In `Wanda June,' Kurt Vonnegut says his peace.Byline: Fred Crafts The Register-Guard When adventurer Harold Ryan returns home after being missing for nine years - he disappeared while searching for "diamonds the size of canteloupes" deep in the jungle - he expects to pick up his life where he left it. But his wife, Penelope, has a different view. After waiting for him for years, Penelope has given up. She has had him declared legally dead and is now in a whirl of romances - namely, with vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner, mechanical device using a draft of air to remove dust, loose dirt, or other particulate matter from dry surfaces. It is especially useful on highly textured surfaces, such as carpets and upholstery, that are difficult to clean by wiping or brushing. salesman Herb Shuttle and peacenik doctor Norbert Woodly. She is understandably reluctant to jump back into Harold's arms. With the aid of three ghosts - Wanda June, German officer Von Konigswald, and ex-wife Mildred Ryan - esteemed novelist and playwright Kurt Vonnegut Noun 1. Kurt Vonnegut - United States writer whose novels and short stories are a mixture of realism and satire and science fiction (born in 1922) Vonnegut Jr. has much to say about relationships and the prospect of world peace. Director Jesse Lally calls "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" (opening Friday in the Actors Cabaret Annex) a "charged comedy about family and society that ruminates on war and peace, and takes a strong stance on the desperate need for all the killing in the world to stop." "For those who don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. Vonnegut, expect an unusual comedy, certainly a one-of-a-kind show," Lally says. `That is by no means to say it is highbrow high·brow adj. also high·browed Of, relating to, or being highly cultured or intellectual: They only attend highbrow events such as the ballet or the opera. n. or unaccessible to non-Vonnegut fans, but merely that it will present an evening of touching, true comedy not often seen on stage. `That is to say, it is a rarity to discover a work that is both profound and easily understood, touching and funny at the same time.' Lally says Vonnegut has a theory about our artists being like the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. "When our society is in trouble, the artists' sensitivities will be tuned in to the danger in advance of the general populace. So, like the canary canary (kənâr`ē), common name for a familiar cage bird of the family Ploceidae (Old World finch family), descended from either the wild serin finch or from the very similar wild canary, Serinus canarius, keeling keeling the marking of ewes by the ram when they are mated by the marking on the ewe of paint or chalk from the sternum of the ram. over in its cage, when the artist warns us that we're screwing up, we either need to fix the problem, or run for our lives." `` `Canaries are dropping dead all around us,' Vonnegut points out. `But is anybody listening? Does anybody care?' '' Although it was written in 1970, Lally believes the play is "still highly relevant today." One of the script's oddities The Oddities were a professional wrestling stable in the WWF. History The Jackyl formed the group in 1998 and called them "The Parade of Human Oddities." The group consisted of "freakish" wrestlers, including the masked Golga (formerly Earthquake, whose mask had is populating the stage with ghosts, a ploy Lally is amplifying by bringing them "into a more pivotal role, having them actually interact with the characters on stage without being seen. "They are, after all, the ghosts of Harold Ryan in one way or another, back to haunt him, and I felt that their actions should help direct some of his. This provides an interesting bit of staging and a fun chance to really explore the nature of the characters, their histories and their past mistakes." To tackle the assignment, Lally has a veteran cast: Michael Watkins (Harold Ryan), Cate Wolfenbarger (Penelope Ryan), Miles Schneider (Paul Ryan Paul Ryan may refer to:
Spotted horse, also called paint, piebald, skewbald, and other terms to describe variations in colour and markings. The American Indian ponies of the western U.S. were often pintos. Most pure-breed associations refuse to register horses with pinto colouring. (Herb Shuttle) and Helene Morse (Wanda June). THEATER PREVIEW Happy Birthday, Wanda June What: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s comedy makes a plea for world peace; directed by Jesse Lally When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27, Oct. 3-4 and Oct. 10-11; 2 p.m. Sept. 28 Where: Actors Cabaret Annex Theater, 39 W. 10th Ave. How much: $7, $10 and $12 through the theater box office, 683-4368 Fred Crafts can be reached at 338-2575 or fcrafts@guardnet .com. CAPTION(S): `Happy Birthday, Wanda June' features (from left) Michael Watkins as Harold Ryan, Cate Wolfenbarger as Penelope Ryan, Benjamin Newman as Dr. Norbert Woodly and Bruce McArthur as Major Von Konigswald. |
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