may 3.2002 - J u t M rt.4g
THEATER
............. ▼...............
h, hot flashes— the quintessence of
menopause. W omen shudder in anticipa
tion of the dreaded “change” and the
emotional and physical manifestations
that accompany it.
But wait! T here’s hope! Thanks to a Port
land musical group with the very same name,
women can finally get support for menopause,
including a healthy dose of laughter.
Hot Flashes, playing May 3 to 12 at Fire
house Theatre, follows the career of a five-
woman band over three decades— from their
40s to their 70s. The production discovers and
embraces the changes menopause brings.
Although the show obviously is entertaining,
the members of Hot Flashes want it to serve as
education and outreach to women.
Kate Finn and her husband, Rick Weiss,
wrote the musical comedy, gleaning inspiration
from Finn’s massage practice, which she started
when her theater group, Fallen Angels, ended
in 1996. She became intrigued by stories her
female clients told about their life changes.
Finn notes not too long ago women were in
the dark about how to approach menopause;
fortunately, that is changing. “We are riding a
wave of a huge menopausal network,” she
states. “So many women are facing
menopause.” She decided to produce programs
that entertain, support and educate women.
W ith these goals in mind, she contacted
Lois Smith of All W omen’s Health Services, a
naturopathic and medical association that
works with low-income women. Smith agreed
to sponsor the show, and her organization will
have an educational table at performances. The
A
Call It crazy
What the Butler Saw is
fast, funny and sexy
by
T imothy K rause
istaken identities. Cross-dressing. A n
insane number of near-miss entrances
and exits of six characters fit for an
asylum.
This is the lunacy behind What the Butler
Sow, a comedy by gay playwright Joe O rton
onstage at Theater! Theatre! W ith typical
British sex farce formula (think Noises Off), he
sought to send up institutions of society with
his stinging wit and shocking scenarios. Some
30 years later, the situations seem more clever
than shocking but remain hilarious.
Set in a private psychiatric clinic, Butler
M
Got hot flashes?
It’s a band, it’s a musical,
it’s a state of mind
by
-
. * , 1
k
yjß
¿L.j
f . V
N a ta lie S h a p ir o
i
If S j§
J
»?
Wk
. i
Northwest Health Foundation also sponsored
the program. Finn plans a post-show discussion
“about our experiences in aging and health.”
The production itself, she says, looks “at
aging with a sense of humor,” beginning at a
dinner theater and ending in an assisted living
home. It’s directed by Portland gay musical the
ater virtuoso Rick Lewis.
The show’s music is half parody and half
original, explains Hot Rashes member Sharon
Knorr. “We do a parody on ‘I Will Survive’
'
called ‘1 Will Not Age.’ It’s about plastic surgery.”
Band members include Finn, who plays accor
dion, guitar and flute; lead singer Knorr; bassist
Marvella McPartland; and Lynn Thomas, a singer
who also plays keyboards and clarinet. Pam Krieg
came on board a bit later as drummer. “We play
everything,” Knorr says, “rock, rap, Glenn Miller.”
All five women have a rich history of
involvement in music and the arts. Thomas
did the women’s music circuit in the 1990s,
singing at festivals and concerts. She wrote the
anthem for the 1993 March on W ashington
(“Together, Proud and Strong”).
In the production Thomas plays an out lesbian
(a role she knows well). “As a lesbian in a
band.. .1 always have to change the lyrics. I’m
constantly changing pronouns.” One of the pieces
emphasizes the amusement of pronoun dilemmas.
Knorr performed in Angry Housewives, a pop
ular musical in Portland and Seattle in 1984, but
then she experienced the discrimination facing
older women. “W hen you turn 40, the phone
stops ringing" She decided to become a produc
er, focusing on issue-oriented subjects.
McPartland also has a long history of musi
cal involvement. “I wrote, directed and choreo
graphed my first musical when I was 12 years
old,” she exclaims. She has been a working
musician since 1965, opening for such famous
performers as Lily Tomlin, the Smothers Broth
ers and Randy Newman.
Krieg is a lesbian but (rats!) doesn’t get to play
one in the show. She started playing music in the
early ’80s and has been involved with many bands
since. She and her partner of 21 years, Kate Sulli
van, played together in Loose Women, a band
that recently ended 20 years of performance.
Finn envisions running Hot Flashes again in
the fall and wants to do productions at
women’s and health conferences.
in
H ot F lashes plays May 3 and 4 and May 10 to 12
at Firehouse Theatre, 1436 S.W. Montgomery St.
Tickets are $20 at the door or $I5-$17.50 in advance
from www.hotflashesthemusical.com or Fastixx.
NATALIE S hapiro is a Portland free-lance writer.
Mrs. Prentice (Michelle
I though they could have considerably more
Maida) with her own
than just one with a little fine-tuning of the
young, previously-loving- | play’s precise comic timing.
but-now-blackmailing
T h e cast is glued together by th e deliri
hotel page (Jefferson L.
ously obsessive perform ance o f Murrell, play
ing a cross betw een Drs. Frasier C rane and
Davis) in tow.
Frank N. Furter. M aida is equally viscous as
Throw in a random
the psychiatrist’s delicious nym phom aniac
government inspector
wife. A tkinson is th e girl-awhirl, Davis a
(Robert Wade) and a
pliable scamp, N orm an the foolish bumble
police sergeant (Gary
and W ade a voice o f ill reason.
Norman), and innocent
Most elements behind the production are
misbehaving quickly leads
to a chaos in which near
typical triangle-adequate-but-uninspired.
Costumes by Elizabeth W right, however, coyly
ly all lose their wits ami
their clothes. But no mat
hint at the sexy ’60s.
ter how wild the situation
As non-epiphanic as die script might be
today, What the Buder Saw nevertheless shows
gets, these mad characters
how fun straitjackets can be. J R
maintain their verbal vol
leys until all is resolved
V ario u s states of dress and undress in W hat the Butler Saw
W hat the B utler S aw continues through
with an amusing twist.
Producer/director Don Horn of triangle pro
May 25 at Theater! Theatre!, 3430 S.E. Belmont
opens with Dr. Prentice (Darrin Murrell)
St. Tickets ore $ 1 5 4 1 9 from 503-239-5919.
attempting to seduce Geraldine (Deirdre A tkin ductions! keeps the pace fast and furious, pre
senting Butler sensibly without intermission.
son), a naive secretarial applicant. N o sooner
T imothy K rause is a Portland free-lance uniter.
Each performer has his or her own moment,
has he convinced her to undress than enters
— ■>—
.—
-------------- ---— —
—
a -................................... •—
- .................... .—
a
...; ...
------------------
A VAI
INCLUDES MUSIC FROM:
KOSHEEN
ELLE PATRICE
UO
THE S EC OND SEASON
M U S I C FROM T H E i§ »W ITO O R I G I NA L S E R I E S
“honest, engaging...
wonderful..."
— Newsweek
DEBORAH COX
DJ DISCIPLE
KIM ENGUSH
SARAH MCLACHLAN
DELERIUM
ETTA JAMES
MANDALAY
CHEMICAL BROTHERS
Offer good
thru 5-16-02
“...funny and fresh...
anything but safe.”
rca \ 4 ctor
n A ta a i
— Time
“...There's never
been anything else
like it on TV.”
— USA Today
EAST PORTLAND • 32nd & E Burnside St. • 231-8926
l¿l>C-1í»I O
MILLENNIUM
NW PORTLANO • 23rd & NW Johnson • 248-0163