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Theater: Books:
A
Tale for the Times At first, it's not obvious that Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July is a testament to the aftermath of Vietnam. The play, set on a porch in a small town, relies heavily on the dialogue and interaction between characters to examine the long-term impact of the Vietnam war and the 1960s in general. Without a believable family dynamic, Fifth of July would fail. It takes subtlety and finesse to develop the characters and make them real. The Actor's Cabaret crew delivers again, embracing their roles as flawed human beings, attempting to hide their personal sorrows behind dry remarks and pills downed with wine. The play opens with Kenny (Benjamin Newman), a Vietnam vet-turned-teacher with fiberglass legs, listening to an indecipherable tape made by a speech-impaired student. It is one of the few moments in which any character is alone onstage. There are no real monologues, which make the chemistry between the characters of paramount importance. First we see the relationship between Kenny and Jed, his botanist lover (Jesse Lally). Their relationship is fragile, fluctuating between wounded tenderness and cautious distance. Kenny has returned to his hometown of Lebanon, Mo. but hasn't decided if he wants to remain in Lebanon, the house, or the teaching profession. Jed and Kenny's relationship contrasts sharply with the superficial, even deceitful interactions between John (Ryan Olson) and Gwen (Becky White). Kenny and his sister, June (Emily Gilbert), are allies in their disgust of John's arrogance and Gwen's air-headed naïveté, exchanging many knowing looks and artfully creating a semblance of ease and familiarity. Sue Schroeder-White shines in her role as Aunt Sally, a wise, eccentric aunt who has seen a UFO and keeps her husband's ashes in the refrigerator. Shirley (Samantha White), June's daughter is an aspiring artist who makes a good poster child for adolescent angst. But at times her melodramatic declarations cross into the ridiculous, making it difficult to tell whether or not the drama is deliberate. Wes (Michael Watkins) is an outsider brought to Lebanon by John and Gwen, a well-meaning stoner observing from the sidelines. At first, we don't know why all these people are there. Then the conflicts emerge, leading to an inevitable confrontation. The climax of the production is raw, a dramatic scene that offers the last bits of information needed to piece together the history. With good portrayals of complex characters by a strong cast, Fifth of July makes a powerful statement about the impact of the Vietnam war and examines how the aftermath of war endures in the people who have experienced it. Fifth of July is playing through Feb. 12, 2005 at the ACE Annex.
Novelist
Molly Gloss THE JUMP-OFF CREEK, a novel by Molly Gloss. Copyright 1989. First Mariner Books edition, 1998. Paperback, $12. In prose almost as austere as the diary entries homesteader Lydia Sanderson writes "over the printed vertical columns of the accounting ledger she had taken over for a journal," Molly Gloss's acclaimed novel depicts the life of a 19th century Oregonian. Lydia's unsentimental commitment to her own piece of land and the hardships she bears speak to a dedication few readers today can imagine.
Gloss is an exceptional storyteller, running out parallel stories of Lydia's good neighbors, Tim Whiteaker and Blue Odell, who owned another hardscrabble ranch nearby as well as the rough wolf trappers Harley, Jack and Danny, who shot calves sometimes or set out poisoned bait that killed them. Lydia's married woman friend, Evelyn Walker, lived a full day's ride away and had children to take care of, so they seldom visited. Evelyn's husband, Mike, rode over to buy goat milk from Lydia for the family. The goats, mule, horses and cows people kept were not pets but food, transportation and livelihood. Likewise, of necessity they killed rabbits, porcupines, deer and other wildlife to eat. Lydia seems to me a superwoman. She lived by herself in the wilds of Oregon in 1895, and she hunted, farmed, ranched, built fences, roofed and patched her log cabin. She also logged, as in this passage: "She had not much experience at cutting down trees, and not a man's arm strength, so it was slow and effortful work. With the axe she made a bird's-mouth on the down side of a tree and then sawed through slowly from the high side, stopping often to let her arms hang down tiredly, or to put an edge on the saw, or to drive in a wedge when the weight of the tree pinched the saw and hung it up." Gloss renders the story of the unforgettable characters living along the Jump-Off Creek in her lucid, lean style, setting down their stories with loving respect. Gloss's tenderness toward the good people in her novel touches me, and know I will long remember them. An accessible, dramatic story perfect for reading aloud to each other or to read alone and discuss with others, this book will charm readers of all ages. Molly Gloss will read, take questions and receive an honor from the UO Library Special Collections division at 7 pm on Feb. 18 in First United Methodist Church. More Readin' in the Rain activities and events follow in Book Notes, or you can go to www.read-rain.org.
Book Notes (Jan. 27 — March 3): Henry Allen, UO Professor of Literature in the Clark Honors College, reads from a new short story at 8 pm on Jan. 27 in the Knight Library Browsing Room. …Linfield College teacher, poet Sandra Jensen kicks off Readin' in the Rain at 7 pm on Feb. 1 in the UO Bookstore. Come by to pick up a free official reader's guide. …Journalist, teacher, essayist and memoirist Debra Gwartney speaks "In Defense of the Memoir" at 7 pm on Feb. 3 at Baker Downtown Center. $5-$10 donation suggested for non-members of Willamette Writers. …Corvallis' third annual Tcha Tee Man Wi Storytelling Festival welcomes all ages to multicultural events Feb. 3 – Feb. 6 (amarchant@speak.org for details.) One adults-only event, "Bawdy Tales," is a fundraiser requiring tickets, available thought Corvallis Parks and Recreation. …Jeffrey Ostler (The Plains Sioux and US Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee) speaks at 7 pm on Feb. 8 in Knight Library Browsing Room. … Poet Robert Hill Long (Poetry) reads at 8 pm on Feb. 10 in Knight Library Browsing Room. …Tracy Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) reads at 7:30 pm on Feb. 10 in Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets, call Literary Arts (503) 227-2583. … Storytelling performances by Shannon Applegate and Esther Stutzman illustrate the cultural history of local encounters between pioneers and native people at 2 pm on Feb. 12 in Eugene Public Library. …Catch Marc Acito (How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater) at 7 pm on Feb. 15 in UO Bookstore. …Poet and memoirist Judith Barrington (Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art) and poet Timothy Whitsel read at 7 pm on Feb. 15 in Eugene Public Library. …Molly Gloss (The Jump-Off Creek) reads at 7 pm on Feb. 18 in First United Methodist Church. …Susan Butrille reads from journals to show the influence of historical perceptions on contemporary concepts of freedom at 7 pm on Feb. 222 at Springfield Public Library. …Nancy Hoskins (The Coptic Tapestry Albums) speaks and shows slides at 6:30 pm on Feb. 23 in the special events hall of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum. …Patricia Limerick (The Legacy of Conquest) delivers the Clark Lecture in the Humanities at 8 pm on Feb. 24 in 182 Lillis Hall. …Helen Southworth speaks on "The Intersecting Realities and Fictions of Virginia Woolf and Colette" at 4:30 pm on Feb. 25 in 301 Chapman Hall.
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