MARCH 1998 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Enter Laughing We can't be serious and scholarly all the time. Each month Norman's Theatre lampoons famous musicals or Wayne Disher looks at the lighter side of the performing arts Voices in Contemporary Theatre Listening to a influential voice from the world of theatre - be it an actor, writer, director, or an audience-member. In this issue: Rent's Michael Grief directs Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters Rubin's Corner At the corner of Broadway and Off-Broadway The Play's the Thing Caprice Woosley is back from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - Brace yourselves: She reviewed musicals. CyberTheatre Monthly Explore a new theatre-related website each month Ths month: A Musicals Database, Inside the Actors Studio, and Stream theatre news directly into your active desktop Opera Today Trystan Toole explores the world of Opera TRE Trivia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Play's the Thing The Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Hello everyone! I am back from sunny Southern California, the land of the beautiful people and Movieland! I was a typical tourist while in the area, seeing the famous HOLLYWOOD sign on the hillside, the footprints in the sidewalk, and even saw a film or two being shot locally. But as you can see, I have now returned to the land of dark stages, trap rooms and greasepaint. Have no fear because Mr. Spielberg did not seduce me to switch allegiance to the movie industry. I was in LA land to attend the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival which is basically an actor’s convention. The only difference is that we all paid for the privilege of the tortures of auditions, callbacks, casting for new play readings, criticism writing competitions, directing interviews, all that stuff that make actors and directors totally neurotic. I was fortunate to be part of the Critic’s workshop. The workshop required that I see a play a day, write a review of said play, and turn in the review by 9:30 the next morning. (And try to survive the night’s "festivities" as well!) After all reviews were finished, the best written review would be forwarded to the Kennedy Center for consideration. Once at the Kennedy Center, the selected reviewer would win a summer internship at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Well, when all was said and done, yours truly did not advance, (just have to get that MFA in criticism, haha) but I was very happy with he feedback I got on my work. Of the three I submitted, the reviewers agreed the review of Endgame was my best work. So, there is always next year. I will be brushing up on my criticism skills and who knows . . . next year I could be writing from the Eugene O’Neill for the summer. P.S. to those who know me as a musical curmudgeon . . .yes, I reviewed a musical and yes I um, (looking around nervously) even liked it! But I will only admit that once! Mourning Doesn’t Become Bernarda Waltmar Theatre at Chapman University was the address for Migdalia Cruz’s Another Part of the House, directed by Roberto Guiterrez Varea. As part of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival underway at the university, the story, derived from Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, centers around life in the Alba house immediately following the death of the family patriarch. Bernarda Alba imposes a ceremonial eight year period of mourning on the entire household, including her five unmarried daughters. Thoughts of virtual imprisonment and spinsterhood drive the sisters to the edge. The program for the production states, "Migdalia Cruz’s play Another Part of the House, imagines what Lorca, were he able to speak beyond his time and his own ‘timeless door of earth,’ might reveal about the characters to today’s audiences. If we were able to penetrate ‘walls that can shut out the stray glance,’ what might we see transpiring among its imprisoned inhabitants?" The inky blackness that covered the mourners from head to toe would soon pour over the house and its inhabitants. The production had its share of brilliant moments. Entering the stage like a black-clad chorus of ancient Greek theatre, Bernarda and her daughters chant a rhythmic dialogue reminiscent of tragedies like Medea. Mourning permeates the stage. The multi-leveled stage seemed to float above the theatre floor, adding a mystical touch to the production. The subtle hue changes during the production merged color and symbolism together, like the green lighting that could be fertility and jealousy at the same moment. In spite of the moments of wonder, the production did suffer. Central to the difficulties are structural problems with the script. The main conflict of the play, strict adherence tot he rules of mourning which will confine the family to a life of solitude and will prevent the marriage of the daughters, diffuses by Act Two which opens with the oldest daughter preparing for her weddings just months after the funeral. The driving force of the play was cut off at the knees and weakened the urgency and risk of the other members who could, like the sister, escape by marriage. The weakness of the script made it difficult to watch. The length of the play prolonged those difficulties. With a lack of urgency removed, the mountain of problems the actors had to climb was too high. Another flaw in the production was the