Williamstown Theatre Festival
July 25, 2007
Solid, professional, sharp fare at this flagship east coast summer festival. WTF has some fun with an old Noel Coward gem. Well done, but well chosen? I guess you have to work with your audience. No more beautiful place to see a play, that's for sure, than the lush Berkshires and this idyllic New England valley.
Interesting signs of increased and growing collaboration between Williams College (my alma mater and the festival's landlord) and WTF. Several years ago Williams completed a huge renovation of its theatre spaces. The result is several gorgeous spaces as good as anything you would find in Ashland or any other rural arts center. WTF must be very happy with their new digs.
In years past, the college and WTF were semi-hostile partners who tolerated each other but did not always work together. Now things seem better. One cool offshoot is that the college runs a new Summer Theatre Lab, where theatre students stay on campus for the summer and work on plays which are then performed on WTF stage.
I could not help but think of the possibilities if this partnership with the college continues to grow - or even if a Williams alum were to become the WTF Artistic Director some day? The result could be a major force in regional rep and college teaching.
Williams is already known for its "art mafia" - alumni such as Tom Krens and Kirk Varnedoe (among others) have led many major NYC institutions over the years. Could a similar influence, boistered by a Williams / WTF partnership, emerge in theatre? If nothing else, WTF feels poised for continued health, though audience age (as everywhere) is a real problem.
In addition to this play, I caught a Friday afternoon reading (every Friday at 3 PM) of the fabulous GOLIATH by Karen Hartman. The play covers the final days of the Israeli pullout from Gaza. The police come to evict settlers and one impassioned true believer teenager won't budge. Very well done, and could not be more relevant. Deeply moving, saddening, enraging. Great theatre. And only $5. Yes!
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7 comments:
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"Focusing on the Portland, Oregon theatre scene in precisely 50-word increments"
Good god, it's a blog, not a mission statement.
Yeah. I hate to think we are so parochial that we can't be bothered with what's going on anywhere else. Followspot -- thanks for these glimpses of what's going on elsewhere.
"I hate to think we are so parochial that we can't be bothered with what's going on anywhere else."
Um...how is it relevant? How many of us in this town are actually going to hop a plane to see these shows? What possible impact could this have on our theatre market? We've had a number of shows happen right here in Portland during this time which were absolutely ignored in this blog. I'm not saying that Followspot has some sort of obligation to service the Portland Theatre Market, but it'd be nice if it actually did live up to its claim to do just that.
I know how frustrating it can be to do a show and feel ignored -- believe me -- but I think directing that frustration at 'followspot' is a waste of energy for all concerned. Followspot is not an institution. It's a guy. He went on vacation, and is writing about what he has seen while on vacation. I think that's pretty cool, and relevant, since my artistic/theatrical consciousness does not begin and end in Portland, nor should it. He has no obligation to the theatre community. And in fact it is admirable that his obligation is so strong that he is writing about theatre while ON VACATION! How could he have written about shows going on 'right here in Portland' when he was not IN Portland?
And speaking of going out of town: something a bit closer to home is the Oregon Festival of American Music (OFAM) down in Eugene, Oregon. This summer they are highlighting the works of Richard Rodgers with several concerts with jazz greats Dick Hyman and Bucky Pizzarelli (father of John)and lectures by Max Wilk and Ian Witcomb. It runs from 8/1-8/11. The performances of their BIG musicals are at the Hult auditorium. They are doing South Pacific and the original 1937 Babes in Arms (directed by Portland's own Ron Daum) I saw the opening night for both shows (and I have to tell you I loved Babes)Get down there!
"Why isn't followspot sticking to 50 words?"
Oh, just shut up. Go take a dip in the pool and let go.
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