Bathhouse veterans Mike Dooly and Candace Vance play the couple and are spot on throughout the evening.  Dooly is particularly impressive as his character struggles to find his footing in a world that seems to be slipping away from beneath his feet.  Earlier in the season he had one of the leads in this theater’s The Understudy and his character here could not be more different in nature and attitude.  That he nailed both parts really speaks to the immense skill of this local artist.

      Throughout the play, Cho explores the inextricable links between shared language and love.  Alta and Resten are the last known speakers of an indigenous tongue that George wants to study.  He has had them flown to America and his offices to record their unique words.  Alas, they argue only in the language of anger:  English.  They will not speak their own tongue unless they can rediscover their shared love.  We are left with a knotty conundrum:  what comes first, language or love?  Julie Jamieson and John Murray are the bickering couple and have to go through some pretty silly machinations to arrive at their final destinations.  Cho does provide them and indeed the entire cast with some very touching monologues in which characters reflect on the nature and limits of relationships, communication and faith as they stand in the early twenty-first century.

      Heather Jamieson ably takes on the role of Emma, George’s young, somewhat awed assistant. She is frantically trying to learn Esperanto by taking private lessons. In a quirky, absurdist scene, she even gets to meet Dr. Zamenhof, the founder of the universal language.  They chat on a train headed to the midlands.

      The play seems to hit its stride more confidently in Act Two as the players settle down to confront the limited yet precious time they have to share this earth and each other’s lives to whatever degree they can comfortably do so. 

      Shana Bestock directs the skillful cast.  Indeed it is a real treat to continually get to watch such talented actors take the stage at this convenient venue on Green Lake.

     The Language Archive closes a very successful and entertaining season at The Seattle Public Theatre.

The Language Archive runs through June 9.  Stage managed by Blair Feehan, featuring the design talents of Craig Wollam (Scenic Design), Tim Wratten (Lighting Design), Evan Mosher (Sound Design), Pete Rush (Costume Design), and Cole Hornaday (Props).  Tickets at www.seattlepublictheater.org.

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A play by Jon Marans

Directed by Roy Arauz

Daniel Wood, Greg Bee, Justin Ison, Will Halsey, Jaryl Draper in “The Temperamentals”

With marriage equality now law in parts of the land, and a tectonic shift underway in public attitudes toward homosexuality, it is timely to consider the roots of the LGBTQ movement. Progressive change in society requires sacrifice and courage by those willing to face the status quo and clamor for justice.

Jon Marans’ 2009 play “The Temperamentals,” produced by fledgling theater company Arouet, now through May 25 at The Ballard Underground, inspiringly recreates the personal and political challenges of the founders of the “Mattachine Society,” who well before the watershed 1969 Stonewall riots braved public opprobrium and the paranoia of the McCarthy era to form the first association for homosexual empowerment.

Roy Arauz’ understated direction and Kim Rosin’s bare-bones scene design demand a lot from the audience in the first half of the play. Arauz’ staging frequently leaves one or another actor’s face hidden to half the audience. A long opening scene between Harry Hay (played with nuanced volatility by Daniel Wood) and Rudi Gernreich (an engaging, conflicted Jaryl Allen Draper) relies on subtext and innuendo, effectively if opaquely conveying a sense of the “coded language” of a despised sub-culture. Minimalist set pieces create indistinct changes of place and time. Even with some foreknowledge of the Mattachine Society’s history, one may struggle in the first act to follow events in various times and locales (Hollywood, Germany, dreams…) and to sort out characters despite the fine ensemble work by Greg Bee, Will Halsey, and Justin Ison.

However, the five actors’ attention to details of relationship and character overcome these minor obstacles with captivating emotional truth. By the end of Act One, the arc of “The Temperamentals” comes into focus as a growing network of friends coalesces around the police entrapment of a carnival roustabout, Dale Jennings (one of shape-shifting Justin Ison’s roles.) Their collective oath of solidarity as he agrees to submit to a trial by jury instead of the customary police shake-down highlights both the political necessity and personal cost of being the “cause célèbre” around which the growing movement for homosexual rights gains traction. The current “gay spring” of marriage legalization has roots sixty years ago in that personal choice to take the stand for individual rights in the face of collective prejudice.

