The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Third Rail (Grade A)

by Anthony Neilson
Directed by Slayden Scott Yarbrough

Cast:
Lisa  .....  Maureen Porter
Ensemble:  John Steinkamp,  Damon Kupper,  Stephanie Gaslin,  Valerie Stevens,  Philio Cuomo,  Isaac Lamb,  Tim True


sez says: what a grad bit of fun this is!  The first half is a presentation of mania--both joyous and frightening. The second half asks the question: is a numb life --that is being forced to 'accept reality' -- a humane solution to impose on people with psychological/mental 'disorders' The cast was wonderful in the first half: Third Rail Actors seem to excel at presenting the nutty side of thing.  And the second half was dull and boring--which was the point. Take away the mania and life turns dull. 
Maureen Porter is certainly going to be a Drammy Award candidate for her work. She was perfect is every way as Lisa.  The only person who seemed out-of-step in the production was Stephanie Gaslin.  She missed lines and just didn't seem to be able to find the groove required to play the parts she had. 

mjc says: this was quite a production, trying to portray the call of the wild that is creativity, how do you do that without losing your way?

FELA, National Theater Live, ( Grade C)

Based on the Life of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Conceived by Bill T Jones, Jim Lewis and Stephen Hendel
Director & Choreographer:  Bill T Jones

cast: very large...Sahr Ngaujah as Fela

sez says: I was all geared up to be lifted by this piece. I expected the music and dancing to be up-beat, exciting, full of life and powered by resistance to oppression.  What I found was some of that but not nearly as much as I expected.  The filming was off:  the camera did not follow the dance well, it didn't allow the viewer to see the entire activity on stage.  It did too many close-ups when what was needed was a view of the whole.  Filming dance takes special skill and that skill available was not top notch.  
On the other had the story is powerful --and an important one for a western audience.  We are failed by our news media when it comes to reporting on Africa and African affairs. And you could not have found a more talented performer than Sahr Ngauhah for the part of Fela.  We will actively watch for his work in the future.

mjc says: music and band was great was fun to watch--the second half was boring.  

Thief River, Profile Theatre (Grade B+)

by Lee Blessing
Directed by Pat Patton
Cast:
Gil at 18 / Jody  .....  Andy Lee-Hillstrom
Ray at 18, Kit .....  Jack Morrison
Gil at 43, Harlow  .....  Jason Maniccia
Ray at 43, Reese  .....  Todd Hermanson
Gil at 73, Perry  .....  Shelly Lipkin
Ray at 73, Anson   .....  Tobias Anderson

sez says: anyone who has seen the film Brokeback Mountain already knows this story. There are story line difference: this is set in the mid-west and the men who love each other are farmers not cowboys; one of the young men knows he is gay form the get go and is an out, gay man for the whole story; there is a murder in this version; but the point of the two stories is the same.   Worthwhile subject, well performed, nice stage set too.

mjc says: great story, acting was good. I am finding I enjoy these kind of stories more than the psychological explorations. I like this kind of story telling

99 Ways to Fuck A Swan, Theatre Vertigo (Grade A)

by Kim Rosenstock
Directed by Megan Kate Ward
Cast:
Dave  .....  Mario Calcagno
Fiona  .....  Brooke Fletcher
Leda/Servant/Tammy .....  Danielle Larson
Tyndarcus/ Bembo/Joey  .....  Tom Watson
Alfonso/Rudolph/Dr Hirschberg .....  JR Wickman
Michaelangelo/Terrance/Birdman  .....  Joel Harmon
Mary/Mother Nature/Amy  .....  Megan H Carver
Francesco/Clyde/Hal  .....  R David Wyllie
Lucrezia/Waitress  .....  Dainichia Noreault

sez says: this is a fabulous play well presented. The underlying theme is the diverse sexual proclivities of humans: do cats turn you on?; would making love with a swan be heaven?; should you shave your head if that is what turns on your lover? and so on  .. The one thing you shouldn't do is get locked up in an ice cave...where sex is forbidden. The entire cast seemed to be having fun and that lifted the performance out of the ordinary and made it one of the best shows we have seen in this little theater...and that is saying a lot, becasue they often do better than the average work. 

