Measure for Measure....Jersey Style (no male tanktops were spotted though)

Measure for Measure
New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre - Drew University
August 11, 2012

Brad - A
Chelsea - C

So, on an early August Saturday we woke up bright and early and headed up to the best the U.S. has to offer...New Jersey! This was a double decker day. We had Measure for Measure in the morning and then Coriolanus in NYC in the evening. So, when we made it into Madison, NJ we stopped for a hearty lunch and I was introduced to an "Egg Cream." This exists! I'm confused, what is this? Why do you drink an egg?

Then we headed to the theatre! We took some pics outside because I was trying to get a shot of the cliental...let's just say we brought the median age down 20 years. 

So, the story! It starts with the Duke announcing he will leave on a diplomatic mission....SIKE! He secretly stays in the city disguised as a friar to see what's happening in the city while he is away. Meanwhile, an adorable young man named Claudio is unofficially married to Juliet. Since they were poor they couldn't afford the technicalities but come on, they were married! Angelo, the mean judge the Duke left in charge gets wind of this and says since they aren't married fornication is punishable so sentences Claudio to death! Claudio's sister, Isabella, a young nun runs to Angelo to plead for her brother. Angelo gets a bit touchy feely with Isabella and offers her a deal. He will spare her brother if she hooks up with him. Isabella, being a classy nun, won't do it. She seeks counsel from a friar (The Duke!) and he sets a plan. He has Isabella arrange a "bed trick" (Shakespeare loves these, I would like to see this work out in modern times) where Isabelle says she will meet him in her room in darkness and silence for The Deed. Instead, a woman he was betrothed to - but she couldn't pay the dowry so he kicked her to the curb - is in the bed and well you know. So, Angelo thinks he hooked up with Isabella and he still goes back on his word and sentences Claudio to death! It all ends with the Duke revealing himself and setting everyone straight, saving Claudio, forcing Angelo to marry the woman who tricked him, and proposing to Isabella -aw!

It was good! It was straight forward Elizabethan and the actors were really good, I wouldn't say it was my favorite play though. Let's look at Angelo, he was betrothed to a lady, said no because she was poor, got tricked into hooking up with her, and then was forced to marry her....WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER? Does Shakespeare understand the lady mind? At every turn he rejected her and she was psyched to marry him. I just don't get it. But, we did like it. I guess it just didn't wow us (but not everything can be Titus Andronicus). The Duke was great, although how can he and Superman really fool people by changing his clothes and putting on glasses? As was Isabella. It was a good start to the morning!

Then....we headed into NYC!

Chelsea

Comedy of Errors: I love Skittles

Comedy of Errors
Annapolis Shakespeare Company - Bowie, Maryland
August 9, 2012

Chelsea - !?!
Brad - B

I've always loved skittles.  They are a delicious candy.  As a kid, my Poppy would take me to the bean-bean store and treat me to a bag of skittles.  Those days were the best.  What do skittles have to do with the Comedy of Errors? Well, the skittles Chelsea and I got at intermission were the best part of this production.

The Play:  Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus arrive in Syracuse.  Dromio is Antipholus's servant.  Unbeknownst to them, Syracuse is home to Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse.  The two Antipholi and the two Dromios are actually two sets of identical twins separated at birth!  So, now you've got two sets of people that look identical wandering around the same small city, a city who thinks there is only one Antipholus and one Dromio.  So, throughout the course of the play, merchants, wives, and mistresses all assume they are talking to Antipholus of Syracuse when they are actually talking to Antipholus of Ephesus.  At the end of the play, it turns out Antipholi's parents are also both in Syracuse.   The last scene is one huge family reunion. Very sweet.

The Production:  The director made the choice to make this a slapstick comedy.  So, there was a lot of physical humor ---  slapping, kicking, nose-honking, etc.  And every time --- every time --- one character hit another character --- which happened seemingly three times a minute --- a woman sitting on stage would honk a horn.  And every time --- every time --- one character kicked another character --- which happened seemingly three times a minute --- a woman sitting on stage would ring a bell.  So, every time there was physical humor, there was a corresponding sound effect.  FOR TWO COMPLETE HOURS!  In addition, there was time travel --- which was never fully explained --- Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque costumes, and dance numbers.

In the brief moments between slaps and sound effects, some of the actors did a good job.

This was the first production we've seriously considered leaving at intermission.  And that is saying something considering we've seen some rough shows.  Mama said, "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything." With that in mind the nicest thing I can say about this production is, man, those skittles were good!

Brad of Ephesus

Seriously????

