November, 1989

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 13

REVIEW

Three good plays.

by Daniel P.

If you missed the Cleveland Public Theater's Vampire Lesbians of Sodom or the short visit of The Threepenny Opera, you missed some of the best theater this town's seen in a while. Sure, theater's "all around us," as we know. Any time anyone does something on purpose in front of an audience gathered to watch, we've got "theater." Ball games, religious services, even street corner punks showing off for their friends are all "theater," and we see these theatrical pieces every day if we keep our eyes open.

But the kind of theater that is a play is rarer. We don't often see plays with fine planning, good acting, ingenious and witty episodes, smashing visual images and more, all swooshed together by accomplished magicians especially for our enjoyment as our tushes cuddle comfortably in safe, dark theater seats. We just had three outstanding such plays for our pleasure.

Vampire Lesbians was preceded by Sleeping Beauty (or Coma). Both were wonderfully delicious. Completed stories, crisply told with great energy and in forms of actions that repeatedly amazed us, and surprising, consistent visual revelations. And funny! Both plays kept us laughing enough to convince us

how lucky we were to see something so unashamedly funny! No deep meanings, no "messages" (plays can't "convey" these anyway), no self-conscious concepts to try to demonstrate how "important" live theater is. When it's good, as these plays were, its importance is clear. Both plays: great experiences.

Also great was The Threepenny Opera, although for different reasons. Finally, we got to see this famous piece without the usual blind obedience to some German theories about "epic theater." So what if the lead actor sang off-key most of the time? Where is it shown that the character he played need sing at all? The Street Singer must sing beautifully, and he did; he sang with such skill and aplomb that there were goose bumps on the spine and sometimes tears in the eyes.

Threepenny, when done well, makes us want to go home and take several showers. It's morally dirty. Evil wins, and we're shown how such a victory makes perfect sense in the world of Mack, Jenny, and the others. Maybe we'd rather not admit it, but that world is truly a reflection of part of our own. Well, when it is shown to us in such a beautiful form, as it was, maybe we have a chance to understand how such an ugly thing can happen. And maybe accept this aspect of

Grace does Grace

Grace Jones

The Ritz

October 22, 1989

by Tom Zav

The rumors were flying days ahead of time. "In D.C. she came out wasted, played three songs and left." "I heard she came on at 4 a.m., played four songs, and was horrible." "Her contract says she has to play 38 minutes, everything else is gravy." "She won't show up because of the drug charges in Jamaica." "She won't show up because she and Dolph are expanding their family."

I even have an acquaintance, who, through some seemingly dubious association with a drag queen and a club in Florida, has met Grace Jones. He told me she is quite nasty, and even spat in his face once. But one rule I live by is "rumors fly and the violent change," so I'm willing to dish out twenty bucks and give this a chance.

Anyway, I show up at about 12:37:47 a.m. and the Ritz is wall to wall people. The looks are amazing. Black, white, male, female; these people want this to be an event.

About 1:30 the lights go down. Grace appears, and it's man, woman, birth, death, and infinity. Larger than life, she is draped in black (need you ask), seated in a large black leather (need you ask) office chair and opens with "I'm Not Perfect..." Jaws are dropping left and right as she breaks into "Slave to the Rhythm," and then dons a black (need you ask) raincoat for "Walking in the Rain."

Throughout the show she takes time to answer questions about Dolph, dance withand on top of-members of the audience, and discuss her recent fixation with masturbatory activities. Above all, she is in control.

Cleveland appears to be lucky, because she decides she is here to sing and does much more than the rumored foursong set. Old and young alike enjoy "I Need a Man."

I'm really into this new one called "Victor" which is apparently about this friend of hers who is a jazz musician (nothing gets by me). She closes with "Bullet Proof Heart" from her new release. She disappears but vows to

return soon. We'll see how things go in Jamaica.

I'm amazed by this whole concept. Madonna does Marilyn, Sandra B. does Betty D., but Grace does Grace and does it well. She releases albums when she feels like it, gets devoted to some kick boxer, does some films, and gets away with anything. Was the rumor about the four-song set a ruse perpetrated by her press agents?

I try to get an interview for this fine paper, but I am turned away. Jane Scott I'm not, but then Jane gets paid, and I don't command the same awesome presence that she has.

Anyway, the night would have been perfect except that I decided to make it the first time I have ever locked my keys in my car. Thanks to Bill for sitting with me until the tow service came to get it open. These things happen and all it takes is money to solve the problem. Great advice for Jamaica, Grace. ▼

FUN

DOOR PRIZES

50/50

LOCAL TALENT

what it means to be alive.

Stem of a Briar, at the Cleveland Play House through October 22, was a different story. It premiered about nine years ago at the Kenyon Festival Theater's own Bolton Theater. It underwent some revisions and then played at the Hartman in Connecticut. After more revisions, it is now at the Play House's Bolton Theater. This time, the story is crisper, more easily followed, and generally better told than it has been.

It's about a guy whose family has strong intentions about what he is "to be" in life. Well, he doesn't want "to be" what they want, and he sort of tells us his view of how it all happened. The tale is set in the '40s and '50s in Texas (totally unlike the Texas some of us remember in our own childhood, but not every one has Sam Peckinpah's budget or The Last Picture Show's screenplay).

But it's a touching play, sadly funny here and there. And it's got some fine performances from the actors. What snags most often is something that seems to curse Play House productions. So much heavy stuff. Like we're supposed to "appreciate" it just because it's a play. So much weight on visual details that the movies do better, so many little directorial techniques that muddy our perceptions of what's going on, so many moments where "da-dum!" music is needed to underscore some little bit that might otherwise go unnoticed by all but the most observant audience member.

Overall, it's a nice evening in the theater. Time and money and energies well spent for soft pleasures. Ignore the touches that proclaim how "important" this play is and just sit back and watch. You'll enjoy it.

We should attend more plays. We don't often get such exuberantly successful plays as Sleeping Beauty, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and The Threepenny Opera that just closed, but each time another play opens we have the opportunity to participate in a unique theatrical experience that just might be as powerful as, even more powerful than, these that have just ended (is that Ethel Merman in the wings, screeching "Another opening of another show...?")

So try it! The Cleveland Public Theater is not the only theater that needs our bucks. All theaters do. If the Chronicle were a daily paper or even a weekly we could bring you more immediate news about which plays deserve those dollars more. But we're a monthly publication, and it's enough to let you know what wonderful opportunities exist for you in the theater in greater Cleveland. So just go next time. Forget those theories you've probably learned about what you're suppose to enjoy, and just go prepared to enjoy. On some of those occasions, you'll be blown away without having to leave your comfy seat in the theater. See you there. ▼

First coming-out story

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a 19th-century German lawyer, was the first person in modern recorded history to come out publicly as a homosexual. He did so over a century ago, before 500 of Germany's most respected lawyers and judges and a Bavarian prince.

In Ulrichs: The Life and Works of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Hubert Kennedy describes how on August 29, 1867, Ulrichs "mounted the steps of the speaker's platform 'with breast pounding'" and called on the Congress of German Jurists to repeal anti-homosexual laws.

Though Ulrichs' highly controversial proposal was shouted down, his action thrust him into the public eye. Spurred by his own courage he shed the pseudo-

HOLIDAY DANCE

ENTERTAINMENT

Where: Cove Church, 12501 Lake Ave. (Corner of Lake & Clifton Blvd.) When: December 8, 1989

Time: 8:00-1:30 a.m.

Why: To have a great time. So come & Let your inhibitions go, Be Wild, Crazy & just live it up!