Oklahoma City theater hibernates from Christmas until about the ides of January, so as we turn our attention to bowl games and ringing in 2011 which marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of playwright Thomas Lanier Williams, better known as Tennessee lets look back on some of the citys more noteworthy dramatic events of 2010. With few exceptions, the old theatrical year is not likely to be remembered past about 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2011.
Exception No. 1 was Oklahoma City Repertory Theatres first-rate production of August: Osage County, the acclaimed epic by Durants own Tracy Letts (now of Chicagos Steppenwolf Theatre Co.). This was the first production of August by an Oklahoma theater company and one of the first regional productions anywhere (the national tour played Tulsa in January).
Staged on Ben Halls impressive two-story set, the play depicts an episode in the lives of the Weston family of Pawhuska. Ive been telling everyone from out of state that the Westons are a typical Oklahoma family. Letts goes about one iniquity too far in the story, but August: Osage County should achieve its place in the canon of Great American Plays. Playing Violet, the family matriarch, Pam Dougherty wins best performance of the year by an actress in a leading role.
Exception No. 2 was Rent, produced by the University of Oklahomas Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre. Rent (book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson) is not one of the great American musicals, but this elaborate production, directed with elucidating clarity by Shawn Churchman, gave the show a welcome freshness.
Other than those two productions, the most interesting and provocative dramatic work of 2010 was done in out-of-the-way venues for brief runs that might have escaped anyone who didnt survey the theater scene with lyncean intensity.
One of the more prominent productions was Ghostlight Theatre Clubs delightful [title of show] (Jeff Bowen, music and lyrics; Hunter Bell, book). [title of show] yes, thats the title of the show follows two fellows (played with cool accuracy by Scott Hynes and Christopher Robinson) as they create a yet-untitled musical. This is a great one for drama queens to display their knowledge of musical-theater minutiae.
Kudos goes to 9 Parts of Desire by Iraqi-American playwright Heather Raffo at the OU Lab Theatre. Smartly directed by Alissa Millar, 9 Parts takes place in Iraq, London and New York City from 2003 to the present and portrays the lives of several Iraqi women in various social strata. Their individual stories reveal the futility of the misguided war and miseries inflicted on innocent Iraqis. The six actresses nailed the Iraqi accents.
Also notable was the aleatoric Bombs, Babes and Bingo by University of Central Oklahoma graduate Merri Biechler, presented by Fayetteville, Ark.,-based Artists Laboratory Theatre at Actors Warehouse. This theater company has garnered well-deserved national attention. (Remember when we used to look down on Arkansas?) The conceit is that a random drawing of bingo balls determines the order of scenes in the play.