theater
University Theatre stages Arabian Nights
What if Baghdad meant “City of Peace” instead of standing as a war zone? How
can we examine a culture that mass media have so mired down with images of car
bombs, burkas and the occasional Disney-sponsored fl ying carpet?
We can start with a new interpretation of some ancient stories. King Shahrayar,
betrayed by his beautiful wife, vows to marry for only one night. Execution
mornings follow wedding nights for 1000 nights until Shahrazad, beautiful
and clever, stays her death by temping the heartbroken ruler with the
beginning of a fantastical tale. So long as she can continue to spin a good
story, she lives, and keeps other young women from being put to death.
Arabian Nights, or rather 1000 Nights and a Night, is a collection
of folktales handed down from the 9th through 15th centuries, and
spanning the globe from Egypt to India. Like Grimm’s Fairy Tales,
there is no single author, but rather hundreds of years of oral
tradition wrapped up in one enthralling book.
This University of Oregon production of a British adaptation
of Arabian Nights presents cultural blending at its best. Adaptor
Dominic Cooke has pulled from the ancient tales a script centered on
betrayal and healing that will speak to modern audiences, featuring
only six of the sea of stories. University Theatre has adhered to
the storytelling tradition by offering a languid production (nearly
3 hours in length) laden with authentic dance, puppetry and
interpretive movement.
This ensemble piece features a number of strong young actors
slipping through a variety of characters. Jameson Tabor, Liv Burns
and Olivia Walton shine among the many bright actors on the
stage. Martin Diaz-Valdes handles the authoritarian, if confused,
Shahrayar with agility. Maggie Mae Stabile proves an able orator
as Shahrazad.
Despite the poster’s claim, this play is not appropriate for all
ages. Magical and whimsical, it is nonetheless chock full of sex,
murder and betrayal; although not unlike your average modern
kids’ fi lm, I’d recommend this production for ages 12 and up.
Arabian Nights offers an unapologetically new interpretation
of a beautiful work of classic literature. Like Shahrayar, audiences
are swept away into fantastical worlds while critically examining
our own. — Anna Grace
Arabian Nights runs at University Theatre through May 5.
Hollywood, Abridged
“Hollywood’s taking over the world,” declares
one of the cast members during the introductions,
and this slightly bemused, somewhat nauseated
proclamation sets a nice tone for the freewheeling
barrage that is Very Little Theater’s current
production of Completely Hollywood (Abridged) by
Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, with additional
material by Dominic Conti.
No less than 186 of the “greatest movies of all
time” are referenced during this production, which
is ably helmed by fi rst-time director Adam Leonard.
North by Northwest and Sunset Blvd. share the
stage with Terminator and Titanic, creating a
dizzying mulch of treasures and trash that zips by in
the form of trailers, smash-ups and outright satires.
Everything is handled by a trio of extremely talented
and nimble-tongued actors — Patrick Curzon,
Russell Dyball and Tim O’Donnell — all of whom
reveal an attractive blend of geeky enthusiasm and
postmodern pluck.
Unlike
Martin
and
Tichenor’s
popular
abridgement of Shakespeare’s plays, which drags
Elizabethan theater, kicking and screaming, into the
realm of pop culture, Completely Hollywood instead
brings pop culture to the stage, where it doesn’t
stand a chance. Cinematic tropes are torpedoed as
the cast ticks off the 12 components of successful
movies — “action sells” for instance — and it is
here the production really fi nds traction. Politics
regularly intrude, giving the loose-limbed antics an
edge; robotic Al Gore and Ah-nold the Governator
take a severe beating. As they should, because, per
Movie Rule No. 11.5, “there’s no accounting for taste.”
If there were, John Gielgud would have been Prime
Minister, and Ronald Reagan would have bowed out
after Bedtime for Bonzo. — Rick Levin
Completely Hollywood (Abridged) plays through April 29 at Very
Little Theater; TheVLT.com
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