Can you just take a hot second to look to the right on this blog. We have seen TWENTY NINE plays in 10 month. I know this is embarrassing but heck yeah we rock!!! Also, we are behind on the posts but  we're working on it.

Right now I feel like this:

Yeah!!

Love's Labour's Lost - why talent knows no age!

Love's Labour's Lost
Camp Shakespeare - Washington, DC
July 10th, 2012

Brad - A
Chelsea - A

Ok, so we should start by saying this is a super sad comedy and I had a swollen face so the play and my well being day of are not why I gave this an A, it is solely based on how awesome a bunch of high schoolers pulled off a Shakespeare play so I hope that says something, clearly I do not give A's willy nilly!

But, about the play: This is a comedy set in the Kingdom of Navarre. The king and his 3 bros decide they are going to devote themselves to 3 years of study and not allow any women to distract them. So they sign a law saying they cannot be in the company of women for 3 years, very he-man-woman-haters-club-esque. Right after they sign this lo and behold a princess and her 3 gals come to visit the kingdom! The king makes them stay in a tent outside of the kingdom walls. Clearly they all met, pair up and fall instantly in love! There is also a side plot about a Spanish swordsman who is trying to woo on of the ladies in town which is super funny. All of this culminates with the Spanish man, the king, and his noblemen putting on a play for the ladies, dressing up like Germans to spy on them and dancing. All quite strange and funny. BUT! The end takes a super sad twist. Spoiler alert - at the end the princess hears that he father has died and she must immediately return home with her ladies. All of the men vow to wait for them and the woman say that to test their love they must wait a year and day before coming for them. So, the ladies take off and the men wait heartbroken - hence Love's Labour's Lost. Sad ending!!

The seeing of this play was a bit eventful. The day before I had a dentist appointment. The regular good old fashion cleaning kind but I had some sort of allergic reaction to the fluoride and my whole mouth swelled up for 3 days. It was awful and I felt like a chipmunk but it did make my lips very lovely!

Brad called the next day and said "hey wanna see high schoolers attempt Shakespeare?" I did not, but by golly I will finish this project! So, we went. It was actually super wonderful! The actors were great! Clearly, we saw some high quality, as you can see this was the ADVANCED class!

They were great! I think one of the defining characteristics we have seen between good and bad Shakespeare has been the actors knowing what they are saying. If they get what the words mean they usually say it like one human being would talk to another. If not, they get all arm flinging, britishy, and stale. These actors knew what they were saying and they committed to their roles. Our favorite was the Spanish swordsman, he had a drawn on mustache  and open shirt to reveal...no chest hair but he owned it! He was hilarious and not overboard. For the fact that we have seen an insane amount Shakespeare done by people who are paid to do this for a living and people with way more experience this play held it's own among them.

I was really impressed. I even braved my face embarrassment to tell the director how great it was. I pretty sure he thought I had had a stroke recently.

Chelsea

Shakes by the Lake Part II: As You Like It!

As You Like It
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival - Cleveland, Ohio
July 15, 2012

Brad - A
Chelsea - C

We had the whole day to waste before we saw As You Like It, so we seized it.  First, we went to a giant, bulk candy store.  It was amazing:

Those are shelves and shelves of candy.  We bought a bunch of stuff for the wedding reception, and I bought a box of super red rope licorice for my own personal consumption.  Then we headed downtown!

After candyland, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

It is housed in this very strange looking building.

So, they don't allow pictures on the inside, unfortunately.  But it is pretty, pretty nice.   It is pretty amazing to see an iconic album cover sitting next to the actual clothes the band wore or the guitar used in the photo for said album cover.  They also have some awesome stage sets from past tours, such as The Wall:

The only disappointment was the lack of anything Jimmy Buffett.  He is a true rock-star, and someday, when the Hall recognizes this, I will go back to see his exhibit.  But we did see some items from Fitz and the Tantrums.

They aren't technically in the Hall of Fame yet, but with more albums like their debut album, they will be there someday!  Here is a short, sweet sample of Fitz and the Tantrums:

So, we hopped on Johnny Cash's tour bus and headed back to the burbs for more Shakespeare:

But we still had a bit of time to kill, so we stopped at Barnes and Nobles for a coffee, a giant chess game, and quick read.

If you are curious what Chelsea is reading, she is catching up on the most recent prepper literature.  What is a prepper you say, pollyanna? You'd better learn before TEOTWAWKI.  After deciding on our bug out location for DC, we headed back to the Collonade for Shakespeare!

