"Unnecessary Farce"

"Unnecessary Farce" was my first show as an invited critic for Lakewood Theatre, but I have seen similar shows at Lakewood and this is the type of show at which they seem to excel. I love a Lakewood crime/mystery play.

"Unnecessary  Farce" begins as a undercover bribery investigation, (one of the bumbling cops is too excited about her first real assignment to realize it is unwise to dress in full-uniform.), but it becomes much more.

It is a toss-up for funniest character, but I think the lisping head of mayoral "sec-curr-ity" Agent Frank, (Ashton Root) wins the honor, though the thick-accented, impossible to understand Scottish hit-man named Todd (Ethan LaFrance) is a close second.

While there is nothing particularly summery about the play itself, it did feel like the perfect way to spend a summer evening. I suspect you will enjoy this very necessary farce.

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" @ Broadway Rose

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" is an odd show, to say the least. On the one hand, it is very much an old-school show: Big production numbers, with sweeping choreography. On the other hand I was surprised to read that the show premiered on Broadway in 2002, because there is some humor in the show that made me wince just a bit. Further reading revealed that the film upon which it is based is itself based on another film from 1956, which explains the "dated" humor and stereotypes. Plus, it's set in the 1920s. Long story short, I wouldn't have expected human trafficking to be such a hoot. Someone should tell Liam Neeson he can lighten-up a bit.

Millie Dillmount is a "modern woman" making her way in 1920s New York City, with an eye towards landing a rich husband, possibly her boss at the steno-pool. Along the way she meets handsome, young, and poor Jimmy Smith and she must make her choice.

Heath Hyun Houghton and Samson Syharath are indeed hilarious as Ching Ho and Bun Foo, two brothers who assist in the human trafficking subplot, it is the kind of humor for which you are likely to feel a twinge of guilt, but really what's a little guilty humor now and then?

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" continues Broadway Rose's long and strong tradition of providing quality musicals. There's a 12-piece band! And once again, I feel compelled to share a photo in order to capture the largeness of the show.

Performances run through July 26th at Tigard High School.

"The Liar" at Artists Rep

To miss "The Liar" would be a crime

A comedy delivered all in rhyme

You'll have the time of your lives at this play by David Ives 

He has a knack for adaptations, that's for sure

He also wrote "Venus in Fur" 

The play has lies, laughs, and a love letter

And I promise you their rhymes are better

Three Days of Rain @ PCS

I've been toying with the idea of adding a kind of Season Wrap-up article to this site. In this article I would select the best show from each of the theatres to whose Press List I belong. I'm thinking of calling the awards "The Crippys," what do you think? It is with this in mind that I hereby award "Three Days of Rain" Portland Center Stage's "Crippy" I went back through my reviews of PCS' current season, and though I really loved "Dreamgirls" for its theatrical dazzle, I think "Three Days of Rain" wins easily overall.

I wanted to live inside Scott Fyfe's set, and I haven't been this struck by the subtle and thus, often overlooked, lighting design since "Sweeney Todd," and unsurprisingly, the same person,  Dianne Ferry Williams is responsible for both shows.

And it always a pleasure to see celebrity actors, in this case, Silas Weir Mitchell and Sasha Roiz, both of TV's "Grimm",  filmed in Portland. If you happen to have never been to PCS's gorgeous Armory building in the Pearl District, I can't imagine a better introduction.

Now, the only question that remains is whether Portland Center Stage is brave enough to publicize that they are the first recipients of a "Crippy". We shall see!

"Static" @Third Rail Rep

One of the greatest things about art of all kinds is its ability to make you see things in a new way. Usually when I use that particular line of praise, I am speaking about big things. But, "Static" taught me that art can also help us see new significance in the mundane. See, when I listen to music, it's a very personal, solo experience. Yet, it doesn't have to be. The characters in "Static" share music generously, they bond over it. They heal by it. I am thankful to be shown the power of this, I think it's something I needed to be reminded of. That's yet another great thing about art: Each of us gets to choose what to take from it, and I will treasure what it taught me for quite a while. "Static" is flat-out wonderful, and I'd recommend that you rush to see it. You never know what you might draw from it.

