London Assurance, NT Live Presented by Third Rail (Grade A)

NT Live  is a HD broadcast of performances by The National Theater of London , Third Rail is hosting this series in Portland
Director Nicholas Hytner
by Dion Boucicault
cast:
Cool, a valet   .....   Nick Sampson
Martin, a man servant  .....   Richard Frame
Charles Courtly, Sir Harcourt's Son  .....   Paul Ready
Richard Dazzel   .....   Matt Cross
Sir Harcourt Courtly  .....   Simon Russell Beale
Pert, servant to the Harkaways   .....Maggie Service
Squire Max Harkaway   .....   Mark Addy
James, servant to the Harkaways  .....   Simon Markey
Grace Harkaway   .....   Michelle Terry
Mark Meddle, attorney at law  .....  Tony Jayawardena
Lady Gay Spanker   .....   Fiona Shaw
Mr. Adolphus Spanker   .....   Richard Briers
Mr. SOlomon Isaacs  .....   Junix Inocian
Doctor  .....   David Whitworth
Servants   .....   Mark Extance; Prasanna Puwanarajah
Doctor's Daughters   .....   Fiona Drummond; Laura Matthews

sez ...thank you Third Rail for hosting these broadcasts.  This was a hoot. It is a play from 1841 that holds strong in the 21st century, with disdain for lawyers;  parent's who have fantasies about who their children really are;  asking should you marry for love or money;  presenting women who are smarter thatn all the men around them; and providing a array of characters that are much bigger than life--and, most important, who are all played to perfection..
I don't remember when I enjoyed any single performance by an actor more than I did Simon Russell Beal's  Sir Harcourt Courtly. His physical presentation of this character was a full blown delight.  And Fiona Shaw's Lady Gay Spanker blew the top off any other possible presentation that could ever be of this wild woman...who even circa 1841 is presented as wearing the pants in her family--and happily so according to her husband. 
The story does not seem to matter a bit (we all know wht is going to happen) - the fun is in the characters--and it is quite possible that they could have been doing anything, in any story, and they would have been fun to watch. 

Night Terrors, JAWS Reading at Portland Center Stage July 2010

by Ebbe Roe Smith
cast
Evelyn   .....   Darius Pierce
Horse & Alien   .....   Casey McFeron
Incubi, Maga, Sucubi   .....   Ebbe Row Smith
Stage Driections  .....  Jennifer Rowe

sez says: there is a lot of laugh out loud material here--especially so since it was very well read by Pierce & McFeron.  Author Smith did his lines ok--but he isn't an actor--he certainly knows what he wants his character to say/do but the pros did a better job in creating characters.    And of course, it seems that Pierce can do no wrong. How lucky we are to have him here in Portland  So this was fun to hear read.

But ...

Re; The play/script/story: It is a BOY STORY. Aging and Ego and Competition in the workplace align with bad fiction to create unhappy nights full of monsters.  And while McFeron & Pierce made as much as they could of the characters--there really is NO character development. There is just a guy and his fears --those malevolent powers that want his sperm / read manhood. And, pity be, there are female characters who are crafty enough to get what they want. There is just a slight hint of rancor toward women showing in the presentation of 'the feminine' --be that in women's books, or female characters dishonest and manipulative ways (saying one thing when they want something else) ... which the male characters don't stoop to.

I think this would make a find graphic novel -- but to become a piece for the theater I think it needs a lot more work.

Live Girls, CoHo (Grade D-)

Written by Natalie Rose
Directed by Toni McDowell
Cast:
Baby.....  Pat Janowski
Fantasy  .....  Meegan Anslee
CHerry   .....   Alyssa Roehrenbeck
Jason   .....   Jonah Weston
Tigress  .....   Danika Louise
Divinity   .....   Rocket
Juli / Extacy   .....   ilena herrin
Sapphire   .....   Briana Ratterman
DJ Prik   .....   Stephan Henry

sez says: too bad about this--what a great topic/ Strip Clubs / and what a failure at providing any insight at all into this culture:  there is NO STORY and there is NO Character Development in the play.  This is a fly-on-the-wall observation of conversations, which revels small amounts about the characters but nothing more. You've got:  an aging stripper with dreams of marrying a customer; a mom stripper hooked on drugs who might lose her child; a  new stripper, who takes to the profession like gang busters;  an exotic stripper who has moved deeper into the world of porn and is making movies and doing light S&M at the strip club.  Meanwhile, you've got a stripper that gets pregnant and doesn't know who the daddy is, but who leave the club.  You've got a Catholic girl, who hates cursing, has bruises she can't explain, and who overdoses.  You've got women who give there money to men who are obvious using them. You have a woman who has become a lesbian because she has had it with men.  You have a club manager who falls in love with strippers and is always disappointed and drinks his way out of misery. The acting was really mixed and needed some stronger direction. But mostly this material needed  a story. It needs to get us into the whole life of at least one--or more--of these characters and thus to actually provide insight into this world. Nothing that was presented was news. In fact it was generally rather boring. It gets a D-minus from me--and that is only becasue it attempted to approach an important topic..but it fell way short of doing anything interesting.

