Live Theatre Review - Shakespeare Miami's The Merchant of Venice

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE MERCHANT OF VENICE**
Shakespeare Miami’s The Merchant of Venice, directed by Colleen Stovall and staged as the 2017 free Shakespeare in the Park production, opened on January 6, 2017, in Mizner Park.

The set is rather simple: twin stairs leading to a balcony, but it is all that is necessary to carry the audience to Venice. The more important element of the staging comes in the beautiful costumes, elaborate and artfully designed by Stovall. The “tiring scene” where Portia (Thiana Berrick) is dressed by her maids is a fantastic tool to educate on the intricacies of women’s fashion and the challenges faced by dressing in that time. Nerissa’s (Alexandra Grunberg) dress is lovely, and the way she navigates the stairs in it is both delicate and fierce.

The suitors for Portia’s hand are all finely arrayed, and the costumes for Shylock (Seth Trucks) and Tubal (Christopher Lam) are vibrant and adhere to the custom of Jews being required to wear red to identify themselves at all times.

Although this play is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the atmosphere of this production is more serious than comedic. As it addresses the very heavy subject matter of prejudice, race relations, and religious persecution, this production seems to downplay all but the most comedic of elements. David Tetteh-Quarshie is remarkable as the Moroccan prince who vies for Portia’s hand. He and Jair Bula as Aragon, the second suitor, provide two of the true comedic performances. The other two are the Gobbos: Launcelot Gobbo (Christian Cooper) and his father Old Gobbo (Seth Trucks), whose farcical performances elicited laughs as well.

The cross-dressing device, which at one time must have been a source of great amusement, is less humorous in our time as women commonly dress “as men” – in trousers instead of dresses. Kudos to this production for not camping it up with false facial hair and the like when Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica (Devin Tupler) all pose as men in order to get away with something.

Due to the timing within the play, the first half seems a bit long, but the second half speeds through following the brief intermission.

The trial is well-staged, a clear division between loyalties. You love to hate Gratiano (Arturo Sierra) at his treatment of Shylock after the Jew gets his “justice.”

The character of Shylock is well portrayed though this staging – Shylock is not a good person, but that has nothing to do with his faith. The treatment he is dealt from the opening scene to the closing gives fair explanation of why a person could become like him. And when Trucks deals Shylock’s famous speech – “Hath not a Jew eyes?...” sympathy grows for Shylock such that you are disappointed by the “justice” he receives.

Shakespeare Miami wraps up in Mizner tonight at 6:00 then takes the show on the road for the next three weekends:


COCONUT GROVE - The Barnacle Historic State Park JANUARY 13, 14, 15- 2017

PINECREST - Pinecrest Gardens Shakespeare Stage JANUARY 20, 21 & 22- 2017

HOLLYWOOD - The ArtsPark Amphitheater JANUARY 27 & 28- 2017


Come out, enjoy a night of culture with your entire family (but leave the pets at home, please!), and don’t forget to tip your actors. Shakespeare Miami operates off of the donations of its patrons.

From the website: Shakespeare Miami is a regional non-profit theater company dedicated to live performance of the works of William Shakespeare. The mission of Shakespeare Miami is to promote literacy, culture and a passion for the arts through free performances of the works of William Shakespeare.

The Cost of a family attending a cultural event together has become prohibitively expensive for the average family in America. Schools have cut arts programming and field trips to see live performances. Often, the first live theatrical production a family in South Florida attends is a free Shakespeare in the Park Event.

Live Theatre Review: Evening Star Production's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Last night I attended Evening Star Production’s opening night presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Sol Theatre. Adapted and directed by Seth Trucks, it is the inaugural show in Sol’s new Shakespeare Initiative, a seed that was planted two years ago and has been lovingly cared for in minute detail, culminating in this vibrant offering to the theatre gods.

This show was initially intended to be directed by the late Laura Ruchala, whose life was tragically cut short just after her 36th birthday. Trucks, in his pre-show oration last night, advised that in one of the last conversations he had with Ruchala they discussed how Shakespeare lends itself to innovation and interpretation and how it should be adapted and retold in new and exciting ways. The first show I attended at Sol Theatre was Ruchala’s adaptation of The Comedy of Errors – starring Trucks as the twin Antipholus’ - which was creative and imaginative, literally out-of-the-box thinking. Ruchala passed away just before her show’s run began and the mantle to carry on the Shakespeare Initiative fell to Trucks. From what I saw of Ruchala’s directorial vision in The Comedy of Errors, what he has done with it would have pleased her endlessly.

This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is described by Trucks as Shakespeare done in the style of a John Hughes film. Enter the 80s.

