Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - September 14, 2006
Sid Smith
All three combined is a rarity indeed. So it proves with Peter Carpenter. His "Bareback into the Sunset," playing through Saturday at the Dance Center of Columbia College, manages a number of achievements: an update on the AIDS crisis; a well-written dance-drama; a sardonic glimpse at the seamier side of gay life; and even a deconstruction of itself.
But most of all it's a fine showcase for creator-performer Carpenter. Vehicles built around one person (there are other players here as well) are often self-indulgent. There's a little of that here too.
Most of the time Carpenter succeeds, whether dancing with evocations of deformity, mimicking gay enthusiasm for line dancing or slipping into the occasional character, most notably when he channels an owlish lecturer in a funny-sad sendup of over-the-top scholarly analysis.
The "bareback" of the title refers both to horseback riding and current slang for unsafe sex. Carpenter uses the former imagery to tell the story of a gay man infected by practicing the latter. First, we see him mute, in a solo colored by a motif of gnarled hands, and then lying in a hospital bed, clearly near death.
Throughout, Lynn Johnson plays the narrator, though she's more a postmodern mischief-maker, announcing stage directions in a way that suggests she's out to sabotage the whole affair. She's also, at times, a rhapsodic, onstage critic analyzing Carpenter's moves, describing his rise from the floor at one point as having "the fragility of a foal taking its first steps." Carpenter is a bit of a figurative juggler, capable of balancing several metaphors at once.
He tackles the issue of unsafe sex not with the preachy stance of a sociologist but with the complexity and feeling of an artist. He explores its connection to gay liberation and identity while finding its source in a sensual desire much more complicated than lust.
"Bareback into the Sunset" has an unfinished feel. The ending seems contrived and programmatic.
But "Bareback" is a one-hour blend of clever wordplay, soulful dancing and interdisciplinary zigzagging. Throughout, Carpenter is someone to watch, hear and heed.
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