“Coriolanus” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
"Coriolanus" fails at presenting an intersting story, showing real characters, or offering any connection with the audience. 1 Star out of 5.
“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
"Much Ado About Nothing" is another OSF production that is possibly the best version of the play you'll ever see. Damn! 5 Stars out of 5!
“Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
"Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender" blends personal details with gender truths in a remarkable event. The performance rates five stars.
“Born with Teeth” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
I am happy to have seen this theater-goers mental masturbation show which was well done but fails the “so what” test.
“Macbeth” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
This production has characters, nuance, coherence, and still the amazing language and events. It is not a good Macbeth, it is a spectacular Macbeth.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
A Midsummer Night's Dream written by William Shakespearedirected by Joseph Haj Ashland, ORat the Oregon Shakespeare Festival A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2020): Jeremy Gallardo (Snug), K. T. Vogt (Robin Starveling), Cristofer Jean (Francis Flute), Ensemble. Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Oh dear! I really didn't want my last comments on this COVID-19 affected season to be anything but positive. I had hoped that I would see more plays later in the year that I could sincerely applaud. Unfortunately the virus shut down all but two weeks of the season, and what I saw opening weekend is all that [...]
“Bring Down the House, Part II”
by William Shakespeareadapted by Rosa Joshi and Kate Wisniewskidirected by Rosa Joshi Ashland, ORat the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Bring Down the House, Part One (no photos yet posted for Part Two)Ensemble. Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Through a scheduling snafu I missed the opening of Bring Down the House, Part I and took up the Henry VI story halfway through. Because co-adapters Rosa Joshi and Kate Wisniewski have done such a good job of curating scenes and speeches, I fell right into the story, despite the potentially confusing rush of characters and battles. I had a fun time [...]
“As You Like It” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
As You Like It by William Shakespearedirected by Rosa Joshi As You Like It (2019): Román Zaragoza (Orlando), Jessica Ko (Rosalind). Photo by Jenny Graham. At the very least yet another romp through Arden Forest should be enjoyable fun. Done with artistry, a director can use this comedy to make Shakespeare seem like a feminist. After all, the freedom to love will win out and the women's decisions share the shaping of action in Arden Forest. At least I think they do. On the other hand, the current Oregon Shakespeare Festival's offering didn't even amuse me. The show is both [...]
Love’s Labor’s Lost at Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Love's Labor's Lost by William Shakespeare directed by Amanda Dehnert After I wrote my delayed review of Manahatta last month I was ready to post my season ratings for the excellent 2018 OSF season. I lined up all my reviews, added in the Romeo and Juliet we didn't see because of smoke, and set about to rank the plays. I got to 10. But, there were 11 productions this year. I initially thought I mistagged a review in the blog, so I searched though my posts. Nope. Only 9 plays plus R&J. I went to the OSF [...]
“The Book of Will” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Book of Will by Lauren M. Gunderson directed by Christopher Liam Moore "Masturbation is loads of fun," sing Romanovsky and Phillips, and the Book of Will is loads of fun. It's a truly enjoyable evening for theater aficionados and Shakespeare cognoscente. Excellent fun. Self-indulgent, self-centered, masturbatory theater fun. The "play" is a cover to allow extremely fine actors to deliver some of the best lines of Shakespeare, one after another, from productions unrelated except that they share an author. Kate Hurster, David Kelly, Kevin Kenerly, Jeffrey King. Photo by Jenny Graham. The Book of [...]