[NEohioPAL]Berko review: STRATFORD (CANADA) FESTIVAL

[Roy Berko]

A GLIMPSE AT THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL OF CANADA 

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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


When most people think of the Stratford Festival of
Canada, they think Shakespeare.  In the 2005 season,
that thinking is right on.  The two finest productions
I saw on my recent reviewing trip were ‘AS YOU LIKE
IT’ and ‘THE TEMPEST.’

‘AS YOU LIKE IT’

‘AS YOU LIKE IT’ is one of Shakespeare’s greatest
romantic comedies. It was written just before he moved
on to his major tragedies.   It is not an original
concept as it is based on  Thomas Lodge's extremely
popular prose romance ‘ROSALYNDE,’ though  
Shakespeare changed a great deal of the details. 

The play follows the pastoral tradition of writing in
which a story involves exiles from the court going
into the countryside. While in the rural area, they
would hold singing contests and philosophically
discuss the various merits of each forms of lifestyle.
  Shakespeare used the same concept in ‘A Midsummer
Night's Dream.’

The story begins with the ousting of the Duke, father
of Rosalind, from the throne by his own brother. With
some loyal servants, he hides in the Forest of Arden,
while back in the court Rosalind falls in love with
the orphan Orlando and is subsequently also expelled.
Rosalind disguises herself as a man, a common
Shakespearean device. (‘TWELFTH NIGHT’ for example has
gender-bending antics).  She brings along her friend
Celia and Touchstone, the court jester.  As always in
Shakespeare's comedies, following unmasking and
resolution the couples sort themselves out
appropriately and all is happy. 

The play is notable for having the most songs of any
of Shakespeare's plays and for being largely amusement
rather than plot based.  Besides fine acting and very
effective directing by Antoni Cimolino, the musical
aspect is enhanced in the Stratford Festival’s
production with wonderful new songs composed by Steven
Page and produced by the group, Barenaked Ladies.  
Dan Chameroy did an excellent job as lead singer.

The entire cast is fine with special credit going to
Dion Johnstone as Orlando, Sophie Goulet as Celia, and
Sara Topham as Rosalind.  Graham Abbey (Jaques)
presents a compelling underplaying of the play’s most
famous soliloquy, “All the world’s a stage.”   
Stephen Ouimette comes close to stealing the show with
his delightful performance as Touchstone.

Technically the show was perfect.  Santo Loquasto’s
set design, in which he created a forest made of
hanging opened umbrellas with ladders for tree trunks
was wonderfully creative.  The costumes and the
lighting greatly enhanced the production.

‘THE TEMPEST’

There are several reasons to see the Stratford
Festival’s ‘THE TEMPEST.’  The main on is the presence
of William Hutt.  On October 28 of this year, the day
that the show closes, Hutt will be retiring.  His
Statford record spans 128 roles as an actor or
director in 40 seasons.   In this production he will
again play the pivotal role of Prospero.  In 1962 he
was the Festival’s first Prospero.  The second reason
is that the production is excellent.  Under the clear
direction of Richard Monette, the pacing is
appropriate, the characterizations clear and the total
effect is Shakespeare at his finest. 

‘The Tempest’ opens in the midst of a storm, as a
ship, containing the king of Naples and his party,
struggles to stay afloat. On land, Prospero and his
daughter, Miranda, watch the storm envelop the ship.
Prospero has created the storm with magic, and he
explains that his enemies are on board the ship. 

Prospero relates that he is the rightful Duke of Milan
and that his younger brother betrayed him, seizing his
title and property.  Twelve years earlier, Prospero
and Miranda were put out to sea in little more than a
raft. Miraculously, they both survived and arrived
safely on this island, where Prospero learned to
control the magic that he now uses to manipulate
everyone on the island. Upon his arrival, Prospero
rescued a sprite, Ariel, who had been imprisoned by
the witch Sycorax.

