Just out., August 17, 1984, Page 10, Image 10

Sextet
Victims and other
strangers
Sextet, Tom Enyart’s newest comedy,
makes its world premiere to open the new
Sumus Theatre Ensemble space at 1313
West Burnside in Portland on August 4 Ji.
Sextet stars Pat Gration and Mary Jane
Granum as two life-long friends both vying
for the affections of their two high school
beaus (played by Charles Bernard and Paul
Bender) who are in town for a reunion after a
lapse of forty years.
The ladies live together along with the forty
year old son of one (Tom Enyart) and the
forty year old daughter of the other (Caroline
Swanson). Sparks fly as the "life-long
friends" cut each other down and eventually
involve the "gentlemen callers” in paternity
suits.
This premiere production of Sextet is
made possible by a major grant from the
Metropolitan Arts Commission.
Tickets are available exclusively through
TicketLink at 227-4080 or at the door.
by Jay Brown
"We’re'all victims here," says one of the
characters in Kevin Berry's Eastside Clinic, a
social comedy currently running at the Open
Door Theatre. The play unfolds in the
waiting-room and examining room at a big
city VD. clinic as eight clients interact with
each other and clinic staff and reveal glimp­
ses of several kinds of victimization, sexual
and otherwise. And rare is the person who
does not feel victimized when the spectre of
"the clap" rears its ugly head.
Eastside Clinic begins as an almost light­
hearted comedy but the action builds to a
dramatic climax in the confrontation
between two seemingly incompatible life­
styles; in this case, expression and repression
of a wide range of sexual activity. The clients
include two female prostitutes (Joanna Malari-
druccolo and Beth Harper), a gay street hus­
tler (Steve Lee), who are well known at the
clinic, a young straight man (Steve Dorr), a
teenaged mother (Lisa Raven), carrying an
infant a suburban married couple (Cain War­
ren and Cindy Tennant) and another gay
man (Mike Wilson). Also joining the proceed­
ings from time to time are the staff (B’Lou
Schaffer, Kathy Bambeck and Howie
Bierbaum).
A suburban husband and father, accom­
panied by his confused, pregnant wife, goes
to a V.D. clinic the very same day as does his
recently dumped gay lover. Mow this does
cause some tension in that waiting room. In
fact, the tension builds very close to violence.
Amidst the tension created by the
husband, playwright Berry cleverly diverts
our attention with a poignant episode involv­
ing the young mother and her physically
abused infant The very real problem of child
abuse almost trivializes the husband's hypo­
critical denial of his gay lover. Some con­
cerns, Berry says, are more important than
others. And when you get right down to it.
sexuality is pretty small potatoes, all things
considered.
Berry and Director Jerry West have kept
Dreiflachlichstuk
tight rein on what could have been an exploi­
tive and sensational subject; they have
infused the characters with a humanness
which is touching and affectionate.
West has assembled an uneven cast, rang­
ing from the highly professional to the
amateurish. At the top of the scale Joanna
Malandruccolo and Beth Harper play the
prostitutes, Wanda and Cindy, in excellent
form. I was certainly convinced. My only ex­
perience with prostitutes was vicarious, via
Hollywood; Wanda and Cindy sure fit that
stereotype. Malandruccolo and Harper
played them with just a hint of broadness, de
rigeur for "whores with hearts of gold,"and
The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street
Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller,
S w eeney Todd. The Dem on Barber o f Fleet
Street, will have its Morthwest Premier at Port­
land Civic Theatre. 1530 SW Yamhill, playing
August 23 through September 22. Thurs­
days through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sun­
days at 7 p.m. Tickets are $9.50 for adults
10
and $8.50 for students and seniors. Call
2 2 6 -3 0 4 8 for reservations.
Sweeney Todd is a gripping,
chilling and delightful tale of the murderous
exploits of this maniacal barber and his
greedy accomplice. Mrs. Lovett, a thoroughly
unscrupulous meat pie merchant. Mrs.
Lovett’s famous meat pies prove to be a con­
venient and profitable means for the disposal
of Todd’s unfortunate victims.
Sondheim’s and Bond's versions see
Todd as the victim, driven to his heinous
crimes, when his wife and child are taken
almost run away with the show.
As Kate, the pregnant suburbanite, Cindy
Tennant is affecting as her character grows
from confusion, to empathy, to enlight­
enment.
Arthur Harold’s set is appropriately oppres­
sive and works well on the small stage; at
times it has the effect of a cramped lifeboat—
the victims swimming ashore as their names
are called.
Eastside Clinic continues at the Open
Door Theatre at JR’s West, 300 MW 10th,
playing Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.
through September 29.
from him by the evil Judge Turpin.
Portland’s premier production of
Sw eeney Todd will be directed by Bill
Dobson, Managing Director of Summer Re­
pertory Onstage (S.R.O.). An impressive cast,
includes Guest Star, Craig Fields, coming
from Germany to play the title role. Mr. Fields
appeared previously in the S.R.O. production
of A Little Night Music. Others in the cast are
Barbara Irvin as Mrs. Lovett, the industrious
vendor of meat pies, Cyndy Ramsey as
Todd’s daughter, Johanna; Ron Brallier as
Anthony, her lover; Michael Berkson as the
evil Judge Turpin: Tom Graff as the Judge’s
aid. Beadle Bamford; Bob Lamberson as
Pirelli: Dale Johannes as Tobias; and Susan
Payson as The Beggar Woman. Musical Di­
rection is by David Kelly. Set Design by Glenn
Gauer and Costumes by Margaret Louise
Hetherington.
Sw eeney Todd opened in Mew York in
1979 and subsequently won eight Tony
On August 17,18 & 2 4 ,2 5 , the Freindsof
Lorenzo Discreet Theatre will present
Dreiflachlichstuck (show m e a ditch and
I'll dive in it), an original multi-media play by
Gordon Dahlquist and Mark Worthington, at
the Echo Theatre (1515 SE 37th, off Haw­
thorne). Showtime is 8:00, admission $5.00.
Centered around a lurid tale of fear, desire,
and traumatic loss of innocence, Dreiflach­
lichstuck is an an abstract mixture of visual
and spoken narratives. As these various “ver­
sions of the story" overlap and collide with
one another, it becomes clear how much of
our thoughts are framed, often unconscious­
ly, by outside influences. In this insidious
blend of circumstance and plan, the play de­
picts the struggle between personal ideals
and reality.
Dreiflachlichstuck is the Friends of
Lorenzo Discreet Theatre’s premiere
production, although its members have been
active in the Portland Theatre scene for some
time. Most recently, Mr. Dahlquist directed /
w as sitting on m y patio this guy appeared I
thought I was hallucinating at Storefront
Theatre, and Paolo and Francesca, an origi­
nal script, at Morthwest Artist’s Workshop.
Awards (including Best Musical), 9 Drama
Desk Awards and numerous Critics’ Circle
Awards. Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury
originated the roles of Todd and Lovett, each
securing several awards and critical acclaim
for their work.
Sondheim, known for his music and lyrics
to Company. Follies. A Little Night Music.
P ad Tic Overtures. A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum. Anyone Can
Whistle. Sunday in the Park With George
and his lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy,
was also the recipient of many awards as
composer and lyrcist, as was Hugh Wheeler,
his collaborator on the book.
Sweeney Todd is told in the style of a
macabre melodrama true to the world of
Hogarth and Dickens, with an innovative
score that approaches the magnificence of
opera. Critics and audiences alike see
Sweeney as a landmark production in the
history of American musical theatre.
Just Out,
August 17-August 31.1984