqOfy-TzdJAqjvzvPzV6-fNRIkDG_lKFtDeu61LR9j786IA5X4oc3hpQPguS384AxbtBXS0ry_dy3JoqShzXjNsda1Tm1RfXO7Qd12Mf6Wy02FkcmmprG6KASQufB4Z-AaDuH8e9sezk_/s4032/ghost%20story.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9FrLULnbMlz7_UiDlqMxd69fHYuQ2SqM9v7wkSkReMltqOfy-TzdJAqjvzvPzV6-fNRIkDG_lKFtDeu61LR9j786IA5X4oc3hpQPguS384AxbtBXS0ry_dy3JoqShzXjNsda1Tm1RfXO7Qd12Mf6Wy02FkcmmprG6KASQufB4Z-AaDuH8e9sezk_/s320/ghost%20story.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Ruth Jenkins, Samm Hill, Tony Domingue, and Morgan Harrison</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Ever since 1962, when Mr. Magoo first transformed A Christmas Carol from a Victorian morality</p><p>play into a comic holiday tradition, film makers and playwrights have been finding new and</p><p>bizarrely wonderful ways to twist Charles Dickens’ classic novella. Twilight Theater Company’s</p><p>current production of playwright Jerry A. Montoya’s 2007 adaptation, Christmas Carol – A</p><p>Ghost Story, fits squarely into this proud tradition – it’s as whacked out as they come, yet still</p><p>adheres to the basic tenets and themes of the original. Director Leslie Inmon has allowed her</p><p>imagination (and her cast) to run just a little bit wild, and the result is a fast-paced, occasionally</p><p>chaotic two hours where the audience and the cast compete to see who can have the most fun.</p><p><br /></p><p>I will assume that you are familiar with the basics: Scrooge, Marley, Cratchit, Tiny Tim, ghosts,</p><p>laundresses, Fan, Fezziwig, Belle, and of course the original Big Bird – and all are faithfully, if</p><p>sometimes playfully, represented in Montoya’s version of the story. However, the Twilight</p><p>production includes several non-Dickensian touches, including a pirate, a camo-wearing</p><p>narrator who opens the show by leading an enthusiastic audience sing-a-long of “We Wish You</p><p>A Merry Christmas” (twice on opening night, due to unforeseen technical difficulties), and a</p><p>surprisingly jovial Marley’s Ghost who seems to be having entirely too much fun in his tortured</p><p>afterlife. The costumes and sets capture the same playful spirit, with occasional stabs at period</p><p>fidelity but lots of wiggle room – kudos to the revolving door that sometimes hides, sometimes</p><p>reveals, a multitude of critical stuff!</p><p><br /></p><p>The cast is generally strong, although, as to be expected, there were a few opening night</p><p>hiccups. Special props to Samm Hill – his Scrooge is a delight, and he navigates from cranky</p><p>(dare I say, Scrooge-like?) to warm and genial on his journey to salvation. Elliott Dutcher’s</p><p>“Fred” is downright hyperactive as he bounces around the stage, and he definitely makes the</p><p>role his own! Carl Dahlquist’s “Marley” is a real audience pleaser – his broad, self-aware grin</p><p>lets us know that he knows we are watching, and that he’s fine with that. Each of the narrators</p><p>fulfills a critical role, with top honors in this category going to the camo-clad, sing-a-long leading</p><p>Tony Domingue and the frighteningly intense Lindsey LaFollett. Of course, all eyes are on Jade</p><p>Vanderhoof every time child Scrooge, Tiny Tim, or the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears</p><p>on stage – no actor ever wants to compete with a kid, and Jade provides fierce competition.</p><p><br /></p><p>Conclusion? Charles Dickens would probably have been appalled to see what playwright</p><p>Montoya, in the capable hands of Inmon and her cast, have done to his novella. On the other</p><p>hand, the opening night Twilight audience, in many cases jaded by dozens of renditions of A</p><p>Christmas Carol, was highly amused and fully invested in this unexpectedly whlmsical,</p><p>thoroughly family friendly if occasionally dark and ghostly, take on the classic tale.</p><p><br /></p><p>Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N.</p><p>Brandon Avenue, Portland, through December 18 th with performances at 8 pm on Fridays and</p><p>Saturdays and 3 pm on Sundays.</p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-18875049487257252892022-12-02T13:08:00.001-08:002022-12-02T13:08:15.620-08:00Kick off A Very Merry PDX-Mas at Broadway Rose By Tina Arth<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvPF51Ip_V-fmyTGZZZUYAscMaCnFa3_9AL9C1YtB1SKzPaCAtsrt4_bs21MP9_pUGAKFZKtO0rRWEwPrwAl9YUO3tk_awLxzzETYuGHWiYwAwfrzQPwOx-aUeUotLRBcE1dkduePha2Usew8D4FnJiW0zHgG7Mbgg-m3slva-dTxRel0oSPOa_Cn/s2560/E994ABA0-C936-4DCE-AFC0-D8204FACDB68.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvPF51Ip_V-fmyTGZZZUYAscMaCnFa3_9AL9C1YtB1SKzPaCAtsrt4_bs21MP9_pUGAKFZKtO0rRWEwPrwAl9YUO3tk_awLxzzETYuGHWiYwAwfrzQPwOx-aUeUotLRBcE1dkduePha2Usew8D4FnJiW0zHgG7Mbgg-m3slva-dTxRel0oSPOa_Cn/s320/E994ABA0-C936-4DCE-AFC0-D8204FACDB68.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="s7" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.99; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Among the plethora of holiday </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">highlights</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> in my world, few are as filled with untrammeled joy as the annual Broadway Rose Christmas show, and this year’s </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">offering</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> no exception.</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">For 2022</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, Portland’s premier musical theater troupe </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">resurrects and updates</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s5" style="font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">A Very Merry PDX-mas, </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ir</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> tradition</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">al</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> script-free revue </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">established holiday classics delivered by a superb ensemble cast (augmented with a memorable children’s choir). The key to making it a fresh experience, rather than a re-hash of every Christmas CD on your shelf (OK – I’m dating myself – but you get the point) is </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">twofold: first,</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> many of the </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lyrics</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> have been skillfully, hilariously given a distinctive </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">PDX touch </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">through</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Abe Reybold</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">’s “original direction and specialty material” in collaboration with vocal arranger Jay Tumminello, </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and second, the lineup incorporates some hauntingly beautiful tunes that are not necessarily associated with Christmas, but deepen the emotional impact of the </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">production</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Director Sharon Maroney and Music Director Billy Thompson, in collaboration with Reybold, Tumminello, and Broadway Rose’s</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> usual cast of excellent vocalists, have crafted two </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hour</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s of superb, family</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">-</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">friendly entertainment. </span></p><p class="s7" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.99; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">In all the show offers 18 full songs; add in the Winter Medley, Kidz Medley, Santa Swings Medley, and the Big Nativity Medley and the audience is treated to all o</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">r</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> part of almost 50 songs ranging from the serene and sacred to the humorously irreverent. Inter</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sp</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ersed among holiday GOAT contenders </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">like “White Christmas” and “O Holy Night” the cast offers up some great Reybold twists like the classic “Joy to the ‘Burbs” (is any PDX special complete without digs at Clackamas Town Center, Washington Square, and Bridgeport Mall?). His “Green X-mas” takes aim, fires, and lands a direct hit on Portland’s oh-so eco-conscious, virtue-signaling populace, and we can all relate to the tragic “Re-Gifter’s Lament.” </span></p><p class="s7" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.99; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Vocalists</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Cara Arcuni, Michael Hammerstrom, William Shindler, Richie Stone, Malia Tippets, Tara Velarde, and Blythe Woodland</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> each offer something special in addition to their fine ensemble work. Watch for Woodland’s exquisite “Breath of Heav</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">n</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,” Tippets’ classic “O Holy Night,” </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Arcuni’s “White Christmas,” </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and Schindler </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Stone’s </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">“Children, Go Where I send Thee.” For </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">kitschy</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> nostalgia, look no further than Hammerstrom’s “l Like Old People</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Don’t You?”</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Comic effects </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">are sprinkled throughout with songs like Velarde’s </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">“</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Shalom Santa” and </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">by frequent </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">slightly whacked-out </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">cameos from</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Broadway Rose managing director Dan Murphy.</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> The cast is rounded out by the cutest children’s choir in recent memory</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">-</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">leven singing, </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">dancing, grinning little elves whose presence reminds us of the importance of children in the holiday season.</span></p><p class="s7" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.99; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The collaboration of scenic designer Jim Crino, lighting designer Carl Faber, and technical director Phil McBeth brings </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">magic to stage with special effects to fit every mood. Another dynamite team is pianist/conductor Billy Thompson, bassist Amy Roesler, and drummer Zac Stowell whose non-stop beautiful music and artistry cannot be over</span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">praised</span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> as they enhance every moment of the show.</span></p><p class="s7" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.99; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">If you are not yet feeling the holiday season, let Broadway Rose drive the Grinch from your psyche – and if your heart is already full, grab some tickets and let your </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">holiday cup overflow!</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s8" style="color: #262626; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">A Very Merry PDX-mas </span><span class="s8" style="color: #262626; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Av</span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">enue, Tigard through </span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Thursday, December 22</span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-21691995076839158312022-10-26T15:11:00.003-07:002022-10-26T15:11:38.873-07:00A Very LOoPy Ruddigore by Tina Arth<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGb_Bf1ZZ5hX7cHFWFaekY6ANfXrmBA4DuZGt4B81r5ucXOboIfIydyadOrg5BVOcGubQpx0JcR4uFqCxUP-_85iKpLUV8xco6HTV5LZF76c_i1Z3uTB0tN8OlpWpJqSBZn1cOmWkFC3LWgBz0_-nMasjzERvyxTR4q0dnZlynCV1TQ1AyeQ4C5hBh/s1600/88ED1D3A-D6D8-45A1-8163-0C2A8EF73DEA.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGb_Bf1ZZ5hX7cHFWFaekY6ANfXrmBA4DuZGt4B81r5ucXOboIfIydyadOrg5BVOcGubQpx0JcR4uFqCxUP-_85iKpLUV8xco6HTV5LZF76c_i1Z3uTB0tN8OlpWpJqSBZn1cOmWkFC3LWgBz0_-nMasjzERvyxTR4q0dnZlynCV1TQ1AyeQ4C5hBh/w400-h266/88ED1D3A-D6D8-45A1-8163-0C2A8EF73DEA.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Picture shows Lindsey Lefler, Chad Dickerson, Laurence Cox, Casey </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Lebold, and a Chorus of Professional Bridesmaids<br /><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Light opera should be fun, and by that measure alone, Light Opera of Portland’s</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">current production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore is a clear success. However,</div><div style="text-align: left;">LOoP’s return to the Multnomah Arts Center after a five-year absence is a delight</div><div style="text-align: left;">on every level – and with only a two-week run, and three performances left, I</div><div style="text-align: left;">recommend that plan your weekend around this gem. It’s clearly a labor of love,</div><div style="text-align: left;">and several players are doing double duty – there’s Director (and set designer,</div><div style="text-align: left;">and Robin Oakapple) Laurence Cox, Music Director (playing keyboard/synthesizer)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Reece Sauve, Costume Designer (and Rose Maybud) Lindsey Lefler, and Producer</div><div style="text-align: left;">(and Dame Hannah) Sara Rivara. These key players and the rest of the 21-person</div><div style="text-align: left;">cast work together seamlessly to wring every drop of humor out of this bawdy</div><div style="text-align: left;">parody of conventional melodrama.</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Not unexpectedly, the plot is convoluted and fairly silly. Many years ago, a witch</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">placed a strange curse on the Baronets of Ruddigore which rendered them wicked</div><div style="text-align: left;">and required them to commit at least one crime each day (the first Baronet of</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ruddigore had rudely burnt her at the stake). Failure to fulfill the rules of the</div><div style="text-align: left;">curse doomed the Baronet to die in agony. After the death of the most recent</div><div style="text-align: left;">Baronet, Sir Ruthven, his younger brother Despard inherited the title and its</div><div style="text-align: left;">attendant wickedness. In the meantime, the exceptionally proper Rose Maybud,</div><div style="text-align: left;">fairest woman in the village, has no suitors – all of the eligible men are afraid to</div><div style="text-align: left;">speak their hearts, and none will wed another if there’s a chance of winning Rose.</div><div style="text-align: left;">A chorus of professional bridesmaids yearns for the day that Rose will wed, as</div><div style="text-align: left;">their careers have been stunted by the absence of any weddings for the past six</div><div style="text-align: left;">months.</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Timid, lovestruck young farmer Robin Oakapple has caught Rose’s eye, and she</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">his, but her obsession with etiquette and his timidity make courting impossible –</div><div style="text-align: left;">until Robin’s foster brother, the dashing rake Richard Dauntless, offers to speak</div><div style="text-align: left;">up for Robin. Richard takes one look at Rose, falls in love, and proposes to her –</div><div style="text-align: left;">and she accepts. Side plot alert: the evil Sir Despard Murgatroyd, wicked Baronet</div><div style="text-align: left;">of Ruddigore, has broken the heart of Mad Margaret, a crazed maiden – and she</div><div style="text-align: left;">fears that Sir Despard will carry Rose off as one of his daily crimes. Rose assures</div><div style="text-align: left;">her that she is betrothed to another and that Mad Margaret need not worry.</div><div style="text-align: left;">There’s lots more, much of it entertainingly preposterous, but you’ll have to see</div><div style="text-align: left;">the show (or consult Wikipedia, I suppose) to find out how it all turns out!</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Professional Bridesmaids, led by Zorah (Dominique Garrison), are marvelous</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">as they flit about the stage dancing and singing their little hearts out (and flirting</div><div style="text-align: left;">madly with any man in sight). Their male counterparts, the chorus of sailors,</div><div style="text-align: left;">bucks, and blades, are hilarious as they gamely attempt to execute the</div><div style="text-align: left;">choreography – the sailors’ hornpipe and other dances juxtapose nicely with their</div><div style="text-align: left;">flawless vocal harmonies. Sara Rivara’s dry performance as Dame Hannah delivers</div><div style="text-align: left;">a dose of (at least by G&amp;S standards) relative sanity, and she plays a central role in</div><div style="text-align: left;">delivering the back story of the Wicked Baronets, plus her contralto stands out</div><div style="text-align: left;">nicely on a stage full of sopranos.</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">For me, Chad Dickerson’s “Richard Dauntless” clearly takes top honors for</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">comedy – he never misses a chance to express his character’s insuppressibly</div><div style="text-align: left;">bawdy and self-serving nature; while delivering his vocals in a blameless tenor, he</div><div style="text-align: left;">makes the most of the nickname “Dick” at every opportunity. Laurence Cox uses</div><div style="text-align: left;">his marvelous voice as well as the comic timing needed for Robin Oakapple as he</div><div style="text-align: left;">switches convincingly from timid hero to a reluctant, ineffective villain and back</div><div style="text-align: left;">again – Dauntless may be the family seaman, but Cox navigates the show’s most</div><div style="text-align: left;">improbable plot and character twists. Finally, there’s Lindsey Lefler’s “Rose” – as</div><div style="text-align: left;">always, Lefler’s soprano vocals are impeccable, but it is her straight-faced</div><div style="text-align: left;">expression of the character’s bizarre addiction to etiquette that really makes the</div><div style="text-align: left;">role.</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The costumes and set are perfect – elaborate costumes, simple set – with a huge</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">thumbs up for the clever Act II portraits! Sauve’s work on the synthesizer stands</div><div style="text-align: left;">in nicely for a room full of instruments, and the frequent interplay between Sauve</div><div style="text-align: left;">and the cast adds another level of humor to an already funny show. Quite</div><div style="text-align: left;">honestly, I was shocked that the production didn’t get a massive standing ovation</div><div style="text-align: left;">– perhaps when you see it you can remedy this grave injustice!</div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Light Opera of Portland’s production of Ruddigore is playing at the Multnomah</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;">Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Highway, Portland through Sunday, October 30 th ,</div><div style="text-align: left;">with shows at 7:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and a 1:00 pm Sunday matinee.