Home  Entertainment Reviews Review: The Oldest Profession by Paula Vogel (March 3)
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Review: The Oldest Profession by Paula Vogel (March 3) |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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Monday, 03 March 2008 |
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“The Oldest Profession” by Paula Vogel at The Desert Rose Playhouse is a play about five geriatric prostitutes who are trying to, excuse the expression, make ends meet in New York City. The ladies, who have been together in “The Life” for upwards of fifty years, speak fondly of their “gentlemen caller” clients, most of whom are octogenarians, and make jokes about erectile dysfunction and the performance of oral sex with or without dentures.
The play covers the four years of the first Reagan administration, during which time four of the five elderly harlots die, and the survivor is shown at the final scene taking a half sandwich out of a trash basket. Moreover, the hapless hookers have heated debates about labor versus management and the evils of mechanization and the minimum wage. Does any of this sound like much fun? It isn’t! I know, Paula Vogel is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, but not for this play (which was rejected in 1980 by the theater company that commissioned it and didn’t open in this country until 2004). Vogel veers between raunchy situation comedy routines and lectures on the evils of Reaganomics that she deplores. There are, however, easier (and more entertaining) ways of learning the dangers of supply-side economics. A character even misquotes Shakespeare! Perhaps if Director Shiela Freed had found a strong cast, four of whom possessing the singing talent necessary to sell the songs they belt out at their departure, and stressed rapid delivery of the dialogue, the play might work better. Sadly, this is not the case. On opening night, several of the actors seemed to have trouble getting their lines out, and the pauses between speeches at times made the audience uncomfortable. Teddy Eggleston as Ursula had such problems, and her singing while wearing a one-piece bathing suit and fishnet stockings was embarrassing. If Jean Moran, Linda Williams, and Gail Spidle were afraid of being typecast as domesticated senior-citizen sisters after “Mornings at Seven” at the Adobe, their portrayals of Mae, Lillian, and Vera here will counter that image. Accompanied on piano by dapper Phil Bock, Williams showed an agreeable singing voice. Finally, veteran Georgia Athearn brought some fun to Edna. I hate being negative, but as Dr. Phil might ask, “What were you all thinking?” If You Go WHAT: “The Oldest Profession” by Paula Vogel WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through March 16 WHERE: The Desert Rose Playhouse, 6921-E Montgomery NE HOW MUCH: $12. Call 881-0503 for ticket information
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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