Summerfest (Coho Productions): Theater Review

Sweet relief from theater's dog days of drought.

HOT FORECAST: (From left) Amber Whitehall, Cristi Miles and Rebecca Lingafelter.
By ALLIE DONAHUE

Your lawn isn't the only thing this heat wave is drying up.

During the summer, theater across the nation slows to a meager drizzle, and the occasional Shakespeare galas in the parks are no tall glass of water. For Portland's scrawny, indoor-bound artistes who thirst for something more contemporary than the Bard, the sunless black box at CoHo Productions is an oasis. 

What began in 2012 as Solo Summer, a lineup of single-actor shows, has morphed into CoHo's Summerfest, where five hourlong solo and small-cast performances are staged for one weekend each in June and July. The summer shows—like this weekend's all-female cabaret inspired by Moby-Dick—are a far cry from CoHo's regular programming, which sticks to conventional American plays. Summerfest, says CoHo artistic director Philip Cuomo, is a chance to exist "on the edge of the mainstream."

So far, L.A. performer Deanna Fleysher has adopted the buffoon persona of a jaded private investigator in Butt Kapinski, an onstage version of film noir. Portland actor Gordon Boudreau channeled street theater in his 19th-century libertine poet act. And master of physical theater Matthew Kerrigan satirized biblical staples using only three red stools as props.

Best yet was Loon by Portland mask theater company Wonderheads, in which a lonely, clown-masked janitor fails at a Tinder-for-Luddites telephone dating service and falls in love with the moon instead. With no dialogue and just a single expression on the intricately designed mask, Wonderheads co-founder Kate Braidwood used her body to deftly relay the janitor's swing from depression to romantic ecstasy.

This weekend, an all-female group from Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble will perform Drowned Horse Tavern, a “sea-shanty cabaret” that’s part of its 18-month exploration of Moby-Dick, with performances all over Portland. The troupe promises ballads, lurking leviathans, salty vaudeville, live music from the galley, and even ocean grog for the audience, courtesy of Breakside Brewery. Indeed, CoHo knows no drought. 

SEE IT: Drowned Horse Tavern is at CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 220-2646. 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday, July 9-12. $15.

WWeek 2015

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