The Ashland Report, Pt 2
The plays are over for us, and this afternoon we hop our puddle-jumper and wing our way back north. First, we meet my parents in Medford for lunch, (they're over in K. Falls), and that makes for a happy opportunity.
Yesterday was a lovely, slow morning. Exhausted for some reason, I begged out of seeing the train museum (trains being one of P's things), and sat in the nearby park to read my book. BTW, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a lovely, lovely read. The characters are subtle and diverse, and the storytelling is like ... gently rolling hills, each rise bringing you a new aspect of the landscape. I'm amazed at how the author slowly unspools the story, and the tension, each thing leading to the other effortlessly, and the language is simply beautiful. Excellent read so far.
On Friday evening we saw Henry IV, Pt. 1. I don't remember seeing it before, though I've heard enough about it, and seen bits of it woven into other things that I generally knew the story. It was a truly excellent production. After the disappointment of the previous evening's use of the Elizabethan theatre, it was a joy to see the set for "Henry", which utilized the space incredibly well. The young man who played Hal, John Tufts, did a great job ... they all did a great job. Kevin Kenerly as Hotspur was t'rrific, and I was thrilled to see an entirely new show (to me) done so well. And the end is a cliff hanger! Now, I know, to Shakespeare's contemporaries and most of those who live on the other side of the pond, there is no cliff hanger ... everyone knew how Henry IV dealt with the rebellion, died and Hal became Henry V. But I don't know!! I'm going to have to crack my Complete Works and see what happened.
Hamlet was absolutely brilliant. Total genius. Bill Rauch, the Artistic Director, and the same fellow who directed Equivocation, directed this modern-day interpretation. Amazingly good. Dan Donohue was AMAZING as Hamlet. And never, ever have I seen such a nuanced performance of the role, or anyone bring such clarity to the script. I've seen Hamlet many, many times, performed on stage and on screen by some very fine actors, but I've never seen it done as well as I did yesterday. Claudius, as played by Jeffrey King, was also a study in brilliance. The set, music and costumes were phenomenal!
Hamlet is running through October 30th. If you can, make time to come down and see it. All on its own, it's worth the trip. Seriously. I wish Mz. KT could see it. I really really do.
Last night's show was Merchant of Venice. Another show directed by Bill Rauch, and cast with an amazing ensemble. Man, what a hard show. They embraced all the non-PC elements of it, and played it straight up ... played it so every character had virtues and vices, was both wise and foolish, accepting and prejudiced. In the end, even though Shylock was such a proud, angry, revengeful man, when they took away his religion ... it was brutal. So, terribly difficult play, but it was done well, with many a solid performance. It's another one of the plays where I wish Shakespeare would have made up his mind as to what kind of play he was writing, because I wanted it to be a comedy or a tragedy, but not both. And it got out at almost midnight. Very long piece. Well done, but very long.
And those are the reviews from Ashland! Now it's time to pack up the laptop, get in my and catch another few hours of sun while I can!
Yesterday was a lovely, slow morning. Exhausted for some reason, I begged out of seeing the train museum (trains being one of P's things), and sat in the nearby park to read my book. BTW, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a lovely, lovely read. The characters are subtle and diverse, and the storytelling is like ... gently rolling hills, each rise bringing you a new aspect of the landscape. I'm amazed at how the author slowly unspools the story, and the tension, each thing leading to the other effortlessly, and the language is simply beautiful. Excellent read so far.
On Friday evening we saw Henry IV, Pt. 1. I don't remember seeing it before, though I've heard enough about it, and seen bits of it woven into other things that I generally knew the story. It was a truly excellent production. After the disappointment of the previous evening's use of the Elizabethan theatre, it was a joy to see the set for "Henry", which utilized the space incredibly well. The young man who played Hal, John Tufts, did a great job ... they all did a great job. Kevin Kenerly as Hotspur was t'rrific, and I was thrilled to see an entirely new show (to me) done so well. And the end is a cliff hanger! Now, I know, to Shakespeare's contemporaries and most of those who live on the other side of the pond, there is no cliff hanger ... everyone knew how Henry IV dealt with the rebellion, died and Hal became Henry V. But I don't know!! I'm going to have to crack my Complete Works and see what happened.
Hamlet was absolutely brilliant. Total genius. Bill Rauch, the Artistic Director, and the same fellow who directed Equivocation, directed this modern-day interpretation. Amazingly good. Dan Donohue was AMAZING as Hamlet. And never, ever have I seen such a nuanced performance of the role, or anyone bring such clarity to the script. I've seen Hamlet many, many times, performed on stage and on screen by some very fine actors, but I've never seen it done as well as I did yesterday. Claudius, as played by Jeffrey King, was also a study in brilliance. The set, music and costumes were phenomenal!
Hamlet is running through October 30th. If you can, make time to come down and see it. All on its own, it's worth the trip. Seriously. I wish Mz. KT could see it. I really really do.
Last night's show was Merchant of Venice. Another show directed by Bill Rauch, and cast with an amazing ensemble. Man, what a hard show. They embraced all the non-PC elements of it, and played it straight up ... played it so every character had virtues and vices, was both wise and foolish, accepting and prejudiced. In the end, even though Shylock was such a proud, angry, revengeful man, when they took away his religion ... it was brutal. So, terribly difficult play, but it was done well, with many a solid performance. It's another one of the plays where I wish Shakespeare would have made up his mind as to what kind of play he was writing, because I wanted it to be a comedy or a tragedy, but not both. And it got out at almost midnight. Very long piece. Well done, but very long.
And those are the reviews from Ashland! Now it's time to pack up the laptop, get in my and catch another few hours of sun while I can!