Showdown in Tacoma, Part 2

Judges of the Region 9 AACTFest in Tacoma this weekend have a difficult task ahead of them: comparing an apple with an orange with a banana. The three shows competing for the "Best in Region" title are completely different, and it might come down to whether the three judges are in the mood for a funny yet philosophical play, a musical comedy, or a dark musical ringing with gunshots.

The Gallery Theatre in McMinniville, Oregon won that state's title with a production of Art, the funny yet thought-provoking play by Yasmina Reza (translated from French by Christopher Hampton) where the friendship of three men is tested by a large white canvas. Is a nearly blank canvas "Art"? And worth the large sums of money that "art" collectors are willing to pay? I have no idea how this production went, but I thoroughly enjoyed the script, and the performances I saw on Broadway in '99, and at Interplayers several years ago. In short, it's strong material, and good competition pieces are built on strong material.

Saturday night, the cast of Forever Plaid had their final audience dress rehearsal (an benefit) before heading to the competition. The show is the first and probably final big gig for a men's harmony quartet from the early '60s -- "probably final" because they were killed in Feb. 1964 by a bus filled with teens off to see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. The songs are nostalgia pieces -- Three Coins in a Fountain, Sixteen Tons, Chain Gang, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing. The key to the show is the harmonizing between the four characters. Two of them are played by Mike Hynes and Kent Kimball, two of the region's best male singers, period. Kent's rich baritone is going to be starring as the Captain in Sound of Music at Civic this spring. Mike has a tenor voice to die for, even though Plaid doesn't show off his range: LCP Executive Director Brian Doig takes the top notes. Todd Jasmin, also Artistic/Technical Director for the Playhouse, rounds out the quartet.

Assassins is about nine people who have killed or tried to kill Presidents of the United States. Patrick McHenry-Kroetch is truly regal as John Wilkes Booth. Frankly, there's nothing funnier than Sara Jane Moore (Marianne McLaughlin) spilling the bullets from her gun as Gerald Ford walks by, then throwing them at him yelling "Bang! Bang!"* It's dark. The Balladeer, the representation of "normal" American sensibilities, is ignored -- much as many of the 60% who disapprove of our current president feel ignored. The more things change, the more they stay the same... Unfortunately, their performance rights for the Stephen Sondheim show didn't include a benefit dress rehearsal. I haven't seen the trimmed-down version, without the chorus and their musical numbers.

All shows have the same rules: Begin with the actors (in costume) and crew standing with their set in a 10x10 square area. It must all fit in this 10x10 area. The cast and crew then has 10 minutes to put up their set. They have 60 minutes to perform their piece (for example, Forever Plaid did it in 57 on Saturday). After their performance, they have another 10 minutes to tear down the set (3 minutes).

What would be fun is seeing the Civic and Playhouse people hanging out together there. At Civic's 60th Gala party on Sunday night, Mike Hynes and Kent Kimball were there on stage singing songs from two of the shows they've been in. (Mike Hynes IS the Cowardly Lion. Talk about being born to play a part! That was his own lion costume and wig he was in on Sunday night, too.) Actors and other creative theatre folks do go back and forth across the state line to do a show they absolutely love. We're very lucky to have these two opportunities to showcase what our theatres can do.

*Historical quibble: It was Squeaky who didn't have any bullets in her gun when she tried to shoot Ford. Somebody knocked Sara Jane aside after she shot her first bullet, which careened off of the doorway near Ford. Okay, now I'm coming off as a history geek and most people don't care, and I know the show needs good comic relief. But the lead female characters are the comic relief, and that goes against my need for strong female characters. Thank goodness for the Emma Goldman portrayal ;-) Okay, soapbox moment over.