Lord Leebrick

This review comes out on Thursday in print.

Photo of Hamlet (Patrick O'Driscoll) and Claudius (Kato Bass) by Gretchen Drew

A Gutsy Hamlet
Or Not to Be turns the horror inside out
by Suzi Steffen

God, that Will Shakespeare was hilarious, wasn’t he? Especially around death. The final scene of Hamlet? Side-splitting!

Bad puns aside ... actually, bad puns not aside: John Schmor’s adaptation Or Not to Be, a collaboration between the UO theater department and the Lord Leebrick Theatre, distills both Hamlet’s humor and the play’s strong stench of the graveyard into a first-generation hybrid that needs tweaking but provides some spectacular moments.

Read more here.

I'm crunched for time, so I'm going to simply quote from the press release from the Lord Leebrick Theatre about next season's lineup:

"Titles for the 2008/09 Season include: John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable, a tightly woven drama that received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best New Play; David Lindsay Abaire's 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning drama Rabbit Hole; and Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House, a surprising comedy from one of the most highly acclaimed new playwrights in recent memory. Plus Lord Leebrick will present the West Coast Premiere of West Moon Street, a new comedy adapted from an Oscar Wilde short story by Rob Urbinati, as well as the premiere of Suicide Weather, a comedy by Jeff Whitty, a UO alum and Oregon native who received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Avenue Q. The company also plans to revive It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, with all performances for this very popular holiday classic at the Wildish Community Theater in Springfield."

Me, I'm pumped to see Sarah Ruhl's play (which I sadly missed when it was in Portland this year). And I totally acted like a complete bumbling rube when I met Whitty the other day, but that's because he is a JEEEN-ius.

(May I inspire such stuttering someday. Preferably in a Hot Gay Man like Whitty.)

Anyway, truth be told, I'm annoyed at having only one woman playwright here, but I'm going to do a much bigger and longer story about women, playwriting and theater culture, so that said, it's a strong lineup for the Leebrick next year.

This review will run in the paper on 3-20, when it will be available here as well as in print.

Photo of Hannah (Rebecca Nachison), Brandt (Tom Wilson) and Thomas (Derek Johnson) courtesy Lord Leebrick Theatre.

Stumbling Away from Bethlehem
Good people acting in bad faith in Busy World
by Suzi Steffen

Thanks for the whole Fall of Man thing, God. Really appreciate it.

Or so Keith Bunin might say. Bunin’s the playwright whose The Busy World Is Hushed opened at the Lord Leebrick Theatre Friday, March 14. Though the lengthy — and surprisingly witty — theological arguments of the play’s three characters suggest that Bunin’s subject concerns God, Jesus and the history of Christianity, his true topic is human frailty. We’ve got a lot to answer for, not even counting rapes, murders, wars and genocide: It’s hard enough just to love someone. Bunin’s characters, though subdued, struggle with manipulation, loss and the relentlessness of death.

Not to make the play sound like a total bummer.
Read more.

Here is Anna Grace's review of the Lord Leebrick Theatre's production of Memory House. As usual, the review will pub in this week's paper. Photo of Katia (lying down, Miranda Schmidt) and Maggie (Kim Donahey) courtesy Lord Leebrick Theatre.

Troubled Waters
Can baking and writing transform one freighted night?
By Anna Grace

Memory House is a study in the frustration of writing, remembering, dealing with relationships — and making blueberry pie.

This complex play, now running at the Lord Leebrick Theatre, is about a mother and the daughter she adopted from Russia. Katia (Miranda Schmidt) must finish her college application essay and have it postmarked by midnight on this New Year’s Eve if she is to stand a chance at getting into her first choice school. Maggie (Kim Donahey) must confront her own disappointing past in an effort to help her daughter discover memories of her own.

Read more.

Coming out on Thursday, but hey, since the daily paper has their reviews out already, here's Sharleen Nelson's review (and my apologies to the WillRep since I was too incredibly busy with ¡Ask a Mexican! controversy last week to post Anna Grace's review of A Christmas Carol — I'll make it up to you some day, I swear):

The Golden Age
It’s Wonderful at the Leebrick (and the Wildish)
By Sharleen Nelson

Lord Leebrick’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play opened to a full house for a two-day run at the stylish Wildish Theater in downtown Springfield. Based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s 1939 short story “The Greatest Gift” and Frank Capra’s 1946 classic film noir-esque It’s a Wonderful Life, playwright Joe Landry’s adaptation is presented in the style of a live 1940s radio show that hearkens back to the golden age of radio when families came together to hear inspirational broadcasts and wholesome entertainment.

Facing a set that includes an On the Air/Stand By marquee and blinking “Applause” signs to prompt audience response, playgoers participate as part of the show’s live studio audience. The show takes place on Christmas Eve 1946 at radio station WBFR’s Studio “A” in Manhattan, where the cast of Playhouse Theatre presents It’s a Wonderful Life. Prior to the show, host Freddie Filmore (Bary Shaw) warms up the audience while five actors take their places in front of several old timey microphones. At a station in the rear is sound effects technician Dale Jestice, who has an odd assortment of clever sound-making devices at his disposal: a wheel that turns to simulate wind, horns, a door for opening, closing and slamming, bells and music that incorporates the theremin, an instrument often used to project an eerie atmosphere.

The story, as was the case in real radio plays, is interspersed by comical yuletide radio jingles that give a nod to sponsoring organizations: “Dux Toilet Cake: The soap of 100 uses” and “Bremel: The swank hair tonic for men.” The group of actors recounts the story of George Bailey, a man who gave up his dreams of travel and college to keep his father’s unstable savings and loan company afloat and to protect the town of Bedford Falls from being taken over by the avarice of rich banker Mr. Potter. But on Christmas Eve Uncle Billy misplaces the company’s bank deposit. Facing jail and financial ruin, and thinking that his wife and young children will be better off with him dead, George contemplates suicide. With the promise of earning his wings, an angel named Clarence comes down to earth to give George a supernatural look at what things would have been like if he had never been born.

Under the direction of Carol Horne Dennis, the versatile cast performs multiple roles of nearly 50 characters. As Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood, Bill Reid skillfully plays the roles of Clarence, Uncle Billy and Mr. Gower. Bary Shaw is great as smooth-talking show host Freddie Filmore but also puts in a terrific performance as smarmy Mr. Potter. As Lana Sherwood, Sharon Sless captures the spirit of the flirtatious Violet and the elder Mrs. Bailey, as well as George’s youngest child Zuzu; Connie Hymer does an excellent job as former Miss Ohio Sally Applewhite playing Mary Bailey. As Jake Laurents, Jeff Pierce gives Jimmy Stewart a run for his money playing the venerable George Bailey. Finally, Dale Jestice has his work cut out for him making many, many sound effects and playing Mr. Welch.

It’s interesting to note that although God, angels and prayer played a prominent role in the film, in 1947 a memo to the director of the FBI reported that some sources viewed the film as subversive and pro-Communist because of its negative depiction of the capitalist Potter and the triumph of the common man Bailey. With today’s holiday pressures to buy an HD plasma TV, toxic toys, the latest techie gadget or a Wii and to decorate our yards with blow-up Santas and snow globes, It’s A Wonderful Life is as relevant today as it was then, maybe more. Perhaps we should recapture the inexpensive joys — like Zuzu’s petals and angel’s wings — and the simple act of getting together with family and friends.

The play continues at Lord Leebrick Dec. 6-9 and 13-16. For tix, visit www.lordleebrick.com or call 465-1506.