Well-acted Dead Guy fails to satisfy

Well-acted Dead Guy fails to satisfy

by Miryam Gordon - SGN A&E Writer Dead Guy By Eric Coble Directed by Rob West Starring Erica Bergman and Ray Tagavilla Artswest Through April 20 This is a great production of this play, even though the play itself kind of sandbags its ending. What a strange reality TV premise: I'll give you one million dollars to do with whatever you like for one week, if you agree to die next Sunday. Gina (Erica Bergman) makes this proposal to Eldon (Ray Tagavilla), who she has already determined is pretty much a loser and for whom life is just too much, anyway. Of course, Eldon goes along with it. The reality TV part of it is that "America" will choose how he dies, depending on how much "America" likes Eldon. The choices are: in his sleep, with pills; getting hit by a bus; getting shot with a bullet coated with snake venom; having a "chainsaw accident;" or other. Eldon begins to believe that maybe "other" could be that "America" saves him and votes that he not die at all. Ray Tagavilla is a revelation as Eldon. He underplays or plays just right all of Eldon's reactions to the situations he finds himself in. His expressions are spot on, his development of character is totally believable, and you ultimately believe he really could redeem himself in America's eyes. Gina is essentially well-played by Erica Bergman, but Bergman has some difficulty deciding who her character is. Is she an evil success-at-any-cost producer? Is she a successful woman who has to be twice as good to continue to succeed? And, fundamentally, what does she think about Eldon? An affectation is that Gina, when on camera, puts on a British accent for some reason. However, later, when she's on camera, it's intermittent during times she is not specifically being the "host" of the show. It would be very clear to "America" that she is a fake. Eldon is followed around by Dougie, the cameraman, played by Bill Badgley, who has the demeanor of that ubiquitous cameraman down very well. He's just trying to hang in there and get the pictures. Supporting actors in multiple roles include Paul Bergman, particularly good as Virgil, Eldon's not-as-much-a-loser older brother, Lisa Viertel, bringing interesting emotions as Eldon's lower-class mother, and Kate Kraay, giving a pretty truthful portrayal of Eldon's ex-girlfriend. The set, by Will Abrahamse, is extremely bare, except for several different-sized TV screens that portray the action in multiplicity when the camera is "on." This gimmick is quite amazing in portraying the lure of the monitor. At one point, Gina, who is in the same room with Eldon, actually watches Eldon sleep on a monitor, instead of looking directly at him. Overall, it's a smart and funny play, but a one-gimmick show, and the playwright kind of pulls his punches at the end, giving it a not very satisfactory ending. But the ride is great fun getting there. The premise is also one to give some thought to. For more information, go to www.artswest.org or call (206) 938-0339. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com

The Reel Spin - Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy!