Act Two also brings more clearly into focus the relationship of Harry and Rudi, torn by conflicting allegiances to the Communist Party, fellow Mattachine Society members, and differing personal goals and needs. The outcome of their political and personal struggles highlights the imperfect human heart of grassroots activism, and the presence in the world, perhaps, of amazing grace.

One of the many strengths of this production is the occasional seamless inclusion of the audience: as members at a Mattachine Society conference, a jury at a courtroom trial, and congregants for a poignant benediction that celebrates the journey of the LGBTQ community and evokes a blessing for the way ahead. This entwining of audience and performance inspires affection and respect for the real men and women who despite profound hurt acted on their belief in who they were.

“Who we are” – a statement uttered with violent urgency by Harry Hay – is not only personal; our choices and actions are threads in the tapestry of events woven over time into the shape of the future. By the end of the play an essential message emerges: we are all players in the unfolding history of our lives and our time. A backward glance at early efforts that gave rise to today’s LGBTQ culture is an opportunity to reflect on our current concerns in the fullness of their complexity, imperfection, and significance for the future.

Anyone who appreciates today the dawning acceptance of homosexuals into the social fabric of our country should see this entertaining, emotionally courageous, and inspiringly humble production.

THE TEMPERAMENTALS, a play by Jon Marans, directed by Roy Arauz, produced by Arouet and Alfred Zem Hill. At Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market St., Ballard, through May 25. Tickets at www. arouet.us/tix or (800)838-3006.

Posted by Aaron Skye

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In the beginning, the brutish Hank is quite happy with his lot in life. He sees himself as the very essence and driving force of the ship; in many ways, he IS the ship and the ship IS Hank. 

But one day his life changes when he comes face-to-face with the dainty and naive daughter of a wealthy steel industrialist who nearly faints when she comes into contact with Hank, whom she refers to as a “filthy beast”. Angered by her reaction, and puzzled by this perceived difference, Hank leaves the ship and ventures out into the world, into Manhattan specifically, where he seeks to find his place in society.  Unfortunately for Hank, the prospects are dim and he ultimately finds that he doesn’t belong anywhere.

O’Neill’s play has come to be considered a contemporary American classic. It has themes that continue to reverberate even in our own times, especially in our own times.  With economic disparity between the upper and lower classes higher than it is has ever been, coupled with a shrinking middle class and the destruction of organized labor unions, “The Hairy Ape” is every bit as pertinent today as it was when it was first written, — the early 1920s, when monopolies ruled and worker rights movements were in their nascent stage.

And this is where director Wilder Nutting-Heath sort of missed an opportunity to bridge the gap between the 80 years that separate the very first production of this play with that of his own. Instead, Nutting-Heath, who states that this production is the “culmination of [his] master’s thesis on masculinity and the collective socialization of men,” is more concerned with the loftier notions of individuation and psychology, — an approach which isn’t entirely off-base, but seems tangential to the larger, more concrete social issues presented.

Why, for instance, in a time when we have movements like “Occupy Wall Street” and “May Day” protests, would a director continue to set the play in the 1920s, where upper class characters were costumed in period style flapper dresses and old-fashioned suits?  Why not contemporize the play? Why not integrate modern technology (digital projections and video) in order to bring in images of modern manifestations of the social issues explored in the play?  Unfortunately, the director remained too faithful to the text, not really daring to stray from the original staging. 

This issue aside, Ghost Light Theatrical’s production of “The Hairy Ape” is still quite interesting, thanks, in particular, to the excellent performances by two of the more mature members of the cast: Ed Gangner, who plays the drunken Irishman, “Paddy,” and of course, Richard Carmen, who plays the ape-like protagonist, “Hank.”  Carmen, especially, delivers a powerful and emotional performance in his portrayal of the leading character who seeks to find where he belongs.

The Ensemble also works well together with the stylized movements and expressionistic nature of the play. The work scenes in the furnace of the ship as well as the street scenes with robotic movement were particularly effective. 

In short, this is a pretty good, though standard, production of a very interesting and thematically rich play. The company did a competent job of staging this complex work in the less than ideal setting of the Ballard Underground, but I couldn’t help but think how much better it could have been with a bit more daring direction and a lot more money for more elaborate sets, costumes, and effects.

