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