uneven acting performances. At times Latin inflections flouted in and out, with the names of the characters being the only time the accent was consistent. Ann Woodhead, as Maria Josefa, delivered a one-color performance with few variations of levels. She wavered between an aged Latin Blanche Dubois and an oversexed teenager. She was awkward and looked uncomfortable on the set. Several performances do deserve recognition. Poncia, the oppressed servant of Bernarda, played by Karen Biermann, with her intensive physicalization employing an unusual walk and her toughness when dealing with Bernarda, proved the most consistent. Le Anne Rumbel as Angustias, "the anguished one" and oldest daughter of Bernarda, and Sarah Toral as Adela, the youngest daughter and unknown rival for Angustias’ future husband, were also noteworthy. Bernarda Alba’s rigid rule of mourning became her life. The black mourning clothes left their stain on every member of the household and became part of them forever. It is mournful that the production lacked the power needed to compel it forward. It is also mournful that the stain of imperfection overshadowed a potentially powerful play. Falsettos - Better than an E Ticket Ride The audience sat down in the theatre and the safety bar descended, holding them securely in place while the roller coaster called Falsettos began a steady ascent. There were peaks and valleys, fast curves and loops all along the way. The Waltmar Theatre at Chapman University acted as the theme park. William Finn and James Lapine, who wrote Falsettos, acted as the tour guides in "Falsettoland" as proclaimed in one of the songs. Roller coasters may be scary to some, but sheer pleasure to others. As a person who falls into the scary category, I decided to try one time, eyes wide open, to see where the ride took me. The musical began at the top of the first peak and plunged the audience headlong into screams of delight and laughter. One of the funniest bits in the opening number was the mock parting of the Red Sea. High energy singing and frenetic pace made it hard to keep up with some of the action. The audience was not given much time to process the changing relationships of the characters due to the relentless pace set by the music. The swift tempo of Act One, with only one brief moment of tranquillity, contrasted the melancholic pace of Act Two. But even the melancholy did little to distinguish one song from another. Much of Act Two sounded like the old cliché, "same song, different singer." Aside from the pace of the music, the singing also took the audience on a roller coaster rise. Although Todd Horman, as Marvin, gave a stunning performance, other cast members, like Jessica Raymer, playing Dr. Charlotte, could muster nothing more than an average performance. At times the vocal strength wavered back and forth, as in the case of Amy Ross, portraying Trina, whose strong acting was at times overshadowed by her lack of musical vitality. Despite all the comical touches, Falsettos deals frankly with the subject of homosexuality and AIDS. Through the character of Jason, played by the astoundingly mature Eric Deloretta, the audience sees the world as innocently as a child. Jason serves as a strong example to children about acceptance and to parents about preconceived ideas that blind them. So, the roller coaster ride is complete and the audience finds itself back at the station. A standing ovation replaced the screams of delight as the actors took their bows. No one seemed too worn out from the looping, twisting adventure. And I have to admit, for once I didn’t end up with white knuckles from fear . . . I enjoyed the ride. The Beginning of the Endgame For those unfamiliar with Samuel Beckett, the foray into the world of Hamm, Clov, Nagg and Nell begins a descent into hell. Walking into the Waltmar Theatre at Chapman University was like walking into a chamber of horrors. Dark dungeon walls, rust colored draperies, trash cans, discarded rubbish and a silent, shrouded figure sitting in a chair created an eerie setting for Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, presented by Phoenix College as part of the American College Theatre Festival. As the play opened, Clov, the overworked servant, shuffles in and repeatedly makes attempts, almost in vain, to look out the windows above his head. The futile battle he wages pays off when the "steps," a rickety old ladder, are finally remembered by the simple-thinking man. Clov, played by William Elliott Clayten, is often confused by the obstacles of the world but Clayten’s performance revealed the wise man hiding inside. Hamm, the god of this hellish place, played by James Hoenscheidt, talked the difficult task of making the brooding, demanding, self-interested character into someone that compelled the audience to feel a twisted sense of empathy for his plight. From the booming bass of his voice when he howled and screamed to the melodic, hypnotic tones of his reflective speeches, he filled the auditorium with sound. Nagg and Nell, the trash can residing parents of Hamm, are skillfully brought to life by Geoffrey Eroe and Liz O’Brien. Most noteworthy was the physical character of Eroe’s portrayal of Nagg, with twitching eyebrows, near charicature expressions and the precise way he used hid hands to work the edge of the trash can. For a play that revolves around a man trapped in a chair in the center of the stage for nearly the entire