Stripped Productions and Big Blonde Vocals

Back from Ordinary Days last night at the Round House and will use this to catch up with one other previously unreported artistic experience, the concert version of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Baltimore Symphony, performed at the Strathmore.

I'm not a fan of overproduced shows, and it's a problem in musicals, especially, when I can't hear the lyrics to the songs. In a show like Ordinary Days, which is sung through, I wouldn't have much of a chance of following the plot if it weren't for the stripped down production--in this case, a pianist (musical director William Yanesh) and the powerhouse vocals of the actors.

I was excited to see a couple of familiar names on the program: adorable Erin Weaver as quirky, neurotic graduate student Deb and the handsome Will Gartshore as man-in-love Jason. Will has been around the Round for quite a while, but I really took note of him in this season's This. And Erin was the fabulous Juliet at the Folger's R&J production earlier this season. That's a little bitty blonde with a great big voice, and she took over Ordinary, too.

Erin Weaver. Courtesy of RHT via Facebook

Will Gartshore. Courtesy of RHT via Facebook

Likewise, the stripped down production of Midsummer was a full concert with seven actors running in and out of the orchestra, changing costumes on stage, and speaking their Shakespearean lines whenever the orchestra put Mendelssohn on pause.

Again, one of the attractions for me is always a familiar name/face, in this case Katie deBuys, who played Shakespeare's Hermia and was last seen at RHT in Seminar. But in this case, the "blonde with the big vocal" and very comical presence was Kate Eastwood Norris as Helena.

Maybe they teach you this in Shakespeare Clown School, but Kate had a way of running hilariously, like Tom Story did in Winter's Tale back at Shakespeare Theatre Company. It involves the arms flapping and flailing over one's head or outstretched in front while exiting (whether chased by bear or not). Anyway, she cracked me up.

Kate Eastwood Norris, via KateEastwoodNorris.com

Levity, lightness, a deft touch and a powerful voice. That's all it takes, and it's what I go to the theater for.

That, and the confetti. ;)

ephemera collected from Ordinary Days at Round House Theatre

ephemera collected from Ordinary Days at Round House Theatre

Love, hosaa
prop stealer

It Happens When You Make Plans

"What is Life, Alex?"

Sadly, the Michael Bolton concert was canceled due to illness, but I'm not as inconvenienced as probably a lot of concert goers are since I only live 15 minutes (or three and a half Clay Aiken songs) from the venue.

Get well, Michael. Now I get to see the Oscars in my pajamas. (How they'll all fit in my pajamas, I don't know.)

I should take this opportunity to catch up, but the shows are over or ending soon, so there doesn't seem much point. But for the record, what I haven't caught up on are the following:

Chaplin's Back--a screening of The Idle Class and The Kid with Chaplin's original scores performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop conducting. 

An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin--two old pros, old friends, telling the story of a relationship through concert versions of show songs.

Violet--musical journey of a young woman hoping a televangelist will heal her scarred face, and of her awakening to love without prejudice.

The Importance of Being Earnest--where the wit of Wilde is the star of the show, but the sets were gorgeous, too.

I'm a sucker for simplicity in stagecraft, but both Violet and Earnest were stunning. In the case of Violet at Ford's, the sets were evolving constantly with the journey, both geographically and temporally.

With Earnest at STC's Lansburgh venue, the stunningly beautiful works of art that were Algie's London flat (Act I) and the garden behind Jack's country house (Acts II and III) were by necessity static. Too elaborate to move, for one thing, but also it would be terribly distracting from the dialogue if there were a lot of movement on stage. The whole point of the play is to hear the aphorisms that Wilde so masterfully crafted. Put the actors on their spots and let them say the lines clearly so the audience can pay attention.

I've argued this point whenever I see dance movies that have a lot of camera movement. Drives me crazy. When the subject is in motion, keep the camera still.

The same strategy worked for the Patti and Mandy show. It was about their relationship, and what they brought out of the music to tell that story. They were accompanied by Paul Ford, Mandy's pianist/musical director, and a bass (didn't catch the name and it's not in the program. Sorry). The simplicity of this arrangement kept the focus squarely on Patti and Mandy. My favorite part was when Mandy introduced the Evita section by telling the story of their both auditioning for what would become their iconic and career-making roles and how nervous they were before the first preview performance. Mandy reassured Patti then that he would be her friend--and they still are. Definitely an awww moment, and very touching, no matter how often they tell the exact same story to other audiences.

Working backwards to the Chaplin show--what a great way to see a movie. The music is often my favorite thing about a film (see, for instance, my comments about The Right Stuff), and if it's done right, it doesn't draw attention to itself. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gorgeously played this music, which Chaplin, astonishingly, composed 50 years after the films were made.

Which is another point I've argued before: that art evolves and lives to inspire other artists.

