King Lear
by William Shakespeare

I guess it’s a relief to discover that Artist Director Bill Rauch can stumble as a director.  After seeing one amazing Rauch production after another, year in and year out, it is cathartic to experience a badly-focused, inconsistent performance in which many actors and crafts still excel but which, overall, disappoints. Bill Rauch is a fallible human after all.

The intimate space of the Thomas Theater is perfect for the play’s intense family interactions.Unfortunately,  there is no uniting vision in this production, and so even a very good Lear — played by Jack Willis at the production I saw — couldn’t create a coherent or compelling narrative.

A major weakness is Sofia Jean Gomez’s Cordelia.  Gomez didn’t show power on stage.  In the opening scenes where the “good” daughters Goneril (Vilma Silva) and Regan (Robin Goodrin Nordli) are supposed to cynically kiss up to their father while the really pure and loving Cordelia refuses to spew platitudes of affection, Gomez’ character comes off as oddly standoffish.  She’s truly cold, not virtuous.  In fact, Goneril and Regan are played so convincingly that, if you didn’t know what was coming, you would have thought that the old king was correct in how he divided his kingdom. Gomez completely failed to communicate her character’s love and honesty. The opening scene, designed to set up the whole story, was botched.

How can a director of Rauch’s caliber fail to get a key plot point in front of the audience?

Speaking of pointlessness, two bits of stage-craftlessness annoyed throughout the evening.  The most universally distracting issue was the hodge-podge, phony, inconsistent, not-from-any-country-on-this-planet accents of any character who was supposed to be French.  First, there is no need to put on an accent to convey that you are from a different faction or country.  The text supplies that information and there are better, more subtle ways of reinforcing the foreignness, if you need to go there.  But, seriously.  If you are going to have your French characters have an accent, could it be French (best choice) or at least the same from character to character?  The Jamaican patois of one actors was most out of place for me, but the whole mishmash from Tony DeBruno and every other “French” character was just terrible. The only voice missing was that of Pepe Le Pew. 

Didn’t the director LISTEN to the production he created?

The other serious distraction were the costumes designed thrown out on stage by Linda Roethke. Some characters were dressed in almost-modern generic royalwear. But, others (army officers?), were made to wear cartoonish outfits whose look was stolen from Captain Crunch cereal boxes.  Still others (mostly ensemble) wore black coveralls that reminded me of  maintenance workers in Sci-Fi flicks.  Yeah, the differences among the classes of people were sometimes reflected in the category of dress they wore.  But, the differences didn’t make sense.  Moreover, at least one costume was poorly made: royal Regan in one court scene is draped in an ill-fitting, poorly put together white thing which made her look like the unfortunate model paired with a Project Runway loser.   Costumes were yet another part of the production that didn’t hang together.

And, Rauch allowed a striking, straight-forward continuity error.  This production starts off with Lear acting like an alcoholic.  He’s guzzling whiskey during the initial tiff with Cordelia, and there’s a glass at hand during most of his early scenes. Lear’s rages caused by alcohol:  an interesting take!  But, as Lear descends into deeper psychosis the alcohol simply disappears.  The old drunk neither renounces booze nor falls into the bottle.  The initial cause of his irrationality simply disappears.  Huh?  How likely is it for an alcoholic to neither hit bottom nor to succumb to chemically assisted insanity? Director Rauch, what happened?

In another judgment mistake, this time as Artistic Director, Rauch decided to switch out actors playing Lear, alternating between Willis and Michael Winters in successive performances .  It’s a move that feels contrived to get the audience to buy two tickets to basically one production.  Maybe if Lear was simply better I would have been tempted to see a different take on the title character.  But, Rauch’s work doesn’t wow, and the different actors on different nights instead feels like a sleazy marketing gimmick.

In the midst of the general disorder, some artists still shined.  Scenic designer Christopher Acebo does a flawless job in the first two acts of populating the stage with just the right props and leaving empty space to play its role.  His stairway for the royals is brilliant. (The set for Act 3 was intentional mess. Unfortunately, the intentionality of the on-stage rubble didn’t make the look work for me.)

