MARCH 25, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

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ENTERTAINMENT

Talent, intelligence, spirit displayed in 3 productions

Vanishing Points Ensemble Theatre

The Mysteries The Working Theatre

Power in the Blood Dobama Theatre

Reviewed by Barry Daniels

Three of Cleveland's most enterprising community theaters opened new productions on the weekend of March 11. There is much talent on display in these productions as well as an intelligence and spirit that make these companies the vital center of Cleveland's theater scene.

Least successful of the three productions is Martin Jones' Vanishing Points at the Ensemble Theatre. Jones' 1987 drama was inspired by the 1972 murders, still unsolved, of artist Elizabeth Peak's mother, father and younger sister. The play deals with the effect of this tragedy on Peak and her work as well as on her friends and relatives. Jones has constructed a fragmented poetic narrative that incorporates Peak's memories and nightmares.

Director Licia Columbi has staged the piece efficiently. Suzy Q. Campbell's set of simple black flats edged in white and windswept trees is excellent as are her 1970's costumes. There is a fine sound design by Corby Grubb. Although the acting is uneven, there are some wonderful performances. Lisa Plant as Fran, Beth's sister, gives a strong and compassionate portrait of a character whose marriage is falling apart. Gregory Del Torto plays her husband, Gary, whose career is failing, with a good sense of the character's anger and frustration. Paula Duesing's Peg is a nicely off-centered, but likeable, head of an artist's colony in the Mojave Desert. Playing both Beth's father and her uncle, Bernard Canepari, finds a realistic center for each character. Unfortunately, playwright Jones never successfully brings his protagonist Beth Peak, played by Tracey Gilbert, to life. Over the course of the drama she is a monotonous figure expressing her pain and alienation. She may well be interesting as an artist, but Jones hasn't succeeded in making the inner struggle that is worked out in her art dramatically interesting.

For the Easter holiday, the Working Theatre has appropriately chosen to stage a modern version of the medieval mystery

play sequence that tells the story of Christ's Passion. British poet Tony Harrison's The Mysteries was commissioned by the National Theatre, and he successfully modernized the language without sacrificing its quaint poetry. Director Chuck Ritchie has his actors play modern, mostly blue collar, workers, who like their medieval counterparts, enact the Bible story as a celebration of their faith. The great charm of these playlets is the sincerity of the religious feeling they embody as well as the anachronistic immediacy of the medieval perception of the stories. The darkest scenes are always tempered by an odd sense of humor, and the villains, Pilate and Judas, are comic grotesques. Ritchie's ensemble cast plays with energy and wit and handles the verse well, although the theater's acoustics remain a real problem. I especially liked John Beecker's gentle Christ and Scott Plate's beautifully spoken Peter. Ritchie's staging is eloquent in its simplicity and true to the spirit of the original works. Rip Jackson has put together a fine score that display's the musical talents of the ensemble.

Dobama Theatre's world premiere of Florida playwright Sarah E. Bewley's Power in the Blood is the most theatrically satisfying of the three productions under review. It is so successful at holding our attention that we can almost overlook any flaws in the writing. The play is a gripping narrative about a con-man, Ranger, who buys sixteen-year-old Ezekiel, a "miracle child" or true religious hysteric, who experiences the stigmata, spontaneous bleeding that mirrors the bleeding of Christ's wounds. The action follows Ezekiel's rise to fame. His ability to heal and his sincere bearing of testimony make him a star at Pentecostal services and on the revival circuit.

Jane Armitage's staging of Power in the Blood is fluid and seamless. Walter Boswell's spare set, a wooden pew and platforms that serve as motel room furniture, is backed with a lattice work structure from which characters enter and exit. His beautiful lighting is like a musical score that moves from fullstage dramatic scenes to confined pools of light in which actors directly address the audience. An eerie blue highlights actors who often watch the action from behind the lattice work at the back. It is a poetic staging that captures the dramatic pulse of the text.

The cast brings the characters, which could easily become stereotypes, vividly to

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life. The women's roles are especially broadly written. Debbie Sickle as Ezekiel's whorish sister, Barbara Quill as a woman Ezekiel heals, and Roberta Minks as a reporter are absolutely convincing in their roles. Much better written are the principal roles of Ezekiel and Ranger. Kip Fagan, as the boy, is a pale, El Greco Christ figure. He manages to make his faith both believable and slightly peculiar. Joe Kerata nicely underplays Ranger and realizes the interesting edges to the character.

The relationship of the believer and the non-believer, who become son and father, is told in a series of dramatically forceful scenes and confrontations. The play's solid dramaturgy only falters slightly towards the end. Thanks to Armitage's staging and her excellent cast, it is a compelling evening of theater.

HERBERT ASCHERMAN, JR.

Con-man Ranger (Joe Kerata) bonds with miracle child Ezekiel (Kip Fagan) in Dobama Theatre's premiere of Power in the Blood

Vanishing Points continues at the Ensemble Theatre through April 2, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12 and $14. For reservations call 3212930. The Mysteries runs at The Working Theatre through April 1, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday

at 3 pm. Tickets are $10 and $7.50 (students and seniors); call 696-9600. Power in the Blood plays at Dobama Theatre through March 27, Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $7-$10. For reservations call 932-6838. ✓

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