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
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four musical productions
running in repertory.
July 12-August 18 on
the Eugene Downtown Mall.
4 Exciting Shows for S15 4
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*. >— 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!
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