Love, hosaa
stuffing Oscars into my pajamas.... or something

Catch-Up: Nuts and Lyons and more nuts, oh my!

Hosaa crawls back to the second-to-last row of the balcony, taking back her comfortable place in the audience following brief (but occasionally long-winded) attempts at providing content....

Knowing the Fall would be a bit over-scheduled, I let the recapping here go a bit. But now it is the end of the year, and I have a few notes to share. I'll keep them brief, if possible. (No guarantees on that.) I'll take any opportunity available to mention Edward Duke and Clay Aiken in the same post, but let's start with the more recent past.

The Nutcracker ~ Joffrey Ballet, Kennedy Center, November 30, 2013 (evening performance)

Overproduced. Very pretty, with lovely dancing, but too busy. The Washington Post's review of the production mentioned the voluminous clouds of dry ice and the snowflake and flower-petal shaped confetti littering the stage, which caused at least two dancers to fall during the performance I saw.

There also were simply too many people on stage. Love to see jobs for dancers, but when your eye doesn't know where to go, you miss some major plot points. (Yes, Virginia, there are plot points in The Nutcracker.) I totally missed Clara chucking her slipper at the Mouse King, which drives the grateful folks in Candy Land to dance their thanks to her in Act II.

Christine Rocas and Rory Hohenstein in the Snow Pas de Deux, courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet via Facebook

Highlights for me were the Arabian lady (Coffee), danced by Christine Rocas, and the surprising balloon airlift out of fantasy land, a la Wizard of Oz. (Unfortunately, that ended the show before Clara/Dorothy could wake up and realize that her dream had been a gift.)

Finale, Joffrey's Nutcracker. Via Facebook

Speaking of gifts and gratitude, however, I am extremely thankful to my dear friend who gifted me this ticket, which not only gave us the God view of the stage, but it also gave me the opportunity to enjoy the experience with someone very knowledgeable about dance! Great fun.

Henry IV by Luigi Pirandello, translated by Tom Stoppard, Lansburgh Theatre, December 9, 2013

The second of this season's free ReDiscovery Series readings, produced by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, here starred the previously described "ferocious" actor Patrick Page as the aristocrat-gone-nuts in Pirandello's blackly comic psycho-social satire. In Stoppard's contemporary interpretation, there was more comedy than I remembered when I read the play at Grinnell (the version in the classic Naked Masks anthology), especially in the form of the four characters in search of a meaningful life as a madman's indulging servants.

But I could barely take my eyes off Page, who, in this stripped-down staged reading (no costumes, no sets, minimal but meaningful stage business), delivered a fully realized character. You want ferocity? Duck. You don't expect mayhem in a polite weeknight reading, but he did all the choking and stabbing required. Hot holy hoo-hah!

Patrick Page, via PatrickPageOnline.com

I skip momentarily over the next STC event to note:

The Lyons ~ Round House Theatre, December 19, 2013

(L-R) Naomi Jacobson, John Lescault, Marcus Kyd, Kimberly Gilbert - cast of The Lyons. Courtesy of Round House Theatre, via Facebook

Well alrighty. More dysfunctional family black comedy at RHT. Sigh. At least this one had more comedy going for it than the Beauty Queen, and I am genuinely beginning to admire the range in Kimberly Gilbert, who I've now seen in three productions this season.

Kimberly Gilbert, courtesy of Round House Theatre via Facebook

I could use a thematic break, though. A sister-audience-member I spoke with at Ford's Laramie Project mentioned that she was also considering dropping her RHT subscription if this is the artistic direction the theater is taking for its future.

That said, the Lyons matriarch "Rita" (Naomi Jacobson) did have me thinking about my own mother, who I don't think was nearly as disregarding of the feelings of others as Rita is in this play. And that said, when plot lines and characters come this close to home, I prefer to experience them from some safer distance. Give me Lady Macbeth or something.

Now let's skip back to my audience-hood experience:

Meet the Cast reception for The Importance of Being Earnest, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, December 12, 2013

Thanks to another dear friend, who is a supporter of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in a more tangible way (donor) than I am (slobbering fangirl) I got to sit in on the introductions of the cast for the forthcoming production of The Importance of Being Earnest.  

Director Keith Baxter introduces the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest. Uncredited photos courtesy of STC

This was a first for both of us, and we didn't realize that the main benefit of this event was the fantastic food and beverages served in the upstairs lobby after the presentations. We got the last few nibbles after the Shakespearean hordes had invaded (absolutely yumm-o), and then mingled with the cast.

The well-cast role of "Jack Worthing" went to one Gregory Wooddell, who was too handsome and charming for us to come within five donors of him at the reception.

Gregory Wooddell, cast reception. Courtesy of STC

We did, however, speak to a young "Ensemble" cast member, Logan DalBello, a local boy (Takoma Park) making his way on the theater scene. Very sweet kid.

