CULTUREPHILE: PORTLAND ARTS

Review: West Side Story

Posted by: Anne Adams on Jan 05, 2012 at 02:00PM 2 Comments

We all know the story: Maria and Tony love each other, the Sharks and the Jets hate each other, and it all culminates (like the Shakespearean tragedy it reprises) in a handful of regrettable deaths. Yet remarkably, this Romeo & Juliet redux has maintained its popularity for half a century, thanks in large part to its glorious Bernstein/Sondheim songbook that people literally still sing all the time. Girls named Maria are frequently regaled with their namesake song “Maria,” “There’s a Place for Us” remains a standing anthem for a legion of misfits, and “One Hand, One Heart” is practically as common as Canon in D at weddings. (And let’s not overlook the occasional embarrassment of hearing a primping woman burst into “I Feel Pretty.”) On merit of the material’s popularity alone, this year’s Broadway production of West Side is sure to hammer the heartstrings.

That said, there’s room for improvement, thanks in large part to a recent production of Billy Elliot upsetting the Broadway bell-curve. Where Elliot tore into the politcally-relevant topics of gay pride and labor dispute with razor-sharp political teeth, West Side doesn’t hook into its parallel opportunity to address the immigration debate with quite the same veracity. The choice to go with the bilingual 90’s rewrite of the original script is a step in the right direction, legitimizing the Puerto Rican characters as realistic Spanish-speakers, but under-enunciation in both languages ultimately compromises Sondheim’s witty political commentary, especially during critical number “America,” while arcane 50’s gee-whiz vernacular is delivered sans modern spit, keeping the narrative firmly rooted in a bygone time and place. Maria’s “I can kill now because I hate now” is the sole line that pierces through the quaintness of the past with heart-stopping significance.

Realistic casting has always been a stumbling block for Story; famously saddled with the challenge of presenting “gangsters” who also gracefully jazz-dance, the play delivers more of the latter than the former. Lead Jets Riff (Drew Foster) and Tony (Ross Lekites) could borrow a little more attack from the world-class 10-year-olds who did Elliot ‘s “angry dance,” or from their pugnacious costar Action (Jon Drake). Lead Shark Bernardo (German Santiago), however, brings plenty of fuego to his gang, and ensemble Jets numbers (especially the sans-Riff “Officer Krupke”) are refreshingly ragtag. Anyway, the implausibility of dancing gangsters is arguably part of West Side’s kitschy fun, even lampooned in the late 90s by a few winking GAP ads.

While the cast’s synchronized snapping mostly remains tongue-in-cheek, scenic designer James Youman’s sets are seriously stunning and realistic. Drenched in sunset mauves, crisscrossed with chainlink, bars and bridges, they pop with a presence that feels as much Eastside industrial Portland, as West Side New York. It becomes relatively easy to imagine the Jets and Sharks rumbling right under the Morrison Bridge, somewhere in the concrete badlands around the Montage—with varying gangster intensity, but a unified devotion to these timeless, treasured songs.

For more about Portland arts, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

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Tags: Theater, Review, musical, broadway

Monday Fun: Hedwig

Posted by: Anne Adams on Aug 08, 2011 at 08:00AM 1 Comments

This past Saturday, while bluegrass bloomed at Pickathon and Fire in the Canyon ignited Horning’s Hideout, one John Cameron Mitchell kept Portland proper rocking with a DJ/dance party at Mississippi Studios. Hence, we dedicate our Monday Fun to Hedwig, Mitchell’s alter-ego.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who’ve seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and those who should. The 1998 musical/2001 film centers around a blonde German drag-queen debutante—but whether or not that’s your “thing,” the story has a wealth to offer. Immigrant politics, mentor/protegee tension, the nature of public identity, and even The Origin of Love are covered, while wickedly catchy rock opera tunes (like this one) command audiences to sing along.

Ever since I first saw this movie in theaters, I’ve been waiting for Rocky Horror to cede its midnight tranny sing-along tiara. Hedwig begs for the kind of repeat screenings and cultish party scene that Horror has long held, and we suspect that its popularity, more than an appetite for dance DJ’s, is what packed Mississippi Studios on Saturday. Happy Monday! Put on your makeup.

