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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2000)
Wfye F o rtia n i» ffib a e rü e r---------------------- Focus November 15, 2000 Page 3 Arts A Celebration of Female Friendships with Steel Magnolias The Maggie TheaterCompany is thrilled this year to be back and opening its 2000-2001 season with Robert Harlings’ well-known play “Steel Magnolias.” Filled with the spirit of life and teeming with laugh ter, this warm and witty celebration o f female friendships is sure to bring a smile and a tear. A memorable favorite, “Steel Magnolias” wholeheartedly embod ies the mission ofT he Maggie The ater Company; To produce quality works o f art that simply tell the sto ries o f women. We are committed to themes that are universal coming of age themes for women. Identity, family, girlfriends, mentors and he roes. Themes that present the truths o f our own experiences as women without defining us as anything but real people. Simply telling the sto ries o f all kinds ofwomen: rich, poor, awkward, and sophisticated, house wives and lawyers, artists and world leaders, athletes and scientists and laughter. W e’re hoping that every one who steps through the doors of this production feels as if they are coming back to a familiar place where a good cup o f coffee, friendly con versation, laughter and even tears are enough to warm the soul. In a quaint well-kept Louisiana Hamlet, a local group o f women con gregate at Truvy’s Beauty Salon where “anybody w ho’s anybody” comes to have their hair done. They gossip and giggle while preparing one another for life’s tragedies and terrific triumphs. Aided by her young assistant Annelle, whose peculiar past is enough to gain her accep tance into the cliquish coffee klatch, the outspoken, wise cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free ad vice to the ladies o f the town. There is the rich curmudgeon, Ouiser, an eccentric millionaire (“I ’m not crazy, I’ve just been in a bad mood for 40 years”); Miss Clairee, the tow n’s former first lady; and M ’Lynn, the local social leader. Lately, the talk of the town has been about M ’Lynn Eatenton ’ s daughter Shelby and her upcoming wedding to one o f the “good ole boys”. Brimming with comedic dialogue and many acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collissions, the play moves toward tragedy when Shelby who is a dia betic risks her life to become preg nant and this sudden realization of mortality affects all and draws on the underlying strength and love o f its characters. By making them truly touching and real, Robert Harling’s memorableplay definitely brings the powers o f love, friendships, and laughter to the stage. The Maggie Theatre Company’s showing o f “Steel Magnolias” will be at the Firehouse Theater, 1436 SW Montgomery from Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. throughout November until Dec. 9. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. For more information, call 503/708-8554. As a special holiday event, if you bring an unwrapped new toy to ei ther the Nov. 19 or Dec. 3 Sunday matinee 2 p.m. performances, Ms. Truvy will welcome you with open arms and a free seat! The Maggie Theater Company will donate the toys throughout the city to children o f all ages! Cygnet Spotlights WW I Poets in Fall Production Cygnet Productions presents a literary caberet reading o f “Not about H e r o e s ,” S te p h e n M acDonald’s intimate exploration o f the friendship betw een W ilfred O w en and Siefried Sassoon, two o f E ngland’s most lauded W orld W ar I poets, brought together by the shared horror o f war. D irected by Jon K retzu, “Not about H eroes” will run through Nov. 19. N ew com er to Portland Je ffre y S zu sterm an w ill play W ilfred Owen and Portland vet eran G rant B yington will play Siegfried Sassoon. Set design is by Tim Stapleton, and lighting design is by Jam ie Rea. T h e p la y u n f o ld s w h en Siegfried Sassoon, m ost famous for “M emoirs o f a Fox Hunting M an,” finds h im self stuck in a m ental hospital after refusing to lead his troops into w hat he has com e to believe is a senseless war. There he meets Wilfred Owen, a