COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL August 26, 2015
9A
Opal Center's latest offers epic laughs
Greek mythology gets a taste of comedy from a veteran cast
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
job well done — and with well
over a minute to spare, no less.
As a humanities major in my un-
dergraduate years, I partook in more
than a few hours (months, really) of
the study of Greek (and Roman, and
Norse) mythology, spending entire se-
mesters devoted to scouring my copies
of its great epics, tragedies and fateful
life lessons.
Had the option presented itself, I
would no doubt have availed myself
of the Opal Center for Arts and Educa-
tion’s latest endeavor, titled aptly “The
Iliad, The Odyssey and all of Greek
Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less,”
secure in the knowledge that I had al-
ready witnessed the live, frenzied and
often hilarious “Cliff’s Notes” versions
of stories eons in the making.
While the play took place at the Opal
Center downtown, its cast was com-
posed almost entirely of Cottage The-
atre veterans — fi ve of them, to be ex-
act, each of whom took on more than a
handful of the most iconic and revered
roles ever known to humankind.
The play begins with the start of the
clock — literally in this case, with a
visible countdown that lets the audi-
ence know the show’s intention to de-
liver on its titular promise. It’s a feature
that’s at once thrilling and a tad off-put-
ting, though it certainly leaves no doubt
for the viewer as to what exactly can be
expected.
From the opening tick of the clock,
the action continues apace, spanning
the creation of the world at the hands
of Uranus (a name the actors can’t
bring themselves to say) and leading to
the birth of Zeus, perhaps the strongest
role (pun intended) of Phil Dempsey,
who also gives Poseidon, Perseus and
Achilles a welcome comedic turn and
draws many of the play’s laughs.
The laughs keep coming, with Brad-
ley Wilson providing many a chuckle
as Hera, Zeus’ overbearing wife who
believes (rightly) that her husband has
other women on his mind.
“You’ve never manifested anyone in
a shaft of radiant light for me!” Hera
whines, pink hair and spectacles com-
pleting the costume. Later, Wilson
will provide another cheeky accent for
Trojan hero Hector, even as the eldest
brother of Paris meets his doom.
Not to be outdone is another CT
veteran, Earl Ruttencutter, who dons
a winged helmet to portray Hermes,
messenger of the Gods, and Oedipus,
whose story is treated like an entirely
too complex bit of middle-school gos-
sip.
Not to be outdone are the play’s
ladies, Elaine Slatore and Chelsea
Armstrong, each with their own fair
share of many tangled plots to shoul-
der. Slatore’s Athena stands perfectly
strong and resolute next to the play’s
many male doofuses, and her Oracle is
photo by Jon Stinnett
Zeus (Phil Dempsey) offers Pandora (Chelsea Armstrong) to a de-
lighted Man (Earl Ruttencutter).
the picture of cool in a white wig and
shades. Armstrong, meanwhile, abso-
lutely makes the scene in which she
portrays Pandora and begs repeatedly
for a chance to open the box Zeus has
given her as a wedding gift.
It’s inside jokes like these that make
“99 Minutes or Less” a madcap romp
through subject matter that’s typically
ponderous and a tad dull, though fore-
knowledge of the plots at hand is cer-
tainly not necessary to enjoy the show.
