Working Class Theatre NW Does Cormac McCarthy's The Sunset Limited

Jack House(left) and
Aaron Bredlau. Photo courtesy Working Class Theatre NW

There were six people in the audience opening night for Working Class Theatre’s The Sunset Limited. Six! What is wrong with this community that they don’t flock to see this mind-boggling play? Has nobody read Cormac McCarthy? Did nobody see the HBO movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson?

Every seat in the house should be filled every night.

McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited hits raw nerves and challenges the intellect. It is a philosophical and theological debate couched in a highly dramatic confrontation between two men who are as diametrically opposite as two men can be.

The men are called Black and White, although Black (Jack House) calls White (Aaron Bredlau) “Professor.” Black is an ex-con with a violent past that found God in prison and is now an evangelical Christian dedicated to helping the junkies who live in his ghetto neighborhood. White is a college professor and an atheist who has lost all hope and only wants to die. He attempts suicide by trying to jump in front of The Sunset Limited commuter train. Black catches him, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and takes him back to his apartment and won’t let him leave until he has done everything in his power to “convert” him—not to any particular religion, but to faith that there is reason to live, reason to hope.

There is something mystical, surreal or other worldly about these characters, beginning with their names, which not only highlight racial differences but are obvious metaphors for being complementary (yin/yang) opposites as. This mystical element first appears when White says he looked before he leaped and there was no one there, yet Black caught him. Are they symbols or metaphors, or are they mystical beings—messengers of God or Satan locked in debate over whether or not life is worth living? This is typical of McCarthy. Such mystical characters appear in many of his books, often in the form of satanic avatars such as Judge Holden in Blood Meridian and Chigurh in No Country for Old Men.

There is nothing simplistic about Black’s religion. Although his arguments ring with evangelical fervor and are sparked with down-home truisms and street language, his theology is complex and intelligent.

White wants nothing to do with his religion. He just wants to die. Over and over he says he’s leaving, and over and over Black insists that he stay a little bit longer. White does not want to be drawn into a theological debate. He says, “Good god, man. Show me a religion that prepares one for death. For nothingness. There's a church I might enter. Yours prepares one only for more life. For dreams and illusions and lies.”

Working Class Theatre Northwest is a small company dedicated to producing socially conscious theater. They work on a limited budget, as evidenced by the set for this play, consisting of donated or scrounged furniture and props that probably cost nothing, all of which works perfectly because that’s the way Black lives (the entire play takes place in his tiny apartment). He has no stove, but only a hot plate; he has only two plates, two coffee cups and two glasses—the bare minimum of everything.

Tim Samland’s direction is outstanding. He and stage manager Chad Carpenter also run lights and sound (lighting design by Tom Sanders), and costumer Christina Hughes serves as house manager—further indications of what a small budget they operate with.

House and Bredlau are totally convincing. House is expansive and expressive, often funny, shouting like a revivalist preacher, and then he becomes quiet and introspective. At one point he becomes as cowed and withdrawn as White, who throughout the play seems to fold in on himself in fear and utter defeat, but then becomes a dynamo of anger and righteous indignation when pressed to explain himself.

This is acting of the highest order. These are actors who so thoroughly inhabit their characters that I don’t know how they manage to go home to their families or out into the world after a performance.

Performances are Thursday through Sunday at 8 p.m. through Feb. 28 at Tacoma Youth Theater, 924 Broadway, Tacoma, and March 5-8 at 8 p.m. at The Midnight Sun, 113 N. Columbia St. in Olympia. Tickets are by suggested donation: $12 for general tickets and $10 for students, seniors, military and union members.

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Sarah Ruhl’s Dear Elizabeth at the Rep

Suzanne Bouchard and Steven Barker Turner in Dear Elizabeth. Photo by Andry Laurence.

Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl at the Seattle Repertory Theater is a small and intimate re-creation of 30 years in the lives of the great American poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell composed entirely from their letters to each other and from their poems. There is not a word in the play not written by either Bishop or Lowell, which is why the playwright refers to herself in program notes as the “arranger” rather than as the writer. What she did was to artfully put together words from the poets and put them into the able hands of director Allison Narver and actors Suzanne Bouchard and Stephen Barker Turner.

“There is an exquisite grace to Dear Elizabeth,” stated Acting Artistic Director Braden Abraham. “Sarah Ruhl began her writing career as a poet, so she was perfectly suited to arrange these letters into a beautiful drama. And Allison’s keen visual sensibility will be a wonderful complement to that language.”

