Richard III
Probably the best show of this weekend, perhaps the best show of this OSF season. This sequence of the history plays that began several years ago with Dan Donahue fabulous portrayal of Harry becoming Henry V. James Newcomb hinted at greatness last year with his portrayal of Richard in Henry VI. He commands the stage this year as Richard III, by turns beguiling and terrifying, flitting around the stage with alarming switfness on crutches only to brought to the ground by his deformity. The barren set, punctuated only by two enormous columns, keeps attention riveted on the characters. I also loved the haunting character of Queen Margaret, who haunts the back of the set everytime her name is invoked. Robin Goodrin Nordli's blood-curdling delivery of Margaret's dire insults was outstanding.
Twelfth Night
It's hard for new performances of Twelfth Night to distinguish themselves in my memory, having seen this play quite a few times. OSF can produce just such a performance, as it did last year with an inspired Los Vegas setting of Comedy of Errors. This year's Twelfth Night is particularly noteworthy for Ken Albers's excellent performance as Malvolio. Where most actors make Malvolio into a blustery, overblown character, Albers offers us a quiet, intense figure, still pompous but much more believable. The power struggle between Maria and Malvolio during the late-night kitchen brawl was wonderfully believable and quite different from any other version I've seen.
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2 comments:
I loved the focus on Margaret and the women in this production of Richard, and the bare stage sort of reminded me of the old days in the Black Swan theater with the big central pillar to work around. I've been talking this up to Rebecca, who is thinking of going up to the OSF shows in early September: Love's Labors Lost, Gibraltar and Richard III were my 3 faves of this trip
Just wanted to let you know I read your blog (or whatever I'm supposed to call your comments). I enjoyed the descriptions of the plays. Wah! I'm jealous. (Liked the Izzy picture, too.) Mom
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