<div dir="ltr"><br><span style="color:rgb(153,0,255)">•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style>A Clevelander’s views
about The Shaw Festival, 2014</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Roy Berko</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">(Member, Cleveland Critics
Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“By the time the show is over, you will have been taken on a
journey more compelling and magical than you could have imagined.<span style> </span>For this, I think, is our principal
function—as we delight, provoke and entertain, we must always surprise.”<span style> </span>These are Jackie Maxwell, the Shaw
Festival’s Artistic Director, hopes for those who attend one or more of the
theatre offerings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The<span style> </span>Shaw is one
of two major Canadian theatre celebrations, the other being The Stratford
Festival in Stratford, Ontario.<span style>
</span>Both are professional, high quality venues.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Shaw Festival is a tribute to George Bernard Shaw and
his writing contemporaries.<span style> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
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.<br>
<br>
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 (<a href="mailto:www.wellington.house@sympatico.ca">www.wellington.house@sympatico.ca</a>), directly
across the street from The Festival Theatre, within easy walking distance of
all the theatres. For information on other B&Bs go to <a href="http://www.niararaonthelake.com/showbedandbreakfasts">www.niagaraonthelake.com/showbedandbreakfasts</a><br style>
<br style>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are some wonderful restaurants.<span style> </span>My in-town favorite is The Grill on
King Street (905-468-7222, 233 King Street).<span style> </span>Another small delightful eatery is Ginger Restaurant
(905-468-3871), 390 Mary Street.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:14pt"><span style>Having
just returned from the Festival, I offer these </span><span style>c</span>apsule judgments of some of the
shows on the schedule:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:14pt"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7pt">“When We Are Married”-- <i><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)">The
Shaw’s “When We Are Married” is a total delight. The laughs run
throughout.<span style> </span>The farce is extremely
well-keyed by Director Joseph Ziegler. The comic timing is excellent, the
exaggerations done to the point of ridiculousness without going overboard.<span style> </span>This is a perfect example of what
British farce is all about and how it should be done.<span style> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:14pt">“Cabaret”--<i style> “Cabaret”
is one of the American musical theatre’s greatest scripts.<span style> </span>The Shaw production is technically and
musically extremely well done.<span style> </span>The
production loses its compass as the conclusion leaves issues unresolved, with
the shock value eliminated.<span style> </span>Audiences
who want entertainment should be very satisfied.<span style> </span>Those wanting clarity of purpose will be frustrated.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:14pt"><i style> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7pt">“The Philanderer”-- <i style><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)">The Shaw production of “The Philanderer,” under the creative
direction of Lisa Peterson, is filled with farcical interludes, melodramatic
acting, and slapstick, while bannering Shaw’s many political and social
causes.<span style> </span>All in all, it is both an
enlightening picture of the past, carries implications for the present, and
totally entertains.</span></i><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur”-- <i style><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)">“A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur” is not one of Tennessee
Williams best plays.<span style> </span>The script
just doesn’t have the depth of his major works, and imitates much of the
concepts better written about in “Streetcar Named Desire.”<span style> </span>The Shaw production gives the script a
credible, but not compelling staging.<span style>
</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)">“The Philadelphia Story”--</span><i style> The <span style> </span>Shaw’s “The
Philadelphia Story,” under the able direction of Dennis Garnhum, is a
delightful theatrical experience, much in the mood of a Noel Coward drawing
room comedy, set in the United States. It is well staged, well acted, and
nicely paced.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(28,28,28)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To read the complete reviews of these shows go to:<span style> </span><a href="http://www.royberko.info">http://www.royberko.info</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shows I didn’t see, but are part of the season are: ”The
Charity that Began at Home,” “Sea,” “Arms and the Man,” “Juno and the
Paycock.”<span style> </span>Another offering is “The
Mountaintop,” a fictionalized story of the night before Martin Luther King, Jr.
was assassinated.<span style> </span>I saw a
production on Broadway and was blown away.<span style> </span>Canadian friends, whose evaluations I trust, thought the
Shaw production was compelling.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
For theatre information, a brochure or tickets, call 800-511-7429 or go on-line
to <a href="http://www.shawfest.com">http://www.shawfest.com</a>. 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.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Festival has announced its 2015 season.<span style> </span>It features 11 productions
including<span style> </span>the reenvisioning of two
Shaw comedies and two newly commissioned Canadian works.<span style> </span>The featured plays are:<span style> </span>“Sweet Charity,” “Pygmalion,” “Light Up
the Sky,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” “You Never Can Tell,” “The Divine,” The
Lady from the Sea,” “Top Girls,” “The Twelve-Pound Look,” “The Intelligent
Homosexual’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism with a Key to the Scriptures,” and
“The Next Whiskey Bar—a Kurt Weil Cabaret.”<br>
<br>
<i style>Go to the Shaw Festival! Find out what
lovely hosts Canadians are, and see some great theatre!<span style> </span>Don’t forget your passport as it’s the
only form of identification that will be accepted for re-entry into the U.S.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(153,0,255)"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="color:rgb(153,0,255)">•••••••••••••••••••••••••</span></i></p>
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