It is set in Athens High School, and even the lobby of Sol Theatre is dressed for the occasion. The guest book that is usually out front has been replaced by a notebook paper “Slam Book” in which theatregoers can write their thoughts about the show. The program is set up similar to a yearbook. No detail has been overlooked.

As did The Comedy of Errors, Midsummer begins in an external story and then magically slips into Shakespeare’s world. This play goes farther still with a beautifully shot expositive video that sets up the pre-Shakespearean scene.

Though the play is a comedy and at times this production is farcical and it is absolutely funny, it also is a very deep and moving production, and the youth cast draws emotions beautifully. You can feel the lovers’ hearts breaking when spurned by their respective suitors. You can feel the jealous ire aroused in the fight between Hermia (Emma Lawrence) and Helena (Chloe Ward) and the territorialism of Demetrius (Ryan Siegel) and Lysandra (Kayla Asouti). The angst of the teenage condition is expertly portrayed in Francis Flute (Isabella Welch) and Robin Goodfellow, better known as Puck (Francis Alfieri). Puck’s orchestrations of the emotions of the Athenians is also very reflective of the high school experience.

The Misfits are wonderful comic relief in their play-within-the-play: the tremulous Wall / Kim Snout (Kate Finkelstein), the insecure Lion / Snug (Noah Fineman), the anarchist Moon / Robin Starvling (Natalie Macadar) the apathetic Thisbe / Francis Flute (Welch), and the over-the-top-enthusiastic Pyramus / Nikki Bottom (Rylee Siegel), handled by their poor, put-upon stage manager, Penny Quince (Emma McAvoy). Their production meetings are very funny, but their execution of Pyramus and Thisbe is side-splitting.

I have to pay tribute to the gorgeous choreography by Sara Grant, beautifully executed by the Fairies: Peaseblossom (Brooke Hall), Cobweb (Zoe Alarcon), Moth (Sami Mascaro) and the adorable little aptly-named Mustardseed (Eden Wexler). The fairies (and their dancing) play such an important part in bringing the magic of this production to light. Their performance was extremely moving.

Also well-choreographed is the Benny-Hill type chase scene that pays homage to Ruchala’s Comedy.

The only adult cast members have dual roles – Cindy Thagard plays both Hermia’s mother and Titania, and Justin Schneyer plays Hermia’s father and Oberon. The original play is changed so that the dual-role element is meant to be apparent, the conflict between the two pairs carrying over from the pre-Shakespearean world to the fairyland.

I have to note how beautifully the elements of same-sex relationships are completely glossed over, no attention brought to them. As they should be.

The final, living, breathing member of the cast is the set itself, which is painstakingly dedicated to serving the play. Every little element is perfectly placed so that the transition from location to location is not only believable but enthusiastically brought. To say more would be to give too much away, but I do have to praise Kate McVay’s scenic art because when the play was over, I was compelled to go and inspect the painted rug for about five minutes for its utter beauty.

Costume, particularly in a play set in the 80s, is also an important element. Thankfully, these youth were spared from some of the more hideous choices 80s kids made, but side ponytails, suspenders, headbands, leotards, and sweater vests all made an appearance. The Philostrates (Kylie Lawrence, Megan Mascaro, and Zoe Wexler) double as theatre ushers in their Girl Scout uniforms.

As this blog originated as a music blog, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the perfect music choices that are incorporated throughout the show. Songs from A-ha, The Police, Cyndi Lauper, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Star Wars, Wham!, and OMD are not only played but expertly curated into the show. “Careless Whisper” is hilariously utilized. The scene where “In Your Eyes” plays had me literally weeping with the beauty of it all. “Take on Me” was used so cleverly that I fear an element of song choice might be lost on some audience members falling too far outside of the bubble of the 80s. But when “And She Was” played, I was stunned. Clearly as much loving care was used in selecting the soundtrack as was in adapting the play itself.

Every person who had a hand in bringing this beautiful work to life should be proud of what they have accomplished. It was worth the year’s wait to see what this play has become.

Sol Theatre is a 501(c)(3) corporation that relies on generous donors to continue to carry out its mission of bringing affordable, quality theatre to South Florida and to making theatre accessible and exciting to young people and youth actors. One such recent donation was an upgrade of seating in the theatre, so now everyone can sit in comfort as they enjoy this midsummer night’s dream.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare
August 5 – 21
Tickets: $20/$10 for Students
For Tickets: 561-447-8829 / www.eveningstarproductions.org
Performances: Friday & Saturday at 8 pm / Sunday at 2 pm
Sol Theatre
3333 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431

photos by Murphy Hayes

Live Theatre Review: Evening Star Production's Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)

Evening Star Productions presents The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised], directed by Savannah Rootes (a "Solster" in her directorial debut).