So, As You Like It:  Frederick usurps his older brother's duchy and exiles him, but he allows his brother's daughter, Rosalind, to stay in town to be friends with his daughter, Celia.  Orlando, after fighting and beating a very large man, sees Rosalind and falls in love.  Shortly thereafter, Frederick banishes Rosalind.  Angry, Cecilia agrees to leave with Rosalind (along with the jester Touchstone).  Celia dresses as an old woman and Rosalind as a young man named Ganymede.  At the same time, Orlando flees the duchy to hid from his older brother.  All relevant parties, fortuitously, escape to the Forest of Arden, home to the exiled duke.

Orlando, lovesick for Rosalind, begins writing horrible love poetry and posting it on the trees of the forest. Rosalind/Ganymede sees it, discusses it with Orlando, and agrees to teach Orlando how to woo a woman.  So, Orlando goes about woo-ing Rosalind/Ganymede.  However, a shepherdess falls in love with Ganymede/Rosalind much to the chagrin of the Shepard in love with her.  And because love is in the air, Touchstone tries to seduce a lady friend.

After a big fight with all of the lovers, Rosalind --- still dressed as a man --- has Orlando agree to marry Rosalind, and the shepherdess agree to marry the Shepard, if the shepherdess cannot marry Ganymede.  Because Ganymede turns out to be a woman,  at the end of the day, everyone is married off, and everyone is happy.

This production was better than Henry VIII.  Orlando was great, and Rosalind was better.  Touchstone, a Cleveland acting establishment, was also pretty good.  This kind of play is perfect for Shakespeare in the Park.  It was light and fun.  This play also contains the famous "All the world's a Stage" monologue.  The weather was great, the crowd was full, and I ate three pieces of super red rope licorice during the production. All in all, a good experience.

After the play, we packed up and headed home.  Because Cleveland is only 5.5 hours from DC, we actually made it home in pretty good time.  It was a successful weekend, and I can tell you that I've now spent plenty of time in Cleveland for one lifetime.

Brady-mede

Shakes by the Lake: Part 1 - Henry the 8th I AM

Henry VIII
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival - Cleveland, Ohio
July 14, 2012

Brad - A
Chelsea - C

Did you know that Cleveland, Ohio, is only five and a half hours from Washington, DC? I didn't, but I do now.  How do I know, you ask? Well, Chelsea and I (and her ever-present wedding task folder) drove to Cleveland to see two Shakespeare shows.  Unfortunately, Taggart had other plans that weekend, so he stayed in DC and held down the fort.

Yes, Tag is judging you for reading this.

So, after our brief commute to Cleveland on Saturday morning, we arrived at the Shaker Heights Community Collonade for a production of Henry VIII.

In honor of being in Ohio, we decided to get a delicious Donato's pizza for our picnic and play in the park.  Chelsea got to sit in the one chair we brought; I sat on the ground, the hard, hard ground. 

So, Henry VIII:  At the outset, no one but Henry VIII likes Cardinal Wolsey.  He lies, cheats, and holds power over the king.  The first example is Lord Buckingham.  LB tells some of the Lords that he distrusts Wolsey.  Next thing you know, Wolsey is arrested for treason, and then he is sentenced to die.  Wolsey 1; LB 0.  Then Wolsey has a party at his house.  The King attends in masquerade, but Wolsey knows its him.  The King also meets a beautiful young Anne Bullen and becomes smitten.  The King then looks to divorce his current wife, Kate, and Wolsey sees this as his opportunity to get back at Kate.  There is an epic divorce trial, but Kate refuses to consent to the court's jurisdiction.  Trial ends. Because Wolsey was essentially prosecuting Kate at this trial, he garners even more favor with the King.  But then the chickens come home to roost.  The Lords arrange to have Wolsey's message to the Pope redirected to the King.  The King learns that Wolsey is playing him by prosecuting the divorce for the king, but urging the Pope to deny the divorce.  Wolsey is ousted, a new churchman proves his loyalty to the King, and Anne Bullen becomes queen.  She has a baby girl -- HA! -- and the play ends as the baby is baptized. 

The play is much better than that description, but this play strikes me as a time-period, political thriller so there is a lot of court/church intrigue that is not easily summarized.

So, the director of our production was very ambitious.  First, a choice that worked, the director set this as a political thriller by putting all of the lords and the king in business suits and having them all obsess over their blackberrys.  This actually worked very well.  When the Lords "redirected" Wolsey's message, it was implied that those messages were an email or text.  A not so good choice, however, was when the director chose to have Henry VIII masquerade as a break dancer at Wolsey's party early in the play.

