Fringe First: Sanctuary Theatre and Bag Lady

July 9, 2:09 PMDC Theater ExaminerClare Johnson

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Elizabeth Bruce as Clara adjusts her hat. Photo by Diane Falk

Continuing its gradual reemergence, Sanctuary Theatre revives its Bag Lady, by Jean Claude van Itallie, called "startlingly convincing" (Washington Post) and "phenomenal … a captivating breathless fury" (Hill Rag). Founded in 1984 by Michael Oliver, Elizabeth Bruce, & Jill Navarre in an old sanctuary on Columbia Rd. that still bears its name, Sanctuary presented daring, transcultural productions by master playwrights not widely produced in the USA. A former member of the LOWT and the Helen Hayes Awards, Sanctuary also hosted dozens of small theatre companies. Elizabeth Bruce took the time to answer the following questions about the revival of Bag Lady, playing this year's Cap Fringe Festival.

Is this your first Fringe Experience?
No, Sanctuary Theatre, Inc., returned to producing in 2007 with our Capital Fringe Festival production of The Fate of a Cockroach, an absurd comedy by Egyptian playwright Tewfik al-Hakim.  Staged at Flashpoint Gallery, Cockroach became a sudden hit, routinely selling out.  To quote Fringe Actor/Producer/Blogger Callie Kimball: "I'd been asking myself where all the black artists were in Fringe and the answer is they're all in the cockroach play (along with all the Fringe artists over 40). I dug the play itself and admired the simple and pure commitment of the actors. ….There was zero vanity in this production, zero deadly cleverness, and zero wink-winkage….A gorgeously brave effort from a group committed to nontraditional casting and community artistry. Their purity of approach served well the pathos (not bathos) of the story of a man caught up in the struggle of a cockroach struggling to escape from a bathtub…I LOVED The Fate of a Cockroach."

What drew you to this piece?
When Sanctuary Theatre first produced van Itallie’s Bag Lady in 1986, Washington, DC, was a city in decay. The downtown was uninhabited after dark: murder and crack cocaine formed everyday vignettes on the evening news. The play, with its prophetic, apocalyptic Clara, seemed oddly right for a metropolis stuck in neutral, headed toward the infamous title of “Murder Capital of the World” and an arrest of its Mayor on drug charges. And indeed, the production, which included on its bill an equally edgy The Orgy by Columbian playwright Enrique Buenaventura, received rave reviews and garnered full houses.

Tell us a little about the concept for the show.
In reviving the show, Director Michael Oliver says: “Washington looks a lot fancier these days, and the downtown literally teems with consumers every night. The reality of a dirty bomb, however, and an astronomical national deficit puts new meaning into Clara’s prophecies that 'the city will be over.' Though seemingly delusional, Clara’s truth is frequently not what it seems.”

Van Itallie’s Clara demonstrates a wonderful mixture of humor and belligerence as she navigates through the world of New York City, using nothing but her wits and her fantastic memories. Van Itallie has called her “the quintessential urbanite.”

Why Should Fringe Patrons see your show?
Fringe-goers, as quintessential urbanites themselves, live with the constant sense that all this fanciful artiface around us will suddenly collapse.  Bag Lady combines the edginess and whimsy characteristic of the Fringe, with a raw, intimate look at a human psyche going mano a mano with this collective unknown. It's short (50 minutes), intense, unpredictable and funny in all the odd places.

What's next for you and/or for the company?
Good question. More performances of Bag Lady. Possible production of Michael Oliver's comic script, The Greatest Generation or Bruce's one-act, The Exile and the American. Oliver and Bruce, long-time members of Ernie Joselowitz's Playrights' Forum, are also exploring a comic play about their parental odyssey of launching grown children into the world.  Through Michael Oliver, Sanctuary will continue to run the theatre program at the New School of Northern Virginia, which just won two Cappie Awards (Best Actress and Best Makeup) for its recent production of Euripides' The Bacchae.  Sanctuary's Elizabeth Bruce will continue as Arts Director at CentroNia, and Sanctuary co-founder Jill Navarre will continue as Artistic Director of the Auroville Theatre Company in India.

Performances of Bag Lady are as follows (all performances at The Bedroom-Fort Fringe 612 L Street NW)

July 12th 4:30 pm
July 15th 5 pm
July 17th 6 pm
July 23rd 9 pm
July 26th 12 pm

Fringe venues are small, so purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment.