[NEohioPAL] Berko preview: THE SHAW FESTIVAL

[Roy Berko]

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The Shaw Festival’s 2013 season

Roy Berko

Member, Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association

Yes, it’s snowing outside, but soon Spring and Summer will be upon us.  That
means The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, will beckon.  The
Shaw is one of the two major Canadian theatre festivals, the other being
The Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.  Both are high quality
venues.

The Shaw Festival is a tribute to George Bernard Shaw and his writing
contemporaries.

Many Clevelanders take the four-hour drive up to The Shaw, as it is called
by locals, to participate in theatre, tour the “most beautiful little city
in Canada,” shop, and eat at the many wonderful restaurants.

It’s a good idea to make both theatre and lodging reservations early,
especially with the B&Bs on weekends. Our home away from home is the
beautiful and well-placed Wellington House (
www.wellington.house at sympatico.ca), directly across the street from The
Festival Theatre. For information on other B&Bs go to
www.niagaraonthelake.com/showbedandbreakfasts.

There are some wonderful restaurants including the Dining Room located at
the Niagara Culinary Institute (www.niagaracollege.ca/dining). And my
in-town favorite, The Grill on King Street (905-468-7222, 233 King St.)

This year’s theatre offerings are:

GUYS AND DOLLS--a musical fable of Broadway based on a story and characters
by Damon Runyon and includes such songs as A Bushel and a Peck, Take Back
Your Mink, Luck Be a Lady, and Sue Me.

LADY WINDEMERE’S FAN--Oscar Wilde’s bitingly satirical attack on Victorian
morals.

ENCHANTED APRIL--Matthew Barber’s tale of two women who seek an adventure
by renting a small castle on the Mediterranean in Northern Italy.

PEACE IN OUR TIME--John Murrell’s adaptation of Shaw’s play GENEVA, which
is a contemporary political farce where affairs of state meet the Three
Stooges.

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA--Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel’s (Richard Rodgers’
grandson) musical set in Italy in the summer of 1953 and concerns an
American and her daughter encountering a handsome Italian.  It includes
such songs as The Beauty Is, The Joy You Feel, Hysteria, and Let’s Walk.

TRIFLES—two one-act marital mysteries by Susan Glaspell and Eugene O’Neill.

OUR BETTERS—W. Somerset Maugham’s play, deemed by many to be the best
social comedy of the century, which concerns a rich American woman in
search of nobility.  The play is considered a forerunner to DOWNTON ABBEY.

MAJOR BARBARA—Shaw’s provocative and witty play about immorality and the
testing of beliefs and ideals.

FAITH HEALER—Irish playwright Brian Friel writes three versions of the same
story, and asks, “which one is true?”

ARCADIA—Tom Stoppard’s intellectually dazzling mystery and love story,
which is set in both 1809 and the present time.

Two plays which will be presented as staged readings:

THE MOUNTAINTOP—Broadway’s smash hit of this past season regarding the
night before the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.  (For a review
of the play go to http://www.royberko.info and search the title.  (Only
September 1)

JERUSALEM—The Tony Award winning play which ran in London (2009) and on
Broadway (2010), which concerns tall tales and past glories. (Only October
13)

For theatre information, a brochure or tickets, call 800-511-7429 or go
on-line to www.shawfest.com. Ask about packages that include lodging, meals
and tickets. Also be aware that the festival offers day-of-the-show rush
tickets and senior matinee prices.

Go to the Shaw Festival! Find out what lovely hosts Canadians are, and see
some great theatre!  Don’t forget your passport as it’s the only form of
identification that will be accepted for re-entry into the U.S.
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