From left: Leif Norby, Tim True, Andy Lee-Hillstrom. Photo: Owen Carey
As a rule it’s a good idea to let people come up with their own nicknames, because when writers do it the result can be awful, as in the ear-wrenching “Bambino” for Babe Ruth or “The Splendid Splinter” for Ted Williams. Even Charles Barkley’s “Round Mound of Rebound” is more a promotional slogan than a true nickname.
Still, I can’t resist suggesting one for Portland actor Tim True: Allstate.
No more than a couple of minutes into Friday’s opening-night performance of Aaron Posner’s new play “And So It Goes” at Artists Repertory Theatre, as True was in the midst of a wry and rambling avuncular monologue in the tradition of Thornton Wilder’s Stage Manager in “Our Town,” I knew I was in good hands. Wherever Posner and his cast were going to take me, I realized, the trip was going to be a good one. True was the master illusionist, playing the crowd with easy geniality, conjuring scenes of human awkwardness and humor and love. All I had to do was relax and enjoy the ride.