Classes consistently bludgeon young directors to simply tell the story of theater works — stick to themes, find rhythms, push characters’ objectives and explore consequences. Then you’re given a work like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, forcing you to question or challenge those teachings. After all, theater, like life, doesn’t come with rule books […]
Andrew Miller
Posted inFront Row
To Err is Hilarious
The Play That Goes Wrong went very well at Ferndale Repertory Theatre on Saturday night. In this slapstick play-within-a-play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the Cornely Drama Society presents The Murder at Haversham Manor. The society has just exactly enough members to put on the classic murder mystery set in the English […]
Posted inArts + Scene
A Maximalist Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most produced and adapted plays in the history of western culture. Its themes and quotations are intricately woven into our cultural zeitgeist. A myriad of options are a click away on streaming devices. Sure, you can watch Romeo and Juliet with guns and […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Mystery and Mirth
The Game’s Afoot If local theater awards existed, North Coast Repertory Theatre’s last production of the season, The Game’s Afoot, would be nominated for several coveted (and imagined) Woody awards. With ugly Christmas sweaters, oversized magnifying glasses and half-in-the-bag smiles smattering the audience, the production is lively, spirited and fun. Despite my having one of […]