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 Is a German expression used when two objectionable individuals get together as a couple.  It sums up  Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.   Throw in a creative concept and the directorial ability to carry that concept through to its logical, and more importantly, consistent conclusion and you have a masterpiece production, which frankly should tour internationally, making its first stop at the Barbican in London.

 Directed by Aimée Bruneau, this production, at Seattle Shakespeare Company, illustrates the point that it is through the particulars that one expresses the universal.  Shakespeare had a universal theme, which he put into the social setting of the 16^th Century.  Ms. Bruneau updated the particulars to a modern day setting, and expressed the universal message of the struggle that every marriage goes through in accepting compromises and changing oneself for the better, in order to accommodate a relationship.

 In Padua, the well-off Baptista family has two daughters, the younger one an angelic beauty queen,  who attracts men like nectar attracts bees.  The older sister, Kate, who in Shakespeare’s time would have had to be married off before the younger, is an anti-social rough shrew, who scares away most men,  until an impecunious eccentric comes to woo her.  Ostensibly attracted to her because of her immense dowry, he decides to “tame” her (without kindness) because there is a profound sexual and emotional attraction as well.    In fact he could use a little taming himself, which is why Kate eagerly engages in psychological and physical battle with him. 

 Ms. Bruneau placed this production of SHREW in Red Neck territory, specifically in a Southern trailer park, which was brilliant because linguistically Shakespeare’s language shares many of the archaic aspects of Southern American dialect.  The intonation pattern and over-the-top complicated  metaphors of Shakespeare and Southern are similar.   In my opinion, using a Southern accent is what made this Shakespeare the best I have ever seen, even after a year spent at the Barbican every Monday night.

 In terms of acting there was not a weak performance in the cast; how could there be, when the cast was having so much fun entertaining the audience.   Petruchio, played by David Quicksall, was the definitive Petruchio of all time, vibrant, hilarious, displaying his masculinity like a prancing Peacock and through costuming as well as  his mutton-chop side-burns, he looked the part of a Red-Neck M.C.P.  ( male chauvinist pig)  Kelly Kitchens, as Kate, dressed as a motocycle-riding variant of a 40’s “tough broad”,  was a perfect match for Petruchio.  Keith Dahlgren as Gremio and Karen Jo Fairbrook as Mama Baptista all delivered the goods.  Vocally this show was very strong, everybody in the cast could handle the complex language with panache.

 The technical aspects of the show were formidable especially the costumes by K.D. Schill, which were completely authentic, and very imaginative.   Down to the facial hair of the male actors, all the little details, such as the props, sound effects, music and the set were totally accurate and extremely amusing. 

 The big difficulty of directing this somewhat misogynist play, is how to make audiences accept Kate’s irksome “wifely obedience” speech, the content of which makes most women want to start burning their bras.  It is unfortunately the penultimate moment in the play.  Ms. Bruneau solved this problem ingeniously, instead of ending the play with something that doesn’t sit well with the audience, she had an upbeat dance number between Kate’s speech and the last line, which looked authentically Southern.  So the audience forgot about the sick-making Obedience Speech and walked out happy. 

 If you only see one Shakespeare production in your lifetime, let it be this one as it was lively, genuinely funny, and consistent.  It  would have made the Bard proud.  It is advisable to buy your tickets asap. 

 THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by William Shakespeare, directed by Amée Bruneau, Seattle Shakespeare Company.  Playhouse at Seattle Center ( formerly Intiman theatre) 305 Harrison, Seattle.  Thru May 12.  www.seattleshakespeare.org

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    In 1962, when Seattle was hosting its World Fair and Boeing was recovering from the deadly crash of an early version of its 707, France was seeing the premiere of the “Coffee, Tea, or Me?” antics of Marc Camoletti’s farce. By deftly juggling the flight schedules of three air hostesses, one wealthy businessman thinks he can have it (them) all.  The sexism of the original plot here is adroitly adapted for the sensibility of a (somewhat) more progressive America.  With plot changes, and a cast of women who come off like the members of a championship Roller Derby team, the sexism of the original is not only kept at bay, but thrown right out of the plane with no parachute.

