New Rose’s
"Hedda G abler”
is vivid
b y Ja y Brow n
Hedda Gabler, someone once said, is the
flipside of Nora. Hedda Gabler does not aim
to please; she is all nerves and frustration, “ a
vivid, anguished, dangerous character.
In the New Rose Theatre’s current produc
tion of Hedda Gabler. Victoria Parker’s
Hedda Gabler is all these things; she makes
Hedda Gabler a real live person, you know
she is there: Hedda Gabler’s frustrated rage is
vividly portrayed.
Hedda Gabler stands between two worlds:
solid, respectable, dull bourgeous establish
ment: stable spiritual unrest, ambivalent
potentialities. Lacking the courage to pursue
her own vision of creativity, Hedda seeks to
live someone else’s life vicariously, to form it,
control it.
Ibsen included another manifestation of
Nora in Hedda Gabler. the Thea character.
Thea is one step ahead of Nora and one step
ahead of Hedda. She has left her husband
and is now making it on her own. As played
(wonderfully) by Kelly Brooks, Thea’s vul
nerability and compassion are the result of
carefully controlled acting.
Director Alana Beth Lipp, who just keeps
getting better and better, brought together
one of the best Hedda Gabler's we re likely to
see for a long time. Her production is sump-
- tuous and perfectly in keeping with great
; classical theatre.
Others in the cast. Doug Mace as George
Victoria Parker and Galen B. Schrick in the New
Rose Theatre's Hedda Gabler.
Tesman (Hedda Gabler's husband). Delight
Lorenz as Juliana Tesman, Steven Clark
Pachosa as Dr. Broch, Galen B. Schrick as
Eilert Lovborg, and Charla Wheeler as the
maid are adequate to their tasks, which must
have been hard work considering the per
formances of Parker and Brooks.
Hedda Gabler will be playing two more
weekends; it closes November 12. Don’t miss
it
The Wake o f Jam ey Foster opened the
58th consecutive season at Portland Civic
Theatre on the Mainstage on Friday, October
14th, and plays Thursdays through Saturdays
at 8 pm until November 12th. The production
has presented P.C.T. with an exciting chal
lenge and is one of the most unusual theatri
cal events in Porltand.
Beth Henley wrote Crimes o f the Heart and
won the highest theatrical accolade for it —
the Pulitzer Prize. Later The Wake o f Jamey
Foster was presented on Broadway, exactly
one year ago, and to very mixed reviews by
the critics, it folded within two weeks, despite
receiving very positive reviews from Clive
Barnes of the New York Post
Bing Russell, former owner of the Portland
Mavericks, well known for playing “Clem” in
Bonanza for 13 years and with over 500 films
and shows to his credit, was involved in the
New York production. Bing, like others in the
show, believed the play belonged off-
Broadway and decided to present it to Port
land audiences. With Beth Henley's interest
and enthusiasm, certain script changes have
been made, and with new perspective on
production, there is a possibility that The
Wake o f Jam ey Foster will be recognized as
a play of profound interest to the American
Theatre and may well go back to Broadway.
The reaction of Portland Theatre-goers to
this comedy-drama will be of considerable
interest.
After Jamey Foster dies, in bizarre and
comic circumstances, his family gather for
his wake. His estranged wife, Marshael tries to
untangle the skein of her frustrated life,
battling through her tragi-comedy while the
other characters try to cope in their own crazy
fashion.
Bing Russel directs and acts in the produc
tion which has a cast of eight and his wife,
Louise Crone, is co-director.
The Roar o f The Greasepaint. The Smell
o f The Crowd is a British musical comedy
entertainment that was presented within a
few years of the Newley-Bricusse success,
Stop the World — / Want To Get Off. The
collaboration of these two men was a brilliant
one. Both shows were smash hits in London
and New York.
In The Roar o f The Greasepaint. The
S m ell o f The Crowd, the central characters
are Sir and Cocky who are surrounded by an
assortment of characters and a chorus of
urchins. Sir represents the upper-classes and
Cocky, the role Anthony Newley made fam
ous, the lower classes. They meet to play
“The Game,” a witty exposition of their differ
ences. A Wonderful D ay Like Today. Where
W ould You Be W ithout Me? and Who Can I
Turn To? are a few of the rich musical num
bers from the show. John Zagone directs the
cast which includes Corey Brunish as Cocky
and Bruce Emmons as Sir. Musical Director
is Catny Traylor and Choreographer is
Charles Hubbard. Call 226-3048 for details
and tickets.
Lisa Ottemess as Marilyn Monroe in Ric Young s
Icon.
Lisa Ottemess /s Marilyn Monroe in Ric
Young’s Icon. The resemblance is uncanny.
The play is, in itself, not much but what there
is is pure theatre. And that’s what it’s all about.
Marilyn herself was theatre personified.
She was a creation made to fit the American
Dream. She was a rather plain, colorless
woman molded, prodded, drugged, pam
pered and finally, when she began to believe
the M a rilyn m yth, abandoned. The Ameri
can Dream. And so she died.
Next to Quarters. Icon is Ric Young’s best.
And what makes it good is his Marilyn. Lisa
Ottemess is some actress. Ric Young is an
impressionist; one could imagine him as
more a filmmaker. Its his eyes which create
his plays, not the words his actors deliver. He
shows us how we are. he doesn’t tell us.
Some people just want too much from him.
Icon is well worth seeing. And you do see it;
live and on television, sometimes simultane
ously. Icon is some show. Just don’t expect
the second coming.
Icon continues at Storefront Actors Theatre
through December 3. Thurs-Saturday at 8
pm. 6 SW 3rd Ave., 224-4001.
Jazz gospel vocalist Linda Tillery will be
featured in concert at the Old Church on
November 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tillery grew up
singing in church coirs and listening to the
recordings of Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.
Their influence is evident in Tillery’s smooth
yet powerful vocal style. From Janis Joplin to
Holly Near, from Arlo Guthrie to Chuck Berry,
Tillery has performed with various artists for
over a decade. In the late 1960s. Tillery was
lead vocalist with The Loading Zone, a folk-
rock-blues band which performed regularly
at the San Francisco Fillmore Auditorium. In
Just Cuf. Oct 28 Nov 1«