Play: Life's not black and white
By KAREN SHADE, 01/04/2009
Elissa Baskovich (from left, front, clockwise), Karlena Riggs, Pete Brennan (as inmate No. 1), Jeremy Jones (as inmate No. 2), Jonathan Gilland, Christi Dilletto and Samantha Woodruff will all play in the upcoming production of "Shades of Gray," which begins at the Nightingale Theater on Jan. 9. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World
In musical comedy, everything seems to be black and white. But that isn't the way Orasi Productions likes to work even if the goal is to amuse.
"Shades of Gray" is the group's latest endeavor, a cabaret-style musical revue that is strictly adults-only, despite the fact that you won't hear any cuss words on stage.
"Nothing is black and white. Nothing is concrete. Anything can happen," said Joshua Oaks, who directs the show opening at Nightingale Theater on Friday.
Written by Brent Black, a former University of Oklahoma colleague of Oaks' who now studies writing for musical theater at New York University, "Shades of Gray" is a series of vignettes — void of an interconnected plot line — exploring the human experience.
There's the "older woman" chasing after her younger and married boss. When she lures him away from his family, she changes her mind. There's also a "Roommate Song," about a college student fed up with a roommate using his computer to browse porn sites. One subject, a shy fellow eating out with his more outgoing friend, decides that faking a health emergency on the spot is the best way to get the attention of a woman he likes. "Inmates" is a tale of two prisoners who fall in love and must deal with the eventuality that one is headed for solitary confinement.
"Shades of Gray" examines the oddity of human behavior and the humor that often springs from it.
"It shows that not everybody is the same," Oaks said. "Everybody has an interconnective mentality but there's all kinds of different people."
"Shades of Gray" shares allegiance with Orasi's last adventure — the performance art heavy "Graven Image" — an extremist and absurdist quality Oaks thrives on. But this time, he was interested in doing something lighter — both ridiculously hilarious and inappropriate — to counter the tough economic present.
"It's very fluffy and comedic and raunchy," he said, "I don't really like that word, but you kind of get the idea."