Polar Opposites: Amundsen, Scott and the Race For the Pole. Portland Story Theater Armchair Adventurer, Grade B+

Story told by Lawrence Howard

sez says: what a wonderful evening, sit back and listen to this tale of adventure about two men (Amundsen & Scott) with contrasting temperaments who find themselves setting out to accomplish the same task: To be the first to the South Pole.  Well guess what,  Amundsen had a life in snow country to draw upon. He was Norwegian who had 'found' the northwest-passage and crossed the North American continent in what we would now call Northern Canada; He had been on various other expeditions to the North Pole and even had experience in the area of the South Pole. So when he decided to take on the challenge of being first to reach the South Pole he was well experienced and he accomplished the task without more hub bub than required.
 Scott on the other had was and Englishman who had little experience in snow--and he made BIG mistakes. He got to the pole a few days after Amundsen--and he paid for his mistakes (that stemmed from arrogance) with his life.  A fascinating tale--well told. I look forward to more!

mjc says: wonderfully enjoyable story telling. The only thing that could have improved it is an armchair.

Body Vox 2 (Grade B)

Director: Zachary Carroll
Choreography: Jamey Hampton, Ashley Roland, Eric Skinner, Eowyn Barrett
Costume Design: Ashley Roland
Performers:
Jeff George, Kara Girod, Chase Hamilton, Melissa Kanavel, Josh Murry

sez says: to be honest I have not been as impressed with Body Vox as I want to be.  I WANT to like them, they are cleaver, creative and a hometown original..but it seems they too often fall short of my desire to love what they do. Indeed, I have thought that I might give up my subscription. Wait a couple years, and check back in later. So I went to this show hoping against hope that it wouldn't be another disappointment.  Maybe becasue I had reduced expectations I came out of this show happier than usual.  There are some rough-diamonds here. But before I talk about the dances I do want to say something: I am never disappointed with Body Vox costumes.  Ashley Roland is a genius. Thank you Ashley! There are times when the costumes are so inventive that they take over a performance. There were two examples of that in this show: 1) Foreign Trails--with its white skirts and 2) Tangled with it gold gossamer gown.  There were plenty of other great costumes but these two really stand out.
Probably the most emotionally moving dance of the night was The Obliged which led us down a path of magical realism and heartfelt relationships. Equally moving was the sultry Shake in which Jeff George and Melissa Kanavel hold each other and the audience captive to their explorations.  Jamey Hampton's new piece, Snap to the Grid was enjoyable and contained new arrangements of some of his classic moves, like the limp wrist twirling and body gestures with a special Hampton-signature. But why did we see The Usual Suspects and Shed again so soon after there last performances.  They are ok dances but they don't need to be in ever-other show...that goes for the Films too. The Mitch Films are fun--but no single film ought to be show more than once every 3 or 4 years.
But all in all the enjoyment know was turned up a notch. The Vox 2 dancers were in sync with the evenings demands--and I just might subscribe again.

MJC Says:  I was moved and had some visual delights, much better than our last outing with them

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Theatre Vertigo Reading

by Jennifer Haley
read by Eric Lynus;

story line: kids are hooked-on /addicted  to a violent video game and begin killing people in the neighborhood--including their parents because they can't tell real life from their on-line life.

sez says: well read --interesting/contemporary subject -- but ultimately simplistic about relationships between parents and children (do children really want to kill their parents--can they be confused and manipulated into violence). An alarmist look at the changes going on in our society that accompany our on-line relationships and only seeing the negative.  Kids need to learn how to relate and communicate via an on-line world to prepare themselves for the future. Yes some games have a lot of violence --graphic and gory--but I am not convinced that exposure to that will tun them into psychopaths.  When I was youg parents were breaking little Richard recored for fear the lyric were going to turn all of us int nymphomaniacs --that didn't happen either.    

mjc says: has a great deal of potential to raise a number of issues from suburban isolation to gaming addictions.  Unlike many reading we have gone to this one could benefit from being produced.