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About What's happening. (Eugene, OR) 1982-1993 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1984)
THEATRE Review: An Evening with Woody Allen For years now, Woody Allen has been giving us existentialism in the vernacular. Whether Allen is paraphrasing Kierkegaarde, or Allen is being paraphrased, An Evening with Woody Allen is as nuts as the red-headed fellow him self. Actually, the two-hour show, now playing Upstairs at the Brass Rail, is called God and Others, An Evening with Woody Allen in Two Parts. Though it's all bona fied Allen with a few impurities thrown in for the Eugene-Spring field audience's benefit, the two parts are distinctly different. The first half of the evening is a series of skits based on essays and articles gleaned from Allen's three books, Getting Even, Without Feathers and Side Effects. Director Robert Webb has cleverly adapted a number of these classic Allen story-scenarios to the unadorned stage. It's not surprising how well Allen's prose translates into thea tre. Above all, Allen is a writer, and the pure pleasure of his comic turn of phrase is perfect grist for a cabaret setting. The selections from the Allen Notebooks cover a wide range, in cluding A Twenties Memory in which Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Hemingway and Fitzgerald come alive in caricature. There is also The History of the Fake Ink Blot, a piece on the women of an obscure Swedish playwright, and The UFO Menace, among others. The success of these pieces is contingent, to a great extent, on the comic skill of the actors. Webb MAINSTAGE THEATRE COMPANY presents S Summer* of ^ijchantment f four musical productions running in repertory. July 12-August 18 on the Eugene Downtown Mall. 4 Exciting Shows for S15 4 LI | CAMELOT C A- GODSPELL Ellice in ' ... । i cm>nder'land Lf IS A OUR-ETTER WORC , *. >— An Onginal Musical Revue — J P / All performances are guaranteed—in case of rain, shows will be moved indoors. Tickets are available at the Back stage Dancewear, The Bon, deFrisco’s, Fletchers for Children, and at 991 Willamette, or, call 683-4368. Box Office hours are 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Ask about the Summer of Enchantment promo at the following downtown restaurants: • deFrisco's • Perry’s on Pearl • The Bon • Mister Dicken’s Daily Bread • Brass Rail • Rosewater’s Deli • Seymour’s Greenery • The Timber Room • AJ.’s Barbecue • Encore/Oscar’s has tapped a goldmine here, and is building on the Rail's own tra dition of live comedy in the verna cular. Several of the actors (Dan Bruno, Jerry Campbell and Er nesto Ravetto) perform in On the Edge, the darling of Eugene comic groups. John Duncan, co-director of Cascade Balzac Company, and Rebecca Proctor are Brass Rail regulars. Sean Bowen, Barbara Embree, who acts with Live Matinee, and newcomer Celeste Pawol are as versatile as the Rail vets. Each of the actors plays a num ber of different characters and types. Improvisation among these folks is irresistible, so you'll see plenty of goofing around between scenes—maybe even during the scenes. During one, Duncan bumps his head on the ceiling and recovers without missing a beat. The second part of the perform ance is the group's presentation, rather interpretation, of Allen's Play, God. Heavily rewritten with a share of local reference thrown in, God falls deeply into the orchestra pit of zaniness. Theoretically set in ancient Greece, playwright Hepa titis (unHomeric adaptation?), played by Duncan, is trying to come up with an ending for his play. He's discussing possibilities with Diabetes (Bruno), an actor who wants to play hero and gen erally change the scheme of things. Beginnings, endings, fact and fiction become muddled in Alen's (and Webb's) absurd view. Enter Valley girl Doris Levine from Annaheim (Pawol), Blanche DuBois (Proctor), Bob and Wen dy Fate (Campbell and Embree), a writer (Ravetto), and God (Bowen in full costume). It's all great fun done up in rapid-fire timing, audience plants and all. If you go for no other reason, go to see Jerry Campbell's array of outrageous shirts. His chemise collection rivals his craziness. True, Campbell didn't edge out a mayoral victory this spring (in real-1-life), but on stage, he squeezes enough tomfoolery out of his plastic face to win any elec tion. The performance is playing un til July 8, Wednesdays through Sundays, at 9 pm. Admission is $4, and reservations are advised. —Angela Allen Morgan Snoopy! Tickets are now being sold for the LCC Summer Theatre produc tion of Snoopy! The show opens July 6th and continues at the col lege mainstage theatre July 7, 10-14 at 8 pm. Directed by Steve Vogler, Snoopy! is a mini-musical based on the comic-strip "Pea nuts" by Charles Schulz. It pre sents a series of vignettes, songs and dances centered on "the world according to Snoopy," a world that includes his friends: Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally and Pepper mint Patty. All parts are played by adults and the show is equally suitable for adults and children. Reserved-seat tickets are $4 for children under 12 and $6 for others. The LCC box office is open 10-4 weekdays, and the phone number is 726-2202. Eugene Festival PRESENTS ) n OF MUSICAL THEATER INC. PRODUCER. JOHN COLE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR. ED RAGOZZINO If vou have onlu me life fe live. live it as Pefer Bui . . . R.R. The Magical Musical Treasure Of Summer '84 THREE BIG WEEKS: AUGUST 4th-25th HULT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Starring ROXY RAGOZZINO And REX RABOLD Directed by ED RAGOZZINO Music Director - NATHAN CAMMACK Lighting by MICHAEL VENNERSTROM Choreography by NICOLA FOSTER Set Design by IERRY WILLIAMS Flying Engineered by PETER FOY Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 PM Box/Main Floor Front .$17.75 Lower Balcony ...$0.75 Main Floor Rea r/Mezza nine.$ 14.75 Upper Balcony . . . . $5.75 Wednesdays at 6:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM Box/Main Floor Front . Lower Balcony . . .$8.25 Main Floor ..$13.25 Upper Balcony . . . .$5.00 No performances on Monday EARLY BIRD Buy 4 tickets at one time before July 4th. DISCOUNT SAVE $4.00 on your total order! Name No of Price Date Time Section Tickets Each Total Check enclosed □ VISA □ MC □ AMX □ Total Ticket Order Handling Fee $1.00 Total Address Exp. Card # City/State Telephone ( Zip Mail to: Hult Center Ticket Office One Eugene Centre Eugene, OR 97401 (503) 687-5000 Please include a self-addressed, stamped return envelope.
