Just out., January 01, 1987, Page 16, Image 16

Just entertainment
Ten Percent Revue flaunts it
A musical that has received rave reviews in San Francisco,
Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Provincetown
will
open at the Northwest Service Center on January 29
fo r five performances.
—
en Percent Revue is a fast-moving
parade of original material written by
Tom Wilson Weinberg and performed
by Jon Arterton, Jennifer Firestone, Elliot
Pilshaw. Helena Snow and Weinberg. Individu­
ally, and in various combinations, this quintet
presents a panorama of songs and skits.
“ The Ballad of Plain Jane” mockingly
laments the woes of two spinsters who are obvi­
ously having the time of their lives as lesbians.
In the song called “ Flaunting It,” Tom sings,
“ My button reads: “ I’m one, too' and if that's
flaunting it. I’m flaunting it!”
“ If I Were/I’d Like To Be’ ’ features a lesbian
describing all of the things she’d wear and all
the brunches she’d eat “ If I were a gay man.” A
retort is sung by a gay man who says " I ’d like to
be a lesbian” and be down-to-earth and wear
sandals and fix his own car.
‘ ‘Gay Activist’ ’ rings true to many. ‘‘I have a
button collection, I leaflet bars/I put my arm
through my lover’s at the Museum of Modem
Art.”
“ W e’re Everywhere” says, “ We’re coach­
ing on the fields of Lincoln, Nebraska/We’re
running pipelines up in Alaska/We are
everywhere.”
‘ ‘The Best Years of My Life” details all the
social pressures encountered by gay teen-agers.
T
The singers happily declare that now, today, is
the best time of their lives. Now they’re having
fun, not worrying about facades.
"W edding Song” is about two gay women
who comment: “ Our marriage began with a
whole lot of lovin’, but nobody gave us a toaster
oven.”
“ Not Allowed” targets the problems of be­
ing gay, “ I can’t yell your name out when we
race on the beach/I came out and lost my free­
dom of speech.”
"H igh Risk For Afraids” reflects on the os­
tracism encountered by those with AIDS:
“ Those at risk for bigotry are coming out in
spades/Now we need a cure for two diseases/
High risk for afraids.”
In the twenty odd songs that comprise the
show, Weinberg dissects both gay/lesbian and
straight attitudes. The music is well done and
the clever lyrics give the audience an uplifting
sense of lesbian/gay solidarity.
en Percent Revue is a jubilant affirma­
tion of gay and lesbian love, life and
culture and is a refreshing
evening of entertainment guaranteed to erase
holiday blues and empower people to develop a
positive sense of community and self.
Five performances only. A sparkling wine
T
Jon Arterton, Jenifer Firestone, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Helena Snow,
and Elliot Pilshaw
and cider opening Thursday, January 29 at 8
p .m ., tickets sliding scale $10-$ 15. Saturday,
January 31 TW OSHOW S, 7 p.m. and 10p.m.,
tickets sliding scale, $7-12, Sunday, February
1,7 p.m ., tickets sliding scale, $7-12, and
Monday, February 2, 8 p.m. limited income
sliding scale, $5-10. Tickets at A Woman’s
Place Bookstore, Phoenix Rising and Just Out
offices.
Ten Percent Revue is presented by Just Out
and Phoenix Rising, with proceeds benefitting
Phoenix Rising Foundation. Call Just Out at
236-1252, or Phoenix Rising at 223-8299 for
more information. •
Bright “Midsummer" uneven
IFCC policy urges non-traditional casting. Multiracial
Shakespeare works to advantage.
B
Y
D O U G E
M A R T I N
here is much that is fresh in
“ A Midsummer Night’s D ream ”
Director Gary O ’Brien has followed
IFCC’s policy o f “ blind color” casting, that is
to say casting "without reference to race, reli­
gion, sex, or sexual preference.” (Even though
we rarely encounter serious prejudice in the
theatre, it is nice to see that last in print.) This
has allowed a black Oberon playing opposite a
white Titania, a white Theseus playing opposite
an oriental Hippolyta, a woman playing Peter
Quince, and so on. The multiracial casting is a
great step forward forequality in our theatre and
in the community at large, but what is perhaps
better is that it worked marvelously well and
brought some new facets to an old, well-loved
play.
The other side o f the coin is that since most
roles in the theatre, especially in Shakespeare,
are automatically considered to be “ white
roles.” non-white actors do not get much ex­
perience in playing them. This has resulted in a
very inexperienced cast for this production, and
very uneven performances. Shakespeare's
poetry is not modem American English; it has
different words, different rhythms, a different
lilt. Some of the actors have caught this well,
Michael McBarron as Lysander is very good at
making his lines pleasant, entertaining and easy
to understand, but most of the others speak in
T
Just Out
1é January. 1987
the cliped, flat tones for which Americans are
known. There were some times when the mod­
ern readings created some funny anachronistic
effects, but more often the effects were dreadful.
Some of the brightest moments in the play
were the scenes between Oberon, King of the
Fairies (Steve Lee), and Puck (Darrell Geisler).
Though they both tended to get lost in the poetry
at times (like the rest of the cast), their scenes
were alive with mischievousness. Lee’s bearing
and costume are magnificent, and Geisler has
wonderfully wicked grins on his face as he plays
tricks on the mortals. They are both having a lot
o f fun. And the final scene with the bumbling
performance of Pyramus and Thisbe for the
Duke is hilarious, I think this may be the best
rendition of it I’ve ever seen.
All in all, however, the production lacks
cohesion and style. It is purported to be set in
ancient Ireland, but there was little evidence of
this except the music and dancing (Which was
on the whole slow and uninteresting). The
costumes were sort of generic Shakespearean,
the set was basic enchanted wood, and there are
constant references to being in Athens. The
acting styles were all over the place, and though
I liked the device o f the actors crashing in and
out of the emergency doors, it made little sense
in a setting that is supposed to be outdoors.
There are many interesting things in this show,
but it really needed tighter direction to be good
theatre. •