Bitef

ka svom ognjištu. Tamo gde ih srce vuče. Oni bi, razume se, mogli da se vrate svojim kućama, ali, umesto toga oni se vraćaju onom neiscrpnom izvoru ;koje za njih predstavlja američko pozonište, da bi i dalje tragad za otiim pravim načinom, koji će im omogućiti da izraze svoje težnje I želje. U svojim delima oni otkrivaju legende nasih daña, koji su na njih uticalii da se razviju kao glumci i kao ljudska bica. Kada svojim ponašanjem na pozornici pokušavaju da prikažu taj proces, izgleda nam kao da hoće da kažu, da se veći deo onoga što radimo može naói, kao ó Dorothejina sreća, u svačijem domu.

(Peter Melony)

minstrel

Medicine Show iz an american entertainment-a continuing creation of Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble., Inc. It is the kind of show that makes me wish Changes were printed in color. in the fall of 70, when the Open Theatre was exploding, splitting, reforming itself and picking up the pieces, some of the brightest minds and talents struck off on their own. They'd performed at The Pocket and on the great stages of Europe. They had played Oswego and (some of them) Santa Fe and had walked through The Valley of Death with Michaelangelo Antonioni. They'd been around, to say the least. Now they joined together to create their own theatre, calling themselves Medicine Show. Their first production, under the direction of Ron Faber, was Brecht's Edward 11, performed at Westbeth. Medicine Show is a collective creation, under the direction of Barbara Vann, and it represents over a year intensive work. It is not only a briliant acting ensemble, but a truly original, deeply American theatre-piece. Medicine Show is a motley, timeless show. The actors play actors, dunners, singers, musicians, comics, comediennes, and tragedians (with wonderful names like Melodie Quigley, Solange Abromowitz and Stan Archer Merrieweather), who travel around the contry peforming under the direction of Dr Jedadah Rainbow, entrepreneur and purveyor of Dr. Rainbow's magic elixir, a tonic of the own invention. They wear theatrical make up and costumes resurrected out of some trouper’s trunktawdry outfirts made of purple satin and gold lame, red velvet and orange fringe,

star-spangled materials which glow and sparkle in the lights above the stage. In front of a simple, colorful backdrop depicting earth, water and sky, these artists entertain us with their song and dance, taking us back to the days of the minstrel show, the burlesque house, the circus ring and the vauderville stage-all dead forms, now revived and given life by the Medicine Show to entretain us first and then to point a moral and adorn a tale. Throughout the fabric of the medicine show, with its songs and dances, stunts and routines, several stories are being woven. Between tableaux depicting The Seven Deadly Sins or Little Liza Crossing the Ice, we get glimpses of The Continuing Saga of George Washington, The Father of Our Country. We see George crossing the Delaware; Washington at Valley Forgs; George and Martha at Mt. Vernon; George and his daughters meeting their public; the Washington enjoying peace in their later years. Between “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, played by solo trombone, and tableaux featuring the dearths of Indian horsemen while the coyotes howl, the story of Dorothy and her faithful dog Toto begins to emerge. It's the old story that we all know and love, but somehow it's different. Perhaps it’s the way Toto paws Dorothy's breasts and tries to hump her when she isn't looking. The characters are familiar, but they’s doing strange things.

Dorothy puts on the magic silver shoes and, after faltering and stumbling for a time, starts to tap dance like Ruby Keeler. The Tin Man comes on, claiming “I can do it, 1 just can't feel it." The Lion delivers a karate chop to a grapefruit and, as he devours the mangled fruit, dreams of “eating BIG things.” The Scarecrow wanders limply, carrying a rifle in one hand and a flower in the other, muttering about geometry and existentialism. Dorothy wants to go home to Auntie, dreams of riding in a convertible and being Queen of the Prom. They all want to go to Oz, where the Wizard will grant their wishes, but the song they sing as they make their way is a dirge-like, melancholy number called “Broad is the Road that Leads to Death." Weird. And a far cry from “Follow the Yellow Brick Road." While all this is gong on, mowie gangsters simultaneously lurk around the stage, lookings for and triving to get messages to a man who may or may not exist-a thug named Billy Merton. The mob members argue and fight among themselves and with their molls. The fights are usually about this guy Merton and a large sum of money. The running dispute culminates in a gang-war and the most exciting slapstick stage-tight I have ever seen. In the confusion of the bartle Dorothy is raped by one of the gangsters, Toto eats the money and is shot dead by a stray bullet. Dorothy mourns Toto’s passing, but continues her journey with the Lion, the Tinman and the Scarecrow. Finally, driven by their need, they get to Oz and the Wizard, who is Dr. Rainbow himself. Dr. Rainbow, after gives the travellers what he thinks they conjuring up a feeble cloud of acrid smoke,

need, which includes, in the Lion’s case, a cream pie in the face. It’s a complex tapestry which the Medicine Show has created-a dense and funny and ultimately very moving work. Dr. Rainbow and his company are salesmen in the grat American tradition. A lovely Indian woman mounts a soapbox and extolls the virtues of Dr. Rainbow’s tonic. Her face is painted bright red and between recitations of the miraculous cures wrought by the elixir, she exclaims over and over again, “I am ashamed.” The actors get no rest during intermission. They more among the members of the audience selling food and drink, reading palms, giving back rubs, all for a price. They demand payment in advance and the prices vary maddeningly. Someone buys an apple for a nickel. I offer to buy one only to find that the price has risen to a dollar and a half. There is no talking the salesman down and I go hungry. One of the actors takes spectators for rides on his back at a quarter a throw. For a quarter I get my fortune told. Pick a number from one to twenty. I pick seventeen. An actress picks a piece of paper marked seventeen out of a basket. I open it up and it’s the gospel truth: “Robe of many colors does not hide you. Your eyes tell all.” During the intermission the actors are often openly hostile toward the audience, refusing to bargain, take it or leave it, put up or shut up, put your money where your mounth is, and you, young lady, can buy this can of Coca-Cola for a penny, how’s that for a bargain? Stan Archer Merriweather sits in the middle of the stage, builds a fire, boils some water and brews himself a cup of Instant coffee. There’s a revolver by his side, but I approach anyway and-wonder of wonders-he offers me a sip, for nothing. Meanwhile, an actress offers herself for sale to the highest bidder. For all its humor and slapstick, its satire and song, Medicine Show is a very poignant and disturbing piece of theatre. Besides the staged violence, the moments of shocking death, and the horror of humiliation in the name of commerce, there is the offstage life of the performers to be considered. For they are always present, waiting in the wings before their entrances. This offstage life is very full, and you cannot help but be aware, as you watch the show, of another drama being played out in the dimly lit corners of the stage. Two smiling comics leave the platform, having done their turn, and turn on each other. Howard M. Larkin, having sung and danced with “his Mandrakettes,” leaves the spotlight only to find an actress wearing his favorite scarf or another actor talking to his favorite ingenue; the air is heavy with his displeasure. There is an unmistakable aura of studied ugliness hovering over the stage and offstage areas. It is unsettling and elusive, but heavy, lending a real and unusual weight to the proceedings. Perhaps their advertising logo says it all: a rainbow arching over a death's head. As they enter the playing space, carrying their backdrops, banners, props and musical

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