Exhibitionism
The Dog Show: Our Bowsers, Ourselves
Fri., April 25, 1997
Stephen L. Clark Photography Gallery
through May 3
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A yappy little beast dominates Elliott Erwitt's photograph New York City. It stands tethered to a leash that swoops up and out of the picture, one obviously being held by a woman standing nearby; her tall winter boots tower over the dog. Two more legs appear to the woman's left. I looked twice before I realized that these belong to another, much larger dog rather than a human companion. Its body and hindquarters exist outside the picture. I laughed out loud at the photograph or maybe at my initial misperception.
"One of my wives thought I saw myself in the dog pictures," writes Elliott in his book Elliott Erwitt: Personal Exposures. "She thought I identified with them. Maybe."
Maybe we all identify with dogs, whether big or little, aggressive or submissive. We take note of the awkward or sometimes easy way they fit into the world. How much safer it feels to critique animals rather than gaze in a mirror.
I'm new to dog watching, but my recently acquired "stepdogs" have taught me a thing or two. They whimper every afternoon to remind me that it's time for a walk, bark over empty food bowls, and -- if I continue to neglect them -- eat my cat's food. (Thank god they don't eat my cats!) My own behavior seems undisciplined and erratic by comparison.
Erwitt's dogs from France, Belgium, and New York never fail to amuse. Some levitate, others lounge in cars. One appears to be having tea in a restaurant. Keith Carter provides a different perspective. His dogs are confrontational, stand-alone creatures whose eyes stare directly into your soul, no matter how blurry the rest of the image might be. On the other hand, Ave Bonar's subjects jump, skitter, and slip-slide away as if determined not to be captured whole by her lens.
Bill Witliff's portrait of John Graves and Blue, like Laura Wilson's cow dogs, speaks volumes about the traditional relationship between man and his best friend. Robin Schwartz's Bozo & Jackie highlights the role of dog as protector -- little Jackie shows up a dim second to Bozo. Duane Michals's photo series Waiting for Coco conveys a sweet love story in nine frames.
There are more dog photographs and, thanks to Clark's professional presentation, a table filled with books by most of the photographers represented in the exhibition so you can learn more about them -- more about their photographs in general and about their dog photos in particular. No dog lover should be without Carter's new book Bones or Andrea Mohin's New York Dogs (due out this spring).
Writing about his own dog photos, Erwitt says, "I hope what they're about is the human condition. But people can take them as they like.... If somebody likes what I do on any level, that's fine with me." I'm sure Steve Clark feels the same way about the current exhibition.
-- Rebecca S. Cohen
THE AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III: THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
The Public Domain
through April 27
Running time: 1 hr, 50 min
What is drama about, anyway? Shakespeare said it's to hold "a mirror up to nature," to reflect in words and actions onstage our actions and words in the world. It casts back at us our history, the deeds we remember and the deeds we've forgotten, recreating if not a literal truth of history, then a truth behind the history, one that may warn us or honor us or free us. That is what drama is about and that is why people need it -- all races, all colors -- and why it cannot be denied them.
In this poetic and richly insightful play, Carlyle Brown tells us a tale of one people discovering the meaning of drama and another people trying to deny it to them because of their skin's color. It is a drama that reflects deeds forgotten: In New York City in 1821, a company of free blacks really did mount a production of Shakespeare's Richard III, and their production was shut down by incensed whites. Brown recounts this bit of history in 13 economical scenes, sketching the dreams of the African Company through five of its members and the antagonism of the whites through theatre owner Stephen Price, played by Marco Noyola with cold, controlled arrogance.
Simply for the history it presents, The African Company... is an important drama; it reclaims a neglected achievement by African-Americans, one striking for its accomplishment during the long night of that people's enslavement. But, as with Woody Guthrie's American Song, staged recently by Live Oak Theatre, there is more to the play than history. Here, there is the image of people for the very first time catching their reflection in the glass of drama. We see it as two actors in the company rehearse a scene from Richard III. As Richard woos Lady Anne, the actor playing Anne rebels at her character's tolerance of the schemer's advances, finding them unnatural. But she comes to see a reflection of Anne in her own life -- in her attraction to the ambitious actor playing Richard, in fact -- and so learns the power in dramatic character.
It's in these moments that this ProArts Collective production excels. As the woman who disdains drama until she discovers her image in a script, Cara Briggs flashes fire. Leslie Mitchell's servant who is allowed to play a queen does so with sly pleasure at the irony. Curtis Polk's old lover of language speaks with wonder, perpetually amazed at words' beauty and power. And Vincent Woodard's visionary imagines a new kind of drama -- African-American drama -- with tender majesty. The show never quite comes together dramatically, partly because director Boyd Vance doesn't really develop the tension between the African Company and Price, partly because Alan Keith Caldwell's performance as Hewlett, the driving force behind the African Company, is hard to read; the actor's face is impassive even as it speaks of a deep passion. But whenever the show evokes the immediacy of theatre, it engages. This is a show telling us, "Drama matters." That makes it worth a listen. -- Robert Faires
GREASE: INJECTION OF FUN
Mary Moody Northen Theatre, St. Edward's University campus
through April 27
Running Time: 2 hrs, 15 min
Sometimes the path to success lies in picking the right material. Some musicals, like Grease, are bulletproof and perfect for students with energy and skill. St. Edward's University's Grease wop-bop-a-loo-bops all night long, due to both the quality of the material and the sheer enthusiasm of the cast.
This Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey creation follows a simple storyline, one that many of us have seen played out by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John: the Sandra Dee-esque Sandy falls in love with rebel-without-a-clue Danny, only to have her hopes repeatedly dashed by Danny's unwillingness to lose face. But our familiarity with the material only makes the evening more exciting; guest director Scott Thompson's frenetic staging and strong visuals are dynamic in their own right. Thompson really keeps this cast working hard and pumping every ounce of energy they have into the show.
It is Thompson's staging coupled with the cast's undying devotion to this material that makes the production work. Excitement and joy ooze from every actor. Shirley Reynold's Miss Lynch, the Rydell principal with a thing for whistles, starts the show with an animated performance that only hints at the ebullience to come. All of the actors, from lead to chorus member, deserve high praise for their willingness to go for broke; leading the pack are Lauren Adrian as Frenchy, Kevin Farr as Doodie, and Nicholas Rodriguez as Johnny Casino.
Most of the production staff's choices bolster this rambunctious cast. Matthew Kelbaugh's costumes are rich in detail, liberally anointed with appliqués and full of color. Thompson and Judy Levi's set provides an atmosphere that simply exudes fun with its checkerboard walls and neon signs. Shawn Gough's tight musical direction keeps the party alive and kicking by setting a lively pace for the actors. John Ore's lights, however, are like rain on prom night when audience members are blinded by spotlights during intimate solos and cues seem to happen out of time with the music. Plus, the production's muddy reinforced sound makes it difficult to catch some of the lyrics, a problem for those who have not seen this musical and need to understand the words.
In the grander scheme, it doesn't matter what the show's shortcomings are. This musical, when attacked with excitement, will succeed. And this St. Ed's production does.
-- Adrienne Martini