play, director Gary Imel found creative ways to break up the static composition. Hamm would cry out to be wheeled around the floor. Clov would move around the stage either checking on Nagg and Nell, or putting things, "back in order," as he tells Hamm. By the end of the play, most of the stage had been used. An interesting effect used in the production was smoke that rose above the walls and wafted downward over the edge and swirled around Hamm. Just as the prayers of the righteous are carried up to heaven, symbolized by the incense smoke rising in the church, the curses of Hamm were drifting downward to the hell surrounding him. Several questions remain unanswered. How will Beckett newcomers react to the production? Will they grasp the meanings or symbolisms of the play? Will they leave distraught, anguished, provoked, challenged? Clov tells Hamm at one point, "Same questions, same answers." The questions have always been there regarding Beckett’s work, and the answers are no different. Some will scratch their heads and wonder what they experienced. Some will leave upset. Some will be relieved to get away from the theatre. But, maybe just one will walk away with new insight. For that one, as Hamm states, "The end is the beginning." --- Caprice Woosley is currently pursuing her BFA in theater (directing and playwriting), after 25 years working in and around the theater. She is a produced playwright, actress, and amateur dramaturg who enjoys researching plays. She is a host in the Writing Forum where she co-hosts a Writing Discussion Group. She also hosted "Shakespeare Unplugged" and "Murder and Mayhem" in the Theatre Forum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CyberTheatre Monthly Musical Cast Album Database http://eur.com/musicals/ When you just can't remember who played Stupifyin' Jones in Lil Abner, who wrote Weird Romance, or what was the name of that country-westernish bride's maid ballad was in I Love You, You're Perfect Now Change... 2100+ recordings of Broadway and other musicals, 16,400+ song titles, 11,500+ singers, over 1100 titles. Inside the Actors' Studio Fans of these weekly seminars about the craft of acting will be happy to find this corner of the Bravo website listing recent and upcoming guests including Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close, Sally Field and others. The interviews are incredibly in-depth. The website however is a little hard to negotiate. That's why we provide this direct link: http://www.bravotv.com/whatson/iascapsules.html 1501Broadway.com Did you know you can stream theatrenews directly onto your desktop if you've upgraded to Internet Explorer 4.0 ? www.1501Broadway.com provides an active desktop ticker with breaking news from the New York Times, Reuters, Playbill Online and the Tony Awards Website, linked to real audio briefings and our own TRE Newsdesk. --- This month's CyberTheatre sites were suggested by Trystan Toole, Billie Thrash & Milton. To suggest a theatre, dance, or music-related website for CyberTheatre Monthly, write to Theatre_msn@msn.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enter Laughing Everything I learned in life, I learned from the theatre You’ll remember that last month’s article focused on our society’s collective stage fright. I wondered back then what things we’ve learned from living the "theatrical life". Here are a few of the things I’ve learned. Perhaps you have some of your own. If so, please let me know. It’s okay sometimes to just stand around on stage and let someone else be the star. Breaking a leg is always painful... even if it does mean good luck. When all else fails, break out into a great song. Don’t forget to bring the curtains down. Life is just a bowl of cherries... sometimes sweet, but sometimes the pits. Always watch where you step... falling into the orchestra pit is not only embarrassing, it hurts. Smile and you’ll soon get someone’s attention. No matter how often the director scolds you, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout... get right back in there and do it again. Eventually you’ll get it right or they’ll get tired of yelling. Pretending to be someone else is often a healthy experience. So dress up and put on makeup now and then. Watch out for things hanging overhead (like chandeliers!). Don’t ever get tired of curtain calls. Sometimes it’s best to exit before they throw you out. Forgetting what to say or do is OK! Just make sure you have a backup plan when it happens. You can NEVER prepare too much. Stretch your limits... there’s more to be seen and done out there than you could ever imagine. Remember, even if you think you can’t sing, be strong, be loud, and have a ball... it worked for Ethel Merman. Bigger isn’t necessarily better. You’re never alone, even when there’s no one on stage with you. "The hills are alive" is a metaphor. No matter how dark it seems, somewhere there’s a spotlight shining. It’s up to you to step out of the dark and into the light! Always leave ‘em wanting more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opera Today A little boy is trapped inside a room with no windows, no doors, just four walls and a floor. Inside that room, there are 2 small tables sitting apart from one another, but against the same wall. Each table has a rather large bowl on it. One of the bowls is painted a bright, vivid, rich cast of red. The other bowl is painted a small, browned, dull-gray, looking like it had been