Year end and Sea Marks

I'm taking a break from my community theater column this week. Next up will be a typical year-end column, my "Best theater moments of 2010" to be published Jan. 7 and next after that will be a preview of "Sea Marks" by Gardener McKay at Olympia Little Theatre.

From their website:

(Romantic Drama) All ages
January 13 - 30, 2011: The humorous, poignant and romantic story of Colin Primrose, a lonely fisherman from the sea bound island of Cliffhorn Heads, Ireland and Timothea, a lovely young woman from Liverpool, who meets him on a rare visit to the remote island for a relative's wedding. Although they've met only once, he is taken with her and writes her a letter beginning a correspondence that change both their lives. Can this man,  who has known only the sea and a woman very much of the city make a home and a life together?  Director - Terence Artz.

Also watch for my Top five (or maybe six) South Sound art exhibits in next week's Volcano.

Big brag

I love, love, love was Jim Patrick posted on my Facebook invitation paqe:

"Give yourself a treat and read Alec's new novel. Don't let the long (and I mean long) list of characters at the beginning of this fun, intriguing and surprising tale of a small town scare you off. It is one of the best reads I have enjoyed this year. And see some of these characters come to life on January 13th. Guaranteed fun!"
Full disclosure: Jim is one of the four actors who will be reading from Reunion at the Wetside that night. (It's a 6 p.m. at Orca Books in Olympia.) Jim also posted a nice review on amazon.

And speaking of amazon, I also love, love, love what Jack Butler wrote in his review:

"The Wetside" is what Washington-states call the part of the state west of the Cascades. It's also the name of a fictional town and the iconic bar of that town in Alec Clayton's new mystery novel, "Reunion at the Wetside." There's a series of killings which the two main protagonists gradually realize are the work of a serial murderer. Sixtyish Alex Martin meets again and falls in love with her sixtyish long-lost school chum (and sometimes antagonist) Jim Bright, the former holder of the state record for the mile. She would be considered left of center, and he's a (libertarian) Republican.

But before you start making assumptions, you should know that there has been a regular drag queen show at The Wetside bar ever since the sixties, one of the bar's most popular features, and that the serial killing victims have all been female impersonators who have appeared in the show, and that Republican Jim Bright was one of the stars of that show when he was young, still legendary after all these years.

And that he may be the intended next victim.

This is a more complex and more satisfying account of humans involved in a murder mystery than you may be accustomed to. The story turns out to be a history of the town. The neighbors, the kids that Alex and Jim played among, the crazy affairs, the man with two wives, the cops--it all percolates and simmers. There are reveals you never see coming, but it's fair to say you will applaud the unveiling of the culprit, and you will not be surprised but the ending won't be anti-climactic.

That's because this is a mystery with a difference. These are real people with real lives, not the cardboard cliches of most mystery fiction. No stereotypes allowed. Jim may have been a highly successful drag queen, but he's all male. And so it goes.

In retrospect, the murders pretty obviously grow out of the vindictiveness of some, the confusion of others, the mistaken assumptions of the times, and more. That's where the satisfaction of the book comes from. It isn't the satisfaction of the loud click of an empty mechanism. It's the double satisfaction of reading a full-blooded mystery and a true account of human nature at the same time.

Highly recommended.

Reunion at the Wetside

Oly art quest

Olympia's modest is showing

The Weekly Volcano, Dec. 30, 2010

 

"Signet Ring" by Tom Anderson: One of the four artworks selected for the new Olympia City Hall. Photo courtesy Tom Anderson
The quest for art at the new Olympia City Hall is becoming a soap opera.

A year ago a jury of arts professionals chose a proposal by Seattle artist Dan Webb for 10 bronze sculptures meant to represent speaking bubbles like those used in comic strips. Called Thought Bubbles, each piece would be two feet tall and they would hang on pillars outside City Hall. A 40-inch thought bubble sculpture would be inside the building. The whole thing was budgeted at $180,000. People were outraged. Letters of complaint poured in and the city council turned down the proposal.