</div></span><p></p><p></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-56267914099641109152022-10-19T19:07:00.004-07:002022-10-20T13:29:19.468-07:00B&B's The Last White Man Defies Categorization by Tina Arth<div> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGHNmwnznACiVf2kJYugCi-LMKQJTfjnkTiWeDyPxRmdLyvkPd4QlQ-SrMKKHZ8RUs4qreEmV1Kf1epRDofIvKvcwJuP88Hby_NhtDweRZgMVNfZER1wKA0XK8E4r8O-nZQ5O9KzlibqkCZux8FMIOUazY21ypqlDvLekx0gqtvnNg0UQ2POsQWaG/s6016/2022-10-10-BNB--LastWhiteMan-98.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="6016" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGHNmwnznACiVf2kJYugCi-LMKQJTfjnkTiWeDyPxRmdLyvkPd4QlQ-SrMKKHZ8RUs4qreEmV1Kf1epRDofIvKvcwJuP88Hby_NhtDweRZgMVNfZER1wKA0XK8E4r8O-nZQ5O9KzlibqkCZux8FMIOUazY21ypqlDvLekx0gqtvnNg0UQ2POsQWaG/s320/2022-10-10-BNB--LastWhiteMan-98.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Photo by Casey Campbell Photography shows Tim Gouran and James Luster</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Bag&Baggage founding artistic director Scott Palmer </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">left town</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> in 2018 to try out life in Sun Valley, Idaho</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, h</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is departure left a massive crater in the Washington County theater scene</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Undaunted, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">B</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">&B</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> stepped up and produced some absolutely marvelous stuff after his </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">departure - t</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hen, of course, Covid hit and threw a massive monkey wrench into pretty much everything, definitely including the</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">arts sce</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ne. In fact, the last live production I reviewed before the shutdown was </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Measure of Innocence </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">at The Vault in March of 2020 (fun side note: I still remember with horror the woman who sat next to me, coughing throughout the show!). A</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s the local area emerged from </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">strict lockdown</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, I was able to see a couple of </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">B&B’s </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">outdoor productions, but I had been pining for some </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">serious Vault time when I got the invitation to see </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">playwright </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Bill Cain’s </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Last White Man</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> directed by – wait for it – Scott Palmer!</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Leave it at this: I am delighted that Scott is back, he has assembled a remarkable team and managed the B&B resources to their best effect to present a play that grips the audience from beginning to end. I don’t know what role he’ll be playing in the local theater scene, but I will follow his reintegration enthusiastically.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Since the current production is the Pacific Northwest premiere of </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Last White Man</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> it is not surprising that I knew nothing about the show when I walked in the door. When you go to see it (you will, right?) you</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">’ll </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">have a better handle on what to expect! A major production of </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Hamlet </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">in the works, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">under the guidance of Xandri (Janelle Rae), a Black woman director</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Their</span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lead is big-name film star Charlie</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (Khail Duggan)</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, sporting a shiny new Oscar but plagued by paralyzing doubt about his ability to do justice to the iconic role. He is driving the amazingly patient Xandri nuts with his reluctance to rehearse, and he wants to modify the script – e.g., why not say “To be, or not” and cut out the second “to be” since it’s </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">superfluous? </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">However, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Xandri has covered </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">their</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> bases – there’s </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ra</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">fe</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (James Luster)</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, an </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ambitious </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">understudy who would love to see Charlie disappear, and Tigg</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (Tim Gouran)</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, a </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">venerated </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">older actor willing to step in for a final crack at one of theater’s greatest roles</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> to close his illustrious ca</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">r</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">eer.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Cain </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">puts</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a lot of drama in this play within a play about a play within a play, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">but</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> laces it with so much humor that I really can’t call it tragedy, comedy,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> or </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">dramedy – it’s all of the above</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, a tasteful dose of </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">commentary on diversity issues in theater</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and more</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">plus</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a sporadic soundtrack playing homage to </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the greatest hits of </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Gloria Gaynor and Bonnie Tyler</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. What’s not to love?</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Khail Duggan</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> grabs focus immediately;</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> he’s a lithe, muscular, and brooding James Dean wannabe whose </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">juvenile outbursts and tantrums initially come across as spoiled egoti</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sm.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Duggan</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">gradually reveals the crippling insecurity at war with his determination to succeed that makes “To be, or not to be” much more than a line in a pla</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">y – his indecision blurs the line between actor and role until we can hardly separate the two. Luster’s “Rafe” </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">moves smoothly between eager fanboy, touchingly sincere friend, and master manipulator – figuring out who he is at any point in the play poses an interesting challenge, and in the final analysis Luster convinces us that he is all three.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Tim Gouran is masterful as Tigg – funny and even whimsical, sometimes sardonic</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, sometimes laconic and sometimes intense. H</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e gradually reveals how much this final Hamlet means to him, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">yet</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> how much it takes </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">for him to tackle the role – Touran inhabits Tigg’s skin completely as he slowly breaks our hearts. </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Finally, there’s Janelle Rae’s “Xandri” – perhaps easily overlooked on a stage filled with attention seeking white </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">guys, yet as director </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">they</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> actually hold the reins of this turbulent </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Hamlet</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Rae creates a character who is confident, strong, and determined to get the performances </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">they</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> need without resorting to the bullying </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">they</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> ha</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ve</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> seen from male directors – somewhere between a kindergarten teacher and a fight referee. As the only Black, only female character </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">they</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> carr</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">y</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> the show’s social justice messages on </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">their</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> shoulders with aplomb.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Technical Director Jim Ricks-White uses the Vault’s tech capabilities to spectacular effect, team</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> up with</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Projection Designer</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Mandy Khos</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hnevisan to create a rich theater world from a relatively bare stage. </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Bag&Baggage’s </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The</span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Last White Man </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at The Vault, 350 E. Main Street, Hillsboro, through Sunday, October 30</span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p></div><p></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-37213328686907826922022-10-13T18:30:00.001-07:002022-10-13T18:30:13.651-07:00Little Shop of Horrors at Theatre in the Grove by Tina Arth<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjcMcjfUD5FZN7iMDE6_e8gK4Unj5ZMdPIkl7U5Ru77y1iCIy8WptK8eGF-egTJDIXlavOLNafYDcbsgNuds-yNbzkCfZB0kdbl6Q6G2-sm9f8voQWjOwP8HMPYCo_eRq_6uORsjONUtz_l8VFDD9fVATfzTIhY9L2TH1PEA0GoglHGFzP_Go0aDZ/s961/seymour%20with%20big%20plant.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="961" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjcMcjfUD5FZN7iMDE6_e8gK4Unj5ZMdPIkl7U5Ru77y1iCIy8WptK8eGF-egTJDIXlavOLNafYDcbsgNuds-yNbzkCfZB0kdbl6Q6G2-sm9f8voQWjOwP8HMPYCo_eRq_6uORsjONUtz_l8VFDD9fVATfzTIhY9L2TH1PEA0GoglHGFzP_Go0aDZ/w423-h281/seymour%20with%20big%20plant.jpeg" width="423" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Picture shows Max Powell and Audrey II</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div>It can be tough for me to review a show I know really well, especially when it occupies prime<br />real estate in several parts of my heart – so many Audreys (both I and II), Seymours, and<br />Mushniks (including two of my favorite actors, Darrell Baker and Darren Hurley). Every telling is<br />familiar, yet still new. My standard is to look for a show that is faithful to the spirit of the<br />original musical (for me, first experienced via the movie) without simply mimicking the iconic<br />stylizations of stars like Ellen Green, Rick Moranis, and Steve Martin. Theatre in the Grove’s<br />current production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s gem definitely achieves this goal.<br />Director Ken Centers, along with his cast and production team, delivers the essentials along<br />with enough fresh elements to please even the pickiest fan. Special credit to Jeananne Kelsey<br />for fine choreography and music and vocal director Tiara Herr for managing the complex<br />arrangements that define the Little Shop of Horrors sound.</div><div><br />Looking around the theater last Sunday, I was once again surprised at how many audience<br />members were clearly new to the show – I sometimes forget that everyone’s path into the<br />world of theater is individualized, and reflects a personal history. For readers who are not Little<br />Shop veterans, here’s a brief overview (sans spoilers). Setting: Mushnik’s Skid Row Florist, a<br />flower shop teetering on the brink of failure in a seriously depressed slum. Principal characters:<br />the bullying owner, Mr. Mushnik; shop assistants Seymour, an orphan plucked off the streets by<br />Mr. Mushnik, and Audrey, a good-hearted and tackily glamorous woman who shares Seymour’s<br />pathetically low self-esteem; Orin Scrivello, Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend; Chiffon, Crystal, and<br />Ronette, a trio of local urchins with amazing doo-wop chops who serve as the show’s Greek<br />Chorus; Seymour’s discovery Audrey II, an eerily fast-growing, sentient plant with unusual<br />appetites that has the potential to confer fame and fortune, but at an awful price.</div><div><br />I was delighted by the work of Shae Bedford, Jade Tate, and Abigail Wallace (as Chiffon, Crystal,<br />and Ronette), three young women with great pipes and tons of attitude. They work well<br />together as a team, but each displays her own personality as an actor, dancer and vocalist,<br />giving the audience lots of smooth harmony punctuated by moments of distinctive styling and<br />impressive runs. I was especially struck by how central they were to the action – I’ve seen<br />productions that relegated the trio to mere chorus, but they were front and center at TITG.<br />Nick Serrone (as Orin Scrivello and “others”) undoubtedly has and delivers the most fun, as he<br />literally and figuratively pops up all over the production. His “Dentist” is solid, but he really hits<br />his mark in the “Now (It’s Just the Gas)” duet with Seymour, and his cameos as the local bum<br />display some brilliant physical comedy. Travis Schlegel’s “Mushnik” is vocally powerful, and he<br />is despicable enough to deserve whatever fate might befall him, but the high point for me was<br />the clever and surprisingly lithe choreography with Seymour in “Mushnik and Son” (one of the<br />best songs in the show, imho).</div><div><br />TITG newcomer Abbe Drake is a fine Audrey, notable in part for her decision (which I applaud)<br />NOT to imitate Ellen Greene’s breathy and squeaky delivery. Her plaintive “Somewhere That’s<br />Green” is lovely, and sets up the song’s second act reprise nicely, but it is the “Suddenly<br />Seymour” number (with Seymour, Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronette) that really establishes the<br />transition in her character. TITG regular Max Powell is perfect as Seymour, the poor guy who,<br />like Audrey II, experiences dramatic growth (in Seymour’s case, from schlub to mensch).<br />Schlegel, Drake, and Serrone are all at their best when singing/acting with Powell, whose<br />performance holds the whole show together and sets the emotional tone and the pace for all of<br />the action.</div><div><br />Finally, of course there’s the plant, Audrey II, voiced by Zachary Centers and animated by<br />puppeteers Gabriel Russell and Hank Smith. At its largest, Audrey II dominates the stage, yet<br />moves beautifully – kudos to Jeremy and Heather Van Fleet for a stunning bit of prop<br />construction.</div><div><br />Zach Centers’ set design is up to his usual standards – a very high bar to clear – and the<br />revolving set is smoothly effective. Sandy and Tom Cronin’s lighting design rendered me<br />occasionally breathless with its ability to shift the mood to match the play, and the band<br />(Vanessa Jump Nelson, Dave Newdek, Shannon Nelson, and Ralph Zazula) was superb.<br />Little Shop of Horrors is playing at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove<br />through October 23d, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30<br />p.m.</div><p></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-24950900701947552402022-10-11T16:00:00.001-07:002022-10-11T16:00:20.467-07:00Much Ado About Nothing – Shakespeare Done Right By Tina Arth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlkuy6Isguk4pwnK91oyLz1w8-SnK-lP1eodDsPsAAy6853F9ShoUzsbZDf6-ypF1feO7f6ndYAl2UjPkprubekdfeAFF0jaU8WCV0x-NikN5Ei-5jMyE9ivZ1ydy-GeZPl_w6EmN_OiwIb_JV4m_uz8sKzDA7UYM-ukC6SJsAQA10oYBq-UUxz13/s1354/A4BD8020-8273-41A7-881A-417A24DEDF27.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1354" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlkuy6Isguk4pwnK91oyLz1w8-SnK-lP1eodDsPsAAy6853F9ShoUzsbZDf6-ypF1feO7f6ndYAl2UjPkprubekdfeAFF0jaU8WCV0x-NikN5Ei-5jMyE9ivZ1ydy-GeZPl_w6EmN_OiwIb_JV4m_uz8sKzDA7UYM-ukC6SJsAQA10oYBq-UUxz13/s320/A4BD8020-8273-41A7-881A-417A24DEDF27.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); text-align: left; word-spacing: 1px;"></span><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); word-spacing: 1px;">Cast of Much Ado About Nothing</span></blockquote><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); text-align: left; word-spacing: 1px;"></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I rarely laugh out loud while watching productions of Shakespeare’s comedies. Don’t get me wrong - it’s not that the prolific playwright didn’t write some funny stuff in the late 16</span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">century, or that his </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">comic sensibility</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is now so out of date that the jokes just </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">cannot</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> land some 400+ years later. The problem is that contemporary companies don’t always put in the </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">necessary </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">work to make sure</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> that I and my fellow audience members will see and respond to the humor. That said, I laughed my ass off </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">at the closing performance</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Canon Shakespeare Company’s production of </span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Much Ado About Nothing</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Yeah – it was that good.</span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Director Ira Kortum definitely “put in the work” – which includes acknowledging that most of the folks in the audience don’t even begin to approach his grasp of the material, and going above and beyond to ensure that his cast </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">members </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">bring everything they’ve got to their roles.