Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency Services Slow it down, residents say Slow down, residents say Fall destinations depend on many factors Blazes burn in Crater Lake National Park Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies Mandatory evacuation ordered in Happy Camp Complex fire Politics and Elections Mark L. Hopkins: What the next election should be about Senate race could be expensive Talent to consider taxing recreational, but not medicinal marijuana Candidate files false statements Just one seat will be contested for Central Point council Education State tests show a mixed report card State assessment chart: 2013-14 Students flock to Ashland schools Central Point launches language immersion program UPDATED: Medford school bus in crash; no students hurt, officials say Environment New disease strikes Roseburg deer herds Dredgers might return to the Rogue next year Dubs' auction preview draws bidders and gawkers OR-7's pups are true wolves ODFW director Elicker will step down State news Nation - World Obituaries Charles O'Neil Lamoree Dorothy Louise McGrew Wilson Ryan Silsby Jerilyn J. Schoenhals Arlene Louise Kornstad Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Biola blanks Raiders, 2-0 No. 16 SOU fights off Tech in five Harrower, Grizzlies tear apart Hornets Armstead dedicates, delivers for Ducks Source says Rice video sent to NFL Varsity 541 College Sports Biola blanks Raiders, 2-0 No. 16 SOU fights off Tech in five Armstead dedicates, delivers for Ducks Beavers benefit from committee at fullback Adjusting on the fly Pro Sports Source says Rice video sent to NFL Deng issues harsh rebuke to 'African’ comments Volatility affects the bottom, top in FedExCup Mercury crush Sky in Game 2 of WNBA Finals Goodell: No one at NFL saw video earlier Community Sports Barry fires back into SOGC finals Super seniors strong at SOGC Crenshaw pulls off upset in SOGC Murphy claims victory in Stroke Play Championships South Korea downs Chicago for World Series title Business Latest Stories Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Blog: So just what will those investigative law firms find beneath the Harry & David rock pile? Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales Sustainable Valley receives $50,000 SBA grant Blog: And the Award Goes to... Real Estate News Historic building owners get lessons in restoration Pleasant weather, stable interest rates spurred summer home sales People In Business Transportation Agriculture 1-800-Flowers.com buying Harry & David for $142.5 million Earlier than normal pear harvest coming up short of expectations Weisinger's Winery has earliest crush on record Amy's Kitchen begins expansion in White City Opinion Latest Our View: Good riddance to Super PAC attack ads Letters to the Editor, Sept. 11 Dana Milbank: The myth of Horatio Alger Extremism in defense of re-election Granlund cartoon: New Apple products Editorials Our View: Good riddance to Super PAC attack ads Fighting back against domestic violence Tablet computers are a tool, not a frill Other Views: The time is now to start disaster planning Harry & David: the next chapter Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Sept. 11 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 10 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 9 We march for mental health on Saturday. Who’s watching? Letters to the Editor, Sept. 8 Guest Opinions Hazardous fuel treatments vital to protection from severe wildfires Wilderness for Kalmiopsis has served us well The summer of my discontent: An open letter to Bill Rauch The power of local philanthropy Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: A Healthy Way to Enrich the College Experience Community blog: Fosters Needed Quail Run Vineyards expands into Talent drainage A cook's contest Community blog: Dukkah dresses up hummus, spreads and dippers Food Quail Run Vineyards expands into Talent drainage A cook's contest Community blog: Dukkah dresses up hummus, spreads and dippers Community blog: Middle East's 'peanut butter' on the rise in U.S. Community blog: 'Crispy Treats' a cut above rice-cereal originals Home and Garden Medford gardens to be showcased Saturday Trees aren't always the best companions for plants Hot tips for a cool (shade) garden An August checklist for your garden Green Scene: Diagnosing common tomato troubles Health Community blog: A Healthy Way to Enrich the College Experience Community blog: What's Wrong With This Picture? Community blog: We Need to Talk Down-size is the right size Oregon Health Policy Board to meet in Medford Hiking Faith Religion briefs Religion briefs Community Blog: Is Peace Possible in the Middle East - Part three of four Milestones and Achievements Grange memberships going like hot cakes New Arrivals Engagement Wedding: Gibson-Hodnefield New Arrivals Columnist for a Day Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Musical 'Backwards in High Heels' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre Kathleen Madigan to perform at the Craterian Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" Live Music in Local Clubs Theater CultureFest at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Musical 'Backwards in High Heels' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" 'Freud's Last Session" at Ashland Contemporary Theatre OSF presents 'The Alchemy of Gender' Music Live Music in Local Clubs Rob Zombie plays Lithia Amphitheater Jennifer Nettles plays Britt Keith Greeninger and Matt Hill at the Rogue Theatre Britt Festivals adds to indoor fall concert lineup Community Events Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears reads in Ashland Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists 5 Things to Do This Weekend From business professor to artist Shady Cove Tie Days Swap Meet Dining Ami Sushi serves up Asian dishes Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. NW Raw Kelly's Crepes Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges ... Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case ... Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies ... Medford teenager indicted on attempted murder, assault charges ... Police seek help in Eagle Point poaching case ... Officials warn of scam involving fake invoices for school supplies ... THEATER REVIEW Ashland Contemporary Theatre gets dialectic with "Freud's Last Session" ACT's production is smart, witty and charming, but inconsequential By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 6:15 pm By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 6:15 pm » Social News "Freud's Last Session" is like one of those late-night debates about the existence of God that are a staple of dorm life for undergraduates everywhere — but smarter. After all, the debaters are Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, and C.S. Lewis, soon to be the author of the beloved Narnia books. History buff Mark St. Germain's play, based on Armand M. Nicholi Jr.'s book "The Question of God," ran off-Broadway for two years beginning in 2010 , a feat that testifies to the extraordinary word of mouth the production enjoyed. Productions have since popped up all over the country, including the nifty Ashland Contemporary Theatre production that opened Friday at the Ashland Community Center (this review is based on Saturday's performance), lucidly directed by Jeannine Grizzard. The premise is a simple one: one of the most brilliant and original minds of the century, an adamant atheist (Freud), swaps rhetorical punches with a brainy, personable, academic ex-skeptic (Lewis) who has undergone a conversion to the orthodox Anglicanism that will shape the rest of his life. Gentlemen, start your dialectics. It's September 1939, and Hitler has invaded Poland. Freud, who is dying of oral cancer, has fled the Continent and washed up in England, where his office is home to a small sample of his collection of statuettes of gods and goddesses, artifacts from classical antiquity. You know that image of Freud's office as a plush Victorian womb-room with the oriental rug and the famous couch? Forget it. The set is two small tables, some chairs, a lamp, a telephone and a white backdrop on which bookshelves have been drawn in black. Freud (Joe Charter) wants to know why Lewis, his fellow intellectual, would "abandon truth and embrace an insidious lie." Lewis (Eric Epstein) generally gives as good as he gets, framing his conversion as a rather reluctant one, but one he found irresistible. He wins our sympathy by granting the older man the occasional point, allowing that, for example, "The greatest problem of Christianity is Christians." As the two thrust and parry over God, war, sex, faith, morality, suicide, art, music and humor, Charter's Freud is something of an old crank — dogmatic, domineering, inflexible and impatient. The charming, earnest, relentlessly sincere Lewis is the fellow with whom we'd rather raise a pint in a pub. But his arguments for God are mushy, as when he asserts that choosing to disbelieve in God is proof of God's existence. Huh? Freud replies that he denies the existence of unicorns. "Does that mean they exist?" In another exchange, Lewis grapples with the Problem of Evil by opining that perhaps an evil man "serves God by being his tool." As the old man and the young one make their arguments — that's not just the main action, it's the only action — there are no actual conflagrations. Each time the tension builds to a mini-crisis, the action pulls back, often with gentle humor, as when Freud unthinkingly exclaims "Thank God." The imagining of characters grappling with Big Ideas for our edification has a long history, with a lineage stretching from Plato's dialogues to movies such as "My Dinner with Andre." The danger of this is the principals often become mouthpieces for their points of view rather than flesh-and-blood characters. That doesn't happen here. St. Germain has written deceptively complex characters, and Charter and Epstein play them with passion and intelligence. But while the play is engaging, there is at its heart a lack of juice. That's because there is no actual conflict here. What there is is argument, and that's a very different thing. These men have no existential stake in any outcome in this moment or later. The subjects are weighty ones, but they are simply that, subjects for discussion by two gentleman intellectuals playing with ideas. And we are flies on the wall. "Freud's Last Session" is smart, witty and charming. Still, just like in those late-night dormitory bull sessions, you may be torn between wishing you could put your two cents in, or deciding all this yada yada doesn't really settle anything and going out for pizza. "Freud's Last Session" plays through Sept. 14 at the Ashland Community Center. See ashlandcontemporarytheatre.org. Reach freelance writer Bill Varble at [email protected]. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 7, 2014 @ 6:15 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501