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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2017)
T H E AT E R BY RICK LEVIN THEATER IS THE LIFE FOR YOU Humor and melancholy mingle in VLT’s production of Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds from Broadway I ’m a snob and a sniff and a two-bit dilettante of the lowest rank. For instance, I once dismissed Stephen King as an immature populist hack whose middlebrow fiction is an affront to all things literary, and I felt that same way about playwright Neil Simon — a sentimental moron whose tweedy Borscht Belt shtick had transformed the grand tradition of romantic comedy into an efflorescence of twee and treacle. I’m also a hypocrite and a poseur, because I actually cut my teeth reading King, and I still read him. He’s a master of his genre, no less elucidating than entertaining. And just a brief survey of Simon’s work — The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, The Goodbye Girl, Brighton Beach Memoirs, California Suite — shuts me down cold. I love this stuff. It’s part of our cultural DNA. Now 90, Simon hasn’t written a play in nearly a decade and a half. One of his last stage pieces was 45 Seconds from Broadway, now in production at Very Little Theatre. In a sense, all of Simon’s work is minor — the opposite of epic, it’s familial and familiar rather than sweeping and staggering, and forever salted with humor — but 45 Seconds is truly minor, a nostalgic set piece that looks back on a life in theater with an old man’s sadness, fondness and timeworn sense of irony. It is The Tempest set in Manhattan, with a yearning species of Weltschmerz THE CAST OF 45 SECONDS FROM BROADWAY replacing Shakespeare’s buoyant magical realism. The play is set exclusively in a diner owned by Zelda and Bernie (the wonderful Denise LaCroix and Achilles Massahos), an older couple whose parental fondness for their customers doesn’t necessarily equal good business sense. The place (Bill Campbell’s set design is fantastic) is frequented by various “grotesques,” as Sherwood Anderson labeled his characters — various struggling or washed-up theater types, wannabees, also-rans, folks living out the faded dream of a Broadway never attained. Simon substitutes sketches for a strong narrative arc, creating a rambling and sometimes arid play that finds peaks and valleys in its random interactions among the diner’s patrons. At the center of it all is Mickey Fox (Chris Pinto), an aging comedian whose penchant for cracking wise hides the heavy melancholy of failure. Pinto, doing his best Jackie Mason, holds things together as a man who is hard to love but impossible not to like. A constellation of oddballs cycles in and out of the diner: Solomon (Kevin Huslte), a South African playwright stranded in Manhattan; Megan, an aspiring actress/ waitress; Bessie (Katherine Collins), about to strike it big in Hollywood; Rayleen and Charles (Diana and Don Aday), an older couple who appear to be wrapped in delusions of wealth and continental grandeur; Mickey’s sadsack brother CLASSIFIEDS BULLETIN BOARD Announcements AWAKEN TO YOUR HIGHEST T R U T H Transformation is happening N O W share-international.org TRUST LOVE SEEK ING EMPLOY MENT ANTRICAN: NEW & RESALE CLOTHING & GIFTS , LOST YOUR JOB? Place a free line ad here NEED INFORMATION OR ASISTANCE ENROLL- ING FOR HEALTH INSURANCE? Come to our Classes THE HEART HAS NO WRINKLES Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon believes opening up our conversations about sexuality in mid- and later-life is important. If you are over 55 and interested in learning more about the many dimen- sions of sexuality and aging, The Heart Has No Wrinkles, is a seven-week class begin- ning November 15th. Registration is $50.00 with 15 spaces available. Deadline to regis- ter is November 8th. For more information, or to register call 541-344-1611 x1014. "Open Enrollment" event! Wednesday, November 1st, 2017 from 2pm to 7pm at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, 3579 Franklin Blvd, Eugene, Oregon 97403. Representatives from the Oregon Health Plan, Medicare and Private Insurances will be available to answer your questions and help you apply. Open Enrollment is from November 1st to December 15th, 2017. For information call 541-337-0661. EMPLOY MENT Wanted WANTED: OLD ephemera, travel/military hand-written journals, ship logs, diaries. Photos (especially albums) concerning ALL continents - especially Asia. thebookfind- er@gmail.com (541) 520-9821 Pets GREENHILL HUMANE SOCIETY Everybody Deserves a Good Home. Open Fr-Tu 11a-6p, closed We/Th 88530 Green Hill Rd 541-689- 1503 and 1st Avenue Shelter open Tu-Fr 10a-6p & Sa 10a-5:30p, closed Su/Mo 3970 W. 1st Ave 541-844-1777. green-hill.org See our Pet of the Week! SHELTER ANIMAL RESOURCE ALLIANCE S.A.R.A.’s Treasures Gift & Thrift Shop. Volunteer, Donate, Shop, ADOPT! 