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Kortum’s curtain speech set the tone brilliantly – </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> was informal, humorous, accessible without being patronizing, and exposit</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ory</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> without being didactic. </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The show that followed never dragged despite its length – in large part, I think, because the actors were allowed to take their time and put as much effort into physical comedy as they did into delivering (not just reciting) their lines.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The story is somewhat less convoluted than many Shakespearean comedies, and there are serious moments where the actors convey real depth of emotion. To briefly summarize, Don Pedro and his men, Claudio and Benedick, visit Leonato, Duke of Messina. Claudio falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero, while Benedick engages in a vicious war of words and wit with Leonato’s niece, Beatrice</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> – both of them claim to hate the idea of romance and marriage</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. The </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">company conspires to trick Beatrice and Benedick into falling in love, while Don Pedro’s brother Don John plots to prevent Hero and Claudio from marrying.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Shades of the earlier </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Taming of the Shrew? </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Yes, but without the misogynistic overtones – a much more satisfying tale for 2022!</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">For rofl comedy, the Tony (or its NoPo equivalent) definitely goes to Lauren Pickthorn (Beatrice) and Alec Henneberger (Benedick). </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">They set the stage for their frenemy relationship from the beginning and took the physical humor as far as it could go – Lauren hurling herself over the platform/backdrop was a real show-stopper, and Alec’s wide-eyed </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lurking and </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">peering from stage left was mesmerizing.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">As mentioned above, there is a serious side to the play – the romance between Hero (Ariel Huntley) and Claudio (Rowan Dery), which is nearly derailed by the truly evil Don John (Kari Warfield). While Warfield’s </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">broad </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">performance is </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">reminiscent of the classic villains of melodrama, Huntley and </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Der</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">y</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> play their roles with </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">enough sincerity to make the audience care about their plight – in particular, Huntley’s agonized professions of innocence are really quite moving.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">21</span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;">st</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> century productions of </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Much Ado</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> are frequently updated in both time and place, presumably to make the story more relevant and engaging for the audience. Kortum’s choice which I much prefer, was to render the story essentially timeless – neither the set nor the </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">costumes evoked any particular era or locale, which speaks to the timelessness of the principal conflicts. Couples still grapple with the tension between independence and loving </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">partnership</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, infidelity/jealousy still haunt relationships, gender-based double standards still plague young lovers, and wise elders still try to mediate family disputes.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Kudos to Canon Shakespeare Company for being confident enough to serve their Shakespeare up straight!</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Canon Shakespeare Company, hosted at North Portland’s Twilight Theater, ran f</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">r</span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">om September 22 through October 2. Watch their website for future offerings.</span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-20993150312687077412022-09-28T16:34:00.003-07:002022-09-28T17:45:36.120-07:00Another Step in The Evolution of Mann By Tina Arth<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YLhfeCUVVtnX26ztR4NFan8MFx9YKYNy6lkGl8FnFV9jiRO9PJAExZ3Z4VGRorZXcNCJV_LctZgZST-ue_2XwB6Jw0jUY9QpY_EQtM_WVAh-OL5USZzysZ5Kfqa20-TGM7qmVKZ4i93buEaqH0nSgjzGu7VgWfdXK_Ojphxe2WFmMy_0zdk3JfnU/s2560/2D7B5B8E-507A-44EE-B6FE-611CFB8D2ACF.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YLhfeCUVVtnX26ztR4NFan8MFx9YKYNy6lkGl8FnFV9jiRO9PJAExZ3Z4VGRorZXcNCJV_LctZgZST-ue_2XwB6Jw0jUY9QpY_EQtM_WVAh-OL5USZzysZ5Kfqa20-TGM7qmVKZ4i93buEaqH0nSgjzGu7VgWfdXK_Ojphxe2WFmMy_0zdk3JfnU/s320/2D7B5B8E-507A-44EE-B6FE-611CFB8D2ACF.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">While Broadway Rose occasionally offers</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> its audiences access to</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> relatively unknown plays, their current production is a rare treat, allowing the cast, production team, and audience to participate in the literal evolution of a </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">work</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> on </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the long</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> journey from concept to final product. Collaborators Dan Elish (book and lyrics) and Douglas J. Cohen (music and lyrics) have been sculpting Elish’s 2005 novel, </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Nine Wives</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, into a finished </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(at least, for now) </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">musical for well over a decade, and the result is </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Evolution of Mann</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The show has had three previous titles, songs have come and gone, and the loveable sidekick has been changed from Glenn to Gwen on the </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">winding</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> road from</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> first reading at </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Boston</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">’s Emerson College to </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the Broadway Rose New Stage</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Through one 90-minute act with 13 </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">musical numbers</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, the authors take us through the story of single, thirty-something </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">aspiring </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">playwright Henry</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Mann as he moves from the heartbreak of being dumped by his fiancé through a series of romantic missteps until he finds the path to potential happiness. The songs are fully integrated into a charming, often very funny script that’s just loaded with </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">interesting takes on the rom-com clichés </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">we know and love – </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the heartlessly </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">materialistic ex</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Sheila), </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the pushy m</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">o</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">mma, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sophisticated</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">babe</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (Tamar)</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, the sweet girl-next-door </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">schoolteacher</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (Christine)</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, and </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Gwen (my favorite), </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the level-headed </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lesbian </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">roommate who offers wry advice and ultimately steers Henry in the right direction.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Courtesy of a poorly timed Covid exposure, for opening weekend the lead role of Henry Mann was filled by director Isaac Lamb rather than by Broadway Rose newcomer Richie Stone. While I was looking forward to seeing Richie do his thing, it was a treat to be able to watch Lamb step in – he has the voice</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> the look, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and the stage presence, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">knew the songs, and as director was </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">uniquely </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">suited to step in at a moment’s notice. Richie is expected to be back on the boards by the second week of the run</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, where he will be able to rejoin the other two cast members, Kailey Rhodes and Kortney Ballenger.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Rhodes is a Company regular, with four previous Broadway Rose shows under her belt. S</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ince s</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he wears several hats, playing Sheila, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Tamar, Christine, and an intergalactic Daisy Buchanan (I won’t try to explain this one – you’ll have to see it!) she carries part or </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">all </span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of 10 </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of the show’s 13 songs. She copes beautifully, changing her look, affect, and vocal styling constantly to fit the fast-moving script – and she is just ridiculously cute throughou</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">t. Rhodes’ delivery of “Tale of the Otter” ensures that the audience will be rooting for Christine, irrespective of Henry’s concern about her unibrow.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">My hands-down favorite performer is Ballenger – she’s sincere, smart, and funny but never silly (except for the Gatsby cameo), absolutely slays the show’s most important song (“The Unromantic Things”), and nails her New York accent and over-the-top blonde wig as Henry’s classic Jewish mother. Since the program says she’s based in Middle Tennessee, we’re not likely to see her on local stages again – reason enough to check out </span><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Evolution of Mann</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> while you can.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Sean O’Skea’s scenic design plants us squarely in the heart of NYC, capturing a cartoonish quality that perfectly suits the tone of the show – and the clever use of the revolving stage means that the action never stops for scene changes</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">;</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Carl Faber’s lighting design moves our attention smoothly from one setup to another while complementing the changing moods of the show.</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">score is typical of </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lightweight</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> musical comedies - </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">conventional ro</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">m-com </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">tunes </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">built as a vehicle for Elish and Cohen’s witty lyrics. Music Director/pianist Darcy White, with cellist Dale Tolliver and Attila Csikos on guitar, move the show along seamlessly and provide an almost continuous soundtrack underscoring </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">much of the </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">dialogue as well as the formal musical numbers. </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Evolution of Mann</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> will not change your life, teach you anything startli</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ngly </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">new about </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">love</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, or alter your opinion of starving New York artist types. It will provide 90+ minutes of solid entertainment</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, deliver a lot of laughs, and make you reflect on what’s important in human relationships. Reason enough to go!</span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s4" style="color: #262626; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Evolution of Mann</span><span class="s4" style="color: #262626; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Av</span><span class="s5" style="color: #262626; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">enue, Tigard through Sunday, October 16.</span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-71136964275795788302022-09-15T13:02:00.002-07:002022-09-15T13:02:58.987-07:00HART’s Ripcord Flying High By Tina Arth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAAXO2vq-VueDwaRsD6ydxTE7DtzPQEpDNV4JXvTyOCNH6o0Fi8w7ZyduIy5ILMWTMdMnTiz0gZ3zk-yYHq8UC6mF04t7vhCMI-cbEbLNM-oPwXZk6ftOYi2GVimMj4jDsqocia8ZKQCl7Buf8bHvh_tgwVPGNm-AOqJ6Xh8c9s21ctY_eblzro_a/s1530/7AF1400F-7B6D-4E60-B3CE-A71720304B6B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAAXO2vq-VueDwaRsD6ydxTE7DtzPQEpDNV4JXvTyOCNH6o0Fi8w7ZyduIy5ILMWTMdMnTiz0gZ3zk-yYHq8UC6mF04t7vhCMI-cbEbLNM-oPwXZk6ftOYi2GVimMj4jDsqocia8ZKQCl7Buf8bHvh_tgwVPGNm-AOqJ6Xh8c9s21ctY_eblzro_a/s320/7AF1400F-7B6D-4E60-B3CE-A71720304B6B.jpeg" width="316" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 19px; word-spacing: 1px;">Photo shows Kathleen Silloway, Les Ico, and Diana LoVerso.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 19px; word-spacing: 1px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 19px; word-spacing: 1px;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When I went to opening night of </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ripcord</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> at HART Theatre, it was the second comedy I had seen in as many days. The first (which shall remain nameless) was a beautifully done pr</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">oduction of a classic work, set</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> on a large and elegantly dressed stage. By contrast, playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s play was brand new to me, perfor</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">med with minimal</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> bells and whistles in the tiny Hillsboro venue. Two ve</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ry different productions on many levels</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> – but the most important difference between the two shows was that, unlike its thoroughly pedigreed rival, </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ripcord </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">made me laugh. A lot.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Director Tony Broom and his highly versatile cast (6 people play a total of 10 roles) make the most of Lindsay-Abaire’s </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">darkly comic </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">script, and the payoff for the audience is enormous.</span></span></p><div><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The premise is sort of </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Odd Couple </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">on steroids. Two residents of a high-rise assisted living facility, Abby and Marilyn, are sharing the most desirable room in the house, a top-floor double with a lovely view overlooking the park. For several years, Abby has used her thoroughly unpleasant personality to drive out a succession of roommates, ensuring that she will be able to live alone. The impossibly upbeat and positive Marilyn, however, refuses to yield to Abby’s </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">increasingly </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">overt </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">attempts to repel her</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> At a stalemate, the two adversaries agree to an unusual bet – Marilyn will move out if Abby succeeds in making her angry, and Abby (who claims to never be frightened) will cede the best real estate (the bed by the window) if Marilyn </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">manages to scare her. Over the course of a couple of weeks, t</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he two women turn to increasingly nasty tricks, some </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of them </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">over-the-top dangerous and some </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">really vicious, </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">work</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing their way to the final</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> prank and the show’s climax</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Diana LoVerso (Abby) and Kathleen Silloway (Marilyn) are both experienced in their adversarial roles, having previously battled it out in </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Odd Couple, Female Version</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. However, their current roles call for a more complex approach to character; each of them portrays a woman who is not exactly who she initially seems to be. </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ripcord </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">has been accurately described as a farce with a dark side, and Silloway gives her “Marilyn” a correspondingly Pollyanna-like surface that offers qui</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ck glimpses of an inner demon. </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">LoVerso has a similarly deft touch as “Abby” – she is convincingly and consistently nasty, but resists the </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">urge to overplay the role and th</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">us leaves the door open to soften (slightly) her </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hostile affect at the denouement. Both women are skilled comedians who leave no laughs on the tabl</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e, but both understand that the more the situations go over the top, the more essential it is that the actors play it completely straight.