RAT Um...

[jonoh1@juno.com]

>From Backstage West - 1/28/00

"After seeing a local production of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" at
South Coast Repertory, writer/director Melissa Petro has a small
epiphany.
  'They did a great job,' said Petro, 'but you know, as a woman and an
actress, the first thing I thought was: all the good parts are for men.
There are eight men in this play and one woman and she doesn't even have
a name.'
  It is, perhaps, a thought many an actress has had at some point or
another, yet Petro took this thought to the page, penning an all-female
adaptation of the work. Titled "Of Mice and Women", the production is now
running through Feb. 13 at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Santa
Ana.
  Though the script is fairly similar, the changes in the play are
various. Petro set the play in a modern-day hair salon and took out the
final shooting ('It's sort of a chick flick now,' she joked), giving it a
feel-good ending. To give an idea of some of the odd twists that have
come from the gender switch: In the original play, 'Curly wears a glove
with Vaseline in it to keep his hand soft for his wife, and Lenny crushes
his hand. In this version, Curly has huge artificial breasts that she has
had enlarged five times for her husband, and Penny accidently pops one of
them.'
  'There's nothing wrong with gut-wrenching theatre,' said Petro, 'but
this is for fun, and we wanted to keep it in that spirit.'
  Despite the light-hearted tone, Petro admits the play does deal with
serious themes. 'The play says a lot about how we view women,' said
Petro, 'and how we view how we look, what we do to our bodies for men.'
  Now in its third season, the Hunger Artists Theatre Company was formed
by a group of Orange Coast College artists who wanted to present
well-known plays with a twist. Past offering have included a "white
trash" take on Noel Coward's Private Lives and an all-male production of
Oscar Wildes' The Importance of Being Earnest. The company takes its name
from a snort story by Franz Kafka, and presents at least one
Kafka-inspired play each season. For tickets call (714) 547-9100."

This story piqued my interest. Any thoughts out there?
Jonathan
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