Logan DalBello speaks with guests at meet-the-cast reception for The Importance of Being Earnest. (Hosaa's elbow seen at far right.) Courtesy of STC, via Facebook.

Logan told us humbly that he was absorbing the older, more experienced actors' wisdom "like a sponge." It reminded me of the advice that Edward Duke once told me he'd been given by Sir Ralph Richardson during the filming of Invitation to the Wedding: "It would be better," Sir Ralph told young Edward, pointing at some indistinct location behind him and well off-camera, "if you stood over there." Logan laughed, though I'm sure he had no idea what the hell I was talking about.

The other cast member we got to speak with was the lovely young thing set to play "Cecily." (It was dark in the theater during the introductions, so I didn't get a chance to write down any names; STC hasn't posted the cast list yet, and my memory fails me now.) In my clumsy attempt to be engaging and topical, I interrupted her while she was answering my question about how she prepares for a new role. ("Organically," she seemed to be saying.) My urgent comment was about there not being an iconic reference for "Cecily" like there was for, say, "Maria" in The Sound of Music, tripping up purists into any form of appreciation for the likes of Carrie Underwood.

Sorry I mentioned it. And very sorry I interrupted poor "Cecily."

So, back to my Edward Duke obsession. During his introductory remarks, director Keith Baxter mentioned that he'd been in the production of Private Lives with Joan Collins. My ears pricked up! OMG! He must have known my Edward!!

Baxter was not actually in the performances I saw at National Theater back in 1992 (we got Simon Jones in the role that Baxter played), but perhaps it was on Broadway or in London.

Anyway, I was very anxious to collar him at the reception and find out anything he could tell me about Edward. In the rush and crowd, I asked him about the "Joan Collins production of Private Lives," and Baxter seemed to think I wanted to talk about Joan Collins. So I blurted out as quickly as I could, "Were you in the show when Edward Duke was in it?"

He didn't seem to remember at first, but then he did say, "Oh, yes. Lovely man." He then went on to express an opinion about Miss Collins, which was irrelevant to me, but he seemed determined to provide some juiciness to our brief discussion. I was just in heaven dreaming about the "lovely man" that Edward Duke was, that he should be so remembered by a fellow actor some 20 years later.

Yes, I'm that fangirly. Still.

Which brings me back to the earlier event I have yet had a chance to recap, which isn't strictly speaking an entertainment.

Champions Gala, National Inclusion Project, October 12, 2013

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the organization co-founded by Clay Aiken, who, according to the Web site, remains Chairman of the Board. Galas are normally out of my price range, especially when it involves travel. I went to last year's because it was local, and even sprung for the VIP ticket for the meet-and-greet and group photo (and bad luck on that, hosaa was not seen in photo).

The event was held in Charlotte, so within driving distance for me. The cheap seats with a reduction in goodies got me in for $75. It was an inspiring evening, though unfortunately Clay didn't sing as much as we all wanted him to (he did sing quite a bit, apparently, at the VIP event the night before).

Clay Aiken sings "You Are the Song" to thank donors and volunteers on the occasion of the National Inclusion Project's 10th Anniversary. Photos courtesy of National Inclusion Project via Facebook

And even sadder for many attendees, the one song he did sing at the end of the evening seemed like a goodbye song. He'd also hinted about changes of life direction and won't we all still support the NIP if he's not around?

WTF? Is he leaving NIP? Is he leaving show biz? Is he - dying?

Well, some people were/are more upset/angry/scared about all that than I was/am. My Edward Duke obsession taught me patience. In the pre-Internet days, I could go years between news items about Edward. When he was cast in Sullivan and Gilbert, for instance, I heard about it from friends who saw him performing in Toronto and sent me a copy of the program.

It was a full two years from that afternoon that Edward let me hang out in his dressing room during Private Lives' Act II before I heard the next tidbit about him. A friend called me at work to report reading his obituary in The New York Times.

So you see, I've lived through the anxiety of silence, and I've lived through a worst-case scenario.

I don't know what to make of Clay Aiken's future just yet. All I know is that it's been fun and interesting to watch him build a future after that first Wild Card scenario 10 years ago. I'm just hanging onto my seat in the audience. That's one subscription I'm not letting lapse!

Love, hosaa
waiting

Funny Forum

What better remedy for the dreary November in one's soul than a farcical trip to the Roman Forum?

Catching up now with my excursion to the invited dress for Shakespeare Theatre Company's new production of the classical classic A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In the Zero Mostel/Nathan Lane role of Pseudolus, we have Bruce Dow deftly maneuvering his girth and mirth with Jackie Gleasonesque ease.

Clearly Dow is the star to be promoted, but you know my eye is always going to seek out Tom Story in any production I attend locally (he'll be in a Round House production early next year). I should have paid more attention when the show was being put together and wormed my way into the meet-the-artists reception.

