Spring season welcomes numerous shows posted on 04/29/2023
After enjoying his go-around as the director of last
season’s “Fuddy Mears,” Jay Hash wanted to dive back in and direct another
show. This month, his follow up will be “Jitters,” by David French, at the
Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Company (NNB).
The comedy takes the audience behind the scenes of the
theater world, a “play within a play,” as a provincial Canadian theater company
mounts a production of “The Care and Treatment of Roses.” In it, a popular (but
aging) actress attempts to make a comeback in Canada, but conflicts due to egos
and personal issues threaten to derail the plan.
“Things start to escalate and you wonder how it’s going to
work out in the end, “Hash said. “It’s a struggle, because there’s egos
involved. Not just hers, but others who see it as a vehicle for her.”
Hash noted that he prioritizes character exploration and
working with his actors to discuss relationships, history and other intricacies
of their roles.
“It gives a more fleshed out character over the course of
(the show),” he said. “I like to make sure that is one of the key elements of
when I’m producing a show like this.”
Hash also added that NNB’s stage, located at the Boring
Grange, allows for them to break the “fourth wall,” an imaginary wall that
separates the audience from performers, by utilizing the area in front of the
stage for part of the action.
“We have this interesting split level thing going on,” he
said, noting that characters such as the writer and director of the “play
within the play” are on the same level as the audience and utilize the
theater’s entrances and exits. “It gives this immersion for the audience.”
NNB presents “Jitters” from May 19 through June 4 at the
Boring Grange, 27861 Grange Street in Boring. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on
Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, including
ticket pricing or to make reservations, call 503-593-1295 or visit
nnbtheater.com.
NNB auditions
NNB will hold auditions for its September production of
“Steel Magnolias,” by Robert Harling French, from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 20,
and 6:30-9 p.m. Monday, May 22, at the Boring Grange. Auditions will consist of
cold readings from the script.
The Gin Game at SAT
Sandy Actors Theatre’s (SAT) May production of D. L.
Coburn’s “The Gin Game” has a small cast, but an experienced one. Just two
performers take the stage, and Jim Butterfield and Anita Sorel are well known
to SAT audience members. So is the director, Tobias Andersen, a veteran of
stage, film and television.
Butterfield noted that he’s worked with Sorel in the past,
including “On Golden Pond,” when they received compliments on their chemistry
on stage.
“It occurred to me this would be a good thing to do with
her,” he said.
The pair play two residents at a home for senior citizens who
strike up a friendship over a game of gin rummy. Butterfield noted the card
game becomes a battle between two people who are not comfortable with others
but are also desperately trying to find companionship.
“They each have their own difficulties relating to the world
at large,” he said, while noting how different the characters are from each
other. “Somehow, they get thrown together, desperately trying to find a
connection with each other. In a place with a couple hundred in the old folks
home, neither of them has found anybody else in the entire place to talk to.”
“They’re stuck, they won't get off it,” Andersen added. “She
won’t get off of it with her husband, he won’t get off of it with his business
partners. Any audience coming to see this show will have a lot of laughs and
they will see two of the most fascinating characters ever written.”
SAT presents “The Gin Game” from Friday, May 5 through
Sunday, May 28, at 17433 SE Meinig Avenue in Sandy (behind Ace Hardware). Show
times are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets
are $18 general admission, $15 for students, seniors, first responders and
veterans, and $13 for children (reservations are recommended). For more
information, or to make reservations call 503-936-4378, find SAT on Facebook or
visit sandyactorstheatre.com.
“Cinderella” continues
Sandy High School will continue its production of the
classic musical “Cinderella,” music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar
Hammerstein II, new book by Douglas Carter Beane and original book by Oscar
Hammerstein II, from May 4-6. Performances will take place at 7 p.m. in the
school’s auditorium, located at 37400 Bell Street in Sandy. Tickets are $11 for
adults, $8 for students and seniors and kids five and under are free.
For more information, visit https://www.sandydrama.com/.
By Garth Guibord/MT
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