And, so, as is the pattern in Shakespeare’s plays, the
plot weaves in and out until in a final speech,
Prospero tells the audience that only with their
applause will he be able to leave the island with the
rest of the party. And, as can be expected, Prospero,
in the person of the wonderful William Hutt, leaves
the stage to the audience's thunderous applause. 

Besides Hutt, Adrienne Gould is wonderful as Miranda,
Jean-Michael LeGai is properly love struck as
Ferdinand, Bernard Hopkins is purposeful as Sebastian.
 Jack James as Ariel, the spirit, is much too
human-like and not enchanting enough. 

The technical aspects of the show are very effective. 
The storm, the magic effects, the costuming, the
lighting are all well designed.  The dancing was
excellent.

HELLO DOLLY

U. S. Americans don’t tend to do British farce and
comedy well.  Canadians don’t always to do U.S.
musicals as effectively as they do other theatrical
forms.  This is especially true with shows that
require some understanding of U.S. regions of the
country.  

Dolly Levi, the lead character in the Tony Award
winning musical HELLO DOLLY, is a lower-east side New
Yorker.  There is needed cadence to her speech, an
exaggeration of her purpose and a determination in her
walk.  Unfortunately, the miscast Lucy Peacock had
none of these.  Peacock, who was so wonderful in the
company’s production of THE KING AND I, just doesn’t
have the right personality or the vocal qualities to
pull off Dolly.  She sounded like an off-key
sophisticate.  And, to add to the production’s
problems was Peter Donaldson, who also was miscast as
Horace Vandergelder, the man Dolly plots to  marry. 

With a few exceptions, director Susan Schulman missed
the musical theatre boat on this production.  The
exceptions were the wonderful choreography, Lawrence
Haegert’s interpretation of Barnaby Tucker, Amy
Walsh’s Minnie Fay and the production numbers: 
“Before the Parade Passes By,”“Put On Your Sunday
Clothes” and “Waiters Galop.”  

As was the case with every major production, the
technical aspects of the show were terrific.  The
costumes, set design and lighting were all top rate.

As one U. S. American said as she left the production
at intermission, “This is the most misinterpreted
production of this show I’ve ever seen.”

In my next column I’ll review:  ‘THE BROTHERS
KARAMAZOV,’ ‘INTO THE WOODS,’ and ‘WINFIELD’S
INFERNO.’

THE STORY OF THE FESTIVAL

The Stratford Festival of Canada takes place in
Stratford, Ontario, Canada.   The ride from Cleveland
is about six hours through Buffalo.    Go on-line to
the festival to get directions.

Hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts abound to fit
any wallet.  My favorite B&B is “The Jennie Forbes
Cottage,” a charming regency cottage erected in 1857
(www.jennieforbescottagebb.com).  Owners Don and Kathy
Spiers are wonderful hosts.  

As for shopping, I recommend Davis Canadian Arts (106
Ontario Street).  This is an art gallery that offers
well-crafted Canadian traditional and contemporary
sculptures, ceramics and paintings.  For women’s
quality clothing make sure to stop at The Touchmark
Shop (137 Ontario Street).  The establishment offers
unique and one-of-a kind products at excellent prices.
 

For moderate cost and high quality food, try The Annex
Room (38 Albert Street) and The Keystone Alley Cafe
(34 Brunswick Street).   For inexpensive food try
Demetre’s Family Eatery (1100 Ontario Street).  We had
a disastrous experience at “38,”  a new restaurant in
town.  No air-conditioning on a hot and humid evening,
an uninformed waiter and a lack of ability to honor
any requests for deviating from their very limited
menu, caused us to leave without eating.

Stratford Escapes, a division of Niagara Falls Tours,
is an efficient way to make reservations.  For
information call 877-356-6385 or go on line to
www.niagarafallstours.com.  For individual tickets
call 800-567-1600 or go on-line to
www.stratfordfestival.ca.




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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