Guimond appointed new S.P. fire chief

Published in the Current and the American Journal

Kevin Guimond of Cape Elizabeth, a 16-year veteran of the South Portland Fire Department, is the new South Portland fire chief, replacing John True Jr., who retired in April after 10 years in the top slot and 35 years in firefighting.

Deputy Chief Miles Haskell has been acting chief in the interim and will continue as deputy chief. City Manager Jeff Jordan said 11 people applied for the job, mostly from Greater Portland, with “a handful” from within the South Portland Fire Department.

One of those was Westbrook Fire Chief Gary Littlefield, who told this newspaper he had interviewed for the job.

Jordan called Guimond, 36, who up until now was a lieutenant with the department, “a real bright guy” with a lot of experience. He is a paramedic level instructor who “has really been a part of a lot of major decisions” in the department, including the West End Fire Station committee and the decision to consolidate fire and police dispatching, Jordan said.

Guimond found out about his new job Friday afternoon and was “excited” about the decision. He wants to “continue the path we’re on,” with cross training to give firefighters other skills, including emergency medicine and hazardous materials handling.

He said he is interested in the department’s conversation about sharing services with Cape Elizabeth, but “it’s got to be the right fit.”

“Our call companies are running really well,” Guimond said. One way to improve them could be to share staff. “Neither community has enough call staff,” he said.

Guimond, who also is a part-time paramedic with the Cape Elizabeth Rescue, could be a good candidate to bridge any gaps between the departments, which already share an extensive mutual-aid agreement.

He will “take a little break” from his work in Cape Elizabeth to focus on his new job, but hopes to be able to be involved there.

Lightning strikes: Energetic performances Grease Arundel Barn's wheels

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Starting with a back-flipping entrance by Danny Zuko (Brad Bass), Grease is off to a dynamic run at the Arundel Barn Playhouse. The cast clearly has fun, and the excitement is contagious as cast and audience together relive senior year at Rydell High.

The show revisits the days when kids could make zip guns in school, restroom machines sold four condoms for a quarter, and enlisting in the military didn’t qualify you for welfare. This is a ’50s piece, and there is a desire to remain true to the original, but given the number of young children in the audience, having characters even fake smoking seems questionable.

It is a fun play about life in high school, with some important lessons for those who wish to hear: Peer pressure is compelling, being true to yourself is better than being a tease, ridicule hurts, and dropping out of school is a bad idea.

Perhaps, though, the biggest lesson of an adult production of Grease are the contrasts between it and the more common high-school performances based on the same script. Miss Lynch (Mary Jo Keffer) is an excellent tipsy teacher, raising a glass each time she appears on stage. DJ Vince Fontaine (Jim Appleby) is a leering and lecherous older man, who makes out at the prom just like any of the students. Appleby also plays the Teen Angel, who delivers a stern and dark lecture for wayward youth.

And an entire song is restored from the original, one usually not seen in high school: Roger (Daniel Petrotta) sings the hilarious love ballad " Mooning, " which is either about staring at the evening sky or showing off young bare bottoms in public.

It is in " Mooning " and many of the other songs that the choreography really shows what Grease is about. There is flirty touching and peeking, as well as strong grinding and suggestive body language no principal would permit in the auditorium.

The girls, led by Ellen Domingos (as Betty Rizzo) and Kendra Doyle (as Sandy Dumbrowski), dance and sing their hearts out. The Burger Palace Boys dance, too, in a macho style that at times includes push-ups. Ryland Shelton (as Sonny) is the smoothest mover, but Bass (as Danny) is the star of these dance numbers, performing Elvis moves and a twisting round-off across the entire stage.

On opening night Bass literally danced his pants off at the prom, splitting the crotch of his trousers from stem to stern in a display that cracked up the entire cast as well as the audience. Admirably, the cast covered the situation while remaining in character, and had the presence of mind to let the moment ride, stopping the show as everyone — Bass included — collapsed laughing.

