Theatre Vertigo

Congratulations to Garland Lyons who last night at the 30th Annual Drammy Awards was recognized as an outstanding supporting actor for his work in “Romance” – Theatre Vertigo’s production of David Mamet’s comic courtroom romp.

Also winning awards last night were Chris Rousseau and Mary Rochon. While they won for productions not associated with Theatre Vertigo, these two designers collaborated with us in this season’s “Freakshow” and “Romance” respectively.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Anonymous Theatre last night! It was a blast. If you missed it, come back here soon for some exclusive photos! We can FINALLY reveal the cast – the massive cast – to everyone. Without further ado:

(In order of appearance)
Witch 1// Jane Fellows*
Witch 2// Sha Sha Sassone
Witch 3// Sharonlee McLean
Duncan// Colin Murray
Malcolm// Marc Friedman
Seyton// Jonah Weston
Lennox// Stephanie Cordell
Ross// Chris Porter
Macbeth// Scott Coopwood
Banquo// Chris Murray
Angus// Alec Wilson
Lady Macbeth// Christine Calfas
Attendant// Christy Bigelow
Fleance// Amber Hudson
Porter// Phil Rudolph
MacDuff// Darius Pierce*
Donalbain// Andy Hillstrom
1st Murderer// Damon Kupper
2nd Murderer// Heather Rose Walters*
Hecate// Mary McDonald-Lewis
Apparition 1// Matt Haynes
Apparition 2// Colleen Heidebrecht
Apparition 3// Libbi Houghton
Lady Macduff// Jamie Rea
MacDuff’s Child// Madison Wray
Doctor// Thom Bray
Siward// Keith Cable
Young Siward// Peter Ash

*member of Theatre Vertigo

Pssst – HEY! PSSST! Can you keep a secret? Good! You know who else can?? The cast and crew of Anonymous Theatre. This year, Anonymous Theatre will feature William Shakespeare’s Macbeth – a thrilling challenge for an already thrilling night of theatre! The actors are cast in the show, and then sent along their merry way. No interaction with other actors. No rehearsals with other actors. Then on the night of the show the actors blend in with the audience, take their seats, and stand up one-by-one when it is time to go on stage.

Be in on the secret by reserving your ticket for this year’s Anonymous Theatre, happening at 7:00pm on Sunday, June 7, in the Gerding Theater at The Armory. 128 NW Eleventh Avenue in the Pearl District.

Tickets are $25 each or you can buy a subscription to Theatre Vertigo’s 09-10 season AND a ticket to Anonymous Theatre for only $60. Call 503-306-0870 or visit www.theatrevertigo.org today.

We must sadly bid farewell to our cavalcade of freaks this weekend. Freakshow, written by Carson Kreitzer, directed by Tom Moorman, and performed by the Theatre Vertigo acting ensemble, packs up the tent on Saturday and moves on to the next two-star town. BUT! You still have an opportunity to witness the miraculous monstrosities of nature – Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm.

Call 503-306-0870 or go to www.theatrevertigo.org to make your reservation.

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the trailer to Freakshow!

Can’t see it?? Please visit https://www.theatrevertigo.org/trailers/freakshow.mov

Here is our first review of Freakshow – from The Oregonian. Enjoy!

Portland’s Theatre Vertigo plays with “Freakshow”

by Richard Wattenberg, Special to The Oregonian

Carson Kreitzer uses a tawdry carnival sideshow as her metaphor for life. Or so it seems in her 1999 theater piece “Freakshow” – an intriguing, if somewhat unsatisfying play now receiving a thoughtful production from the always imaginative and playfully eccentric Theatre Vertigo.

Set in the backstage area of a 19th-century P.T. Barnum-like traveling entertainment, Kreitzer’s play develops on the idea that the freaky, unnatural beings inhabiting this little circus are not so freaky at all.

At the center of the action — both literally and metaphorically — is The Woman With No Arms Or Legs, and around her we find characters like The Dog-Faced Girl, The Pinhead, and The Human Salamander. They may be an odd lot; yet these supposed aberrations of nature desire only what the rest of us seek: love and respect.

As distorted mirror images of us, the play’s characters provide Kreitzer with the opportunity to ponder a number of disturbing questions such as: How blinded are we by physical difference to the
underlying similarities between us? What is our fascination with these kinds of freak show exhibitions? Are men aroused or frightened by the animal sexuality embodied by women who do not fit the social norm? Are men seduced by the beauty of the armless, legless woman because they want women who are completely helpless and dependent on them? What are we to make of the fact that the armless, legless woman of this play thrives on the independence that performance provides her? Is she collaborating in her own subjugation?

The problem is that there are so many questions and so few answers offered here. Taking on issues related to love and lust, gender and other forms of difference, representation and art, as well as truth and illusion, “Freakshow” touches on so many concerns that it falls prey to a diffuseness of focus. Kreitzer’s fragmented play consisting of 27 short scenes ultimately feels incomplete.

Director Tom Moorman and the talented Vertigo company make the most of the script. As bizarre as some of the play’s characters may be, the actors succeed in giving them reality.

Amy Newman brings both substance and mystery to her portrait of the armless, legless woman, Amalia. With only torso and head visible she remains center stage throughout the play. Her icy smile, enigmatic glances, and deliberate, seemingly sweet vocal delivery draws us into this world and holds us within it. Her power over all the other characters even the ringmaster, Mr. Flip, played by Garland Lyons is ever-present.

As Mr. Flip, Lyons adeptly conveys the smooth self-confidence and lofty rhetoric of the aggressive carnival barker, but he also reveals Mr. Flip’s vulnerable side. This ringmaster is no simple callous entrepreneur but a surprisingly sympathetic character.

Mario Calcagno as Aquaboy, the Human Salamander, splashing around in his water tank; Nathan Gale as the Pinhead sprawling, crawling, stuttering, and singing within his diminutive cage; and Heather Rose Walters as the now-aging Judith, the Dog-Faced Girl who shows both a motherly interest in the others as well as bitter indignation when considering how she was mistreated when younger — all work well to give us a sense of a world in which the ordinary and unusual converge.

Finally set designer Chris Rousseau, costume designer Jim Crino, lighting designer Jeff Woods, and sound designer Ben Plont deserve credit for successfully capturing the gritty, shabby, garish world of the midway.

“Freakshow”
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through May 16, plus 5:30 p.m. April 26
Where: Theater! Theatre!, 3430 S.E. Belmont St.
Tickets: $15, 503-306-0870 or www.theatrevertigo.org

Ladies and gentlemen, we gladly announce that tonight is the opening of Freakshow! We kindly invite you to step right up, buy a concession, and witness a production that everyone at Theatre Vertigo is truly proud of. We present to you… FREAKSHOW!

Make your reservations now by calling 503-306-0870 or visiting www.theatrevertigo.org.

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Eve Photography