And So It Goes - Artist Repertory Theater, Portland, Oregon

Romantic Notions

And So It Goes... is playing at ART through October 7th. Evenings at 7:30, and 2pm matinees on Sundays, too.  It is based on the writing of Kurt Vonegut and adapted and directed by Aaron Posner.

The title of the play is derived from Vonnegut’s way, in many of his stories, of dealing with extraneous information, kind of like we use, etc.  Mr. Vonnegut died recently and his fresh words on our current human condition will be solely missed.  He spoke for an Age and his insights were remarkable.

 

But his words (as do Bradbury’s) are hard to express in a visual setting.  Only PBS’s with their From Time To Timbuktu (with one of his favorite actors, Kevin McCarthy) and Who Am I This Time? (with Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon) were worth the effort.  And his play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June (again with McCarthy) fell short of the mark.  But now Posner attempts this transition, too.

This play is not the usual Vonnegut fare, playing with Time and creating Sci-Fi like atmospheres.  It deals with Love, “pure and complicated.”  The first story is true, describing the story of how he married his wife, based on his beautiful, seven-page short story, A Long Walk To Forever.  The young soldier, Newt (Andy Lee-Hillstrom), arriving on the wedding day of his childhood sweetheart, Catherine (Kayla Lian) to another man.

 

His determination to convince her to marry him is unflappable.  And his proposition to her is simple, just take a walk, “putting one foot in front of the other…and so it goes.”  Ah, were Romance really that simple.  Perhaps the best love story ever written.  It well may be that Life is really not all that complex, perhaps we just make it that way.

The second story is one of the best theatre stories ever written, based on Who Am I This Time?  An unassuming little man, Harry (Alex Hurt, son of the terrific actor, William Hurt), who works as a clerk in a store in a small town, becomes transformed when he appears onstage into, almost literally, becoming another person.

 

He meets his match in a mousy little lady, Helene (Kayla Lian), who also becomes consumed by her role.  And the current play they are to perform is Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, with the two as Stanley and Stella.  Their passion grows as long as there are characters for them to become.  A little sad, perhaps, but it works for them.  And is not that the point of Love?

The third story is the weakest of the three.  It also comes from Vonnegut’s book of short stories (as do the other two), Welcome To The Monkey House.  It is views of two, inter-related stories of marriages on the rocks.

 

One has to do with the relationship of Gloria (Sarah Lucht), a movie star, to George (Leif Norby), a failing writer.  She is looking for success with successful people.  He is looking for a way to patch up his relationship with his son, John (Andy Lee-Hillstrom), from a former marriage. 

The other marriage has to do with Tom (Tim True), an absorbed salesman, but neglectful husband, and his strained relationship with his wife, Katy (Valerie Stevens).  During the flow of the story, the two husbands connect with each other, revealing some of their innermost feelings and how to survive Love.  As they say, “Adults are just kids with more body hair and taller.”

The stage is bare with only incidental props and set pieces and lighting to reveal locations.  And, as noted, the small cast plays many roles, and are well-suited for this task:  A black box or Our Town sort of atmosphere.  The direction by Posner works well in this arena, keeping things flowing throughout the story.  As I said, only the last story seems weak, as compared to the other two.

All the performers do well in their assigned roles.  But outstanding is Tim True as the Narrator and characters within the stories.  His casual delivery and relaxed manner make one feel quite at home in the theatre, as if it were just a conversation between friends.  (Much like the character of the Stage Manager in Wilder’s Our Town).

Alex Hurt as Harry (and Stanley) is extraordinary in this complex role.  He is totally believable as both characters, as if he were two different people.  And Leif Norby is organically rooted as Verne, a nerdy, wanna-be actor in the Streetcar… tale and as George, the conflicted husband in the final story.  The characters are polar opposites of each other but Nordy pulls it off beautifully.  And Kayla Lian does well in her duel roles as Catherine and Helene.

This production is well worth seeing. For further information go to their website at artistrep.org and/or call for tickets at 503-241-1278.  Tell them Dennis sent you.

Avenue Q - Triangle Productions, Portland, Oregon

A Walk on the Wild Side

Avenue Q is playing at Triangle Productions! Thursday - Satursdays at 7:30pm and Sunday matinees at 2pm, through September 30th, 1785 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR.

One can certainly say one thing about Avenue Q, it’s an “Equal Opportunity Offender.”  But to give it some status, it should be remembered that his little, Off-Broadway production took the Tony away from the flashy, big-budgeted Wicked for Best Musical (and score & book).  In my opinion, it was well deserved.

           

A thumb-nail description would be a walk on the dark side of Sesame Street, as if written by the creators of TV’s South Park.  In fact, one of the writers is connected with The Book Of Mormon, a sell-out musical, currently on Broadway, another “offensive” story.  I had the pleasure of seeing the Off-Broadway production of Q and, to be honest, this compares favorably to it.

           

It is “a typical day in the neighborhood” with the folks of a run-down apartment complex in NYC.  A newly arrived, recent college grad, Princeton (Bryan Kinder) moves into this area, eager to make his mark on the world.  While here, he meets the girl-next- door, Kate Monster (Meghan McCandless—super in ART’s Next to Normal, earlier this year), a substitute teacher, also with dreams. 

Into this mix are added Rod and Nicky, roommates with a secret (Norman Wilson and James Sharinghousen); Brian (Jonathan Quesenberry) a wanna-be stand-up comic and his main squeeze, Christmas Eve (Sarah Kim); Lucy (Chrissy Kelly-Pettit), a torch singer of questionable morals; and Gary Coleman—yes, that Gary Coleman, from past TV fame--(Tyler Andrew Jones) as the Super for the building.