871 River Road, Open Daily 10am-6pm. 541-607-8892 sarastreasures.org LOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S RESCUED CAT . FOR SALE Crafts CARVED PUMPKINS including "Ozzy" or Halloween room decorating. Reasonable. Dave: 541-579-7357/541-747-5249 Help Wanted $DANCERS$ Tired of your current club! SWEET ILLUSIONS has day & night shifts available. No experience, can train. Excellent tips! 541-852-8625 or 541-517- 7196 THE HOTTEST CLUB IN LANE COUNTY! DIGITAL ARCHIVIST Part-time, 20-24 hrs/wk. $12.00/hr. Requirements: Proficiency with both Mac and PC. Experience with Adobe Photoshop, scanning and cataloging soft- ware. PastPerfect experience and graphics talent a plus. Proficiency with spread- sheets. Must be able to work independently on repetitive tasks, supervise volunteers, and be available for some weekend work. Previous experience with museums, cultur- al organizations, or non-profits a plus. Must be able to lift 40 pounds and climb stairs. Send cover letter and resume to: Office Manager, Lane County Historical Museum, 740 West 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97402 or officemanager@lchm.org. Deadline: 5:00 PM, October 20. For more information, call 682-4242. 45 Seconds from Broadway plays through Oct. 28 at Very Little Theatre; $15-$19, tickets at thevlt.com or 541-344-7751. To place a classified ad: CALL 541.484.0519 EMAIL classy@eugeneweekly.com WEB classifieds.eugeneweekly.com WRITE 1251 Lincoln St. Eugene, OR 97401 VISIT our office Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EVENTS $20 BAGSALE! F, 9-22, S, 9-23. 245 W. 8th, 12-8p. Unseen inventory included! Don’t miss it! Mention ad for 10% off Harry (Paul Rhoden); gossipy theater patrons Cindy and Arleen (the hilarious duo of Pamela Lehan-Siegel and Janna Blair Slack); and others. As these various people meet, greet, collide and collude, a tone poem emerges, one that gathers bits and pieces of lives lived and turns them more into an atmosphere than a story. The humor that stitches together the play’s early moments, equal parts wise-cracking and bittersweet, gives way in the second act to a sense of impending loss, as the diner’s imminent closure looms. This is Neil Simon at his best, mingling a slow churning of everyday sadness and grief into an embattled message of hope. 45 Seconds to Broadway is a pleasant, funny and ultimately effervescent (not always a bad thing) meditation on community, viewed through the sometimes sharp, sometimes rheumy eyes of a Broadway man who, when he began, could still smell the musty curtains of vaudeville. If, at times, the play proves slightly tone-deaf about the modern world — harking to that seismic moment when RuPaul humiliated Milton Berle at the 1993 MTV awards — its elegy of loss is nonetheless poignant and timely. As with so much of Simon’s work, sadness becomes indistinguishable from the joyful nostalgia that afflicts it. (up to 4 lines, 160 characters) for 2 weeks. Briefly list your skills/experience & contact info. Email to: office@eugeneweekly.com or call 541-484-0519 Career Training DISCOUNTED TATTOO TRAINING NOV. Three students only—revamping program. www.gardenofinktattoo.com/tattoo-school EVENTSCALENDAR Medical Marijuana Certifi cation OMMP PATIENTS NEED BIRTH CONTROL? AN ANNUAL EXAM? STI TESTING AND TREATMENT? Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon accepts patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield (Including Regence BCBS, Federal BD, Premera BCBS, Anthem BCBS), PacificSource, Cigna, MODA, Lifewise, First Choice Health, Trillium, OHP and other insur- ances. Make an appointment online today at ppsworegon.org or call 800-230-PLAN WHITE BIRD DENTAL CLINIC 1400 Mill St. Eugene. Emergency & on-going dentistry for Low/No income residents of Lane County. Accepts OHP & under insured. 541- 344-8302 HOME SERVICES Building/Remodel OREGON STATE LAW requires anyone con- tracting for construction work to be licensed with the Construction Contractors Board. An active license means the contractor is bonded & insured. Verify CCB licenses at: www.hirealicensedcontractor.com Cleaning CONNIE’S CLEANING 1 time, monthly, week- ly/bi-weekly. 26 yrs experience. Excellent references, reasonable rates. 541-222-0060 ADDICTIONS COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAM Serenity Lane, 52-week no cost Addiction Counselor Training with qualifying conditions. Must have recent records WELLNESS LINE ADS: $11/3 LINES ADDITIONAL LINES: $4 For more info, visit RONI -formerly of www.serenitylane.org, click on Employment Opportunities, then on Serenity Lane’s Counselor Training Program Opportunities. COMPASSION CENTER Call 541-729-3913 541-284-5702. Dr Holland provider WHITE BIRD CLINIC Chrysalis BEHAVIORAL HEALTH JOB POSTINGS: Mental Health Counselor 25 hours/week Drug and Alcohol Counselor 32 hours/week APPLY ONLINE: You or a family member may qualify for the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) A family of four earning up to $2,795 a month may qualify for adult coverage. Children in a family of four earning up to $6,075 a month may qualify for Healthy Kids For FREE OHP application assistance, call 541-543-5484 whitebirdclinic.org eugeneweekly.com • October 19, 2017 27
