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ACTORS REV UP `JUNIPER TAVERN' WHEN TEMPO STARTS TO SLOW
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
December 6, 1995
Author: BARRY JOHNSON - of the Oregonian Staff
Estimated printed pages: 2

Summary:

The Eclectic Theatre Company needs to work on pacing as it strolls down memory lane with a certain guru in Oregon

Charles Deemer wrote ``Christmas at the Juniper Tavern'' before the darker side of the Baghwan Shree Rajneesh presence in Oregon became apparent to most people.

And he has been careful to note that the encounter in his play between an Indian guru, Swami Kree, and the people of a small Eastern Oregon town, is not based on the real battle between the citizens of Antelope and the hordes of maroon-cloaked devotees who descended on them a decade ago.

Still, Deemer's play has lots of pertinent references -- to multiple Rolls-Royces, a nightclub in Portland, believers dressed in one color (blue in this case) -- that can't help but remind us of those strange days. The coincidence of the sentencing of two former Rajneesh supporters to prison for plotting to kill a U.S. attorney with the opening of another production of Deemer's play is eerie.

*It's possible to get beyond the historical context and take ``Christmas at the Juniper Tavern'' on its own terms, though. Deemer is an able playwright, and the events aren't fresh on our minds. In fact, the play restores us to a state of innocence, when Rajneesh was a colorful curiosity, and that's a rather pleasant effect.

This production is staged by the same folks who resurrected the play last year at this time, the Eclectic Theatre Company directed by Dianna Callihan. They've moved the show downtown from a cozy theater in St. John's, to the Main Street Theatre. That transfer -- though many of the same actors return -- may be the source of some of the show's problems.

The title of the play describes exactly its time and setting. Juniper is a small town suffering from the closure of the local timber mill. The inhabitants hang out at the local tavern run by Stella (Virginia Belt), a hard-headed realist with a heart of gold. There's Frank (Ron Hansen), Stella's indecisive boyfriend, Stella's best pal Margie (Valerie Brooks), and Margie's rather wild husband, Rex (Andrew Hickman).

Out-of-work Rex is angling for some cash and a good time at the expense of the swami. He hijacks one of the swami's Rolls-Royces with Frank, for starters. When that idea falls apart, he offers to kidnap a potential swami convert, Ann (Tammie Andreas), for Ann's mother, Joy (Laura Reeves).

The hijacking brings the swami (Joe Bari) and his assistant (Cynthia Rae Bauman) into the picture. In short, it's an exciting Christmas, though currents of unrequited love and despair run close to the surface, spilling over with frequency.

The show's primary problems have to do with pacing (it lags at times) and focus. Too little of the action happens front and center; key moments are staged on the periphery. The larger Main Street Theatre space seems to have sapped some of the energy the play needs.

Fortunately, every time Bari and Hickman have important things to do, that energy level shoots up. Bari makes a splendid, jovial swami, a little like a blue-coated Santa, full of simple metaphysical speculations. And Hickman brings a restless humor to Rex, maybe the best part in the play, from an actor's point of view.

The pacing problem may be solved as the actors go through ``Christmas at the Juniper Tavern'' a few more times. That's good, because Deemer's play is something of a natural resource -- the response of a local playwright to our cultural landscape -- and it's a renewable one.

Edition: SUNRISE
Section: ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Page: D11
Index Terms: Theater review
Copyright (c) 1995 Oregonian Publishing Co.
Record Number: 9512060100

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