It continues this weekend with shows
at the Opal Center, Aug. 28-30, with
shows beginning at 7 p.m. Friday and
Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
A WARDS
Emma Hitt: photo of animal
2nd; Josie Hitt: photo of ani-
mal 1st; Jillian Lowe: clouds
1st, purple fl owers 1st; Dron
Jones: Bright Eyes 2nd, Tasty
1st, Leaf 2nd, fl y 1st; Holly
Whiting: Patriotic Puppy 3rd,
Snowy Day 3rd, Polar Day
1st, Puppy in the Snow 1st,
Dandelion 2nd; Celia Gow-
ing: Mushrooms & Moss 2nd,
Nesting Gannetts 3rd, Beach
in Raglan 2nd; Holly Lamb:
Bride & Groom 2nd, A Ruff
Smile 2nd, The Busy Bee 3rd,
Cross Country Dreaming 3rd;
Lois French: Family at Baker
Bay 1st; Ken Schwieger: Shar-
ing Knowledge 1st;
Textiles
R
estaurant
Addison Hitt: pillow case 1st;
Josie Hitt: skirt 3rd; Jay Slahi:
wall hanging 3rd; Nadine
Chapin: quilt 3rd; Molly Pat-
terson: baby quilt 2nd, doll 1st,
sweater 2nd 1st (2); Carolyn
Hansen: cowl head wrap 2nd,
head wrap 3rd; Tiffany How-
ell: afghan 3rd, baby afghan
2nd; Joan Goossens: kitchen
set 3rd, scapgha 2nd, pillow
case; Darlene Fanton: Hootie
Pin cushion 3rd, bunny babies
3rd; Carla Rigel: wall hang-
ing 3rd, wall hanging & runner
2nd, fl ag ribbon fl ag 3rd; Amy
Evers: large doily 1st (2), small
doily 2nd (2), baby afghan 1st;
Tinika Ossman Steier: apple
pillow 1st; Jennifer Guevara:
bear picture 1st, cross stitch
angel 2nd, stocking 3rd; Susan
Cameron: quilt 3rd; Marjorie
Steen: Quillo 1st, vest 3rd, pil-
low case 1st, wall hanging 2nd;
Gail Norton: centerpiece doily
Best of Show; Cynthia Chris-
tensen: afghan 3rd, pillowcases
2nd (2); Bessie Spears: hat
2nd; Mary Dorchak: quilt
3rd; Dorthea Perkins: quilt
Best of Show, quilt 1st; Connie
Fenrich: quilt 3rd (4), table
runner 3rd, pinwheel 1st; Sami
Payment: beaded fl owers 3rd,
felted rose 3rd, doll 3rd, purse
1st, gloves 2nd, 3rd; Rachel
Johnson: vest 1st, scarf 1st,
3rd, hat 1st; Peggy Severns:
crochet rug 1st, 2nd(2), Best
of Show; Jim Hueske: cross
stitch picture 1st; Elaine Chap-
G U I D E
Continued from page 7A
man: quilt 3rd; Linda John-
son: quilt 3rd (2), wall hanging
2nd; Barbara White: baby
blanket 2nd; Veronica Geiger:
vest jacket 1st; Belinda Rem-
biszerski: French braid 1st;
Henry Lancaster: vest 3rd;
Art
Ziva Nyburg: Zeva and Winter
1st, Grandpa’s Log Truck, Ros-
es for Mom 2nd; Anriranna
Green: Grandpa’s Log Truck
1st; Maximus Ste Fanek:
3rd; Hunter Rigel: Snow-
man 1st, Gingerbread Cowboy
2nd; Kayla Lane: landscape
1st, cat 1st; Ryan Lane: Lego
characters 2nd, pirate ship 2nd,
shark 1st; Tyson Seaman:
free color 3rd; Eli Williams:
Red Eye Tree Frog 1st; Seth
Lebow: bird 2nd, fl ower 2nd;
Summer Lebow: Night Moon
1st; Tape Mess 1st; Briahna
Guevara: “Killya” 2nd; Sy
Williams: “Other Side of Sea”
1st, “the Rain Forest” Best of
Show; Wyatt Pepiot: George
Straight 1st; Gabriella Seive:
‘darkest hour’ 1st, rose 2nd;
Natalle Brink: pink orchid
3rd, purple orchid 2nd, trio 1st;