This was just out of place and awkward.  Similarly, at one point, when Queen Kate was hallucinating about Anne Bullen being Henry's new bride, there was a bride-laden dance scene.

Also, at random points, the cast sang modern songs, but the cast did not have very strong voices.  The actual performance was fine.  What was strange, however, was that the director had the actors/singers stand dead still and sing with absolutely no emotion whatsoever.  Very strange.

Beyond the director's ambitions, the cast did great.  Cardinal Wolsey was very creepy.  The Lords were actually very strong, and Anne Bullen was great.  For a cast without a single professional actor, the play was pretty good!

After the play we went back to our hotel and went to the hotel restaurant for dessert and drinks.  Long story short, we asked the manager a question about the menu, and she responded by insulting us.  Ahhh Cleveland.  

All in all a good day.  We made it to Cleveland easily, the play was entertaining --- for right and wrong reasons --- and a random restaurant manager called us low class.  After such a lovely day, we had the promise of spending yet another blessed day in Cleveland the following day! Gotta love it.

Brad VIII

The Tempest

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Company - Centerville, PA
June 30, 2012


Brad - A
Chelsea - C+

So, after a really busy week at work, Brad and I headed out of work early to spend the weekend in Philadelphia to see Radio Lab Live and Shakespeare. Unfortunately, 4 hours into our trip we were only in Baltimore (it is 45 miles away). If anyone knows about the DC area traffic, this is not that crazy. Traffic is horrible! Needless to say, we missed Radio Lab, but the exceptionally nice people of the Kimbrell Center allowed us to use our ticket as a gift certificates for another show and Radio Lab is coming to DC, so as frustrating as traffic was it was not all bad. So, instead we drove straight to Centerville, PA to see some Shakespeare. The next morning we headed to the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Center for The Tempest. Below are some shots of the play:

They started the play with a big sheet and a little boat. It was actually pretty neat. They had big waves in the sheets while actors said the "on boat" dialogue from off stage.

So, here's the story: The king of Milan and his daughter, Miranda, are exiled on an island for 12 years by the kings evil brother. In that time Miranda grows into a hormone driven teenager and the king, Prospero, grows magical powers from all of his "book learning" (seriously, his great intellect gave him power, he is basically Hermione Granger). He also gains an ally in a fairy, Ariel, that he saved from imprisonment in a tree and a monstrous servant named Caliban. He finds out that his brother, the man who helped his brother overthrow him, Alonso, and Alonso's son, Ferdinand - as well as some unimportant side characters are on a boat nearby. So, he has Ariel create a huge storm - some might say a Tempest - to shipwreck them on the island. He also separates them into 3 groups; Prospero's brother and Alonso in one, Alonso's son Ferdinand alone in one, and Alonso's brother, Sebastian with one of his drunken friend. The plots revolve around these 3 groups. The son, Ferdinand, stumbles upon Prospero's camp and falls in love with Miranda, Alonso's group wanders through all sorts of misadventures trying to find Ferdinand, and Sebastian group just gets drunk and acts annoying. The monster, Caliban, finds Sebastian's group and becomes quite the alcoholic. The story ends with Miranda and Ferndinand getting married, Alonso finding his son as well as Prospero, and Prospero choosing to forgive his brother and Alonso for overthrowing him. The drunks eventually show up ad they all sail home together.

Before the play Brad and I wandered around and Brad tried to put on a play to no one. What a showboat!

So, here are my thoughts. I have had a continuous struggle with Shakespeare's comic relief. In almost every play there is that one character that gets the laughs. In this play it was Sebastian and Caliban. Basically, they acted like drunken southerns. Complete with bad out of place accents and fart jokes. They seriously ruin plays for me. I know this is how Shakespeare wrote and I shouldn't blame the actors but man it is distracting and cheap. So much good writing and they still need to make a fart joke! The quality of the show was great though. The Miranda, Prospero, and Ariel were very good! It was very fairy tale but still a good story. Only 2 things got me....1. girls back then would marry anything! Miranda was 15 and married the first man she had ever met 2. sometimes you just need to wrap up a story. Prospero was exiled on an island for 12 years - 12 YEARS! - and he forgave his enemy's with basically no second thought. Maybe I am hard-hearted but I'm pretty sure there would be a major lecture involved.

After the play, we headed back to DC but first enjoyed some of Centerville's finest ice cream!

Minus the sink hole of DC traffic it was a fun trip! We listened to some Radio Lab on the way home to make up for our loss and also talked wedding, which is all I make Brad do these days.

Chelsea