Play review
Audience becomes jury
for courtroom drama
By D. Dietrich
Of The Print
Never one to linger far from the analysis of
Western culture, Ayn Rand brings out an
underlying conflict of greed versus altruism in
“The Night of January 16th,” which is current­
ly playing at the Lake Oswego Community
Theatre.
A former Broadway success, the play does
more than bring up the problem of rational
self-interest as opposed to self-sacrifice. With
her creative flair, Rand brings home the moral
controversy to the audience in this courtroom
drama. In her surrealistic murder trial, the jury
is composed of audience members who find
themselves in charge of directing the end of the
drama with either a guilty or non-guilty verdict.
Starring as the epitome of ambition sans
morals, Liz Shirley dramatically and effectively
covers the role of Karen Andre, who is facing a
murder charge for the death of her employer,
Bjorn Faulkner. Andre had been the mistress of
Faulkner for the past 10 years, including during
his engagement and marriage. Faulkner’s
widow Nancy Faulkner, played by Barbara
Garrison, is the perfect foil for Andre’s
evilness. Garrison gives Nancy a naivete’ with
enough vengeance to keep her human.
As the case unfolds through opposing
testimonies, the jury must first decide what
kind of a man Faulkner was. Defense Attorney.
Stevens (Frank Gray) and District Attorney
Flint (Randy Disend) uphold their defenses by
maintaining a constant volley of eyewitnesses
and colorful character witnesses, whose own
motives must also be considered in the case.
Both lawyers maintain smooth and flowing
examinations, but the nature and the acting in
the first scene tends to be dry, much like a real
case. As the second act begins the tempo picks
up. Increasing conflict and humorous
testimony by Milli Hoelscher, who plays a
nosy, Swedish cleaning lady, adds much to the
Play.
When gangster “Guts” Regan steps into the
picture, the case falls back to square one and it
becomes obvious that Rand had no intention of
paving a clear path to justice. Regan holds an
unrequitted love for Andre, but insists that his
presence during the night of the murder was ac­
tually because he was helping Faulkner escape
the country and impending bankruptcy.
Faulkner’s financial ruin sets up a motive for
his father-in-law, who has lent the enterprising
businessman a large sum of money out of love
for his daughter.
Is it true that Faulkner was only interested in
the family money when he married his wife, or
did he turn over a new leaf and plan to drop his
mistress as his widow tearfully insists? Was
Regan involved in a crime of passion or just a
financial scam? Did Faulkner’s father-in-law
hate him enough to have him murdered? Was
Faulkner simply despondent over his depleting
funds and driven to suicide? Rand lets you be
the judge.
With the aid of dramatic lighting and a
careful adaptation of stage space, the intensity
of the drama works well in the end. The second
and third acts are exponentially more involving
thanthe first.
“The Night of January 16th opened Jan. 18
(no comment), and plays at 8 p.m. Thursdays
through Saturdays at Lake Oswego Community
Theatre in the Lakewood Center for the Arts,
368 State St., Lake Oswego. For the first three
weeks there will also be performances at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for students
and seniors. For reservations call 635-3901.
“Relatively Speaking” a comic treat
Within the first few minutes of watching
“Relatively Speaking,” one is immediately
struck by the witty dialogue and melodramatic
flair. Written by British playwrite Alan
Ayckburn, the script even holds a touch of
Shakespearean eloquence.
As the play unfolds, the title becomes in­
creasingly significant to the audience. The
“relative” aspect encompasses a spectrum of
notions from family ties to double entendres,
and more generally to the changing modes of
values, relationships, and truths.'
Centering around the fresh and intense love
affair between Gregg (Corey Brunish) and Gin­
ny (Jane Bennett), the young couple come to a
crossroad when he finds another man’s slippers
under her bed. Gregg’s jealous streak touches
off a dramatic and eloquent feud. Highlighting
the not wholly-accepted sexual revolution,
Gregg’s romantic inexperience becomes ap­
parent next to Ginny’s sexual promiscuity, still
a touchy subject in the 1967 setting.
Ginny is in the process of trying to end an af­
fair with a persistent Phillip (Keith Scales),
who’s 30 years older and married. She leaves
for the day to tell Phillip it’s over between them
while Gregg believes she’s spending the day
with her parents.
Gregg is anxious to meet Ginny’s parents and
secretly defies her insistance that her mother
Wednesday, January 23, 1985
would not welcome an unexpected lunch guest.
Gregg arrives at an address Ginny had told
him was her parent’s home. Actually, the home
is that of Phillip and his wife Sheila (Hester
Schell). Before Ginny arrives on the later bus,
Gregg has a chance to meet “her parents” and
through mixed meanings and timely abscenses
of particular characters, unknowingly has
Phillip thinking that Gregg’s his wife’s secret
lover.
The matters only become more complicated
when Ginny finally arrives and to her horror
finds Gregg, who’s already made himself a
lunch guest. Naturally all four dine together,
and the charade continues.
Bennett and Brunish act well as the pass-
sionate young lovers, but there is a feeling of
acting throughout the play. Schell is innately
perfect for the role of Sheila and carries a lot of
weight with a wonderful subtlety. Scales is also
very natural as a selfish man, unable to leave
well enough alone. After gaining their momen­
tum the foursome create an occasionally intense
and always entertaining production. Scales also
doubles as the director.
“Relatively Speaking”, will play at 8 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 9 at Savier
Street Theater, 2235 N.W. Savier St. Two
benefit performances for Performers and Ar:
fists for Nuclear Disarmament, PAND, will be
run Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Tickets are $6.
Drawings by artist Pat Baird will be on display in the Pauling
Center until Jan. 31. An art student, Baird has studied masters
such as Michelangelo and DeVinci for ten years. Baird’s em­
phasis is to re-establish the great traditions of Renaissance
masters.
Music/culture mixed
“Music Femina,” a concert
performance by two female
composers, will be presented
Thursday Jan. 24, from 7-10
p.m. at Clackamas Communi­
ty College.
The concert will feature a
flute/guitar
duo
of
Portlanders Kristan Aspen
and Janna MacAuslan. The
two musicians will perform a
selection of women’s music
gathered from four centuries
and will include Baroque,
Classical, Romantic and 20th-
century arrangements.
Focus Programs as part of an
approximately twice-yearly
coverage on women’s culture.
The College is currently
celebrating its lOth-year an­
niversary of the Focus Pro­
grams.
“This is a festive part of our
lOth-year celebration for the
Focus Programs,” Karen
Lever, Community Services
and Women’s Programs Coor­
dinator said.
Aspen and MacAuslan have
been touring colleges and
universities across the country
The performers do more with their combination of
than play the compositions. music and history, which they
They also involve themselves call “more personal than a
with “placing the (composi­ concert and livelier than a lec­
tions) in their cultural context ture.”
and providing a glimpse of the
The three-hour program will
composers’ lives.” Together, be held in the Community
the two women create a new Center’s Small Dining Room
kind of classical concert.
and costs $5. For more infor­
The performance is mation on the concert call
presented by the College’s 657-8400, ext. 208.
WE CAN’T RUN
ON EMPTY.
GIVE BLOOD
American
Red Cross
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