JANUARY 1976

HIGH GEAR

Christopher Spence A Not So Distant Star

by John Nosek

The innate ingredient of any infatuation is a vacuum of knowledge about the object of one's desires. When one can mold his/her "loved one "into any mental image available to the imagination, that "loved one" can become a mythical person of ultimate passion. This is especially true of those in the arts WHO ARE PERPETUALLY DISTANT FROM THEIR PUBLIC.

Imagine meeting a Lilly Tomlin or a Tennessee Williams Wow! Royal aesthetes! Sterling icons! Genius personified! but they're all really just rather ordinary people.

While watching Christopher Spence perform (rather brilliantly, I might add) in "Oh Coward" at the Kennedy Theatre in Playhouse Square, I felt as if I were being entrapped in the intricately woven web of a demi-god. I was enchanted; sexually moved, and awed. I frankly couldn't wait to meet this fas-

cinating creature on the stage.

After exchanging speedy introductions and small conversation, we journeyed to my apartment. The C. Spence history in both film and theatre is extensive. Born and reared in England and presently living in Toronto, Christopher boasts å lengthy involvement in Shakespearean theatre. He is a London graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has appeared in small parts in three movies: Last Detail, Oh Lucky Man, and Paper Chase.

The role in "Oh Coward" was Christopher's debut performance in the States. It has met with rave reviews in every quarter of Cleveland's critic circle; but due to poor packaging and advertising, the show has

been temporarily terminated. Christopher was noticeably disappointed:

"Cleveland has so much to offer in terms of theatre. This production should have been here six months; but the promoters just didn't pursue all the necessary channels.... It's really a shame."

Throughout the evening, our conversation jumped from theatre to homosexuality to England, back to homosexuality, to human nature, and again to homosexuality.

On the theatre, Christopher spoke primarily of Noel Coward and how by the age of seventeen, Coward had "risen" from working class status to the aristocratic hodgepodge of England's upper crust. Coward's background provided him with a special insight which led him to portray a biting satire of the upper class in much of his work.

Only a person like Coward can effectively display "The Stately Homes of England" (which in reality are about to crumble) in a humorous vein, showing the only reason they stand is due to the wealthy Americans who live there.

"Life is for the living," says one Coward character, to which another replies, "It's difficult to know what else to do with it." Christopher went on to say that Coward had young apprentices with whom he lived at given periods of time; which is a strong indication they were lovers as well as friends. Indeed, homosexual references are liberally sprinkled through Coward's work (see accompanying article.)

As we chatted about Coward's homosexuality, the subject soon

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shifted to Christopher and his: "I'll never forget the first time I had sex with another boy. Both of us were only sixteen and we didn't have flats then; so we drove to the most unlikely place for people to visit a sewage treatment center. We rolled up the windows and paid little attention to the smell" Displaying that uniquely wry British sense of humor, Christopher 'delivers his lines in endearingly deadpan manner. He's very English.

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In comparing the States to the Commonwealth, Christopher remarked: "England is more progressively minded about homosexuality than the U.S. When there's a gay rally in London, everyone attends! It's no surprise to see 300,000 people in the streets. The English also don't view homosexuality as a sickness. In England, for heterosexuals, at worse, it's just not considered proper."

As the evening progressed, Christopher continued to share his personal anecdotes; and my infatuated portrait of a "star" slowly diminished. After leaving Gypsy's at 3:30 A.M. where Christopher treated the crowd to a vocal rhumba, I gathered my impressions of the evening. Conclusions reached: 1) Actors have huge egos. (But then, perhaps, so does everyone who is confident and proud of what they do.) and 2) Hero worship, that fantastical indulgence, rarely stands up in an encounter with the individual who's placed on the pedestal.

Christopher Spence is a fascinating, polished actor and ordinary human being. Meeting him helped me appreciate the fact that everyone, regardless of who they are, really is a star. In fact, my closest friends are rather ordinary actors; but fascinating human beings..... We each shine in our separate ways.

Richard Estes and Christopher Spence in "Oh Coward"

Obituary: "Oh Coward" Dies in Cleveland

By the time you read this article "Oh Coward" will have closed at the new Kennedy Theatre of the Playhouse Square live entertainment supermarket. This show deserved a longer run! As often happens, the show did not fail. The critics loved it and the audience loved it. What failed was the "Funny Girl" mentality of area residents and specifically GAYS.

It is no secret that Noel Coward, actor since the age of twelve, composer, lyricist, singer, producer, director, writer of plays is alleged to have been "somewhat gay." The plays he wrote, directed and or produced are too numerous to mention. His work has been alternately described as witty, charming, sad, funny, clever, savage, gracious and downright

vulgar. To those of us familiar with his work, we find in Coward an encapsuled attitude toward gay life. The show "Oh Coward" is a condensed version of the pearls embedded in a lifelong career. Anyone who has ever been in love will feel a special closeness to the song "Mad about the Boy." Coward goes for the groin. Coward conveys a feeling that we all identify with ... that is his magic.

At the risk of offending straights, I must say that "Oh. Coward" is indeed a gay show. It does not require a lot of imagination to visualize someone in a gay bar, smoking a cigaret over Campari and sodal singing:

SOMEDAY I'LL FIND YOU, MOONLIGHT BEHIND YOU,

TRUE TO THE DREAM I AM DREAMING

AS I DRAW NEAR YOU, YOU'LL SMILE A LITTLE SMILE:

FOR A LITTLE WHILE WE SHALL STAND HAND IN HAND......

For a sample of Coward's svelte, hip cocktail humor we make reference to a segment of the number: "I've Been to a Marvelous Party."

I HAVE BEEN ΤΟ A MARVELOUS PARTY

ELISE MADE AN ENTRANCE WITH MAY,

YOU'D NEVER HAVE GUESSED

FROM HER FISHERMAN'S VEST

THAT HER BUST HAD BEEN WHITTLED AWAY.

POOR LULU GOT FRIED ON

CHIANTI AND TALKED ABOUT ESPIRT THE CORPS.

MAURICE MADE A COUPLE OF PASSES AT GUS, BUT BILLY WHO HATES ANY KIND OF A FUSS,

DID HALF THE BIG APPLE AND TWISTED HIS TRUSS,

I COULDN'T HAVE LIKED IT MORE.

Rumor has it that "Oh Coward" will be revived somewhere in the Cleveland area. If this comes to pass, by all means go see it, and wear a white tie and tails, use an incredibly long cigaret holder, and bring along a bottle of Dom Perignon. (Anything less would be 'tres gauche'.)

By A.L.

High Gear Folds

Due to a malfunction, the quarter-folding machine used to fold High Gear was inoperative following our last printing. As a result, our staff found it necessary to fold mountains of papers for immediate distribution by hand. To meet the crisis, one of our crew decided to sponsor a community folding party. Within minutes we succeeded in amassing a sizeable team of friends and strangers... who managed to transform most of our bales of papers into neat, quarter-sized bundles! Besides that we had such a terrific bash that less pragmatic members of our staff are hoping for future folding bees.