Now, a year later, the arts commission and selected jurors and a citizens' advisory panel have chosen four less controversial works of art to go inside the building with a slimmed-down budget of $35,000 - and actually the selected works came in some $15,000 under budget at $20,505 for the four art pieces. But that was not good enough for the council, which voted to table the vote until the Jan. 4 meeting.

At least one council member, Karen Rogers, complained about spending so much money in these lean economic times despite the fact that the budget was already approved and purchase of art is required by law in the Art for Public Places program, which mandates that one half of one percent of the construction budget for public buildings be used to purchase artwork.

There was also some question about "Street Corner Passing" by artist Lela DePaolo, a collage that included pictures of people taken at Olympia's Arts Walk. The question was did the artist have permission from all the people in the photo-collage - a non-issue because photographers don't have to get permission for photos taken at public events.

The whole thing is getting ridiculous (see comments from local artists posted on the Volcano's blog Spew).

Personally, I thought the "thought bubbles" looked silly, although the idea was kind of cool, and I'm glad that work wasn't installed. On the other hand, it might be appropriate for a town where the local collage boasts of its geoduck school mascot. Come to think of it, given the opportunity to vote, I'd cast my vote for a giant geoduck sculpture in front of City Hall.

As for the newly proposed work, I haven't seen much of it, but I have seen other works by some of the selected artists and they are safe and non-controversial.

The Olympia Arts Commission did what they should have done in selecting work. They used a time-honored selection process and reached out to the public. If anything, they went overboard in trying to please everybody - which, of course, can never be done and should never even be tried. As for the city council, they have displayed a shameful level of trepidation.

After seeing what Tacoma has done by way of public art recently - most notably the Spaceworks program and the newly installed "Projecting Drop" by Jill Anholt at Pacific Plaza - I am embarrassed by Olympia's lack of vision. Tacoma is showing some guts and creativity while Olympia is stuck in the muddy muck of conformity. (Coincidentally, I just received an announcement that the Tacoma Arts Commission just approved funding for 21 different arts projects, and in contrast to Karen Rogers in Olympia, T-Town's commission chair Sarah Idstrom said funding such programs is "particularly important during the current economic downturn."

Meanwhile, the Olympia City Council gets another chance Jan. 4 to vote on public art for City Hall. It would be nice if they could start the New Year by approving a modest proposal of art that will enhance the new building and not offend anyone.

Swirling light

John Fisher’s "Algorithmic Drawings" at Mineral

Published in the Weekly Volcano, December 22, 2010

Pictured: "Green Spiral Stairs,[Murray Morgan Bridge, Tacoma]" a digital print by John Fisher currently on display at Mineral Gallery. Photo courtesy Mineral Gallery

I don't pretend to understand or even care about the science or math behind John Fisher's art at Mineral. There are nine digital prints on the wall and one interactive audio-visual presentation. The digital prints are beautiful and fascinating. In layman's terms they are time-lapse photographs. The other thing, which he calls the "Number Tree," is an animation played on a television monitor that is hooked up to some kind of high-tech computer and a soundboard contraption.

In the interactive piece, viewers enter a series of numbers into the computer and the numbers generate animated pictures of trees and leaves and snowflakes. To math geeks it may be fascinating, but visually the images are boring. Not so the prints. They are terrific. The colors and shapes are electric. They are photographs, but he calls them and the show "Algorithmic Drawings". The photos are of industrial scenes with streaks and bursts of light created by long exposures of moving lights and perhaps other techniques. The photos were all taken in Seattle and Tacoma.

"Tideflats Ghost Semi" is a time-lapse photo of trucks passing by a warehouse. The lights from the trucks create a dense network of swirling filaments overlapping the architectural structure of the warehouse in the background, which is almost obliterated by the brilliant light streaks. We have all seen time-lapse photos of car lights; they are usually streaks that logically follow the direction in which the cars are going. But the streaks of light in Fisher's photos explode and crackle into amazing strands and bursts like electricity in a mad scientist's lab.