bathing in a sewer. It isn't that the little boy isn't interested in the dull-gray bowl, his natural instincts tell him to walk up to the red bowl instead. Inside the big red bowl is one banana. This little boy has been hungry for a while now, so he picks up the banana, and begins to peel it. Thinking that his hunger will come to a cessation when he sees that mushy, white, long fruit, he finds himself thinking, "This tastes like an apple." The little boy spits it out. He decides to visit the small, browned, dull-gray bowl now. There's Banana debris on the floor, so he watches where he steps. This time the little boy moves to the other bowl, and this time the peel comes right off, and he gets to eat that mushy, tasty, gorgeous, juicy banana. America is that big red bowl, and this little parable sums up my take on confusion about "American" opera. Think about it. There isn't really a specific genre of American opera. There is no "first thing that comes to your mind" the way you might think of Verdi or Puccini when at the words "Italian Opera". So it's hard to make any real comparisons or even to reach a consensus about what we're talking about. Most of the American composers who have indeed composed for opera have tripped over that big ol' stick called musical-theatre. Therefore, many people (especially lately) have labeled their (American) operas as "operettas". Factor in the terminology the creators tried to establish thru subtitles and other labels the waters become murkier still. Take the new premiere operatic version of A Streetcar Named Desire, for instance. It is being presented by the San Francisco Opera. It was always intended to be an opera, merely due to the fact that the composer, Andrè Previn, wanted it to be one. Now compare it to all the labeled "operettas" that have been produced on the Great White Way, --there is no ideal focus. Dating back to Porgy and Bess, the subject of just what constitutes an opera has always been extremely controversial. The irony is, if there were any non-subjective distinctions between "operetta", American-Originated opera, and "musical-theatre", then there might actually be viable US-written operas, originated and developed in an opera-production environment, being produced for Broadway. And our Broadway audiences would be a good deal more discerning about the differences between true opera and "too much musical dialogue with an attitude." To cover some of the most important American composers: let's use Leonard Bernstein. He wrote 2 "official" operas. Trouble in Tahiti, in 1952, for which he wrote his own libretto, and A Quiet Place 30 years later in 1983. His musical theater works often merged the worlds of Broadway and opera, sometimes describing them, appropriately if vaguely as "Broadway Operetta," as with Candide. That Bernstein wrote On the Town, West Side Story, etc., has confused much of the public about what Candide is meant to be. Is it opera? Operetta? Broadway musical? Both? Not to mention the fact that Candide HAS indeed been performed by several opera companies. Let's dissect another popular beloved Broadway writer: Stephen Sondheim. He has written two (again, labeled by some as) opera-structured shows, A Little Night Music in 1973 and Sweeney Todd in 1979. Both were presented for a Broadway run, and not labeled as opera-related at all. A Little Night Music, was labeled as "A New Musical Comedy", and Sweeney Todd, "A Musical Thriller." However, when critics happened to define them both as being in "operatic form", both shows, like Candide were being performed by opera companies. The question is, "What the hell are they?" Is the reason that Sweeney Todd is labeled as an opera-like show due to the fact that the show is told through 85% music? Because if that's the case, then why hasn't Les Miserables, or Miss Saigon being called opera as well? A Little Night Music has mainly been called an operetta by it's critics, NOT because it is told through little dialogue (There are actually only 16 songs), but rather, because of the way that the songs are presented to the audience. Now let's explore "a" specifically labeled "opera writer". Due to the fact that their presentations are being performed exclusively in opera-communities, they don't have any controversy surrounding them. My favorite American opera writer is Phillip Glass, who happens to still be living and working. There is a true contrast between his work and Broadway shows, because he happens to write with the intention of creating an opera. I find that opera is allowed to take more risks with subject matters merely due to its history. Take some of Glass's work, for example: Einstein on the Beach (1976), A Descent into Maelstrom (1986), The Fall of the House of Usher (1988). In every case Glass is trying to construct the basic idea of telling rather different stories through opera. His intention is not to please the public as some of the creative minds working on Broadway would do, because Broadway happens to be a more economical art. I'm going to drop my own 2 pennies in on this subject. The milk. sugar, eggs and flour that distinguish American opera from operetta and musical-theatre should be what the composer was intending to write, Instead, it's often analyzed by critics using this criteria: how the composer wrote the voices, how the story was told, etc. There's nothing wrong with this type of categorization, because as we have seen, the artists don't particularly