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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2000)
Page 8 Nov¿mbérT5,'200Q Focus ------------------- (Elje yptUanìt ©beeruer ,,s Godspell: A Modern Day Crucifixion JB II iî Jr V fcaF V, f ¿ó* B y J oy R amos T u t P ortland O bserver For a great retro-70’s time, w atch “ G o d sp e ll” , one o f Broadw ay's most successful productions ever written. The Gospel o f St. Mathew comes alive in this rock musical version o f the drama playing in Portland at the All Saints Episcopal Church, located at 4033 S.E. Woodstock “Godspell,” which means good story in Anglo-Saxon terminol ogy, tells the story o f Christ’s last few days leading up to his fateful crucifixion on a cyclone steel fence. For a modem day twist, Jesus is trailed by flower children wearing tie-dyed T- shirts and blue jeans singing 14 memorable classics such as “Day by Day,” “All Good Gifts”, and “Turn Back, O Man.” The celebration o f the li fe and teachingsofChrist in “Godspell” was ironically written by an athe ist, Stephen Schwartz. It first opened at the Cherry Lane The atre on May 17, 1971, which immediately became a mega hit with a record breaking 2,651 Broadway and off-Broadway performances between 1972 and 1979. As for the local production, talented performers were drawn from throughout the Portland area. With only 8 weeks of preparation time before the open- ing, the cast and crew managed to pull off a rousing performance which its producer, Chuck Mar tin called ‘a miracle’ to put to gether. Overall, the play was great fun to watch. Despite the small stage at the All Saints Epis copal Church, it allowed the au dience to “ feel” the actors' pres ence in an intimate and engaging way. There was hardly a time when the religious themes got What Now? Whatnot O ther Hand Productions at the H ope Theatre and the H ollyw ood Theatre bring late night theater to the Hollywood District over the next several months. B eginning Satur- day.N ov. 11 at 11 p .m ,O th e r Hand Productions presents W H A TN O T featuring puppetry, m ask, m ove ment, and music. O th e r H an d P r o d u c tio n 's W HATNOT ism adeupofindividual images, phrases, or situations: a xylophone m issing its eighth note, masks created from tape recorders, a dog that becom es a flowering tree. It’sacollection o f fase mating, funny, and som etim es poignant images that cannot be labeled or catego rized, but merely hinted at as WHAT NOT. The perform ance is very interac tive, relying on the audience to pick the order. A group o f objects from w hich the audience chooses acti vates each piece in the performance. The show will not only be in a differ ent order each tim e it’s perform ed, but as the ensem ble adds new ly d e v e lo p e d p ie c e s th e c o n te n t changes at each show as well. W H A TN O T was developed in Portland three years ago and per formed at the Rexal 1 Rose on A Iberta. Critic Phyllis Yes wrote: “These thes- pians are fine pretenders who trans fo rm th e s p a c e b e fo re y o u r ey e s...fro m an artist’s studio in France to a neighborhood in Ja pan." Last year an excerpt from the show show cased O ff-Broadw ay in N ew York to critical acclaim. Re view er Larry Engler wrote: “O n e o f m y personal favorites. ..It is one o f those pieces that appeals to every age group. I was totally charm ed and captivated by this lyrical and hum orous piece.” Now the perform ers bring the piece back to Portland for a hom e com ing. The Hope Theater is lo cated at 1807 NE 39lh above Baskin- Robbins and offers a very intimate setting w hich w orks well for this production. The H ollyw ood T he atre will show films on the weekends at 11 p.m. fo ra 12-week-late-night- series w hich will run in conjuction with W HATNOT beginning in Janu ary. These films are everything from 5 0 ’s cult classics to M ystery-Sci- ence-T heatre type interaction with films. This show is the result o f a very different w ay o f creating for O ther Hand Productions The ensem ble sat down with 3x5 cards and jo tted dow n various ideas for the show. Through improvisation, just a few o f those ideas w ere developed. Som e o f them, such as Old M an Who Made Trees Blossom, have been waiting to be produced for years w hile others such as X ylophone w ere b om in this process. The com pany will continue to de velop new pieces in this w ay throughout the run o f the show , adding them as they are ready for an audience. The first perfor mance wi 11 be on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11 p.m. and runs every Saturday until M arch 3 (no per form ance on Dec. 30,h) at the Hope T heater located at 1807 NE 39lh. Tickets are $10 in ad vance and $ 12 at the door. For more information, call 503-282- 7048 or visit www.otheihandproductions.com. too heavy. Jesus Christ and his followers lightened the moments up with parables and storytell ing using pantomime, charades and vaudeville. “Godspell” is a G-rated show that’s sure to appeal to audi ences o f all ages. The combina tion o f modern-day humor, catchy music and traditional dra matic themes make this a play worth going to see. Playingtimes for “Godspell” are Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. To order, call 503/786-0568. For further information, call Chuck Martin at 503/236-3895 or by email at chmartinfgfix.netcom.com. Big City Produce Named BEST FRESH MARKET in Portland 1999 !! Buy the Case, Buy the Pound, or Buy the Bunch, You Save BIG at Big City Produce! Best Greens in Portland. Best ethnocentric selections in Portland. 722 N. Sumner St. (Corner of M. Albina & N. Sumner) One Block West of JeffersonHigh School. 503-460-3830 Open 7 Days a Week Mon-Fri 7:30 - 7:00 pm Sat. 9:00am - 6pm Sun. 10:00am - 6pm Cable Rates Are On The Rise Again... 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