"Ghost Semi Diptyc"h is another version of the same photo. In this case there are two photos mounted one above the other. In the top photo there are very few of the light effects. The warehouse building is in sharp focus and there are a mere three horizontal and parallel streaks of light at ground level. In the bottom photo the lights explode more like in "Tideflats Ghost Semi," and the building almost vanishes behind the bursts of light. In "Murray Morgan Bridge", Tacoma the lights on the stairs beneath the Murray Morgan Bridge swirl into strange spiral cones like some kind of deep space wormholes and almost everything is tinted with a deep, electric blue-green.

Numbers march up and down the sides of buildings and seem to hang in the air on long cables in "Seattle Public Library". I haven't the slightest clue as to how he created this image, but it is beautiful. It is a lot like the images in the television commercial that has numbers buzzing all around people's bodies. The perspective in this shot of an alley is disorienting, as it is in another fascinating work called Overpass Moss. All of the photos are solidly designed and full of crackling energy, and the colors are great.

Twice in this column I have indicated that I am not interested in his technique. For those who may be more curious there are printed sheets of information available that provide some explanation, but I like the mystery of not knowing. It enhances the magic and wonder of the images.

Beside those that are framed and for sale, there are a lot of unframed and reasonably priced photos in a bin at Mineral.

Note: If you see this show you will notice that the titles on the wall labels don't all match those given here and on the gallery website. "Murray Morgan Bridge" is called "Green Spiral Stairs" on the wall label and "Seattle Public Library is called "Alley Numbers, 2010."

Through Jan. 29, noon–5 p.m., Thursday–Saturday (hours may vary, so call first), Mineral, 301 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma
253.250.7745, lisakinoshita.com

Harlequin Productions' swing-era 'Stardust Christmas' saturated with silliness

The News Tribune / The Olympian, Dec. 24, 2010
Pictured (top) Bruce Whitney as Scrooge with Erica Penn, Anjelica Wolf and Rian Wilson background; (bottom) Matthew Posner with Erica Penn, Rian Wilson, Debbie Evens and Tracey Lewis background.

The swinging holiday musical romp “A Stardust Christmas Carol” is not the greatest thing Harlequin has ever done (the “Stardust” series is nowhere near as remarkably raucous and rocking as their similar summer music reviews), but for random silliness and great swing-era music it might be hard to beat.

This is the 16th edition in the series, nearly all of which are set in the Stardust Club in Manhattan on Christmas Eve during or right after World War II. The conceit that drives them all is that the employees of the club present a radio broadcast for Christmas, usually with some famous crooner as a guest star and often with the amateurs taking over.

In this version, it is 1945. The boys have just come home from the war – “the boys” represented in this case by Calvin Brody, a sailor, played by Rian Wilson. W.O.R. Radio station manager Irene Hunter (Deborah Evans) shows up with radio personality Chuck Odell (Matthew Posner) to broadcast Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” with celebrity guest Basil Rathbone, who doesn’t show up because their schedule was off by a week. They decide to go ahead with the broadcast with the Russian band leader Nikolai Feodorov (Bruce Whitney) playing the part of Scrooge.

The script is credited to Harlowe Reed, a writer who is either as mysterious as J.D. Salinger or a pseudonym for the collective work of Harlequin cast and crew. The mood, the jokes and the plot devices all come across as prime examples of professional-level actors – quite purposefully and with tongues firmly planted in cheeks – sinking to the level of a high school drama club improvising a comic take on the classic Christmas tale. If that analogy doesn’t work for you, imagine the cast of “Glee” deciding to do a Christmas story and act it out as poorly as possible. Note: it takes good actors to play bad actors well.

