'On the Verge' of traditional theater: Comedy a departure for Romero
By KAREN SHADE, 11/8/2005
For George Romero, her latest theater directing project has been an education in many unexpected ways."It's been almost serene. It's been fantastic ... It's not the sort of frantic rush where I feel like I'm freaking out, so they (the cast) are freaking out," she said.
Instead, "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning" has a rather literary and subtle feeling to it.
The play is a huge leap away from the raucous comedy and sexual innuendo of the porn-inspired stage musical "Debbie Does Dallas," which Romero directed for the Nightingale Theater in August. This time, she and her cast start off from Victorian-era Britain, complete with corsets, floor-length skirts and crisp buttoned-up blouses -- the complete uniform of a lady of good social standing.
A title like "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning" is bound to raise a few questions.
"'What's it about?' That's a pretty normal question to get," Romero said. "I tell them in my normal, flashy style, 'It's a Victorian-time-traveling-anthropological comedy.' Yeah."
Three Victorian-era female explorers set out on a trek together for unknown, distant lands, but soon have experiences far more bizarre than they could imagine.
While they move across the map, they also figure out they're travelling across time.
"At one point, one character says, 'Thick and rich,' and another character says, 'like Mrs. Butterworth.' They're very confused by this and they don't really understand what's happening," she said.
When they start to understand, they also realize they are absorbing the new culture. Each is tested in her willingness to be part of that future.
For a history buff, such as Romero, the show has been a treat.
"If you do love history and you love stories about people, then a show like this is going to be that much more lush and rich and alive to you than just thinking of it as a period piece," she said.
Keeping up with the show's brand of laughs, language and the nonsequiters, however, can be a challenge.
"I feel like I'm kind of struggling to keep up on this, though. Between the language in the script and all the references to different things in history and all the items they come across that are new to them, it kind of feels like it's new to us."
Each woman goes through her own transformation, becoming more confident in claiming what they each want. Before, it was all about searching.
"In the end, they all know what they've been searching for, and it's different for all three of them," Romero said.
The cast of "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning" includes Liz Masters, Mary Forester, Ronda Grosso and Daniel Fuggat.
"ON THE VERGE OR THE GEOGRAPHY OF YEARNING"
a presentation from Theatre Club
When:
8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Nov. 17-19
Where:
the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets are $10. For more or to make reservations, call 557-8012 or send an e-mail to theatreclubtulsa@yahoo.com.