Weekly Margin 2019, W1: True West, Improvised Shakespeare

1/03/19: True West
What: Roundabout's revival of Sam Shepherd's play about two brothers--one a transient small-potatoes thief, the other a screenwriter--whose rivalry and estrangement come to a boil.
And? I was pretty bored by the show (but I've never really gotten Sam Shepard). Paul Dano was great, Ethan Hawke was better than expected. The set design was pretty good, but the lighting design employed a device I've been seeing a lot lately that I'm not too kicked on (a proscenium frame of lights that glare brightly between scenes to shrink the audience's pupils, to cover the set transitions). That device worked for me for The Father because it seemed to feed, and be fed off, the content of the story; I didn't see any form/content matching here.

Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano as Lee and Austin. Photo by Joan Marcus.

1/06/19: Improvised Shakespeare
What: A troupe of five players improvise a ninety-minute play in iambic pentameter (ish), based on a suggestion from the audience, using familiar Shakespearean tropes, style, and structure.
And? Another absolute delight, complete with a scene of badly-accented French soldiers hatching a plan in rhyme, an impression contest, way too many babies, and more in Laying An Egg.

Best Of ... 18 for 2018

2018's spring continued the trend of 2017's autumn, with rather a dearth of content, and a lot of disappointment along the way. I'm sad to say that it wasn't nearly as difficult to whittle down my list to a "best of" this year as it has been in years past (I mean, there was still whittling ... but it was less torturous). I also saw fewer shows this year than my record of last year: 118 unique shows, with six repeats at 124 shows total. 

The cast of Head Over Heels. Photo by Joan Marcus.

This year I also did something new to help me track my theater-going, as anyone who reads this blog knows: with my Weekly Margin digest, I made a concerted effort to document at least my first impressions of every show as I saw it, with the idea that it would make drafting this final post a bit more, well, digestible. This year's post is going to be more economic in fill as a result, with the idea that I have already said a deal of what I thought the first time around. 

So now that I've managed all our expectations, I will say that, as always, there were still extraordinary things to be seen, productions that reminded me why I love live theater so much, stories that thrilled me, performers who blew me away. So let's get to it.

Weekly Margin 2018, W51: Emma

12/23/18: Emma
What: Paul Gordon's musical adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about a matchmaker who knows little about love and even less about herself. Presented by the Chance Theater in California.
And? Sweet and absolutely charming throughout, with some very clever staging by director Casey Long, especially for the ball. Lovely framing set by Masako Tobaru which immediately puts one in the mood for some Austen snark and social mores. A frothy and fun cast, all with beautiful singing voices, and with some delightful comedy from Zoya Martin's Harriet Smith (hilarious and endearing perfection), Jeff Lowe's Mr. Knightley (walking snark with a lovely tenor), and of course Mandy Foster's Emma (perfectly poised with smiling mischief).

Mandy Foster as Emma Woodhouse. Photo by Benjamin Busch.

Weekly Margin 2018, W49: Head Over Heels, All's Well That Ends Well

12/05/18: Head Over Heels
a repeat visit with a friend. still delightful

12/06/18: All's Well That Ends Well
What: Hedgepig Ensemble's production of one of Shakespeare's problem plays
And? Full review here.

Basil Rodericks and Sara Hymes as the King of France and Helena, with
Andy Baldeschwiler as Lafeu. Photo by Allison Stock.

Margin Notes: All's Well That Ends Well

All's Well That Ends Well

Elizabeth C.J. Roberts and Kariana Sanchez
as the Widow and Diana.
Photo by Allison Stock.

Seen on: Thursday, 12/06/18.
My grade: B-

Plot and Background

Helena, daughter of a deceased doctor and ward of the Countess of Roussillon, loves the Countess's son Bertram, though he barely notices her. After she cures the ailing king, she is offered her choice of husbands, and she chooses Bertram--who reluctantly weds her, then immediately flees to the war in Italy and starts wooing a local girl, Diana. Helena follows and bed trick hijinks ensue. Hedgepig Ensemble is a company which "elevates the voices of all women by reimagining the classics."

What I Knew Beforehand

Weirdly, this is a play I didn't know beforehand, aside from having heard a monologue or two.

Thoughts:

Play: Emily Lyon's director's note in the program acknowledges that All's Well is a problem play (boy is it ever), then places Helena's plight in the context of our country's current situation, which includes the #MeToo movement, 45, and the midterm election results. And I have to say, that's a weird context for me. What's interesting about the play is the way it gender-flips problematic tropes that are walking red flags in the #MeToo movement, but that doesn't necessarily reflect well on anyone. Helena loves Bertram, who doesn't love her (which she has to realize on some level), but forces him to marry her anyway; when she pursues him after his flight, she tricks him into sleeping with her, which is pretty damn rapey. But we're used to seeing these tropes with the men disregarding the woman's autonomy and consent. I think this narrative would have been difficult for me to watch, whichever way the disregarding went. And by the time we reach the conclusion, the supposed ending-well which makes all the rest well (as the title indicates), it's just so hard to buy why anyone would love either Helena or Bertram, much less why they would love each other (and don't get me started on Helena's final reveal, in a glamorous dress, hearkening to everyone's favorite moment in teen romcoms, when the geeky girl takes off her glasses, puts on a dress, and suddenly jock boy is in love).