define what they are writing. I think that where the opera is being presented has a lot to do with how it is indeed going to be analyzed. One thing that I would liked to see is a truly, non-controversial labeled, "American opera" be presented in a customary theatre atmosphere. I've noticed at the library many times CD's of Broadway shows being sung by opera performers. Some of them happen to be ghastly, but I would like to see this turned around at one time or another. I must say that at the end of my item, I feel that I have raised what I feel to be an important question: "Are there exceptions to different genres of art?" Please join me in the bulletin boards and share your views. --- Trystan Toole is a composer/screenwriter/playwright living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He has composed a variety of Cabaret numbers, and scores for a number of Made-for-TV-Movies. His series of plays called "The Six Sides to Howard Dice" for the Interact Theatre Company in New York is currently being done at a workshop. He also has a screenplay, which is being produced. He’s been working on a loose musical adaptation of The Merchant of Venice for about 2 years and plans to get it done by the end of summer. He lives with his fiancée, Lynida. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre Michael Grief/Jessica Hagedorn Michael Grief, although artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse since 1995, is best-known as the director of RENT. Jessica Hagedorn is a celebrated novelist and poet, who's multimedia theatre works Teenytown and The Art of War: Nine Situations are all but unknown. How right, then, that Grief will direct Hagedorn's Playhouse-commissioned adaptation of her acclaimed best-selling novel DOGEATERS. DOGEATERS is an epic picture of the Phillippines from the perspective of a 13-year old in 1958 and her adult impresions of the world-changing events of the early 1980s during the Marcos regime. A wildly disparate group of characters, from waiters to movie stars, from a young junkie to the richest man in the Philippines, become caught up in a series of events that culminate in a beauty contest, an international film festival, and an assassination. Grief has been working with Hagedorn on the adaptation through readings at University of California-San Diego, New York Theatre Workshop and Sundance Theatre Lab. Grief proudly states that Hagedorn "speaks with a unique voice. Her passionate commitment to this process of adapting her novel to the stage has inspired me and the students at UCSD and invigorates our responsibility to bring new works to the American Stage" The adaptation from novel to stage is made possible in part by a $40,000 National Endowmen for the Arts grant awarded in 1997 under the NEA's revamped guidelines. "I am particularly thrilled that for the first time in seven years the Playhouse is in a position to commission new works"says Grief, "I am delighted that DOGEATERS received funding during the very competitive first round...it shows that the NEA still takes important artistic risks that embrace the cultural heritage of America's diverse population." THIS MONTH'S QUOTES From the Chatroom- Dick_Van_Patten says: I have probably had more jobs than any other actor. I don't know of anyone who has worked in as many plays and TV and movies as I have. I really don't. From the Mailbag- I took up your offer to visit (the forum) library...and did read the transcripts from some of the old chats. What winners you've endured, huh. So (chat attendees) didn't like the evidence at the Lizzie Borden trial - What were they expecting? DNA Evidence from 1902????? And what was so ridiculous about the defence saying "look at this gentlewoman, how could such a lady commit such a crime" That sort of $%*# is STILL GOING ON and 20th century juries buy into it same as they did then. "The simple fact that you can sport a nice cableknit sweater and trim the hair on the back of your neck with pythagorean precision and actually have that matter in a court of law after you've dusted your mother away with a shotgun is an insult to the intelligence to the living and a sacrilege to the memory of the dead" from Dennis Miller's RANTS. From the Bulletin Board- I must share the experience I had today with all. My name is Anthony and I'm a lighting design student at North Carolina School of the Arts, hoping to lead my career into the realms of modern dance. Today I was fortunate to sit in a seminar with prominent Modern Dance Choreographer, Murray Louis, and also later speak with him as he toured our school. What he had to say was incredible. He spoke about Dancers and their relation to space. My favorite part was his explanation of how the elements such as light and sound are forces that push against the dancer within that space or air (another element) working for and against the dancer. This means for the dancer that they must evoke their counter energies against these elements and "press out into space". Dancers, as he explained in his wisdom, have that kinetic energy which moves it's audience "off their ass", a goal for any dancer. We don't want the audience to just sit there and watch, we want them to "get off their butt" and lean forward in awe because of this energy the dancers are storing. Another important part that Mr.. Louis brought out was that dancers are in fact sculpture's which mold their bodies in space and posses an interior nature in and