Petrotta (as Roger) retained the composure to ad-lib as the scene ended: Dancing with his sweetheart and " making conversation " the way awkward teens will, he said, " I split my pants one time, but not in front of an audience. "

It is truly a musical, with good harmony and a great three-piece band including two local students, Asher Platts from USM and Michael Whiston from Kennebunk High School. In a theater with no amplification, they made music that was easy to hear but did not overpower the singing, except when the singers’ voices themselves were especially weak (most notably Douglas Ullman Jr. as Doody, who just plain could not be heard). Again Bass stole the show with an excellent range and strong voice that conveyed those most high school of emotions: angst, unrequited love, and hope.

It is also a play, however, with character development and spoken performances throughout. A choice to have simultaneous and separate scenes from time to time showed the distance — despite interrelations — between the characters, and putting Miss Lynch and Vince Fontaine on as side shows during scene changes kept the action moving well.

The set was also cleverly simple yet versatile, going from high-school auditorium stage to playground to cafeteria and then the larger-than-life car, Greased Lightning.

In one sense, it is easy to play to a stereotype, but clearly these actors take their work seriously. Most are based in New York and were cast during auditions there. It is the sign of an excellent director that the actors have fun on stage, and enjoy the disco ball as much as the audience.

Grease
Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Directed and choreographed by Robert Jay Cronin. With Brad Bass and Kendra Doyle. At the Arundel Barn Playhouse, in Arundel, through July 19. Call (207) 985-5552.

BACKSTAGE

• What’s better than an outdoor performance of Hair? One at a field named for the Hindu word meaning " I salute your inner spirit. " Peace and Love Productions is putting on the show at Namaste Field in Acton, each weekend from July 12 through August 10. Profits support charities Peace Action Maine and MoveOn.org. Call (207) 490-1210. (Leave the kids home: Hair contains nudity, strong language, and unkempt manes.)

• Generic Theater opens the Players’ Ring’s summer late-night series July 11 through 13. These shows are late — starting at 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday at 9:30 p.m. One play is Skillful Maneuvers by Dover native Mark Towle, following a detective examining a tornado-wrecked crime scene. A monologue, written and performed by Portsmouth’s Roland Goodbody, looks back 30 years at a chance encounter with a Woman on a Train.

Voters will decide GAN

Published in the American Journal

A Scarborough-wide petition drive has gathered enough signatures to force a referendum vote on the Great American Neighborhood contract zone passed June 19 by the Town Council.

The election is expected to be set for July 29, though the formal scheduling will not occur until the July 16 council meeting, which will also include a public hearing on the 397-unit, cluster housing project in Dunstan.

Because of the high school construction, polls will be at Wentworth Intermediate School.

Those opposed to the project, calling themselves NoGAN, needed to get 2,014 signatures of registered voters on a petition requesting a referendum on the project, now called Dunstan Crossing. The deadline was July 9, but things went very quickly.

“We had 2,400 (signatures) in the first six days,” said organizer Deb Greenwich. Knowing that some would be invalidated because the signers were not registered Scarborough voters, organizers kept the drive going, and turned in a total of 3,370 signatures as of the American Journal’s deadline. More were expected.

Town Clerk Yolande Justice and her staff validated only the minimum number, confirming Tuesday afternoon that there were enough.

“We’ve really pulled the town people together,” said organizer Lisa Douglas. “We like our town being a town and don’t want it to be a miniurban area.”

To make the referendum valid, 2,014 voters must turn out to actually vote. To that end, Douglas, Greenwich and others will be calling people who signed the petition, to remind them of the date and location of the election.

A“yes” vote on the ballot question upholds the council’s decision to allow the project, and a “no” vote overturns it.

GAN Developer Elliott Chamberlain said Tuesday, “I’m not totally shocked,” about the number of signatures gathered, but added he doesn’t think that every signature represents a “no” vote.

Asked how he was going to respond to the referendum, Chamberlain said, “I don’t really have any defined plans. I’ve never been through this process.”

Justice is already seeking election clerks to work July 29, expecting the election to be scheduled for that date.

The large “vote here” banner normally hanging over Gorham Road outside the high school on voting days will be hung up at the tennis courts near the entrance to Wentworth, to remind passers-by that voting is going on.

Hard to defend: The arboretum do come to Battery Rivardi

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Outdoor theater has returned to Greater Portland, but with a puff of smoke rather than the hoped-for bang. The reuse of the area’s coastal forts, little used in times of war, as a theatrical venue is fascinating and full of incredible potential but in the Stage’s performance of Macbeth, the absent guns fired mostly blanks.

No doubt John Jacob Ulrich Rivardi, a coastal-defense engineer for George Washington, would be stunned to see the changes to the 1900-era gun emplacement bearing his name. The gun mount is now a stage, with the surrounding earthen embankments as wings from which characters can majestically enter, and, after exiting, go downslope to be hidden from view.

Instead of being blacked out to avoid being spotted from offshore, the show’s lights shine brightly above a spare set with new features added seamlessly to the concrete. Sadly, either the lights are badly aimed or the actors just plain miss their marks; several scenes’ lighting cuts off heads, feet, and even whole people.

On-stage and off-stage spaces are used cleverly, though "the wings" could use a bit more concealment: A chance glance to one side gave this reviewer a glimpse of a topless Lady Macbeth mid-costume change.

Some details are clearly well thought-out, including techno-urban costumes to fit the concrete and the clever use of gun tie-down points as musical instruments. Others hurt the performance, like the director’s quixotic choice to have several actors continually speak away from the audience.

The weakest element, however, is Seth Rigoletti, playing Macbeth. This was his vision, and should have been his to direct. Instead he has forced his director, Michael Howard, to either criticize the boss (Rigoletti is the Stage’s executive director) or shut up and run a substandard show.

Ironically the energetic young activist/actor does not "get" Macbeth, a power-hungry up-and-coming noble who treacherously elevates himself to the throne, where he becomes a jealous murdering despot.

Instead, Rigoletti plays an effete, frivolous king. His delivery, unlike most of the others’, is too fast and toneless. Shakespeare’s words are difficult for modern ears and minds. They need help from inflection, and get none from the lead actor. Picture Saddam Hussein delivering the following line: "False face doth hide what false heart doth know." Now imagine Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean. The first is Macbeth, the latter, Rigoletti as Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth (Miranda Hope) is far hungrier and greedier, a dark, strong character underlying and supporting her husband’s tyrannical ways. Yet her ardor seems almost comical faced with a mincing Macbeth.

The castle porter (Chris Holt) manages to reclaim some of the bawdy nature of Shakespeare, playing to the audience with a brief appearance that gets no help from the rough and at times wooden attempts of others of the supporting cast.

Not all should be tarred with this brush, however. Tony Correla (as Banquo) and Paul Drinan (as Macduff), along with Hope, are the strongest actors in this performance. Correla should have had the lead, to counter Drinan’s powerful portrayal of the anguished loyal general. Perhaps Denver Whisman (the menacing Seyton) would have been a good choice in a larger role.

And the sisters, as they are termed in this production though normally known as "the witches," are excellent and well used. Played by Deborah O’Connor, Elizabeth Enck, and Reba Short, they are allowed to have their cauldron and ceremonies in dead center stage, in the same place where Macbeth later hosts his friends. This effect is a vast improvement over other productions, which force them to make camp on the side stage.

As the play darkens, so does the sky. And down come the real pestilence: mosquitoes. Things were so bad during the first few shows that now the City of South Portland is spraying during the day. There is also spraying just before the show and at intermission, and tons of bug dope on hand for the asking. (Of course, all of these airborne chemicals may somewhat dim the feeling of a "fresh air" performance.)

From the outset, the production struggles with its bigness. The script (five acts, 28 scenes), the cast (near 30 without extras), the ideas (violence and vengeance cycling bloodily) — all are tough for any theater company, much less a brand-new one trying to make a splash. The Tempest might have been a better starting point, for its context and manageability. The most ringing critique is Shakespeare’s own, of life as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Michael Howard. With Seth Rigoletti, Miranda Hope, Tony Correla, and Paul Drinan. At the Stage at Spring Point, in South Portland, through July 12. Call (207) 828-0128.

BACKSTAGE

• Acadia Repertory Theatre has hung out its barn-board sign. Now through July 13 is Proof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Auburn, which looks at a family’s relationships as they dance along the line between madness and genius. The Public Theatre had a great run of it last year, and the play will also be at Lakewood and Portland Stage before 2003 is done.