Kathleen Vineyard: “Shawn
Peace” Best of Show; Lorraine
Simons: Caleb 1st, penny’s
2nd, Christmas Pear 3rd; Ste-
ven Stroud: dolphin 3rd, seal
2nd; Elizabeth Ehrich: “Ink
Pen” 1st; Horst Hittenberger:
“Mother & Calf” Best of Show,
“Country Eggs 3rd; Marian
Varvel: “Mountain Meadow”
2nd, “Apple Blossom Time”
3rd, “French Villa” 1st; Helen
Wagner: Indian Poppies 2nd;
Rae Ann Pendleton: pastel
horses 1st, clay & acrylic 1st,
foal (clay) 2nd, bear 2nd;
Livestock
Poultry Showmanship: Braiden
Glass 1st; Trinity Hawkins 2nd;
Abigail Stunner 3rd; Chloe
Hinkle 2nd; Kaylee McHugill
3rd; Aspen Brooks 5th. Josef
Pifer 1st; Natalee Brink 2nd;
Cockerel: Trinity Hawkins
1st; Braiden Glass 2nd; Hens:
Josef Pifer 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th;
Chloe Hinkle 5th; Trinity
Hawkins 6th; Natalee Brink
DAILY
BLOODY
LUNCH
MARY
BAR
& DINNER SIUNDAYS
• 12-8PM
S
L
A
I
C
E
SP
NEW HAPPY HOUR
7th; Pullets: Trinity Hawkins
1st; Addison Hitt 4th; Aspen
Brooks 5th; Chloe Hinkle 6th;
Kaylee McHugill 8th; Junior
Boar: Chloe Hinkle 1st; Trinity
Hawkins 2nd; Natalee Brink
3rd; Senior Boar: Chloe Hinkle
1st; Senior Sow: Natalee Brink
1st; Cavies Showmanship:
Emily Jones-Cunningham
2nd; Paige Hinkle 2nd; Rowan
Jones-Cunningham 3rd; Chloe
Hinkle 1st; Kaylee McHugill
2nd; Natalee Brink 2nd; Junior
Buck & Doe: Tycho Butler 1st;
Ryan Lane 3rd; Doe: Destaney
New 1st; Natalee Brink 2nd;
Trinity Hawkins 3rd; Claire
Butler 2nd, Morgan Ellis 5th;
Samantha Ellis 6th; 2nd; Chloe
Hinkle 3rd Natalee Brink 1st;
Kaylee McHugill 2nd; Rabbit
Showmanship: Trinity Hawkins
1st; Claire Butler 2nd; Kayla
Lane 3rd; Ryan Lane 4th;
Kaylee McHugill 1st; Chloe
Hinkle 2nd; Morgan Ellis 4th;
Tycho Butler 5th; Chloe Yoss
6th; Aspen Brooks 8th; Natalie
Brink 1st; Samantha Ellis 4th;
Destaney New 5th; Goat Show-
manship: Lane Youngblood 1st;
Trinity Hawkins 1st; Landon
Hawkins 2nd; Chloe Hinkle
1st; Kaylee McHugill 2nd;
Laney Johnson 1st; Natalee
Brink 4th; Adriannah Hand
5th; Fiber: Natalee Brink 1st;
Chloe Hinkle 1st; Dairy Goats:
Laney Johnson 1st; Trinity
Hawkins 2nd; Landon Hawkins
3rd; Landon Hawkins 1st;
Lane Youngblood 2nd; Trinity
Hawkins 3rd; Landon Hawkins
1st; Trinity Hawkins 2nd;
Laney Johnson 1st; Adriannah
Hand 2nd; Laney Johnson 1st;
Laney Johnson 1st, 2nd; Kaylee
McHugill 4th; Laney Johnson
1st; Laney Johnson 1st; Sheep
Showmanship: Addison Hitt
1st; Emma Hitt 1st; Josie Hitt
2nd; Cherish New 3rd; Julie
New 1st; Destaney New 1st;
Lambs: Emma Hitt 1st; Ad-
dison Hitt 2nd; Josie Hitt 3rd;
Julie New 1st; Cherish New
2nd; Destaney New 3rd; Swine
Showmanship: Tyanna New
1st; Kela New 2nd; Kenny New
3rd; Tyanna New 1st; Kenny
New 1st; Tyanna New 2nd;
Kela New 3rd; Cattle Show-
manship: Landon Hawkins 1st,
1st;
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representative
about placing your
restaurant ad here.
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