Building a play on a central gimmick can either work wonders or completely derail a show. “Black Comedy” has a gimmick that has to be bought into or everything else will fall apart. It’s a gutsy proposition and “Black Comedy” pulls it off with aplomb. Brindsley Miller is a young sculptor who, along with his […]
Theatre
Posted inCulture
Lots and Lots of Coffee
Seven plays, creation to production, in 24 hours
I am not what anyone would call an experienced theater director. I have only two shows under my belt, both within the last two years. Basically, I’m making it up as I go, with only my years as an actor working for great directors to guide me. The upcoming 24/Seven Theater Project will not only […]
Posted inCulture
Growing Apart Together
“The Last Five Years” deconstructs a marriage
“The Last Five Years,” at 2nd Street Theater, was written by Jason Robert Brown and premiered in Chicago in 2001, eventually moving Off-Broadway in 2002. That year the show won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics and was nominated for several more awards. Most recently, in 2014, Richard Lagravenese (“P.S. I Love […]
Posted inMusic
Midnight Radio
Hedwig puts the wig back on her head
The Angry Inch slowly comes on stage, tuning instruments while the bassist banters with the audience in her thick, German accent. Hedwig’s assistant, husband and backup singer Yitzhak (played by director JoEllen Ussery) comes to the stage to say that Hedwig is in the dressing room, being a diva again and the show will start […]
Posted inCulture
Presumed Guilty
“12 Angry Jurors” raises difficult questions
“12 Angry Jurors” is a combination of a few different things. It takes the script based on Reginald Rose’s 1954 teleplay and small pieces of the script for “12 Angry Women” by Sherman Sergel and mashes them together. The 1957 Henry Fonda film is still in circulation, so multiple generations are familiar with the seminal […]
Posted inCulture
“Tarzan,” the Musical, Swings Into Bend
The future of theatre is in BEAT’s good hands
Bend Experimental Art Theatre (BEAT) will present the Disney musical production “Tarzan” from May 6 to 15 at Summit High School. The cast for this award-winning musical includes more than five dozen young performers and a live orchestra of youth musicians. Local actor Steven Livingston is playing Tarzan and Eva Merrill plays Jane. The play […]
Posted inCulture
Playing with Words
Mamet’s “American Buffalo”
Derek Sitter, owner of Volcanic Theatre Pub, is directing and acting in David Mamet’s 1975 work, “American Buffalo.” This play is not just strong in language, but is also powerful in its social commentary on the decline of, what was then and is still now, the family and social structure. Producing this play has been […]
Posted inCulture
“Dog Sees God” Opens
The Peanuts gang grows up in an unauthorized parody
“Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” is an original play by Bert V. Royal that follows the lives of the characters from the famous comic strip, Peanuts. Kids grow up, as they do, and the beloved characters in this unauthorized parody, are no exception to the rule. If the expectation is that of […]
Posted inCulture
Never Too Much Of A Good Thing
Three siblings and a prophet
Bendites are getting the chance to see some world-class plays performed locally this year. Tis the season for award-winning productions in Central Oregon. Cascade Theatrical Company is presenting the Tony Award-winning play, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” this month, and the play runs through March 26. Central Oregon has excellent theatrical choices all […]
Posted inCulture
Theater As Catharsis
“Next to Normal” finds beauty in pain
“Next to Normal,” the new show by 2nd Street Theater, is based on a Pulitzer-winning Broadway rock musical that tells the story of a family on the brink of collapse. Diana Goodman is trying to be a good mother and an attentive wife, even as her bipolar disorder worsens by the day. She is hallucinating […]