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REVIEW Skilled actors evoke scheming characters in 'All About Eve' CTP's skilled actors evoke scheming characters with voices alone Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 6, 2016 at 3:09 PM Updated Jun 6, 2016 at 4:41 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 6, 2016 at 3:09 PM Updated Jun 6, 2016 at 4:41 PM » Social News “All About Eve” is remembered chiefly for two things. One, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1950 backstage showbiz drama about show-biz backstabbing garnered 14 Oscar nominations, a record unmatched until “Titanic” in 1997. And two, Bette Davis delivered the immortal line “Fasten your seat belts. It’s gonna be a bumpy night” (often misquoted as “a bumpy ride"). The film was based on a short story that was based on a real incident. The film version was adapted for the Lux Radio Theatre in 1951 when television was still a novelty. And that’s the version the Collaborative Theatre Project, which includes some of Southern Oregon’s best-known actors, opened Sunday afternoon at The Village Gate at the main entrance to the Medford Center. Performances are set for 3 p.m. Sundays through July 17. In this one-hour adaptation, directed by Pam Ward, the actors deliver their lines standing in front of old-fashioned microphones as radio actors once did. The sound design, by Mike Kunkel, included bits of music that would have run with the radio show. You may want to experiment with closing your eyes and pretend-time-traveling back to the days of the radio drama. The actors effectively create the characters with voices alone. Tessa Alleman plays young schemer Eve Harrington as a Judas who affects a cloying sweetness as she puts her evil scheme into action, but Linda Otto as Margo Channing, the Bette Davis role, does most of the heavy dramatic lifting. Margo is sometimes considered the best role and performance in the career of Davis, who was playing an actor who has turned 40 playing the part of a 24-year-old in a Broadway play. Otto’s Margo is an aging drama queen in an industry known for ageism, particularly with female actors. She’s abrasively funny early on but comes to accept a submissive role in affirming the importance of a traditional marriage. This serves to separate her from the predatory Eve, who is often seen as a lesbian, although that wasn’t made explicit in either the 1950 film or this production. The story’s other homosexual, the haughty critic Addison DeWitt (played with a twinkle in his eye by Don Matthews), is also an unsympathetic character, cynically recognizing Eve as a sort of spiritual fellow traveler. The patriarchal marriage of good-guy playwright Lloyd Richards (David Dials) and his wife, Karen (Becky Durango), and the romance between Margo and director Bill Sampson (Tyler Ward) are seen as healthy and nurturing in contrast to the unsavory careerism of the two gay characters, even though Karen is involved in a key double-cross of Margo. You can’t watch “All About Eve” and not reflect on how American society has changed (the homophobia, the specter of communism in the background) since the early post-war era. Or how some things (Hollywood ageism, amoral careerism) never seem to change. “All About Eve” is the first in a series of plays the nonprofit Collaborative Theatre Project plans for the Village Gate. Coming in August is “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Tickets are $12. Visit ctporegon.org . Reach Medford freelance writer Bill Varble at varble.bill @gmail.com. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 6, 2016 at 3:09 PM Updated Jun 6, 2016 at 4:41 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site 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. 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