- Russell J Young
- Sorry, Sam Shepard: Christopher Durang is definitely making fun of you here.
Perhaps it’s because of my very mixed, publicly documented thoughts on playwright Christopher Durang, but I had low expectations for Post5 Theatre’s production of Durang’s one-acts, the obviously titled Durang Durang. But reader, I have good news! Post5’s production exceeded my meager expectations, by a long shot, and in doing so made me realize why Durang’s so revered in big-deal realms of theater. Are you ready to learn why?
You guys. It’s because he’s FUNNY.
You might not know this from Portland Center Stage’s production of the much more subdued Durang vehicle Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, but it turns out? That was new, mid-life crisis Durang, not funny, vintage Durang. New Durang is worried about mortality. Old Durang thinks your botched facelift is hilarious. New Durang’s a little sentimental. Old Durang’s an unapologetic misanthrope.
Back in November, Thomas Ross had this to say about Post5 Theatre’s production of As You Like It:
Post5 Theatre is (proudly) the cheapest company in town. Shows are pay-what-you-can on Sundays, and tickets are only $15 regularly. Right now, on an unfinished stage, on borrowed chairs, it sort of feels like you get what you pay for. So pay more. Donate on your way out, buy some drinks from Post5’s famous Bar[d] and tip heavily. If they can put on a show this fun while building the theater, imagine what they can do if we help them finish it.
I second all of this. You don’t pay very much, and what you get is, if not polished, usually pretty fun. And as my theater companion put it, does a great set or jazzy costuming really make a play for you? It doesn’t for me. If the raw material isn’t there, it’s merely (literally) window dressing. In the worst cases, lovely costuming can make me feel like I haven’t totally wasted my time at a play I didn’t enjoy, but I’ve actually still wasted a lot of my time at a play I didn’t enjoy.
Durang Durang played to a mostly full audience perched on mismatched chairs, guffawing and exclaiming loudly throughout the play’s profoundly fucked-up, self-referential jokes. For those uninitiated (and I think it’s safe to say that’s, oh, MOST PEOPLE), Durang Durang‘s first half is comprised of parodies of well known plays, and the second half is a trio of original one-acts. The first half’s send-up of The Glass Menagerie lagged a bit (I mean, there is only so much time I can spend laughing at a hilariously pretentious Southern accent before I just feel like a Yankee jerk), but what followed was a true gift to anyone who’s ever seen True West—a parody of arguably all of Sam Shepard’s plays, with some great one-liners about symbolism in theater. Post5’s low-budget parameters work well for a show like this, with no-frills sets and costuming. And the cast, playing various roles throughout each of the one-acts, was uniformly great with Durang’s silly, sad material.
I do, however, have one complaint: You guys, house music should NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES just be midis of Top 40 hits through the ages, and this is something that actually happened at Durang Durang. I love a good/awful throwback as much as the next person who grew up during the era when every new band was an *NSYNC facsimile, AND YET. Forcing me to listen to awful midi versions of already pretty awful songs? You guys! I came here voluntarily. To see a play! Not to feel like I’ve descended into a particularly Web 2.0 version of hell. Even classic Christopher Durang can’t overcome an earworm like that.
Durang Durang, at Post5 Theatre (1666 SE Lambert), runs through March 28, with performances Fri-Sun at 7:30 pm, see post5theatre.org for more info.