It’s a Wilde World

UO makes frivolous fun with The Importance of Being Earnest

Pithy, witty and wise, Oscar Wilde remains the toast of the sniff set. Though dead all these long and tedious post-industrial years, Wilde, the foremost icon of soft-soap Victorian sabotage, is always good for a sharp, stinging rebuke to the narcissistic pretensions of the bourgeoisie or some feisty fillip about sexual hypocrisy of the straight crowd. His aphorisms, with their subtle swish and sting, trip oh-so trippingly off the tongues of would-be wags everywhere. Morrissey, Truman Capote and Paul Lynde, Wilde’s closest modern kin, ain’t got nothing on the master. Continue reading 

Family Drama

The Very Little Theatre presents The Cleaning Man: A Deposition in the Estate of Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson: tall, handsome, ruggedly macho, gay. Following his death from AIDS in 1985 was a sensational media circus lawsuit: Scorned lover Marc Christian was demanding $14 million, claiming it was owed to him as he had been unwittingly infected with the disease. Within this spectacular story, The Cleaning Man turns the spotlight on a fine-print footnote to history. John Dobbs, vain and simple, found employment and self-importance cleaning Hudson’s house. Continue reading 

Morgan Spurlock’s Shadow

Eugene’s honorary stoner, comedian Doug Benson, returns to our green valley

April 21 may as well be the new 4/20, as far as Eugene and comedian Doug Benson are concerned. The seminal stoner and star of Super High Me returns to WOW Hall for his 3rd annual celebration of giggling and giggle weed, hot off releasing his on-the-road documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled — to continue in the vein of pot variations on a Morgan Spurlock theme — on Chill.com. Also the host of the Doug Loves Movies podcast, Benson sounds off on his favorite and most despised films of 2013, smoking with the stars and legalizing marijuana. Continue reading 

Dance Diplomacy

U.S. State Department selects DanceAbility teachers to share their method abroad

“I was part of the contemporary dance scene at the point when everyone was pushing for equality, respect of all people and the idea that all people could dance,” says Alito Alessi, artistic director of DanceAbility International. “But no one was doing anything about it, including myself. So I said, ‘Well, what would it look like to do what we say we all believe in?’” Continue reading 

The Leading Player

The indefatigable Tony Rust brings Pippin to Marist High School

One year ago, Tony Rust conceived the idea of directing Pippin at Marist High School, and playing the Leading Player himself. If directing a high school play and being in it sounds crazy, remember that this is Tony Rust — the Marist drama teacher doesn’t sleep. He can be found doing everything from directing, running summer camps, crafting sets under the name FeO2, singing lead roles, teaching high school drama and often doing several of these things at the same time. Continue reading 

No Weeds in this Garden

The Secret Garden at the Cottage Theatre is a hit

There is this sublime passage near the end of Cottage Theatre’s current production of The Secret Garden when Kyra Siegel, in the lead role of Mary Lennox, bows low to the stage and then rises in hypnotic fits and starts, as her character commences a healing dance for her invalid cousin Colin (George Schroeder); seeming possessed, Siegel’s lanky body jumps and arcs and shivers through space, and the complicated grace of her movements defies the mundane laws of gravity. It’s beautiful to behold. So beautiful, in fact, that I found myself tearing up. Continue reading 

Southern Boy Turns Titan

LCC’s Haimbach debuts with Bridegroom at Blowing Rock

“Coming out of the first interview I called my partner and said, ‘Start packing!’” new LCC Theater Director Brian Haimbach says. In a discussion that was heavily peppered with descriptors like “smooth,” “easy” and “meant to be,” it is obvious that Haimbach is happy in his new home with the Titans.  Stepping into the shoes of local legends Ed Raggazio and Patrick Torelle, Haimbach has a big job ahead of him, and one that he seems to be relishing.  Continue reading 

Swinging from the Altar

Tarzan: The Musical to open at the New Hope Center

A 1912 piece of pulp fiction by Edgar Rice Burroughs leaves a British baby on the shores of West Africa, growing up securely in the arms of a gorilla, swinging through the jungle and finally landing at the feet of a beautiful young lady, Jane. The original story spawned over 20 sequels. Disney revamped the adventures for a film in 1999 and again for a stage musical in 2004. Nine years later, Tarzan lands at the New Hope Center for the first Pacific Northwest production. Continue reading