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June 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 13, 2004 A new place to shine By Roberta Kent Tidings Reviewer From its polemic beginning and peripatetic odyssey from venue to venue, Oregon Stage Works, under producing artistic director Peter Alzado, has not only put together a smashing opening program but will follow up with a strong subscription series. The 2004 season opens Friday, with "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett, directed by Janet Greek, alternating in repertory with "Panama" by Mike Folie, directed by Caroline Shaffer, premiering Saturday. A pre-opening dinner is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and an after-opening gala for Saturday evening. The new theater is located in the "concert space" of the "A" Street Marketplace, at the foot of First Street. The staging design is flexible, with seating for between 110 and 122 people. Productions can call upon full theater-in-the round or avenue staging. The former open concert space has been further transformed with newly soundproofed walls, a new floor, a heating/cooling system and bathrooms. "The focus of Oregon Stage Works is to present classic and new American work, concentrating on the actors and text," says Alzado. "Obviously, as a small non-profit theater company and in this limited space, we're not going to be able to have the production values of the (Oregon Shakespeare) Festival. But our goal is to give the community affordable professional theater with creative and challenging interpretations." The first presentations, Samuel Beckett's classic absurdist theater masterpiece, "Waiting for Godot" and the northwest premiere of Mike Folie's road-trip comedy "Panama," do just that. In this production of "Waiting for Godot," director Janet Greek's says she wanted to take Beckett's deconstructionist work one step further by casting Beckett's tramps as bag ladies (Shirley Patton and Brandy Carson). But she hasn't adapted the play - the pronouns and imagery remain masculine. "By casting women but not changing gender," Greek said, "we've emphasized that this is a play about humankind, not just mankind. And, ultimately, all we have are relationships with each other." Greek has directed "Waiting for Godot" twice before, including in San Francisco in the mid-1970s as her masters thesis. Both of the previous productions also had all-women casts. On the other hand, Mike Folie's "Panama" is described as a road trip to California, searching for fame, fortune and enough money to live forever - a road trip that is fractured and hilarious, leaving tread marks all across politically correct America. Director Caroline Shaffer says that when OSW decided to do another play in repertory with "Godot," they looked for a play that would relate back to the Beckett but also contrast with it. "Panama is about living life to the fullest. It youthful, exuberant, a romp. "I want the audience to feel that they are riding a roller coaster, throwing their hands in the air," Shaffer says. The two directors agree that, ideally, you should see both plays, "Godot" first and then "Panama." OSW's other offerings in this season's subscriptions series will include "Lobby Hero" by Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Peter Alzado, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" by Martin McDonagh, directed by Bruce Hostetler, and the holiday show "Ebenezer Who?" written by Ashland resident Paddy Schweitzer. Also planned are a production of Michael Frayn's "Copenhagen" to be produced in partnership with ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum and a staged reading of Joan Holden's "Nickel and Dimed." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams