LA Weekly

LA Weekly April 21-27. 2000

MIMI'S GUlDE It's August 1994, as a loud and curmudgeonly Waterman (Michael Genovese), a legendary American poet made famous by his prolific verse and opposition to the Vietnam War, begins a residency at a Louisiana University. His series of "Mimi's Guides," collections of "romantic poetry" (despite his abhorrence of the term), were inspired by his travels and travails with estranged lover Mimi (Lauren Letherer). "I slept with a poet and made books" is how Mimi, 40-some thing, bereft of children and now serving as Waterman's aide, sums up that con- tentious relationship to Robert (Ping Wu), a professor who reveres both Waterman and his muse. The revelation that Robert is South Vietnamese unravels long-suppressed emotions among the trio,

epitomized by a powerful specter that has fomented nearly three decades of emotional torment between Waterman and Mimi. While playwright Doris Baizley's views may rub the Left the wrong way, her characters' emotions ring true under exceptional performances -- Robert's impassioned defense of his ARVN lieutenant father, Mimi's loving portrait of a high school sweetheart who went to war, and Waterman's choice to protest the war. Director Virginia Morris' flair for tableaux and Baizley's talent for poetic dialogue add to a compelling evening of theater. Fre- mont Center Theater, 1000 Fremont Ave., S. Pasadena: Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.l Sun., 3:30 p.m.: Thurs.- May 14. (626) 441-5977. (Martin Hernandez)

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