This cast could rival the one just alluded to for musical talent. Tracey Lewis as Danny Scofield is a talented dancer and choreographer. He does a couple of beautifully smooth and rhythmical dances with Ruby Conrad (Erica Penn). He’s a good singer, too, although I longed for the more traditional high tenor when he sang “Danny Boy.” Penn also stands out on the beautiful “The Very Thought of You” with bluesy solos from saxophonist Dan Blunck. Wilson and Hunter, along with Anjelica Wolf and Megan Tyrrell, fill in the chorus and shine on their few solos. I especially wished that Tyrrell and Hunter could have had more solos.

The Posners – Matthew and Alison Monda Posner – steal the show. These two are expressive, energetic and in great voice. Matthew captures the somewhat slick and sleazy personality of an egotistical radio personality. He shows great comic acting chops when he appears in the guise of the ghost of Jacob Marley, and his singing is great from crooning “Serenade in Blue” to rocking the house on “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.” Alison brings the house down with her exaggerated Texas drawl (I could barely understand her, and I grew up in the deep South) and her enthusiastic bounciness.

The surprise hit was Whitney stepping out of his role as band leader to play the part of Scrooge. He has similarly stepped into other roles in previous shows, but never into quite such a large part. Another band member, Blunck, also stepped out of character to play small parts in the play-within-a-play. He made for a quite enjoyable Tiny Tim.

As usual, the band was great, and people of all ages should enjoy all the old familiar tunes. Patrons who enjoyed this show four years ago might want to see it again. The story line is the same but the cast is new and some of the songs are new.

There are only four more performances of Harlequin Productions’ “A Stardust Christmas Carol,” so if you’re looking for lighthearted seasonal entertainment, call for tickets right away. There will be a special New Year’s Eve show to ring in the New Year on New York time – starting at 7 p.m. our time.

WHEN: 2 p.m. today and Sunday, 8 p.m. Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, 7 p.m. Dec. 31
WHERE: State Theater, 202 E. 4th Ave., Olympia
TICKETS: prices vary, call for details
INFORMATION: 360-786-0151; www. harlequinproductions.org/

Tush! and Sirens

Burlesque in the South Sound

Published in the Weekly Volcano, December 23, 2010

The Gritty City Sirens officially debut today at The Swiss.
Pictured: Tush! Burlesque at top, Gritty City Sirens below

I had a very erroneous concept of burlesque before the ladies of Olympia's Tush! Burlesque set me straight. I thought of it as a sleazy and sexist art form that denigrated women and turned men into slavering beasts.

I was surprised when women I knew from the theater world began raving about Tush! and I began to wonder if stripping was becoming mainstream. Hell, there was even a Hollywood movie about it starring Cher, no less. I began to think that maybe feminists had appropriated what was once anti-feminist and claimed it as their own. But Tush! member Bettie Beelzebub explained, "Burlesque actually has a historic tradition of beauty, sophistication, humor and class. It comes from the parody plays of the Victorian era, done with humor and often based on political or social issues of the time."

She said it is not the same as what is done in strip clubs and for the performers it can be "a very empowering undertaking." Burlesque tells a story. Each performance has a theme that is carried out by each of the performers, and it involves elaborate costumes and choreography. Most importantly, perhaps, it is funny. It's good sexy fun - more like Vaudeville than stripping, and in some ways similar to musical theater.

Tush! member Frida Fondle said, "We spend around six to eight weeks preparing for each show. Each of us is responsible for making and designing our own costumes, and we all choreograph our own dance moves."

In addition to Beelzebub and Fondle, current Tushies are Black Bonni, Ginger Smack, Lowa de Boom Boom, Nani Poonani, Princess Lucky Buttons, Prudence Payne and Mistress of Ceremonies Hattie Hotpants.

Tush! is described in their promotional materials as "a collective of sexy, vivacious, and creative women brought together by a shared vision to rebel against commercial beauty standards" representing an "unconventional array of body types, ages, colors, and cultural identities in a powerful, intelligent, and humorous way."

Hattie Hotpants said there are three important elements to what they do: "beautiful, naked, unfettered nudity," plus humor and spectacle.

