a day without Shakespeare

[calimac]

The plays with which I enticed B. to accompany me to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this year - this weekend, in fact - didn't include any Shakespeare.  We went to see Into the Woods, our favorite Sondheim musical - Ashland has taken to producing musicals; last year it was My Fair Lady, this year Into the Woods - and a new stage adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. And, as long as we were there, and it fit into our schedule, The Cocoanuts, the Marx Brothers vehicle, which is also a musical (and whose book is by George S. Kaufman, whose comedies Ashland has produced with success before).

Last year when I saw their Taming of the Shrew, I wrote that the production "skated over the play's sex-role problems by simply bursting with energy and verve."  Those were keynotes for this year's shows as well.  The fervent dynamism and impeccable ensemble timing with which they were played was the principal charm of the fast-paced Woods and Cocoanuts.  Even Wrinkle, a slower-paced story, partook of the same fount of energy at its more deliberate speed.

Woods was staged in the outdoor theatre - the higher balconies did service as Rapunzel's tower and the land of the giants - and was wholly delightful and witty, with various bits of added stage business and a rather audacious staging, with all the actors beginning in street clothes and changing into costumes in the course of the complex opening scene.  There were more other unusual details than I could possibly write about here, and I can't single any of the performers out, as they were all excellent.

I'm not a huge Marx Brothers fan, and the corresponding movie is one I haven't even seen, but The Cocoanuts was lots of fun and didn't drag despite the meandering plot.  The actors in the brothers' parts didn't really sound like them (except for Harpo *honk*), but managed to be adequately goofy, the Zeppo made a strong romantic lead, and the Groucho ad-libbed shamelessly.  He also told a slew of wretched puns, the best part of the show as far as I was concerned.

Wrinkle, equally riveting in its own way, was an odd combination of high tech and low tech, and some interesting symbolism.  Charles Wallace, when under the influence of IT, is played by a marionette, manipulated and spoken for by one of the other actors (Mark Bedard, who was Groucho in Cocoanuts) while the actual Charles Wallace (Sara Bruner, a young woman with a very small build, though not all that short, and high voice) lies wrapped in sheets, writhing in a locked trunk.  B., one of the book's dedicated fans, gave the adaptation an enthused thumbs up.

So we had a good time and a successful trip, and all to commemorate our 20th anniversary - yes, it's been that long - last Thursday.

Comments

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

There's a film adaptation of Into the Woods coming out this year, by the guy who did Chicago in the recent past. I've never seen Into the Woods or even heard the music. It's very strange. I've loved Sweeney Todd since my college days, but for some reason I still haven't gotten any further into Sondheim's oeuvre than that. But Into the Woods is one I've had my eye on, because of the subject matter.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

The Sondheim I can do without is the likes of Company or A Little Night Music - disinclination towards the subject matter. It was the subject matter of Into the Woods that first attracted me to it, but I do like the music as well as the story - the title song is one of my favorite walking songs (songs to play over in my head as I'm walking, to keep me on pace). I also like Sweeney Todd, depending on how it's done, and reviewed a local production last year.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I must direct you to what I think is the best song in Into the Woods. I think you'd appreciate it in particular. Perhaps nobody had ever previously considered the viewpoint and frustrations of the princes in the Cinderella and Rapunzel stories, but Sondheim has, and here they are.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Very interesting! Almost a less demonic version of "Pretty Women" from Sweeney Todd. The comedy version, perhaps.