When the much-anticipated Big One hits, the new bleachers at Magenta Theater are where you’ll want to be.
Never mind the quality of the performance, founder and artistic director Jaynie Roberts likes to joke; the stringent seismic-code requirements that Magenta had to meet when building stadium-style risers inside its new 150-seat auditorium means that this “must be the safest bloody spot in all Clark County,” she said.
Plus, the spacious new lobby and pending liquor license means it’ll be that much more conducive to socializing.
“We’ll have a great place to mingle. We’ve never had that before,” Roberts said.
More bathrooms means that actors and audience alike will be that much happier, too.
Magenta spent years squeezing into a sideways-shoebox of a 101-seat theater near the bottom of Main Street, but the fit was never comfortable. There was no lobby to speak of, and there was a severe lack of restrooms. The dingy lower Main streetscape tended to turn off all but the most adventurous patrons, Roberts has said.
So it wasn’t too much of a tragedy when the nonprofit community theater got word last summer that it would lose its lease — because along with that news came the suggestion that Magenta simply move a few blocks north and take on the bigger, better space that used to belong to Riverside Performing Arts.
The move from 606 Main St. to 1108 Main St. was marked by a Magenta parade, Roberts said, as volunteers gathered at their old home to share memories and tears before marching up the street to the new one. The new space seemed so full of promise and possibility, she said, that any sadness about the past immediately gave way to excitement.
More standard amenities that Magenta now enjoys: custodial closets; lots of basement space for storage, rehearsal; new dressing rooms; and a first-ever office for Roberts, who’s always managed Magenta from home.
When The Columbian visited in mid-January, renovations were still underway, and a big crew of volunteers was busy with power tools, planks and wiring. Roberts said volunteers have devoted at least 2,000 hours of their time to the move and renovation, saving the nonprofit theater a substantial sum, she said.
‘The Women’
Magenta’s first presentation in its new space should help spread the move news far and wide. “The Women” requires a massive cast of 31, and Roberts said every single actor has an understudy. Add them all up, and you’ve got a whole lot of word-of-mouth talking up Magenta’s improved location.
“We had massive auditions and came up with an amazing cast,” Roberts said.
What also might prove slightly amazing to contemporary audiences, she added, is the unabashedly nasty tone of “The Women,” which was written by Clare Booth Luce. A Broadway smash when it debuted in 1936, the play remains such a wickedly scathing satire of the subservience of females in marriage and the family — forcing them to become unabashedly manipulative, competitive and dishonest — that critics and theatergoers have always found room for debate about Luce’s intent. Is this play a deeply feminist complaint about women’s station in life, or is it actually prefeminist and aiming only to laugh at its silly protagonists?
“Their goal is to steal each other’s husbands,” said Roberts, who directed. “And in the end, do they all learn their lessons, is it all resolved? No. It’s a comedy without any redeeming message or moral whatsoever.”
Playwright Luce, who also became a congresswoman and ambassador as well as the wife of publishing magnate Henry Luce of Time and Life magazines, is considered an early champion of feminism — but the reality of her life and writings suggest an evolving personal outlook that’s hard to label so easily.
Whether you find it funny or appalling — or both — “The Women” remains a stage classic, and that’s partly because of its big cast of women only. Men are discussed at length in “The Women,” but none appears onstage. Roberts said the licensing agreement for the play specifies that all of the roles must be played by women. Not even one male in drag is allowed. (Even if you’re disgusted by the women, Roberts promised, you’ll love the glitzy glamor of their vintage costumes.)
Performances of “The Women” are set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, 13, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26; and 2 p.m. Feb. 20 and 27. Tickets are $18. Visit www.magentatheater.com to learn more and see Magenta’s 2016 schedule. Five plays are planned in addition to concerts, improv comedy and more.
Donations to help with the move and remodel job continue to be most welcome. Click on “Magenta Theater is moving” to learn more, or call 360-635-4358.
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