Local theater has exploded in the past couple of years, an evolving response to a breakdown of some relationships that happened about five years ago and that, generally, the thespian community has moved beyond.
I’m in a show right now, and expect to be again in December, as a newspaper we’re continually working to keep track of all the theatrical efforts that help make the Gorge so special.
The recent “Newsies” production at Hood River Valley High School was an energetic high point in a program full of them; director Rachel Harry and musical director Dan Kenealy and all the students on stage and backstage deserve a rich congratulations for their skilled and passionate presentation of a difficult show.
“An Evening of Poe” at Columbia Center for the Arts ran one weekend Nov. 8-9 and was a profound showcase of talent by people young and old, notably 16-year-old writer and director Zora Richardson.
My friends, performers Kathleen Morrow and David Dye and director Tom Burns, are bringing a Henry James chiller on the road this month. I don’t mean a refrigerator; no, it’s James “Turn of the Screw” and far from lightweight, it’s an emotionally-laden show that Morrow notes, with two cast members and minimal set, is easily transportable; with presentations in Stevenson last weekend, The Dalles this weekend, and Hood River next, there’s little excuse for missing it.
“Turn of the Screw,” along with “Our Town,” the show I’m in, are profiled on page A12 of the Nov. 13 Midweek edition. Those of us in Grover’s Corner give thanks to Burns, Dye and Morrow and company for making a point of scheduling their Hood River weekend on Nov. 22-23 (at Elks Lodge), after “Our Town” closes.
(Editor’s note: Don’t blame editor Webb for it, but on that Nov. 22-23 matter, the print edition gave a wrong date. “Our Town” does close Nov. 16, and “Turn of the Screw” concludes on Nov. 22-23 in Hood River; also, it was 13 years ago that “Our Town” was done here — not in 2013. This just lends further art-meets-life resonance to one of my lines: “Paper have any mistakes in it?”)
It’s a sign of the kind of cooperation the eight (count ‘em, eight) theater troupes in the Gorge have tried to maintain during this explosion of the past two-three years. The fact that there is what is sometimes loosely called “too much theater” is a sign of health of this pursuit that drives so many people and continues to garner supportive audiences.
Speaking as an actor, we do say “thank you” to all who attend.
I am honored to return to the role of Charles Webb, editor of the Grover’s Corner Sentinel, and share some stage time with my wife, Lorre, as Myrtle Webb. Director Lynda Dallman recruited us in 2006 do the roles, and we signed on again in 2019. “Our Town” is truly a timeless tale of savoring what you have, of living each day to its fullest. Stage Manager Gary Young, with one of theater’s most honored (and, outside of “The Iceman Cometh” and “Death of A Salesman,” one of theater’s largest) roles, gives it new life and a sense of what a tale “set” c. 1909 means to us in 2019.
“We all know something is eternal … everybody knows it in their bones, that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings,” the Stage Manager says in a line central to the story. (Young is no stranger to large, dominant roles, having performed as Ebenezer Scrooge at least five times over the years.)
The dimensions of returning to “Our Town” are enriched by getting to perform along with my colleague Emily Fitzgerald – she’s a reporter on our staff and we get to play father and daughter, a duality that felt odd at first but we have both grown into as actors. It’s Emily, as Emily, who gets to ask the critical question, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? – every, every minute?”
The Stage Manager gives an answer to that question, but it’s one each of us must answer for ourselves. There have been many fine, provocative plays done in the Gorge and continue to be and even good comedies (and, yes, “Our Town” has comic moments) make us think. “Our Town” will, and so will “Turn of the Screw.” If you don’t see these shows, think about getting out soon, because there is something visceral about seeing your friends and neighbors stand and deliver. I have been honored to be among them.
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