For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

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Tags: music, monday fun, musical, video

Review: Ten Reasons To See Billy Elliot

This tap-dancing, tear-jerking Broadway favorite has a lot going for it.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 09, 2011 at 07:00AM 4 Comments

The Civics Lesson
Billy Elliot was inspired by the actual UK miners’ strike of 1984, but just so happens to be touring in 2011, as Wisconsin state workers’ unions find themselves under threat and in the news. It’s a case of life-imitates-art-imitates-life, ad infinitum, and hence makes a handy entry point for a conversation with your kids about current events.

Tap Dance and Jump Rope
…together at last! They make it look easy while singing a number called—what else?—“Born to Boogie.”

The Older Gals
Billy Elliot’s Granny basically has one moment to shine—literally, as she reveals a pink sequined dress under her housecoat, and sings of her torrid love affair with Billy’s granddad, a handsome dancin’ nogoodnik whom she loved best when they both were drunk. (This waltz is musically one of the prettiest pieces, and the choreography of the cadre of handsome men who represent granddad’s old crew, is classically “Fosse.”) Meanwhile, Faith Prince as dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson inspires both love and fear—no small feat while dancing up a storm in shreikingly loud legwarmers.

Dancing Dresses
Billy’s got a cross-dressing buddy Michael, who, during the course of the story, helps us grasp the finer distinctions between loving to dance, and being a “poof.” But boy, can that little guy get down. In the highest point of hilarity, a number titled “Express Yourself,” Michael explains in song why he loves to wear dresses, coaxes Billy into a few choice frocks, and sashays around the stage as backup dancers, dressed as giant empty dresses, form a kickline against a shimmering wall of tinsel. Hey, Michael: The Scissor Sisters want their stage act back.

The Dialect Coach
These people speak in a Northern English accent—but don’t worry, it sounds “spot-on” enough that all but the stodgiest linguists will quickly forget it’s affected.

The Inevitable Tear-Jerk
Billy’s mom is dead the whole show, and we don’t really know why. But when she returns in ghost form to embrace him and offer words of encouragement, your mascara doesn’t stand a chance. The real-life mother and son seated on Culturephile’s left, were clinging to each other for dear life. If you’re a softie for hard-nosed old codgers trying to change their ways, Billy’s dad will get to you, too. And if a “whole town rallies behind one guy” scenario opens your floodgates—well, this play has that too. Bring a tissue, ’cause your ducts will meet their doom.

B-boy Billy?!
Rest assured, no matter which night you go, you’re gonna get a great Billy. All four of the boys tapped for this role are Broadway-worthy little pro’s, and fourteen-year-old Aussie Daniel Russell proved as much on Wednesday by earning a standing O. That said, there’s one Billy in the bunch who may bring a little extra “flava”—Californian breakdance-trained Lex Ishimoto. Program notes reveal that Ishimoto dances some scenes differently from the other three Billys, so if you happen to catch him, you might see some especially fresh moves.

The “Angry Dance”
The “angry dance,” love or hate it, has taken on a life of its own, spoofed by myriad comedy shows and defined by modern critics as a trope. Some cite Footloose, Breakfast Club and Hedwig, but almost all acknowledge Billy Elliot as a prime example of the form. In a bid to defend its notoriety, this production pulls out the stops. Young Billy rails against a British Coal boxcar, karate-kicks through a salvo of strobe lights, stumbles amid billows of smoke, and finally throws himself at an advancing row of riot cops. Beat that, Kevin Bacon.

Dad’s Song
One look at Rich Hebert, with his salt-and-pepper buzz-cut and gruff demeanor, tells you why he’s held a host of roles as a TV cop. And he spends most of the play in that mode: yelling at Billy and jostling around with fellow strikers in the union hall. But after too many beers at a union Christmas party, the plainspoken patriarch suddenly turns misty-eyed poet, singing about his descent into the mines, and his wife’s later retreat into the grave. On a par with Andy Griffith’s front-porch serenades and Archie Bunker’s revealing rants, Hebert’s performance delivers the wrenching catharsis of watching a tough dad crack.

