'Dame' star does OK with just bare stage

By Sandra C. Dillard
Denver Post Theater Critic

Sandra C. Dillard, Denver Post Theater Critic
Sunday, June 17, 2001 - Talk about the show must go on! Undaunted by the fact his sets and props were stranded in a flooded theater in Houston, Barry Humphries simply unfurled a new version of his Tony Award-winning show.

On Tuesday's opening night, "Dame Edna, Unplugged" took the place of "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour."

After the audience laughed its heads off for more than two hours at the irreverent humor of the rhinestone and sequin-bedecked "Australian widow," it was apparent to all in the "tucked away Auditorium Theatre" that Edna really doesn't need sets or props. She's just as hilarious on a nearly bare stage.

At the private dinner party at Morton's after the show, Humphries confided he also was fighting a nasty cold.  Humphries didn't let that stop him.

He also didn't shrink from involving local folks in his well-researched comic piece. In one bit, Judi Wolf was teased for refusing to reveal the exact bodily location of a small tattoo. Ros Ward was plucked from the audience to serve in Dame Edna's entourage and re-costumed as Prince Charles, jug ears and all.

Marvin Wolf, Lester Ward and a personable gentleman whose name we never learned were targeted as "seniors" whose women had "signed them out" and brought them to the theater.

The fast-paced show (reviewed June 14) was so entertaining the never-modest Dame Edna joked that the cast of "Aida," performing next door in the Buell Theatre, had glasses pressed up against the wall, "jealous of the sound of an audience having a really good time."

"Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, runs through July 1. Call 303-893-4100.

What's happening

Randy Moore is back in town after touring Britain for five months in the Denver Center Theatre Company/Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Tantalus." Moore worked so hard during the successful tour that he didn't get to see much. So he's returning with his family to London, where the show played its final (sold-out) engagement.  They plan to visit Paris and the Loire Valley, then come back to New York, where they have those impossible-to-get tickets for the record Tony Award-winning musical "The Producers."

"My "Tantalus' pay is taking care of all of it," Moore grinned.

Physically Handicapped Amateur Actors League (PHAMALy) actor and co-founder Gregg Vigil has received a fellowship to attend the National Theatre Workshop for the Handicapped in Belfast, Maine, for a month this summer.  Vigil, 43, who uses a motorized wheelchair as a result of childhood polio, is an alumnus of the workshop, which focuses on choreography, stage-fighting and acting.

The other night we ran into a beaming Elizabeth Rose, who had just finished a performance in "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change." Can you believe that clever little "relationship" musical is getting ready to celebrate its one-year anniversary in the Garner Galleria Theatre?

To observe the milestone, Denver Center Attractions will offer specially priced tickets throughout the summer. Call 303-893-4100.

The cast also includes Mark Devine, Jordan Leigh Gurner, Gina Schuh-Turner, Klint J. Rudolph and Melinda Wilson.  It's directed by Ray Roderick.

Local playwright Judy GeBaur is one of 15 playwrights selected for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 2001 Playwright's Conference in Waterford, Conn. There she will work on her play "Mrs. Plenty Horses," which will be given a four-day rehearsal period culminating in two staged public readings.

Flyover Production presents a regional premiere of "The Family Flea," by C. Andrew Garrison, at The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St.

The play is set in a family's home-based flea market, with set pieces available for purchase by the audience. All proceeds will be donated to Family Tree Inc., which provides crisis services to families and youth of Metro Denver.

The cast includes Linda Wirth, Stuart O'Steen, Timothy Englert, Betsy Grisard, Ali Haltam, Lisa Rosenhagen, Karen Slack and Jillann Tafel.

"Flea" runs July 5-28. Call 303-807-2947. Tickets also can be purchased from Scene To Screen, 1048 14th St.

Seasons

The Nomad Theatre in Boulder has announced its 2001-02 season. The shows are "Little Women," a musical by Bil Rodgers, Nov. 1-Dec. 31; "A Streetcar Named Desire," by Tennessee Williams, Jan.11-Feb. 23; "Sunday in the Park With George," by Stephen Sondheim, March 8-April 27; "Wit," by Margaret Edson, May 10-June 22; "Barefoot in the Park," by Neil Simon, July 5-Aug. 23; and "The Vow," by David Tresemer and Laura Lea Sept. 14-Oct. 28.

The Promethean Theatre's 2001-02 season opener (no dates available) is "Scheherazade," based on "1,001 Arabian Nights"; followed by "Bash - Latterday Plays," by Neil LaBute; "Mr. Kolpert," by David Geiselmann, and "Cymbeline," by William Shakespeare. Promethean was founded by three Colorado natives, who all hold degrees in theater from Colorado universities. Call 303-321-2486.

Buntport base

Buntport Theatre company has opened a theater space at 717 Lipan St.

To celebrate having its own home, the company is reviving its three original comedies. Two will play together under the title "2-in-1" at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday: "Word-Horde" with "and this is my significant bother." The third original is "Quixote" at 8 p.m. today and June 24. The remaining productions are "Fin," 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, July 5-22, and "Ward #6," 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 2-26. Call 720-946-1388.

Theater critic Sandra C. Dillard's column appears Sundays in Arts & Entertainment.

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