Suzanne Bouchard and Stephen Barker Turner in Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Dear Elizabeth (2015). Photo: Alan Alabastro.

Bishop and Lowell began writing each other in 1947 and continued until Lowell’s death in 1977. During this time they traveled the world and were in and out of institutions. Bishop suffered from asthma, was an alcoholic and depressed, and the great love of her life committed suicide; Lowell had bipolar disorder. They were not lovers in the traditional sense, but they had a great and abiding love. They were critic, cheerleader and confidant to each other.

Simple wordless acting between the recitation of poems and letters string together the narratives of their lives. The manner in which they convey story elements not made clear by the words is almost impossible to describe, but in many instances involve actions so simple as when, while writing to one another, they each take off their shoes and roll up their pants, and then in the next scene they come together and act out wading in cold water to illustrate an incident that took place when Lowell visited Bishop in Maine not long after they first met. Bishop later wrote about it: “Swimming, or rather standing, numb to the waist in the freezing cold water, but continuing to talk. If I were to think of any Saint in his connection then it is St. Sebastian—he stood in a rocky basin of the freezing water, sloshing it over his handsome youthful body and I could almost see the arrows sticking out of him.”

Many elements come together to make for a satisfying evening of theater, elements such as Lowell and Bishop’s poetry, letters that were often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, tidbits into the thoughts and actions of other great writers whom they knew (such as Dylan Thomas who called A Streetcar Named Desire the “fuck truck”) and Bouchard and Turner’s acting. And there were a few elements that I found distracting, mostly symbolic acts such as when Lowell climbs up on the back wall and rips the moon out of the sky, and later when Bishop also climbs up and reaches for something (I know not what). If there were references within the script to explain these actions I missed them.

I did not think the bare-bones set worked well. There were a couple of desks and chairs on rollers, a few props, and a backdrop of what looked like studs in an incomplete wall. Practically, the back wall provided for a screen for projected titles (dates, times, etc.) and for a place where Bishop could put her many whiskey bottles. But it did not make for an attractive stage. The Leo K, which is the smaller of the Rep’s two theaters, is running three shows on a two-show budget this year, and that may account to the minimalist set.

Dear Elizabeth is anything but traditional theater. There is little action and no dramatic story arc, but it is intelligent, witty and heartfelt. Under Narver’s direction, Bouchard and Turner make us feel we have been granted a look into the most private and unguarded thoughts and feelings of two of our nation’s great poets.

Feb. 6–March 8, 2015. Tickets at 206-443-2222 or online at http://www.seattlerep.org

The Seattle Repertory Theater, 155 Mercer St., Seattle, through Feb. 8

BARE: A Boudoir Exhibition” at B2

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Feb. 12, 2015

"Winged Asana" mixed media sculpture by Marsha Glazière

"White Face Dancer" drawing by Guy Anderson

Maybe I shouldn’t review this latest show at B2 Fine Art because I am in the show, but not reviewing it would not be fair to the gallery or the other participating artists. So I won’t mention my own work other than to say it is an honor to be included in a show with artists of such stature.

“BARE: A Boudoir Exhibition” is a show of nudes in drawing, sculpture, painting and photography. The gallery warns that children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult. When taking notes for this review I was struck with how often I noted similarities to works by famous artists. Maryanne Hanson’s sketches reminded me of drawings by Giacometti — thin figures (but not so emaciated as Giacometti’s) drawn with energetic lines. I was particularly struck with a set of three figures hung in the windows. Paul Dahlquist’s photos of male nude dancers and his photo montages reminded me of Robert Mapplethorpe’s gay erotica. Although not quite as blatantly sexual as some of Mapplethorpe’s photos, they come pretty close. Nina Mikhailenko’s small, classical female nudes have a lot in common with paintings by George Luks, but with more expressive and sparse paint application. Francisco Zunigo’s three charcoal drawings are like Picasso’s heavy figures from his classical period. These are among the most impressive works in the show with their smooth modeling and lyrical contour lines.

Others were too uniquely themselves to call other artists to mind.

Guy Anderson, the most famous artist in the show and also the most impressive, is represented by five life-size drawings of standing male nudes on brown paper and one smaller sketch in ink on paper. Each of his works is an isolated figure drawn with a strength and directness that leaps off the page. The contrasting unmodulated color areas and the harsh contour lines reverberate against one another in such a way as to enliven these stoic looking male figures. At the opening and again a week later I kept returning to these fine works.

