PAGE 16 • GO! MAGAZINE
Thursday, June 10, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn
CENTRAL OREGON ARTS SCENE
bendbulletin.com/gosee
THEATER COMPANIES EAGER
TO GET BACK ON THE BOARDS
BY DAVID JASPER • The Bulletin
A
fter month upon month of consuming our entertainment through screens, those who love the excitement and immediacy of live performance have
something to celebrate: local theater producers are setting the stage for the return of live theater.
With Oregon oh-so-close to the tipping
point — 70% of citizens receiving at least
one COVID-19 vaccination shot, the met-
ric Gov. Kate Brown has set for reopening
— area thespians are almost done waiting in
the wings.
This summer will see the return of com-
munity theater at Cascades Theatrical Com-
pany, where the drama “Revenge and Sor-
row in Thebes” is slated to run July 16-25.
“It is a go,” director Marla Manning said
of the show, written by Central Oregon play-
wright Stephanie Vandergrift, who describes
it as “a reformulation of the Greek classic
tragedy, “The Bacchae of Euripides.”
The July run will mark the first time “Re-
venge and Sorrow in Thebes” has been fully
staged in Oregon, according to Manning,
whose Sisters-based Silent Echo Theater
Company presented a reading of it three
years ago.
The show calls for 18 actors. Casting be-
gan in May, but took a little longer than ex-
pected, Manning said Tuesday. The cast in-
Submitted photo
Theater in the Park will return to Drake Park with “Into the Woods” in August. Seen here is the
set-up for Theater in the Park’s 2019 production of “La Cage aux Folles.”
cludes five teens.
“I’m not sure how old our oldest cast
member is, but basically, it ranges from
teens to 70s, so that’s nice,” she said. “True
community theater.”
With about five weeks to go before open-
ing night, “our time is a little crunched,”
Manning said. “It’s pretty close … but I’m
also trying to make sure people have their
summer and not have to be at the theater
every night.”
After this long away, they may not com-
plain. If you’re looking for something lighter
on-stage entertainment at CTC sooner than
July might want to catch “A Uniquely Of-
fensive Comedy Showcase: Sister Ethel &
Friends” on June 25. It stars local comedians
Danny Hoffman, Romia Hips, Debbie Har-
rington, Amy Campbell, and Jake Wood-
mansee.
Manning also expects her nonprofit com-
pany Silent Echo to return with its annual
one-act show, “Now You’re Talking,” some-
time in or after September. Last year’s March
run had to be cut short as the COVID cur-
tain began to come down.
“The goal is to keep our record up and
still do the one-act in 2021. Just, it will be a
different time of year,” Manning said.
Continued on next page
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