budding poet later made famous for his “A nthem for D oom ed Y outh,” who has been hospital ized for an aggravated case o f shell shock. First tolerant author and ador ing fan, then teacher and pupil, and finally friends o f a deeply passionate and passionately re served nature, Sassoon and Owen en discover in each other a shared commitment to telling the unpopu lar truth about the “G reat W ar” . This fragilely built com m union is ultim ately tom apart when both betray their pacifist convictions to return to the front in fruitless a tte m p ts to c o n fro n t p riv a te ghosts o f fear and nihilist desire. All performances will be taking place at The Russell Street T he ater, located at 116 NE Russell St. in Portland. Show times are Thurs day, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m . Tickets are $6 for Preview, $ 12 Thursdays and Sundays, and $15 Fridays and Saturdays. Student and Senior rates are available. Tickets may be reserved by calling 503/295-3555. The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions T he S chool o f Fine and P er fo rm in g A rts at P o rtlan d State U n iv ersity is p roud to host the O reogn D istrict auditions for the -M etropolitan O pera. T he au d itio n s are at 1 p.m . on Sunday, N ov. 19 in L incoln P er formance Hall. Admission is free. T he d istric t w in n er from P o rt land m ove on to the N o rth w est reg io n al a u d itio n s in S eattle on M arch 4. O regon is one o f five d i s t r i c t s th a t c o m p r is e th e N o rth w est R egion. “ I t ’s alw ay s e x citin g to have the M ET a u d itio n s here on cam p u s,” said Prof. R uth D obson, D irecto r o f P S U ’s O pera T h e a te r P rogram . “ PSU is alw ays w ell rep re se n te d at the a u d i tions. O ur K elly N a ssie f w on in P o rtlan d and w ent on to be a N ational Aw ards winner a couple o f years ago, and last y e a r’s w inner w as PSU alum A ngela N eid erlo h , w ho w ent on to win in the S eattle R egionals and got to perform on stag e at the M ET w ith full o rc h e stra . It w as a tre m en d o u s e x p e rie n c e, and was an im p o rta n t b eg in n in g to her p ro fe ssio n a l c a re e r.” S ince g ra d u a tin g from PSU a n d th e M E T c o m p e titio n , N ie d e rlo h has p erfo rm ed w ith the O regon Sym phony, the C ho ral A rts E n sem b le, N ew Y o rk ’s C h a u ta u q u a O p e r a , O p e r a S o u th w e s t in A lb u q u e r q u e , N M , and O pera O m aha. T he goal o f the M etropolitan O p e ra ’s N atio n al C ouncil A udi tions P rogram is to find e x c e p tio n a lly ta le n te d o p era singers, aged 19 - 33, and to a ssist them in their developm ent, to discover new ta le n t fo r the M etropolitan O p era and to search for p o s sib le p a rtic ip a n ts in the Y oung A rtist D ev elo p m en t Program o f the M ET. A p p lican ts m ust have a voice w ith o p erativ e po ten tial: ex cep tional qu ality , range, projection, c h arism a, co m m u n icatio n and n atu ral b eau ty . V oice training and m usical b ackground is a req u irem en t. T hey m ust dem o n stra te an a b ility to sing c o r re c tly in m ore than one lan guage and give evid en ce o f a r tistic aptitude. A pplicants m ust be p re p a re d to sing five o p e r atic arias in the o rig in al lan guages and keys and in m ore than one language and co n tra st ing styles. A rias should be com m ensurate w ith the sin g e r’s age and level o f a b ility and m ay be no lo n g er than eight m inutes each in length. The ap p lic a n t w ill be p erm itted to sing an aria o f h is/h e r choice; the ju d g e s m ay then request an o th er aria (o r arias) for the purposes o f com parison. T he M etropolitan O pera N a tio n al C ouncil A u ditions p ro gram began in M inneapolis/S t. P aul in 1954. O ver the years, these a u d itio n s have expanded to 17 regions, w hich include the U nited S tates, C anada, A u stra lia, and P uerto Rico. MOVIES NIGHTLY W EEKEN D MATINEES E n j o y c o m f y c h a ir s , p iz z a an d b e v e r a g e s at th e sh o w F o r S c h e d u l e i n f o r m a t i o n c a ll: 2 2 5 - 5 5 5 5 e x t .8 8 3 3 5736 NE 33rd • Portland. Oregon w w w .m cm cn am m s.com