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I was gratified to see how well Les Ico (who often plays the consummate clown – beautifully) toned down his inner co</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">mic as</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Scotty, the nurse/aide/aspiring actor who has to mediate between the battling roommates. While he fills a key role in the development of the story, Ico’s performance is also one long set-up for a final joke, and he never gives anything away until it’s time for the </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">punch line</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. The final three cast members (Beth Moore, Charly Smith, and Bryce Bristow) have less to do, despite filling a total of seven roles, but each has a core character essential to the story and each finds within that character </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">just </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the right touch</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The set is simple – minimal but reasonably authentic for the half of the stage that is Abby and Marilyn’s room, and v</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">irtually a black box for the other half</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Costume coordinator Kelcey Weaver has done a lovely job of assembling the authentic apparel needed for the weird and often absurd action that sometimes explodes stage right.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Due to strong language and some mature situations, </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ripcord </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is not really appropriate for younger </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">children.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ripcord</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through September 25th, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.</span></span></p></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-11731987125138191492022-09-07T17:14:00.001-07:002022-09-07T17:14:25.341-07:00Opening Night Audience Crazy for The Mad Ones By Tina Arth<p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcEZpvGCvS7kGuJ9fb4P2zy9FMjoL5TKrCGKc9Ls05pKYLvgJes9uPaOHo7hM23Js6bv7kuyCnVcYDQnYcgLOJio-21X6HB1I3lkz_nfiLJ3CvNLJIaiBMWYZzkk1lcuhqqwkpQpe1MQlIIcgKTVWhWZGv85Llja6UUEr70b2WJ4jJwojuaFc6N_z/s960/1A5685E1-8C7D-4ACE-94BF-74E856A3F106.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="698" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcEZpvGCvS7kGuJ9fb4P2zy9FMjoL5TKrCGKc9Ls05pKYLvgJes9uPaOHo7hM23Js6bv7kuyCnVcYDQnYcgLOJio-21X6HB1I3lkz_nfiLJ3CvNLJIaiBMWYZzkk1lcuhqqwkpQpe1MQlIIcgKTVWhWZGv85Llja6UUEr70b2WJ4jJwojuaFc6N_z/s320/1A5685E1-8C7D-4ACE-94BF-74E856A3F106.jpeg" width="233" /></span></a></div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><blockquote>Picture shows Elise Byrne and Amelia Segler.</blockquote><p><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I rarely leap </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">to my feet for standing ovations, but Twilight Theater Company’s opening night performance of </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">was an</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">exception – I happily joined the large and enthusiastic audience in granting </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">“</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Standing </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">O</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">”</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> honors to this marvelous musical</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and dynamite cast. Playwright/composers Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan have captur</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ed that magical moment in late adolescence when so many of us</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> have chafed against parental, societal, and self-imposed bonds of conventionality, dreamed of</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and then chased freedom.</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> As I was g</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">oing home</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> from the theater, th</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e lure of the unknown, exemplified</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> by a destination-free road trip, lingered and I found a part of me wanting to just follow the 5 where it would take me. However, </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I wasn’t driving and </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">my </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sensible </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">chauffeur opted for the 5 to 217 to 10 to my house – just as well, as the dogs would have been very confused and </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">no</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> route, no matter how spontaneous</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, would have taken me back to my freedom-loving 1967 self.</span></span></p></span></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The production’s antecedents are complex – while </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">debuted in late 2017, licensing for general production was not available until shortly before the pandemic hit, and live performances were shu</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">t down. Undaunted, the authors found a creative stopgap - as director Chris Byrne explains it, </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">“</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Kerrigan and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lowdermilk responded by creating </span></span><span class="s6" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lab</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a community-driven experience that allowed a select group of innovative creators to collaborate and experiment with what digital theater can become.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">” Byrne was selected as one of 21 directors in the collaboration, and she assembled a cast that created a video segment of part of the show. Finally in 2022 she has been able to bring the full production to the Twilight stage, including three of the four original cast members.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Largely through its 21 songs, </span></span><span class="s6" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> tells the story of Samantha Brown,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a young woman</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> on the verge</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> of graduating from high school who is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> confronting a literal and figurative crossroad</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> in her life. Sitting in a hand-me-down car, keys clutched in her hand, she wavers between her mother’s </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">determination to send her off to Harvard and a Jack Kerouac-inspired longing to chuck it all and hit the road. She takes the audience </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">back to a time </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">when her best friend Kelly was pushing her to take her foot off the brakes and fly, and her steady, sweet, but a bit unimaginative boyfriend Adam offered love, security, but not much excitement. Sam’s wo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">rld had fallen apart when Kelly </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">was killed by an errant driver (there are a LOT of car themes), and for 90+ minutes we relive her sometimes joyous, sometimes painful journey.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Samantha’s mom Bev (played by Dorinda Toner) is a statistician who reels off numbers (some of them highly questionable, imho) at every turn. Toner gives the role a comically didactic edge that makes it clear we are viewing Bev through Samantha’s eye</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s – beginning with the droll</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">“My Mom is a Statistician” </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(“</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Two to one, you'll hit a red light</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Fifty to one, you hit a bear”) and continuing through a series of demanding vocals that blithely interweave singing and speaking</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. I especially related (as Sam, not Bev) to Toner’s marvelous delivery of “I Know My Girl” (</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">no, Mom, you do not!). </span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Blaine Vincent III creates perhaps my favorite character with his nuanced portrayal of Adam – part horndog adolescent, part caring (and almost too good to be true) young adult who re</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ally sees Sam for who she is. W</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hen he sang “Run Away With Me” I wa</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s almost ready to start packing, and his beautifully played sincerity was an interesting contrast to Toner’s overt parody.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">It’s </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">tempting to view Kelly (Amelia Segler) as the star of the show – her wild enthusiasm is impossible to resist, her voice is spectacular, and she frequently carries the score with challenging vocals that she delivers with utter precision even when the ensemble arrangements verge on chaos. Segler’s blazing heat sets off the fire in Samantha – plus she’s </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hilarious as the guidance counselor who goes toe to toe with Bev in a battle over Sam’s future. However, the real star is, of course, Samantha (Elise Byrne) – it is her story, her life, her changes as seen through her lens. Byrne gives the role just the right mixture of intellectualism, reticence, </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">grief, passion </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and intensity</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> as she transforms herself into her version of a mad one, and it’s a pleasure to watch. Her vocals, like her acting, are engagingly relatable but not flashy – ultimately, she is the character I most wanted to be.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The minimalist set makes no attempt at realism, which is perfect for a story completely projected from the mind of one charac</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ter (not to mention that it eliminate </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">any awkward time wasted on scene chan</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ges). In lieu of elaborate set, Twilight has allowed lighting designers by </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Leslie Inmon, Jeremy Ollis, and Ward Ramsdel</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">l to go over the top. Carefully timed bursts of color interspersed with monochromatic moments provide as much support as the soundtrack, pulling the audience into some of the show’s most intense moments with amazing precision.</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Speaking of precision, kudos to vocal arranger Lindsey Lefler </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">–</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">her deft touch was essential in weaving the actors’ voices into a unit despite the complexity of the score.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s8" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is one of those gems that may not be available on local stages for a long time, so I strongly urge everyone who has ever survived adolescence (or is secretly trying to survive it right now) to hasten themselves to North Portland for the show before it disappears.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s3" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Mad Ones</span></span><span class="s3" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Avenue, Portland, through September 18</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">th</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">with performances at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday and 3 pm on</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Sunday. </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">There is an additional 8 pm performance on Thursday, September 15</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">th</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-41805337234485680042022-07-21T13:27:00.001-07:002022-07-21T16:36:28.883-07:00Scoot Yer Boots On Down to the Tualatin Heritage Center, Y’all! By Tina Arth<p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXQ2mVgGnXJ8klnxH_zh8Qjs5EIzUAs7mjouGSf0m0U5MYBfYFDxCNpqm2AUmUmncA9H_-acm_hCbzilcKeJ_Pw6_e3viJfmFUP02FvSb8YvjqGHLXDL2nc-ztZ4c5sedZZ6NuE8uqc5bMoenkOIoi4bsDlcCQyaqusRa3u8u9I_P9BED1LcT-3uB/s3553/5FBBE8B9-02A6-4ECA-BBDB-6ADA920A1B48.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2665" data-original-width="3553" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXQ2mVgGnXJ8klnxH_zh8Qjs5EIzUAs7mjouGSf0m0U5MYBfYFDxCNpqm2AUmUmncA9H_-acm_hCbzilcKeJ_Pw6_e3viJfmFUP02FvSb8YvjqGHLXDL2nc-ztZ4c5sedZZ6NuE8uqc5bMoenkOIoi4bsDlcCQyaqusRa3u8u9I_P9BED1LcT-3uB/s320/5FBBE8B9-02A6-4ECA-BBDB-6ADA920A1B48.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49);">Picture shows:</span><span style="border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49);"><span style="color: #d4d4d5;"> </span></span><span style="border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49);">Brick Andrews, Jody Odowick, Blake Copeland, Amber Green, Rachel King, </span></div></span><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Matthew Grand</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">On very rare occasions, I start a review by suggest</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing that readers </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">close my</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> blog immediately and scurry</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(electronically) to the theater group’s website</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, buy tickets</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, t</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">hen navigate ba</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ck to the review</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> for elucidation. This advice goes doubly when the production in question is at the tiny Tualatin Heritage Center, where limited seating means that every show should be a full house.</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Why am I taking this extreme step now? Because Mask & Mirror’s current production of playwright James McLure’s duo, </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry and Bourbon</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lone Star</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, is just that good. Director Lennon Smith, ably assisted by </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">her </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">jack-of-all</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">-trades husband George Mauro, </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the rest of the production team, and a fabulous cast have conjured up the funniest show I’ve seen in years.</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Better yet, they will continue to make this magic until the end of July, so I may even be able to see it twice!</span></span></span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: times; word-spacing: 1px;"></span></p><div><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I am struggling with the task of giving a lucid synopsis, so I will pirate the director’s prose: “</span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry</span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and Bourbon/Lone Star</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, two one-act comedies, offer the audience two sides of the same coin. </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Through</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> two very different sets of characters, we see the intimate details of life a small Texas town during a time of unrest and uncertainty in America.” I would quibble with just one part of this description – I do not see these as two separate one-act comedies, but as t</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">wo halves of a </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">single work (despite the fact that one does not generally give each act in a play its own title!). While each part cou</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">l</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">d</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> certainly stand alone, the story is infinitely richer because of the relationships between the women in the </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">first part</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and the men in the second.</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The women? There’s</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lonely, </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">laundry-fol</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ding, bourbon sipping Elizabeth and</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> her best friend Hattie, who escapes her three </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">god-awful</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> children by watching TV, g</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ossiping, and making sure Elizabeth doesn’t have to drink alone. Enter self-righteous, born-again </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Southern </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Baptist snob Amy Lee to spoil their fun with her talk of mah jongg and country clubs</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and the fuse is lit. </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry and Bourbon</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is funny, touching, emotional, and authentic (in a down-home, Texas kind of way), but nothing in it prepares the audience for the </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">knockdown</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, drag-out comedy of </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lone Star</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. In the dusty parking lot of the quintessential Texas bar, we encounter Roy</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, a beer swilling</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> vet </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">with severe PTSD whose life has been off the tracks ever since ‘Nam – all he has left from his previous life is his wife Elizabeth, his ’59 pink T-Bird, and his slightly dim little brother Ray. As with </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry and Bourbon</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, an already chaotically depressing scene is upended by the arrival of an outsider – Amy Lee’s wimp of a husband, Cletis. How is all of this funny? Hats and spurs off to playwright <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;">McLure</span>, director Smith, and an amazing cast that takes this premise up, up, and over the top!</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Amber Green (Elizabeth) is absolutely perfect, and saves the first part from being t</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he stereotypical southern</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> schlock</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">comedy.