“Rise & Shine”
This exploratory story of the human psyche is written by
Will Eno and directed by Gretchen Corbett.
It is playing at their space, 602 NE Prescott St. (parkin lot 2 blocks
North on 6th), through October 21st. For more information, go to their site at www.portlandplayhouse.org or call
503-488-5822.
Since this seems to be a “sensory” story, involving all the
senses of a man on the verge of something, perhaps, extraordinary. Using, maybe, the same path the main
character of Guy (Michael O’Connell) does, I am confronted/invaded by possibly
like memories of past events, such as the last few moments of Kubrick’s,
“2001: A Space Odyssey;” or the old man’s
recurring vision of his family across an uncrossable stream in Bergman’s
classic, “Wild Strawberries;” or my own visions of laying, as a child, on a
hillside, and watching trains in the valley rushing by and imaging stories in
my head of the people on them and knowing that someday I would be a writer.
Guy is a man in a wheelchair (that he appears not to need)
and sharing with us memories of a lifetime through visuals, sounds, music, a
type of cue cards, as triggers of memories, perhaps, and inviting us to
likewise notice and embrace our world around us before Time, The Great
Equalizer, catches up with us. Looking
for meanings in lost phrases, ruing over regrets…letting go, seems to be the
key advice for those wishing to move forward.
Then, into his world appears Lisa (Nikki Weaver), a type of
nurse/guardian, perhaps, or possibly more to the point, a gatekeeper. She is a comforter for him…patiently
watching, soothing, picking up pieces of lost thoughts. Guy seems to be enveloped in little things,
strains of familiar tunes, sounds and sights of nature, but always in the act
of waiting…waiting for what? The next
act in a drama that is just out of reach; another stab at a life lived
and…misplaced; peace at the end of the tunnel?
Or is his purpose, perhaps, to pass the torch on to us, with full
understanding that endings are never final, nor beginnings, pre-determined.
Corbett is definitely an actor’s director, as she has
managed to infuse little nuances into all the little nooks and crannies of
Guy’s moments. And O’Connell is a
perfect choice for the role, as he is so natural (as is Weaver) that you feel
you are sitting right there in the room with him, as he
shares his thoughts with you. Eno has
written an introspective story, and yet it seems to resonate with everyone…a
rare gift as a writer
.
I recommend this
play. If you do choose to see it, please
tell them Dennis sent you.
--DJS
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