Marsha Glazière is showing a single piece, and it’s a knockout. Called “Winged Asana,” it is a mixed-media metal sculpture of a woman posed in a dynamic dance move. Perhaps you’ve seen some of her paintings. In this sculpture she has done with various mesh screens and metal plates what she does with paint, which is to create a densely textured clash of complementary forms and surface marks that are nevertheless nicely unified, that speak simultaneously of the subject and the materials. It is outstanding.

Rounding out this selection of art are seven pastels by the incomparable team of Ric Hall and Ron Schmidt. These works combine elements of surrealism and German expressionism with male and female figures in groups and in various environments with dark fauvist colors and strange juxtapositions. Often Hall and Schmidt’s figures meld together to form single figures with multiple parts. They can be unnerving, but I enjoy them. Whenever I see their work I feel like I’m in a cabaret in Berlin circa 1930, or in the midst of a nightmare. They are scary, funny, and beautifully crafted.

Also showing are fine works by Chuck Smart and Georgianna Malloff.

B2 Fine Art Gallery, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, till 9 p.m. Third Thursdays, through March 14, 711 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, 253.238.5065]

Matthew Posner – From Cartoon Voices to Carousel

The 5^th Avenue Theatre in Seattle is the pinnacle of success for South Sound musical theater performers, and local favorite Matthew Posner is quickly climbing the ladder of success at the 5^th Ave—with a song in his heart and a boatload of acting skill. For Posner performing at the 5^th Ave was a dream even before he moved to Western Washington from the East Coast. His parents, who moved out here shortly after Matt graduated high school, were season ticket holders, and from them he knew it was the place he wanted to perform above all others.

Soon after moving here he auditioned for Stephen Sondheim’s hit musical Into the Woods and got a callback but didn’t get cast. He auditioned at the 5^th Ave 10 more times before finally being cast as Smokey in Damn Yankees in 2012.

Between that first audition for Into the Woods and finally being cast in Damn Yankees he rocked and rolled and crooned audiences in Tacoma and Olympia that were overwhelmed by his talent and, more importantly, by how thoroughly he threw himself into every role he played in such shows as:

• ·       Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (in the lead role as Joseph), as Mark in Rent and Cornelius in Hello Dolly at Tacoma Musical Playhouse
• ·       And in various roles in Stardust Christmas Carol, The Final Stardust and Sixties Kicks at Harlequin Productions in Olympia

Posner was born in Indiana, the youngest of three boys. He says they moved around a lot but lived in New Hampshire for 21 years.

As a child he taught himself to imitate the voices of cartoon characters. That led to a school production of The Wizard of Oz when he was in the sixth grade. When asked to sing for an audition, the only song he could think of was “Happy Birthday.” That didn’t get him a part, but the director later saw him playing around with cartoon voices and put him in the show.

After he finished school his parents moved to Washington, but he stayed on the East Coast where he studied at Plymouth State University and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He was in the national tour of Camelot playing Lancelot and contracted with a theater in Tennessee, but that didn’t work out and he relocated to the Seattle area and started rebuilding his musical theater career starting with work in community theaters in Tacoma and Olympia.

In 2008 I chose him as Best Actor in a Musical for my “Critic’s Choice” column in The News tribune, commending him for outstanding performances in three separate roles: Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, Danny in Grease at Tacoma Musical Playhouse and Buddy Foster in Side Show at Capital Playhouse. 

Since moving to Seattle and getting a part in Damn Yankees he has performed in A Christmas Story, Oliver, Second Hand Lions, and Pirates of Penzance at the 5^th Ave and will be in their latest production, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, playing Feb. 5 to March 1. Carousel is being presented in collaboration with Spectrum Dance Theater. This will be the theater’s fourth major collaboration with Spectrum.

Carousel is a personal favorite for Richard Rodgers. It’s the story of carousel barker Billy Bigelow and his romance with millworker Julie Jordan. Many all-time favorite songs are featured, such as “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “If I Loved You” and “June is Busting Out All Over.”

Billy is played by Brandon O’Neill, who has just returned to Seattle after a year on Broadway in Disney’s Alladin. Julie is played by Laura Griffith, a veteran of several Broadway shows and national tours.  She was recently seen as the Lady of the Lake in the 5^th Ave’s Monty Python’s Spamalot. Billie Wildrick, Laura Griffith, and Anne Allgood also star.

Visit the 5^th Avenue Theater

Visit Matthew Posner’s website