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CLEVELAND DEPO BATHS
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1946 ST. CLAIR
FOR GAY CATHOLICS
HIGH GEAR/SEPTEMBER 1978
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... and non catholics too
DIGNITY CLEVELAND
P.O. BOX 18479 CLEVELAND, OHIO 44118 791-0942
WE'VE MOVED
SPOTLIGHT ON GAY MORTAL
By George Brown
THE SHADOW BOX By Michael Cristofer. Drama Book Specialists. 102 pages. $7.95. In paperback: Avon Books, $1.95.
Winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama and the 1977 Antoinette Perry Award for Best Play, "The Shadow Box" by Michael Cristofer is now available in book form, in both hardback and paperback, and proves fascinating reading. This play about death is actually an affirmation of life. Yes, it can be depressing to admit what we already know: that life is a terminal situation; but, in turn, it is beneficial to gain insight into this inevitability.
Taking place in three cottages on the grounds of a large hospital, the play depicts the plight of three people awaiting death and how they and those close to them handle the matter. There is Joe, a middle-aged blue-collar worker who accepts his fate with a poised resignation that his wife can't manage, while their teen-aged son remains unaware of the fate; Brian, a middle-aged intellectual homosexual who carries his zany zest for living to death's door as he is reinforced by his young lover and visited by his flaky ex-wife; and Felicity, a spunky old woman who does "not go gentle into that good night" as she is flanked by her long suffering spinster daughter.
There are no star roles, or rather each role with the exception of the teen-aged son is a star role. The three episcdes exist independently of each other, but the action is interwoven on one unchanging rset and somewhat united by The Interviewer, who is heard only off stage. All three are powerfully conceived and developed;
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but, of course, of special interest to the gay playgoer, the gay reader, is Brian's episode and this episode just possibly is the most powerful of the three. Brian and his lover Mark met while Mark was hustling on San Francisco's Market Street, "Right after the great 'summer of love.' You remember the summer of love... one of those many American revolutions that get about as far as Time magazine and then fart to a quick finish. Well, just after the summer of love, winter came. Which was the last thing anybody expected. And suddenly it got very cold. People were starving to death in the streets."
The encounter developed into real affection, and probably the strongest scene in the play is the confrontation between Mark and Beverly, Brian's ex-wife, in which Mark reveals his great love for Brian and the horrendous loss he will suffer when Brian is gone. Beverly, realizing that her ex-husband probably the only man she ever truly loved just as she is probably the only woman he ever truly loved is in excellent hands, steals away. The episode with the two. men ends tenderly as Brian reaches out to Mark, they embrance, and Mark gives the dying man the moral and physical support he needs. It is beautiful, albeit said, to see a gay mortal, gay in both senses of the word, and his lover react with substance and grace as the lights dim.
Many a playwright would have reserved the bitter scenes, the
rank
the
for regrets, homosexuals, but Cristofer adnot to mirably choose stereotype. He releases much of this in Felicity, who certainly is anything but felicitous as she comments about men: "They'll pass you by, Agnes. They will. They'll leave you at the station with your suitcase in your hand and a big gardenia tacked onto your collar. Sons of bitches." We have to admire Felicity, for despite her bitterness and her refusal to face much of reality, she does exhibit spirit.
Let's hope that the Cleveland Play House and other Ohio theatre groups will present "The Shadow Box" soon. Cristofer has written a brilliant play that can turn into magical theatre if there is careful casting, expert direction and staging, and tightly disciplined acting. There are local theatres that can meet these challenges, and reap the rewards.
This play by Micheal Cristofer, born Micheal Procaccino in 1946 in New Jersey, is rooted in regional theatre. It first was presented in Los Angeles by the Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum in 1975 and then in New Haven, Connecticut, by the Long Wharf Theatre in 1976, it opened on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre in 1977. Gordon Davidson directed all three productions and won a Tony Award in 1977 for Best Director of a Play. Earlier this year I saw a fine production presented by the Arizona Civic Theatre in Tuscon, directed by Sandy Rosenthal.
Publishing information about THE REVOLT OF THE PERVERTS, a collection of short stories by Daniel Curzon reviewed by George Brown in the May issue of High Gear: Leland Mellott Books, c/o 511 Capp Street, San Francisco, California 94110. 213 pages (soft cover). $3.50 plus 40c postage.
ASK ANDY
Dear Andy:
I know there must be some way of telling when someone genuinely cares for you, but I guess that I must be looking for my one right person in the whole world. It always seems that I get my hopes built to such a high, just to be let down. Recently, I have been seeing a guy who says that he cares for me a great deal, but somehow he doesn't show it in his actions ... am I asking too much, to think that his actions should logically follow his words. Upset!
Dear Upset:
You have every right to be upset... Actions speak louder than Words! ... and don't you forget it. Talk is cheap ... sometimes VERY cheap. There is a Mr. Right (or Ms. Right) out there for everyone... if we want that type relationship. Not everyone is capable of love and some people have an extremely rough time honestly showing their love
for another person ... that is a true shame, but there is never a problem in demonstrating consistency in your feelings with your words, if you are totally telling the truth. So, if you are in a situation where the words are telling one story and the actions are telling the opposite ... BEWARE... you possibly can do better elsewhere... and maybe you should, but first talk the situation over with the party involved, if that person gets very offensive and belligerent or constantly makes excuses why this. situation makes excuses why this situation repeats itself over and over again... look elsewhere... you'll be much better off ... you deserve better and you'll find it... then you won't be so Upset!
THINK STRAIGHT
Be Gay