I made it back to Orange county after an extra 14 hours in the San Francisco airport. Thats right 6:55pm Saturday until 8:55am Sunday. It's not a bad airport to be stuck in. There is a fair amount to look at but it gets pretty lonely after midnight which is when all the shops close. I at one point found myself in a terminal that is incredibly reminiscent of the expensive part of South Coast Plaza. Needless to say I have spent more time than I ever need to in the San Francisco Airport.
I figured I better review all the shows I saw at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival before I dive headfirst into tech week tomorrow. I was lucky enough to have saved enough pennies to see all nine shows that were open while I was in Ashland - typically the season consists of 11 plays but two close early in the season. The shows I saw, in viewing order, were:
Henry V
Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella
The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa
Party People
All the Way
Animal Crackers
As You Like It
Troilus and Cressida
Romeo and Juliet
The following are my thoughts on each of the shows in order from least favorite to favorite. All of the shows were great and I had a really hard time ranking them this year. Harder than all other years likely because the quality of shows were just so high.
9:
Romeo and Juliet ranks last in the nine shows I saw. Which is surprising to me because I love this play. I have now seen it three times at OSF and it is not 9th because it was a bad play it just wan't the best I saw this visit and I was a little underwhelmed by much of the acting. I thought the actor playing Romeo was incredible and very much appreciated the choices he made with the character and how he used Shakespeare's words - finding new meaning in an old story. The costuming, lighting and set design were all beautiful but as a whole it just seemed to fall a little short. There seemed to be a theme of "I"m GOING TO BE ANGRY AND YELL ALL MY LINES A LOT!!!!" which really over shadowed the poetry in of the words and lost a lot of emotion. It was good just not the best.
8:
The Very Merry Wives of Windor, Iowa comes in 8th place. I was very amused with this production and thought it a very funny interpretation of Shakespeare's original "Very Merry Wives of Windor." It was clever and even though it was an original script Shakespeare's themes and story certainly were not lost.
7:
Troilus and Cressida This is the first time I have seen Troilus and Cressida. It is certainly one of Shakespeare's lesser produced shows and having seen it I understand why. Director Rob Melrose says "unlike most of Shakespeare's plays, which come from obscure sources known only to scholars, T & C boasts a rich literary history: Homer's Illiad, Boccaccio's II Filostrato and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. In many ways this play is a collaboration among Shakespeare and his three literary equals across time. The result is a richly layered text that constantly revises and comments on its source materials. Like the layers of Shakespeare's sources, we are seeing the Trojan War as the beginning of a long history of East-West conflicts. In the detritus of war are reminders of the cultures that were here before." It was a beautiful production and a new(old) story to see played out on the stage.
6:
Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella. I had hoped this particular show would land a little higher on my list but after thinking about it for so long I really do think it lies right about here. This show is exactly what the title says it is. All three shows, onstage, at the same time. The whole show is an interesting comparison of how power is attained, used and abused. Cinderella was a tiny bit darker than normal but overall the original styles/intentions of each show remained intact. It was really interesting to see how the three shows overlapped: royal ambition, magic, transformation, parent/child relations and the roles of women in male-dominated societies. The major question the show asked was "How do we choose to use the limited time given to us on this earth, and how are our decisions shaped by our awareness of those around us, even those who have come before us and those generations yet to come?" While it was serious in tone most of the time it was sprinkled with elements of humor - Shakespeare's Weird Sisters onstage with Rogers and Hammerstein's Ugly Step Sisters or the Ghost of Banquo becoming a guest at the royal ball. An interesting experiment to be sure but not the most profound or moving theatrical experience I've ever been a part of. Interesting to note that this was the first time I've seen something go "wrong" on stage. One of the characters spilled quite a bit of water on stage and it wasn't cleaned up in a timely fashion - the stage manager in me was really nervous for the actors and rightly so because one of them slipped and fell really hard, twisting his ankle, luckily he had made a full recovery by the time I saw him in Romeo and Juliet.
5: The fifth spot goes to
Animal Crackers. This show was simply hilarious. I laughed so hard my sides hurt and tears stained my cheeks. It was a master class in improve theatre. The show was originally performed by the Marx Brothers. Director Allison Narver says "As much as theatre must challenge, provoke and deepen our understanding of the world, it has an equally pressing responsibility --- to engage us in the exuberance of being alive, reminding us that a little frivolity can be serious business." The show is never the same twice and on the night I was in attendance I was seated 4 seats away from a grandson of Chico Marx and the actors were definitely aware of it. The show was so unpredictable that even the stage manager intervened at one point. It was crazy and so fun to laugh so hard.
4:
As You Like It. I was surprised this show ranked this high. I have seen it before and never been very fond of it but this was a beautiful production. The mostly classical interpretation of it allowed me to really hear the story for the first time. The acting was great and the simplicity of the staging really added to the tale. Technically speaking it was beautiful - there was a scene where the stage was graced by fireflies and it was truly beautiful.
3:
Party People. This show was unlike anything I've ever seen before. A theatre group known as
Universes was commissioned to write a chapter in OSF's "American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle." The story they chose to chronicle embodied the histories of the Black Panthers and Young Lords. Universes spent time researching and interviewing men and women from both parties. The show itself paints a portrait of life in the party, their tragedy, their triumphs and ultimately their heroism. Universes uses dance, song, rap, poetry, live video and just about every form of live entertainment you can think of to tell their story. After each matinee OSF hosts post-show discussions with one of the actors. The post show discussion for Party People was attended by the writers and one of the actors. It was a particularly interesting discussion from the start - people ask questions and the actor/writers do their best to respond. These writers were particularly good at turning questions around on the audience and eliciting responses to help them better understand the way their play is being received. Towards the end of the discussion and woman at the back of the group stood up and said she'd like to make an announcement. It was at the moment that one of the writers introduced one of the founding members of the Black Panthers. I sat in awe listening to the man thank the group for "telling the truths," the good, the bad and the ugly. I found myself moved by his emotion as he shared with us his story and his passion for doing good in the world.
2: Number two on my list, and not all that far behind number one is
All The Way. I loved the history portrayed in the play. It is a new play that is part of the "American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle." The author Robert Schenkkan has devoted his playwriting career to uncovering truths in American history. No matter what the canvas he often tells the story of how we aspire and how often fail as a nation to meet up to our ideals. All The Way chronicles the first 11 months in LBJ's presidency. Illustrating how nation-shifting legislation was accomplished and how the presidency was won in 1964. Director Bill Rauch states "the relevance to 2012 election is stunning, like so much of Shakespeare's work All the Way examines power and morality." As I walked to my car I couldn't help but think how far we've come as a nation and how far we still have to go.
1:
Henry V on the outdoor Elizabethan stage was my favorite. It was simply stunning. I loved the language of the play coupled with the directors clever staging one a relatively simple set. Director Joseph Haj states "With Henry V, Shakespeare delivers one of the spectacular heroic narratives, while simultaneously undermining the very heroic ideal that he sets up. Henry V is one of the great military leaders in world history. . .and Henry, like most of our great military leaders in history, could just as easily have been hanged for war crimes." A striking portrait of power and how power can corrupt. Definitely a 5 star production.
