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Play Review***
Insightful “Nuptials” breathes life in debut
pal from a commitment that he didn’t
fully realize.
The main drama shifts somewhere in
the middle of the play and focuses on
the relationship between Julia and
Deanna. Kuntz gives an excellent per
formance as the more liberal-minded
woman who finds Deanna’s need for
marriage more pitiful than sentimen
tal.
By D. Dietrich
Of The Print
Since June is the month typically
known for numerous weddings with
blushing spring brides, it seems only
fitting that the play now running in
Clackamas Community College’s
McLoughlin Theater is titled “Nup
tials.” With refreshing realism, the
script, laden with comic relief, takes
the cast to complete turnarounds
through the course of preparing for a
wedding.
Set in the basement of a church,
playwright Joette Rose, a former
Clackamas student, shows a behind-
the-scenes viewpoint on the wonders of
matrimony.
The selection of family characters on
stage brings out the differences in
moral views toward marriage and the
expectations they can breed. Such
views are seen primarily from the
woman’s perspective. Rose consciously
aimed her discussion of marriage
because, in a note from the playwright
states, “for the first time in history
marriage is no longer a woman’s soul
means of livelihood. It has become an
option. And as such, some of the tradi
tions, myths and misconceptions about
marriage, and specifically marriage for
women, need to be examined.”
Important to note is that this is not
merely a feminist play in which men
play the ignorant partisans. It is a very
human, insightful drama, full of real
characters that come to life on stage.
The College is lucky to be able to claim
the debut of this innovative produc
tion.
The audience is introduced to the
bride as she sweeps into the church
basement in final preparation for her
wedding. Lissa Diane Calder carries
the lead as bride-to-be Deanna Rourke
with a natural exitement and in
nocence. Her background is somewhat
Julia is living with her boyfriend but
doesn’t see any definite plans for mar
riage to him or anyone else until she is
settled in her career. The argument that
ensues between the two young women
explores the reasons and fulfillments
for their differences without making a
preference to either.
Bride-to-be Deanna Rourke(Lissa Diane Calder) is comforted by Rev.
Thomas Forsythe(Walter E. Whitney) upon learning of the groom’s
absence.
tragic, with a history of being moved
from relative to relative to escape a bad
home life. Her aunt and uncle with two
daughters have become her family, but
not without complications .
Coreen and Vernon McVey (Patricia
Lawrence and Rolland K. Grubbe) are
her adopted parents who love her like a
daughter. Their daughters Julia (Linda
Kuntz) and Alyssa (Lynda Hale),
however, haven’t always loved her like
a sister. The real crisis arrives with the
announcement that the groom has not
arrived, for reasons yet to unfold,
anouncement that the groom has not
arrived, for reasons yet to unfold.
When the chips are down the real
emotions come out, for better or
worse. On the worse side is the snob
bish disposition of the groom’s wealthy
parents, played by Marlyce Scherrie
Baird and Ian Byington. In a more
traditional characterization we see a
shrewish mother-in-law-to-be, who is
sure that Deanna’s motive is money,
but, of course, we know better.
While the tension is high, the real
reason for the groom’s absence is
discovered in a stairwell scene between
Vernon and Mark (Joshua Collins), the
groom’s best friend. Mark is the
catalyst for the groom’s misplacement.
Without meaning to hurt anyone,
Mark just wanted to save his childhood
When the crisis is over the important
event is not the marriage but the
growth and self-knowledge of the peo
ple involved. Rose shifts the emphasis
of the play around to give, not just a
black-and-white perspective, but a
whole spectrum of colors, including
the rose-colored glasses we’d all like to
look out of.
The set of the play is nothing if not
realistic. One can even smell that
familiar musty scent of a church base
ment. Denomination notwithstanding,
the walls are complete with condensa
tion stains and priceless crayoned art
by schoolchildren adorn the walls. .
The play originated with the
playwright but cast made it come alive
as the characters breathed their first
breath in the actors portrayals. Direc
tors Jim Nicodemus and Jack Shields
are to be congratulated for an effective
and lively production of a close-to-the-
heart play.
Performances will continue on June
7 and 8 at 8 p.m. and June 9 at 2:30
p.m.
Theater week celebrated
Portland area theaters are check your local calendar
uniting in an effort to support listing for plays produced this
President Reagan’s designa
tion of June 2-8, 1985 as Na summer.
Artists Repertory Theatre
tional Theater Week. In a
campaign to honor live theater (223-6281 ext. 213), Columbia
Theatre Company (232-9901),
and its artists, participating
theaters will take $1 off their Firehouse Theatre (248-4737),
ticket price with a ticket stub Interstate Firehouse Cultural
or box office receipt from any Center (243-7930), Lake
other participating theater Oswego Community Theatre
(635-3901), Musical Company
through Labor Day 1985.
For the entire summer, (235-4551), The New Rose
theaters will support the Theatre (222-2487), Oregon
Theatre
cooperative program brought Contemporary
about by the Theatre Consor (295-5917), Portland Civic
tium, a “unique group of Theatre (226-3048), Sirius
directors and managers of Theatre (224-9481), Storefront
local live theatres who regular Theatre (248-0199), Summer
ly meet to solve problems and Festival Company at PSU
create new ideas in a (229-4612), Sumus Theatre
Ensemble
(220-0651),
cooperative manner.”
A list of participating Willamette Repertory Theatre
theaters follows. Call them or (224-4491).
CCC Cafeteria
The Cafeteria
will be öpen during
the summer session
from 7am-3pm