Tom Story with guest at Meet the Artists reception, Shakespeare Theatre Co. (via Facebook)

And of course Tom's performance as the high-strung ("I'm Calm") head-slave Hysterium (played by Jack Gilford in the Zero Mostel film) hit all the right points of giddy, goofy, poignant, overwrought wackiness. I just love him!

The revelation for me in this show was Lora Lee Gayer as the delightfully dim virgin Philia. She performed this role earlier this season at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY, alongside (coincidentally) Tom Deckman as Hysterium. (Playing my six degrees of Clay Aiken game: Tom Deckman played the Historian and Prince Herbert in Clay's Spamalot run, 2008-2009.)

Lora Lee Gayer as Philia, Bay Street Theatre (via LoraLeeGayer.com)

Lora Lee Gayer (via LoraLeeGayer.com)

Rehearsal at Shakespeare Theatre Company: Lora Lee Gayer (Philia), with Steve Vinovich (Senex). Via Facebook

I wish I had a picture showing Lora Lee's "I'm Lovely" pose--elbows out and the backs of her hands delicately cradling her cheek, with that perfectly deadpanned look of innocence. With a show that's otherwise overflowing with over-the-top performances, this oasis of utter simplicity (in every sense of the term) was probably the funniest part of the night. Stare and pose. I was roaring.

Lora Lee tweeted during the Sag Harbor run:

Lora Lee Gayer ‏@LLcoooolG
Nathan Lane came to see our production of "Funny Thing Happened.." It's like having Thomas Edison watch you screw in a light bulb.

I would guess Mr. Lane thought the performance well "screwed." *g*

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum

Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, D.C.

Book: Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart

Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Director: Alan Paul

Cast:

Pseudolus, slave to Hero: Bruce Dow

Senex: Steve Vinovich

Domina, wife of Senex: Julie Johnson

Hysterium, slave to Senex and Domina: Tom Story

Hero, son of Senex, in love with Philia: Nick Verina

Philia, a virgin: Lora Lee Gayer

Marcus Lycus, buyer and seller of courtesans: Danny Tutigliano

Miles Gloriousus, a warrior: Edward Watts

Erronius, an old man in search of his kidnapped children: Harry Winter

Proteans: Matthew Bauman, Nick Flatto, Blakely Slaybaugh

Courtesans: Ashley Marinelli (Tintinabula), Chelsey Arce (Panacea), Ashley Blair Fitzgerald and Sarah Meahl (The Geminae), Lisa Karlin (Vibrata), Jennifer Frankel (Gymnasia)

Performed November 21, 2013 - January 5, 2014

eta 12-14-13: Thanks to STC's e-mail blast, we have a pic of Lora Lee as Philia, in her "I'm Lovely" pose:

hosaa starts practicing this in the mirror...

Women to Watch: Ringgold, Niffenegger, Hall, DeBuys

Another full arts day yesterday, courtesy of National Museum of Women in the Arts's current exhibitions (closing November 10) and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Measure for Measure (closing today - sorry).

At NMWA, the juxtaposition of Faith Ringgold's stark, political work against the tumultuous dreams uncovered by Audrey Niffenegger (best known as the author of The Time Traveler's Wife) was startling and fresh.

detail: Faith Ringgold, American People Series #1: Between Friends, 1963; Collection Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York - See more at: NMWA

The Time Traveler's Wife, original cover art by Audrey Niffenegger, via Tower Books

We see two different female points of view - one outer directed but filtered through an individual's journey into the world. A quote by Ringgold on her early portraits was shaking: She said that, in art school, no one could teach her how to paint black skin, so she had to invent a process of mixing black into colors, creating a rich, graphic style.

In Niffenegger's self-portraits, there are unsettling images and ideas of a woman being defined and controlled by a man, a lover who chops her hair off because it displeases him. It is little wonder that her dreamscapes become intertwined with what look like death wishes, skeletons lurking within and among the female forms.

Audrey Niffenegger, Observation (detail), 2010; Collection of Larry and Laura Gerber, Highland Park, Illinois - See more at: NMWA

Niffenegger's lighter dreamscapes are epitomized in the delightful fantasy book, Raven Girl, which was not available as promised in the museum shop.

Raven Girl, original cover art by Audrey Niffenegger, via Amazon.com

And so on over to STC for Measure for Measure, for a Meetup event with a few of the same folks I got to share Henry V with over at Folger last season.

Just as Ringgold and Niffenegger demonstrate two approaches to art--external, loud, in your face versus internal, solemnly despairing, reflective--we find in Measure two different approaches to being a successful actress on stage in the work.

This Measure gives us, in the lead, Gretchen Hall as Isabella, the strong, wise, moral heroine, and Katie deBuys, melting unrecognizably into a minor part (Juliet, the beloved of Isabella's brother).

