Romeo and Juliet – Northwest Children’s Theatre
Star Spangled Girl – Ferris Productions
Theory of Love – Liminal
Beyond the Fringe – The Tragedies
Boxcar Children – Oregon Children’s Theatre
Fatal Passage – New Century Players
Vanities –Slocum House
Don’t Dress for Dinner – H.A.R.T.
Funny Little Woman – Brooklyn Bay
My Matisse – CoHo
Liars Club – Brooklyn Bay
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5 comments:
i urge you to see Address Unknown. a beautifully directed show; Tobias Anderson and Michael Mendleson are very powerful, thought provoking in a timely piece based on a small tome with a huge voice written in the mid 1930's by an Oregon Woman foreshadowing the War in Germany and Hitler's rise to power as a backdrop to explore in a heartbreakingly human way the power of personal choice (and ensuing results) we are given the opportunity to make every moment of our lives....and the eternal ramifications those choices can have on us as individual souls and collectively as part of a much larger whole.
At a time in our lives and the Life of our World when so much is resting on us truly claiming our moral core and not only standing our personal ground where we find it but also having the courage to claim responsibility for our actions/non-actions, this piece is a reminder of what can happen when good people are faced with hard questions made even more difficult because too much has been ignored or dismissed and our collective backs are against the wall. It is also important not to loose our History - especially as (seemingly) we've yet to learn from it.
Anonymous said...
Regarding NWCT's Romeo and Juliet, it lacked the passion of the version I saw at Blue Monkey. I understand the choice to use very young actors as the leads, but a 14 year old Romeo left me with the impression of puppy-love-gone-bad, rather than passionate love at first sight. Also, the great age discrepancy between Mercutio and Romeo undermined their relationship, I felt. They couldn't be seen as peers when they're at least 20 years apart. The adult leads were wonderful, though, and the set and lighting were great. I found the costumes a little rag-tag and distracting (bright orange tights on Romeo and water socks). Overall, a perfectly safe production for young children to see, but not much of interest for the adults in the audience.
4/09/2007 02:01:00 PM
Anonymous said...
Romeo and Juliet at NWCT is a lovely production. The acting was great, and the age differences did not bother me a bit, though I thought it would, in looking at the program before curtain. A strong performance by Nick Sherbo as Benvolio, and a very likeable lead couple who adeptly illustrated the youthful passion which is as misguided as it is beautiful. Music was gorgeous (ah, Rody...). As an adult in the audience, I enjoyed myself and was moved. What more could I ask for?
4/09/2007 09:00:00 PM
Frogger said...
Interesting. You must not have seen the same production I did.
The age discrepancy completely invalidated their relationship - it just made no sense. Mercutio is meant to be the attractive firebrand that we all want to be, not some oldster (sorry Darius!) trying to be cool by hanging out with the kids.
That said, Darius was fantastic - just not in the right production. I agree with the earlier post about it seeming more puppy-love than passion. The nurse was funny, the Prince was brilliant (they didn't have a better role for this guy?) and the friar was excellent, if untraditional. Tybalt, too, was magnificent. I don't share your love of Benvolio, however. He seemed lost to me.
Were the costumes an afterthought? They kinda looked like someone just piled a bunch of cloth on people the week before the show. They made sure it matched the color scheme, and that was about it.
And someone needs to tell Juliet to slow down.
I think the description of it as a "safe" production is very apt.
4/11/2007 07:23:00 AM
Anonymous said...
The age thing wasn't a problem as it just added another layer to that relationship. I don't remember, and I'm no Shakespeare scholar so maybe I just missed it, anyone mentioning how old or hot Mercutio was. I found Darius' work to bring out a different interpretation of Mercutio, which I appreciated. How many hot, young Mercutios does one town need? I can already hear this answer coming...
I mostly agree with the "puppy love" comment Frogger and Anonymous (not me, the other one) bring up. And what I liked about that was that it fit how young Romeo & Juliet are. My memory of my love at that age was passionate and world-ending, but I doubt anyone looking at it from the outside would have agreed. I liked that just as much as the feud between their houses was ridiculous, so too was the brash, quick love affair that this couple engages in.
Had they not [oh, sorry, SPOILER] died, would Romeo and Juliet have lasted a month together? This production makes me think not, which makes me think about something more than doomed love, which makes me actually think it worthwhile to sit through another production of this gem.
As far as safe goes, it's Romeo & Juliet. Unless they're performing it underwater or as Anonymous Theater in Latin triple-cast with blindfolds on, it's always going to be safe.
Well, as safe as Shakespeare with teenagers in the leads can be.
Oh, and Anonymous Theatre Vertigo folks, feel free to use that idea.
4/11/2007 01:12:00 PM
simon said...
I think the best way to describe NWCT's production is with this:
"Romeo, Romeo! Whyfo-- whatfo--- WHEREfore art thou Romeo!"
Either that or, "O God! did TYBALT'S hand shed ROMEO'S blood?
...yeah
4/13/2007 11:30:00 PM
Anonymous said...
so juliet made a few line flunbs.... the question is: was the couple worth seeing? talent wise....
i think they were talented, and age should not be a variable.
4/18/2007 09:25:00 PM
to put it simply: Theory of Love, playing for one more weekend, is the best thing i have seen this season. it's a smartly ravishing amalgamation of lecture/song/love letters/video that stands with Liminal’s best work. precise and deceptively simple, it lovingly lingers in my memory.
everything fits, nothing wasted.
Gorgeous.
I second jame.s's comment on Theory of Love. It is a stunningly beautiful performance.
Why wasn't "The Mail Order Bride" on your list of shows you weren't able to attend? This wonderful production of a Charles Mee show played at the Portland Actors Conservatory where Philip Cuomo directed an energetic and talented cast. Aron Farrar (with his genius hair) portrayed a complex, hilarious Jack Horner, the castrato who romances his way into another's arranged marriage. Interesting use of color; great musical choices.
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