14

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JANUARY 14, 1994

ENTERTAINMENT

Acorn doesn't fall far from the Oakland

by Charlton Harper

Is there a place for experimental gay theater in Youngstown? Mike Hinge thinks so. As proof, he's currently directing a production of Martin Sherman's Bent at the Oakland Theater, Youngstown's home for alternative theater.

Getting Bent into production has not been easy for Hinge. The play centers on the experience of the gay men who were rounded up and thrown into Hitler's death camps, a subject that challenges audiences. The 1979 off-Broadway production, with Richard

Gere in a lead role, won much critical attention.

Hinge's love for the play motivated him to produce and fund the production himself. "Other theaters in Youngstown had auditioned the play and canceled. There's something about the play that has been in the minds of many people around here for a long time."

Yet some actors found the challenge of the subject matter too much. Mike has had to recast four roles to cover the loss of several actors who have withdrawn. "There were people who wanted to do the play but

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couldn't make the committment," he says. "The play addresses the idea of accountability to oneself, which is not unlike putting one's name on the show." Hinge has even had to take on a role himself. "I'm having to take a part myself, a small part, and that's fine. But I Iwould have rather had an actor in the

part. I'm also hav-

ing a friend who will

be in town perform

a small part. We

But we did, and it set a tone for the company. Bent is the kind of play we might very well have done in the regular season. Acorn will extend what we're doing by doing even more alternative work."

"The play addresses the idea of account-

ability to oneself,

have enough people Which is not unlike

to do the play."

A practical Vansuch doesn't find herself worrying about subject matter as much as costs. "We have a wonderful board," she says. "They ask 'can we afford it?,' not 'is it worth doing? But we do have to consider staying alive. Some shows will have to have a wider draw. But mainly we look for well written plays and the people who are willing to work as hard as necessary to bring it off." The Oakland's season began with Sweeney Todd, and will continue throughout the year with Equus in February, Marvin's Room in April and a season finale of Lies and Legends, featuring the music of Harry Chapin.

If things work putting one's name on out, Hinge hopes to the show." produce other gay-

themed shows

through the auspices of Acorn Productions. Searching for a name for his production company, and wanting to reflect the patronage of the Oakland Theater, Acorn seemed the perfect name. "It's exciting to be an alternative theater of an alternative theater," he says. "I'd like to be able to produce other alternative/lesbian-gay plays, things that would not be a part of the Oakland's regular season.”

Finding material that stands beyond the range of the Oakland might not be so easy. The Oakland doesn't shrink from gay themes or the unusual. Notable gay plays like Torch Song Trilogy, Gemini, and The Normal Heart have been staples from the start. “Our first season," says Alexandra Vansuch, director of the Oakland, "we did Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart as our second show. Nobody expected to make money from it.

Future plans for the Oakland may inIclude collaboration with Cleveland-area theaters. There is talk that Bent may be brought to Cleveland Public Theater in exchange for a CPT production in Young-

stown.

Bent runs throughout January weekends, 14-15, 21-22, and 28-29. Tickets are $10, with student and senior tickets at $8. The Oakland is located at 1361 5th Avenue, Youngstown, three blocks north of Stambaugh Auditorium. Phone 746-0404 for more information.

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