4 The Clackamas Print
By Nathan Sturgess
Associate Photo Editor
ntagiq
Arts Cultu
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
SB
As the love found between Man and Woman incvitab
deteriorates, so does the sanity of Prologue and Epilogtj
Prologue, so focused on what might happen and then wh
might have happened, resigns himself to doubt and inertdulit
while Epilogue, ever focused on what has happened, giv3
to grief, but not without assuring herself that we, the audio»
have participated in the tragedy and that we have seen ourd
lives tragically.
Partly because of Prologue and Epilogue’s commem
Man and Woman seem disconnected from the drcuimian«
that befall them, as if they have no say in the matter of
fate. At one point, Epilogue addresses the author of the pfe
directly, expressing her distaste in the devolutionary pnoed
From this you get the impression that Man and Womans
simply and ttuty intellectual constructs of the author and 1
extension Eno himself. They are not so much realistic as tfx
are poetic understandings of material.
This symbolic or poetic understanding of a material wq
is another important theme in Eno’s play. The stall it;. of tj
mental institution where Man and Woman reside serves]
a clarifying juxtaposition with this fact For Eno, the act
living can be thought of and in this case represented, in a pd
cedural way: a simple formulaic process of cause and efta
But what adds color to this gray perspective is the ability of]
I don’t want to write this review. I don’t want to write it
because I’m tired and troubled and at the bitter end of a long
slash short winter term.
It seems out of character, doesn’t it? People don’t write
reviews of theatrical productions this way. People don’t say
tilings like this at the beginning of any piece fcr a reputable
reverent publication. It’s too blunt, too distasteful; too honest
But only such a preamble would begin to acclimate you,
the reader, unsuspecting though you be, to toe layers of com
plexity fused into toe passionate prose of William Eno’s “The
Flu Season.”
As with any theatrical production, toe playwright seeks to
move toe audience, whether it be to laughter or tears, doubt
or understanding. But few productionsdo so, so honestly and
directly as “The Flu Season.” Eno seeks not so much to enve
lope toe audience in a vicarious experience as much as he tries
to spatter his story onto toe canvas of the audience’s real life.
The characters Prologue and Epilogue, played by Branden
MacFarland and Heather Ovalle, respectively, continuously
characters to snatch glimpses of a poetic world through w
process and critique the substance of toe play with the audi
short forays into lovemaking and the romantic syt¡bold
ence, constantly reminding us that it’s not so important what’s
happening to the characters as much as it matters w hat is hap that accompanies it This poetic world tragically fails tH
ultimately. But the audience is consoled, though weak! „ by i
pening to us, what it means to be a viewer of theater and to
. meaning invested in the process of living.
view your life as theatrical.
Eno pulls back the curtain of theatrical mechanic only]
I could spend a lot of your time telling you how well the
reveal further layers of complexity in the relationship viwd
set and lighting complimented the mood of the play; how well
audience and actors. He begs of us that we ask question
each actor did or didn’t do; how well they portrayed their char
many questions about our identity and how we live, how J
acter, which were ah exemplary. But what Eno is emphatically
trying to say is that these are actors. The point isn’t whether life is and is not a play like his, how we are and are not]
control of our destiny. Eno does not offer many answers H
they became someone else in a convincing way but that they
somehow approach a representation of us all in toe most raw emphatically wants us to ask them.
and direct sense.
Man and Woman, played by Justin McDaniels and Emily
The Flu Season
Robison, respectively, are who we are at our weakest Each
Ticket Pricing:
line is composed like the disjointed, discouraged thoughts
we often think when we are most alone or just before we fall
Adult: $10
asleep. The characters, M an and Woman, are held together by
Youth under 18: $8
a dangerously thin plot but are so tightly tethered to our own
darker human experience that they cannot help but capture
Students: $8
our attention.
Seniors: $8
Just as the idea c£ theatrical character is so terribly decon
structed, so is the use of language. Eno consciously and
Location:
purposefully turns language on its head, making it difficult,
Niemeyer Hall
foreign and often emotionally offensive. Not to create separa
tion between toe characters and us but rather to remind us of
Show Times:
what our tooughts really sound like. Instead of toe smooth and
Feb. 24- March 6
warm wcxflswe are used to hearing spoken amongst each
Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 p.m.
other, Eno chooses quick poetic quips that are often sporadic
and subtle. The structure of the language is designed to make
Sun. 2:30 p.m.
you uncomfortable, putting you in that mental place you so
Rating: IWfeflWlWF"]
often avoid, but so clear that you can almost sense Eno’s own
mind working, scribbling down the lines as they are spoken
on the stage.
Contributi
Enjoy Italian culture; not just about pasta anymor
hoi that has had lemon, lime or even orange peels soaked so that it is resting against the wall to prevent it from!
ing over. This is proof that there is a method to the n|
in it for at least a week, which causes it to absorb the oils,
color and flavor from the zest. It is then mixed with equal
ness of naming cocktails.
The last item we have on le menu tonight is Tuaca. I
parts simple syrup, which is only water and sugar boiled
so my French accent is horrible in person and even «1
together until it becomes a viscous fluid.
s an Italian (pronounced ih-tal-yuhn; only uned
in print, but Tuaca is definitely a new classic. Flavl
The drink is very sweet and is best in small amounts,
ucated people say ahy-tal-yuhn), I feel that it is
with citrus and vanilla, it is the perfect drink for ul
not wrong for me to first think of pasta when unless you want to go into a diabetic coma from all the
shots or in a number of cocktails. See www.tuaca.coni
I flunk of the land that my mother’s family hails sugar.
from. One thi ng I did at least for my wedding toast was to
**
In fact, I would wager that is probably what most people mix it further with champagne; this gave a lighter drinking recipes. •
According 4o Tuaca’s website, modem Tuaca ca
think of or possibly the Vatican, “The Sopranos” or my experience.
from
a
5
00-year-old
recipe that was created for Loti
Have you -,£ver heard of a drink called a “Slow:
least favorite thing that any Italian has ever been involved
Comfortable Screw Against the Wall”? Probably not. but de Medici, a historic ruler of Florence, the homelaii
with - “Jersey Shore.”
What many people do not think of, however, is the it is another classic cocktail that has not been able to catch Niccolo Machiavelli, the infamous scribe who litJ
vast number of amazing flavors that Italy puts forth in the on with the durrent generation of pub-crawlers. This drink wrote the book on how to be a great leader and tn doil
contains sloe gin (which isn’t really a gin at all, it’s more of was banished from his home. *
world of booze.
'
.
In sfrort, Maly has no shortage of great flavors, sj
Known worldwide as the land of star-crossed 10v^’ a liqueur), Southern Comfort, orange juice and Galliano.
some for yourself and decide which one is your I avoa
dR If you think about it, the name is a description of what
bcr of the great
and Mafiosos, Italy has created a n
goes into preparing the drink. The only part that doesn’t, know which one is mine: all of them. Salud!
Jc. One of my
cocktail ingredients that are used wo
Disclaimer: We at The Clackamas Print
the flavor of my make since is the “against the wall” bit, right? There is^a
favorites is Limoncello. In fact, that
for this &wefi, Galliano comes in atoll thin bottle encourage drinking to excess or underage chinking (j
wedding toast.
..usi^^afttalc^
place at the feack of the collection of booze
kind. Remember to drink responsibly.
Limdncello is a fabulous
By Joshua Baird
Arts & Culture Editor
A