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Saturday, Nov 07, 2009
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| Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens season with 2,000-year-old Hindu classic, Oregon Cabaret Theatre delights Ann Landers | |
| Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens season with 2,000-year-old Hindu classic, Oregon Cabaret Theatre delights Ann Landers
by Milton W. Hamlin -
SGN A&E Writer The Oregon Shakespeare Festival celebrated its 73rd season with its winter opening of four productions last weekend. Bill Rauch, the Festival's first openly Gay artistic director, brought a new look to the veteran institution - mainly by staging a 2,000-year-old Hindu classic, the first major OSF production from "Eastern" literature. A classic Shakespeare comedy (and a backstage "R-rated" controversy), a Pulitzer Prize-winning play from August Wilson (who made his home in Seattle for the last decade of his life) and a searing new work about the aftermath of the War in Iraq completed the opening weekend's calendar. OSF (or just "Ashland" as it is best known) adds two stagings in March and April, the three outdoor openings in June and two late summer shows to bring a total of 11 productions to its loyal audiences. As usual, SGN is the only Seattle paper to review all 11 productions for Puget Sound readers. Read on: R-RATED CONTROVERSY MARKS MIDSUMMER OPENING, BOXER SHORTS SAVE THE DAY While much in Ashland is "new and improved" this season - the first under new (and openly Gay) artistic director Bill Rauch - much of opening weekend was "business as usual." OSF prides itself in "innovative new approaches" to Shakespeare classics, and the new, bright, high-octane A Midsummer Night's Dream is a case in point. Guest director Mark Rucker decided on a "hippie production" of the classic tale of fairyland and mortals. A 1960s VW van arrives on the indoor stage and the fabled rustics tumble out as working-class laborers. The loyal - and often easy to please - OSF opening-night audience loved the show from the moment the VW van appeared. Shakespeare "purists," like Bits&Bytes, fear the possible path of errors that a "gimmick" (or, to be kinder, "updated" or "concept") production faces. And boy, oh boy, did this Midsummer stumble often on its path to audience delight. But, it should and must be noted that (quibbles aside) the cheering capacity crowd made it clear that this Midsummer is a hit, a smash hit. Director Rucker observes, in his From The Director introductory program comments, "how amazingly sexy" the script is, how "moments of desire, seduction and just plain raging hormones" dominate the text. His description of the four mismatched young lovers as "cool kids" sets the tone of the broad, broad production. And, thereby lies a tale. One of the great things about a theater/vacation weekend in Ashland is the chance for total immersion in theater. Our breakfast counter woman had seen all four productions in previews before opening night. The coffee lady in the member's lounge (and press hangout) had seen only three. The hotel desk clerk had seen "only" one. And the talk of the town was the "R-rated Midsummer," a rare OSF production that had to be quickly retooled and re-costumed after the first previews. Mae West, the eternal goddess of bad taste, had a routine describing a man with pants so tight she could "see his religion." Old joke - but it still works. For reasons not very obvious to this scribe, Rucker and company decided that the young lovers who get lost in the forest outside of Athens in their flight from parental authority should strip down to their underwear for their chaste night's sleep - and the dream of the title. Evidentially, the original 2008 staging and costuming - attempting to push the boundaries - featured very revealing underwear on both the two men and two women. "At first, I thought they were nude," the Coffee Lady revealed. Obviously, they weren't, but as Mae West said&. Since nearly 120,000 students attend OSF on school-sponsored field trips, and since Midsummer is the most popular title for school groups this year, a problem was obvious & and a few other details of anatomy as well. OSF rarely asks a guest director or guest technical artist to rework a concept after the rehearsal period, but by opening night there was no problem with revealing underwear. The women wore what were once called "teddies," a step-in garment popular under Flapper dresses of the 1920s. The men wore bright colored boxer shorts. No religion - or other details - were on display. (One might ask why the young lovers had to strip down to their underwear in the first place, but that, dear reader, is another question.) The first review of the production, in a local paper, ended with an interesting note. "If this were a movie," the reviewer noted, "it would be rated PG." Only a few out-of-towners understood the clever, if passing reference, to the once R-rated Midsummer. Thanks, Coffee Lady, for the real behind-the-scenes news at OSF&. Several effective "concepts" highlighted the production. While role-reversal or gender-bending casting is often used in contemporary productions, this Dream made several good choices. In Shakespeare's classic script, Egeus is the "father" who comes to the Duke Of Athens to satisfy a complaint about his daughter and her suitor. This year, Egeus is a harried - and elegant - mother who comes to court to settle