Edward Scott, Seth Trucks, and Alex Weiss take on the ambitious task of presenting all 37 of the Bard's plays in under 2 hours - and they succeed with gusto! Granted, some of the plays are seriously abridged, but the manner in which this is accomplished will have you gasping for breath! Skip the abs workout and see this show with the same results!

The trio makes the most out of the small space of the theatre and some limited props to represent over 1000 characters in 97 minutes. The presentation of the tragedies is as funny as that of the comedies, and the histories are presented in a fresh, clever, and surprisingly apt way.

Expect to participate, but no prior knowledge of Shakespeare is necessary to enjoy the show (although during the presentation of the comedies, a little familiarity with the works is helpful - the more knowledge of the comedies you have, the more you'll get the subtle jokes, but the obvious ones are plentiful enough for someone with even zero knowledge of the plays.)

Complete Works sets out to demonstrate that Shakespeare is not just for the mature and the literati - everyone at every level and every age can enjoy Shakespeare. And anyone who attends this riotous play is sure to walk away with a fresh appreciation of the Bard.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised] will run from June 17 – 26 at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. Tickets are $15 and $10 for students. Group rates are also available. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased by calling 561-447-8829 or online at Evening Star Productions.

Live Theatre Review: Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival's Hamlet

WARNING: This review contains spoilers regarding both Hamlet in general and this production in specific

Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival’s production of Hamlet marks the 25th anniversary of the festival. The production is a break from the traditional with the original play abridged to roughly half its running time at just over two hours. It also sets the play in modern times, which means cell phones, selfies, and firearms. Additionally, Laertes (Krys Parker), Rosenkrantz (Kelly Ainsworth), and Guildenstern (Courtney Poston) are all female characters, with the latter pair portrayed as part of the stereotypical self-obsessed youth culture to a very comical effect.

Kyle Schnack as Hamlet brings an energy to the Prince of Denmark, playing off the audience with a quick wit. He even shows off his own crest tattoo, as the actor is of Danish descent. Darryl Willis is delightful as the tedious Polonius, such that one is almost sorry that he meets his tragic end. Carly Lopez stuns with her portrayal of Ophelia’s betrayal, heartbreak, and descent into madness. She captures the heartstrings even posthumously as her sister Laertes laments her passing.

The character of Horatio, played by Seth Trucks, plays a pinnacle role in this production, a point emphasized by his costume. The majority of the residents of Elsinore are clad in white, while those outside – and perhaps, symbolically, in opposition to them – are dressed in black. Hamlet bears the funereal color as he continues to mourn his father’s death (thus visually serving as an antagonist to his uncle the king) as do the grave digger and the players who unveil the king with their play-within-a-play. Those whose loyalties are possibly divided are clad in black and white, but only Horatio and Old Hamlet’s ghost (Zach Myers) wear gray, perhaps suggesting that it is Horatio’s role to serve as the bridge between Hamlet and his father, between conflict and resolution. The play opens and closes on Horatio and what he sees and he spends much of the play as the quiet observer, sussing out the motives of all around him. He is the one to bring the news to Hamlet of his father’s ghostly unrest and the one left behind, charged to go forth and tell the story of the events as they unfolded. Horatio, dressed in gray, is chosen to be the middle ground between the black and the white.

For such an abridged version of Hamlet, director Trent Stephens has crafted an excellent theatre experience, filled with comic relief (albeit some unintentional – the line “It’s cold” generally gets a chuckle from the sweaty audience). This Hamlet is a show worthy of being watched again and again.

Hamlet runs at the Seabreeze Amphitheatre at Carlin Park in Jupiter, FL, Thursday-Sunday, July 9 – 19. Gates at 6:30, show at 8:00. This is an outdoor festival, so bring camp chairs or a blanket, your picnic, bug spray, sunscreen, emergency rain ponchos, and your well-behaved pets and young people, if so inclined. Arrive early enough and you can even have the grave digger recite you a sonnet for the reasonable price of $5 with bonus Yorick accompaniment. Also, this is a free show, but your suggested donation of $5 is the lifeblood of the program and wonderful events such as this depend on your patronage, so bring your wallet and give freely to support the arts!

Finally, as this is technically a music blog, I must note that the soundtrack to the show is dynamic and addicting (I’ll admit to having purchased all the songs I could identify) and even the before, after, and intermission music is amazing.

Woodkid
Lena Fayre
Lorde
Emily Browning
Audioslave
Imagine Dragons