It should be strongly noted that this show is not for those easily offended, or those faint of heart or weak of mind.  It addresses harsh language, Gay issues, Internet porn, sex, prejudice, politics, religion, ethnicity, relationships and even has a graphic scene of puppet promiscuity. 

Why the in-your-face approach?  Perhaps, because, as the story goes, a traveler, was trying to get his stubborn mule up a hill with kind words (which wasn’t working), finally resorting to hitting the animal over the head with a two-by-four, in which the mule finally went forward.  His explanation for such an action?  You have to get their attention first.  ‘Nuf said.

The songs are terrific and really move the story forward.  My favorites:  If You Were Gay, Purpose, Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, The Internet Is For Porn, Special, There’s a Fine, Fine Line, The More You Ruv Someone and I Wish I Could go Back To College.  With those titles, it will also give you an idea as to whether it’s your cup of tea or not.

And the cast is uniformly excellent, with not a weak link in the ensemble.  My favorites in the singing department were Chrissy’s belting rendition of Special, Norman’s strong voice in My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada, Sarah’s heart-felt The More You Ruv Someone and my personal favorite (both song and cast member), who one can’t help but fall in love with, Meghan’s perfect voicing of There’s A Fine, Fine Line.  Only question remains, does one’s affection go toward the performer, or their alter-ego, the puppet?

Not to be ignored are the very workable set from Actors Cabaret of Eugene; Darcy White and her marvelous band; Don Horn’s (Leader of the Triangle Pack) intricate direction and, especially, the puppet makers—Darrin J. Pufall, designer, with the collaboration of the unequaled, Tears Of Joy Theatre.  My hat’s off to these magnificent Magic Makers!

For information on this company and the show go to www.tripro.org or triangleproductions1@gmail.com or call 503-239-5919.

Henry IV, Part I - Post5 Theater, Portland, Oregon

The Gathering Storm Begins

Post 5 Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I is playing in an outdoor courtyard at 850 NE 81^st in Portland.  The show is free and will play at 7 pm Fridays-Sundays, through September 8^th.

Historical plays and films are never easy to digest, because one feels they are being lectured to.  In a moment, a person feels the Prof might say, now remember these dates and places, for they will be on the test.  I was never a fan of history in school because I was always wondering, who are these people, how did they live, why did they do what they did, etc.  But those little items were rarely in the lectures.  Well, wake up, as Master Shakespeare has brought history to life, peppering us with those self-same items.

So I will not preach to you on stone, cold facts but try to give you a sense of lives lived.  Motivations for War and Politics are relatively simple and haven’t changed much over the years.  Land…Greed…Jealousy…Prejudice…Power…Alliances made…Treaties broken…Lies…Deceit…Murder and, of course, God is always on their side.  See any relevance to the Old West, European Wars, our modern times?

To put it simply, King Henry the IV (Jeff Gorham) of England is trying to hold onto his lands.  But other factions within England, chiefly Hotspur (the brilliant, Orion Bradshaw), and outside, such as the Welsh, Scots, Irish and even the French, have other ideas as to where borders should be drawn.  Played out, in equal time to this melee, are the inhabitants of the Boar’s Head Pub, the heart of the story.

Here resides Sir John Falstaff (Rusty Tennant) and his motley crew of misfits and mischief-makers.  Into this mix is also Prince (Harry) Hal (Ty Boice), the King’s son, who is dutifully sowing his wild oats.  He begins to sense, in time, he will have to put aside such “childish things” and become a King, Henry V.  His innocence gone, his Youth shattered, the time to be a Man is just around the corner.  Again, Universal story?  Royalty will play, as they do today.  Look at recent headlines for relevance of both factions.

 

The inter-playing of these two stories is presented beautifully in this production, directed by Don Alder, a well-known Portland artist.  The fight, principally between Hotspur and Hal, is exceptionally choreographed by Kristen Mun.  The staging is simple and very serviceable to the stories.  The blood and make-up, also effective.  And the music/songs, well chosen.  The battle sounds are good but too loud at times and covered some of the dialogue.

And the ensemble cast is exceptional.  Although set in modern times and sans accents, the speaking of the Bard’s words were, for the most part, clear and concise.  The major roles mentioned were very well performed.  Mr. Gorham as the King was appropriately steadfast in his leadership role, believable in his presentation.  Mr. Bradshaw gave an electrifying and very organic depiction of Hotspur.  He was equally riveting to watch as Puck in their “…Dream.”

Mr. Tennant’s Falstaff is equal parts gross, likeable, obnoxious, mad and witty.  Rusty is terrific in the role and I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it better.  Mr. Boice is an amazing actor to watch.  He is completely believable in his approach to the character of Hal.  You see the conflicted side of him, as he tries to reconcile his royal duties with the “the good life.”  It would be enlightening to watch him continue the story in Henry V.  And, to prove the old adage, that there are no small parts…, Phillip J. Berns was absolutely charming in the role of Francis, a servant at the pub.  He delighted the audience every time he appeared onstage.

This is a production well worth seeing and a company well worth supporting.  Although, free admission is always a good draw in these impoverished times, I’m sure they would heartily appreciate any monies you can donate to keep their dream alive.  They are worth the best of us!

Check out their website as to upcoming events:  www.post5theatre.com  Best get there early, as the small audience area fills up quickly.  Bringing your own food and drink (yes, alcohol, too) is permitted.  And bring a chair, too.  Tell them Dennis at Uncovered sent you.