Profile Theatre Project
October 30, 2005; closes October 30, 2005
Sought truthful family confrontation exposing core vulnerability; found only scattered moments among unwoven pieces of a play. I saw actors acting, some with more pretense than their characters — none bound (by blood or circumstance) to another. Keep it real; secure pivot-point, redraw arc. Impressively detailed scene design by Glenn Gauer.
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Focusing on the Portland, Oregon theatre scene in precisely 50-word increments. followspot@hotmail.com
10 comments:
In Profile's production, Richard Mathews is wonderfully irascible, imperious and just plain nasty as the ruthless, sanctimonious and manipulative Calvin. Unfortunately, Eldon, not Calvin, stands at the family's -- and the play's -- center, both son and father, disappointment and success, exposer and keeper of secrets. And for some reason, Tracy Hinkson has chosen to portray him as a cartoon, a one-dimensional grab bag of muggings and overwrought gestures that drain the believability from scene after scene.
While the rest of the acting is stronger, only Jean Miller as Calvin's rebellious spinster daughter, Lottie, comes close to matching Mathews' performance. When the two of them spar, the stage catches fire. Sadly, their battles are too few and short, like flames that give a glimpse of something greater before winking out.
From "A missed double play: Profile Theatre stages two Lanford Wilson plays at once" by Michael Mcgregor in The Oregonian, Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Somewhat soap opera-esque, it's nothing ingenious either, but it boasts better performances, notably from Stephanie Shininger as a neurotic in-law and Jean Miller as the eccentric aunt.
From
"Talley's Folley, Talley and Son" by Will Gardner in the Portland Mercury, Oct. 13, 2005
There's not a weak link in either cast, with especially outstanding performances coming from Marilyn Stacey and Richard Mathews in Talley and Son ... The best testament to these plays' success: This reviewer is dying to see what happens when the youngest Talleys grow up
by Johanna Doubray in Willamette Week, October 26, 2005
Readers: I'm trying something new here by offering excerpts and links to reviews from other media. Is there any interest in this kind of compilation? Let me know ...
Having the reviews in one place is a great idea. But, since you sometimes get quoted (in theatre ads, etc.), I think it's potentially confusing using the same login id. I suggest that you have an additional login, something like "From other media".
I'd agree with the Annonymous poster above. While I applaud your effort to be even-handed in contrasting your views with other critics(and the links are especially nice), I do think that it'd be good to separate your judgements from theirs with a different log-in.
I'm sure that somewhere in "Bile, Hyperbole and Vitriol: A Theatre Critics Handbook" there's a passage that tells you never to refer to other critics' views on a subject for fear of weakening your own perfect criticism of a piece... but hey, rules were meant to be broken, right? I like seeing the multiple reviews and being able to contrast the points they make. They do it for movies (several newspapers have charts showing the reactions of many critics to the same films) - why can't we do it for theatre?
It's your site, so I'd like your opinion. When other's post, if they post a Mercury or an Oregonian review, so be it, but I can also find those on my own. I think you don't need to provide contrast or even-handedness. This is a blog, not an op-ed site.
I thought it was OK, but the geezer audience the night I saw it just loved this. is it a generational thing?
I for some reason find it distracting to have the other reviews posted. It does provide an interesting contrast, but I kind of like going to this site to just see your opinions. I don't know why.
Thanks for your feedback. I'll stick to searching for my own opinions instead of others'. But don't let that stop you from sharing yours. I don't pretend to know it all -- I just see more of it than most.
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