by Linda Moore

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Locals put modern spin on the classics

The classics abound right now, and there's loads of local talent helping to make that happen.

Richmond Gateway Theatre opened "The Glass Menagerie" last Thursday night and really started their season in style.

Tennessee Williams' gentlest and most poetic play is strongly autobiographical, drawing on the artist's life with his sister and mother to create a combination of tribute to that sister and apology for his own defection.

As played by Vincent Gale, Tom Wingfield is a bright, sensitive young man torn between the duty of supporting the household and the need to escape the constant oppression.

Donna White's Amanda is a desperate vestige from a former era whose bad choices have left her with a family floundering on the brink of financial dissolution. Her futile plans and ramblings about the past are mechanisms to ward off reality, while daughter Laura simply spends her days playing with little glass animals and refusing to deal with life at all.

Kim Collier takes on this difficult role with a pathos of an afflicted child who realizes her ultimate doom. Robert Molonoy rounds out the excellent cast, as Jim, the 'gentleman caller' on whom so many unrealistic hopes are pinned.

Pam Johnson's St. Louis apartment at once suggest the oppression within the family with its busy, frumpy furniture and the freedom that beckons beyond those confining walls. As directed by Kathryn Shaw, the production brings out all the ironic humor of the script, enhancing the poignancy of the beautiful memory-play.

While you're there, check out the gallery exhibits: Art Sewell's Our World and Tessa Wilson's Scenes of Here and There.

Sewell's wonderful photos capture the relaxing beauty of Finn Slough and other points around the globe while Wilson's watercolors are drawn mainly from the Lower Mainland.

The Glass Menagerie continues to Oct. 24th.

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Over at Langara's Studio 58, Lorilyn Parker, who graduated from Steveston secondary in 1993, is assistant stage manager for "Lysistrata" as adapted by Peter Anderson, from Aristophanes' classic anti-war satire.

Parker got interested in theatre while in high school, though at first she wasn't too sure if she would pursue it as a career. Her family's livelihood is dependant on the airport; Dad's a pilot, Mom works in customer service - even Lorilyn worked there before travelling - but "theatre kept calling me", so 18 months ago she auditioned for Studio 58, got accepted, and she's been having a wonderful time ever since.

This particular show is a delight to work on, she says. There are 70 students in the program and they all study all aspects of the production so they not only work well together, but they become a very tight knit group. As ASM, she's responsible for making sure things run smoothly. Once the props are made, "they're mine." It's a demanding show, with costume changes, some very remarkable props and many entrances and exits.

Set in 411 B.C. when Athens and Sparta were having yet another one of their interminable wars, Lysistrata decides that enough is enough and if the men are stupid enough to fight, then the women will have to end the war by ceasing connubial relations until the men wise up. Updated by Peter Anderson, this hilarious take on the battle of the sexes is rife with bawdy songs, outrageous dialogue and some pithy analysis of life's essential matters.

Boisterous fun with an exuberant cast, this is one show you don't want to miss, but it's selling out fast. At Studio 58 until Oct. 18th only.

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Down on Granville Island, another Richmond grad, Peter Wilson, is part of the pared-down cast of Carousel Theatre's "Julius Caesar: The Conspiracy".

Directed by Mike Stack, who played Brutus in the original production 10 years ago, it's a lean, mean version of Shakespeare's classic study of ambition, politics and bad judgment. With the stage peopled by only eight actors, many play multiple roles, including Simon Hayama and Nicole Le Vasseur (also from Richmond) in a production that keeps the essence of the original.

"Julius Caesar: The Conspiracy" plays at the Waterfront Theatre to Oct. 31st with public performances Friday and Saturday, and weekday matinee tickets available through the box office at 669-3410.

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One final note: the Delta Concert Band has openings for clarinets, french horns, and percussionists. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in Ladner. Contact Ron Schubank at 271-0420 for more information.