USF Summer 2007 Reviews

Since we saw this the week before the season was over, unfortunately I can’t recommend any of these to go see . . . except to say that everyone should go to the Utah Shakespeare Festival!!

This year at the Utah Shakespearean Festival was probably one of the most pleasant surprises we’ve had in years. I was looking forward to seeing Twelfth Night, possibly my favorite Shakespeare comedy, but I didn’t have overly high expectations for any of the others. However, not only did we enjoy all the plays, but the cast was also possibly the strongest we’ve ever seen. And Ryan, just like last year, really enjoyed going to child care to play with the sand and the toys.

Without further ado, here are my reviews of the plays in the order that we saw them:

Candida: This play by George Bernard Shaw is about a woman who is married to a minister who doesn’t realize how much she does for him and who is loved by an 18-year-old poet who is artistic but not much more. I was prepared not to like this play because I don’t like the idea of a married woman entertaining the idea of leaving her husband for another man. However, there was never any danger of that—the poet, while romantic, had nothing to offer. And Candida does teach her husband that she does a lot more than he realizes so that he can live the life that he wants. All of the performances were wonderful, and the play has given me a lot to think about, particularly about marriage.

Twelfth Night: I’ve seen this play probably more than any other. This particular one was set in the Middle East, so the set was covered in blue and gold geometric designs and turbaned or veiled costumes. It had the best Viola I’ve ever seen; I loved the choices that she made that really made her seem uncomfortable in her own skin as a man. It also had the best swordfight; Viola and Sir Andrew were so afraid of each other that they couldn’t look at one another, so Sir Toby uses his own sword to hit both of their swords and they think they’re fighting each other. Olivia was also extremely strong. As much as I love the Trevor Nunn movie, it can be very dark and serious, more than I think is warranted by the play. I would love to take this production and include the Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Malvolio from the first time that I saw it (they were very funny, complete with eye-popping and wild gestures). But this was a very solid performance.

Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical: There has been a lot of buzz about this one. Two of the festival regulars turned this play into a musical with the playwright’s blessing, and they did a fabulous job, such a wonderful job that producers have been coming from Broadway to see it. It’s a wild farcical romp about a womanizing opera star coming to Cleveland, losing his wife (temporarily), and being replaced by shy assistant director in the big show. The songs were a lot of fun, and we laughed and smiled all the way through. Especially since we weren’t expecting much, we were really pleasantly surprised and gave them a well-deserved standing ovation.

Coriolanus: This is not Shakespeare’s best play, but I was glad to see it on stage, especially with James Newcombe in the starring role. It is the story of a very proud soldier who is unwilling to humble himself in order to become a senator. And while it is not as compelling a tragedy as some, we have discussed this play more than almost any other, contemplating pride, duty, family bonds, etc.

The Matchmaker: Thornton Wilder’s play was the basis for Hello, Dolly! Leslie Brott did a fabulous job as Dolly; actually, the entire cast was amazing! It’s a fun play that focuses on learning to really live life and appreciating the joys and small adventures that life can offer.

King Lear: Dan Kremer was by far the best Lear I’ve ever seen, so good that I forgot who was playing Lear—he just was Lear. All of the performances were strong, and it was directed by one of my favorite directors at the Festival (he directed the only version of Macbeth I’ve ever liked). This will stand as my definitive version of Lear for a long time.

The only complaint I have is I really don’t like the person who’s been running the literary seminars where people discuss the plays. She doesn’t know anything about the plays, even by the end of summer . . . I don’t think she read any books, articles, or anything else about any of them. However, we’ve decided that talking amongst ourselves is almost as good as talking with someone who’s an expert. So on the balance, it was an excellent year.