Sunset Blvd, Portland Center Stage (Grade C)

Music By Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book & Lyrics by Don Black & Christopher Hapmton
Based on Billy Wilder Film
Directed by Chris Coleman
cast:
Norma Desmond  .....   Linda Mugleston
Max von Meyerling   .....  Larry Daggett
Joe Gillis  .....   Kevin Reed
Betty Schaefer  .....  Sarah Stevens
also...Michael Brian Dunn; Jessica Lisa Elovsson; Tony Falcon; Courtney Freed; Lisa Karlin; Robert Andrew Koutras; Emily Leondar; Paul Louis Lessard; Lindsay Luppino;  Leif Norby; Jeffery Pew; Kurt Raimer; Robert Stoeckle; Tracy J Wholf.
Orchestra Conducted by Rick Lewis

sez says: too bad, this just doesn't have much spunk. It reminded me of something you might see on a cruise ship--with maybe more talent than you'd find on an average cruise ship but less energy than those cruise ship kids generate.  Mugleston (as Norma Desmond) did the best among them -- you have to give her credit for holding-up her end of the job-- but Reed (Joe Gillis) was weak. He even made the title tune, "Sunset Blvd"--which is a passionate piece of music--feel forced and heavy. A couple of cast numbers tried to build-up some steam : 'The Lady's Paying' and 'This Time Next Year' provided some moments of hope that the show would get up on its feet...but it didn't manage to do it.  Can't say much in its favor, it is a middle of the road event.  

Ah, Wilderness! - Artist Repertory Theatre

writer: Eugene O'Neill
directror: Pat Patton
playing Sept 7th to Oct 10th 2010

cast:
Nat Miller   .....   Michael Fisher-Welsh
Essie Miller   .....   Sharonlee McLean
Arthur   .....   Nathan Crosby
Richard   .....   Philip Orazio
Mildred   .....   Helena Fisher-Welsh
Tommy   .....   Blake Peebles
Sid Davis   .....   Don Adler
Lily Miller   .....   Vana O'Brien
David McComber / Salesman   .....   Gary Powell
Murial   .....   Amaya Villazan
Wint   .....   Samuel Benedict
Bella & Nora   .....   Amy Newman
Bartender   .....   Grant Turner

sez says: Given that  A Long Days Journey Into Night depicts a version of O'Neill's real family, you can imagine he wrote this as an offering of what he thought a 'good family' might look like.  The Miller family is one to love--and to emulate. It has plenty of quirks but it is held together by love and respect for each other. It nurtures its children and does the right thing all the time. It is rather refreshing--and while parts of the Millers are familiar to all families--they are not like any family I've ever seen outside fiction.  It may be what we yearn for--but it is a far cry from what most people actually experiences.

Well written (as you'd expect from O'Neill), well acted all round, very nice costumes, and then comes the one strange flaw.  The set is second rate.  It seems to be half done with poles and ropes exposed hanging above the stage area.  Even the furnishings were shoddy.  The lace table cloth didn't fit the table,  the book case was half-full of what looks like old Readers Digest reject books, and such.  This is suppose to be the early 20th century...this set didn't look it. It looked a bit too much like a second hand store.

Oh, The Humanity, Our Shoes Are Red / Performance Lab @ Portland Playhouse

Writer William Eno
Directed By Devon Allen

cast: Tim Stapleton, Casey Pfeifer, Matthew Dibiasio, Jennifer Rowe Hadley Boyd, Hans Eleveld

Sept 2010

sez says: I sure like William Eno, we attended a reading of his play GNIT, at JAW last summer--it was wonderful.  So we jumped at the opportunity to see another of his works, this being the "Portland Premier" of OH, THE HUMANITY, which is is made up of five short piece.  This is not a standard narrative/story. Rather it is 5 separate vignettes--tied together loosely by a concern with the "Majesty" (Eno's word) and complexity of life and by the fact that all life is ephemeral but even-so it provides a kaleidoscope of action, emotion, yearnings, awe and sorrow--any and all of which can be altered by the way it is viewed.
For instance, one scene is of a woman, representing an airline, taking to the friends and family of an airplane that has just crashed , and from which there are no survivors.  She has no standard rap to give (which she reminds us is a good thing--because seldom do planes fall from the sky) but as she gropes for something worthwhile--or meaningful to say--she reminds us that we are all on our way down. She hopes the passengers never realized they were falling as she stumbles around imagining their last minutes of life and trying to find words, any words, to make meaning of life, anyone's life.
In another scene a photographer and his assistance bring the audience into the show by making the audience the subject of a photograph.  They talk about another group photo, taken of soldiers during Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider Adventures in Cuba. They tell the audience that they are seeking to find our souls in the photo and suggest we adjust our gaze to seek our highest moral selves, to look concerned for the world, to demonstrate an expression of compassion..and so on..so these elements of our humanity can be caught on film.
The acting was fine, not exceptional, but solid.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Eno's work.

