DELAWARE - @ Re-bar

[Christopher Comte]

DELAWARE - A Subtle Spectacular
Written by Tim Sanders
Directed by Matt Fontaine
Music by "Awesome"
Re-bar, through 26 February
206-323-0388

I'm just going to lay this out in a nutshell:  for the most sublime theatrical experience you've had in some time, check out this piece currently running at Re-bar. 

A visual, aural and tactile extravaganza, "Delaware - A Subtle Spectacular" has all the elements of a dada-esque evening of spoken word, musical immersions, and visual delights -- plus, waffles.  Lots and lots of hot, crispy, buttery, waffles, all of which will leave your eyes sated, your ears tingled, your funnybone tickled and your tongue dripping with syrupy goodness.

"Delaware" is a musical/theatrical melange bursting full-born from the brows of local theatre art-rockers "Awesome" (John Ackermann, Kirk Anderson, Basil Harris, Evan Mosher, John Osebold, and the aetherial presence of  Rob Witmer), interspersed with short scenes and monologues by local playwright Tim Sanders, and all under the direction of Matt Fontaine.  Don't expect anything in the way of a coherent plot; the effect is a more dreamlike, kalaeidoscopic sensorial experience that stretches the creative possibilities of performance in ways that will surprise, delight and intrigue  -- imagine if The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" had been produced by Frank Zappa, and staged by Ernie Kovacs and you begin to get some idea of what to expect -- and the waffles!  Did I mention the waffles?

Thanks to the meticulous production design of local musical legend Mark Nichols, "Awesome" has never sounded better.  Vocal harmonies merge and overlap with stereophonic precision, and the music is crisp, clean, and suffused with the band's signature atmospheric collision of styles and instrumentations (who else would ever consider pairing mandolin and theremin?).  The musical production is supported by a solid cast of local performers: Mark Boeker, Tracy Repep, and Montana von Fliss handling the airy, often raucously funny dialogue, Eric Ray Anderson playing a half dozen vintage waffle makers like they were musical instruments themselves, and The Stranger's Brendan Kiley interspersing the various bits and pieces with a series of nonsensical "factoids", all of whom embrace Sanders luminous dialogue with abandon.  Director Fontaine shifts the pacing from high-speed comedy to languid introspection, perfectly matching the band's musical moods.  The result is a true "synergy" where the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts.

If all this sounds gushinginly nebulous, well then, so be it.  "Delaware" needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated, and there is little here that could possibly disappoint.  The various structural elements all blend, merge, and flow through each other in ways that at first defy logic or meaning.  But, like our dreams, they eventually submerge the audience into a world of subconscious free-association that can really only be taken on its own terms.  The audience is simply carried along on a series of loosely connected images and metaphors that gradually coalesce into a sort of waking dream state that settles over one like the warm comfort of a familiar old blanket.

[Kerry Christianson]

I was there last night as well and everything Chris states above is true.  A warm, rich, leave-feeling-happy experience for sure.  Â

I had really cool dreams last night too....

Thanks to the cast, crew, and of course the guys of Awesome.  You made last night one to remember.

[Peggy Gannon]

Go.  See.  This.  Show.


Seriously.

[Christopher Comte]

And you can listen to them via streaming audio here:

http://www.kuow.org/thebeat.asp?Archive=02-24

Click the "listen RealAudio" link to the right of the "Delaware" flyer on the page.  Skip ahead to about 22:30 into the broadcast.

Sorry, it's RealAudio, which if you're like me probably causes your PC no end of problems, but it's worth the aggravation!

[Peggy Gannon]

DELAWARE is playing again at Re-bar!  It's somewhere between a re-mount and a re-imagining, and it has not lost one ounce of its charm, its sweet achy melancholy, or its delight.  In fact, some nice fresh elements have been added -- for one, 2 more Awesome! band members are able to grace the stage with the entire rest of the original crew.

Seeing the show again (just like the first time I saw it), I kept catching myself involuntarily smiling, tearing up, or grooving in my seat ... or, often, all three at once.  The show is beautiful.  If you saw it the first time around, it's way worth going again.  And again.  And again.  Maybe I'll see you there ... I'm going back for sure.  If you did not see it, then do not hesitate ... go go go.  (Also, Re-bar is looking pretty damn spiffy these days.)

DELAWARE: A Subtle Spectacular
Through Oct. 29th
Thursdays, Friday & Saturdays @ 8pm
At Re-bar, 1114 Howell (at Boren)
Door and bar open at 7pm.  (21+ only)

Read what Chris Comte says below about the original production.  It still applies, and he says it better thn I could.

[Peggy Gannon]

I just heard that Delaware performances are canceled this Thursday & Friday (Oct 13 & 14) due to a family emergency.  They'll be back in swing on Saturday the 15th, and that means only 7 performances left to see the show.

P.