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Henry V

By |2018-03-05T20:02:55-08:00March 5, 2018|osf, plays|

Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Henry V Ensemble as Chorus. Photo by Jenny Graham. by William Shakespeare directed by Rosa Joshi Daniel José Molina (Henry V) and other cast members deliver many truly spectacular moments -- especially in Act II -- which make this Henry a must see. Unfortunately, Director Rosa Joshi's choices diminish the impact of the play itself and leaves the audience to appreciate master-class acting set in a confusion of activity. I think the audience is supposed to [endlessly] appreciate the turmoil and indiscriminate horrors of the machine of war. Toward that end, actors push [...]

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Destiny of Desire

By |2018-03-03T20:23:03-08:00March 3, 2018|osf, plays|

Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Destiny of Desire by Karen Zacarías directed by José Luis Valenzuela Destiny of Desire is an evening of a schlocky, cheesy, unbelievable, perfectly-executed, spectacularly entertaining, brilliantly-written live telenovela. Before I write my 1000 words of "Oh my God, I loved it, here's why...",  a picture: Vilma Silva, Ella Saldana North, Esperanza America. Photo by Jenny Graham. The photo is truly worth more than 1000 words of descriptive praise. (Click on it to see it full size.) But, here goes... Director José Luis Valenzuela has directed Destiny at four theaters -- everywhere it's been produced (or [...]

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Imaginary Comforts
or the Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit

By |2017-10-29T09:36:53-07:00October 29, 2017|Berkeley Rep, plays|

Berkeley, CA at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre Opening Scene of IMAGINARY COMFORTS, OR THE STORY OF THE GHOST OF THE DEAD RABBIT Imaginary Comforts or The Story of the Ghost of the Dead Rabbit by Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) WORLD PREMIERE I am unreasonably pleased at not knowing how to start a discussion of Imaginary Comforts.  The locally-produced theater I've seen in the Bay Area in the past decade has been linear, easily described, one-dimensional. Some productions, especially recent Theatre Rhinoceros shows, have been quality, great fun events. But, none has risen to the gob-smacking, "I got to think about this" level [...]

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The Count of Monte Cristo

By |2015-08-23T12:15:12-07:00August 22, 2015|osf, plays|

Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Raffi Barsoumian (Danglars) and Al Espinosa (Dantes). Photo by Oregon Shakespeare Festival Who knew that a revenge melodrama could be so much fun? Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents a sharp, finely timed, excellently acted, satisfying evening of a classic payback story written as a book by Alexandre Dumas in 1844 and adapted for the stage as early as 1848. The version of the play OSF picked to perform is meaningful.  This Count stems from an adaption by Charles Fletcher in 1868. The play was further adapted by James O'Neill who bought the rights to [...]

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The Best Season Opening

By |2015-03-06T13:53:26-08:00March 4, 2015|osf, plays|

Oregon Shakespeare Festival's season opening this past weekend showcased four excellent productions.  It was the strongest festival start that I -- and my more experienced Ashland friends -- have experienced. Bravo! I hope to write full reviews of each performance.  But, here are my snap judgements, listing the four plays in my overall order of enjoyment. Fingersmith by Alexa Junge based on the novel by Sarah Waters Syntax says:  photo by Oregon Shakespeare Festival This world premiere commissioned by the festival is full of "Wow" plot twists delivered with exquisite attention to language and the style of the times (1861). [...]

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