Gretchen Hall, via About the Artists

Katie deBuys, via About the Artists

You may notice right away that this Isabella is not the one portrayed in the poster art, nor included in the rehearsal photos on Facebook. Gretchen lists "standby" for this production as her most recent credit. But this 5'10" stunning redhead (a lookalike for a young Rebecca de Mornay), made her mark for me in the recent ReDiscovery Series reading of Rutherford and Son. Her character was the strong, moral woman standing up against dominating, immoral man. Both Gretchen and her characters are memorable in every way.

Katie is different. The fact that our Meetup gang did NOT recognize her in what is a tertiary role is a testament to her craft. Just as astonished as we all were that the same actress could be both the mesmerizing and playful Katherine of France and the young boy, just a soldier under Henry, here again, she astonishes, turning herself inside out to be who she needs to be.

"Meeting" these four women artists at once validates all our points of view, our approaches to life. Some of us speak out, shout, get noticed, seen, heard. Some of us reflect and project, melt meaningfully into our worlds, work with the tools we are given--our spirits, minds, and souls.

Love, hosaa

just juxtaposing

Discovering ReDiscovery Readings

Sadly, it looks like The Laramie Project at Ford's is not the next event on my calendar, after all. Bad government, bad! Hoping to reschedule. It would have been a bitch to get there on Sunday anyway, since Metro will be doing track work in the middle of my route.

While waiting for the government to shut down this past Monday night, I got to head down to the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh venue for a staged reading of a play called Rutherford and Son. No, I never heard of it either. I'll confess that the main reason I wanted to go to this reading was because it was directed by Tom Story, one of my favorite local actors. I might have mentioned him a time or twelve.

I met up with one of my Shakespeare Reader friends, and we huddled in the frosty theater, down close but not too close. Front row is great for a Clay Aiken concert, but nowhere else do we want to be looking up the performers' noses or getting rained on by saliva-soaked soliloquies. Anyway, we sat and waited for the reading.

And waited. And waited. Well, Tom did a great job introducing all the actors, but then he brought out a scholarly prologue, which whipped us into a torpor. The scholar was clearly thrilled to be on stage, but preceded her speech with speeches describing what would be in the speech. She needed an editor.

I will say something of the actor's behavior during this sequence, though I didn't witness it myself: one of the actors on stage, behind the scholar's back, apparently was doing a bit of eye-rolling and watch-checking. Another audience member mentioned it during the intermission, declaring that behavior a "hoot." I would have found it rude, had I seen it.

If you're on a lecture panel with someone else, who is giving the speech of a lifetime (or several), there has to be a polite way of encouraging them to wrap things up for the sake of those who've come for the main event on a weeknight.

So anyway, we had the historical and cultural analysis of the play but no plot summary unless you were able to squint through the four dense paragraphs in the four-page program. I did not. But I did read a Wikipedia version of the story, which called to mind the relationships of the Child Trumps to the Donald, as seen during Celebrity Apprentice. Those kids clearly know where their bread is buttered; while the Rutherford sons and daughters also were aware of the patriarchal power wielded by the elder Rutherford, most of them survived by fleeing.

I really enjoyed hearing the stripped-down version of the play. I was surprised by how much acting the actors actually did, given that they only had five hours to rehearse. My friend said that it was like a radio play. (I will confess here, also, that the preliminary academic torpor, combined with the soothing effects of a nice stuffed flounder and a bright sauvignon, made it impossible to fully enjoy the first half. After intermission, with a drink and a pee, we're on to Act Three.... Twooo and a Half, my attention had been revived.)

So, squinting at the back of the program, I see:

Works for the ReDiscovery Series are chosen by Artistic Director Michael Kahn and presented by members of the artistic staff. Guest artists join actors from the Shakespeare Theatre Comapny and the Washington theatrical community to investigate these great but lesser-known plays of world literature.

The actors participating were:
Robert Hogan (Rutherford)
Fred Arsenault (John)
Gretchen Hall (Mary)
Eric Martin Brown (Richard)
Colleen Delany (Janet)
Catherine Flye (Aunt Anne)
Chris Genebach (Martin)
Jennifer Mendenhall (Mrs. Henderson, a fleeting but powerful presence)

There are three more TBD readings scheduled this season, so I hope to see them, too.

Love, hosaa
watching art get made

The Darks and Lights of Winter

The Winter's Tale at Shakespeare Theatre Company is a rocky rollercoaster ride of emotions, beginning with the king's irrational jealousy.

In my opinion, the production relied a little too heavily on the lighting to show Leontes's (Mark Harelik) inner turmoil--the actor could convey it just fine. But unlike Othello, Leontes has no one feeding him bad information about his divinely warm (and very pregnant) wife, Hermione (Hannah Yelland). So Harelik's fiercely uncompromising passion in throwing away this wife (along with her son and the daughter to come) made the character almost wholly unlikable.

