T H E AT E R
BY RACHAEL CARNES
MARY BUSS AND DAN PEGODA IN
OCT’S BLACKBERRY WINTER
GIVING CARE
OCT’s production of Blackberry
Winter offers a powerful new
portrait of illness and healing
S
harply written and deeply empathic, Steve
Yockey’s Blackberry Winter trains a bright light
on Vivienne, whose mother has lived with
Alzheimer’s disease for a few years and is now in
the throes of transitioning from assisted living
(Vivienne refers to it as “the Residence Inn”) to a more
confining, yet safer, nursing home.
Played with tenderness and perfect clarity by Mary Buss,
Vivienne is magnetizing as she draws us towards onstage
objects that both elicit and anchor all-too fleeting memories:
a little wooden horse, a pile of ladies’ scarves, a trowel.
Buss’ Vivienne is irreverent and approachable, with
perfect comic timing; she’s the kind of person you’d be
relieved to find yourself chatting with at an uncomfortable
party.
Yet nestled within her stories is a tactile quality — a
feeling of hands employed in the elusive and exhausting
act of living, whether that’s kneading dough, digging in the
dirt or bathing someone who can no longer bathe herself.
Vivienne is often up at night, she explains, baking her
mother’s famous coconut cake. When the day’s pressures
become too great, Vivienne takes solace in the routine
divination of flour and butter and sugar.
And cached within the comforting science of routines,
Vivienne has created a fable: a cosmological understanding
of Alzheimer’s and its origins, a creation myth, to help
herself comprehend and cope with her mother’s ever-
entangling brain.
The fable is told here with the aid of two able cast
members: Dan Pegoda as the Grey Mole and Erica Towe
as the White Egret. Costumes by Sarah Gahagan, lighting
by Michael A. Peterson and projections by Tim Rogers
complete the vision.
The florid tale, told in three parts, contrasts dynamically
against Brad Steinmetz’s set, which evokes a clinical
hominess.
THE ORIGINAL SUPER GROUP
Jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet celebrates the 1956 session
that brought together Cash, Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins
Under the direction of Craig Willis, the show glides
along seemingly effortlessly, with Buss a tour de force,
slipping constantly from breezy anecdote to emotional
reveal.
In theater, we’ve heard from victims of illness, for
example, Tony Kushner’s Prior in Angels in America or
Margaret Edson’s Vivian in Wit. Such characters have
shown us the counterpoint — between person and
institution, between human being and healing.
But Yockey has punched into new territory with his
point of view. “Care. Giver,” Vivienne says, imbuing the
words with gestural weight, expressing, in the briefest
instant, her reluctance, anger, fear and love.
Approachable and funny, Vivienne is heartbreaking —
not because she fails but because, like any of us, she
sometimes falters. ■
Blackberry Winter continues through May 7 at Oregon Contemporary
Theatre; $15-$30, tickets at 541-465-1506 or octheatre.org.
I
f we could time travel, rock-‘n’-roll fans might want to dial
their wayback machines to Memphis’ Sun Records, Dec. 4,
1956, when legends Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl
Perkins and Johnny Cash created an unforgettable musical
session.
Perkins, already a powerhouse with hits like “Blue Suede
Shoes,” had booked the studio that day and hired a little-known
session player to back him up — a guy named Jerry Lee Lewis.
Jason Cohen plays Lewis in the touring production of
Million Dollar Quartet, coming to the Hult Center April 26-27.
“All the music is played live by the actors onstage,” Cohen says.
“When I got the role, I watched footage of Lewis to learn his
tricks.”
Sixty years ago, 21-year-old Elvis Presley happened by the
studio, too, with his girlfriend in tow. Cash, signed by Sun as a
country artist, also showed up.
The four artists laid down 20 tracks, riffing on each other’s
tunes. Someone called the local paper, snapped a photo and the
rest, as they say, is history.
Flash-forward to 2006, when the jukebox musical Million
Dollar Quartet bursts on the scene, landing on Broadway in
2010 and launching worldwide tours soon after.
The show features irresistible hits like “Folsom Prison
Blues,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Hound Dog.”
“If we could have been a fly on the wall during their session,
we would have seen a lot of big egos,” Cohen says. “And heard
some great music. This is a high-energy show. It’ll make
audiences feel like they’re a kid again.” ■
Million Dollar Quartet plays 7:30 pm Tuesday and Wednesday, April 26-27, at
the Hult Center; $33 and up, tickets at Hult Center Box office, 541-682-5000 or
by visiting broadwayineugene.com.
eugeneweekly.com • A pril 21, 2016
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