It takes an interesting mix of a strong will and a deep belief in self for Actors' Renaissance Theatre's Artistic Director James K. Barnard to offer two of his original one act plays alongside pieces such by established playwrights as Durang, Stoppard, and David Ives. Using Shakespeare as his through-line, Mr. Barnard and fellow Director Drew Kallen offer five short plays (performed without intermission) that range from hilarious to tedious. While the balance of the evening is entertaining, when Mr. Barnard begins to lecture in a role reminiscent to his teaching position in the English Department at A.S.U., the show becomes more intellectual complaining and erudite wanking than a good evening of theatre.
The established plays, David Ives' 10-minute pun Words, Words, Words, Tom Stoppard's Fifteen-Minute Hamlet, and Christopher Durang's rarely produced gem The Actor's Nightmare are three very enjoyable works that feature black comedy and absurdism.
Words, Words, Words offers three monkeys locked in a room with typewriters by a researcher waiting for them to type out Hamlet. The three actors, Kyle Hallstrom, Ben Patch, and Kim Parmon do a commendable job portraying these doomed, hilariously named simians. Mr. Kallen directs this little comedy well, and makes it one of the best offerings of the show.
Fifteen-Minute Hamlet is a misnomer, as the piece actually offers the famed story of the depressed Dane twice in a Cliff Notes version that leaves the audience and actors winded. Mr. Kallen has Scott Campbell recreate the role of Hamlet and Ashley J. Barnard Ophelia which they had performed for A.R.T. last season. The problem with this piece is the requirement of pinpoint accuracy that is needed in the first run which is then juxtaposed by the maddening pace of the second, even shorter run through. Despite some wonderful images and bits, Mr. Kallen's cast is unfocussed in the first presentation, undercutting the second's potential as a laugh riot.
The Actor's Nightmare is an incongruous mix of Hamlet, Private Lives, Endgame, and A Man for All Seasons in which a nebbishy accountant is mistaken for the understudy actor of a hybrid production of these shows. Mr. Kallen's direction and portrayal of the overwhelmed George Spelvin are very well handled. The remainder of the ensemble, especially Ms. Barnard's earnest portrayal, are well-executed and fun to watch.
In between these playlets, though, are Mr. Barnard's pieces and some interlinking bits that attempt to make this evening an intellectual pursuit. The between-scene bits are awkward and generally unfunny. Puck's Resignation, a bit of fluff that has some great lines to little effect, features the famed fairy and his sidekick chastising an audience for their modernity. Bemoaning the loss of human imagination, he berates contemporary Americans for the limitations of their education, attention spans, and creativity. Ben Patch's performance is as strong as the material will allow, but Mr. Hallstrom's offering is obvious and adds to the limitations of the script. Hamlet and Hal: Sons and Princes is a dissertation turned into a play in which the ideas are sound, although the dramatic structure is flawed. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Patch are the titled characters, intellectually discussing contemporary literary theory about each other, while acting out scenes that support these claims. The script seems more like a skit from Shakespeare 417 than a worthwhile theatrical work. While the actors play their roles with reverence, there is nothing dramatic to support them.
Despite the many problems, this production still has some wonderful moments. Sadly, the audience on opening night was very small, and Puck's lament about the diminished capacities of the modern American seems awfully true. Of course, as the playwright admits, preaching to the converted is rather repetitious, and that's why this evening should be more of a celebration, and less of an intellectualization and condemnation than it currently is.
Actors' Renaissance Theatre is also producing The Taming of the Shrew in repertory with this work. That production will not be reviewed.
Production Details:
2001 Valley of the Sun Shakespeare
Festival featuring
Bard Variations: Five Short Plays Inspired by Shakespeare
and
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
Actors' Renaissance Theatre
The Tempe Performing Arts Center (For a map to location, click this
link)
(480) 632-0409
April 6th - 22nd, 2001