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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2000)
3 g J u s t «art » July 21. 2QQÛ THEATER A COMMUNITY RUN NATURAL FOODS STORE n o t virt y ou r t y p i c a l SINCE 1970: FOOD FOR dovn hon e : PEOPLE, ......¥ .............. Let them eat Cake Seem s th e o n ly good th in g about the end of the w orld is a b o u n ty of pastries NOT FOR PROFIT all organic produce bulk s e le c tio rrfu ll grocery line e v e ry o n e welcom e! organic farm e rs m a rk e t W ed nesdays 2-7pm BETWEEN DIVISION & POWELL 9AM-9PM DAILY (503) 232-9051 Let us C re a te CISTUS D E S IG N N U R S E R Y B u sin e ss W e b s ite 2 J 711 \ V \ O l l I II I AN K O A P s \ l ' \ Il IM \ \ P I R I D A ' ! I P S U N D A Y IO S SO i (,21 more...see www.NetTenna.com Now 1 Just Out on line! www.justout.com ^■ nna Website Development D avid R essler • dave@ N etT enna.com • 503-3 3 5 -9 3 6 3 * w w w .N etTenna.com RE/MAX S ignature P roperties ! Just Listed! K a th erin e s Body Piercing Salon , D o n Baham serves it up Bridgetown Realty www.BridgetownRealty.com Rose Air Charter www.RoseAir.com Portland Area Business Association www.PABA.com Group Event and Travel Communications www.GroupActive.com Byrkit Handpainted Clothing www.ByrkitWear.com PIP Printing www.PIPpdx.com Elegant Interiors www.Eleglnt.com your : A n d y M angels HOGAN & SANDERSON 3 0 2 9 SE 2 1 S T AVE. °0D sfO* by : Stately old Portland 4-p lex. Big front porch w / view o f river. Investm ent opportunity! $185,000 Tina Schafer gri , abr AiuUi-MiUion Dollar Producer RE/M AX Signature Properties 243-1127 282-4000 X 122 www.knighterrant.com/annala e-mail: tina@ rmls.com ivilization is in ruins and the people of the future cower in their homes. The sound of bombs dropping con stantly reverberates through the air, and the only solace for two isolated cou ples is the promise of further fellowship and the infrequent delivery of cake and pastries by representatives of the Powers That Be. Welcome to the world of A Piece of Cake, an experimental one-act play pre sented by Portland’s Stark Raving The atre. This piece is director Jim W ilhites second production of a drama written by Raymond J. Barry, a respected stage, film Don and television actor. T he first couple the audience meets are Albert (Thomas Beckett) and Marvin (Daniel Flint). Albert is manic and pushy and is deter mined to leave the safety of their home to search out their neighbors. Marvin agrees with everything Albert says, and seems almost child like. They eventually meet Ruth (Megan Har ris) and Buford (Jared Roylance), a young mar ried couple who have ceased having sex for fear of spreading disease. Ruth is at first nervous to meet her neighbors, then loosens up when she gets drunk. Buford wants to share his body with his wife but feels conflicted for reasons he doesn’t understand. W hen Herman (Don Baham) arrives bear ing cake and cookies, relationships start to unravel and new alliances are formed. Are Albert and Marvin gay lovers, spies for the government, or something else? Will Ruth’s revelation bring about the death of her hus band, or her own? And what role does the cake man have in it all? A Piece of Cake is not always an easy play to like. Some of the language is didactic and— at least on opening night— the energy and deliv ery of the actors was almost too strong. But, for gay audience members, it poses a complex conundrum: While Barry’s script seems gay- friendly and places the blame for AIDS and its death toll squarely on the government’s shoul ders, the anti-gay language spouted by almost every character is squirm-inducing. 1 didn’t know whether to he offended or not, hut in a play that relies so heavily on alle gory, such uncertainty is to be expected. Still, Baham delivers the sweets to Thomas Beckett even allegory can have too-negative implica tions, and the fact that homosexuality is gener ally treated in this play as an element of betray al— or something to he vehemently denied— left me feeling more discomfited than 1 believe the playwright and crew intended. The cast members are credible in their roles, though Daniel H int’s simpler character allowed him much more ability to win over the audience. Jared Roylance gets the meatiest emotional scenes to act and acquits himself well, and Megan Harris plays her closing scenes very strongly. Staging, props and lighting are extremely minimalist, but functional. Hard to classify completely, A Piece of Cake would best be labeled an allegorical dark come dy. Unfortunately, gay audiences may find that the allegories are not pleasant ones. If you like theater that challenges and unsettles you, give this show a try; if you want more lighthearted entertainment, it’s best to look elsewhere. Note: This play contains male and female nudity and adult language. It may not he suit able for younger audiences. ■ A P iece OF C ake plays Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 12 at Theater Theatre, 3430 S.E. Belmont St. For tickets call the box office at (503) 232-7072. A ndy M angels is a kmgtime Portland enter tainment writer u/ith three books and hundreds of comic books and magazine articles to his credit. You can write him at AMangehSW@aol.com.
