GetBoulder.com Theater Reviews

Reviewer Beki Pineda is a 30-year veteran of the Denver theater scene as a former teacher and director. She has owned and operated All Propped Out, a theatrical prop rental house, and for 14 years reviewed theater for the former publication Time Out for Entertainment. She is a both professional theatergoer with a true love for the art and an unabashed theater groupie.  
 
The Wow Factor for each production measures its worth against a perfect score of 10. Shows rated 7 and above are the ones Beki recommends.
 
***********

SOLD OUT!

GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE. Written by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project; directed by Stephen Weitz. Produced by Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company in partnership with the CU-Boulder Department of Theatre and Dance; presented at the Dairy Center for the Arts (2590 Walnut St., Boulder).  Playing through May 5. Tickets available at 303-444-7238 or betc.org.

 
Sometimes when watching a production you are impressed by one or more of the actors on the stage, or are amazed by the story that is being told. Sometimes there is a technical component (the set, costumes, lighting or sound) that captures your imagination. But rarely do all of those components mesh into an ensemble piece that pivots on the insightful vision of the director. The current production of GROSS INDECENCY by Boulder Ensemble Theatre, playing at the Dairy, pulls all of these components into a tight, cohesive whole. The face-front, delivered-to-the-audience style runs the risk of becoming static and repetitive. However, to Weitz's credit, the movement of the actors was appropriate and dynamic, and enhanced the storytelling.
 
GROSS INDECENCY is the story of the three trials of Oscar Wilde that proved to be his undoing and landed him in prison for two years solely because of his lifestyle.  His genius was publicly recognized; he had two plays in production in the West End at the time of his first trial; he was in demand as a lecturer; his life was the epitome of style and culture. Then he fell in love with a  young man whose father did not approve of the relationship and created the situation that led to the first trial. Wilde was put into the position of defending his lifestyle—not only what he did, but with whom he did it.  
 
“BrainFood,” an excellent dramaturgical report compiled by Crystal Verdon Eisele and Heather Beasley, is available to audience members. It provides a comprehensive background of Wilde's family and early days, the political and moral environment of his times, and the ramifications of these trials. A quick reading of this material before the performance puts you firmly into the world of Oscar Wilde and creates a deeper understanding of why things happened the way they did.
 
As a cast, this group of nine men moves effortlessly through the trials, acting a variety of characters, from judges, lawyers and various witnesses to Oscar's wife and Queen Victoria. Chip Persons embodies Wilde, with his careless grace and offhand sense of entitlement. He is languid and confident, secure in his knowledge of his place in the world and his acceptance amongst all societies. Which made his downfall all the more poignant when it happened. An offhand remark in the first trial about one of the young men involved becomes the linchpin of the whole argument against him, and he simply cannot understand what all the fuss is about.
 
Michael Bouchard plays Lord Alfred Douglas or Bosie, Oscar's love, with an elegance that explains Wilde's obsession with him. The remaining seven actors divide all other characters amongst themselves, yet never falter in bringing clarity to each role, no matter how small. It could have been a confusing mess in lesser hands; as it is, you are never unsure about where you are in the story or to whom you are listening. There's a reason “ensemble” is part of BETC’s name.
 
I would be remiss in not giving special kudos to the excellent lighting design by Kerry Cripe; his use of light propelled the play forward and infused scenes with drama and beauty. Also a special “attagirl'”to Sarah O'Connor for executing the complicated lighting design night after night. It takes one skillset to create a beautiful light design and another to execute it flawlessly at each performance.
 
Tectonic Theatre Project has an unusual way of presenting their subject matter; those who have seen THE LARAMIE PROJECT will recognize the style. Background searches, interviews, trial records, biographies, newspaper accounts, the literature of the day—all are investigated for clues to the truth and the story behind the story.  Then a series of quotes and short sections of writing or conversation are crafted into a complete linear story. The audience benefits from this extensive research and collaborative writing style by learning the story from beginning to end. It worked well for this production.
 