</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> She gives the role a quiet dignity that sucks us into </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the pain </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">as well as the humor </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of s</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">mall-town life, and is apparently</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> able to cry on cue</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Be sure to sit near the front of the room if you can – the subtle beauty of her performance is worth a few extra minutes to arrive early. As her buddy Hattie, <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;">Jody Odowick</span> is just as effective in a loud, gauche</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, weirdly lovable way – Hattie gets the best of the comic lines and physical comedy, and she doesn’t waste a thing. To the extent that there are any weak moments in </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry and Bourbon</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, they come from Rachel King’s portrayal of Amy Lee. Like </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the other women, she is</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">funny and gets her share of the laughs, but she sometimes takes her character’s mannerisms to excess, so that she seems to be playing a parody of her type – </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">if she </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">reel</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s it in just a little</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> she’ll be a lot more believable.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The team of Brick Andrews (as Roy) and Blake Copeland (as Ray) is simply sublime. I am not, in general, the “laugh out loud” type, but driving home from the show I rediscovered my long-lost abdominal muscles because they actually hurt from excessive usage. No worries – it was worth it to spend an hour with this hilarious pair of comics. The pathetic cringing and whining of Matthew Grand’s “Cletis” provided a needed break from the physical comedy, allowing me to reset myself before the next onslaught of Roy and Ray as they drank, fought, and reminisced their way through the script.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">While I’m passing out the praise, let me not overlook the lighting and sound effects by George Mauro. On a platform that barely dares call itself a stage, Mauro managed to recreate the </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sounds of a tattered down-home bar as well as the endless vistas of Texas’ barren</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Hill Country</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> including a glorious red sunset, and Steve Hotaling followed the </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">sound a</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">nd</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> light cues</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> with utter precision.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Because of mature (sometimes very mature) dialogue, the show is not appropriate for children – but other than that, my advice is just GO!</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Mask & Mirror’s production of </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laundry and Bourbon</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lone Star </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is play</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing at the Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tualatin through Sunday, July 31</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">st</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> with performances at 7:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 PM on Sundays.</span></span></span></p></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-87862122718220553552022-07-20T11:21:00.000-07:002022-07-20T11:21:58.494-07:00Twilight’s Song of Extinction By Tina Arth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcLNTTH0bBxJ9Dn4MvLwI3IoYOItqG_JBbrGZklyWlENuxYVA4M9_s3Sx9rjiZZcndcVkwaL27JZutLbFJxwvnd_3MsasPF0N-syfSdWa_Cpr6wmqs3ygdwtJPZspMh6ViAnDocRVeemk_wf5e7svryYn8AGR1FoEq8SiY58KUS1d7wWe29D69san/s640/7524874B-44FC-491B-ACA5-A2EB48EBB9C2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="640" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcLNTTH0bBxJ9Dn4MvLwI3IoYOItqG_JBbrGZklyWlENuxYVA4M9_s3Sx9rjiZZcndcVkwaL27JZutLbFJxwvnd_3MsasPF0N-syfSdWa_Cpr6wmqs3ygdwtJPZspMh6ViAnDocRVeemk_wf5e7svryYn8AGR1FoEq8SiY58KUS1d7wWe29D69san/s320/7524874B-44FC-491B-ACA5-A2EB48EBB9C2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Photo shows Thomas Magee, Shelley Aisner, and Arun Kumar</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">There is a lot </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">to celebrate in Twilight Theat</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">er Company’s complex </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">production of </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Song of Extinction</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Playwright E. M. Lewis’ work is a timely reminder of the fragility of both our environment</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">al and psychological ecosystems, and co-directors Michael Griggs</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and Kathleen Worley have brought in a fine cast to</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> tell the story in a way that captivates </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and moves </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the audience.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">T</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he story revolves around four </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">principal characters, each one in </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ome way dealing with</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> loss</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, evolutionary biology, and extinction (sounds a LOT drier than it is!)</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. There’s Lily Forrestal, once a field researcher who is entering the last stages of a deadly cancer. There’s Lily’s biologist husband Ellery, hiding from his wife’s impending death by obsessing about saving </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the last member of </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">a rare, endangered species of Bolivian beetle. In the meantime, young Max Forrest</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">al (a musical prodigy, but no</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> budding scientist)</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> will fail biology if he doesn’t co</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">mplete a 20-page paper on e</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">xtinction. </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Dealing with the literal</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">loss </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">of one parent an</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">d the figurative</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> loss of another,</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Max is completely </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">adrift, </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">and nobody seems to notice except his biology teacher, Khim Phan.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Phan’s loss, while initially less obvious, is the most profound – he immigrated to the United States from Cambodia decades earlier, after losing his entire family in the brutal killing fields of the Khmer Rouge – like the Bolivian beetle, he is essentially the last of his species.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> The objectively “real” events of the play are interspersed with a few dreams, hallucinations, and reveries, but the writing, staging, and acting ensure that the audience i</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s generally</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> clear about what is going on.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Shelley Aisner’s dying “Lily” is heartbreak</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ingly stoic as she adjusts to the finality of her diagnosis (and the awkwardness of her doctor, a newbie for whom Lily is his first dying patient). She is sometimes wry and sarcastic, sometimes gentle, and clearly frantic when Max runs away – but always believable as a fiercely strong woman trying to cope with her own fat</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e while shielding her son and husband</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> as much as possible. </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">As Max, h</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">igh school student </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ben Delgado </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">deli</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">vers a solid performance,</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> moving</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> through anger, alienation, despair, and ultimately the rebirth of his relationship with his father. His bio says that one of his favorite past roles was playing the earthworm in </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">James and the Giant Peach</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, but I think his performance as Max Forrestal will assume a prominent place on this list.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Thomas Magee’s “Ellery” is almost painful to watch</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> in his first scenes. With no context for his extreme detachment from his son and home we can only view him with puzzled anger – what father would be so indifferent that he could calmly send his son off to school with a breakfast of sauerkraut? The intensity of his passionate defense of a rare Bolivian beetle just makes it worse until we are shown a glimpse of h</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is pain at losing Lily, and when he finally brings the same intensity to repairing his relationship with Max all is forgiven.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Arun Kumar is simply </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">riveting as Khim Phan – in some ways</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, he is every stern high school teacher with a heart of gold, but we are able to watch him develop this persona as he thaws from the </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">isolation of his tragic past, fighting through </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">both </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">his own and Max’s loneliness and alienation in r</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">esponse to his young student’s </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">obvious need.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Derek Lane’s set design is simple and effective – the hanging tubes give a slightly surreal effect that contrasts with the harsh reality of the hospital bed and curtains, and the translucent panels by the noodle shop/bus station create a gently commercial effect. Robin Pair’s lighting accurately guides the audience from one scene to another on a stage that fills many roles, almost always keeping our focus on the relevant action.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">All of that said, the staging was occasionally uneven</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. There is a moment in the beginning when Max and Ellery are first revealing their central conflict, but for some reason the decision</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> was made to have Phan</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> standing stage right watching the action. Unable to watch both sides of the stage at once, I was unsure of where my attention was supposed to go – I eventually settled on the father/son pair, but wonder if I </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">was </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">suppos</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ed to have gleaned something fro</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">m Phan</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">’s presence.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> The sound effects were spectacular in the Bolivian rain forest, but it would have been helpful if sound (or </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">props) had told me that</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Max was in a bus station before the dialogue revealed this fact. The butterflies slowly floating down over Lily’s bed were graceful and evocative, but the cutout silhouettes of family in Khim’s reveries were cartoonish at best.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">On balance, the strong performances and story far outw</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">eigh the few negatives.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Song of Extinction</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is one of those plays that </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">will stay</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> with you long after you leave t</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he theater, and the show is def</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">initely </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">worth seeing.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Song of Extinction </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through July 31</span></span><span class="s5" style="font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">st</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, with p</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">erformances at 8 pm on</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Friday and Saturday and 3 pm on Sunday.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> There is an additional performance on Thursday, July 28</span></span><span class="s5" style="font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">th</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> at 8 pm.</span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-64170158094463989092022-07-13T20:05:00.001-07:002022-07-13T20:05:08.300-07:00You’re A Good Show, Charlie Brown! By Tina Arth<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinokdEILQgVhgFR-gc_gjWG2G29gsNRoda6sCvuMibJWDfsKzi_PLBs5v1SoRRgt5FD2qimop3jgV77Bk5wBHQpedqXI5gNQRdWIqf-YAhig_-646ohU7SrhwcZvhCI7V2bOxoQT4K7p11ri1dVbDOsfBoySN-w02Ho_Q8k0mRiNTBXfzEoIpZjo_D/s2560/3271F9AD-4B90-459D-8425-29D1314301BA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinokdEILQgVhgFR-gc_gjWG2G29gsNRoda6sCvuMibJWDfsKzi_PLBs5v1SoRRgt5FD2qimop3jgV77Bk5wBHQpedqXI5gNQRdWIqf-YAhig_-646ohU7SrhwcZvhCI7V2bOxoQT4K7p11ri1dVbDOsfBoySN-w02Ho_Q8k0mRiNTBXfzEoIpZjo_D/s320/3271F9AD-4B90-459D-8425-29D1314301BA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Broadway Rose welcomes the onset of another Portland July with a tried and true audience pleaser, beloved of the boomers who grew up with the Peanuts gang and </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">by </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">their grandchildren (and, gasp, great-grandchildren!). </span></span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is perfect summer fare – light, but not empty; fun, but not silly; childlike, but not childish – just like Charles Schulz’s iconic </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">17,897 original Peanuts comic strips.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Director Dan Murphy’s relationship with the show extends back into his elementary school days, and it shows in the care he has taken to present this gem in its best light.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The show has undergone some changes in the</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> 55 years since its 1967 debut with Gary Burghoff in the title </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">role </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(I</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">would have loved to have seen that!), so authorial credit goes to the original author, Clark Gesner, with additional credit to Michael Mayer and Andrew Lipa. Along the way, Peppermint Patty was replaced with Sally – having seen the earlier version of the show, I can confidently state that this was an upgrade. The script and songs consist of a </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">series of </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">vignettes</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, with no consistent story line</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> – really the only way you can capture the flavor of Schulz’s vision without limiting the scope of such a vast body of wo</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">rk. Many classic Peanuts conventions</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> including Lucy’s adoration of Schroeder, Schroeder’s adoration of Beethoven, Charlie and his kite, Snoopy vs. the Red Baron, Linus’ blanket, and more are captured in the show’s 16 </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(gorgeously staged) </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">production numbers.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Each cast member cre</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ates a thoroughly memorable character</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, but there</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> are a few real standout moments</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. First among equals is Kimo Camat’s “Snoopy” – he co</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">mmits 100% to his canine identity</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, with all of the shak</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing, wiggling, howling, scratching, yawning physical comedy</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">you could want from</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">America’s favorite </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(if slightly delusional) </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">beagle. His voca</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ls are flawless, but his </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">pièce de résistance is the increasingly frenetic choreography (with “Sally”) of “Rabbit Chasing.” Speaking of “Sally” (hilariously played by Camille Trinka) – in addition to her work with Snoopy, watch for her charmingly </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">volatile “My New Philosophy.” I fell in love with Michael Hammerstrom’s security obsessed “Linus” in part for his heart-warming “My Blanket and Me” but also for his serious intellectualism</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and wide-eyed sincerity throughout –</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Hammerstrom creates</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a kid</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> I’d really like to know.