theater
BY ANNA GRACE
Evylyn Brown (left), Jesselyn Parks and
Virginia Rice in Playhouse Creatures
The Very Little Theatre presents
a Stage Left production
A sad, funny, and unexpectedly
romantic family story.
Also at UO’s EMU Ticket Offi ce
“Do things really stay secret that long?” a
son asks … about the mysteries of the heart
that parents bequeath to their children. The
answer … is a resounding yes — and an equally
emphatic no … in this subtle and absorbing
generational drama. — The New York Times
Special $10
college student tickets for
Selected events presented by:
The Pulitzer prize nominated play by
Richard Greenberg
Directed by Sarah Etherton
H ULTC EN TER .ORG
or 5 4 1 . 6 8 2 .5 0 0 0
Eugene Ballet Co., Eugene Concert Choir,
Eugene Opera*, Eugene Symphony,
Oregon Mozart Players
Oregon Bach Festival
Chamber Music@Beall Hall
Apr. 22-24*, Apr. 28-May 1*
*Sunday Matinees
Tickets: $10, General Admission, Stage Left
Call the VLT Box Office: 541-344-7751
Open 2:00-5:30 Wed.–Sat. 2350 Hilyard St.
More info at TheVLT.com
*rush/day of
performance only
Visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheVLT
RECOBRAR LA NOCHE
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT
JUEVES, 28 DE ABRIL ∙ 6:00PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 28 ∙ 6:00PM
RALLY
MARCH
SPEAK OUT
TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE
MITIN
MARCHA
ALZAR NUESTRA VOZ
PARA ELIMINAR LA VIOLENCIA SEXUAL
ANFITEATRO DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE OREGON/ U of O EMU AMPHITHEATRE
(CORNER OF 13TH AND UNIVERSITY)
For more information / Para más información SASS: 541-484-9791
36 APRIL 21, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
Object or Artist?
Playhouse Creatures questions women’s role on stage
N
orah Jones’ voice creeps
seductively, plaintively over
the audience, quieting us while
ghosts of 17th-century actresses fi nd
themselves wandering back into their
theater. Bathed in a dim light, the past and
present huddle up together for an overdue
discussion about a woman’s role on stage.
The premise of Playhouse Creatures is
genius. In 1660, following years of civil
war and Puritan morality, Charles “The Fun
King” II is restored to the British throne. He
legalizes everything everybody’s wanted
to do for the past ten years, including
card playing, organ playing
and, most importantly, plays!
Not only are actors back on
the boards but, in a shocking
decree, only women are allowed
to play women. Furthermore,
the line between performer and
prostitute is blurred as many
women augment their meager
pay by stepping out with the
men they’ve captivated from
the stage. Playhouse Creatures
follows the careers of these
ladies.
As has been common with a number of
historic pieces lately, the lens of the present
is sharply focused. Playwright April De
Angelis uses the past as a platform to
express what’s on her mind in the here and
now; this production is stuffed full with
relevance. Actresses are objectifi ed as sex
objects and obsessed with youth. There are
not enough good roles for women. Female
artists struggle to express themselves —
let alone feed themselves — in a world
created and run by men.
This is important stuff, though the play
does feel a bit like it’s dishing up a bowlful
of Women’s History soup: witchcraft,
abortion, beauty, sexual freedom, glass
ceilings, double standards. All these issues
are of the utmost importance, but if a
playwright is going to tackle the lack of
women’s reproductive freedom in the late
17th century, I need her to spend more than
three minutes on the subject.
Brian Cook directs this mostly female
cast and all-female-designed production.
There’s a bit of a ruckus in the opening
scenes, but as the accents settle and the
audience becomes comfortable with the
meandering plot, Playhouse Creatures
advances into a stately play. Jesselyn
Parks creates a congenial Nell Gwyn, the
infamous actress who went from selling
oranges to being a favorite mistress of
Charles II. Evylyn Brown is sharp as the
smart and self-interested Mrs. Marshall.
The most moving performance is delivered
by Virginia Rice as the seminal actress Mrs.
Betterton. Rice masters not only the stylized
manner of a 17th-century performer, but also
the quiet dignity of an actress who slowly
comes to accept commercial success at the
expense of her growth as
an artist and, in the end, is
dismissed for committing
the sin of growing older.
This is a tough script
to present. The play is
staged with a respect
bordering on reverence
for these women, while
a heightened sense of
theatricality reigns over
the show and ties together
the loose ends.
Frani
Geiger’s tawny-brown set is slowly pieced
together by the company over the course of
the play, and the audience is included in the
journey, forced to walk straight through set
pieces to fi nd a seat or a program. The rich,
bright costuming of Gina Love drives the
eye to the performers. Janet Rose’s lighting
seems loud and stingy, as though there
was only so much brightness to go around
in the lives of these women, and yet when
things go awry they are unable to escape the
spotlight.
Playhouse Creatures was written for
a women’s theater company in London. I
wonder how much of the original meaning
was lost in the transatlantic crossing. The
script, the theme and the fi nal product are
all a touch open-ended. Then again, so
were the lives of these incredible women.
The ideas contained in this show are
fascinating. It opens up an important dialogue
about how far the entertainment industry
hasn’t come in the last 300 years. By simple
virtue of staging it, University Theater takes
a big step in the right direction.
ew
The premise
of Playhouse
Creatures is
genius
Playhouse Creatures runs at University Theatre April 15-
30 at 8 pm, and Sunday, April 24, at 2 pm (followed by
post-show discussion).
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