a parent-child rebellion. Works fine (and Linda Alper makes the most of the brief role). In the Fairyland sequences, Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, holds court with four main followers - Moth, Cobweb, Peaseblossom and Mustardseed, traditionally played by young girls. Here, the quartet are young - and handsome and hunky - men. Works fine, and adds a little eye candy for many in the audience. (Theatre trivia fans will recall that when Hollywood's Mitzi Gaynor toured as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes several seasons back, she asked - as in demanded - that the four "Angels" backing her up become four tall, handsome tuxedo-clad young men. Turns out that the terrifically talented Gaynor does not appear next to young women at this point in her long career.) Audiences clearly love this new, high-energy Midsummer. The classic Shakespeare comedy has survived more than 400 years of productions. It's a good bet it will survive this strange OSF outing. It continues at the indoor Bowmer Theatre through November 2. CLAY CART MOVES OSF INTO WORLD THEATER IN A LAVISH STAGING For his first year as the new artistic director at OSF, Bill Rauch takes a big, big chance with opening his tenure in Ashland with a 2,000-year-old Hindu classic that is virtually unknown in the Western World, even in the Western Theatre World. As a venture in cultural diversity, the production is a rousing success. Using a Las Vegas glitz and glitter approach, Rauch, as director, does his best to make this strange folktale of Indian/Hindu culture work for a general audience. A huge production, lavish costumes and sets, intelligent staging, clear characterizations and a great celebration of multicultural zip all help bring this historical footnote to life. But it is an uphill battle that clearly left much of the cheering opening night crowd puzzled, puzzled as in "Why this script?" Bits&Bytes plans a return visit to the strange, perhaps overproduced folk tale on his summer visit. More details then. The appealing production continues at the Bowmer through November 1. Fans of the Broadway flop but touring success, Bombay Dreams, will love this show. WILSON'S FENCES PULSES WITH POWER, SURVIVES STUMBLES August Wilson, the Seattle-based Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who died just after completing his 10-cycle play of the African American experience in the 20th Century, had great commercial and critical success with Fences, his first work to win the Pulitzer. A hugely successful Broadway production, a PBS Great Performances broadcast and a fondly remembered mounting at the Seattle Rep help make Fences one of his most popular plays with Northwest theater fans. This powerful OSF production in Ashland will continue the legacy. But, sad to say, the production faltered at the OSF opening. Line stumbles, word reversals - minor but almost never evident at OSF - marred the overall power of the staging by guest director Leah C. Gardiner. Gardiner, a well respected director with strong New York and regional theater credits, was the most articulate, most appealing director at the OSF press conference on Sunday morning. No one asked about the problems with the opening performance. It was the proverbial "elephant in the room" that no one noticed. The terrific OSF cast will undoubtedly settle into the demanding Wilson script with its rambling tales and (alas) frequent line repetitions, which, ironically, only called more attention to the line stumbles at the opening. (The Coffee Lady had no recollection of this production problem at the preview she attended and it might be an Opening Night Nightmare that happened only once - unfortunately in front of the opening press corps and VIP guests.) Seattle-based fans of Ashland - and there about 35,000 Emerald City ticket buyers for the nine-month Festival - will delight in the polished performance by G. Valmont Thomas as Gabriel, the war-damaged brother of the leading character, Troy. As the trumpet-playing Gabriel (Wilson's symbolism was known to be a bit heavy-handed in many cases), Thomas often steals the show. Thomas is well remembered as the crossdressing "Sweet Transvestite From Transsexual, Transylvania" in the legendary Rocky Horror Show at the late and lamented Empty Space Theatre in its Pioneer Square days. Those days - and that waist - are long gone, but Thomas has become a terrific character, and he has never been better. Fences runs through July 6 at the indoor Bowmer. WELL- INTENTIONED JENNY SUTTER HAS LITTLE TO SAY OSF is committed to producing new scripts, often commissioning new works for its loyal audience which has been trained to expect much more than simply Shakespeare and classic revivals. Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter, the new play of the opening quartet, receives a first class production in its world premiere at Ashland. It runs just through June 20 at the intimate New Theatre, the (literally) new theater still in search of a name. (OSF is still seeking a $1,000,000 naming grant - many OSF regulars hope the company will accept reality and christen it the Black Swan, the name of the smaller intimate house it replaced.) On a first viewing, Jenny Sutter is a play in search of a dramatic thrust. It's easy to classify, or dismiss, the often-powerful new script as Theatre As Therapy, but if often verges of Movie Of The Week emotions. Julie Marie Myatt's intentions are right - she noted at the press conference that she wanted to address the plight of military women returning from today's unjust war. Her supporting characters are strong and wonderfully quirky. Alas, her leading character, the title character, spends much of the play sleeping stage center in a post-traumatic depression. Could have been, should have been, would have been better. And it might be with more workshopping, more revisions. Stay tuned for details. Tickets for all 11 OSF productions are available at (541) 482-4331. Tell 'em SGN and Bits&Bytes sent ya. ANN LANDERS DELIGHTS AT OREGON CABARET, OCT OPENS ALTAR BOYZ The Lady With All The Answers, a new one-woman show celebrating the wit and wisdom of Ann Landers, ends its winter run this weekend at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre (OCT), the "Little Theatre That Could" that's just up the street from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's three-theatre complex. Ashland (and Seattle) favorite Gretchen Rumbaugh is a constant delight as the chatty advice columnist on the night she had to write "the hardest column of my life," the famous 1975 article that explained her upcoming divorce after 36 years of marriage. Emotionally exhausted, the caustic wit reviews her thousands of past columns preparing for a book-length anthology. With 60,000,000 readers of her daily syndicated column to satisfy, Landers prattles on about favorite topics - a response to the "proper way" to hang toilet paper drew 15,000 letters, a discussion of diminishing sex life in long-term marriages brought in a record-breaking 141,000 replies (82 percent of the writers indicated that sex goes downhill in long term marriages or relationships). Rumbaugh is perfectly cast as the extrovert who became famous when she took over the long-running "Ann Landers" column in 1955. She shares her amazement when, six months after her personal success, her identical twin sister became "Dear Abby" for a rival newspaper syndicate. Rumbaugh is simply sensational as the witty writer whose folksy tag lines became world famous - "20 lashes with a wet noodle," "Someone's got a geranium in the cranium," "Busier than a one-armed paperhanger with crabs." GLBT audiences, who embraced Landers for her honest, no-nonsense discussions of homosexuality in the mid-1950s when no one would write on such controversial topics, will delight in the lengthy section when she discusses Gay and Lesbian topics. She famously told an emotionally troubled 15-year old Gay boy contemplating suicide in the Eisenhower years, "There's nothing wrong with you - you are not alone." David Rambo's script for The Lady With All The Answers is well worth additional productions. It premiered at the award-winning Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Hopefully it will get a Seattle production in the coming seasons. Rumbaugh, with credits at the Seattle Rep, Tacoma Actors' Guild, and other Puget Sounds theaters, would be a natural to recreate her sparkling performance. The whole production - sets, costumes, detailed direction from Terri McMahon - could simply pack up and move to the Emerald City, and Bits&Bytes would cheer. Last winter, OCT's production of Men On Ice, a silly little winter-fishing corny comedy, was the unquestioned highlight of the Ashland trip for Bits&Bytes and Traveling Friend. Darn if The Lady With All The Answers didn't top the weekend's five productions for this scribe. Interestingly, Terri McMahon directed Men On Ice, too. OCT - which has always been a friend of the GLBT community (and SGN) - is readying its next show, the fun-filled Altar Boyz, for a March 12-June 1 run. The toe-tapping, infectious off-Broadway smash, making its Northwest premiere at OCT, spotlights a Christian boy band with one member who has a "deep, dark secret." GLBT crowds will see what's coming miles away, but general audiences find a sweet tale of toleration in the mini-musical. One of the (straight) highlights of the score is the clever ballad about abstinence, "Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait." In Altar Boyz the culturally diverse (and Biblically named) band members are Matthew, Mark, Luke - and Juan. Plus the Jewish kid, Abraham. It was a delight off-Broadway in New York (where Bits&Bytes raved about the show for SGN readers several seasons back), and it should be smash in Ashland. ("What's a nice Jewish boy doing in an all-Catholic rock band," the PR flyer notes, "Well, only God knows.") (Trivia buffs - the kind who read this column - will recall that Cheyenne Jackson, the openly Gay former Seattle actor who has made it big on Broadway played the Wet Dream Hunk in the original New York staged reading but had to pass on the off-Broadway opening production to take the lead in All Shook Up, the ill-fated juke-box musical that used songs from Elvis Presley's long musical legacy.) OCT performs Wednesday through Monday nights, taking only Tuesday off, giving Ashland visitors a show to see on Monday when OSF is "dark." The Sunday brunch matinees are a popular tradition with Ashland audiences. OCT offers a top-quality dinner menu to turn the performance into a dinner theater experience. The dessert menu - with its "world famous" Dick Hay Mile-High Ice Cream Pie and other treats - is irresistible for many patrons. Ticket information and reservations (a must for most performances) are available at (541) 488-8795. |
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