Willis, Silva, and Nordli deserve their praise in previous paragraphs, but Richard Elmore as old Gloucester is the standout performance of the evening.  From the start to his terrible end, Elmore’s character retains a distinct personality.  Elmore’s reliable underplaying creates both tension and meaning when he is powerful and, later, when he is blinded and begging. In a role which could devolve into hysterics, Elmore instead delivers honor.

Daisuke Tsuji as the Fool hit just the right tone, mixing a high level of playful energy with dangerous truth telling.  Tsuji slapped the audience with his wit. Several times at the production I saw he wove in references to fire alarms  — that night Lear had opened 15 minutes late because of a false one. Yet, his Fool easily converted to a loyal and feeling caretaker when appropriate, a split second later in the scene.

Armando Duran as the Earl of Kent in his different disguises also delivered an excellent character. He kept the Earl’s emotional currents and eddies of anger all flowing in the same direction.  Similarly, Benjamin Pelteson shone as Gloucester’s loyal son Edgar.  Even in his crazy moments, this Edgar was on track and accessible. Rex Young as the Earl of Cornwall rounds out the list of well played royals.  Young was consistent, evil, and deserving of hatred.

I participated in the mostly standing ovation in appreciation of Elmore, Willis, Tsuji, Siva, Nordli, Pelteson, Young, Acebo, and the others who tacked together in the director-less storm that was this King Lear.  It was an evening well spent, but an evening which should have been so much better.

Ozdachs Rating

Troilus and Cressida
by William Shakespeare

Most of the flash and bang of this infrequently produced Shakespeare play comes from the modern ordinance that accompanies Troilus and Cressida‘s teleportation into the 21st Century Middle East.  T&C is not bad entertainment, but I experienced no bite, no zing in this deeply cynical tale.

The story of how almost everyone at every level is dishonest or deluded, especially when it comes to patriotic wars, is an always-timely subject.  While the language is clear and the context maintained throughout this performance, only once did I feel truly miserable for an on-stage character as they were being betrayed.  The other instances of cheating and disappointing behavior went by without dramatic intensity.  So she picks up with a new guy at night after swearing undying love for you this morning? So what? Get over it already. (more…)

Party People
by UNIVERSES (Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Steven Sapp, and William Ruiz/Ninja)
developed and directed by Liesl Tommy

The authors of this world-premiere, commissioned American Revolutions production told us in the post-performance audience talk-back that the Young Lords and the Black Panthers had effected their lives even though they had no knowledge of the groups themselves.  One creator’s first job was in clinic started by the Young Lords, and another routinely benefited from social programs started by the Black Panthers.  These racially-identified local community organizations truly changed the neighborhoods and residents’ lives. The artistic challenge for UNIVERSES, the authors said, was to tell the current generation about this legacy in a way which the young will hear.

The captivating response to the challenge is Party People, a performance piece that intimately dances, raps, and acts out the politics, the energy, the families, the fear, the conspiracy, the failure, and the success of the party people in a unfamiliar, non-white-bread format.  The approach, the music, and execution stirred pasty-skinned, hip-hop hating, old fogy me.  The brilliant moments excellently done took me in, especially because the presentation is not  done in a comfortable routine style. (more…)

All the Way
by Robert Schenkkan

Robert Schenkkan has written a masterful script that projects a sharp look at the leaders of America during the year which was more or less between my 10th and 11th birthdays.  I had expected a pleasant play that would remind me of my precocious political awakening.  I wound up dazzled by how well Schenkkan presents the feel of that first post-Kennedy year and by the tragic-hero humanness of the real-life figures that fought for civil rights, the Great Society, and for the liberal values that made the United States an economic and moral force.

Unlike many of the world premieres and commissioned works produced recently at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, All the Way is a classically constructed evening of theater.  That traditional approach, flawlessly executed, lets older theater goers experience the production without stretching uncomfortably to understand the format.  ATW is a wonderful play;  it’s not a performance piece nor a dressed-up poetry rap.  It taps into the power of a linear story, rising action, imperfect giants, and changed characters.  Its straight-forward plot and wording are evidence that the truisms of play design you learned in high school English class remain valid.

