OCTOBER 2, 1998 GAY PEOPle's ChroNICLE

EVENINGS OUT

The Porter House serves up Cole Cuts with laughs

by Dawn Leach Cleveland-An upscale wine bar called the Porter House is the unifying theme in a series of vignettes that make up a new theatrical work called Cole Cuts. Impromptu performances of Cole Porter tunes are sprinkled throughout vignettes exploring some of the people that inhabit the fictional wine bar.

To understand the concept behind Cole Cuts, it might help to be familiar with Dobama Theatre's Night Kitchen series.

"What they wanted to do was to do experimental theater, or theater written for this venue especially," explained David Bell, one of the collaborating playwrights that crafted Cole Cuts. "And they want to keep admission cheap so people can see it. I like that, it's very revolutionary."

Most of the shows are presented at 11 pm, drawing a young, dressed-down crowd.

"The whole idea behind the Night Kitchen is to be unpretentious," Bell said.

What better setting could there be for a play based on a wine bar patronized by Cole

Porter fans? Of course, the bar patrons also just happen to be singers who spontaneously burst into song.

"It's not supposed to be believable," Bell said. "It must seem like the most unreal aspect of the show."

"And of course it is," he added.

Bell wrote a portion of the work called "Ravine" about two men cruising each other at the Porter House.

"It starts out that way, but it becomes more than that," Bell said, "because one of the characters ends up falling in love with the other."

As the story progresses, it's really about love, Bell explained.

Born in Cleveland, Bell worked in the theater while studying in Oregon. He moved back to Cleveland in 1996. This show is Bell's Cleveland debut.

In another segment of the show, "Sometimes Love Can Be a Drag," a 50-something sugar daddy named Martin doesn't realize that his date, Danielle, is a drag queen also known as Dan.

Dan is a 20-something man with finan-

'Gay Jesus' play opens with metal detectors

by Timothy Williams

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York City-Theatergoers flocked to the September 22 debut performance of Terrence McNally's new off-Broadway play Corpus Christi, ignoring angry protesters upset over the play's depiction of a gay Christ-like figure who has sex with his apostles.

As patrons passed through a recentlyinstalled metal detector on their way into the theatre, about 100 protesters held a prayer vigil across the street, led by members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Police said one protester was arrested for disorderly conduct.

"We are inviting people to get up and leave when blasphemies are enunciated in the play," said the group's leader, the Rev. Benedict J. Groeschel. "We are praying for the conversion of people attending the play." Theatergoer John Friedman, 34, of Greenwich, Conn., said he understood why the show is controversial.

"It may not be for everybody, but I thought it really brought out the transcendental nature of Jesus," he said after the preview performance. "It emphasized that he was an outcast."

While theater officials and patrons were tight-lipped about the content of Corpus Christi, a brochure released earlier this year described the play this way:

"From modern day Corpus Christi, Texas,

to ancient Jerusalem, we follow a young gay man named Joshua on his spiritual journey, and get to know the 12 disciples who choose to follow him."

In May, the Manhattan Theater Club canceled plans to produce the play after receiving anonymous death threats against its actors, audience and McNally, a multiple Tony Award-winner.

"It may not be for everybody, but I thought it really brought out the transcendental nature of Jesus."

Days later, theater executives reversed their decision, saying police promised to ensure safety if the play was staged. The official opening is scheduled for Oct. 13; September 22 was the first night of previews, in which a play is generally finetuned before its official opening.

A statement from the theater on September 22 reaffirmed its support of "McNally's right to express his artistic vision freely" as well as the right of protesters to object “in a peaceful and law-abiding manner.”

Most theatergoers were not dissuaded by the commotion.

"It's all about free speech," said Candace Simon of Newark, N.J. “They have the right to protest. The theater has a right to stage it. I have the right to see it."

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cial trouble who took a job delivering singing telegrams in drag, which leads him to meet his knight in shining armor. Everything seems to be going fine until the happy couple runs into Dan's ex-boyfriend, who knows he recognizes that woman from somewhere. Chaos ensues as Danielle tries to do damage control, hoping that maybe love really does conquer all.

What Cole Porter tune does Danielle sing in

Jason Romer

this vignette? "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," of course.

"I'm having so much fun doing this," said Jason Romer, who plays Danielle.

Romer said that in spite of what seems to be a negative attitude about drag in the Cleveland gay community, he was thrilled to take the part-and manages quite nicely in a pair of high heels, thank you.

In addition to what promise to be some very funny moments, Cole Cuts was written to capture problems and experiences that people have every day everyday experiences set to music.

Does it work?

"It's easy to take a song from a musical and use it for a different setting," Bell asserted. And besides, he said, "the Cole Porter tunes are fantastic."

✓

David Bell

MELISSA TILK (2)

When the lights go down, the excitement begins!

COMPANY

CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF OUR 83RD SEASON WITH THE MASTERPIECE THAT REVOLUTIONIZED MUSICAL

THEATRE!

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by George Furth

PLAYING THROUGH NOVEMBER 1