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The independent theater has a promising season ahead, starting with two plays by George Bernard Shaw.
By JOHN FLEMING
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 7, 2000
You have to give Gorilla Theatre credit. Despite taking flak for putting on too many plays by co-founders and married couple Aubrey Hampton and Susan Hussey, the theater has never wavered from its vision of being an incubator of new, sometimes offbeat work.
"We sort of stuck to our guns," Hampton says. "We had people who told us we should do more commercial plays, more Neil Simon, more musicals. But we wanted to do dramas, we wanted to do original works, things people haven't seen before. We haven't changed our idea about having a theater like you might find off Broadway in New York. The emphasis of the theater is just like these old programs on the wall."
Hampton gestures to the wall opposite the lobby bar. It is covered with framed playbills from the glory days of the straight play on Broadway, shows like The Iceman Cometh, Golden Boy and The Lark (starring Julie Harris and Boris Karloff).
Heading into its fourth season, Gorilla has presented its share of memorable evenings in its 80-seat theater, including a sold-out run of the pathbreaking gay musical Falsettos and David Shapiro's brilliant performance of Wallace Shawn's ode to the ugly American, The Fever.
A double bill by George Bernard Shaw, Don Juan in Hell and The Man of Destiny, opens Gorilla's season tonight.
The theater's audience appears to be growing. A big crowd showed up for an open house on a Sunday afternoon in August. Two of last season's productions -- Hamlet and Marx in Soho -- played to capacity houses for much of their runs.
But there have been flops, too. As few as 10 people have turned out for a performance.
"It can be discouraging," Hussey says. "You put on an original show and so much heart goes into it, and maybe the second week the audience isn't built up as much as you'd like. It's particularly disappointing for the actors. We always like to have good houses for the actors. But I think you could go to any theater in this town and you would find the same kind of experiences. I think it has to do with our shared problem, which is it's difficult to get people out for live events in this area."
Gorilla has one advantage most theaters can only envy. Last year's $400,000 budget was subsidized by Hampton's other business, Aubrey Organics, whose line of beauty products is a staple in health food stores.
Now the theater appears to be reaching out more to the community, rather than depending so much on Hampton's deep pockets.
"We're trying to involve the community more," Hussey says. "We've been successful in getting a grant from Hillsborough County. We have received some donations. We're selling ads in the program for the first time. We feel we've shown that we can do really terrific theater, and we feel that we can now ask the community for support."
The 2000-01 season includes three premieres -- Isadora by David McElroy; Sex and the Single Woman, a revue by Gil Perlroth; and Hampton's The War of the Currents -- as well as a number of plays getting their first Florida productions. A coup is The Designated Mourner by Shawn (best known for My Dinner with Andre), directed by Shapiro, who will also be in the cast.
"I like Wally Shawn because he's able to make people uncomfortable, and I think that's an important function of theater," Hussey says. "No other medium can do that so well."
Don Juan in Hell and The Man of Destiny, both by George Bernard Shaw, have performances at 7 tonight, 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 5 p.m. Sunday at Gorilla Theatre in Tampa. Tickets are $14 and $17. Call (813) 879-2914.