A Conflicted Victory
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Billy Elliot has a happy ending, with young Billy earning the chance to pursue his dancin’ dreams in the big wide world. That said, his goodbye is not completely cut-and-dry, as the family Billy leaves behind continues to pursue a dying trade in a struggling town. “There’s f*ck-all here for ya, Billy,” says his teacher, advising him to go forward and not look back. As he does so, we feel not only his giddy anticipation, but also the poignant pangs of his family’s sacrifice.

Billy Elliot will be at the Keller Auditorium through April 17. For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

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Tags: Theater, Review, musical, broadway

Weekend Picks!

Farm-fresh roots rock, arborial acrobatics, Buddhist revels, and Broadway classics

Posted by: Anne Adams on Aug 06, 2010 at 12:00PM 1 Comments

Sand, sailors, and the formidable Bloody Mary, blow through town on a South Pacific Broadway breeze.

First Friday
First Thursday. Last Thursday. It seems every gallery district wants to lay claim to one notable monthly day. In biblical parlance, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first,”—and if too many more neighborhoods do this, Culturephile will cease to know first from last, or head from a**. That said, Central Eastside calls official dibs on First Friday, and invites you to revel in the burgeoning eclectica of its galleries. And it’s actually looking pretty good. Some highlights: Newspace Center for Photography will feature New Work by much-lauded anthropology-minded photographer Linda Connor. Poboy Art will showcase the prolific and intricate rock-poster designs of EMEK, and newly-gilded gallery Golden Rule’s grand opening, will hypnotize with the brightly-colored folk illustrations of Inner Lands by Howard Gillam, which manage to simultaneously evoke Medieval manuscript illuminations, and South-American animal totems.

South Pacific
Culturephile caught this production with an intent to review it. But since Culturephile’s date was too swept-up in beach fantasies to endure any hints at critique, and the production itself will pull out with the tide by the time this weekend subsides (it ends Sunday)—South Pacific lands in Weekend Picks. Suffice to say the production is near-perfect. It breezes into town from Broadway, complete with all amenities: A-level singing, acting, and dancing; photorealistic sets; and a rigorous commitment to the classic material. As an added bonus, this show turns up its tropical heat with High School Musical 2 alum Anderson Davis as Lieutenant Cable, who is every bit as “damn sexy” as the character Bloody Mary’s lines purport him to be.

That said, be forewarned: While it’s easy to be beguiled into island delirium, and while the singing and dancing completely “sell it,” it’s hard to overlook the offhanded xenophobia that comes with the script. Yes, we’re transported to a beautiful beach; on the other hand, we’re deployed into World War II, and hence have to overhear a lot of smack-talk about “the Japs” and watch the story’s romantic heroes battle their own inner prejudices. Picture a carefully-sealed crate on the beach. Upon prying it open, you find museum-quality parcels of vintage dry goods—but tucked among them, perfectly preserved rations of racial tension. What retains the play’s relevance and moves you past the cringes, are the gorgeous and unforgettable songs, from the intoxicating “Bali Ha’i,” to the swooningly romantic “Some Enchanted Evening,” to the winkingly sapphic “Honey Bun.” Classics all, and deftly delivered.

Obonfest
Obon is a 500-year-old Japanese custom of honoring the departed through three days of family gathering and traditionally includes a communal dance of joy known as Bon-Odori. Celebrate Obon in Portland at the Oregon Buddhist Temple where traditional Japanese food will be served, Martial Arts and Tanuki Taiko (a relatively recent art-form of ensemble drumming) will be demonstrated, and activities for all ages abound.*

Art In The Dark
The spinning, swooping sylphs of AWOL Dance Collective attempt once again to suspend your disbelief, as they perform aerial feats in twilit trees at the World Trade Center Atrium.