Hannah Yelland as Hermione, Mark Harelik as Leontes and Sean Arbuckle as Polixenes in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of 'The Winter’s Tale', directed by Rebecca Taichman. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The darkness of Act I is a stark contrast to the lightness of pastoral Act II--and in this production, the transition between those contrasts is eased at the end of the first act with the abrupt and very funny image of the gloriously goofy Clown (Tom Story) crossing upstage, running and screaming like a frightened child.

If you've been here before, you already know about my obsession fascination with Tom Story. 

Tom Story via About the Artists

I realize I haven't seen all he's done, but I love his ability to mold that serene moon face into a range of expressions. From the first act seriousness of a palace aid (Cleomenes) without much to do except look serious, he transmogrified into the happily clueless son-of-a-shepherd, oblivious to the pickpocketing rogue Autolycus (the other half of Harelik dual-role assignment).

Actually, a very funny bit between them ensued during the IDR (invited dress rehearsal) when the zipper on Tom's turned-around fanny-pack wouldn't close after Autolycus stole the money in it. As Autolycus pulled and pulled on the stubborn zipper, the young shepherd's obliviousness grew increasingly implausible, and the smile just kept blossoming on his giddy face. At last, Tom moved the plot along with a sweet "You must abandon it, sir." Snort! I hate to say it was my favorite part of the play, but the moment called to mind the best crackups with Harvey Korman and Tim Conway from the Carol Burnett Show. (And it happened again when Tom as clown was imitating the rogue's wildly ridiculous lisp.)

This levity, this lightness, was all in keeping with the pastoral Act II. Sets, costumes, lighting all conveyed such contrasting warmth against Act I's frosty shadowy harshness. But the seamlessness of the transitions were as magical as the Queen's rebirth at the end, from discarded wife to treasured love.

Overall the production is as good as it gets at Shakespeare Theatre Company, which is pretty damn good. It did run long, but I imagine an earlier start time than the IDR had will keep people from dropping dead at 11. (Us old people, that is.) 

I thought it was interesting that the staging of this production, with actors not in the scene simply sitting to the side but not going off stage, was so similar to the Wandering Souls' engaging (and economical) 2009 production of The Winter's Tale. The Wanderers' 90-minute production remains one of my favorite Shakespearean experiences ever.

The only thing I would have liked would have been a longer why-I'm-forgiving-you speech from the queen Hermione, but Shakespeare apparently didn't provide one. 

Heather Wood as Perdita, Mark Harelik as Leontes, Hannah Yelland as Hermione and Todd Bartels as Florizel (background) in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of 'The Winter’s Tale', directed by Rebecca Taichman. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Just another one of those irrational emotions the Bard gives his characters and expects the audience to accept. But as I said, Harelik's Leontes was so thoroughly irrationally enraged with jealousy that I personally couldn't have loved him after such abuse. Just me?

The Winter's Tale, Lansburgh Theatre, opens May 14, 2013

Director: Rebecca Taichman

Set Designer: Christine Jones

Costume Designer: David Zinn

Lighting Designer: Christopher Akerlind

Cast:

Mark Harelik (Leontes, King of Sicilia; Autolycus, a rogue)

Hannah Yelland (Hermione, Queen of Sicilia)

Sean Arbuckle (Polixenes, King of Bohemia)

Heather Wood (Mamillius, Prince of Sicilia; Perdita, Princess of Sicilia)

Brent Carver (Camillo)

Ted van Griethuysen (Antigonus; old shepherd)

Nancy Robinette (Paulina; drunken shepherdess)

Tom Story (Cleomenes; young shepherd, a clown)

Todd Bartels (Dion; Florizel, Prince of Bohemia)

White Hot Coriolanus

Back from the Shakespeare Theatre Company's IDR for Coriolanus at Sidney Harman Hall, and it's a stunning production.

As the ferocious warrior-aristocrat-traitor, Patrick Page is part Russell Crowe in Gladiator, part Alan Rickman in Die Hard, and part James Cagney in White Heat--the latter most especially brought to mind in scenes with mother Volumnia, who is played with Luponesque Mama Rose intensity by Diane D'Aquila.

I'm continuing my love affair with local stagecraft and singing praises of this production's costumes (designed by Murell Horton) and of the battle scenes evoked by a "chorus" of drummers (fight director  is Rick Sordelet; lead drummer and percussion coach is Philip Dickerson).

The IDR program is a plain-vanilla handout without actor bios; the only name I recognized from previous productions was Nick Dillenburg, one of "Two Gents" (Proteus) who in Coriolanus is one of the two tribunal representatives of the Roman citizens. Oddly, this character is played as kind of a nerd; Dillenburg is listed as an understudy for Coriolanus, pretty much the opposite. Well, having seen his bloody Proteus, I think Nick can handle it if Page wears himself out from his white-hot performance.

