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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2018)
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 // 9 Beast,” plays Sears’ character’s former mistress, who shows up unexpectedly; Rose Power is an abstemious neighbor who is inevitably served too many alco- holic drinks during the blackout. “Rose is wonderful doing it,” Tauber said. Melissa Goldberg portrays a German electrician, Schup- panzigh, who is mistaken for a wealthy art buyer, played by newcomer Patrick Buckley, who the couple are also trying to im- press. To complete the mayhem, the neighbor, played by Kevin Perry, returns early and is upset to discover all his furniture is missing. For the record, the lighting technician is Tauber himself. Also playing The title of Brake’s 15-minute comedy, “The Son Also Rises,” echoes the name of the 1926 Hemingway novel, but has noth- ing to do with bullfighting. Brake is an author and retired university teacher whose claims to fame include giving journal- ist Tom Brokaw a “B” grade in a speech class eons before his successful TV career. Brake and others involved in the production are coy about re- vealing too many details to avoid spoiling the surprises. But Tauber said it makes a perfect double bill. “I thought it was a fun little play,” he said, recalling when he first saw Brake’s script. “It’s a PATRICK WEBB PHOTOS Let there be light. Cast members appearing in Peninsula Players’ latest show, ‘Black Comedy,’ test their flashlights. At front are Patrick Buckley, left, and Melissa Goldberg. Others, left to right, are Natasha Beals, Jim Tweedie, Kevin Perry, Rose Power, Barry Sears and Kathy Warnert. great opening for ‘Black Comedy’ to get people in the mood.” The show parodies Arthur Miller’s 1949 Tony Award-win- ning “Death of a Salesman.” In Brake’s version, subtitled “Willy Loman Redux,” the retired sales- man desperately tries to sway Peninsula Players will also perform ‘The Son Also Rises,’ a short comedy by Ocean Park writer Robert Brake. Pictured are Me- lissa Goldberg and Jim Tweedie, right, as the Lomans, in con- flict with their son, played by Patrick Buckley. his son “Happy” to indulge in a career like his. Three actors from the “Black Comedy” cast do double duty; Tweedie appears as the salesman, Goldberg is his loyal wife and Buckley appears as Happy. Giving away anything further would diminish its comic effect, Brake indicated. “That’s all I’d want prospective audiences to know prior to viewing the play.” In recent years, Brake has become known locally for writing newspaper columns about a range of subjects, including politics In the dark, the cast of ‘Black Comedy’ moves carefully through the cluttered apartment. Left to right are Rose Power, Kathy Warnert, Barry Sears, Kevin Perry and Jim Tweedie. Sears and Warnert play an engaged couple who have stolen neighbor Perry’s character’s antique furniture in an attempt to impress her father, played by Jim Tweedie, right. ‘THE GIMMICK IS “EVERYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG GOES WRONG” — AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG, TOO.” —Andy Tauber director, ‘Black Comedy’ and humor. In 2014, he wrote and directed a one-act play called “Dumpty’s Demise,” a come- dy exploring whether Humpty Dumpty fell to his death or was murdered. CW An artist played by Barry Sears is tempted away from his fian- cée when his former mistress, played by Natasha Beals, arrives unexpectedly at his apartment and discovers everyone is in the dark because of a power failure.
