Teen-Agers Share Pain in ‘Taking Care’

A young woman is singing, her big beautiful voice filling the small Muse’s Room of the California Museum of Science and Industry. The lyrics express comfort and friendship, and the singer, Joi Martins, reaches out to embrace Stefanie Nichols, who stands at center stage, in tears.

Nichols has just told of the pain of loving someone who is on drugs.

The two young women are part of “Taking Care,” a musical by Michael Katz. Aimed at teen-agers and performed by teen-agers, the play’s about their concerns with peer pressure, drugs, sex, parents, isolation and, above all, AIDS.

The songs and choreography shine--Martins’ number is a show stopper. The rest of the show is unpolished, a little awkward at times, but up front, funny and true, as 15 talented teen-agers tell of their own lives.

“I grew up feeling different,” “alone,” “apart,” “I was too short,” “too weird,” “too fat,” “I was supposed to be tough,” “I was born deaf.” “I went to a posh white school . . . I wasn’t posh and I wasn’t white.”

The audience reacts with obvious recognition.

Three girls act out a scene in a school bathroom. One finds a condom in another’s purse. “What’s that?,” she asks.

“In case it rains,” replies her friend, adding, “If you’re gonna have sex, they’re the best protection against disease.”

The third girl says she prefers abstinence.

The talk turns to AIDS. One young woman cries about a friend who has died, and one says she’s living with someone with ARC (AIDS related complex).

At this point, Michael Katz was to have joined the group on stage. Two years ago Katz was part of another real-life theater piece called “AIDS/US,” performed by people with AIDS.

He was diagnosed with AIDS last November, two months after starting the “Taking Care” project, which he wrote from the life experiences of his young cast. That diagnosis became part of the show.

Katz is not well enough to participate at this performance, so another actor fills in, expressing Katz’s new appreciation for life and the love of friends.

The professionalism of the cast members varies, and getting the necessary facts out becomes a bit mechanical at times. But despite rough edges and occasional pep rally tendencies, the show’s emotional truth is undeniable and deeply affecting.

Helped by a grant from AIDS Project/LA, the show was produced by Tony Holden and Linda Otto of the Landsburg Co. No further live performances have been scheduled, but the producers hope to make the show available on videotape for educational use.