STC is pushing heavily for audiences to see both Coriolanus and their production of Schiller's Wallenstein, in a dramaturgical consideration of the "hero-traitor." My IDR friend is seeing the Wall but I'm giving it a pass. Seeing both in the same week as my forthcoming visit with Dolly at Ford's is just too much cognitive dissonance. Or something.

Coriolanus, previews March 28, opens April 9, 2013
directed by David Muse
Set designer: Blythe R.D. Quinlan
Lighting designer: Mark McCullough

Cast
Caius Martius, later Coriolanus: Patrick Page
Volumnia (his mother): Diane D'Aquila
Virgilia (his wife): Aaryn Kopp
Young Martius (his son): Hunter Zane
Menenius Aggripa: Robert Sicular
Cominius: Steve Pickering
Titus Lartius: Nick Dillenburg
Junius Brutus: Philip Goodwin
Sicinius Velutus: Derrick Lee Weeden
Tullus Aufidius: Reginald Andre Jackson

Hughie: Slices of (Low) Life

Back from last night's dress rehearsal of Hughie, the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Eugene O'Neill's one-act mostly monologue, starring Richard Schiff (you'd remember him as Toby from West Wing but you wouldn't recognize him as Erie, the down-and-out Broadway johnny of O'Neill's world).

   

Richard Schiff rehearsal photo by Nella Vera.


For me, it was a mid-week adventure after a frustrating first half of the week at work. Journeys downtown on the Metro, with rain and wind threatening, fans heading to the Georgetown Hoyas game to compete with for a decent meal. Kinda exhausted and fed up before I even got to the play.

Picture it, a talker and a listener. The talker is full of what a big shot he is - name dropper, gets into all the best clubs, limos, Broadway, knows a guy that can get him all the best dope and dolls... yeah, you know the type. And the listener checks in and out of the talk, under the weight of this overbearing ego but stuck with it for the duration.

And then after I finished my meal, I headed to the play.

Yeah, my otherwise wonderful dinner at Ruby Tuesday's kindly gave me a preview of Schiff's performance of O'Neill's low-life character study, a warm-up act courtesy of a pot-bellied middle-aged Hoyas fan in the booth across from me loudly recollecting his glory days.

I will say my waiter/Night Clerk, Kevin, was a delight. I was undecided about dessert, so he brought me a plate with chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and cherry sauce all over. Yum! And he didn't put it on my bill. I hope I tipped him enough. Thank you, young Kevin, for being the sweet interlude in my two-act reality/fiction experience of one of the things I hate most about humanity: Middle-aged men full of shit.

Anyway, as a 50-minute one-act play, my friend and I felt that this production of Hughie might leave a typical theater-goer a bit short-changed. I recommend you eat out first and go on a night when the Hoyas are playing. (I suspect Caps fans are not so O'Neillesque.)

Hughie by Eugene O'Neill
Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre
January 31 - March 17, 2013
Doug Hughes: Director
Cast:
Richard Schiff: "Erie" Smith
Randall Newsome: Night Clerk

love, hosaa

Mid-November's Midsummer

Back from (well, last night) A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare Theatre Company's lovely Sidney Harman Hall. It was an official Meet-Up selection of the DC area Shakespeare Explorers group, and the lovely Rosa Mexicano next door offered us a congenial meal and a chance to discuss, not all things Shakespeare, but some things Shakespeare, plus a little Lincoln and politics and parking and other what-nots.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to talk about the performance afterwards. I was up in the cheap seats mezzanine, my pick-up companions scattered as ticket-buying options allowed them, and my real goal at the end of any evening out is to get home. That meant rushing to the subway across the street in the hope of catching a train quickly; missing one means adding another 20 minutes or so to the journey home.

So what I really loved right away about this production was the design (kudos to Lee Savage, set designer, and Jennifer Moeller, costume designer). I thought the choice of a post-war aesthetic for the "real" people brought the story up to a more approachable time, and the shabby burlesque-theater aesthetic for the fairy kingdom was just really interesting. It reinforced the "all the world's a stage" idea that runs throughout Shakespeare, and underscored Puck's end speech about the play being but a dream. Or maybe our dreams are but a play. I just liked it.

Of course, then I had a funny dream afterwards, wherein one of my Meet-up chums left me a hastily scribbled note after the play, not having the opportunity to discuss it. The note just said "Nooooo!"

See, that's why I don't necessarily like to read reviews. It depresses me to be disagreed with. I have no idea what the reviewers are going to make of this odd staging, but I thought it was brilliant. And to give you an idea of how fully I buy into whatever I'm seeing, I didn't even realize that the same actor and actress (Tim Campbell and Sara Topham) played both the real-life royals (Theseus and Hippolyta) and the fairy royals (Oberon and Titania).

Tim Campbell and Sara Topham, in rehearsal.

Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company

In the Nov. 9 issue of the STC's Asides newsletters about this production, Shakespeare scholar David Bevington writes about the transformations that happen during the course of the play: "The motif of transformation is inherently theatrical, calling attention to its own devices of impersonation and rapid changing of roles, for the delight of audiences and of the actors themselves."

So calling attention to the inherently theatrical experience by setting the play in a theater makes a lot of sense. Not bad for a play that's all nonsense! *g*

A Midsummer Night's Dream plays through December 30 at Sidney Harman Hall.
Directed by Ethan McSweeny

Cast:
Tim Campbell: Theseus/Oberon
Sara Topham: Hippolyta/Titania
Adam Green: Puck/Philostrate
Robert Beitzel: Lysander
Amelia Pedlow: Hermia
Christiana Clark: Helena
Chris Myers: Demetrius
Bruce Dow: Bottom
Ted van Griethuysen: Quince
David Graham Jones: Flute
Herschel Sparber: Snout
Robert Dorfman: Snug
Christopher Bloch: Robin Starveling
Lawrence Redmond: Egeus (Hermia's father)
Nancy Anderson: First Fairy
Maxwell Balay, Rohan Saxena (alternating): Changeling Boy

David Graham Jones (kneeling) and Bruce Dow rehearse as Flute and Bottom.

Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company

Ungentlemanly in Verona

If you're heading out to see the Shakespeare Theatre's latest production of Two Gentlemen of Verona, first of all, lucky you! This modern-day adaptation (retaining the language) of Shakespeare's early romantic comedy is breathtakingly energetic.

A warning, though, it is violent. Not quite Stacy Keach King Lear violent, but heads are hit and blood is shed. So much so that my friend and I both were wishing the two gentlemen would wipe their faces before taking their bows at the end.

I confess that, during Sunday's IDR, I took great pleasure in watching these two really great-looking gentlemen: Andrew Veenstra as Valentine (who also served as the fight captain) and Nick Dillenburg as Proteus. Another familiar face was that of Euan Morton as the servant/dog lover Launce.

I last saw the handsome Veenstra in Shakespeare Theatre's production of The Heir Apparent, and the versatile Morton in Ford Theatre's production of Parade last fall.

Note, don't be confused by the rock opera version of Two Gentlemen, which is also scheduled for later this month at Sidney Harman Hall. The gentlemen of whom I write now are appearing at the Lansburgh.


Two Gentlemen of Verona (aka Two Gents) cast picture, courtesy of The Shakespeare Theatre

The Two Gentlemen of Verona
directed by P. J. Paparelli
set design by Walt Sangler
Costume design by Paul Spadone

Cast
Valentine: Andrew Veenstra
Speed: Adam Green
Proteus: Nick Dillenburg
Launce: Euan Morton
Crab (his dog): Olliver
Antonio: Christopher McHale
Panthino: Stephen Patrick Martin
Julia: Miriam Silverman
Lucetta: Inga Ballard
Duke of Milan: Brent Harris
Silvia: Natalie Mitchell
Thurio: Gene Gillette
Eglamour: Todd Scofield

View this post on the Shakespeare Readers blog.

Errant Heirs, Apparently

Back from last night's invited dress rehearsal for The Heir Apparent at Shakespeare Theatre's lovely Lansburgh venue on 7th Street.

The early 18th-century French farce by Jean-Francois Regnard (1655-1709) retained period costuming, while the text (all verse) had a complete 21st-century American makeover. Incongruous at first, but delivered with such energy and daffy deftness that it kept the audience roaring for just over two hours.

The brains of the operation (which was to extract a will from miserly Uncle Geronte that favored the Bertie Woosterish nephew Eraste) was the quick-thinking (and self-serving) valet Crispin, played with winking naughtiness by Carson Elrod.

The set design by Alexander Dodge was a character in itself. I hope it isn't too much of a spoiler to say that the big ugly clock--as noisy and elaborate in its machinery as it was fascinating in its ornate face design (Deco? Nouveau? Rococo-koo-koo?)--had personality that demanded its own plot point.

The play officially opens September 12 and runs through October 23. See it.

Credits as follows:

The Heir Apparent
Adapted by David Ives from the comedy by Jean-Francois Regnard
Directed by Michael Kahn

Crispin: Carson Elrod
Geronte: Floyd King
Eraste: Andrew Veenstra
Lisette: Kelly Hutchinson
Isabelle: Meg Chambers Steedle
Madame Argante: Nancy Robinette
Scruple: Clark Middleton

Set Designer: Alexander Dodge
Costume Designer: Murell Horton
Lighting Designer: Philip Rosenberg
Sound Designer: Christopher Blaine
Composer: Adam Wernick


Meet the cast event at Shakespeare Theatre: (left to right)
Playwright David Ives with the cast: Andrew Veenstra, Nancy Robinette, Carson Elrod, Meg Chambers Steedle, Floyd King, Kelly Hutchinson and Clark Middleton.

credit: Shakespeare Theatre