Pickathon
Head for Happy Valley (an actual place) for three days of exuberant indie roots rock at nearby, far-out, Pendarvis Farm. Earlier this week, Culturephile heard more about the fest and the farm straight from the horse’s mouth, in an interview with founder Zale Schoenborn. Also note: this year marks the Pickathon debut of hometown heroes Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, and Typhoon.

Weekend Picks are published every Friday at noon, and highlight just a few of your local entertainment options. For a more comprehensive list of events, visit the Arts & Entertainment Calendar.

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Tags: Art, musical, pickathon, Last Thursday, music, Weekend Plans, Events, Theater, First Thursday, Museums, First Friday

RENT

Stumptown Stages gives Broadway classic a new lease.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Jun 28, 2010 at 02:00PM 3 Comments

There are two types of people in the world: those who love RENT, and those who despise it. It’s melodramatic. It’s idealistic. It’s angsty. It’s maxed out with poetic double meanings that have since worked their way into the pantheon of cliche. If these are not deal-breakers, then we’re okay—and there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy Stumptown Stages’ production, the musical’s post-broadway regional debut. Culturephile caught yesterday’s matinee. Here’s what stood out:

Best Assets: Ensemble chemistry and choral blend. The scenes where everyone is singing together onstage, are undeniably strong in this production, and the cast seems to genuinely like each other.

Most Riveting Solo Moment: Strong soloists, of course, are a given for RENT, so this almost doesn’t bear mentioning. But the tiara and sash would have to go to Maureen’s performance of “Over The Moon.” Though you’re supposed to laugh at this scene, Maureen (Alina Ziak) is so mesmerizing, she’ll make you believe. A master mind-trick, by an excellent performer.

Best Love Chemistry: Angel (Tyler Andrew Jones) and Tom (Jerrod Neal). Very warm, protective vibe. Not rip-roaringly sexual, but that makes sense for the dire straits the characters navigate.

Strongest Held Note: The second syllable of “Nightmare,” from “Will I?”, in act one, revealed the production’s Steve (Travis C. Patterson)—who doesn’t get tons of solo time—as a vocal standout.

Most Solid Harmonies: Mark (Clay Neal) and Roger (Stephen Miller).

Most Puzzling Problem: Roger’s inability to stay on key when singing solo, despite hitting pitch-perfect harmonies every time he sang with either Mark or Mimi (Heather Harlan). Hmm.

Best Physical Performances:

• Mimi’s hair-flipping gogo-dance routine. In electric blue sparkly spandex, she delivers the whole she-boom-boom.

• The ensemble’s rowdy cluster-hump in “La Vie Boheme,” shows off the cast’s group fluidity and chemistry.

• Angel’s last gasps, which conjure palpable pain.

Secret Weapons:

• Casting: The confines of a small stage demand extra subtlety. You can’t put anything over on an audience that’s that close. For the most part, actors honor their archetypes, with nary a soulless showboat in the mix.

• Lighting: This may seem silly to mention, but having recently attended a few shows that may as well have been held in gazebos, I really appreciated this lighting, designed by Director Kirk Mouser, which artfully supports season and mood, and beams intense, heavenly rays off Angel at the play’s dramatic climax.

• Band: Tucked away in the back hallway, piped through the PA, their live presence went unnoticed by the audience until the show was over. “Gosh, look, a band,” several people said, as they exited. (The fact that their performance was taken for granted, probably attests to their skill.)

A couple shortcomings:

• Aiming high: Three or four times (which isn’t bad, considering the material’s challenging vocal lines) a singer went for the super-high note, and choked. It would have been wiser for these mezzos (who probably know who they are) to aim for a tone closer to home, even if it meant deviating from the written melody.

• Not updating the wardrobe: Hm. Shared housing? Poverty? The pursuit of art? Are these topics the property of the New York 90’s? It seems like they’re just as pervasive in Portland, right now.The production no doubt chose to keep RENT in 90’s garb, for tradition’s sake. But it would have been more sporting, and equally on-message, to hop across the street to Belmont Stumptown and snatch modernized boho togs right off the patrons’ backs.