It is delightful to discover that Boulder has its own “theater crowd”; the only people I recognized from Denver were two other reviewers. Good for you, Boulder—after hearing from me for months about the great theater going on in and around Denver, you have no excuse now for not supporting this excellent homegrown production.  
 
WOW Factor: 9
 
*****************************
 
THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL - Music and Lyrics by David Neihls, book by Betsy Kelso; directed by Pam Clifton. Produced by Ignite Theatre at the Studio Theatre at the Aurora Fox Arts Center, 9900 East Colfax Ave. Runs through May 6; tickets available at 720-626-9796 or ignitetheatre.com.
 
The world of Armadillo Acres Trailer Park, somewhere in the heart of Florida, welcomes you from the moment you arrive at the theater. A tacky sign outside the door announces you are there! Once inside, you are encouraged to buy a PBR or mixed drink from the makeshift bar set up in the middle of the stage, and welcomed warmly by the denizens of the Deep South. The costumes are a product of Salvation Army and Walmart; the lights keep going off because someone forgot to pay the bill; and the set is the butt end of two single-wides surrounded by crushed beer cans and Christmas lights.
 
With a structure very much like LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, a girl trio gives a rock 'n' roll (mixed with country) introduction to the characters and moves the story forward. Betty (Stephanie Hancock) is the Earth Mother smartmouth owner of the trailer park. Lin (Maggie Tisdale) is the wife of a prisoner on Death Row at the nearby prison, and Pickles (Alix Brickley) is the victim of hysterical pregnancies and is about six cards short of a full deck.
 
They explain their geographic location and social status in "This Side of the Tracks." One of the trailers belongs to the agoraphobic Jeannie (Margie Lamb) and her patient husband Norbert (a very funny and fearless Patrick Brownson); their baby had been kidnapped 20 years ago, and since then she has been unable to step outside the trailer. Her plight is documented in "One Step Closer" as she tries to break this confining obsession so she can attend the Ice Capades with her husband on their 20th anniversary.
 
Because of her limitations, when Norbert meets the new girl Pippi (Kia Chapman) at the Litter Box Show Palace, he is immediately smitten, and it "Don't Take a Genius" to figure out what's going to happen next. When Jeannie catches Norbert and Pippi doing the deed, she experiences a dream sequence that spoofs Jerry Springer-type confrontational shows with an Oprah-type host in "The Great American TV Show." Jeannie mourns that "My Heart's Been Flushed" with appropriate sound effects every time the word “flushed” is sung. The plot is complicated by the arrival of Pippi's jealous Magic Marker-sniffing boyfriend (Brandon Keller), whose journey across country from Oklahoma is chronicled in "You're Just Road Kill." As Act II opens, Lin learns that her husband has finally been executed despite her best efforts ("There was a time when a series of sexual favors meant something to a governor!"). Confrontations between estranged husband and wife; between feuding boyfriend and girlfriend; a few surprises along the way and finally the entire cast decides they have to "Make Like a Nail and Press On."
 
Everything about this show is funny and has been put together to great effect by director Pam Clifton, long a proponent of the trashy lifestyle. This is a woman who at one of her weddings wore a tie-dyed wedding dress and had a reception at a barbeque joint. The girl-power trio of Pam, Midge McMoyer Smith as music director, and Stephanie Prugh as choreographer bring you a production of sublime tackiness and a loving homage to a better way of living.
 
The hysterically clever lyrics by local music director David Nehls and his partner in comedy, Betsy Kelso, make for a laugh-out-loud evening of fun. The show celebrates rather than parodies this segment of our population; they recognize and revel in their status as the upper lower class. They know that Walmart would fold without them, country music would fade into oblivion, and the greater wisdoms of the world would not be discovered without their gentle push out the door. So you don't have to have lived in a trailer park to enjoy this show—but check your neck when you leave the theater. You'll see it has turned thoroughly red!
 
WOW factor: 8.5