    Bernard (the sublime Richard Nguyen Sloniker) couldn’t manage his faaaabulous Paris apartment without the rigorous (understatement) of his housekeeper Berthe (the hysterically steely Anne Allgood).  Berthe juggles menus and much more to keep Bernard’s international triumvirate of stewardesses who arrive on schedule, with travel bags in hand, happy.  Gloria (Bhama Roget) is the American, Gabriella (Angela DiMarco) his Italian, and Gretchen (Cheyenne Casebier) his German, who must have her sauerkraut.  Bernard thinks he has the schedules mastered, and when his friend Robert arrives (Mark Bedard), he is quite the braggart about his ideal life—no marriage, nothing but girls on strings and a very tight schedule. 

    I refuse to play the spoiler.  Suffice it to say that the new super-liners make the ladies’ flights much much faster, and once Bernard’s lovers start to arrive early, there are more than enough doors in the apartment to put this comic farce in motion.  Syncopated pandemonium ensues, and if you get your ticket in time, you will secure your seat on this raucous flight.

    All of the acting is top notch. Mark Bedard’s classic clowning is a match for maestros Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni.  Never have I seen an actor employ so many minutes just moving a suitcase across the stage, while keeping his audience astonished and/or doubled over with laughter at his depth of invention.  Bedard is a master of physical comedy and timing. He starts as a nebbish, a virgin no doubt, whose awe for his friend’s audacious ruse makes him cover for Bernard at every turn of the doorknob.  Anne Allgood inhabits the role played by Thelma Ritter in the film. Ms. Ritter is sitting straight up in her grave and eating popcorn every night in order to watch Ms. Allgood’s memorable interpretation of the housekeeper who is at the end of her patience.
    Carey Wong’s set is a marvel.  Bernard’s glamorous apartment looks like the Space Needle had conjugal relations with the Jetsons’ TV show, and then gave birth to a circular living space with all the necessary properties for a fast-moving farce. Turquoise and faux leopard never looked better.  Many surprises here, and again, I am not going to reveal the antics of Wong’s artistry, you’ve got to see this set design to believe it. Speaking of artistry, “uniforms” is hardly the right word for Costume Designer Frances Kenney’s razor sharp stewardesses’ outfits. Kenney’s knows the power of a silhouette and dashing colors, and she uses all her wiles to give Roget, DiMarco, and Casebier gendered weapons disguised as fabric and clothes.  The lilac and ostrich-feathered hostess gown Gabrielle wears to ‘get comfortable” is a wonder of movement and color, as are the lightning fast costume changes and each and every chapeau.  L.B. Morse’s lights are a bit distracting, a little too much concept tries to illuminate the high tech capabilities of the Parisian apartment; the imprecision can disrupt the action.  But his lights are otherwise perfect for the world, and for its comedy.

    The Rep provides all the text of the play on a closed caption system, for hearing impaired audiences and for anyone who misses a line here or there.  When I read them, I was really struck by how thin the writing is, how base the comedy, how shallow much of the dialogue.  But this only puts into high relief how important the interpretive task of direction can be, and how great acting and wonderful designs can carry a script which doesn’t have that much going for it with the exception of a high loaded premise. 

    Boeing Boeing, by Marc Camoletti, translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans.  Directed by Allison Narver. Set Design by Carey Wong, Costumes by Frances Kenney, Lights by L. B. Norse, Sound by Robertson Witmer and Dialects coached by Judith Shahn.  Starring Bhama Roget, Richard Nguyen Sloniker, Anne Allgood, Mark Bedard, Angela DiMarco and Cheyenne Casebier.  Runs through May 19.  www.seattlerep.com

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 Although the minor stages at ACT Theatre produce some of the most interesting, innovative and profound shows to be found in Seattle (or anywhere) , many of the main-stage productions seem to be little more than cash-cows appealing to the least common denominator.

 A fundamental rule about playing comedy was ignored by the actors and director in this production:  play the tragic seriousness and the comedy will effortlessly be expressed.  Play it for laughs and the comedy falls flat.  This production failed to deliver the comedy partly by the delivery of the lines and partly because the script was very weak.  Humor where the elderly is concerned exists because of their tragic circumstances.  This script glossed over the existential angst of old age and dying, and chose a very trite plot device to keep the action going, so I was bored and annoyed the whole time, unlike most of the audience who seemed to laugh at the appropriate parts.  Also lacking was comic timing,  the dialogue dragged a lot. 

