Mike's Incredible Indian Adventure, Portland Center Stage, (Grade B)

Written & Performed by Mike Schlitt
Directed by Nancy Keystone (Mike's wife)

sez says: What an interesting and honest story Mike tells about his life and his quest (or might that be his mania) to be "a great artist" (whatever that might be) -- or, as Mike says, to have the opportunity to sell out. With no intermission this 80 minute, multi-media dialogue flies by and entertains.

But here is the rub:  It is of the genre of self revelation. It is in line with all of the stories that have proliferated in the last decade that wind around a plot that "tells-all"  ---  "I really did this"  and how bad (or stupid) I feel about it.  Or the theme of "This happened to me" and I survived.  Or the "Aren't you shocked by my truth" stories.  Most of that genre has grown stale and ends with an audience walking away stunned and/or celebrating the human capacity to overcome, or just wondering "why should we care."  And then we forget the whole thing the next day.  Most of this genre fades away quickly because it is too personal and it fails to find the universal that makes a work of art meaningful and lasting.   "Mike's Great Adventure.." might have jumped the divide by expanding on themes that are universal that sat right in front of him. But he misses the mark. He emphasizes a point during which he says "the whole story is told" when he could have--but he didn't--tell the truth.  But a bigger truth comes out when you ask why he couldn't tell the truth--and that is a story about self delusion.

Self delusion is a dangerous and ever so prevalent aspect of life. What allowed Mike to believe his tawdry production was art?  We need only to ask how and why he--AND WE--know so little about India--or anywhere else for that matter.  Is it not because we believe WE must be the center of all stories? Is it not our national as well as out personal arrogance that is blocking us?  For instance when we see Mike in a TV interview calling India "small and weak" -- that is not just a personal embarrassment -- it is a cultural and ideological stance that is an apt demonstration of our self delusion at a larger scale. Self delusion--at a personal level --and at an national scale--keeps us from being able to speak truths that are lost in the mist of our delusions.

Radio Golf, Portland Playhouse (Grade B)

Playwright: August Wilson

Presented as a joint work by Portland Playhouse and Base Roots Theater Company

Director: Brian Weaver

cast:

Hammond Wilks      Lawence E. Street

Mame Wilks        Andrea White

Roosevelt Hicks        Bobby Bermea

Sterling Johnson        Victor Mack

Elder Joseph Barlow       Kevin E Jones

sez says: What a neat little theater, housed in an old church. The space feels full of love and creative energy and commitment to the performing arts. It is a pleasure to find such a place--and not a surprise to discover it here in North Portland.  This production has heart. Of course August Wilson left the world a legacy of  work that can enrich our souls and should be mulled over and over and over again. I personally will go to any performance of his work that is available for me to see--anywhere --anytime. (Can you tell I am a fan) So that fanaticism got us to this production.  The play itself can only be fully appreciated as a part of a much larger story--told in preceding plays about this community. But the play also stand alone, asking how do we hold on to what is important in the past while we move into the future. The acting here was a little uneven--but it was plenty good enough --and the story held its own, even in the face of a few technical difficulties. Kudos all around, and thanks. (Grade B)

The Chosen, Portland Center Stage (Grade D-)

Director: Chris Coleman
From the Book The Chosen by Chaim Potok, stage play by Aaron Posner

Cast
Reuben Malter    Matthew Boston
Young Rauven Malter     Carter Hudson
Reb Saunders     Daivd Margulies
Danny Saunders     Jonathan David Martin
David Malter     John Rothman

sez says:  The acting was great--the staging was fine but the play itself is a bust.  Uncritical endorsements of Zionism, in any form, are in questionable taste. If you want to tell one side of a story, tell the other side.  Is it possible that people in Portland know so little about what happened to the Palestinians (the people who occupied the area that the Zionist took), that they can sit and listen to accusations that the Palestinian were attacking Jewish Settlements without at least feeling a bit squeamish?  Excuse me, did the Palestinians not have a right to at least try to protect their land and their homes?
Anyway, politics aside (which is hard to do)--my question about this play is: What if you removed all of the disagreeable politics and set the play in some other time and place--what would you have?  Well--you'd have an entirely unbelievable story about fairytale father-son relationships (has anyone ever had --or known of --fathers or sons like the ones in this story?) The story ends with the conclusions that son's must find their own paths, even if that disappoints their fathers.  And good fathers, while disappointed, will love their sons and accept their decisions. Well...humm. how new or interesting or realistic is that?  And, is it worth an entire play?  Maybe it is worthy of a sub-plot--but if that is all there is--that ain't much.  Real fathers and sons do struggle--but those struggles are never so simple as they are presented here.
And, one last point.  A little fact checking is needed:  I don't think a Hasidim would be tossing a football  around with his pal.  Footballs are made of pigskin.

