“The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca
“Tether the mares; let the stallion run free,” says the cruelly dictatorial Bernarda, mother of five daughters. The quote aptly describes life in her house. But don’t think this is simply a domestic drama. Within it, Federico García Lorca says much about women in repressive male-dominated societies, and even more about Spain as Franco’s power was ascending. (Lorca was assassinated shortly after completing the work.)
Bernarda is a tyrant. Her unmarried daughters pay the price. As in all dictatorships, secrecy, jealousy, hatred, and fear are primary emotions. In this one there’s also rampant sexual desire that can’t be fulfilled.
Produced by Arouet Productions and forcefully directed by Charles Waxberg with assistance from Roy Arauz, this production makes the most of the play’s opportunities for arresting tableaux and lyrical dramatic action.
Ruth McRee’s dynamic performance as Bernarda is memorable. Her hands grasp her cane with aggressive intensity. Her facial expressions are hard, determined, imperious. She’s ever on guard, an enforcer with a dirty job to do and the qualifications to do it well.
With support from an accomplished cast, she wields her spell over everyone, reminding us that tyranny exists on many levels.
SEE MY FULL REVIEW: May 10 seattletimes.nwsource.com
Through May 19 at The Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market St., Seattle, $12-$18 (Brown Paper Tickets 800-838-3006 or http://arouet.us)
Take Advantage of Museum Day
The Henry Art Gallery will offer free admission on Friday, May 18 as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ (AAMD) Art Museum Day, coinciding with International Museum Day. The Henry will encourage visitors to share their museum experiences during Art Museum Day on a special printed form available at the museum and via social media with the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay in a collective public response.
Check out other of your favorite arts and crafts museums in the area. See what else is going on and take advantage of the rich museum bounty in our region.
“Sex in Seattle 20: Happily Ever After . . .” produced by SIS Productions
SIS Productions uses humor and romantic comedy as it documents the life experiences of four contemporary young Asian American women. Over the past 12 years it has presented 20 episodes of a sex-filled soap opera focused on the efforts of these heroines to find the men of their dreams and the happiness that comes with that perfect coupling. Of course, along the way the episodes reveal conflicts that arise because of cross cultural misunderstandings and contradictions.
The men in their lives are both Anglo and Asian, and the partners change places as often as contra dancers move down the line. So be alert. It’s a challenge to keep all the couplings straight.
Between the trysts, images of the women’s mothers flash on a screen with old-country advise on how to lead the good life. It’s a fine device to emphasize the generational shift and the complexities of life for first generation Americans.
An audience has been building for the series over the years, but don’t worry if this will be your introduction to it. This final episode can stand on its own as did all the others.
Through May 26 at West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St. Seattle, $12-$16, 206 323-9443 or tickets@sis-productions.org or Brown Paper Tickets 800-838-3006)
“Clybourne Park” at Seattle Repertory Theatre
“Clybourne Park” written by Bruce Norris opened on Broadway (after an Off-Broadway run) the same week it opened here in Seattle. Here are snippets of what the New York critics had to say about the New York production:
“A theatrical treasure! Indisputably, uproariously funny,” Entertainment Weekly
“Ferociously smart! A vital, superlative production of the sharp-toothed Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy.” Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Superb, hilarious and explosive!” John Lahr, The New Yorker
“Funny as Hell! The theatre shakes with gales of laughter.” Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post
“The best play of the year is also the funniest.” Fox 5 News
I’d say the same thing about the Seattle production directed by Braden Abraham, but I’d add a few thoughts.
The play, a spinoff of Lorraine Hansberry’s “Raisin In the Sun,” probes racism, that issue we don’t really want to discuss, the one we’d like to think we’ve already dealt with. You know, the one that still simmers, sometimes boils under the patina of brotherhood. This play deals with racism head on, and from the perspective of both sides at different time periods.
The Seattle production grabs you from the opening moments and like a boa constrictor tightens its grip with every passing moment. Indeed, “funny as Hell yet explosive.” Seattle’s cast is superlative and the set is straight out of Oak Park (one of the first Chicago suburbs to be integrated)
I deplore the common Seattle practice of giving standing ovations to just about every production audiences get to see. Standing ovations are meant for theatre pieces that knock your socks off. This production deserves a standing ovation.
Through May 13 at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center at Mercer St. and Second Ave. (206 443-2222 or www.seattlerep.org).
“The Pitman Painters” at ACT
I just love it when a playwright is able to combine hearty humor with thought-provoking issues. You’ve got a terrific display of both in “The Pitman Painters” by Lee Hall now playing at ACT. Director Kurt Beattie has mined the script for every nuance, every laugh, and every poignant moment as it examines the role of social class in providing access to the uplifting experiences offered by the arts.
The play is based on the real-life story of pitmen (miners) in northern England who in 1934 happened upon an art course and, despite seemingly impossible obstacles, wound up creating a body of acclaimed art. Their journey from ignorance to enlightenment is a raucous transition complete with bizarre miscommunications, quaint “truths,” and marvelous dialog. Frank Lawler as Robert Lyon, is an indefatigable teacher passionate in his quest to inspire.
Subtly yet indelibly cast members make each miner unique—Charles Leggett, perfect as an officious stickler to the rules, Joseph P McCarthy charmingly buffoonish as Jimmy, Daniel Brockley as the unemployed youth who knows just how to stay out of the way but get a word in here and there. Jason Marr imbues the talented Oliver with pride yet hesitancy, a man afraid to take a chance. Watching him struggle with awareness of his talent is a delight. The only non-pitman in the group is the dental technician who spouts Marxist creed at every opportunity played with gusto by R. Hamilton Wright.
Cheers also for this production’s creative team. The sound of mining equipment during blackouts does much to suggest what life in the mines was like. The images projected aloft introduce the audience to the art these men produced.
So, can only the well-educated, privileged members of society create art or even appreciate it? We, of course, are shocked to even think of such a question. Surely this is strictly a British class-system problem. But be reminded: it has been less than 50 years that museums in this country have made any effort to entice the unwashed public into their sacred halls. Public outreach simply wasn’t considered before then. Only those who were educated to appreciate art were welcome to it.
Through May 20 at ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle (206 292-7676 or www.acttheatre.org)