 Essentially, ASSISTED LIVING is a slice of life about a nursing home after medicare has been abolished and Dick Cheney is president.  Unfortunately, what could have been directed as a stylized surreal piece, was directed as a more or less realistic piece which made it very didactic.  There is a Nurse Ratchet character, named Nurse Claudia played by Julie Briskman.  Four of the inmates ( two are former actors) and an orderly, stage a play but Big Nurse tries to prevent the audience from coming, which did not motivate the action very much, so there were no real stakes at risk. 

 Recently, I reviewed a play called JALOPIES by Mark Chenovick, a one-person play about the real travails of the elderly under a menacing evil, corrupt health-care system.  Put together on a shoe-string, JALOPIES delivered the tragedy, immense comedy, humanity and compassion, which was sorely lacking in ACT’s expensive production. 

 One very good thing about the play was the set-it looked authentically institutional.   Many people in the audience liked this play, but for me, I prefer the low-budget meatier version of assisted living for the elderly as portrayed in JALOPIES.    

 ASSISTED LIVING by Katie Forgette,  Directed by R. Hamilton Wright.  ACT Theatre, the Falls Theatre, 700 Union St. Downtown Seattle  April 19-May 12, 2013.  Tickets Now on sale (206) 292-7676 or www.acttheatre.org

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Book-It Repertory Theatre brings another work of North American classic literature to the stage with, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored. Under the leadership of co-conceivers Jane Jones and Judd Parkin, Huck Finn opened on Saturday night at the Center Theatre at the Armory for a five-week run.  With Ms. Jones directing Parkin’s adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel, many kinds of story-telling are at work as the ensemble of ten musicians and actors work at a breakneck speed to evoke the story of two of history’s most legendary runaways.

In Ms. Jones’ program note, she writes that decision to “uncensor” the work is the team’s response to “the recent sanitation of the novel” as an “attempt to re-write history.”  The primary controversy centered about the replacement of the word “nigger” with the word “slave” in recent editions of the novel.  Editors felt the change would allow public schools to bring Huck back into a politically “corrected” curriculum.  Many rallied to defense of the original work, arguing that to change the novel was to whitewash (perhaps a useful metaphor) history, and to attempt to erase the language, actions and stories that are part of this country’s complex past.  The word “nigger” appears in the book more than 200 times; Book-It audiences will hear it plenty during the long evening.  

The story-telling is par for Book-It’s regular course. Stunning physical invention, use of  few props, tightly-directed ensemble play, and ingenious moments in Andrea Bryn Bush and Andrew D. Smith’s scenic and lighting design all fill the arena with evocative staging of Huck and Jim’s flight. The creation of the infamous raft floating down the Mississippi, is sheer stage magic, and when actors climb ropes and sway gently in the blue dappled light, you might be transported to the great river’s movement and not incidentally, to the bond growing between Huck and Jim. The actors are a ferocious bunch of gifted players, and they transform before our eyes with just a little help from the essentialized costumes of K. D. Schill, and the pace of Jones’ sometimes frenetic staging. The old-timey band, under the direction of  is tucked behind the rafters of rough wood and often emerge to help people a scene. At the center of the action are Geoffery Simmons and Christopher Morson, playing Jim and Huck respectively.  Perfectly cast, Simmons and Morson command the nearly circular stage with their marvelous voices and deeply felt performances. The dialects are difficult, and though at times I had that wincing feeling that some of the accents were too broad, too twangy, Simmons and Morson mostly inhabit the voices of Jim and Huck in such a way that it rarely felt pushed. I could listen to the story.

In Parkin’s notes he writes that the book is “wrongly characterized” as a work for children, rightly reminding us that the main characters are “the abused son of a dangerous alcoholic and a desperate, runaway slave.” But this production rarely finds a tone deep enough to be anything but accessible for the youngest of children. Despite the production’s un-censoring of a single, heavily loaded epithet, the adaptation edits, and censors, if you will, by rarely tackling the darker, or more poetic aspects of Twain’s memory-writing.  I admired the work of Russell Hodgkinson, who was able to bring us the fury and ugliness of Huck’s father Pap without relying on any cartoonish style, exaggerated dialect, or excessively broad style of play.  Pap, along with the vagabond who would be King, and his other characters were deeply rooted, never sacrificing dimension for the sake of theatricality.

