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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2007)
jm.Yfi.ZM7 justjout,?g on stage Arts Equity presents Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile extended through Aug. 11. (Call for times. 606 Main St., Vancouver, Wash. $10424 from 360-695-3770.) Broadway Rose Theatre Company presents Singin'in the Rain, a zany, lighthearted romantic comedy about the early days of sound film, through July 15 at Deb Fennell Auditorium in Tigard. (Call for times. 9000 SW Durham Road. $19426 from 503-620-5262.) Modern Garage Movement presents This Dance Is Called Gree. It Is from BedStuy. through July 9 at vari ous venues in and around Portland. (For times and loca tions visit www.myspace.com/moderngaragemovement. $8 donation.) New Century Players presents Steel Magnolias, a skillfully crafted, lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity concerning a group of gossipy Southern ladies in a small-town beau ty parlor, July 12-21 at Rex Putnam Blackbox Theatre in Milwaukie. (7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Saturday. 4950 SE Roethe Road. $8412 from 503-367-2620.) New Moon Productions presents free outdoor per formances of The Wizard of Oz July 12-28 at Washington Park Amphitheatre. (6:30 pm Tuesday-Sunday. 400 SW Kingston Blvd.) Portland Actors Ensemble presents a free neo-Gothic version of William Shakes peare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet through July 21 at Lovejoy Fountain Park. (8 pm Friday and Saturday. For directions visit www. portlandactors, com.) Portland Center Stage presents free public read Portland Opera's Broadway Across America presents Dirty Rotten ings of new work for the Scoundrels July 10-15. stage, including queer play wright Matt Zrebski's First Broadway Rose Theatre Company presents Cole, a fresh Beard, during the ninth annual JAW Playwrights Festival musical revue about the queer king of musicals, Cole Porter, July 13-22 in Gerding Theater at the Armory. (128 NW July 20-29 at Deb Fennell Auditorium in Tigard. (Call for 11th Ave. For a complete schedule visit www.pcs.org.) times. 9000 SW Durham Road. $19426 from 503-620-5262.) Portland Opera's Broadway Across America presents Lakewood Theatre Company presents Noises Off, a hilari the scamming, scheming, double-crossing hit musical ous comedy about the backstage antics of a touring theater Dirty Rotten Scoundrels July 10-15 at Keller Auditorium. (Call for times. 222 SW Clay St. $23470 from troupe in England, July 13-Aug. 19. (Call for times. 368 S State St., Lake Oswego. $23425 from 503-635-3901.) Ticketmaster.) Queer actor Noah Jordan co-starred with Vai Landrum in The Listener at last year's JAW Playwrights Festival. Talk About a Power Play The genesis of great theater often begins with that magic “what if?” For example: What if Ted, a young bad boy lost in primal rage, meets Davey, an intellectual with dreams as big as his heart? What if Davey's subsequent death triggers a campaign of secrets between his mother and his boyfriend that leads all the way to the White House? What if what begins as an artistic response to Oregon's Measure 36 prohibition of same-sex marriage ends up less cut-and-dry commentary on inequality and more an imaginative, messy backstory behind the biggest what-if of all: a gay presidency? In First Beard, a new script from Portland playwright Matt Zrebski, President-elect Thomas Hewitt and wife Marion are moments away from making acceptance speeches when the truth behind the dream duo is pressured to come out. But what makes this Fox News revelation so interesting is that it’s not just another gay-skeleton-in-the-closet trick. Let’s just say keep your eye on the first lady when First Beard gets its first hearing this month at Portland Center Stage’s ninth annual JAW Playwrights Festival, a staged reading that will feature Jan Powell (Live at the Rose Garden) in the title role surrounded by three of Portland’s hottest homo-thespians: suave Gary Norman (Tango), adorable Kurt Conroyd (The Yellow Boat) and rising star Ben Buckley (Singin’ in the Rain). “The story involves the big what-if of a gay presidency,” says Zrebski, once Stark Raving Theatre’s artistic director, who’s been odt since before he could vote, “but that’s really just the context to discuss bigger issues of power and corruption—and the life of a woman who would choose to be his ‘beard.’ ” It’s political theater personified, and Zrebski says he is prepared for backlash from Pollyannas unwill ing to allow for a gay man who’s more villainous than virtuous—in other words, a flawed human being who succumbs to a voracious hunger for power that ultimately transforms him into a man he never was. Like its author, First Beard seeks to spur conversation, invoke questions and encourage us to look below the surface of both far-fetched realities and day-to-day fantasies. It’s just that kind of post-play chin- wagging that should be the evening’s ultimate nightcap, says Zrebski, where inhibitions are loosened through intoxicating what-ifs. JAW presents First Beard as one of 13 free public readings of new work for the stage—including three full-length plays by local writers and four curtain-raisers by area students—July 13 to 22 in Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 N.W. 11th Ave. For a complete schedule visit www.pcs.org. Lakewood Theatre Company stages Noises Off July 13-Aug. 19. eatingout eatingout eatingout Qualify Food —Timothy Krause eatingout eatingout Al V oup Service ìi*" Comfortable Atmosphere Lfast and Lunch C ä D FRANC15 KT. STA (.IRANI Eat the Crepes, Drink the Wine, Read the Maqazines...Repeat. Lunch, Brunch, Dinner & More 2621 SE Clinton St. 233-5656 2338 ME Allerta 503-288-8299 www.francisres1auranl.com eatingout eatingout eatingout eatingout
