F.L.A.M. troupe attempts to meld Campell mythos, 'Hazzard' pathos
By MICHAEL SMITH 5/6/2004
(From left) Jae Wilson, Lynn Kelsey, David Jefferis, Joseph Gomez and John Cruncleton appear in the F.L.A.M. theater troupe's presentation of "Just Some Good Ol' Boys." A. CUERVO / Tulsa World
F.L.A.M. theater troupe invites fans of culture -- both low-brow and high-brow -- to "Just Some Good Ol' Boys," an original flight of fancy that weaves together lost episodes of the Dixie comedy "Dukes of Hazzard" with elements of Joseph Campbell's "Mythos."
Writer-director and Luke Duke portrayer Joseph Gomez promises theatergoers a musical jamboree of car chases, hillbillies, hot pants and transcendent mythology.
Yeah, sure, but how do you get a 1969 Dodge Charger -- arguably the star of the show and certainly more animated than John Schneider or Tom Wopat -- inside a tiny black box theater?
"Oh, we know the importance of the General Lee (the car that performed the show's automotive acrobatics), and that's going to be solved through the use of maybe some car parts and a bit of cardboard," Gomez said. "We have to embrace the cheesiness of the TV landscape. There are going to be car chases; we'll use video to help make it happen."
For an example of author and mythology expert Campbell's work, consider his opinion on the relation of myths to dreams, saying that ". . . a dream is a personal experience of that deep dark ground that is the support of our conscious lives, and a myth is society's dream. The myth is the public dream, and the dream is the private myth."
You may be wondering: What in the name of Boss Hogg has that stuff got to do with short-shorts and fast-driving cousins outwitting a buffoonish political head and his inept lawmen?
"It began with an experiment, or a question: Can base entertainment still be a vehicle for telling myth, for speaking to something deeper in our psyche?" Gomez asked. "I was surprised by the ending, because I wasn't sure where it would go. It works for me on a lot of levels. Maybe we pulled off a transcendent 'Dukes.' "
As a source, Gomez looked back on a series of interviews that Campbell sat for with Bill Moyers on PBS in the '80s. The concept plays out here with Waylon Jennings in the interview chair, an unlikely champion of Campbell's work.
"So now the Balladeer has carried on the torch of educating people in myths. He's a bit of a belligerent alcoholic in this stage version, but he always finds a way to connect mythology to a 'Dukes of Hazzard' episode that he loves.
"The show jumps back and forth, starting with this interview, and then we jump into a 'Dukes' episode. There's three episodes that we do total, and the first one is for the most part a parody of the show, trying to include as many of the recurring storylines as possible. Then they begin to get a little stranger, more myth-like."
This presentation reunites many of those involved in the group's January production "No Takebacks: Final Vengeance IV -- Lethal Seduction's Heat," a satirical musical about cliched cops who speak almost exclusively in lawman lingo and face off against robots, prostitutes and robot prostitutes.
The cast this time around includes Mark Miller ("Waylon Jennings"), Jason Watts ("Bill Moyers"), John Cruncleton ("Bo Duke"), Lynn Kelsey ("Daisy Duke"), Dale Sams ("Boss Hogg"), Michael Cramton ("Sheriff Roscoe"), David Jefferis ("Uncle Jesse"), Greg Mize ("Deputy Enos"), Jae Wilson ("Cooter"), Heather Sams ("Jessie Colter"), Sarah Wilemon and Sara Cruncleton.
"I wonder what the audience is for something like this," Gomez said with a chuckle. "I think the usual theater crowd might not be interested in seeing something having to do with the 'Dukes of Hazzard,' and I think the average TV crowd is not usual theatergoers. I guess I'm wanting people who don't usually go to the theater but would enjoy this."
Theater:
"JUST SOME GOOD OL' BOYS"
Who: F.L.A.M. and Nightingale Theater
When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, also 8 p.m. May 13-15
Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets: $6-$8, may be reserved by calling 583-8487 [As of February 2007, 633-8666]
Note: Some mature subject matter