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Volume 2, Issue 21
September 28 - October 11, 2000 |
Cicilia A. Yakhlef
Where do you go if you want an artistic experience, but you're tired of the same old gallery hum-drum and hob-knobbing? Where do you go if you've seen one too many mutilated egg cartons glued to the wall, labeled as "mixed media?" Where do you go when you're tired of holding your chin with your right hand while gesturing with your left and saying "Ah, what movement, and the color... why its just... just... so there?"
Why daaahhhhling, go to the theater of course! Theater is art in every genre; you get liter-ary value, vocal arts, performance art, large scale artwork in the form of set/scrim design, and sometimes you can even throw in some downright stellar architecture.
If you want to catch the best that theater has to offer, aesthetically speaking, you might start out at The Bug Theatre on 37th and Navajo. Chic with a bent towards counter-culture best describes The Bug. Located in the middle of Denver's premier alternative art block, The Bug sits snugly behind an innocuous-looking wall with only a subtle sign and a crazy-looking masked sculpture marking the entrance. The building itself is one of Denver's first movie theaters, and it features antique seating, questionable plumbing and a proscenium stage that will shock you with its versatility. The Bug maintains a high standard of productions throughout the year and supports not only local performing troupes but also stages many plays written by local artists. Experimental theater finds its home at The Bug alongside the occasional classic Shakespeare production, and no matter what you see, you're likely to walk away impressed. The best thing about The Bug though, is that Cafe Brazil , one of the best restaurants in Denver, is at the other end of the block. It's a great place to start the evening (but call for reservations or you'll never get in).
Located at 7th and Santa Fe, the historic Denver Civic Theatre is also a sure bet. The theater houses three separate stages and generally has some art show or another going on in the lobby. You can generally take your pick between seeing local work or circuit plays performed by local artists. The smaller of the theaters usually provides the best overall experience. Black-box theater is an intimate experience that will put you nearly nose-to-nose with the actors and will give you the best environmental charge if technical direction is worth its salt (as it usually is at The Bug). The building is a sweeping colossal tribute to turn-of-the-century design that has been lovingly updated. Ticket prices are usually reasonable too.
THE PHOENIX THEATRE
The Phoenix Theatre at 11th and Santa Fe is a trip, more for its gutsy productions than for the beauty of the building. Theater at The Phoenix can be aesthetically enchanting. The stage is versatile and the audience is close to the action. The Phoenix also maintains a high standard for the productions it houses-- they usually lean towards either political works, or better yet, experimental work.
THE ORIENTAL
Now here is a field trip for you: if you want to see the absolutely coolest old theater in Denver, check out The Oriental on 44th and Tennyson. I have been totally put off by the quality of the productions there, but if you're taking your grandmother out for her birthday or something, go ahead and go. The building itself will enchant you even if the action on stage doesn't.
For the hippest, coolest, most unique theater experience in Denver, check out Gallery 13's occasional performances of Mystery Sandbox Theater . Gallery 13 is a chic little art gallery located on East 13th. Mystery Sandbox Theater is performance art featuring wigged-out and artfully manipulated puppets. It's the most extremely (successfully) experimental piece of theater I've seen this year. Add to the theater experience the wonderful ambiance of the gallery, the total with-it-ness of the audience and the generous hospitality of the hosts and you will find yourself anxiously awaiting the next show.
So, next time you're tired of wandering around staring at walls and trying to act like you know what the hell it is that's in front of you, try a bit of staged art... it's easier to understand, they have words and all, you see?
Cicilia A. Yakhlef
Conflict is life and life is theater in Douglas Carter Beane's, As Bees in Honey Drown playing at the Arvada Center through October 1. The story, like its characters, is many things at once. The story of love, ultra-ego, fantasy and deception unfolds at a breathlessly rapid pace that mirrors the lives of the characters upon which it is based.
Actress Rachel de Benedet takes on the role of Alexa Vere De Vere, a young woman who has cunningly recreated her persona, her personal history and her rank in life. By doing so, she manages to live in a self-constructed world of fantasy, full of movie stars, rock bands, famous authors and other glitterati. Her fantasy is so real to her that she effortlessly convinces others to play along, using their own desires for fame and financial gain to lure them into funding her existence as a mover and shaker in the entertainment industry.
Evan Wyler, the first time novelist played by Ted Bettridge, becomes the perfect tool for Alexa. He also finds himself in the unlikely position of being completely bewitched by her, and it is the unwind-ing of this bewitchment which keeps the audience completely enthralled for the entire second act of the play.
Although Bettridge and de Benedet perform their roles with ease and with finite attention to the details of their characters, what stood out more about this play is the range and life brought to stage by the supporting characters, all of whom had many demanding roles to play. As always, Beth Flynn gives outstanding performances as a waitress, a backup singer and a newsstand woman, among others. Flynn steals the stage every time she is on it and her laser-strength charisma ensures she'll always have work as an actress. Paul Page also makes effortless transformations between four vastly disparate characters.
The script, however, steals the show. The fast moving funnel cloud of dialogue twists and turns its way over the stage and through the minds of the audience with unpredictable plot twists, flash-backs and conflicts both interior and manifest. My favorite device though is Beane's use of parallel dialogues which, at one point, fields five actors on stage batting lines into the audience like ping-pong balls.
But lines aren't everything. Without Billie McBride's stellar direction and Gail P. Luna's ingenious technical efforts, the tone and pace of this play could never have met the demands of the script.
As Bees in Honey Drown is an exceedingly well-written play that gives the audience a well-staged drama as well as something to think about. The main character of this play makes a point of creating a facade which is larger than life, and she drinks in the fame she's manifested like honey while somehow managing not to drown in it. This play is an enchanting lesson in creative visualization (albeit taken to the extreme), but exceedingly fun to watch.