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Thursday, Nov 20, 2008
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The ghosts of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern |
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| The ghosts of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern | ||
| by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD BY TOM STOPPARD DIRECTED BY BETH RAASV GHOST LIGHT THEATRICALS THROUGH NOVEMBER 17 The play, Hamlet, has two very minor characters in it who are drafted by the king/stepfather/uncle to spy on Hamlet and try to find out what's wrong with him. They don't have very big roles, but are supposed to take Hamlet to England and deliver a letter to the English king which tells the English king to kill Hamlet. In fact, Hamlet switches letters with them and the English king is directed to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, instead. Tom Stoppard wrote about these two guys. He imagined what they might have been doing in between scenes with Hamlet and the King. They are kind of regular guys, caught in a situation they can't really control. It can be very funny. Unfortunately, this production is not. The two actors who play the major roles, Jeff Pierson and Patrick Allcorn, are likable guys and try very hard to be funny. Sometimes, they come close, but most of the time, their timing just seemed to pass the joke by. A major character in R & G is the leader of the band of actors who perform for Hamlet. This production casts Colleen Robertson, which is a nice change of sex. Colleen has an arch and over-the-top way of presenting her character, which works well for a tragedian, but she, too, skirts the jokes and misses the timing. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they weren't trying to be funny, so they succeeded in their presentation. I happen to think the play is written funny. The overall play feels very long and sluggish. The scenic design is almost not there, with a huge sheet playing the part of a wall with doors. It may be representative of a jail cell or an impenetrable barrier. I don't know, but it looked very sheet-like to me. Music is updated to the 1930s and some costumes hint of that, as well, which seemed like it could be made to fit. The songs during the interludes were the most enjoyable part of the evening. Unfortunately, my suggestion is to give this production a pass. I'm not comfortable with being too rough on these productions, but I know that Ghost Light Theatricals aspires to a professional level of performance and I just have to say they didn't achieve it, this time out. For more information, go to www.ghostlighttheatricals.org or www.brownpapertickets.com. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com. |
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| Film Festival Pictures | |
| Halloween on Capitol Hill
Slide Show photos by Joey - SGN photographer |
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