Short Seens

Mar 17, 1999 at 4:00 am

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The Brady Bunch may be beyond parody now. The Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre finds fresher material in The Mod Squad, with Oscar Madrid, Don McClendon and Amy Marie Julia Elz (the sleeping beauty -- good touch) striking amusing poses. It's often kinda thin, though, needing more wit and invention.

Ntozake Shange made theatrical history with For Colored Girls. She's less theatrical -- warm but understated -- reading her poetry, as she did last weekend for Women CenterStage at COCA. I'd like sometime to give my full attention to Joseph Bowie, who accompanied her on trombone and percussion.

I assume the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves produced -- well -- Cry Havoc because it has 12 juicy roles for women. But Allan R. Kenward's drama about women volunteers in the Philippines also has every cliche you've seen in World War II movies.

-- Bob Wilcox