A full length book, when churned through the techniques of Book-It’s play-making craft, transforms into a two or three hour play.  Every word simply cannot be included. In this case, Book-It’s production has a positive, can-do kind of storytelling that almost feels like people will break into song.  And then they do. Huck and Jim escape again on their raft, to yet another test of their skills to survive.  And then they do. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored tells a part of the story of race in America, but a small part.  We will learn about a lot about the white people that surround Huckleberry’s adventure, but Jim cannot possible stand-in for an entire race all on his own, and all through Samuel Clemens’ pen.  Excellent dramaturgy and a host of community-based discussions along with theatre work at Franklin High School accompany the efforts of Book It to support audiences’ discussion of Huckleberry, Jim, and hopefully, their own adventures.  

Book It Repertory Theatre presents at the Center Theatre at the Armory (Seattle Center): Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored. by Mark Twain, conceived by Jane Jones and Judd Parkin, directed by Jane Jones, adapted by Judd Parkin. Featuring in order of appearance:  Evan Crockett, Gin Hammond, Ronnie Hill, Russell Hodgkinson, Theresa Holmes, Peter Jacobs, Christopher Morson, Hannah Nielsen, Geoffery Simmons and Keenan Ward.  Scenic Design by Andrea Bryn Bush, Lighting by Andrew D. Smith, Costumes by K.D. Schill, Sound Design by Matt Starritt, Dan Wheetman composed music.  Theresa Holmes, musical director, with Isaac Waring coaching the dialects.  Stage Managed by Victoria Thompson, and production managed by Anders Bolang.  Runs through Mary 12.  For Tickets:  www.book-it.org or box office phone at 206-216-0833. Matinees at 2:00, evening curtains at 7:30.

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Dali’s The Persistance of Memory.

     The basic premise is a police investigation into how Senor Dali met his end.  Carter Rodriquez heads the case assisted by two detectives played by Chris MacDonald and Monica Finney.  These latter two have some fun playing off of the traditional set up of the odd couple working together on a case.  MacDonald is the wise mentor and Finney the wide-eyed rookie.  Throughout the first act, the investigation runs smack into the classic absurdist condition: our innate human desire for a senseless world to somehow make sense.  The play has an intriguing dynamic at work: the deeper it delves into the mystery, the more we learn about Dali’s life and art and the less we are able to make sense of the case of his actual demise.

     Act two seems to throw the earnest head investigator right into the middle of Dali’s surreal imagination and art.  Rodriquez meets the ensuing chaos with a charming, quiet befuddlement.  His nuanced work nicely grounds the show, and keeps it from sliding off the tracks into mere silliness.

     Although no actual Dali artwork hangs on the stage, the play successfully captures some of Dali’s surrealistic vision.  Working in and mostly out of a traditional story line, throwing in the music of Wagner, falling eggs and crazily catered meals, the play somehow produces a feeling not unlike one may get from staring at the Dali paintings displayed in the foyer.  

     Heather Persinger plays the earnest Art Historian with a deep love for the surrealist movement.   Sann Hall takes on the roll of a love-smitten coroner.  Ricky Coates plays a vendor continually pushing fake mustaches and other souvenirs to the cast and audience.

     The Final Tribunal into the Mysterious Death of Mister Senor Salvador Dali plays through May 4 at the Theatre Off Jackson.  Abby Stein is the Production Manager; Alyssa Selbrede is the Stage Manager; lighting by Ken Cubbage; costumes by Adrienne Perry; sound design by Nathaniel Porter; choreography (the two detectives perform a charming bit of ballet) by Gabrielle Schutz. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door of Theatre Off Jackson at 409 7^th Avenue South.

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With an epic dramatic structure reminiscent of those of Chekhov, combined with the piercing, psychological insight into family dynamics evocative of Arthur Miller’s plays, this three and a half hour dramatic tour de force is a roller coaster ride of emotions with so many twists and turns that it will leave you breathless by the end, but still wanting more.

