Saturday, January 22, 2011

A Day at the Theater

We drove to Portland for lunch at Andina and an afternoon play at PCS (Portland Center Stage) located in the Gerding Theater, the old armory at the corner of 11th and Davis.
The food was delicious as usual. The play was one of my stand by favorites, actually one of the first professional plays I ever saw when I was about 23, The Imaginary Invalid.
I was in the military and living in Georgia. and was on temporary attachment to a project for General Meyer. His aid was a big theater fan. This was well before DADT, back then no one gave a damn who was gay and who wasn't except for the young recruits, but that's another story. Anyway, he always had great connections to all the theaters up and down the east coast so he got me a ticket to see this play in Wilmington. I was so excited at seeing a real live play that I went to every one I could find time for.
This production , a new version by Constance Congdon, showcased some fine actors and was well recieved, but alas, I found it was updated to meet the intelct of the lower, if not the lowest common denominator.
The changes in language, the added songs and farce, and the changes in scripting were, all in all, not to my taste. How many times does the actor have to come out of charactor to say "cow poop"? Why would the actors leave the roll and switch to American English for the asides?
I really loved the patient, his maid (save for the switching of dialect), and the nephew, who was one of the best dandys I have seen. The rest of the actors did well in the rolls but all had weak moments.
I can recomend seeing it and it might just have been the mood I was in that made me wince.
The little cafe in the lobby features Willakenzie's Pinot Noir. I am very glad I had a glass before seeing the show.

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