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Like the queen she wants to be, Sarah Aldrich commands the stage as</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Charlie Brown’s narcissistic nemesis</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, Lucy. Whether she’s mooning over Schroeder, bullying her baby brother, or deceiving Charlie Brown with faux empathy in “The Doctor Is In” she is </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">snide, sarcastic, and condescending, with that amazing mixture of arrogance and ignorance that has become a hallmark of 21</span></span><span class="s6" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">st</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> century American life. Everyone who has ever been to elementary school will recognize and relate to Aldrich’s contribution to “The Book Report” – and back in the day we even had to count words by hand! Jason Hays is a delightful Schroeder whose enthusiastic rendition of “Beethoven Day” earns a much-deserved wave of audience applaus</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e, and his segments of “The Book Report” are nothing short of brilliant.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Sadly, if appropriately, James Sharinghousen’s starring role as “Charlie Brown” is generally overshadowed by his more confident, passionate, and outspoken cast mates. As it is in the comic on which it is based, Charlie’s character is drawn to be submissive, naïve</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, sometimes almost invisible – in many ways, the audience sees him most clearly through the eyes of the others. Sharinghousen is saved from being an object of pity by the eternal optimism he gives his character, an optimism that is finally validated when Lucy (in the final scene) temporarily abandons her abrasive </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">persona and acknowledges that he is, in fact “a good man.”</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Massive props are due to t</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">he </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">team of Sean O’Skea and Kristeen Willis as scenic and lighting designers – the shifting colors and intensity of the light within the striped backdrop and huge blocks create a constantly changing ambience that coordinates beautifully with the action on stage. Musical director</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Darcy White manages to turn 5 instruments into a solid orchestra that fully complements the powerful and precise vocal ensemble work of the cast.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">While </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is fun and accessible enough to delight most children, it is definitely more than a children’s show or simply a brief voyage into nostalgia. Aside from some of the finest vocals and dancing you are likely to see on local stages, the show succeeds (as did Schultz) in drawing children as fully formed humans with the hopes, dreams, intellect, and passion that will shape their adult lives</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. If you have any kiddos around the house, by all means take them – but don’t hesitate to go all by yourselves!</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s8" style="color: #262626; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown</span></span><span class="s8" style="color: #262626; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Av</span></span><span class="s9" style="color: #262626; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">enue, Tigard through Sunday, July 31.</span></span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-29038047428818431282022-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:002022-05-18T10:40:17.546-07:00HART’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor a Loving Roman à clef By Tina Arth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1-tS6tqo2u6fKo4qS2VbTVHmnMAlxzK51tuutE3bxQGEAXPPzX-CGVAvNhnRg_946tAcbiAGrUbW-INwO4xwWWTVn1cW2gNd3zHq1r2VJgXiwHL9XT2v-T-KhIZqCT-tSQOH9HD86R1TlJAEwpyG-EGPX857n3w0ywEFF-NDi_X96Fb0kQy_m8vA/s960/A70913E3-C848-4881-BCD0-5F7E6645B670.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1-tS6tqo2u6fKo4qS2VbTVHmnMAlxzK51tuutE3bxQGEAXPPzX-CGVAvNhnRg_946tAcbiAGrUbW-INwO4xwWWTVn1cW2gNd3zHq1r2VJgXiwHL9XT2v-T-KhIZqCT-tSQOH9HD86R1TlJAEwpyG-EGPX857n3w0ywEFF-NDi_X96Fb0kQy_m8vA/s320/A70913E3-C848-4881-BCD0-5F7E6645B670.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"></div><blockquote style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Picture by Dawn Sellers shows Brandon Weaver, Jeff Brosy, and Steve </div></span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Koeppen</div></span></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Full d</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">isclosure time: prior to May 13, 2022</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, I did not know that “</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Roman à clef</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">” meant “novel with a key</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Courtesy of Neil Simon, Google, and Meghan Daaboul’s directorial bucket list, I am now enlightened – and delighted to have been in the preview night audience for HART’s offering of </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laughter on the 23</span></span><span class="s8" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 7px; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">rd</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Floor. </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Having been subjected to a few too many productions of </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Odd </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Couple</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">nd</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Barefoot in the Park</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, I was a bit wary of another play by the prolific and awesomely talented, but sometimes pred</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ictable, Simon. However, this</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">lightly novelized </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">tragi-comic take gives an eye-opening perspective on</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a seminal period in the history of American television writing</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. With its frequent swipes at McCarthy (Joe, not Kevin) and the oppressive politics of an establishment eager to label anything out of the mainst</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">r</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">eam as communism, it</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is thoroughly entertaining and remarkably relevant.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Quick summary: it’s early 1953, and the play is set in the writer’s room of a New York based television variety show call</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ed “The Max Prince Show” (a paper</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> thin disguise of Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows”). A group of slightly mad writers collaborate on the sketches that form the backbone of the 1.5 hour show. Prince is a constant thorn in the side of the network, which wants to cut the show to one hour, cut the budget, and introduce a less sophisticated style of comedy that will sell better in Middle America – something that neither Prince nor his writers have any interest in doing. By the end of Act II, several months have passed, the network has won the battle (they do, after all, control the purs</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">e strings), and Prince decides to throw in the towel, leaving his writers unmoored and unemployed. Very little research</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> makes “the</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> key”</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> of this </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">particular </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Roman </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">à clef</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">very clear –</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> the</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> characters represent such comic geniuses as Larry Gelbart (“Mash”), Carl Reiner (“The Dick Van Dyke Show” and so much more), </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Tony Webster (“Phil Silvers Show”), Mel Brooks (need I say more?), and even the playwright, Neil Simon (whose character, Lucas, acts as narrator).</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br />Given the much larger-than-life characters who inhabited the real wri</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ter’s room, there is a very clear</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> danger that </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laughter on the 23d Floor </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">could be an orgy of overacting and cheap imitation – but director Daaboul has neatly sidestepped this peril. Her actors all play their roles with varying degrees of looniness, but there is a fundamental restraint in their performances that underscores the reality behind the script. As Lucas (the narrator), Brandon Weaver is the closest thing to a straight man, and he gives us a clear idea of how Simon must have felt as the new kid on this particular writer’s block. </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Steve Koeppen (as the beret toting Milt) immediately introduces the theme of utter insanity, but calmly reveals the method in his madness when he clues Lucas into the comedic politics of catching Prince’s attention in a room full of whackos.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">While there are truly no weak links in the cast, a few performances really take the show to the next level. </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I loved the narrow-eyed cynicism of Seth Wayne’s understated “Brian,” and Erin Bickler (as “Carol,” the only female writer) oozes with quiet resentment of the male-dominated culture of the group. For me, a real star turn comes from Michael Rouches (as Ira), a neurotic hypochondriac who playwright Simon openly based on Mel Brooks. </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I probably won’t have the opportunity to see the show again, but if I could it would be primarily to watch Rouches do his thing.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Costu</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">me coordinator Kelcey Weaver has done</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a spectacular job of dressing the eclectic cast in attire appropriate to both the period and the eccentricity of the characters. William Crawford’s set design is detailed and attractive, and (for me) a highlight of the show is the spectacular view of the New York skyline from the 23d floor window.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Portland area</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> theate</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">rs will probably do a dozen or </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">more </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Odd Couples</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> before </span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laughter on </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">the 23</span></span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 7px; font-style: italic; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">rd</span></span><span class="s7" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Floor</span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> reappears </span></span><span class="s5" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">on a local stage, and courtesy of a Covid-related delay there’s only a two-week run, so tickets are going fast. Catch this little gem while you can!</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Laughter on the 23</span></span><span class="s4" style="font-size: 7px; font-style: italic; line-height: 8.399999618530273px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 12.600000381469727px;">rd</span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Floor</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through May 22nd, with performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.</span></span></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-60298515758043176022022-05-12T21:57:00.012-07:002022-05-12T22:25:30.491-07:00Another Sweet Suite Surrender By Tina Arth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5gIH_of8snBOsvY3zWa8s04Rzkukr1uJGICp1kX2pD63YQn7DixyC93f67tAHXLdkahW_erMYLRpjIFoAzO7q3K8ZqG6TNi3OHHaNbhmSXNpAuK75bnHIHyKD_kR97Tx0vhM8DJ6asTkcA9vQrNKL1JAvyjBhfUASZ1cVl4matGpEwRVpfl6EuZp/s2048/54871747-5A40-4EFA-B927-D30F41D9E320.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5gIH_of8snBOsvY3zWa8s04Rzkukr1uJGICp1kX2pD63YQn7DixyC93f67tAHXLdkahW_erMYLRpjIFoAzO7q3K8ZqG6TNi3OHHaNbhmSXNpAuK75bnHIHyKD_kR97Tx0vhM8DJ6asTkcA9vQrNKL1JAvyjBhfUASZ1cVl4matGpEwRVpfl6EuZp/s320/54871747-5A40-4EFA-B927-D30F41D9E320.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><br /></span></div></span><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Jeff Gardner, Mary Reischmann, Amelia Michaels, Lura Longmire, Aaron </div></span><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-color: rgb(49, 49, 49); caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); color: #313131; font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Morrow, and Kraig Williams</div></span><div><span face="-apple-system, HelveticaNeue" style="color: #313131;"><blockquote><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.25); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(212, 212, 213); font-size: 17px; word-spacing: 1px;"><br /></span></blockquote></span><p></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I must admit I was having a hard time getting enthused about seeing Mask & Mirror’s latest offering, </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Suite Surrender</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Michael McKeever’s classic WWII era farce about a pair of dueling divas is </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">funny, </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">well-written and lively, but I felt like there was not</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">h</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ing new in it for me – I’ve seen the show several times in the last decade, a</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">nd have seen two key players</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> fill lead roles, direct, or both in previous productions</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> What I did not anticipate was the extent to which some new cast members would refresh an</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">d enhance the experience for me – so much so that I would advise even the </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Suite Surrender</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> jaded to consider seeing the show one more time.</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">First, a brief recap of the story: Claudia McFadden and Athena Sinclair are big Hollywood stars who have been playing benefit performances all over the country to raise money for the</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> war effort. They are fiercely</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> combative rivals whose well-publ</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">icized fights are a big draw for</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> the public, and it is essential that they be kept apart, both on-stage and off. Due to an apparent mix-up, both women have been booked into the same elegant suite at the Palm Beach Royale Hotel, and the play revolves around the </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(ultimately unsuccessful) </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">efforts by the hotel management, staff, and the stars’ secretaries to keep the w</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">omen from discovering the error. </span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The first time I saw </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Suite Surrender</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(in 2013) it was directed by Kraig Williams, who was also called upon to play the role of Mr. Pippet in several performances. Aaron Morrow, who played the role of hotel manager Mr. Dunlap in the 2013 production, is the director of the current Mask & Mirror production, and Williams is again playing Mr. Pippet. Continuing the déjà vu all over again nature of this play, due to an unforeseen injury, director Morrow finds himself reprising the role of Mr.Dunlap. </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">As if all of that were not enough, I’m pretty sure the stuffed dog playing Mr. Boodles is a veteran of every Washington County </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Suite Surrender </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">stage. </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Got that?</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Those of you who saw the 2013 production (or an intervening offering from a few years ago) will know that both Morrow and William</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">s are physically and </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">expressively quite</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> perfect for the roles they play </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Mr. Boodles, while anatomically ideal, lacks emotional depth)</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">– enough said. My focus is on the newcomers – starting with Lura Longmire’s utterly commanding performance as Claudia McFadden. She is imperious</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, demanding, and very, very funny –and she absolutely nails the vocals (yes, there is singing!). Mary Reischmann’s extraordinarily egotistical and lascivious take on Athena Sinclair creates the </span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">perfect adversary</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> – and Reischmann absolutely ROCKS the 1940s Hollywood</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">-era</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> dress she is wearing. </span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Other star turns that demand mention include Laurie Monday, who is unbelievable as the befuddled and perennially wide-eyed Mrs. Osgood – definitely not to be missed. While he spends a significant amount of time out of sight and apparently unconscious, Steve Hotaling takes Otis to truly lofty heights of cluelessness and is a joy to watch. </span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">As always, Woody Woodbury’s set is exquisite, and captures the flavor of the time and place precisely. Morrow has drawn strong performances from all of his cast members – my one complaint would be that in the opening scene characters seemed to be rushing their lines, which made it hard to follow the dialogue. Once the pacing settled down everything was sharp and clear. It’s not a long show, and there’s no need to hurry!</span></span></p><p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Mask & Mirror’s</span></span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Suite Surrender</span></span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm through May 22 at “The Stage” at Rise Church, 10445 SW Canterbury Lane, Tigard, 97224.</span></span> </p></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-56453042086857679552022-05-03T17:25:00.000-07:002022-05-03T17:25:57.749-07:00The Comedy of Errors – Don’t Overthink It! By Tina Arth<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlkn7-9zHerouBIXZm_RuyIj1hjWMKPtYIlCC9Z82Ov8GNh7jwHx5rM3mIl3ExQ6oy4gjlwp99OTl1ELC_l-rMqFqTbfA1gGMI4rMN8F1kHcfOfLcb8KBkC-t3fSabEISexXZ6J-HFn50nkobFqLb4hSnD0Da6Hu-mR_n70MNjGzzr5Yt6In6Ei25/s3488/Comedy%20of%20Errors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2890" data-original-width="3488" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlkn7-9zHerouBIXZm_RuyIj1hjWMKPtYIlCC9Z82Ov8GNh7jwHx5rM3mIl3ExQ6oy4gjlwp99OTl1ELC_l-rMqFqTbfA1gGMI4rMN8F1kHcfOfLcb8KBkC-t3fSabEISexXZ6J-HFn50nkobFqLb4hSnD0Da6Hu-mR_n70MNjGzzr5Yt6In6Ei25/w395-h327/Comedy%20of%20Errors.