At first the show starts off a bit slow, with what is basically a R-E-A-L-L-Y long monologue by “Beverly,” (played by Charles Leggett), a retired professor and poet who has hired “Johnna,” (played by Jordi Montes), a native american woman needing a job, to be the housekeeper.  We learn very quickly the problems of the household: Beverly is an alcoholic and his wife is a drug addict suffering from mouth cancer. 

But once this extended prelude scene is over, things quickly pick up pace when “Beverly” goes missing, prompting the return home of his three daughters: “Barbara”, “Ivy”, and “Karen” (played respectively by Teri Lazzara, Caitlin Frances, and Kate Jaeger).

Without getting too much into the plot, which is extremely complex and filled with many surprises, suffice it to say that we very soon learn that “Beverly” has died, and the rest of the play focuses on the many secrets and strained relationships of his dysfunctional family.

By far, the most intriguing character is that of Beverly’s sharp-tongued, sometimes lucid, sometimes pill addled wife, “Violet” (played by Shellie Shulkin). Shulkin gives one of the most moving, honest and brilliant performances that I have seen in any show. She captures the abrasively resilient nature of the “people of the Plains,” and particularly those of her generation, “the Greatest Generation,” with astonishing acuity. And I contend that she should be nominated for a Gregory AND a Gypsy award as “Best Actress” this year.

Although the entire cast is top-notch as an ensemble, other very strong performances are given by Lisa Viertel , who plays “Mattie Fay,” and by Teri Lazzara as “Barbara.” Viertel, in particular, brings much comic relief into this otherwise heavy show. It should also be mentioned that John Q. Smith and Chris Ensweiler also deliver very realistic performances in their roles as husbands to “Barbara” and “Mattie Fay.” 

Directed by Shawn Belyea, with Ahren Buhmann as Set Designer and Technical Director, this truly American drama is certainly worth the three and a half hours of attention it demands.

“August: Osage County” is now playing at the Erickson Theatre off Broadway on Capitol Hill through April 27. www.balagantheatre.org 

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 Like Taproot’s The Whipping Man, Riding in Cars with Black People and Other Newly Dangerous Acts, is a must see for all white folks.   Riding in Cars deals with the contrast between white privilege vs. African American discrimination on a concrete nitty-gritty everyday level, as told through the eyes of an African American young man, who had the fortune and misfortune of having been adopted and raised by a white family in a white suburb of Tacoma.

 Setting aside the serious message, it is also one of the funniest solo acts I have ever seen.  In a series of “chapters”, Chad Goller-Sojourner recounts various experiences he had after he left the safety of his white world.  Beginning with how the police deal with young black males on I-5 between Tacoma and Bellingham to how New Yorkers dealt  with him as a gay, hand-bag carrying, full-length mink-coat-wearing-black man.  It is also a journey from “white” identity to re-identifying himself as a hybrid who embraces both his African American racial heritage alongside his white cultural heritage. 

 Although Chad could use some diction and articulation work, his performance was outstanding; an hour and a half of exquisite comic timing, superb writing all delivered by a born comic.  Like all the best comedy, the tragedy is all there, how ill-equipped he is to deal with the police once he is not protected by his white family, the daily danger African Americans are in,  from the over-reactive police,  and his white perceptions of going to a Black Church for the first time.  He takes it all, puts a hilarious comic spin on it and not only enlightens us but also keeps us rolling in the aisles with laughter. 

 In many ways, this show reminded me of Barack Obama’s Coming of Age auto-biography,Dreams of my Father,  but with all due respect to one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had,  Riding in Cars is a whole lot funnier. 

 RIDING IN CARS WITH BLACK PEOPLE AND OTHER DANGEROUS ACTS:-A memoir in vanishing whiteness.  A solo performance written and performed by Chad Goller-Sojourner, directed by Tyrone Brown.  Brownbox Theatre and King County 4 Culture.  Rainier Valley Cultural Center 3515 S. Alaska St.-Seattle. (Corner of Alaska and Rainier Ave S-free off-street parking)  April 11-21.  Tickets www.brownpapertickets.com/event/351610

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