Backs Like That, Imago Theatre (Grade B)

Backs Like That was written by Carol Triffle
cast
Danielle Vermette  .....  ChloeJerry Mouawad  .....  business Owner Morton
Darren McCarthy ..... Donnie the boyfriend
Kyle Delamarter ..... Joey the brother
Robert Gaynor ..... the Dad


sez says: this piece tends toward the Avant Garde -- it is about dysfunctional families, about people who think they have secrets, it is about trying to find a place in the world..., it is about having to carry around all the baggage of your life where ever you go. 
In this case, a lot of Chloe's baggage is in attendance at her first day of work at a new job. --that baggage would be her family --father, brother, boyfriend.  There are some very funny bits; some songs that won't make it to the top 40, but that fit snugly into this exploration.  The acting is wonderful, physical, comic, exploiting telling movements eloquently ... and the script is certainly thought provoking.   There is good reason it is not suggested for children --not so much becasue of sex or violence--but because the underside of family life is hard to explain. Original work, made in Portland and to be appreciated. (grade B--for good job)

Little Ugly, Vertigo (READING)

Playwrite: Jen Silverman
Director Jane Fellows

Cast:
Darios Pierce   .....   Ze
Mario Calcagno   .....   Roma
Brooke Fletcher   .....   Little Ugly
JR Wickman   .....   Mikhail
ileana herrin, Jean Hunter & R David Wyllie --Chorus

sez says: this production,  presented in conjunction with The Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon, was a reading of a  new play by Ms Silverman. The play is harsh--and the reading was not always smooth--but the whole was more interesting than the sum of its parts.  Harvesting blood --killing dreams -- exploitation and suffering form the larger contours of the play. It is supposed to be loosely based on the Greek myth of Prometheus --who steals fire from the Gods and gives it to humans--then he must live in chains and literally be food for the birds for the rest of his life.  How the myth and the play fit together is not immediately apparent --but Roma does set Little Ugly free (gives her fire?) and his life is not looking too pleasant as a result.  This felt a lot like a work in progress from start to end and team Vertigo did a fine job getting it up off the ground to look at it. As a work in progress it is hard to grade. It contained interesting stuff, It was well written. But it seems to me like it belonged at JAWS where it could be worked on properly and brought into shape.  no grade

Lime Tree Bower, CoHo (Grade A)

Playwright: Conor McPherson
Director: Devon Allen
Cast:
Joe   .....  Matthew Micucci
Frank, Joe's Older Brother   .....   Matthew DiBiasio
Ray, their sister Carmel's boyfriend   .....   Dennis Kelly

sez says: this play is a series of monologues --all pitch perfectly done. Using Irish accents that were realistic but never hard to understand we are given three characters who are storytellers of the first rank.  They are:  A young man--coming of age; An older brother, whose first concern is to help his father and who engages in daring -do to accomplish that end; A college professor who is a narcissistic prig of the first-order and who is an alcoholic--who provides never ending crude comic relief.  Mixed in there is rape and robbery and finally a resolution of sorts--for all but the girl.  Wonderful story telling--well done all round --and a beautiful set to-boot.  Grade A 

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Portland Center Stage (Grade B+)

Director: Rose Riordan
Lyrics and Music by William Finn / Book by Rachel Sheinkin
cast:

Leaf Coneybear   .....   Connor Bond
Marcy Park   .....   Ka-Ling Cheung
Mitch Mahoney   .....   Gavin Gregory
William Barfee   .....  Isaac Lamb
Chip Tolentino   .....   Raymond J Lee
Rona Lisa Peretti   .....   Susannah Mars
Logainne'Schwartzy' Schwartandgrubeierre   .....   Ellie Mooney
Douglas Panch   .....   Darius Pierce
Olive Ostrovsky   .....   Sara Catherine Wheatley

sez says: this was a lot of fun. The personalities of pre--and early--pubescent children are a treasure trove for comedy.  And this story puts that gawky, awkward, ever so serious and delicate time of life on display without mockery.  Two performers stood out:  Isaac Lambs and Ellie Mooney. Both of these people put something extra into their parts that made them shine. Everyone else did great jobs -- but the physicality of Lamb and Mooney made the whole performance special.  The story is unmitigated fun, as contestants engage The Bee. And the audience participation was just right and added a touch of knowledge that every performance was being made into its own unique presentation based on strangers to the cast appearing on stage. The dancing too was top notch. The only down side was that some of the lyrics were impossible to hear/understand. That made a near perfect production lose some luster. (grade B+)