ASHLAND, Ore. -- The matinee was over and we were sitting in Lithia Park, just down the hill from the theaters that house the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. On the field in front of us, a few guys tossed a frisbee, another practiced his juggling, one kicked around a hackey-sack. We were talking about the "Julius Caesar" we'd just seen, thinking about a dinner destination before an evening performance of "The Pirates of Penzance."
A rustle in some bushes caused us to look over our right shoulders -- and a young deer came trotting out through them, glanced briefly in our direction and continued along the path that led to Main Street, truly the main street of this southern Oregon town. In 20 seconds, she (we think it was a doe) had disappeared from sight.
Almost a week in Ashland, viewing plays and visiting with my colleagues at the American Theatre Critcs Assn. annual conference was a wonderful time in terms of weather (70s by day, 50s by night), less so in terms of theater. It was my first visit since 1985 and I enjoyed the time immensely. A 90-mile side trip to feast on the incredible blues of Crater Lake is a glorious experience, and non-stop theater (six plays in three theaters in four days) is a favorite pastime. The town of some 20,000, about 15 miles north of the California border, is 10 miles south of Medford, whose population is about 75,000. It's a rather quiet area of the country, with the nearest major cities being Portland, Ore., about 200 miles, and San Francisco, nearly 350.
Lots of people make the journey to Ashland, where the season begins in mid-February and continues into early November. Three theaters are in action: then outdoor Elizabethan Stage seats about 1200, the Angus Boehmer about 600 and the New Theater about 500.
A real repertory company is doing 12 plays this season, four by Shakespeare. The others are a mix of classics like "The Imaginary Invalid;" a first-time Gilbert and Sullivan with "The Pirates of Penzance;" a world premiere of "Ghost Light," based on the murder of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and co-written and directed by his son, Jonathan; "Willful," in which actors and audience wander the festival campus for 85 minutes; a remounted "August: Osage County," which visited the Fox last winter; another recent play, "The Language Archive," a comedy by Julia Cho; a riff on Shakespeare that looks into theater history, "The African Company Presents Richard III" and the American classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Given the span of the season, some plays opened early and have closed; others are yet to open.
The Shakespeare offerings are "Julius Caesar," "Love's Labor's Lost," "Measure for Measure" and "Henry IV, Part Two."
And why was I not ecstatic over the plays?
Well, I think Bill Rauch, the artistic director, has turned his focus too much on making the season "modern," with lots of music, a flood of contemporary references, rewrite that made some plays almost unrecognizable. Too many plays disrespected their authors. Plays that have been around for 500 years deserve more. If a director has a different vision for a classic, the classic usually survives, little the worse for wear, but if the new version is not a great deal better than the original one, someone has missed the boat. And badly, often falling into the water.
Productions were generally excellent. "Julius Caesar," in the round on a bare stage, was excitingly directed by Amanda Dehnert and boasted a highly impressive lighting design and costumes by Robert Peterson and Linda Roethke, respectively, along with strong, effective original music and sound design by Fabian Obispo. The fact that a woman, Vilma Silva, was cast as Caesar, didn't bother me, but neither did she bring anything special to the stage, and her ghostly, non-speaking presence in the second act was a bother. Her performance was good, but I never found a good reason for Dehnert's decision. Jonathan Haugen was an exciting Brutus, and Danforth Comins a powerful Mark Anthony. A jarring note, however, was the use of a one-named Japanese actress, Ako, as the Soothsayer and in two other roles.
The most maligned author was Moliere, with a new translation and a new production of "The Imaginary Invalid" that made me wish for Richard Wilbur's classic translation. Oded Gross and Tracy Young did the new adaptation and wrote the lyrics with composer Paul James Prendergast. Young also directed. Some of the music seemed to come from Jacques Brel, and the intermission music sounded like the theme from "A Man and a Woman." The play was set in the 1960s, David Kelly was a first-rate Argan and Kimbre Lancaster and Nell Geisslinger did well as his daughters. The music got in the way of the sharp dialogue and Young's direction seemed to be all over the place.
"Ghost Light," based on the murder of Moscone by Dan White (who then used the "Twinkie defense"), is a play with promise. It's a memory play, of the type Tennessee Williams used to write, and it's a son's tribute to his father, a practicing heterosexual, who prodded Harvey Milk into running for office and becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to citywide office. Moscone and Tony Taccone wrote the play, based on Moscone's memories, and there are touches of Hamlet here and there. Christopher Liam Moore, splendid in the role, is Jon (or Jonathan), and Comins shows his versatility by moving from Rome to San Francisco as a filmmaker doing a documentary on Moscone. The play is interesting and entertaining, and Moscone's direction is first-rate. Some of the dream sequences are excellent, a couple are too long. A little judicious editing will provide a marked improvement.
Almost as overwrought as "The Imaginary Invalid" is "The Pirates of Penzance," which sought modernity so desperately it even hired a hip-hop consultant (Ramiz Monsef). Artistic director Rauch took it way over the top, with second-rate new lyrics by Robin Goodrin Nordli. Daniel Gary Busby was the music director, with Darcy Danielson as his associate director and contributor of additional vocal and orchestral arrangements.
"Pirates" has a fine score on its own, and no one, with the possible exceptions of Noel Coward and Cole Porter, ever sprayed vitriol and sarcasm on his lyrics better than William S,. Gilbert. His long-time specialty was "patter-songs," and Kelly was wonderful as he rattled them off in fine style, leading with "The Modern Major General." Again, the acting and singing were delightful as they dealt with 19th-century music and lyrics. In addition to Kelly, there was extremely proper work from Michael Elich as the Pirate King; Eddie Lopez as Frederic, the Pirate apprentice trapped by his birthday of Feb. 29; Khori Dastoor, a rich soprano as the general's eldest daughter and Nordli, as the Pirate maid and perhaps the only person to understand the new lyrics.
Rauch also directed "Measure for Measure," and once again took it over the top, bringing it into contemporary times and presenting Shakespeare's problems with politics and morality as if they were our own. Anthony Heald lights the stage as the Duke of Vienna and in several other characterizations, bringing out the humor of the play. Rene Millan, as his deputy, and Isabell (CQ) Monk O'Connor, as his chief of staff, were ideal foils for him and the three made an excellent team. Kenajuan Bentley was a delight as Lucio. The pacing was almost breathless, however.
Next to "Caesar," my favorite of the four Shakespeare productions was "Henry IV, Part Two," with an outstanding Michael Winters as Falstaff, not quite the buffoon he is in Part One, but looking over his shoulder and seeing his own mortality chasing him. John Tufts is strong as Prince Hal. Rachel Hauck directed with considerable calm and Prendergast's music and sound design were less frentic than in "The Imaginary Invalid," and worked a great deal better.
Being immersed in Ashland is a wonderful experience, and a few days of immersion in the theater always is a treat.
--Joe
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