MARCH 19, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 23

ENTERTAINMENT

A balance of verbal pyrotechnics, tragedy, and compassion

The Lisbon Traviata

Dobama Theatre Through March 28

Reviewed by Barry Daniels Terrence McNally's The Lisbon Traviata starts out as an outrageously funny, high camp comedy of (gay) manners and concludes as a heart-breaking drama about the failure and dissolution of the longterm relationship of a gay couple. If it starts out operatic in its metaphors and references, it ends up operatic in its passions. It is a difficult text that could easily slide in production towards parody and stereotype on the one hand, and melodrama on the other. Dorothy Silver's direction of the play at Dobama Theatre adroitly manages to make the two stylistically different acts a believable whole.

The first act of the play is set in Mendy's womblike (or tomblike) Greenwich Village apartment. The living room is draped in red velvet and lace and overflows with bric-a-brac, opera memorabilia, and a large collection of opera recordings. It is a shrine to the memory of soprano Maria Callas, whose portrait is placed in an altar-like arrangement over the fireplace.

Mendy, a flamboyant, aging, opera queen dressed in a chiffon caftan, is entertaining Stephen, an Ivy League-educated book editor for Knopf. They are old friends who share an obsession with opera. The two men's dishing, with its ornate use of opera references, gives the act a brilliant, witty surface, but beneath the glitter there are subtle emotional undercurrents. Mendy's histrionics mask a desperate loneliness, and Stephen's wit barely hides his anxiety

over his companion and lover's plans to spend the night with a cute, young date.

Stephen and Michael's cool and sleek modern co-op apartment, where the second act is set, contrasts with the warmth and clutter of Mendy's place. We gradually learn that it represents Stephen's obsession with order and control. Paul, the date, enters nude from the bedroom and finds Stephen home earlier than planned and picking up the beer cans, pizza boxes, and scattered clothing of the previous evening. Stephen exercises his considerable wit to try to intimidate the young man, but it is clear he is not emotionally in control. When

mensely funny and touching. Richard Worswick, as Stephen, wonderfully orchestrates the character's descent from insecurity into fear and madness. Robert Atkins performs the less showy role of Michael, a hunky, youthful doctor, with a quiet intensity. When he gives voice to the truth, the pain his character feels is palpable. John Beeker plays Michael's young lover, Paul, with appropriate uneasiness, charm and intelligence.

Since the play has caused some controversy over its realistic portrayal of negative aspects of gay characters, I'd be very curious to hear your response to the play. I urge you to see this production. It has wit, emotional intensity, and honesty which makes for an entertaining, thought-provoking, and moving evening in the theatre. Performances continue through March 28. Tickets are $7 and $10. For reservations call 932-6838.

they are alone, Michael finally confronts An insightful look at

Stephen with what has been unspoken between them for over three years. It is a scene that brilliantly conveys the pain and numbness, the madness and despair, that accompanies the recognition of such a profound human failure. It is a breathtaking scene that is beautifully staged and acted.

Throughout, director Dorothy Silver has maintained a balance between the play's verbal pyrotechnics and the very real human tragedy that is its content. In the first act there is an uneasy edge to the comedy and moments of tenderness and compassion are deftly placed between operatic set pieces. In the second act there is an intensity to Stephen's desperation that coexists with a profound sadness. And finally, all the bits and pieces come together as life and opera merge.

The acting is uniformly fine. Ted Burr, coming out of retirement to perform in this play, gives an extravagant performance as Mendy. He is always almost over the edge and always absolutely believable in his obsession and desperation. He is both im-

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the lives of five women

by Barry Daniels

Could Angels be Blessed, Cleveland author Nancy Kiefer's new play, will be performed at John Carroll University on March 26-27 and April 2-3 at 8 pm. Kiefer teaches playwriting at John Carroll University, and her plays have been widely produced in the region. Could Angels be Blessed received its world premiere in November by the American Theatre of Actors in New York.

Kiefer's insightful look at the lives of five women is set in an Irish-American neighborhood on Cleveland's West Side in 1946. As the story unfolds we come to understand the ingrained prejudices that define the older generation of women. Two teenagers represent different ways of trying to escape the limits of conventional

attitudes, one through poetry and art, the other through sexual freedom. Pivotal to the action is the "secret" that one woman's son, who died in the war, was homosexual. Kiefer's portrait of the mother's conflict between her love of her son and what her world tells her she should think of homosexuality is beautifully handled.

Director and designer James Beck has created an elaborate setting representing the three homes which share a backyard. I was impressed with the work of the student actors which I observed during a rehearsal. Although set in the past, the world Kiefer depicts is not as far away as one might like it to be.

Tickets are $6 at the door, $5 if purchased in advance. For ticket information and reservations call 397-4428.

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