[NEohioPAL]Shaw Festival..what to see, where to stay and eat

[Roy Berko]

SHAW FESTIVAL, A PLACE TO GO FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND
BEAUTY

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Nestled in lower Canada’s beautiful wine-country, just
over the border from Buffalo rests
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  It is noted as the most
beautiful little city in Canada.  The reputation is
deserved.  In spring and summer the village blooms
with wonderful flowers, green golf courses, and
vineyards.   It is the home of fine bed and
breakfasts, spas, and an excellent array of
restaurants.

For many US Americans, besides the beauty, the big
draw is the annual Shaw Festival.  Housed in three
unique theatres, the festival is dedicated to
producing musicals, dramas and comedies that were
written during the life span of George Bernard Shaw or
about that era.  The mainstay productions are Shaw
pieces themselves.  This is high quality, professional
theatre at its finest.   The Festival has been
successfully headed by Artistic Director Christopher
Newton who is retiring this year after 22 years at its
helm.  

The present season includes two wonderful productions
,CANDIDA and CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA, both written by
Shaw.  There are also a couple of strong shows,
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, a musical by Steven Sondheim,
and Ronald Ackland’s THE OLD LADIES which is based on
a novel by Hugh Walpole.  Also on the board are two
less successful productions, Sidney Kingsley’s
DETECTIVE STORY and Harly Granville Barker’s HIS
MAJESTY.  Shows which are running, which I didn’t get
to review are THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL, THE HOUSE OF
BERNARDA ALBA, and THE OLD LADY SHOWS HER MEDALS. 
Later in the season Noel Coward’s HAY FEVER and Simon
Bradbury’s CHAPLIN will be added.  Productions run to
late November.

CANDIDA is a delight which centers on a menage a trois
between a vicar, his beguiling wife, and a youthful
poet.   The show has a perfectly balanced cast and is
well directed.  It is Shaw at his
finest...illustrating the power of women, poking fun
at the frailties of men, mocking the church, making
political lectures, and dispensing with God.  And, of
course, adding memorable lines to the English
vocabulary such as "Nothing worth saying is proper."
"Poets talk to themselves out loud and the world hears
them." and "The quantity  of truth the average man can
bear is still very small." As Jackie Maxwell says in
her director’s notes, "CANDIDA shows us that nothing
is still as timeless, resonant and fascinating as the
mysterious workings of the human heart." This is a
wonderful production!
	
Written in 1898, CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA is as relevant
today as it was then.  It is part lesson in how states
should be governed, part comic critique of the
occupation of one country by another, part love story
and part murder mystery.  The play asks, How do you
live a good life?  Can we accomplish the impossible? 
Can there be such a thing as ethical government?  One
of Shaw’s great plays it is crammed with authentic
historical details and then embellished with the
writer’s own philosophy of life and politics.  As
director Christopher Newton states, "Like the Sphinx
itself, this is a play of smiling riddles and
mysterious omens." 	CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA is a
wonderful theatrical experience.  Everything is well
honed.  The sets are awesome, the acting compelling,
the pacing perfect, the humor well-keyed.
	
How does US America’s most proficient writer, Steven
Sondheim, wind up on a Shaw Festival stage?  MERRILY
WE ROLL ALONG fits the Festival’s mission as it is
based on a 1930’s Kaufman and Hart comedy.  
	
The musical has an interesting gimmick.  It is written
in reverse order.  We know how the characters end up
right at the start.  What we find out is how they got
there.  Memorable music includes "Old Friends," "Not a
Day Goes By," "Opening Doors," and, of course, the
title tune.  The festival chooses its cast for their
acting abilities as they all appear in several shows. 
Unfortunately, this leads to some inconsistency in
their musicals as singing and dancing are not the
company’s primary strengths. That’s not to say the
production is bad.  It isn’t.  In fact, it is quite
good.  Just don’t go expecting to hear Broadway
caliber singers.   The audience was delighted at the
show and that, in reality, is all that is important.
	
THE OLD LADIES makes for intriguing theatre.  The play
is brooding and spooky.  Set in an old house with
three apartments for let, we find ourselves entwined
in the lives of three very different old, unmarried
women.  The story concerns displacement, poverty,
fear, social reality, disappointment, and
relationships between individuals.  The weakness, if
there is one, is the ending.  It was interesting to
hear the audience offering alternative conclusions as
they exited.  
	
The performances are outstanding.  Each character is
perfectly developed.  We are made to feel like voyeurs
peeking in on the solitary lives of these three
elderly women, sharing their few joys and many
sorrows.   This is a thought provoking theatrical
experience.
	
Both DETECTIVE STORY and HIS MAJESTY, though very
different venues, suffer the same problem.  They both
are ploddingly directed by Neil Munro.  DETECTIVE
STORY is a US American mystery.  As often happens with
Canadians attempting to do US plays, they lack the
right cadence and attitude.  DETECTIVE STORY requires
New York accents, rapid pacing and  intensity.  An
interesting play that weaves multiple characters into
a story, much like present-day TV programs such as THE
PRACTICE, Kingsley forces characters to reveal
themselves to each other, and therefore, to the
audience.  Basically, it is a story about the fall of
a policeman who becomes one of the criminals he
despises.
	
With a better production HIS MAJESTY could have been
captivating.  It is a political thriller which
examines the role of a deposed monarch and his role in
dealing with a brutal political struggle for his
country.  As the king proclaims, "I won’t win back my
kingdom by bloodshed," but the forces around him plot
otherwise. HIS MAJESTY is filled with the stuff good
scripts are made of--ultimatums, political intrigue
and the games of war men play.  It’s a shame that the
production lacks dynamism.  As is, it’s a talkathon.
	
The Shaw Festival is about a 3 1/2-4 hour easy drive
from Cleveland.  See a show or two, visit nearby
Niagara Falls, see the Welland Canal, ride in a horse
drawn carriage, take a bike ride along the river,
visit a winery, go antiquing, experience a jet boat
ride, and take advantage of the great exchange rate
which makes the entire experience a bargain.  Stay at
a bed and breakfast.  Suggested: TAIGH-NA-MRRA on
Mississauga Street.  Margaret Currie, the owner,
offers old-fashioned Scottish hospitality, her
breakfasts are wonderful, and the house is immaculate.
(Call 905-468-4646).  Favorite places for dinner are
The Inn on the Twenty Restaurant (a Zagat Guide
favorite) and Queenston Heights Restaurant, which has
wonderful food and an awesome view of the river and
valley.  
	
For tickets or information for the Shaw Festival call
800-5110SHAW or go on line to
www.shawfest.sympatico.ca.  For housing reservations
call the Chamber of Commerce Service at 905-468-4263
or go on line to www.niagaraonthelake.com.  They have
listings for 1700 plus rooms.


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