• Generic Theater will continue its explorations of new works with a public reading of The Gardens of Frau Hess, the first play by Milton Frederick Marcus, at Kittery’s Rice Public Library July 8 at 7 p.m. It looks at the relationship between the wife of Nazi honcho Rudolf Hess and her concentration-camp-inmate gardener.

Towns agree to force haulers to use RWS

Published in the Current and the American Journal; co-written with Josh Williamson

Area communities have begun following Portland’s lead in requiring private waste haulers to agree, in binding contracts, to bring the waste they collect to Regional Waste Systems, a move even proponents consider just a temporary fix for the incinerator’s budget woes.

Since Portland first hammered out the contract model earlier this spring, Gorham, Windham and South Portland have each adopted nearly identical ordinances and contract requirements in recent weeks. Gorham and Windham officials teamed together when negotiating with hauling companies over the past three weeks and are requiring identical contracts in order for haulers to get permits in those communities.

“We have to give a lot of credit to Portland in this,” said Windham Town Manager Tony Plante. “They put a lot of work and time into this, and we just had to tweak it a little bit to fit our specific situations.”

The ordinance is in response to a decision by RWS to cover a budget shortfall by charging member towns fees if they don’t deliver set amounts of trash to RWS’ incinerator each year. Rather than pass the fees along to residents, the communities have chosen to force haulers to go to RWS, which is more expensive than nearby competitors.

The Maine Energy Recovery Company in Biddeford charges roughly $78 per ton, compared to $88 at RWS, and there is a facility in Auburn that charges $55 per ton.

In South Portland, the majority of both haulers and city councilors agreed to the measure, but called it an imperfect and short-term solution they were not truly comfortable with.

“We see this as a temporary measure for the next couple of years,” City Manager Jeffrey Jordan told councilors before they approved the ordinance. In 2005 RWS may be able to refinance some of its debt and improve its financial situation, Jordan said. The city’s proposal fills “a two-year gap to buy us time to plan for the future of RWS,” he said.

Jordan said most haulers will sign the agreement. Filomena Troiano, owner of Troiano Waste Services, told the council she would do so because “this is just short-term.”

“I still don’t believe it’s right” for the council to tell haulers where to take their trash, she said. She is also “a little skeptical” about RWS’ ability to become competitive, she said.

South Portland councilors expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, but said it would start to address the issue. Councilor-at-large Robert Fickett opposed the ordinance in the vote, saying it was unconstitutionally imposing flow control.

John Papi, owner of Pine State Disposal, told councilors he would not sign such an agreement. “I don’t think it’s a fair deal,” he said. “It’s flow control. It’s unconstitutional.”

In an interview, Papi complained that each town was charging fees for haulers, and simultaneously requiring them to pay more to dump trash. Gorham charges $1,400, Portland $500 and Standish $200 for hauling permits, he said.

Papi questioned the ability of city officials to enforce the ordinance. “Are they going to follow everyone around at 3 o’clock in the morning?” he asked. He said many people ignore city ordinances, including leash laws and pooper-scooper regulations.

“What are they going to do – put me in jail for picking up trash?” Papi asked.

In Windham, however, enforcing the ordinance and making sure haulers have permits and are taking their trash to RWS will become a priority for police and other officials, Plante warned.

“This does put the obligation on the communities to enforce the rules,” Plante said. “Let this be a message. If there are haulers doing business without licenses, we are going to find them and enforce the ordinance.”

Gorham Town Manager David Cole, who along with Plante met with haulers two weeks ago, said it was an advantage to both the towns and the haulers for the two communities to present a united front in negotiations. He said it saved the haulers the time of meeting twice over the same proposal, and gave the towns a little leverage.

Both the Windham and Gorham town councils have begun approving the identical contracts with each hauler individually. The Gorham Council had authorized Cole to look into creating a “franchise” system, where the town would reach a contract with just one hauling company to pick up all the trash, putting the contract out to bid among the haulers. The haulers’ willingness to sign the contracts made this unnecessary, however, he said.

“If we have haulers who are willing to be cooperative, then this will solve the problems, and solve it more quickly than the franchise option,” Cole said. “I think if we end up going the route of franchising, it effectively limits our options in the future. It’s awfully hard to go back and try a different route once you franchise.”