"You are expected to hoot and holler, and to let it all hang out," she said.

Now, about that movie. Fondle said, "It really is a shame that the representation of burlesque in that movie is exactly what the title means, ‘to make a mockery of, usually by caricature.' This movie does exactly that. I think that the whole burlesque community is up in arms about this bastardization of what we all thought was still an underground counter cultural art movement. It is unfortunate that the masses are now being force fed this watered-down, sleazy, sexist version of burlesque."

A new burlesque troupe called Gritty City Sirens has recently come to Tacoma, and will have its debut performance at The Swiss Dec. 23. They are Ava D'Jor, Tizzy Van Tassel, Rosie Cheexx, Funny Face Fanny and Polly Puckerup.

Van Tassel has been doing Burlesque in Texas, and she said Rosie Cheexx is a "hometown sweetheart."

The others are new to burlesque. "Our Polly Puckerup just debuted her very first solo acts at Hells Kitchen the other night," Van Tassel said, adding, "We have two more beautiful burlesque debutantes who will be dancing solo for the first time as burlesque dancers on Dec. 23 at the Swiss."

There will be multiple solo routines and group acts. "Prepare yourself for a night of glitz, glamour, humor and plenty of T&A!" Van Tassel says.
Gritty City Sirens

Thursday, Dec. 23, 9 p.m.
The Swiss, 1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma
253.572.2821

A Tannenbaum Christmas

I thought “Oh yes!” and then “Oh God no, not another Christmas show!” when I was invited to Saul Tannebaum’s “Claus for Celebration” with The Jingle Belles and special guest Mona Van Horne at the Eagles Ballroom Saturday night. I had been wanting to see one of Saul’s shows for quite some time but I didn’t think I could sit through yet another Christmas show. Just the night before I had seen Harlequin’s “Stardust Christmas Carol” (watch for my review Friday in The Olympian and The News Tribune), and in the past two weeks I had seen more holiday shows than I could count on my fingers.

Somewhat reluctantly I dragged my also somewhat reluctant wife down to the Eagles. We got there long before the show started but still too early for good seats. We ended up sort of behind a post where I could see Saul but not all of the other performers. So I moved one seat to my left where I could see all but Saul. The Eagles Ballroom does not have the best seating in the world.

The show was late starting, but nobody seemed to mind because they were all drinking and chatting, and the star of the show was wandering around in the audience talking to everyone.

Saul Tannenbaum is the creation of actor, singer, musician, musical director Josh Anderson, who, once he gets into his Tannenbaum wig and glasses and white suit, never breaks out of character — not even off stage, not even away from the venue. For example, last summer he went to the Pride celebration to promote his show and wandered around in the crowd introducing himself, even to personal friends, as Saul. When Anderson gets in character he IS Saul. And what a character he is — brash and loud and loveable, and maybe just a touch unconnected to reality.

Tannenbaum introduces his guests: a trio of girl singers called the Jingle Belles, brother and sister Ricardo and Carlotta Fishman, and special guest Mona Van Horne. He tells a few tales and plays piano, but mostly turns the show over to his guest stars who entertain the audience with mixed-up medleys of holiday songs.

Like Anderson/Tannenbaum, the other show folk stay in character on- and off stage and the actors are never introduced.  Molly Gilmore named some of them in a recent article in The Olympian, specifically Anderson and Christina Collins, who does a wonderful Marlene Deitrich. Gregory Conn played Ricardo and Lauren O’Neill was one of the three girl singers, but I still don’t know who played the other parts. I just know they were all incredibly talented, funny and sexy. (It was hinted that the show was going to be risqué, but there was only the slightest hint of the risqué.)

This is the fourth Olympia show for Saul, and there’s another one coming in the spring. If this show was any indicator it will be a performance not to be missed.

Pictured: Christina Collins as Mona Van Horne and Josh Anderson as Saul Tannenbaum.

Read Molly Gilmore’s article in The Olympian.