Month: February 2025

Evelyn and William are husband and wife. William is a boisterous movie mogul, Evelyn is a homemaker. She takes an unidentified pill, that William more or less forces on her daily. She is pleasant. But sometimes seems irrational, or a bit out of it. They have no children. They live in a posh home in 1960’s Hollywood. She and neighbor Cassandra visit regularly. When the subject of the notorious Watts Riots comes up, Evelyn doesn’t want to discuss it. William goes to the studio where he auditions rising starlets. Billy and Mary arrive. They are young, affectionate lovers. Mary is looking for her big break. William takes an immediate interest in her.

In Act Two we see a big change in Billy and Mary. Billy has become William’s protege. Mary has gotten lots of serious attention at the studio. Especially from William. She wears “hippie” threads, suggesting perhaps she is more savvy, and not as restrained. Billy wears a three-piece suit, just like mentor William. His whole attitude has changed. He and William indulge in a fair amount of whiskey, while William “tutors” him in studio business culture. When Mary and Evelyn are left to themselves, they start comparing notes on the improprieties that happen during screen tests. Evelyn is an accomplished (albeit retired) star herself, and their stories are very similar.

Written and Directed by Kevin Grammer: Fate Complete is a brilliant, nuanced exploration of systemic sexual harassment and rape culture in the movie trade, and (I think it’s safe to infer) in similar situations where women have no leverage. The studio transforms actresses into idealized, glamorous film stars, but not before they submit to sexual assault, tacit though it may be.

Evelyn quit film acting prematurely, and when Mary tells Billy she’s been fending off William’s advances, he expects her to play along. There’s a kind of buffered hysteria in Evelyn’s demeanor, probably assuaged by William’s pills. Fate Complete comes from a French expression (fait accompli) that means: done deal or accomplished fact. And so it is with Evelyn and Mary. It’s a given that they (and all women) must forfeit sexual favors to succeed in the patriarchy. That is to say: a male-dominated society.

Ochre House has a gift for impeccable, intriguing theatre, and often quirky, inspired touches. The acting feels more spontaneous, the writing intelligent and intuitive, the sets ingenious, and the narratives haunting. They are obtuse, which is to say, not obvious or predictable. Over the years I have seen enormous puppets, Lamb slaughterers who speak in Shakespearean diction, a musical featuring Charles Manson, Squeaky Fromm and Tex Watson and Intense, hypnotic Flamenco. All of them, phenomenal. Don’t miss this last week of Fate Complete.

Ochre House presents: Fate Complete playing February 8^th through March 1^st,2025. 325 Exposition Avenue, Dallas, Texas. 214-826-6273. ochrehousetheater.org

 

Like so much literature, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream seems to improve as we get older. Probably because we understand what’s actually going on. It evokes Juliet’s observation of the “inconstant moon” whose changes have a mercurial effect on human beings. Shakespeare would aim to capture the essence of the essence of sorcery. A nebulous word like “magic” altogether insufficient. There’s some beguiling and enigmatic floating in the right hour, the right season, that plays havoc with lovers. Puck, a nimble sprite finds delicious pleasure in messing with mortals, glad to act on Oberon’s (King of the Faeries) commands.

Hermia is promised to Demetrius, a very poised and suave suitor, but Hermia’s in love with the hot-blooded rapscallion, Lysander. Hermia’s dearest friend, Helena, is smitten with Demetrius, and Hermia would gladly comply, but she’s stuck. Meanwhile Oberon and his Queen Titania are at odds. He sends Puck to gather flowers that steer the victim to inappropriate love. Between Puck and Oberon their meddling only complicates already volatile situations. The desired results turn to fiasco, and brawling ensues. Havoc is chaos is disaster.

A troupe of Craftsmen who also dabble in theatre, are enlisted to present a play to entertain at the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. Their hearts are true, but they’re not exactly Equity. Under the direction of Quince they enact the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, their intense love thwarted by a wall. Tinker Tom Snout plays the Wall. So then five couples: Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, Oberon and Titania, Titania and Bottom (?) the Donkey (you half-expect Demetrius and Lysander) are reflected in the fable of Pyramus and Thisbe. Which is to say: Mortal or Faery, Human or Supernatural, romantic love springs from the ridiculous.

The Classics Theatre Project’s production of Midsummer Night’s…is spot on with their unorthodox, bold slant on the material. The costumes reveal the 1960’s, as well as the music played by a live band. The trippy, strange ideology of the Summer of Love suits the material well. The interstellar influence on mankind emerges from the enormous moon that rotates and shifts. Unless I’m mistaken there are several, sly references to “mary jane.”

There are particular plays that are demanding, unforgiving and overwhelming (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Birthday Party) and certainly A Midsummer Night’s Dream fits. It’s not enough to hear the cues and make the mark. There’s an ephemeral, elusive enchantment that’s more intuitive than rational. Like catching a butterfly blindfolded. The cast here delivers with poise and verve and playfulness.

Think Lightning in a Bottle and don’t miss TCTP’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Classics Theatre Project presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, plays: February 1^st– March 8^th, 2025. 15650 Addison Theatre Centre Studio, Addison Road, Addison, TX, theclassicstheatreproject.com. tctdfw@gmail.com. 214-923-3619.

 

John Cariani’s Almost, Maine is an exquisite, poetic piece. A number of extremely short plays (not sketches) with a common thread. The excruciation, the bliss, the irony, the confusion of love. Each fable happens on the brink of an important revelation. A cusp. Each has its own tone, its own salient emotion. A man sends a potential girlfriend on preposterous journey. A man crosses paths with his ex, only to have his last scrap of hope demolished. A woman visits her fiancee to return all the love she gave him. I think it’s fair to say each story has more than one point. Often we don’t know where one is headed. You’ve probably figured by now there’s more than a little absurdity, but it’s closer to Beckett than The Marx Brothers.

There’s an ethereal kind of tint to Almost, Maine. I’ve noticed some productions lean more towards the humorous aspects, even when the content is somber. This is director’s discretion, of course, but I’m glad that Nancy Cecco and Martin Mussey didn’t give us short shrift. Some of this is positively wrenching, but it fits the structure. None of the incidents, are extraordinary, exactly, though they sometimes feel whimsical. They present the couples with a choice to make, even if it’s to accept a hard truth. Taken as a single experience, Almost, Maine bears a kind of enchantment: the mysterious, the serendipitous, the aha!, the tingle or the grief that pushes us to the next episode. Like a gestalt, it fuses to an epiphany greater than the sum of its parts. When you leave and it washes over you, it’s astonishing.

Laurels, to Cecco and Mussey for this remarkable, nuanced production, Almost, Maine shimmers with various degrees of hues, and these two hit every note. It’s a demanding script, it’s too easy to settle for a gloss, though I daresay some cannot resist that temptation. It’s deceptively simple, like a haiku or a koan. The cast: Brian Hoffman, Maxine Frauenheim, Johnny Jordan, Jr, Sydney Dyer, Jamie Gutzler, Brett Femrite, Ian Grygotis, Kathleen Vaught and Tim Desky have clearly brought their A-Game: versatility, authenticity, focus and energy to this splendid show.

Productions of this caliber are exceedingly rare. Don’t miss your this last chance this weekend.

BTW: Watch out for that shoe.

Allen Contemporary Theatre presents: Almost, Maine, playing now January 24th- February 9^th, 2025. 1210 E Main Street, #300, Allen, TX, United States, Texas,75002. (844) 822-8849.

allencontemporarytheatre.net

(Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 3)