Dutchman

The David Mamet School for Boys
August 15 - 23, 2008

Review by peanutduck

1960s, subway car, white woman initiates game of abusive seduction with black man. Murray’s Lula teasingly gropes Clay while racial slurs roll off her tongue, yet Najieb’s Clay barely flinches. Emotional and/or sexual connection between actors is absent, preventing sense of mounting danger; thus, climax, rather than shocking, falls flat.

Mimesophobia (Or Before and After)

Sand and Glass Productions
August 8 - 23, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Two filmmakers create a movie based on actual murder/suicide. But where truth ends and fiction begins quickly becomes unclear. Like Hitchcock for the ears, action lies in spoken (occasionally overwhelming) text – dizzyingly bizarre, rich with suspense, black humor. Some beats mis-hit, could be more physicality; however, refreshingly original, skillfully done.

Cannibal! The Musical

Third Eye Theatre
July 25 - August 23, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Cannibal!, by South Park’s Trey Parker, is cannibalism deficient and generally lacks that SP imaginativeness, which could have made this wonderfully camp. The amateurish production interprets bad singing, dancing as all that’s needed for a spoof. But it just makes this show bad, and not bad enough to be good.

High School Musical

Blue Monkey Theater Co.
August 1 - 31, 2008

Review by peanutduck

These kids deserve voice work; mics don’t suffice, especially given the poor sound system. And this is a major detraction from an effortful production of Disney’s cheeseball musical. Acting is so-so, but during well-choreographed group numbers the primarily teenage ensemble works together excellently, and their enthusiasm and energy are infectious.

Annie Warbucks

Tin Pan Alley
July 13 - August 9, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Be prepared to ignore the lighting, set, projections, terrible acoustics...and Annie. Instead, focus on the gem performers, of which there are a surprising number, from scene-stealing Sandy (Willow), to the Commissioner (Kimball) and Mrs. Kelly (Shaw), to pig-tailed orphan Pepper (Haroldson). Overall, an odd blend of professional and what-were-they-thinking show.

Pippin

Tin Pan Alley
July 11 - August 10, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Pippin is easily among the worst musicals conceived. That aside (if possible), costumes titillate, and Shannon’s choreography embodies sex, circus, and twice, wow. Other gems: Juggler (Blair), Catherine (Boccumini), Berthe (Kimball). Pippin (Bond), Leading Player (Boothe) sometimes off-key; direction overplays irony. Tin Pan Alley’s debut is imperfect, but not unpromising.

Man to Man

The Kelman Group
July 18 - August 2, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Story compels – in wartime, a woman switches gender in order to survive. At its best, text is poetic, playful, affecting. But text, along with time, place, POV are just as often unclear. Taru’s physical definition is strong but husky monotone makes character transitions difficult to track. Left bewildered and disappointed.

JAW: Pony

Portland Center Stage
July 20, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Great characters but the story and relationships are unclear. What interested: no one is who he or she seems to be – physically or emotionally. Three of the characters are trans or passing; nice Marie finds a murderous crime of passion erotic. Passing thought: would this work better as a movie?

JAW: Crazy Enough

Portland Center Stage
July 20, 2008

Review by peanutduck

How can one not enjoy the lyric, “my vagina is eight miles wide,” carried by Storm’s throaty voice? Her history is fascinating. Fingers crossed that revisions strengthen the text, which doesn’t yet do her story justice, and she relaxes, enabling her passion, palpable in song, to flow through her storytelling.

JAW: A Brief Narrative of an Extraordinary Birth of Rabbits

Portland Center Stage
July 19, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Of Swanson’s original one-act, one page survives; she leaves with 99 new pages of an incomplete, wildly imaginative two-act involving a surrogate mother birthing rabbits, a philosophical stork, an obstetrical farce puppet theatre. It has a too-many-writers-wielding-the-pen feeling but once the guiding voice is found, it’ll be a laugh-your-ass-off adventure.