The As If Body Loop, Reading at TheatreVertigo

Writer: Ken Weitzman

Reading (April 2010)

--sez says -- the reading was fine-- a little rough in places (some readers were less familiar with their lines than others --so there were some take-backs and restarts..but nothing terrible)  but the story was well told.  It is a tight story--all the elements are well managed and every element that is presented finds a neat place to get tucked back in so there is a complete little universe presented with no loose ends.  Plus there are some good laughs.  But I found myself both cheering-on and being angry with the story's message. The "As If" is right up my alley-- you cannot see someone suffer without suffering yourself. It is 'As If' you were suffering from the same thing. I'm with ya there. An injury to one is an injury to all. But this is told in the context of a dysfunctional family -- and the mother and father are the source of the suffering. That pisses me off--it is "as if" the parents suffering does not count.  That they were not able to be good parents shouldn't be seen as some character flaw. Rather it is the result of their being hurt people too.  The hurt and suffering comes from a larger place--the culture as a whole --not just from your mom and dad.  We've got to get past this "blame it on the parents" thing if we are going to address the source of the suffering--and--as the play points out, find our ability to heal each other.

Gods's Ear, TheatreVertigo (A-)

By Jenny Schwartz
Directed by Philip Cuomo

Cast:
Mel  ...  Heather Rose Walters
Ted  .....  Mario Calcagno
Lanie  .....  Amy Newman
Tooth Fairy  .....  Jenn Hunter 
GI Joe / Flight Attendant  .....  Gary Norman
Guy  .....  JR Wickman
Lenora  .....  Brooke Fletcher


sez says: perfectly cast, to a person, this story presents an array of individuals exposing their underbellies via a dialogue made up primarily of cliche and slang.  It reminds me of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, in which everyone says what they are actually thinking, rather than what we are suppose to say in social settings. But Pinter saw people's inner selves as selfish and mean spirited. Here Schwartz presents people who are struggling to cope with what the world throws at them. Good play, well done.

mjc says:  Vertigo is always on the edge and this is no exception.  The set was weak and did not support the production at a level that equalled the performances or the content.  The sufferings of a low budget production no doubt!  (Grade A-)

Body Vox: Smoke Soup, March 2010 (Grade C)

Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland
World Premiere of Smoke Soup

sez says: I love this dance troupe--so I am not ever happy to be critical of them. But their dancing in this show was uneven and so were the dances themselves. Hampton's opening Light No Lamp was just awkward--it was hard to see and it didn't work. Next All Blues Hail Mary--was slow to start and once it picked up interest it ended. SUIT ON A FRAME was the stuff we go to Body Vox to see, great choreography--and with a few more days of practice might have been one of the best in the show. "My Favorite Cage"--was almost embarrassing. But things did pick up from there. TRAMPOLINE was energetic and fun--and Melissa Kanavel had perfect poise, balancing action with a complete nonchalant relaxation as she got tossed around the room. Then came CIVILIANS--probably my favorite  --but again the dancers needed to be a little more  in sync.  Write My Book was entertaining and clever and Hello Stranger was full of fun energy.
After the intermission THE MAN I KEEP HID started things off right, with humor and all the right moves...but again with some dancers not being entirely in rhythm with the group. Another stand out in the second half was PROGRESS OF LOVE--which was sensuous and fun at the same time. STOP worked well and was spot-on in both execution and choreography--with Hampton hopping about with two mannequin types.  We'll Meet Again followed by Death to the Storm flowed together seamlessly -- but the second part seemed to need a larger space.   Finally Rough and Tumble has humor and style but the end number STARS didn't have enough oomph for the finale.

On the really positive side--the costumes were wonderful--and the music was well performed. I like Joe Henry's music, and I give credit for trying to use as the basis of the show--but I am not so sure it was a good decision. There are, after all, so many very great pieces of music to choose from.

Overall grade C

39-Steps, Portland Center Stage (Grade A)

Director: Nancy Keystone
Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and the Movie by Alfred Hitchcock and an original concept by Nobby Dimon and Simon Corble

Cast:
Richard Hannay          .....           Leif Norby
Anabella/Margaret/Pamela   .....  Christine Calfas
MAN #1             .....                  Darius Pierce
MAN #2             .....                  Ebbe Roe Smith

sez says: This is fun, laugh out loud theater. It is full of purposely missed cues, intentionally broken props, fake knives, and jokes of all sorts flying around.  And while all four of the actors deserve praise the show belongs to MAN #1 and MAN #2 (Pierce and Smith) who are both exceptional talents. Pierce has become one of my favorite Portland based actors: he is fearless and brings just a hint of madness to his characters.  Smith--whom I'd not seen before--matches the deadpan mayhem that Pierce provides--with the delivery of a physical comedy that sent waves of laughter through the audience with a simple change in facial expression alone.  Of course you need the right vehicle for their talents --and 39 Steps is it.  The carrying on of these two never fell into madcap but never missed a beat in the requirement to shape-shift from one character to another and to keep the party fun all night long.   Norby too was well cast and fully engaged -- but  he didn't top Calfas performance -- whose training in Indian Classical Dance lends itself to her body-language that is both camp yet sensuous.

mjc says:  this was very fun, the kind of theater I like, lots of body stuff and dialogue to match.  RECOMMENDED - Grade A