by Ron Anders - SGN A&E Writer The DVD gods have been especially good to fans of musicals and Broadway shows of late, so here are still more goodies to please the show-tune geek in all of us. When I heard (in 2006) that Rufus Wainwright was going to re-create Judy Garland's triumphant 1961 New York concert (song-for-song at the same hallowed venue, Carnegie Hall), my first reaction was: ya gotta hand it to the guy - he's got balls. Evidently, Mr. Wainwright agrees with my assessment: after his rendition of The Man That Got Away he muses "that was ballsy." This performer is not coquettishly modest. The show, performed at the London Palladium, is captured live on DVD as Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! - an eccentric, entertaining spectacle that often runs on Wainwright's sheer frazzled chutzpah. Referring to his sparkly gold suit, he purrs, "yes, I'm a homosexual - and I like to shock people with glamour!" Wainwright wisely steers away from imitating Garland, instead giving us his own unique take on her classic songs. His somewhat nasal voice is a far cry from Garland's powerhouse pipes (and his straining to hit some high notes is palpable), but he makes it evident that this is a celebration of a show business legend - not a simulation of her. As such, it works beautifully. He is backed by a full orchestra, imbuing the musical numbers with a wonderful balance of warmth and brassiness. Working against him is his awkward, gee-I'm-actually-doing-this presentation. Endearing at the start of the concert, it becomes grating when repeated ad infinitum. The adage "never let them see you sweat" is clearly not in his phrasebook. The concert is a family affair, featuring his mother, Kate McGarrigle (of the legendary McGarrigle Sisters) and sister, Martha Wainwright. The evening's most touching presence is Lorna Luft, Garland's daughter, who seems genuinely moved at this event dedicated to her mother's memory. She performs Hello Bluebird, a song which her mother performed on the same stage for her final film. As any good tribute concert should, Rufus! beautifully showcases the performer on stage while making you long to hear the peerless original. While you're in the DVD theater district, pick up a copy of Show Business: The Road to Broadway. This terrific documentary follows four Broadway shows from early auditions to the Tony Awards and beyond - and will keep you blissfully spellbound from start to finish. Celebrities abound, including producer Rosie O'Donnell and star Boy George (Taboo), dueling witches Kristin Chenoweth and Indina Menzel (Wicked), star Tonya Pinkins and writer Tony Kushner (Caroline, Or Change) and the cute, uncensored puppets of Avenue Q. This valentine to theater and theater people delivers all the goods: blood, sweat, greasepaint, worried producers, anxious actors, bitchy critics and devoted fans - all ultimately waiting to see who gets a coveted Tony nomination. Especially fascinating are the glimpses into the creative processes of the shows' architects (both onstage and backstage) - and the battle between the big commercial efforts (Wicked, Taboo) and the shows that purportedly have narrower appeal (Caroline, Avenue Q). These sequences are bookended by talks with and among New York theater critics - some of whom seem genuine in their appreciation of theater, others who seem ever-poised to descend, vulture-like, on the shows that are rumored to be in trouble. Especially gratifying is the surprise victory sweep of the little-show-that-could: Avenue Q. Superbly constructed and edited, this is one not to miss. Heading off-Broadway, you can catch a show whose name says it all: Naked Boys Singing! - a filmed adaptation of the long-running hit. This confection is a pleasant excuse to see 10 handsome guys prance around the stage in the altogether and sing ditties such as "Gratuitous Nudity," "Perky Little Porn Star" and "The Naked Maid." The subject here is nudity, but don't expect anything really raunchy - no unclothed boners are allowed onstage. Going even further downtown, we meet Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman in Kiki & Herb Live at the Knitting Factory, filmed during their 2007 Year of Magical Drinking Tour. These two hellions have been pushing the cabaret envelope since the early '90s. Justin Bond (a standout in Shortbus) is the liquor-fueled Kiki, a chanteuse of extraordinary indelicacy and past a certain age, whose life seems to be just one bad hair day after another. Herb, her accompanist, is embodied by Kenny Mellman as a crazed acolyte and Gay straight-man. As Kiki downs one cocktail after another, she belts out bombastic (read: loud) versions of songs by the likes of Kate Bush, Loud Reed and Joni Mitchell, sounding like a demented Ethel Merman. Her between-song patter includes a riotous story about a McCarthy-era conversation with Lillian Hellman in the ladies' room and a lengthy discussion of her sexual relationship with Jesus. She also lets the audience in on why she has had such a good week: first, Kiki and Herb's nomination for a Tony Award; second, the death of Jerry Fallwell. Kiki and Herb are definitely not for everyone. I happen to like them, but still had to turn down the volume more than once. Funny and appalling, they are indeed an acquired taste: a bitter pill washed down with a vodka chaser. Last and, I'm afraid, least, is Colma: The Musical. A suburb of San Francisco, Colma is a town where the dead vastly outnumber the living: cemeteries abound, while warm bodies are scarce. This tale centers on three high school graduates who are in limbo, looking for some meaning in their young lives. The music is inventive, the performers appealing, and first-time director Richard Wong is a talent to watch. They aren't powerful enough, however, to enliven a film whose glacial pacing finally sinks it. I give Colma an A for ambition, but it just doesn't make it to the land of the living.