JAW: Paradise Street

Portland Center Stage
July 19, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Enter TJ, a combative, homeless woman whose attack on a post-post-feminist theorist catalyzes the downfall of three of the privileged upper-class – one to prison, two working at “Mega-Mart.” Congdon’s play is a tornado of ideas, ironic commentary, and keeps us guessing. Second act weaker as it meanders, loses focus, tension.

Les Miserables

The Broadway Rose Theatre Co.
June 27 - July 20, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Captivating: grossly attractive Thenardier (Pierce); staccato, anal-retentive Javert (Norby); Enjolras (Willis) - I would follow anywhere; Eponine’s (Murphy) “I love him.” Yes, the orchestra’s markedly lost; but what really prevents this production from shining is the lack of theatrical magic to lift it from darkness and, well, into the stars.

The Last Five Years

Stumptown Stages
May 30 - June 28, 2008

Review by peanutduck
Final performance

A problematic, mediocre musical - lyrically, musically, structurally - made semi-enjoyable in this production by Wheatley’s pure, earnest voice. Johannes, who occasionally sings with an odd country twang, lacks spark or humanity (even as ‘Schmuel’) until three-quarters in. The set is distractingly flimsy, and silly-couple projections incongruent with relationship’s de-evolution/evolution.

New Believers

Fever Theater
June 12 - July 5, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Red-frocked, naïve newborn Ni captivates at first sight; John’s intense gaze (be brave – choose a flower) evokes nervous laughter. But intimacy created in these first pieces through audience interaction is missing in larger space; evening becomes mish-mash of repetitive electronica and movement that interests but never completely coheres. Consult Beliephalizor.

Eloise and Ray

Integrity Productions
May 29 - June 28, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Ovid, Colorado - dusty, dangerous, where people make trouble to pass the time. Ray exudes barely controlled violence, becoming captivatingly creepy; long-limbed Eloise - gawky desperation. Pearl choreography beautiful. Landscape slow, quiet, but overdone with profusion of pauses; overlapping duologues incoherent; The Actress’s presence ill-fitting. (Actors/resses - tie back hair.)

The Little Dog Laughed

Portland Center Stage
May 2 - June 29, 2008 (Extended)

Review by peanutduck

Surprisingly substantial; you laugh while being punched in the gut...if you laugh at all. Beneath masks of uber-stylishness, self-absorption four people battle, and are sacrificed by, not only the Hollywood slaughterhouse, but societal expectations and hypocrisy. At times too neat, emotionally trite, and/or rushed, but a solid, affecting play nonetheless.

Doubt: A Parable

Portland Center Stage
May 20 - June 15, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Doubt provides no answers – only a spiral of gray questions; and the priest’s innocence or guilt is the least of them. Shanley’s provocative script is the star; Pitts’ brief appearance as Mrs. Muller – among the most interesting characters recently created - a close second. Taini’s Sister Aloysius too heavy-handedly hateful.

The History Boys

Artists Repertory Theatre
May 2 - June 8, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Why this play now? Clichéd prep school drama - impressionable, overly clever boys, staff rivalry, sexual repression/expression, boy-fondling, teacher as subversive leader. Script, and played up by direction, often heavy-handed, overly ironic; scenes rarely more than platform sound bites. It is the ensemble’s skill and commitment that makes it endurable.

For:Give

Insight Out
May 1 - 17, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Arresting, complex, messy. Tempest as modern day metaphor for corporate greed, population dis/re-placement, manipulation, powerlust by both Prospero (Priscilla/abused) and Antonio (Tanya/abuser), mostly works; some choices questionable. Allison Tigard, mythical; soundscape haunting; Ensemble as Ariel, predatory. Use of Tempest text detracts, cross-casting intentions confusing. Ending rushed, forgiveness theme lost, unearned.

Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Third Rail
April 25 - May 24, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Kupper’s legendary combative cockerel could rule any roost. Don’t attack palsied Cuomo and Steinkamp, a.k.a. judo-masters-in-training and sexy finger champs. And the third piece happily left me in the dark. The plays are irreverent but not cruel; with laughter comes acceptance - and vice versa - of our personal disabilities/challenges/foibles/eff-ups/humanity.