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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2000)
Innocent until proven hungry ■ Mystery Theatre 2000 — half dinner, half whodunit, and everyone is a suspect By Sara Jarrett Oregon Daily Emerald Somebody killed the “Will work-for-booze guy” in the bath room of Charley’s Comedy Club with a toilet bowl plunger. In the midst of this tragedy, you take a bite of eggplant parmesan and wonder, “Was it me?” Your own innocence isn’t sanctified. Everybody in the room, including the bartender, is a suspect at this point. As each course of the meal is served, the plot thickens. Mystery theatre has been likened to a game of real-life Clue, says University alum Chris Miller. H® is the founder, director and producer of Eugene’s newest acting troupe, self-descriptively called Mystery Theatre 2000. The group’s first show, titled “Death By Chocolate,” debuts at Charley’s, 44 E. Seventh Ave., on Courtesy of Mystery Theater The Mystery Theater troupe mugs for the camera during a recent rehearsal. Saturday at 7 p.m., with another show on Sunday at 6 p.m. The $25 cover charge ($20 for stu dents) includes dinner and musi cal entertainment from the Charleen Schneider Jazz Quartet on Saturday and Fritz and The Poor Boys on Sunday. The events are open to all ages. fri.-feb.nth eclectic open mic 9pm-midnight music ► poetry ► performance art ► theatre Sign-up to perform at The Break (located next to The Buzz) For more info call Melanie at 346-3725 sat.* feb. 12th 8-1 Opm tue • feb. 15th 8-1 Opm red pyjamas acoustic folk band university jazz combo all events are FREE Pick up an Emerald at 93 campus & community locations. If the shows draw at least fifty people each night, they will be considered a success, Spencer Whitted says. He owns Charley’s and has plans to book Mystery Theatre 2000 one Saturday night a month, until interest wanes. Miller says the genre’s prospects are dependent on the interactive quality of the show. “Without giving too much away,” audience members are not merely spectators as they would be dining more traditional theatre shows, but vital pieces of the foul play puzzle, Miller offers. “It’s almost a theatre game, but it’s more of a performance that will only work with audience participation,” says Jim Roberts, a producer at Actors Cabaret of Eugene, another local theatre venue. While ACE has had mys tery theatre productions in the past, it’s not a part of a normal line-up, he adds. Mystery theatre “is not usually done on a stage, but in a restau rant, at parties and things like that,” Roberts says. That’s the beautiful thing about it, in Miller’s opinion. “We can adapt to any venue,” Turn to Mystery, page 7B 007653 CammunMy Center far tta PerfarmtagArfs 8th & Lincoln ■ Tonight ■ The Trey Gunn Band Facelift Rock $10 advance, $12 door, 7:30 pm ■ Friday ■ Moth CD Release Party with Heeler and led Han/ Rock $6 door, 9:00 pm ■ Saturday ■ Benefit for Sexual Assault Support Sendees The Laura Love Band T.R. Kelley AfrihCUHlic / hdk $20 advance, $20 door, 8:00 pm ■ Sunday ■ The Business Hie Beer Zone, Dirty Sanchez 0/7 $8 advance, $9 door, 8:00pm ■ Tuesday ■ An Evening with AdfidYl Acoustic ('Hilar $8 advance, $10 door, 8:00pm All Ages Welcome • 687-2746 Courtesy Antonia San Juan (left) and Cecilia Roth star in ‘All About My Mother.’ All about his movie: Pedro gets tragicomic ■ A Spanish director uses nuns and transvestites to explore the nature of grief By jack Clifford Oregon Daily Emerald Spanish director Pedro Almod ovar’s movies are worlds apart from just about anything Holly wood could ever puke up, but he’s proven that he lives in a different universe with his brilliant new movie, “All About My Mother.” Telling the tale of how a mother deals with the overwhelming emotions she experiences after her only son is killed in a freak ac cident at age 18, Almodovar takes his main character on a journey through rediscovery, rejuvenation and finally, a form of rebirth. Manuela is perfectly played by Cecilia Roth — fans of Almod ovar’s early movies will recognize her from “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” and “Dark Habits” — who captures the grief of a mourning mother. When she leaves Madrid and returns to her son’s birthplace of Barcelona to inform his father of the tragedy, Roth really sparkles. There she bumps into an old friend, La Agrado, Antonia San Juan in her first Almodovar effort. She’s a weary transvestite prosti tute who wants to leave the streets, as well as her drug habit. Manuela and La Agrado eventually seek help from an overly helpful nun, Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz). Sister Rosa has had intimate contact with Manuela s lormer lover, Lola, another transvestite, who spurred Manuela’s departure 18 years previous with his sud den transformation. Yet, Mauela was carrying Lola’s child Estaban, a fact the father never knew. Sister Rosa becomes pregnant, and Manuela feels obligated to now care for her, but in the mean time, she makes friends with two actresses, Nina (Candela Pena) and Huma Rojo, portrayed by Marisa Paredes, arguably one of Spain’s most celebrated stars. Huma and N\pa — who just hap pens to be a heroin addict — star in a long-running production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a play Estaban loved while alive. The most rewarding aspect of this movie — other than the fact that it’s hilarious, like any other Almodovar offering — is that there is no moralizing. Transvestites and drug abusers are shown as much respect as nuns, and if the sister just happens to get pregnant, well, Almodovar doesn’t even allow the audience to “tsk, tsk.” His female characters are always strong, no matter the cir cumstances. Another strong point of “All About My Mother” is the way the director blends his scriptwriting with a dazzling array of colors, not just in the background, but also in the characters’ clothing styles. “All About My Mother” opens Friday at the Bijou Art Cinemas. Needless to say, don’t miss seeing this movie while it’s in town. Worker February 2 - 19, 2000 Soreng Theatre, Hult Center Helen Keller’s dark, silent world is unlocked in this compelling dramd that will leave you with tears of joy. Tickets at The EMU or The Hult Center Wil.linttU Htperlorj The Rep Info: 541.343.9903 http://willrep. oumest.com 541 682 5000 spomtel ri SOUTH UMPQUA 5. S3 HANK