• Theatre! Theater! ‘s total online obscurity: Although the production company for this particular play has a decent web presence, I defy you to casually google the Southeast Belmont venue, Theatre! Theater!. Resolving this may fill more seats. C’mon, guys, help us help you.

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Tags: Theater, Review, music, Queer-Friendly, Gay-Friendly, musical

Tonight: Many Hats Collaboration Fundraises For Rock Ballet

And here comes Holcombe Waller

Posted by: Anne Adams on May 26, 2010 at 12:00AM 1 Comments

Many Hats Collaboration, a small dance and theater company which counts among its directors choreographer Jessica Wallenfels (most recently of Gracie and the Atom), presents a fundraising concert tonight for an upcoming rock ballet, Find Me Beside You, scheduled to open in August. Along with some rumored preview skits is a varied musical bill, featuring bohemian folk, psychedelic dance rock, and the troubadour stylings of local folk singer and performance-art impresario Holcombe Waller. It’s an event that promises to highlight not only the pending production, but also Many Hats’ unprecedented knack for pulling a wide range of artistic expression from its tasteful chapeau. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.

Many Hats Collaboration Highlight Reel:

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Tags: Dance, ballet, musical

Gracie and The Atom

Catholic school musical thoroughly redeems itself

Posted by: Anne Adams on May 24, 2010 at 01:00PM 4 Comments

When I was 14, I went to a religious boarding school—and last week, I went back, via Artist Rep’s whip-smart and bittersweet Catholic schoolgirl musical, Gracie and The Atom.

But before I say more, a confession: I underestimated this play. As I skimmed the glowing local reviews, I thought maybe the Portland press was indulging longtime PDX musician and newly-minted playwright McKinley. I imagined Gracie actually playing out as a self-pitying Catholic Annie, with all of the hard knocks and none of the life—or, as a plaid-skirted, pubescent Britney Spears redux, flaunting forbidden fruit under a short hem. I now renounce my cynicism. And if my penance is convincing you to catch this winsome, uplifting play, then it’s a small price to pay.

Gracie and The Atom begins as a newly-parentless Gracie (Beth Sobo) stumbles into the auspices of Our Lady Of Peace, the aforementioned Catholic girls’ school. The story that unfolds, follows Gracie’s emotional trajectory through resistance and rebellion, to eventual acceptance and inclusion. (Mercifully, Sobo plays the lead role very straight, free of any hint of trivializing cuteness.) Meanwhile, all the other (slightly sillier) denizens of Our Lady, struggle to reconcile the tenets of faith with the principles of science. In the words of Gracie’s physics teacher, Sister Lidwina (Emily Beleele), “If atoms are made of mostly space, and everything we see is made out of atoms, we live in a world made of mostly nothing!”

The principles of physics, it turns out, are a rich and expansive source of metaphor. Comments about positive and negative charge, as well as energy, motion, and momentum, are interspersed in the dialogue both as physics lessons, and as winking hints at character motivation. The effect is sometimes goofy, as when the hormonally-charged Angela (Brooke Markham) passionately explains subatomic attraction; and sometimes heartrending, as when the grieving Gracie tremblingly confronts her father’s fate: “Once you burn a log in the fireplace, you can never unburn it.”

Though heavily cloaked in Catholic habit, Gracie ultimately makes an exuberantly agnostic statement—not merely accepting, but actually celebrating the fact that we live in a vast, unpredictable universe, and there’s much that we can’t possibly know.

If heady explorations of quantum theory threaten to bend your Sunday bonnet, not to worry: This show also delivers rollicking rock, touching ballads, girlish flouncing, sisterly solidarity, and a litany of innocent laughs. The acting and singing are brilliant, and the live band expertly and tastefully keeps pace. The minimal staging also provides a nice fluidity and intimacy, although a couple more lighting effects would be welcome (most notably, lightning to accompany thunderclaps during a storm scene).

One final thought: even though teen and tween girls were well-represented onstage, there were very few members of the Glee generation in the audience, and that seemed a shame. Just saying: If you have a yen to take a young female friend to a musical, Gracie And The Atom is bound to generate a positive reaction.

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Tags: Theater, science, musical