"The Lion" @ Portland Center Stage

"The Lion" is not the show it appears to be. The trailer I saw was essentially a clip from an upbeat little tune about a child playing music alongside his musician father. In other words, a pleasant way to spend eighty minutes. Instead, those promised happy moments are brief, and concentrated mostly in the beginning. It's not long until the tone changes drastically. Normally I count this shift as a good thing, there's nothing I like better than a deeply affecting show, but there's cancer involved. In that case, I would have preferred to skip it. My mother has had cancer twice, and she was my guest last night.  I cringed through the entire song about chemo. But, my mother is the most optimistic person I know, and her biggest take-away from the show was how the diagnosis brought the scattered and somewhat estranged family together. Looking back, that was probably among the points the playwright was trying to make, but by that time I had retreated halfway into my "happy place." I guess the best thing I can do for you is to tell you to be prepared, and if you are, there might be something you'll be glad you saw, as my mother was. Me, I'm angry at the marketing department.....

4,000 Miles @ Artists Rep

I must confess that I approached "4000 Miles" with trepidation. I had just recently seen another Amy Herzog play, "Belleville" at Third Rail Rep and I was angered by the contemptuously unanswered questions at the end. While I did have some minor issues with Herzog's script this time, (the play is littered with fragments of dialogue that scream, "this piece of information will become important later" with little to no pay-off in the end), but that's easy to overlook. What makes "4000 Miles" unmissable is Vanna O''Brien's performance as grandmother Vera Joseph, a role she also played in Portland Playhouse's production of "After the Revolution," which I now regret I missed. I don't think that seeing that show would have filled in many of the blanks, because I have vague memories of reading "Revolution" on behalf of Portland Center Stage, and that play focused on the daughter of the family, I don't even recall a son, but this is still good advice: Do not repeat my mistake, see this one while you can.

"Grease" at Broadway Rose

"Grease" was the show I was looking most forward to when Broadway Rose announced their current season. I had seen the movie a long time ago, and re-watched it last night so I could compare it to the stage version. The first difference I noticed was that the Broadway Rose cast could more easily pass for high school students than could, say, Stockard Channing, who was 33 (!) when filming began. (Yes, I looked it up, it's just that striking.) The second thing I noticed was that there seemed to be far more songs in the stage version than the movie, for that alone it's worth the trip to the theatre. I'd liken it to finding out that a movie you like was based on a novel you haven't read, except that live performances are much rarer things, so when the opportunity presents itself you must jump at it while you can. And you should! Broadway Rose's production oozes with fun. There was an abundance of younger audience members on Opening Night, and I think that "Grease" would be a fine introduction to live theatre for a kid looking for a new interest, at the very least it would be a nice night out. On this one I can virtually guarantee a good time.

Performances held at the Broadway Rose New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Ave., Tigard.

"Cyrano" @ PCS

"Cyrano" as translated by Michael Hollinger and adapted by Aaron Posner is a laugh-riot. I approached it with some trepidation, because although I love the classics I sometimes have trouble with the odd syntax. Highlights included Cyrano's deprecating nose jokes, somehow he's better at it than anyone who tries to insult him. (Maybe someone should send the script to Adrian Brody? Perhaps he'd find some of them useful?) The set is complex and I'll remember the moonlight scenes for a long time. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Darius Pierce is in it, which means it's automatically worth seeing in my opinion.

"The Price" by Arthur Miller @ Artists Rep

I once saw a clip of Arthur Miller discussing the premiere of "Death of a Salesman", he said he was panicked because the audience had not applauded at the end. He thought that the play had bombed, and then he slowly realized that the audience had been so overwhelmed that they had forgotten they were watching a play. That's how I felt at Artists Rep's production of Miller's "The Price." This play is so real, so emotionally raw that I wager you will forget that you are in a theatre. The last Artist Rep show that was this transcendent was "The Motherfucker with the Hat", and while I breathlessly praised that show, the one thing I couldn't say is: "If you want to see why I love theatre, go see this show!", because, as its title suggests, that show had a few things that might have offended certain sensibilities. "The Price" has none of that, and it really does have most of the elements I love: poetic yet natural use of language, a story which starts as one thing and ends as another, and somewhat unusually, a lesser known work by a master. Finally I get to say it: "If you want to see why I love theatre, go see this show!"