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Picture shows Ira Kortum, </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Karen Schlect, Brent McMorris, and Carl Dahlquist.</span></span></div><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Dramaturgical analysis be damned – in my universe, sometimes a banana is just a banana, and a comedy is just a comedy. Canon Shakespeare Company’s current production of Shakespeare’s <i>The Comedy of Errors</i> (on stage at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater)<i> </i>is a classic example of this principle. Any attempt to dwell on alienation, the meaning of identity, or the tragedy of families or neighboring duchies being torn apart by unwarranted disputes (yeah, that’s YOU I’m talking to, Mr. Putin) cheapens a play that is already, in many ways, quite cheap enough! Director Alec Henneberger and his cast deliver straight up slapstick farce that would probably make The Bard proud.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The play moves quickly, and is premised on an absurdly exaggerated set of coincidences that can leave unwary audience members scratching their heads, unless they are given a heads up. Here’s the set-up, with no pretense of brevity: Syracusan merchant Egeon and his wife had identical twin sons, both inexplicably named Antipholus. Shortly after the twins’ birth, Egeon purchased a pair of infants, twins Dromio and Dromio (seeing a pattern here?) as slaves for his sons. While on a sea voyage, the family (and boat, presumably) is torn apart by a fierce tempest; Egeon saves one son and slave but carelessly loses track of his wife, who saves the other pair of infants. Time passes, and now-adult Antipholus of Syracuse goes off in search of his missing brother. When Antipholus doesn’t return, Egeon sets out to look for him and finds himself in Ephesus. This is not good - Ephesus and Syracuse are at odds, and merchants from Syracuse are forbidden to enter Ephesus on pain of death. Egeon is captured and confined until he can come up with 1000 marks as ransom; hoping for mercy he tells his tragic tale of loss to the Duke of Ephesus. Coincidentally, Antipholus (of Syracuse) and Dromio (of Syracuse) have arrived in Ephesus, unaware that the missing brother and slave are actually Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus. Neither the townspeople, the slaves, Adriana (wife of Antipholus of Ephesus), nor the two brothers are able to distinguish between the identical twins, and mistaken identities lead to a series of misunderstandings, beatings, seductions, and other tomfoolery for two acts leading to (surprise!) reconciliations all around.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In an interesting little twist, the role of the Duke is played each night by an audience member who is not given advance notice of their assignment, and who reads the Duke’s lines from a screen on stage. The rest of the parts are filled via more conventional casting protocols, with nine experienced actors filling the remaining fourteen roles. High points of a very lively, if occasionally chaotic preview night production include Stephanie Crowley’s gold merchant Angelo – by Act II, her crisp control of her increasing rage is truly memorable. Speaking of rage (if not control), Katy Deri’s frenetic take on Antipholus of Syracuse is definitely worth watching, although I found the decision to keep one of their shoes off for convenient slave-beating a bit distracting. Despite a few mangled lines, Karen Schlect (as Antipholus of Ephesus’ wife Adriana) delivers an impressive dose of genuine emotion, unexpected and very welcome in a play where the general theme is over-the-top farce. </p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Four stars to Ira Kortum, who spends an inordinate amount of time chained up as Egeon, stoically awaiting his doom (and generally messing with the audience) – when released from confinement he simply sparkles as the lovely and impatient maid, Luce. The rest of the cast (Genevieve Larson, Carl Dahlquist, Sean Christopher Franson, Kari Warfield, and Brent McMorris) all acquit themselves with high humor - I would especially like to see Warfield in a meatier role.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Comedy of Errors</i> will of course be fun for Shakespeare aficionados (who should all appreciate a little lowbrow humor). However, it is especially appropriate (with a minuscule amount of preparation) for people put off or intimidated by the Bard’s reputation for Important Drama - they will find this production to be extremely accessible and non-threatening. Now that most live local theater is opening up, hie yourself to North Portland for a couple of hours of entertainment – this is the last week of the run!</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Canon Shakespeare Company’s <i>The Comedy of Errors</i> is playing at Twllight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through Sunday, May 8<span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span> with 8:00 PM performances on May 6/7 and 3:00 PM matiness May 7/8.</p><div><br /></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-53280466402190725062022-04-22T12:02:00.006-07:002022-05-03T17:26:17.523-07:00Mamma Mia! What a Mamma Mia! By Tina Arth<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_AJMqJwE2Xi0-FpRgxLvdgIASeoiTMSsAnO-DIFxQMoUgwQG5RC2CWtxZ38xfW561erY36Iw3CoKnyTBVn9efGSPkOnogiMMc-4Ysk4mZ_--GpQvI2Xk64CaSzmWtS4U96-i_mCFd320Os1XzAWo--Hl4u4h7COYq-NYvgaxhg_297_j-4Xzyd1z/s1170/mamma%20mia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1170" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_AJMqJwE2Xi0-FpRgxLvdgIASeoiTMSsAnO-DIFxQMoUgwQG5RC2CWtxZ38xfW561erY36Iw3CoKnyTBVn9efGSPkOnogiMMc-4Ysk4mZ_--GpQvI2Xk64CaSzmWtS4U96-i_mCFd320Os1XzAWo--Hl4u4h7COYq-NYvgaxhg_297_j-4Xzyd1z/w418-h273/mamma%20mia.jpg" width="418" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Ashley Moore, Jennifer Grimes, and Leslie Inmon<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">There are many reasons to love Forest Grove’s venerable community theater, Theatre in the Grove, but the one that really stands out to me is that TITG is fully committed to its mission to make theater arts accessible to the broadest possible community. The current production of <i>Mamma Mia! </i>Is a superb example – a crowd-pleasing musical for a wide audience that also gives scores (43 by my count) of stage veterans and newbies the opportunity to participate in the magic of making live theater. The lists of cast, crew, and orchestra include lots of locals, but TITG also takes advantage of talent from all over the Portland metro area (and the occasional exchange student!). Director Dorinda Toner and her production team have taken the unique abilities of this little horde of vocalists, actors, dancers, musicians, and techies, and molded them into a cohesive unit that has the audience singing and dancing (or at least clapping more or less on beat) by the end of Act II.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Although it was a smash hit when first staged in 1999 and remains wildly popular, Playwright Catherine Johnson’s jukebox musical built around the music of ABBA is, IMHO, fatally flawed as dramatic art by the disconnect between the book and the music – there are plot holes wider than the Bermuda Triangle. Remarkably, when produced with unabashed flair and the right sense of humor (and this <i>Mamma Mia!</i> most definitely is) it just doesn’t matter. As long as the orchestra is solid, solos bright, harmonies tight, costumes flamboyant, and dancers enthusiastic, the audience will have as much fun as the performers. It also doesn’t hurt if you like the music of ABBA, but are not so obsessive that occasional changes in lyrics or arrangements ruin the experience. </p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In case you don’t know the basic story – Donna is a forty-something woman who has built a taverna on an unnamed Greek island. Daughter Sophie is getting married, and she would like her father to walk her down the aisle – but she doesn’t know who her father is (Donna had a bit of a wild youth, and the dad could be any one of three men). Unbeknownst to her mother, Sophie has invited Bill, Harry, and Sam (the possible sperm donors) to the wedding, thinking that she’ll know which one is really her dad when she meets them. Also on the island? Donna’s two best friends from the good old days, Tanya and Rosie. And of course Sophie’s fiancé Sky and her best friends Ali and Lisa, plus a couple of bartenders and a healthy dose of lively locals. Donna thinks Sophie is too young to marry, and Sophie thinks her mother should perhaps have considered marriage in lieu of promiscuity and the burdens of single parenthood. As they sing and dance their way through some 26 ABBA songs, the cast members work out their problems and (in classic musical comedy fashion) everything comes out just fine.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Theatre in the Grove newcomer Madeline Hui is simply perfect as Sophie – she is a fine actor, and her lovely soprano voice is flawless from the opening number, “I Have a Dream,” through the celebratory epilogue. The other key role features TITG veteran Jennifer Grimes, a beautiful belter who was born to play this role – she has that brilliant combination of strength and vulnerability essential to the role of Donna, and her hate/love relationship with Sam (played by her husband, James Grimes) gives us the most intense emotional moments in the show.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With such a large cast, I can’t possibly recognize everybody who deserves it – but when you go watch for Donna, Tanya (Ashley Moore), and Rosie (Leslie Inmon) killing it with “Chiquitita” and “Dancing Queen,” the amazing “Super Trouper” (featuring the entire female ensemble), and some truly eye-popping chemistry between Moore and Max Marckel (Pepper) as well as Inmon and Nick Serrone (Bill). The entire ensemble leaves it all on the stage in the many dance numbers, with a special nod to the younger ensemble members who contribute irresistible, uninhibited, and nonstop joie de vivre.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">James Grimes’ set design is attractive and clever, allowing many scene changes with minimal delay. Ward Ramsdell and Sandy Cronin have done a marvelous job with complex lighting design, creating ocean waves, ‘70s disco magic, and a host of other special effects. Chris Byrne tackled the challenging task of costuming a large cast with occasional jumps between the 1970s and 1990s, including some quick-change surprises and some sparkly and truly memorable color combinations. And of course high praise for musical director/conductor Michelle Bahr and her unseen but not unappreciated orchestra as they drive the show from prologue to epilogue.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Mamma Mia! </i>is playing at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove through Sunday, May 1 with performances at 7:30 P.M. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 P.M. on Sundays.</p><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-25488816845749237712022-04-20T19:15:00.003-07:002022-04-22T12:03:19.246-07:00Don’t Hug Me (But DO See Me!)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-T9xIc-nfPFuBIq348H1cHqPgORgbb5PYcAn_J71OgA4kz3LWSW5nttpamb-bMMXPfKqA0p6I_sR1Iv7MOlHM72UFbtCN37CiH38BwerknA6A5y0MTzUV8481n-tVVGefJ7OIpwcgTkXSYj4faWLgUMBoh02lgv8_QvtbKqudGyuf2iqCyqo8PQa/s1920/Captioned-Dont-Hug-Me-Photos-12-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-T9xIc-nfPFuBIq348H1cHqPgORgbb5PYcAn_J71OgA4kz3LWSW5nttpamb-bMMXPfKqA0p6I_sR1Iv7MOlHM72UFbtCN37CiH38BwerknA6A5y0MTzUV8481n-tVVGefJ7OIpwcgTkXSYj4faWLgUMBoh02lgv8_QvtbKqudGyuf2iqCyqo8PQa/w410-h273/Captioned-Dont-Hug-Me-Photos-12-.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I don’t know how the rest of y’all are faring, but the last few years have offered me more tough moments than were strictly necessary. I am thus abnormally grateful for anything that makes me laugh, and Broadway Rose’s current production of playwright Phil Olson’s <i>Don’t Hug Me</i> (music by Paul Olson) has earned my eternal gratitude and then some. Yes, it’s absurd – a fact openly embraced by director Dan Murphy, who admits that he “thought it was one of the silliest shows I’d ever encountered.” Aside from the always-strong Broadway Rose production standards, the show’s salvation comes from that fine line between “silly” (it most certainly is) and “stupid” (it most certainly is not!). The dialogue and songs are delivered with 100% fidelity to a dense Minnesota/Scandinavian accent, and Olson has peppered the script with scores of increasingly bizarre regional epithets that keep the audience in stitches. </p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A brief synopsis: it’s the coldest day of the year in Ely, Minnesota, with a fierce storm blowing outside Gunner and Clara Olson’s struggling little bar, The Bunyan. Sick of the cold, Gunner wants to sell the bar and move to Florida, but Clara is unwilling to give up her love of ice fishing and her past glory as Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen. Waitress Bernice Lundstrom wants to pursue a singing career, but her fiancé Kanute Gunderson forbids it. Enter intrepid salesman Aarvid Gisselsen, dragging a giant karaoke machine that he swears will save the bar and bring romance back into their icy world. Clara, Bernice, and the menfolk sing their way through the karaoke machine’s extensive menu of works by the immortal Sven Yorgensen, including such classics as “I’m A Walleye Woman in a Crappie Town,” “He Wore a Purple Tux,” and my personal favorite, “Little Ernie Eelput” (from Yorgensen’s Peter, Paul and Mary phase). In the end, Gisselsen’s promise comes true, and everybody (well, almost everybody) discovers or rediscovers the love that’s been missing from their lives. </p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Each of the five actors brings it all every time they walk on the stage, and each brings something unique. Among the highlights? Watch Kevin-Michael Moore’s face - if competitive girning ever becomes a fad, my money will definitely be on his Gunner character, and he brings to mind the grizzled folksiness of a Gabby Hayes (without the six-shooter). Revel in the tough/tender combination that Elizabeth Young brings to the role of Clara, and the gradual evolution toward confidence in Clara-Liis Hillier’s sweet Bernice as she find her inner diva in a red dress. Poor Peter Liptak (Kanute) is the only unrepentant jerk in the show, but he still charms us with song and dance to balance his blustering Midwestern chauvinism. The real sleeper is Matthew H. Curl, whose Aarvid is sort of a tentative but persistent Harold Hill – in fact, the show has been described as “<i>Fargo</i> meets <i>The Music Man</i>, without the blood or trombones.” Curl’s “My Smorgasbord of Love” is a real showstopper, and I salute his ability to deliver the song with a straight face.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Unique in my experience with Broadway Rose, <i>Don’t Hug Me</i> uses prerecorded music – more of a challenge for the vocalists, but definitely appropriate to a karaoke-themed musical. Bryan Boyd’s scenic design is delightfully evocative of the time and place, as are Annie Kaiser’s costumes.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Don’t Hug Me</i> is pure schmaltz with a big dose of heart, and it provides a wonderful, if all too brief, refuge from the outside world. Broadway Rose is still checking for proof of vaccination or negative Covid test, so even if masking is now optional I felt quite comfortable joining the opening night audience. There are so many reasons to get your tickets and see this little gem – just do it! Tickets are going fast, especially for the coveted Mother’s Day/closing performance.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Don’t Hug Me </i>is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Avenue, Tigard through Sunday, May 8<span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span>.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-38110152530432065672022-04-20T12:16:00.000-07:002022-04-20T12:16:00.850-07:00<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4ny36D9tq4A1OxvD3wabJlPsJJ9UbM74Nzd-UdkLFYGLcm-zG2jGNDJDP9TU69XrGf0LO3D0N2scJdWA1U_IAsf3Pr2tT7c9HCJjBq0kVmbQzNfUhrXljeSuBBwHFXwW7Ny_JxOr6sv-QBo3ainhKTeudub2rXmVMG7Kn1xnXcVrT9G_O1al4Yok/s1080/gray%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1080" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4ny36D9tq4A1OxvD3wabJlPsJJ9UbM74Nzd-UdkLFYGLcm-zG2jGNDJDP9TU69XrGf0LO3D0N2scJdWA1U_IAsf3Pr2tT7c9HCJjBq0kVmbQzNfUhrXljeSuBBwHFXwW7Ny_JxOr6sv-QBo3ainhKTeudub2rXmVMG7Kn1xnXcVrT9G_O1al4Yok/w380-h375/gray%202.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Twilight’s Enigmatic, Timely <i>Anatomy of Gray</i></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The first time I saw playwright Jim Leonard’s <i>Anatomy of Gray,</i> in 2017, I was intrigued by the play’s multilayered approach but was ultimately able to peg it as a mysterious plague being used as an allegory about the AIDS epidemic. I enjoyed the play’s extensive use of humor to leaven the underlying pain, and harkened back to my emotional response to the early days of AIDS and its impact. However, seeing Twilight Theater Company’s 2022 production was a whole new experience for me. After some reflection I decided that the difference is rooted in my relationship to the two very different “plagues” that have colored my adult life. AIDS? Tragic, upsetting, but essentially separate from my everyday life. Covid-19, on the other hand, has been all too immediate for most of us, and we’ve been denied the dubious comfort of “otherness” about the victims. Even if you’ve seen <i>Anatomy of Gray </i>before, the current production merits a second look.</p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The show takes place in a slightly surreal world peopled by the nineteenth century townspeople of Gray, Indiana – a place emblematic of the close-minded but self-proclaimed salt of the earth communities that littered a country on the verge of, and fiercely resisting, a vast scientific awakening. Fifteen year old June Muldoon, whose father suddenly died of a mysterious illness, is lamenting her totally boring life in this boring town; grieving about her father and hoping for a little action, she writes a letter to God asking him to send a doctor to town. A fierce storm arrives, and in blows balloonist Dr. Galen Gray, a beacon of enlightenment from the outside world (and a ray of hope for June). The xenophobic Pastor Phineas Wingfield is suspicious of the newcomer – Gray is attractive, educated, and modern, but he’s Jewish. When locals begin to sicken and die from inexplicable deadly lesions, many follow the pastor’s lead and blame the newcomer. When lesions are discovered on June’s mom Rebekah, only three people are free of infection – June, Dr. Gray, and a love-struck, soda pop loving young yokel named Homer. Take my word for it – courtesy of some very crisp writing and some great physical comedy, the show is both more moving and more fun than it sounds!</p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Director Alicia Turvin has assembled an evenly capable cast, with some real standout performances in lead roles. As Homer, the simple farm boy who’s loony for June, Ryan Larson is perfectly pathetic, but he earns the audience’s sympathy with his earnest devotion. Arun Kumar is wonderful as the narrow-minded Pastor Wingfield, and he oozes the confidence that can only be found in the truly ignorant. His epic battle with kidney stones is the funniest scene in the play, and he maintains his steadfastly bombastic idiocy throughout. </p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Three key actors provide the solid foundation required to tell the story. Noelle Guest is quietly compelling as the widowed Rebekah – she creates a solidly intelligent and grounded character who embraces the pain and love in her life with equal grace. Cydoni Reyes is a real find as June, and Turvin was lucky to find an adult actor who manages to believably convey the angst, drama, and maddening mood swings of repressed adolescence. Reyes’ June is both precocious and innocent, and charming throughout. Finally, there’s Jon Gennari, who walks a fine line as Dr. Galen Gray, the quintessential outsider. While he is often funny, he never seems to be going for the laugh – he’s so somber, logical, and determined that the audience accepts the absurdity of the situation without question.