Stones In His Pocket, Public Playhouse (Grade B)

By Marie Jones
Director Michael Mendelson

Cast:  Dustin Milberg as Charlie &  Christopher David Murray as Jake

At CoHo Theater 2257 NW Raleigh, Portland Oregon  -- Sept 10, to Oct 2, 2010

sez says: This play requires tremendous dexterity from the actors. Milberg and Murry must portray 15 different characters--and they do it so well that they make it look easy: a turn of the head and a new person appear, or a step is taken in one direction, there is a short halt, and seamlessly another character appears.  At times there were dances of twists and turns that accompanied a bouncing back and forth between characters: Very impressive stuff,  indeed fun to watch and well done.  Not just any one could pull this off but Milberg and Murry proved they have the required skill.

The play itself is about lots of things and it is simply laid out. What is the impact of Hollywood on people's dreams?  What happens to traditional cultural when it comes face to face with the dream makers and fakers? Who is responsible for telling / remembering truth?   It is not deep--or complex--but it is honest and it has entertainment value.  I certainly would not hesitate from recommending it to kith and kin.

But I do have a gripe. And I would ask anyone who sees it to think about this: Why are the women characters so hideous?  Is it necessary to the story?  The first  time a female character appeared I thought the character being portrayed was a send-up of a fastidious gay man who was working on the set. As it turns out the character is an impatient she, who is generally hysterical and unkind. Similarly the 'famous actress' was played as if she were a drag queen.  Both of these characters were set-up as entirely unattractive people.  I am not sure that this was in the script.  There is no question that the skill of the actors would have allowed them to play these characters in a variety of ways. So it must have been the director who wanted it this way.  It would be interesting to read the script and to see if the author intended the misogyny that was displayed.  I suspect not. I'd have to get a copy of the script to really answer this question . But it seemed a curious and sorry aspect of an otherwise good show.

Stage Left Lost, IMAGO (Grade B+)

Imago Theater, 17 Wast 8th Ave, Portland, Oregon

Director/Writer An original work by Jerry Mouawad

sez says: wish I could list the cast --but the Director's note we got at the performance does not have their names--nor do they appear at the web site. It is a cast of 12 and they do a strong performance--as a company--and yet each individual very specifically adds something extra to the whole. No talk here -- but the story is clear: jealousy, spurned affection, betrayals of the hearts, these things can lead to tragedy. This is a take-off of Othello, sort of--but certainly not a version of Othello. It is an adventurous combination of theater and dance and performance art and I found it entirely enjoyable.

Long Day's Journey Into Night - Artists Repertory Theatre (Grade C)

Director: Andrew Upton
Venue Newmark Theate
Cast:
James Tyrone   .....   William Hurt
Mary Tyrone   .....   Robyn Nevin
James Tyrone, Jr.   .....   Todd Van Voris
Edmond Tyrone   .....   Luke Mullins
Cathleen   .....   Emily Russell

sez says: Robyn Nevins is extraordinary--and even with the faults this production has, and it has faults, it is worth seeing if only to watch Nevins fully inhabit, pitch-perfect, the character of Mary Tyrone.  I sit here still awe-struck by her performance.  She is a great gift.
And, of course this is a great play. The story is well enough known: Dysfunctional family--mom is a morphine addict; dad is a miser; older son is a drunk; younger son has consumption.  Each has reasons for being the way they are and those reasons are reveled -- and they all even know their shortcomings --but none seem to break the pattens that beleaguer them--as individuals, as a family.  Yet they do care deeply for each other--while they abuse each other.
BUT THERE WAS A BIG PROBLEM: The dialogue was at times hard to hear. I wondered if it was the acoustics, then I wondered if it was my ears, than I realized I could hear Nevins fine, all the time. It was Mullins that was hardest to hear: I probably lost at least a quarter, or more, of his lines. And it was Hurt too -- he slurred his lines at times -- possibly trying to push the dialogue to quicker pace, or to portray himself as a drunk -- but regardless of the cause,  words were getting lost. Losing words in the theater is not ok..esp so in a play like this one. 
I was greatly looking forward to seeing this. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I did expect something better than was delivered.

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.