ATW is gimmick-free art. It is a camera-ready canvass for the director, actors, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, … everyone… to apply their talent. (more…)

The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa
Written by Alison Carey
Adapted from the play by William Shakespeare

I cannot recall walking out at intermission at Oregon Shakespeare Festival before, but unless I was going to start hissing from the front row, I had to leave last night.

This sledge-hammer piece of political correctness is so crass and blatant that I felt creepily unclean as a beneficiary of its message of equality. On a grand scale, VMWWI is a modern adaptation of the jealousy and intrigue depicted in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor.  In this play there is a married female couple and single lesbians added to the traditional mix of confusion.  I like the concept, and treated with any sort of artistry, the production would have been modern, insightful, and enjoyable.

But, what flat, anvil-heavy crap was put in front of us instead! The author has the talent of a self-righteous high school student intent on making sure that even the slowest member of the audience understood the important message being dumped on stage.  I pity the straight liberals in the house who were the obvious targets of the evening.  They had to come back to their seats or else they would have been thought intolerant of the topic. 

The mental masturbation script occasionally had some funny one liners and scenes.  The best was in the second act where, according to reports from friends who stayed, actor Cathrine Coulson was given a piece of cut wood to hold.  She clutched it in her arms, and another character asked her for it by saying, “My log, lady.”  Coulson played the Log Lady on the cult television show Twin Peaks.

That funny, in-crowd line fairly represents the adaption script.  That Log Lady reference was like most of the hip, in-crowd winking and nudging that constituted the play. Except that most of the rest of the gags were nasty, cheap jabs at Mitt Romney and other evil enemies of enlightenment instead of being gentle, benign references to rarefied culture.

I am a sucker for art broadening horizons and challenging cultural assumptions.  I am particularly susceptible to gay-themed acceptance stories.  Big Eden is one of my favorite small town acceptance stories of all time.  That movie was unmistakable, but sweet, engaging, and not completely predictable.

Damn it. You don’t get to pass off cringe-inducing stereotypes and one-dimensional characters just because you know you’re on the side of the angels. Sure, Shakespeare had broad characters and traded on the stereotypes of his time.  But, the artistry of the language makes all the difference.  With Shakespeare there are seemingly an infinite number of interpretations possible for every character and every line.  In one production the villain is self-aware and in the next, using the same text, he is oblivious to his faults.  In VMWWI it’s hard to image a saving directorial vision that would justify another production of the flatly-written piece. Ever.

The lesbian marriage concept would have been better served if OSF had skipped employing Carey to adapt Shakespeare.  Instead, using the same excellent costumes, sharp set, talented cast, and same-sex couple casting, the evening would have been much more satisfying and point-making with the original story.

I am getting weary of leaving OSF plays saying, “Yes, but the actors gave their all and I stood and applauded for them.”  Although there was no standing ovation last night, once again the actors deserve rave reviews at a bad evening of theater.

Compliments to David Kelly for a smooth, smarmy Mitt Romney/Falstaff character. He seemed to be having fun.

Coulson was a fine and colorful Miss Quickly.  I especially liked Judith-Marie Bergan as the innkeeper. I feel sorry for Robin Goodrin Nordli for her wasted talents as Francie Ford, and my sympathy also to Gina Daniels (Alice Ford), Terri McMahon (Margaret Page), Ted Deasy (George Page), and the pretty cheerleader boys.

Alex Jaeger’s costumes were more alive than the script deserved.  Chris Acebo’s simple, corn-strewn set had us smiling before the play opened and the words brought us down.

Yeah, VMWWI is an archetypal waste of artistic talent that should have been killed or corrected long before it was inflicted on OSF’s loyal audience.

Ozdachs Rating
… although there should be an icon for Dog Gone to indicate a walk-out mid production.