</p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I loved the set – rather than trying to create even a semblance of small-town Indiana, Turvin’s design, a simple backdrop of silver/gray panels, allows the actors to easily break the fourth wall. The audience doesn’t need to worry about suspending disbelief, because as soon as Genevieve Larson’s beautifully designed lights go up we know that we are not expected to cling to an illusion of reality.</p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Twilight’s production of <i>Anatomy of Gray</i> is something of a sleeper. While it’s fun and moving in the moment, it doesn’t yield its full impact right away but grows its impact upon reflection – one of those shows that would be well worth seeing twice.</p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Anatomy of Gray </i>is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through April 24<span style="font-size: 9.3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span>, with performances at 8 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 3 pm on Sunday.</p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p></div><p></p>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-47007696832715641082022-03-23T11:08:00.003-07:002022-03-23T11:08:44.265-07:00Don’t Miss Don’t Dress for Dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8P1F3SrY4cWbmxlzH2K9ppHaAioHQmFRKQ28XUEAtp6YAePo3fZIZLiDIkyA2rsGATDHRDcwfGDRfwQx8dptUCCT9ZLAVG33BMKhVwC7CJ3TYcWmpSJlV6mzQVNvx5D3tztZm031FasF_P2YRY2ll4LO9Lkk9p3Fd9lQw3wFEMlousmn25z0pbZi/s4032/DON'T%20DRESS%20FOR%20DINNER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8P1F3SrY4cWbmxlzH2K9ppHaAioHQmFRKQ28XUEAtp6YAePo3fZIZLiDIkyA2rsGATDHRDcwfGDRfwQx8dptUCCT9ZLAVG33BMKhVwC7CJ3TYcWmpSJlV6mzQVNvx5D3tztZm031FasF_P2YRY2ll4LO9Lkk9p3Fd9lQw3wFEMlousmn25z0pbZi/s320/DON'T%20DRESS%20FOR%20DINNER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">HART Theatre is back, roaring into the (somewhat) post-pandemic milieu with a nostalgic reprise. When HART moved into its current building in 2007, the first play staged was playwright Marc Camoletti’s broad French farce, <i>Don’t Dress for Dinner, </i>and the show was supposed to open March 20, 2020 as part of the Hillsboro company’s 25th season. As we all know, the advent of Covid-19 sent the theater world into two-year state of mostly suspended animation, and like many local stages HART is now picking up right where it left off – <i>Don’t Dress for Dinner </i>finally opened on March 18 to an enthusiastic audience who clearly felt that it was worth the wait!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">First-time director Dawn Sellers has assembled a fine cast, including one veteran of the 2007 production – her husband Doug Sellers, who acted as both cheerleader and mentor as she tackled the challenging show. All six actors bring impressive resumes to the production, as do many members of the production team, and the result of Sellers’ direction and her support network is a charming play with great lighting, a clean and well-constructed set, period-appropriate costumes, and the comic timing, blocking, and restraint necessary for compelling farce.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For those of you who (like me) are not familiar with the play, a little background will help. Camoletti is best known for <i>Boeing Boeing</i>, which had a 7-year run in London starting in 1962 and has since become one of the defining farces of American professional and community theater. A sequel, <i>Pyjama Pour Six</i>, premiered in 1987, and was later adapted for English language audiences by Robin Hawdon as <i>Don’t Dress for Dinner</i>. The play retains its French setting, characters, and Gallic cultural themes – in particular, the stereotypical attitude toward marital fidelity or lack thereof.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The action starts quickly: Bernard has orchestrated a scheme that will allow him to spend the weekend with his mistress, Suzanne, at his country home near Paris. Wife Jacqueline is preparing to visit her ailing mother, and Bernard’s friend Robert is coming to provide an “alibi” for Bernard’s weekend activities, including the importation of a Cordon Bleu chef<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Suzette) to handle lavish meal preparation. When Suzanne learns that Robert is coming, she invents an excuse to stay home so she can spend time with him (Bernard does not know that Robert and Suzette are embroiled in a passionate affair). Bernard’s problem? How to explain Suzanne’s arrival to his wife. His solution? He tells Robert to pretend that Suzanne is <span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">his</span> lover – something Robert is hesitant to do, since Suzanne will be upset that he is playing around with another woman. Robert reluctantly agrees, and plans to explain the scheme to Suzanne – but Suzette, the caterer, arrives first. Confused about the names, Robert enlists Suzette to play as his mistress. When Suzanne arrives, she is then cast into the role of caterer, despite her woeful inadequacy in the kitchen. Got that? If you need more, go see the show!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Each of the cast members shine in their own special way, but Doug Goodrum (Robert) really holds the show together. He is constantly tasked with explaining the unexplainable to other characters, a job complicated by the fact that he has to quickly adapt the story to fit each new arrival. He panics, stumbles over his words, and takes meaty pauses that are believably those of a befuddled sidekick (“you cooked a book?” is a frequent refrain), yet somehow keeps us clear on the tortuous path of farce.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Doug Sellers is relegated to the thankless role of a straight man, creating a convincingly odious Bernard.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sarah Kearney’s “Suzette” is the unsophisticated rube in the room, yet you can see in her eyes and hear in her delivery the wily peasant street smarts that allow her to profit mightily from her role in the deception, and she provides fearless physical comedy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Katie Prentiss (Suzanne) is appropriately lovely and convincingly clumsy and clueless as a chef – my front-row seat was startlingly close to the splash zone!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As the betrayed and betraying Jacqueline, Kira Smolev moves seamlessly from loving wife and daughter to passionate lover, yielding to confusion and finally smoldering fury as she gradually figures out what’s actually happening. The final character, Suzette’s husband George, is a smaller role that provides less opportunity for actor John Knowles – but he provides the slightly dim and threatening, hardheaded bulk that the part requires.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I applaud Sellers’ choice to skip the French accents – it’s awkward, and they are after all portraying characters speaking their native language. However, I did miss a Gallic touch in the set dressing. Other than the two small (and obligatory) pictures of a cow and a pig, there were no décor elements that suggested a French country villa, and this made it harder to relate to the players and situation as being specifically French.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It’s been a tough couple of years for most of us, and there are still some pretty ominous winds blowing about. It’s a great time for a lively evening of comedy including lots of laugh out loud moments to give us a little respite from the stress and uncertainty of Covid, Putin, porch pirates, and a nationwide shortage of about 4,000,000 homes. HART’s <i>Don’t Dress for Dinner</i> is good medicine for the spirit with its complex story line full of uncomplicated fun.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Don’t Dress for Dinner</i> is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through Sunday, April 3, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div>Femspectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08302052131539024242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-2613456257802765832022-03-09T17:23:00.008-08:002022-03-09T17:23:32.341-08:00Deathtrap Resurrected at Mask & Mirror<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGzFpR3xK_0t0bnm7sBWQ7zqAZBQxFAkLPGm4BmAIk7XNVpLbxII0zTRUGCBAQKqYlzzKvhh6EqBdslzALAnBw7KMIW_MQFzKaIYDXxFF6aMS8jFTnFLBWQoF8dm_8qjfiuiABbah0vo596_JSjqfoUxnlm3Un50DY5OurRhlGZ3sqSEzZfScDzYSgdA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGzFpR3xK_0t0bnm7sBWQ7zqAZBQxFAkLPGm4BmAIk7XNVpLbxII0zTRUGCBAQKqYlzzKvhh6EqBdslzALAnBw7KMIW_MQFzKaIYDXxFF6aMS8jFTnFLBWQoF8dm_8qjfiuiABbah0vo596_JSjqfoUxnlm3Un50DY5OurRhlGZ3sqSEzZfScDzYSgdA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Picture (by Michael Martinez) shows Diana LoVerso, Blaine Vincent III,</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Jeff Ekdahl, Patricia Alston, and Bud Reece</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>By Tina Arth</p><p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal">Almost two years ago, I attended Mask & Mirror’s
opening-night performance of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deathtrap, </i>playwright
Ira Levin’s classic dark comedy of deception. A few short days later (and
before I had submitted a review), Covid-19 tore across the planet, and much of
the world as we knew it, (including this particular production), immediately
shut down. In a truly epic demonstration of the “show must go on” principle,
Mask & Mirror has brought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deathtrap</i>
back to life. In some ways the show is virtually unchanged - it’s got the same
director (Tony Broom), four of five original cast members, and essentially the
same set – other than some new curtains and a bit of paint, I could almost have
been at the original 2000 opening. However, in the ways that count, the current
production is markedly more enjoyable – so even if you saw one of the original
two performances, you should definitely plan to go back. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deathtrap</i>
virgins, a bit of background is in order. Playwright Sydney Bruhl, author of
several popular murder mysteries, is in the depths of a prolonged slump. He’s
been living off the faded glory of past hits and the gradually shrinking bank
account of his wife, Myra, when he receives an unsolicited script from Clifford
Anderson, a student from one of Sydney’s writing workshops. The script is
maddeningly good – a sure smash, so good that Sydney and Myra concoct a devious
scheme. They will resurrect Sydney’s career by tricking Clifford into
“collaborating” (i.e., giving Sydney partial credit) for the finished product.
From here, the plot begins a rapid-fire series of twists and turns, some
diabolical and some simply ludicrous, as we meet young Clifford, a bizarre
psychic neighbor named Helga Ten Dorp, and Sydney’s seemingly dingy but sharp-eyed
lawyer, Porter Milgram. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The performances of the two women in the cast, Patricia
Alston (as Myra) and Diana LoVerso (as Helga), can be credited with a
significant share of the show’s improvement. Where their previous performances
were solidly competent, both women now strive for and achieve real comic
heights, using timing and physical comedy to ensure that every one of Levin’s farcical
moments gets its due – and they are irresistible when they play off each other. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I must not dismiss the impact of Blaine Vincent III, the one
new cast member, in his portrayal of Clifford Anderson. I can’t really describe
his best moments without giving away too much of the plot, especially in some
intense interactions with Jeff Ekdahl (Sydney) - leave it that he brings a
solid and believable physicality to a demanding role. Ekdahl also delivers a
strong performance – in a play filled with deception, he displays a
chameleon-like ability to deceive both the audience and his cast-mates. Bud
Reece (Porter Milgrim) has less opportunity to shine in a smaller role, but he
still manages to surprise us a few times! <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Just as in 2000, I was less impressed by the set design –
for me, the story has maximum effect in a somewhat darker and more intimate
space, with an abundance of macabre décor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The spacious Rise Church Main Stage, often an asset, allows for cast
members to be too far apart in some key scenes – there are times that Myra’s
physical reactions to Clifford and Sydney are difficult to track because of the
distance between the stimulus and the response. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Costume designers Kelcey Weaver and Jodi Johnson have done a
great job of capturing the questionable fashion choices of the era – in
particular, both Ekdahl and Vincent are imbued with late-seventies kitsch. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The timing of this production is perfect – thing are opening
up rapidly, we are all ready for an undemanding evening of live theater, and
the Mask & Mirror production provides a great place for the
theater-hesitant to jump back in (with the comfort of knowing that they won’t
even let you go upstairs to the lobby without proof of vaccination and a
mask!).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mask & Mirror’s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
Deathtrap</i> runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm
through March 20 at “The Stage” at Rise Church, 10445 SW Canterbury Lane,
Tigard, 97224.</p>
<p> </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7339119264231346067.post-27699930946440247512022-02-11T10:47:00.004-08:002022-02-11T10:48:40.180-08:00Twilight Offers Fertile Ground for Quality of Death<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjg7KhwT22NPf4kSXU5FZKJtBDbHQWntVZpc3meGF7TKODnBL1eJElbKd0nOqd52yo9JbJsuv8s7YNaSHsk4qFU7GqNduaKJegQ6DwW_oaLcKN5bk_pkRiyGvyK4uIZzo_vW4x2VUSxhk7jpFuxklALHFiFVmIfk-jxDfz1bJqNh6QFv3ylhCkjSjdDyg=s1200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1200" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjg7KhwT22NPf4kSXU5FZKJtBDbHQWntVZpc3meGF7TKODnBL1eJElbKd0nOqd52yo9JbJsuv8s7YNaSHsk4qFU7GqNduaKJegQ6DwW_oaLcKN5bk_pkRiyGvyK4uIZzo_vW4x2VUSxhk7jpFuxklALHFiFVmIfk-jxDfz1bJqNh6QFv3ylhCkjSjdDyg=w400-h256" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Picture shows Margie Boulé, Olivia</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Henry, Paul Roder and Ira Kortum</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>By Tina Arth</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quality of Death</i>,
a Thinking Peoples’ Theatre production by playwright Ruth Jenkins, has a unique
pedigree. It is an original show first offered in live stream format as part of
the the 2022 Portland Area Theatre Alliance (PATA) Fertile Ground Festival, for
which all productions were done virtually – yet it is continuing life as a
fully staged drama hosted by North Portland’s Twilight Theater. I was
privileged to be part of a small in-house audience for this remarkable show’s
opening night live stream, and I’m glad that so many people could enjoy the
show remotely that weekend, but I’m even happier that many more folk will have
the opportunity I did of seeing the show performed in person for the next two weeks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be forewarned – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quality
of Death</i> is no stroll in the park! The play explores the journeys of five
families who come together in a support group as they negotiate the dreaded “d”
word – “death” – of a loved one. The individual stories are diverse – there’s
dementia, Parkinson’s, cancer, COPD, and garden variety (if extreme) old age –
what ties them together is that in each case the deceased exerts control over
their own death to end suffering or simply to pass on their own terms – true
death with dignity. One story involves conventional suicide, while the others
all embark on their final journeys by turning away from medical treatment and
sustenance, allowing death to come naturally as their bodies simply shut down.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The drama (and often unexpected humor) of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quality of Death </i>arises from the tension
between the dying and the family members determined to keep them alive at any
cost. With the help of the support group, including members of a medical
establishment willing to provide compassionate guidance, reluctant loved ones
come to accept that their role is to accept the inevitability of death and
embrace the love and empathy necessary to provide a good last day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The large cast (16 actors portray 24 different characters)
means it’s impossible to recognize every strong performance, but I’ll highlight
several that touched me most. First among equals is Allie Rivenbark (Teri), who
captures both the physical and vocal challenges of progressively debilitating
Parkinson’s disease with amazing consistency, yet uses humor and sarcasm to
ward off the potentially maudlin overtones of her situation and keep us rooting
for her right to die. As her partner Kathryn, Leslie Inmon gives us the other
side – the passionate insistence on fighting until the last breath a battle
that, as the playwright makes clear, is not hers to fight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyone who has ever done a true death watch should respond
to the absolute authenticity of the dialogue and physical performances given by
Paul Roder (Charlie) and Pat Lach (Martha) as they move down the road to that
final breath. Pat’s querulous, self-centered character is perfectly
recognizable as the archetype of one variety of hard-headed old lady – well
loved, yes, but not easy to love. Paul, on the other hand, creates an
unforgettably sly and playful old devil who will be sincerely mourned by the
three generations of descendants we meet on stage. Olivia Henry (Devon) turns
in a beautiful performance as Charlie’s great granddaughter, the one family
member (in fact, the one cast member) most comfortable with allowing a loved
one to go in peace when the time has come. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ira Kortum becomes two very different men for his two roles
– as Max, losing his young wife, he is movingly frightened and grief-stricken,
while he is stoic but a bit bewildered as Charlie’s grandson Jeff, trapped
between his mother’s stubborn denial and his daughter’s persistent support of
the old man’s wishes. Tony Domingue is a treat to watch in his larger role as
Martha’s son-in-law Ross – he’s an island of calm in the storm of emotions
roiling the immediate family.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quality of Death </i>presents
some unusual challenges, both thematically and in the pure mechanics of staging
so many characters and scenes without confusing the audience or muddling the
messaging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theresa Robbins Dudeck’s direction
keeps the train on the tracks – it’s a long show with some exceptionally
intense moments, but she never allows her actors or the audience to lose focus.
The set is simple and flexible enough to keep things moving along quickly, and
many of the best spots are enhanced by some brilliant lighting effects.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I found myself both deeply moved and, as the author clearly
intended, educated by the play. There are times where detailed descriptions of
the mechanics of dying verge on the didactic, but given the topic this may be
unavoidable. If you can get to this show, by all means do!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thinking Peoples’ Theatre Project’s live run performances of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quality of Death</i> can be seen at 8:00
pm on February 11, 12, 18, and 19, and at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 13 at
Twilight Theatre, 7571 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
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<![endif]--></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0