I Arts

Otterbein Summer Theatre will present the Central Ohio premiere of ’s today through Sunday and July 29 through Aug. 2 in the Campus Center Theatre, 100 W. Home St. in Westerville. Featured are (from left): Jess Hanks, Equity guest artist Karen Radcliffe and Bryan Brems. Radcliffe will portray a feminist and historian whose life is shown over a 23- year period. For tickets call 898-1109. arcs briefs^ / — l.

The Heidi Chronicles’ scheduled .XUtfiibgin Summer Theatre will present the Central Ohio premiere oTW^y Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles July 22-26 and July 29 to Aug. 2 at Campus Center Theatre, 100 W. Home St. The play won the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Awards. Equity guest artist Karen Radcliff will star as Heidi Holland, feminist and art historian, whose life is shown from high school in 1965 to single motherhood in 1988. The Heidi Chronicles’ scheduled

present the Central Ohio Chronicles iSo W Home Su ^

Cirdp Aw=,S ! *'’® Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Awards. guest artist Karen RadclifT will star as Heidi Holland, ferninist and art historian, whose life is shown single motherhood in 1988 evenrnK sSndr^ °P®"*"S "'ght, 8 p.m. other evenings. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. For tickets call 898- The Other Paper, December 24 - 30, 1992

The year’s worst use of nudity, etc.

By Richard Ades tion: Robert Tolan, Actors’ Summer 'The­ atre, who was often stuck with the task of It was about this time last December announcing delays and cancellations in a that I looked back over my first full year rain-soaked Schiller Park. (His best line; as a theater critic and sensed something “Whose life would be if we don’t go was missing. on tonight?”) I had tried to stay faithful to the three Best one-man show: Robert Morse in standards I’d set for my reviews; 1) Be Tru, Broadway Series. honest. 2) Be fair. 3) Avoid “Not!” jokes. Best direction: Geoff Nelson, Wings, Even so, my work seemed incomplete. CATCO—a masterfully surrealistic jour­ Since then, I have realized that what ney into the thoughts of a stroke victim. my work lacked was a year-end review. I’d Best set: Lips Together, Teeth Apart, forgotten to write one. Players 'Theatre Columbus. Here, then, is my list of bests—and a Best original play: Christmas on Best three-hanky show: Otterbein’s The few worsts—for 1992. In the tradition of Chester by Chip Roush. Heidi Chronicles 'TV award shows, they’re presented in no Best reason for staying home: particular order. Arthur: The Musical, Players TTieatre Best historically based work: Little Columbus. Dishonorable mention: Victories, OSU—a consciousness-raising Ssexx Rangers of Venus, Reality 'Theatre. sagebrush fantasy about Susan B. Best comic performance, female: Anthony. Worst: The Will Rogers Follies, Linda Dorff, Laughing Wild, CATCO. Broadway Series. The Tony-winning Theater Dorff 8 off-the-wall lunatic was the best musical was more interested in recreating thing about this flawed Christopher the glitz of the Ziegfeld Follies than in Durang satire. paying homage to Rogers. Best comic performance, male: Jess Best debut production: Faith and Donna Dunlap singing My Joe in Cen­ Hanks, The Heidi Chronicles. Hanks’s Healer, New World Theater—an unusual ter Stage Theatre’s Carmen Jones. sexually evolving character was a caustic drama marked by incisive portrayals. Best deliberately bad song rendi­ delight. Best use of nudity: Frankie and tion: Julie Klein singing My Funny Valen­ Best dramatic performance, Johnny in the Clair De Lune, Players The­ tine in the Applebottom P.I.E. serial at female: (Tie) Ionia Zelenka in Wings and atre Columbus. 'The bedroom comedy’s Shadowbox Theatre. Deb Colvin in Christmas on Chester. flashes of flesh were tasteful and fitting. Best three-hanky show: The Heidi Best dramatic performance, male: Worst: The Will Rogers Follies. The butt- Chronicles, Otterbein Summer Theatre. (3'ie) Jim Zvanut and Yaakov Sullivan in revealing cowgirl outfits were tacky. 'iVis,^' course,Is even more suDjective Faith Healer. Best cross-dressing performance: than most judgments, but Heidi gets the Best performance by an ex-critic: T.J. Harler, , Reality nod for inducing tears of laughter in addi­ Steve Weiss (formerly wjth Columbus Theatre. His character only appeared in tion to the regular kind. Alive), , New World Theater. drag for a few minutes, but Harler’s Best two-hanky short: Christmas on Worst performance by a current inspired performance deserves recognition. Chester, Holiday Hoopla show. Shadow- critic: Richard Ades, at the theater com­ Honorable mention: Mona Malec as Dan box Theatre. munity’s Critics Forum in October. I recre­ Quayle, Macbush, OSU Theatre Company. Best Renaissance comedy: Twelfth ated a line from a role I once performed in A Best multiple-role performance: Night, Actors’ Summer Theatre. Worst: Streetcar Named Desire, and did it with a Jonathan Beck Reed, Balancing Act, Play­ Knight of the Burning Pestle, OSU. Some British accent—even though the play is set ers Theatre Columbus. Reed’s the best good performances, but they should have in New Orleans. I explained that it was the thing to hit quick-change theater since burned the script. only accent I knew how to do. Velcro. Best pre-show speeches: Chris ■The truth is, I made up the part about Best song rendition: (Tie) Anthony Lynch, Shadowbox ITieatre. His laid-back the accent in a cheap attempt at humor. Tenoglia singing Molasses to Rum to style sets the tone for an evening of I’m deeply ashamed, particularly since I Slaves in Actors’ Summer Theatre’s 1776; relaxed entertainment. Honorable men­ didn’t even get much of a laugh.