of movement and motion that they can portray. This particular part of his seminar which was brought about by a question of his developing technique for more than twenty five years of dancing also brought out how he develops pieces. It was his comment of working like a painter that I particularly enjoyed. His use of the space as his canvas. This compares to what we (lighting designers of NCSA) are taught by our professor, Norman Coates: We are in fact like painters, the only difference is that we paint with lights and our tools are lighting units. The stage/ space is our canvas too. When it comes to dance there is a favorite line by Jean Rosenthal (Lighting Designer), "Dancers live in light as fish live in water". It's something that I will always remember when lighting a dance piece especially in correlation to Mr. Louis' seminar. Thanks, Anthony J. DeMeglio Lighting Designer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRE Trivia What is ART? It is a new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, playing at the Royale Theatre. It is also the first straight play by a living French author on Broadway in more than 20 years. Who played the original Maria in the Broadway Sound of Music ? Speaking of Maria's - who played the original Maria in West Side Story? Speaking of the Sound of Music, what was Julie Andrews Broadway debut ? Karl Malden made his Broadway debut in what Tennessee Williams classic? Answers to last month's TRE Trivia For as long as I could remember, the house on Steiner Street had been home...--I Remember Mama. One of those no-neck monsters hit me with a hot buttered biscuit so I have t' change! --Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Moods. Every one of us has many moods. You yourself have more than your share of them --Abe Lincoln in Illinois To all the dumb chumps and all the crazy broads, past, present, and future - who thirst for knowledge - and search for truth - who fight for justice - and civilize each other - and make it so tough for sons of bitches like you and you and me --Born Yesterday You don't see much elderberry wine nowadays - I thought I'd had my last glass of it --Arsenic and Old Lace Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of york --Richard III I'm going to be baptized, damn it --Life with Father I'm so terribly afraid that some of the cards for these last-minute presents must have got mixed. Look at them, Tracy, perhaps you can tell me. --The Philadelphia Story ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rubin's Corner The Return of Terence Rattigan It seems that a sort of Terence Rattigan revival has taken place in the last few weeks. In New York his play, The Deep Blue Sea, is beginning a first rate production by the Rountabout Theatre Company. On the other side of the Atlantic, his play Cause Celebre is being given a rival at the Lyric Hammersmith in London. Cause Celebre was as much a hard-edged state of the nation piece as was Hare’s Plenty. Both pieces are about neurotic, middle-class women whose behavior scandalized people around them. The Deep Blue Sea, where passion is talked about, but not shown, where there’s a period of real time in the same one room and the husband manages to walk to have conservation about martial problems just in time for the intermission. Yet this play is extremely fluid. The surface narrative of Cause Celebre is the real and sensational Rattenbury murder case of 1935, in which a 68 year-old architect had the top of his head removed after three hefty blows from a mallet delivered by 18-year-old George Percy Stoner. Stoner was hired as a handyman at the Rattenbury home in Bournemouth and was soon stoking both boilers and the consuming flame of Alma Rattenbury’s passion. It was a classic case of the older woman syndrome and Alma, 20 years older, three times married, a heavy drinker, a Canadian national, and a show biz type who wrote sentimental ballads with titles like "Night Bring Me You." Reporters who were obsessed with what she wore in court chased her down the street. When Stoner was reprieved and after serving seven year for a particularly brutal crime, the case became the talk of the entire world. Alma was hated by women because they were jealous and men because they feared her. To the teenage Rattigan the case was fascinating. He felt that it was about someone who dared to want to make love to a beautiful young boy and about the price that England made you pay. For Rattigan, the Rattenbury case retold with great emphasis on the role of Edith Davenport, a morally prejudiced juror whose own teenage son goes through a bout of adolescent sexual indecision unaided by his prim mother or weak adulterous dad. In this play Rattigan went further than in any of his other plays. The play’s composition showed naked sexual passion. Rattigan, was talking about his own demons since his parent never help him confront his own sexuality. The production has a scene where two boys, one obviously gay, one bisexual discuss whether they rather make love with a prostitute or other boys. What is interesting is that Rattigan is again asking the question, "Why this man is accepted back into polite society so easily after seven years. If we are able to look carefully at the two plays we will see how Rattigan outlook toward the presentation of passion on stage chanced between the two plays ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1998, Mersinger Theatrical Services