Punks and queens for charity

>> Elegies celebrates lives, raises money

by AMY BARRATT

"The best actors in the world must live in this city!"

Bill Russell has just completed a full day's rehearsal of his Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, and he is pumped. Russell, who also wrote Side Show--nominated for a Tony for best musical of 1998--is in town to direct the Canadian premiere of Elegies and the world premiere of its French version, Élégies pour les anges, les anarchistes et les folles enragées.

A sort of anthology of poems and songs celebrating the lives of people who have died of AIDS, the theatre piece was inspired in part by the Names Project Quilt. It's not that actual panels from the quilt are brought to life on stage, but that Russell saw the quilt as a metaphor.

"I was at the initial unveiling of the quilt in Washington D.C. in 1987," Russell says. "I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to write something about AIDS, and had been hearing all of these stories, all of which I found fascinating, but none of which I wanted to devote a two-hour piece to by itself. It seemed to limit the subject somehow to focus on one story."

Another inspiration was the Spoon River Anthology, a volume of free verse "epitaphs" by Edgar Lee Masters, in which people lying buried in a cemetery are given voices to tell their stories.

The quilt connection

"After seeing the quilt, I thought I could do a similar thing with AIDS," says Russell, "with the quilt being the metaphor that all of these characters are connected by, even though they're wildly different types of people." Early workshops of Elegies were performed by a small number of actors, each taking multiple roles.

"As a writer," Russell explains, "you always try to think small, because it makes it easier to get it produced." But when an avant-garde company in New York expressed an interest in Elegies, they wanted to do it with a different actor playing each role. At first, Russell, slated to direct, was having none of it.

"Please!" Russell remembers thinking, "To organize five actors is so hard, to organize 30? I couldn't imagine. But finally, I thought, how often am I going to get an opportunity to work with this size of cast? It might really be fun. And it turned out to be an absolutely wonderful experience."

Subsequent productions of Elegies, which have taken place in New York, London, Edinburgh and all around the U.S., have retained the cast-of-thousands concept. It tends to make the characters more real and the show more powerful--each actor is only seen in one role, not coming back 10 minutes later wearing a different wig. It also makes it easier to get actors on board because it's not a huge commitment of time for any of them.

Here in Montreal, Elegies will be performed just once in English and once in French, as a benefit for the Farha Foundation. Originally, the producers, Theatre Cyroy, hoped to put on a longer run, but they soon realized that to get the big names it would have to be a shorter commitment, especially since all the actors and singers are donating their time.

There is some overlap between the English and French casts, Russell explains. Although most of the actors are bilingual and capable of doing both versions, only a certain number belong to both the French and English unions, allowing them to perform in both.

As for all that talent that has Bill Russell so excited, it's impossible to name them all here, but Elegies features young lights like Sean Devine, local favourites like Richard Jutras and Joanna Noyes, and even a few legends like Viola Leger. Truly a happening.

Elegies... in English Sunday, Nov. 29 and in French Monday, Nov. 30 at 8 pm at the Spectrum (861-5851, 790-1245). Tickets $30, Proceeds to the Farha Foundation