10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE December 5, 2003

eveningsout

Binging and purging holiday clichés

1

Mrs. Bob Cratchit presents a fresh and timely look at a Dickens classic

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-"God bless us, every one," Tiny Tim says, perhaps one of the most famous lines associated with Christmas.

Gladys Cratchit has heard that line before, of course. Tiny Tim has been yammering it for over a hundred years, and between him limping around sounding like a broken record, Ebenezer Scrooge cutting her husband's pay to purchase "energy units," and the slew of foundlings in the basement she has to take care of, she's about ready to snap.

Meanwhile, the Ghost of Christamases Past, Present and Future takes Scrooge on a magical journey through time, not only his own but also O. Henry's and Jimmy Stewart's. A sassy black woman, the Ghost realizes that medication might be able to treat the Tourette's syndrome that causes Scrooge to constantly say "Humbug!"

Throw in some Enron executives, adorable tykes, musical numbers and about a half-dozen gay men, and Cleveland Public Theatre's production of Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge is ready to run through December 20.

While explaining the presence of Enron executives in Dickensian London might be difficult, the presence of the gay men is much more explicable.

Christopher Durang, the playwright, is not only incredibly prolific, having written over 40 one-act and twelve full-length plays, he's also very, very gay, providing a certain edge to the wit in Mrs. Bob Cratchit.

More than Durang, however, are the gay cast and crew who give the play life. Director Randy Rollison, for instance, has made room in his busy schedule as Cleveland Public Theatre's artistic director to helm the play. Publicist Dan Kilbane, last seen playing Bosie in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, returns to CPT's stage as the aforementioned Tiny Tim, who has now discovered how to get attention by playing for sympathy.

Choreographed by Hernando Cortez of Verb Ballets, with music direction by Michael Seevers and Doug Alden working the sound board, "don we now our gay apparel" seems to take on an entirely new dimension regarding this play, which Rollison believes will appeal to LGBT audiences for a number of

reasons.

"I know that for me, it is about all of us who feel slightly left out of all those heterocentric, earnest depictions of Christmases long, long ago," Rollison said. "They look fine on the surface, but as Chris Durang points out, they are really quite absurd."

"I visit my sister at Christmas," he recalled, "and her friend has these weird, freakish twin girls who wear velvet dresses and sing carols and it really unsettles me. I just don't live on that planet."

Meg Chamberlin and Michael D. Sepesy

STEVE WAGNER

"Mrs. Cratchit just can't seem to feel comfortable in the story and she can't figure out why she's unhappy," he said. "I love that she gets nasty and starts to call it as she sees it. Who wouldn't love to tell a family member they look like a bowl of oatmeal in that hideous sweater they made?"

Rollison directed two shows a year when living in New York, but his responsibilities here only give him time for one. He's perhaps best known directorially for dramatic pieces.

"Most of the plays I have done have been dramas, and I wanted a chance to direct a comedy," he noted. "The last play I directed was about the plague in London in the 17th century. Fun!"

"I have always loved Chris' work, so the chance to do something of his that is so absurd and silly was too tempting," he continued.

Kilbane also was tempted by the chance to do a Durang play.

"I've wanted to act in a Durang piece for a long, long time," he said. "I think he's incredibly funny, and a brilliant satirist."

"Also," he went on, "I concentrate on directing and producing, and I get the bug to get on stage sometimes. And, I love working with Randy, so this was a great opportunity."

He echoed Rollison's sentiments about the difficulties involved when LGBT people are faced with their families at the holidays. "The sense of humor will definitely be a

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nice remedy for the anxiety of dealing with loved ones that can surface at this time of year," he said. "Often times I find that gay people have a very sharp, cynical, satirical sense of humor, not that I have not found this in straight people, because I have, and gay audiences will recognize the type of humor I'm talking about in Durang's work."

Playing a small child will be interesting for Kilbane, who towers over the children in the cast.

"He is a tyke in this play, but he just happens to be played by someone who's sixfoot one," Kilbane said. "This time out he knows he can get a lot of attention, being in his sickly, limping state. And boy, is he hungry in this one! Dad Bob just doesn't bring home the bacon."

"And he loves his mother a lot," he continued. "Not a mamma's boy, but he knows how to command attention."

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge will play through December 20 at Cleveland Public Theatre's Gordon Square Theater, 6415 Detroit Ave. Tickets for Thursday and Sunday shows are $15, $13 for students and seniors. Friday and Saturday shows are $18, $15 for students and seniors.

In addition, a special 3 pm performance on Sunday, December 7 will be followed by a holiday party at Union Station, 2814 Detroit Ave. Tickets for the performance, which benefits Cleveland Public Theatre, are $35 and must be purchased in advance.

For tickets or more information, call 216631-2727 or log onto www.cptonline.org.

Hustling for a place in the city

WELLSPRING MEDIA

João Francisco dos Santos (Lázaro Ramos) and Laurita (Marcella Cartaxo) enjoy

a peaceful moment in Karim Aïnouz' Madame Sata.

The film is based on a true story. Santos was a hustler in Brazil who also performed at the fiery drag queen Madame Sata. His fight-filled world was inhabited by colorful characters including the archetypical prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold, Laurita. Madame Sata will play at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, 11141 East Boulevard, on December 5 and 6 at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, respectively.

On December 20 at 7:30 pm and December 21 at 4 pm, the Cinematheque will screen Km. 0, a Spanish film tracing the interconnected lives of a group of young people centered around the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's central plaza, the kilometer zero point. Featuring hustlers, gay flamenco dancers, aspiring actresses, filmmakers and more, it's an intricate tale of roads not taken and paths once tread.

Screenings at the Cinematheque are $8 for the general public, $5 for Cinematheque members and CIA students, faculty and staff. They can be reached at 216-421-7450 or online at www.cia.edu/cinematheque.

-Anthony Glassman

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