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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.
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