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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2002)
15 . 2002 THEATER Y 602 SE 38th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503 . 231 . 392 i Wed - Sat P FIU L M IT C H E L L Auto, Home, Life & Business "Your Independent Insurance Agency" Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker, Inc. Marc Baker Downtown Portland (503) 227-1771 www.epbb.com 90.7 PORTLAND NEWS, PUBLIC AF F AIR S AND MUSIC T H A T YOU WON' T HEAR ANYWHERE FOR ELSE. LISTEN T H IS W A Y O U T ooking for an exciting evening of rehashing your most horrific childhcxxl nightmares? Then fc Mart Crowley’s For Reasons That Remain Unclear is for you. This script has not been performed since its first prixluction in 1993, and it’s not too difficult to understand why. Patrick (Andy Ruzan) is a young, gay actor living in Rome who was sex ually abused as a child by a Catholic priest, Conrad (Joe Ivy). When the two cross paths, Patrick recognizes him immediately (Conrad does not); seeking revenge, he entices the older man to his swanky hotel room, where the entire play takes place. The set was designed masterfully by Tim Stapleton. Also beautiful is the lighting; Jeffrey D. Wixxls creates an intimate ambiance that envelops the entire stage. For Reasons That Remain Unclear is an appropriate title for this piece, as it is utterly confusing why these two characters are in the same room at all. Patrick trounces about, finishing off Conrad’s every sentence with cryp tic innuendoes and unsuhtlc cliches. Buzan’s delivery is sneering— every line steeped in jaded sarcasm and accompanied by a meaningful glare. When suddenly Conrad is no longer oblivious to Patrick’s identity, he tries desperately to get out of the room. Screaming and physical aggression ensue until the eventual peaceful ending. Crowley to write and for Don Horn to direct This heavy-handed mekxlrama by triangle and prexiuce, but, unfortunately, there is not pnxluctions! offers nothing hopeful whatsexver much in it that could benefit an audience. about surviving abuse. Afterward you’re apt to feel like an unwilling voyeur at someone else’s hakespeare’s R&J, adapted by Joe Calarco, therapy session. tells the story of Romeo arul Juliet as seen A t one point, Patrick sighs to Conrad, through the eyes of four Catholic schixtl- “ I’m a person who dwells on yesterday to the point of pathology.” T his overriding sen boys, presented briskly by Tony James, Paul Susi, Kelsey Tyler and Scott Weimer. The work timent defines the dialogue, which bogs the draws a parallel between the renowned doomed play down with inertia. 1 lovers and two of the students who fall in love. This script was probably very cathartic for S With a f(x:us on using only William Shakespeare’s words to tell the story, sets and props are pared down to four blocks, a Kx>k and a sheer red cloth. Full use ts made of these; the bkxrks are used to change scenery and levels, while the red cloth represents, among other things, a ring, a potion, clothing and bkxxi. A large wooden cross on the wall oversees all of the action— which gets fairly steamy. The pnxluctions choreography is clearly well rehearsed and crisp from beginning to end. All four actors have a strong grip on the language and exhibit wide versatility, as each portrays multiple characters. Calarco has chosen to present cer tain key scenes from Romeo and Juliet, and each has a slightly different feel than the one before. One of the opening sequences feels like the secret meeting in Dead Poets Society, later on in the evening it’s more like a drag comedy, thanks to James’ total trans- formation into Lady Capulet and Susi’s interpretation of Juliet’s nurse. Although this is a commendable performance of Shakespeare’s famous love story, the "boys in love” theme is somewhat contrived. Calarco has taken Romeo and Juliet and merely slapped two htxikends on either side— making the beginning and end transitions feel abmpt. But even though this might not be the most original or innovative adaptation of Shakespeare’s R&J, the talented and enthusiastic cast has it well in hand and keeps the audience fully engaged. jH TRIANGLE PRODUCTIONS! ¡rresents For Reasons That Remain Unclear Thursday to Sunday and Shakespeare’s R&.J Thursday to Saturday through March 30 at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 S.E. Belmont St. Tickets are $15-$19 fnrm 503-239-5919. S arah L eimert is a Portland free-lance uniter. She can be reached at scleimert@earthlink.net. AT 6 PM EVERY TUESDAY. Sowelu Theatre's candid Polaroids N Everett Street Autoworks We can repair any car, any problem from minor to major • Same Day Service on Most Repairs • Pick Up & Delivery Mon— Fri 8— 6pm Sat by appointment We have early bird drop-off Afl.ujfTA 503/221-2411 jgjg 509 NW Downtown, 97209 Everett St ick’s a revolutionary— a radical activist who has just been released from prison for an assault on Jonathan, a big-time capitalist who represents everything he stands against. The world he re-enters looks nothing like the one he left. Nick’s former lover, Helen, once as rebellious as he, now works in government and wants nothing to do with him. Back on the streets, he runs across a man who is beating a woman, a topless dancer named Nadia. She’s a New Age thinker who trusts that her boyfriend can transcend his abusive ways. Nadia’s best friend is Tim, a young dance club drug addict Don’t take the with AIDS. He is in a constant battle— with medicine, sex and attitude— that he is rapidly losing. In desperation, he hires an Internet hustler named Victor to help him enjoy his last days. This is Some Explicit Polaroids, a heartbreak ing, seditious tale about life in contemporary times, written by controversial gay British play wright Mark Ravenhill and presented by the kids: Some Explicit Polaroids is, um, explicit award-winning Sowelu Theater. Its six charac ters guide us through explicit perspectives on activism and action, set against the backdrop of a conservative government, an evolving AIDS crisis and violent politics. But it’s “not a social issues story,” director and Sowelu artistic director Barry Hunt explains. “It’s a personal story about people by W G len n il l ia m s more complicated than a pamphlet.” Graphically sexual, unsentimental and in no way apologetic, the work reveals a dark sensibility about our cur rent environment, particular ly toward the humanity and complications of living with AIDS. Here we see the real choices people are making from day to day and the way our culture pulls against our most natural tendencies. “The play is political, yes, but at the same time, it is very human,” Hunt says. “ It represents all the characters’ differing points of view. And all those points of view are valid.” j H S owelu T heater presents Some Explicit Polaroids 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 4 p m . Sunday thrtmgh April 20 at Backdoor Theater, 4319 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets are $ 7 4 1 5 from 503-230-2090. G lenn W illiams antes prose, poetry, plays, periodica and pom in Portland.
