Twelfth Night in San Diego
Fri, 20 Aug 2004, 01:17 amWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Twelfth Night in San Diego
Fri, 20 Aug 2004, 01:17 amA big hello to everyone back in Perth - assuming you still remember me, three years is a long time - hi Jarrod, Kimberley, Nick, and oh hell, there's too many and I may offend anyone I miss out. I know it is improbable that anyone reading this site is likely to be in the vicinity to catch this show, but if you happen to be in San Diego.....
It's pleasing to know that there isn't an international conspiracy of critics to avoid any of my shows. Two years of silence on the part of Glasgow critics can give you some fanciful ideas....
"Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare
Poor Players, Adams Avenue Studio, San Diego
Performing through 21st August
Review from "Curtain Calls"
by Pat Launer
www.sdtheatrescene.com 8/3/04
CROSSED GARTERS, CROSS-DRESSING AND LOVE
Two 'Saturday Night Fever' dances in one weekend. Whew! The white-suited moves show up in "The Ally Way" and also in Poor Players' "Twelfth Night." The Poor Players are Bardolators who'll do whatever it takes to make the old boy relevant. Sometimes this leads to an abundance of base humor, belches and beer cans. But there's nothing sophomoric about their handling of the language. In their fleet, slightly pared-down versions of Shakespeare's plays, they underscore the humor, but mine the deeper emotions, too. They pay close attention to the text, clarifying without emoting or declaiming (though there is a good bit of shouting in this production, not always where/when called for). And they appeal to young people like themselves, which is, of course, a very good thing. If you haven't seen them yet, this may be a great opportunity. Then, next week, you can catch New Village Art's production of "Twelfth Night" and compare.
In this tale of mistaken identity and identical twins, excess is all. The Duke loves too much, Olivia mourns too much, and Viola woos too wisely and too well. Like fat Jack Falstaff, Sir Toby Belch drinks and carouses too much, and he makes too much sport of others. Olivia's steward, Malvolio, is too pompous and pretentious; even his comeuppance is extreme.
Director Nick Kennedy paints with a broad brush, but the production is effective. Brandon Walker is aptly lovesick as the Duke, and while she seems wildly adolescent, Tara Denton makes Olivia as capricious as written. Max Macke does another funny turn with the fat-man (he played Falstaff before, and now Toby Belch), and Neil McDonald is amusing as the doltish Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Crystal Verdon's Maria is more mischievous than lusty, but that works fine. Richard Baird's Malvolio looks like Anthony Hopkins' slicked-back, uptight butler in "Remains of the Day," and he moves with a comical, stylized grace. He makes the character sympathetic at the end, still vengeful but even more hurt and humiliated. We actually feel sorry for him, which doesn't happen in many productions. He's guilty of pomposity, after all, not evil. Kennedy's Feste is enigmatic; dressed like a beggar, he's a rather despondent fool. Tony Misiano really does look like his twin sister, Viola, and Beth Everhart makes Cesario (Viola in male disguise) a smart, savvy, thoroughly likable bloke. It would've been nice to see her blonde and be-femmed again at the end.
Baird and Kennedy, the Players' co-founders, wear many hats: their collaboration produced nifty combat scenes. Baird and Billie Baird are responsible for the engaging mix of beachwear and thrift-shop costumes, and Kennedy organized the music. This is a bare-bones, black-box presentation; there's nothing more than a bench onstage. But that keeps the focus on the language -- when it isn't on the physical comedy. While their production values are modest, Poor Players have a wealth of creativity and imagination, and they enrich the San Diego theater scene.
Below are links to another review and a comparison between this production and another "Twelfth Night" running concurrently in San Diego.
http://www.sdreader.com/ed/calendar/th/smith/
http://dalemorris.net/#pat
Cheers,
Neil ("I knew 'twas I, for many do call me fool") McDonald
Thou droning milk-livered flirt-gill! (Yep, that sounds about right....)
It's pleasing to know that there isn't an international conspiracy of critics to avoid any of my shows. Two years of silence on the part of Glasgow critics can give you some fanciful ideas....
"Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare
Poor Players, Adams Avenue Studio, San Diego
Performing through 21st August
Review from "Curtain Calls"
by Pat Launer
www.sdtheatrescene.com 8/3/04
CROSSED GARTERS, CROSS-DRESSING AND LOVE
Two 'Saturday Night Fever' dances in one weekend. Whew! The white-suited moves show up in "The Ally Way" and also in Poor Players' "Twelfth Night." The Poor Players are Bardolators who'll do whatever it takes to make the old boy relevant. Sometimes this leads to an abundance of base humor, belches and beer cans. But there's nothing sophomoric about their handling of the language. In their fleet, slightly pared-down versions of Shakespeare's plays, they underscore the humor, but mine the deeper emotions, too. They pay close attention to the text, clarifying without emoting or declaiming (though there is a good bit of shouting in this production, not always where/when called for). And they appeal to young people like themselves, which is, of course, a very good thing. If you haven't seen them yet, this may be a great opportunity. Then, next week, you can catch New Village Art's production of "Twelfth Night" and compare.
In this tale of mistaken identity and identical twins, excess is all. The Duke loves too much, Olivia mourns too much, and Viola woos too wisely and too well. Like fat Jack Falstaff, Sir Toby Belch drinks and carouses too much, and he makes too much sport of others. Olivia's steward, Malvolio, is too pompous and pretentious; even his comeuppance is extreme.
Director Nick Kennedy paints with a broad brush, but the production is effective. Brandon Walker is aptly lovesick as the Duke, and while she seems wildly adolescent, Tara Denton makes Olivia as capricious as written. Max Macke does another funny turn with the fat-man (he played Falstaff before, and now Toby Belch), and Neil McDonald is amusing as the doltish Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Crystal Verdon's Maria is more mischievous than lusty, but that works fine. Richard Baird's Malvolio looks like Anthony Hopkins' slicked-back, uptight butler in "Remains of the Day," and he moves with a comical, stylized grace. He makes the character sympathetic at the end, still vengeful but even more hurt and humiliated. We actually feel sorry for him, which doesn't happen in many productions. He's guilty of pomposity, after all, not evil. Kennedy's Feste is enigmatic; dressed like a beggar, he's a rather despondent fool. Tony Misiano really does look like his twin sister, Viola, and Beth Everhart makes Cesario (Viola in male disguise) a smart, savvy, thoroughly likable bloke. It would've been nice to see her blonde and be-femmed again at the end.
Baird and Kennedy, the Players' co-founders, wear many hats: their collaboration produced nifty combat scenes. Baird and Billie Baird are responsible for the engaging mix of beachwear and thrift-shop costumes, and Kennedy organized the music. This is a bare-bones, black-box presentation; there's nothing more than a bench onstage. But that keeps the focus on the language -- when it isn't on the physical comedy. While their production values are modest, Poor Players have a wealth of creativity and imagination, and they enrich the San Diego theater scene.
Below are links to another review and a comparison between this production and another "Twelfth Night" running concurrently in San Diego.
http://www.sdreader.com/ed/calendar/th/smith/
http://dalemorris.net/#pat
Cheers,
Neil ("I knew 'twas I, for many do call me fool") McDonald
Thou droning milk-livered flirt-gill! (Yep, that sounds about right....)