The American Dream & The Zoo Story
Profile Theatre Project at Theater! Theater!
3430 SE Belmont Thurs-Fri 8 pm, Sun 2 pm, through Nov 17
Profile’s 2002-2003 season opener is a strong, no-frills interpretation of the two seminal one-acts that put Edward Albee on the map: The American Dream, and The Zoo Story. Dream occurs in a normal, unassuming apartment. Story takes place on a bench in Central Park. Director Jane Unger does nothing interesting with these settings, and her staging is utterly perfunctory. Her startling secret is to stock each play with some of the best actors in Portland.
Great performances abound in this production, though the one that will resonate the most is Michele M. Mariana’s doddering, shaky Grandma in Dream. Mariana probably isn’t a day over 45, but she transforms herself into an elderly woman with exquisite smoothness. Her character’s name is Grandma. The other characters are named Daddy, Mommy, Young Man, and Mrs. Barker. The action plays like sit-com, but tinged with Albee’s metaphorical mastery. The family bumbles about, trying desperately to hide an ominous feeling of despair under masks of hyper-cheery affluence. Daddy (Dave Bodin) can’t remember things two seconds after they are said to him. Mommy (Jean Miller) tells people what other people are feeling and resents her mother bitterly. Mommy and Daddy allude to a son whose eyes they once tore out, as well as his hands and his feet. It’s a testament to Albee’s ability that the revelation of such horrific back story is as hilarious as it is disturbing.
Dream‘s absurdity provides a nice contrast to Story, which is frighteningly real, based on a scenario that everyone imagines having at one time or another. The wealthy Peter (Kevin Connell) sits on a bench, reading. The transient Jerry (David Berkson) comes up to him and starts talking. At first, the talk is funny, an unhinged derelict forcing conversation with an uptight prick. Soon, however, it becomes clear that Jerry is more than unhinged–he’s downright crazy, and dangerous. It’s a deceptively simple premise that has made Story one of Albee’s most famous plays. As Jerry, Berkson fails to quite convey the sense of desperation lurking behind Jerry’s eyes. Something has set him off on this day, and Berkson fails to find it, though his sinister, meticulous delivery is still a bold and compelling choice. JUSTIN SANDERS