T H E AT E R
BY RACHAEL CARNES
BEAMING LIGHT
INTO FORGOTTEN
TERRITORY
Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s
Blue Door is an all-around
incandescent piece of stagecraft
T
BOBBY BERMEA IN
OCT’S BLUE DOOR
hrough family — through the shared, intercon-
nected knots between the generations — a loose
tapestry is woven that cinches down to become
the present moment.
And so we find ourselves laughing, reflect-
ing and understanding as we view a humane, accessible
and embryonically powerful new work — Blue Door
by Tanya Barfield, playing now at Oregon Contempo-
rary Theatre.
Writing a book report or synopsis — or worse —
revealing plot twists is the reviewer’s crutch. It’s one I
hate to see, and one that would particularly extinguish
the incandescence of this remarkable effort. So I’m not
going to do that.
Revealing too much would do future audiences
a disservice, robbing them of full immersion into
Barfield’s words in this extraordinary vessel.
I can say that the play centers on two performanc-
es: Lewis, played with exquisite, relatable strength by
Bobby Bermea — who also serves as the play’s direc-
tor, with support from Jamie M. Rea — and Simon/
Rex/Jesse, three wildly different characters, each im-
bued by Seth Rue with a simultaneous blend of cosmic
multidimensionality and earthbound gravitas.
Bermea and Rue offer some of the best acting I’ve
seen on a stage in Eugene, ever.
Scenic design by Megan Wilkerson allows the play-
ers to float in the universal: Is it a womb? Is it a planet?
With the ropes, reaching vertically and tied to the the-
ater’s rigging, are we inside a ribcage? Are we trapped
within the spine of a hand-sewn history book? Is this
the belly of a slave ship?
Wilkerson’s set is its own character, serving almost
as a Greek chorus.
And how satisfying to see Michael A. Peterson’s re-
velatory lighting, composer Rodolpho Ortega’s evoca-
tive sound design and songs, and Sarah Gahagan’s
spot-on costumes — all moving toward the same out-
come, the same goal.
The artists’ collaboration, under Bermea’s unifying
vision, carries this story to an otherworldly plane.
But don’t get the wrong idea. This show is also fun-
ny. Barfield’s writing is prismatic, crisp and focused.
She bobs and weaves with a flawless cadence and de-
livers, in a mere 90 minutes, a baptismal experience.
How can something be written so masterfully that it
roots itself in embodiment and reaches the firmament
of the heavens at the same time?
How can something make you laugh out loud and
also crack your heart open, so much so that, when it’s
over, you forget where you parked your car?
This play makes discoveries from the get-go, and
from there branches out like a fractal.
Blue Door continues through April 30 at Oregon Contemporary Theatre;
$20-$30, visit octheatre.org or call 541-465-1506.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OCT
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