nntfomhar 5 2004
G
Sponsored In/
Uilj.l.Hl-S
just P T T T *
p re s e n ts
Boston^
case” to the Algonquin Hotel. Robert Goulet
stole silverware from the automat. Betty Car-
rett and her m other put off buying an ironing
board for two years in order to buy theater
tickets.
And their initial forays into being working
actors weren’t always glamorous. Carol
Lawrence laughingly recalls rehearsing for a
month on West Side Story with no pay.
Despite such deprivations, this was a dazzling
time, and those interviewed here know it. The
camaraderie, the spontaneity, the on- and off
stage dramas, the lack of prerecorded sound
tracks and over-the-top special effects and even
microphones— these are what made this art
form so seductive for players and audiences. The
personalities— and voices— were larger than life,
carrying to the farthest reaches of the theater.
A bittersweet subtext to this story is that by
the early 1970s, the Broadway inhabited by
these legends was virtually gone, replaced by
the tired bombast of Andrew Lloyd Weber
et al. But at least we have this wonderful
reminder of that time.
— GM
B roadway : T he G olden A ge
Nov. 5 to 11 , Hollywood Theatre
irector Rob McKay set out to discover what,
if anything, was “golden” about the classic
era of plays and musicals from the 1940s
through the 1960s. For this composite portrait,
he interviewed 100 luminaries from that era:
stars like Angela Lansbury, Carol Channing, Eli
Wallach; composers Stephen Sondheim and
Fred Ebb; dancer Fayard Nicholas of the
Nicholas Brothers; and many others.
Balancing their insights is plenty of rare
perfonnance fcx>tage and period photographs.
T he result is a captivating picture of an excit
ing but long-vanished America, one in which
ordinary people could experience the cream of
U.S. theatrical talent for as little as 85 cents a
perfonnance. This was the era of the 10-cent
hamburger, the 5-cent coffee and actors and
singers raising hell in New York’s bars and
streets until the wee hours.
T he “actor’s life" as seen here is one of
happy chaos, pressure and promise. Carol Bur
nett talks about arriving in New York with no
money and bursting into tears but, having seen
the bright lights of Broadway, refusing to go
home, taking herself and her “cardboard suit-
D
M y M other L ikes W omen
Nov. 12 to 18, Hollywood Theatre
nés Paris and Daniela Fejerman’s expertly
acted intergenerational dyke comedy/drama
has been compared to fellow Spaniard Pedro
Almodovar’s work, and no wonder— the
“mother” of the title is the fabulous Rosa Maria
Sarda from All About My Mother. But th at’s not
the only similarity. The film begins as a frothy
farce, with Sofia’s three daughters scheming to
separate their mother from the beautiful, much
younger Czech woman she’s taken up with.
But the farce turns increasingly grim as the
girls’ plots backfire. The directors’ modulation
of emotions and the actors’ ability to be funny
and sad almost at the same time make this a
good choice.
— GM j H
'Remember when music was f u n ?
M W Lv n j j c &
as do his grandparents to some extent. But
from the opening scenes of the director puking,
crying in close-up, whining, bitching and
bemoaning his fate, through scenes of him try
ing to force “revelation" out of his panicky,
schizophrenic mother and trying to evoke con
trition from his decrepit grandpa, this is Caou-
ette’s story all the way.
There is remarkable footage here, particu
larly eerie shots of 11 -year-old Caouette as a
drag queen re-enacting tearful scenarios of
abuse, but he’s no Diane Arbus, and this
movie, inexplicably acclaimed by mainstream
critics as “harrowing” and even “important,” is
ultimately a not very grand Guignol.
— Gary Morris
In this hilarious comedy of manners, Anna and Claire are two bantering, scheming
Victorian "women of fashion" who live together in a "Boston Marriage” (a euphemism for
a committed relationship between two women) Anna has just taken a maie protector”
to fund the women’s lifestyle. Claire
meanwhile, is infatuated with a younger woman
and wants to enlist the jealous Anna's help for a
tryst The two women exchange barbs and
taunt their hapless Scottish maid, but when the
object of Claire’s desire arrives, she sets off a
crisis that puts the women's future at risk
Mamet brings his trademark tart dialogue and
impeccable plotting, spiced with Oscar Wilde wit,
to this wickedly funny comedy. Directed by
Micki Selvitella, starring JoAnn Johnson
(Memoir). Karen Trumbo (M ercy Seat, Claire o f
JoAnn Johmon os Anna <£•
the Moon), and Brooke Lynne Fletcher (Face Reader)
Karen Trumbo as Claire
u <> h
Rhys Ifans’ Jed is the laughably outdated Deranged Homo Killer in Enduring Love
avid Mamet
Boston Marriage
by David Mamet
October 29-December 4, 2004
Perform ances are Thurs.-Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 2pm
At the CoHo Theater, 2257 N W Raleigh Street (off 23rd Ave.)
Season Tickets: $27-$54 for all three shows (including Recent Tragic Events and Boy Gets Girt)
Single Tickets: Adults $21; Students/Seniors/G roups (8+): $19
Come jom us for a J u s t Out night at the theater!
J u s t O ut is hosting "Boston M arriage” on Friday, Novem ber 12, 2004, including
a reception after the perform ance w here you can meet the perform ers, and a
prize drawing! Seating is limited, so make your reservations today!
Reservations: (503) 220-CoHo (2646)
A N N A IN T H E
T 1 0 P I C S b,NILOCRUZ
CENTER
f
STAGE
THEATER
LI VE
SPICED SMOKE. JASMINE NIGHTS. R O M A N C E D E V E L O P S .
THE RESULTS: I NTOXI CATI NG.
8
...it stiff is
FINE AUDIO EQUPMENT AND HOME THEATRE SYSTEMS
STEREOI YRES AUDI O
' I ......
2627 NE BROADW AYÉBPRíflíAND
1
www.stereotypesaudio.com
OR
D IK N tn
--------
503-280-0910
m
503
274 6588
NEWMARK
www P C S org
THEATRE
NOV 9 28 2004 llll sw BROADWAY
KeyBank
O -K
,.
k d
I
1 ‘JJJJMtft'l
30 :;.,.SI 5