And just in case there really are any producer types lurking here
I'm re-posting the review from the Oregonian for the same show.
Theater review One-man cast carries dark, funny 'Bone'
Monday, July 24, 2006
HOLLY JOHNSON
The Oregonian
Do vaudeville and the dark arts seem likely bedfellows?
They get along just fine in "Herringbone," a terrifying yet mesmerizing play by Tom Cone from the 1970s (later revised into a two-act musical).
It starts with an unsuspecting 8-year-old named George bound for Hollywood during the Depression, who takes stage lessons, finds he's pretty good at tap-dancing, and is suddenly inhabited by the spirit of a louche 35-year-old vaudevillian dwarf. He's so creepy, it's easy to see why his former show-biz partner knocked him off.
Horrific, mesmerizing and funny, the play once featured Joel Grey in an East Coast performance, and artistic director Llewellyn J. Rhoe of Arts Equity Inc. in Vancouver offers a riveting production, with new songs by composer Skip Kennon and lyricist Ellen Fitzbugh.
Taylor Askman, 22, who plays all the roles in this intimate yet hugely complex show, displays an amazing quicksilver talent as he serves up a cadre of characters. He possesses a face actors long for: a combination of cartoon character and classical statue. But it's his ability to sketch characters with depth and mercurial speed that stands out.
One minute he's Louise, George's arch, ambitious Southern mom; the next he's young George, with a tinyvoice and bemused stare. The contrast is stark next to the gnarled, gravelly voiced dwarf Lou, who materializes unannounced. And then there's George's imperious, looming dad, Dot the giggly seductress, and adult George, the grave narrator. The characters seem to materialize from a sideshow in Askman's brain. He's a big talent, and Rhoe has obviously found a vehicle that gives him a big tent in which to move around.
The play is a brutal coming-of-age story with a nod to Kafka or Stephen King, and the musical numbers mesh perfectly. Musical accompaniment by musical director Kevin McElrath on piano is a pleasure to hear. The gaping set, a textured affair in black and red surfaces designed by Rhoe, echoes the maw of hell itself.
Continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through Sept. 1 at Main Street Theatre, 606 Main St.
