THIS `FLIGHT' IS A VERY PERSONAL JOURNEY.Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic Whether they're talking for 45 minutes or two hours, the most skilled monologuists usually structure a tale so it builds toward something: a revelation, key information, a wrap-up, someone's death. Adriana Sevan's ``Taking Flight'' is no exception; its finale takes an audience down a path we surely did not anticipate when the journey began. That's part of its beauty, although certainly not the only part. A friend of Sevan's, a fashion-loving investment adviser named Rhonda, is nearly killed during the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. ``Taking Flight'' is Sevan's account of how she practically lived at Rhonda's bedside for the nearly nine months her friend spent in a hospital intensive care unit and in rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. . Lives have been interrupted -- Rhonda's and the playwright's own. Rhonda had been planning a wedding; things aren't so great with Sevan's own relationship. As Sevan shares her friend's triumphs and pain, the relationship takes on a rather different dimension. Friendship, Sevan ultimately learns, comes with some hidden costs. Sevan may be alone on stage (her performance is part of the four-play ``Solomania'' festival at the Kirk Douglas Theatre The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the groups 3 stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy. ), but ``Taking Flight'' is no two-persona play. Weaving in and out of the tale is Sevan's spiritual and quite flamboyant alter ego A doctrine used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly or when Esperanza Middleschmerz, as well as an occasional friend and family member. We meet the cabbie cab·by or cab·bie n. pl. cab·bies A cabdriver. [cab1 + -y3. and the doctor who get Sevan past the barricades on Sept. 11 and the old man at ground zero many months later who takes Sevan's picture and affords her a little bit of wisdom in return. As comfortable employing a plethora of accents as she is being herself, Sevan slips easily into the skins of Rhonda (herself a bit of a sketch), Esperanza and all the rest. The relationship between the two friends is ``Taking Flight's'' lifeblood life·blood n. 1. Blood regarded as essential for life. 2. An indispensable or vital part: Capable workers are the lifeblood of the business. , but Sevan and director Giovanna Sardelli have structured the performance such that the other characters inform what Sevan's play is trying to say as well. Her description of the journey into the city to get to the hospital is positively harrowing, and Sevan knows just how vivid a detail needs to be. And of all the monologues or performances born of Sept. 11, ``Taking Flight'' figures to be one of the few that devotes a significant amount of its time to sex advice and the lingerie-wearing habits of 90-year-old women. Here's another piece of the unexpected. On ``Taking Flight's'' opening night, Sevan injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. her right knee and collapsed to the floor some 22 minutes into the performance. After paramedics bandaged her up and determined she would have to go to the hospital for X-rays, Sevan invited the audience back into the auditorium and finished the performance, sitting in a chair the entire time. Following her curtain call, a still-seated Sevan got a congratulatory hug from Kirk Douglas himself, who remarked upon her bravery Bravery See also Heroism. Achilles foremost Greek hero of Trojan War; brave and formidable warrior. [Gk. Hist.: NCE, 12] Adrastus courageous Indian prince; Rinaldo’s enemy. [Ital. Lit. . She earned it. Brave lady. Brave tale. Brave performance. Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com TAKING FLIGHT - Three and one half stars Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. . When: Plays in rotating repertory REPERTORY. This word is nearly synonymous with inventory, and is so called because its contents are arranged in such order as to be easily found. Clef des Lois Rom. h.t.; Merl. Repertoire, h.t. 2. with three other performances as part of ``Solomania.'' Call for specific show days and times. Tickets: $20 to $40. (213) 628-2772 or visit www.centertheatregroup.org In a nutshell nut·shell n. The shell enclosing the meat of a nut. Idiom: in a nutshell In a few words; concisely: Just give me the facts in a nutshell. Adv. 1. : A different kind of 9/11 story. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Adriana Sevan takes audiences on a tour of her life in ``Taking Flight,'' part of ``Solomania,'' at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. |
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