Conflicting production designs are not enough to hinder interesting directorial choices and strong acting in Ferndale Repertory Theatre’s new production of Noel Coward’s classic Blithe Spirit. Originally a British farce in three acts, director Merrick D. Yra removes an act, relocates the show to America, mutes the setting to gray and sepia tones, and plays […]
Sarah Traywick
Posted inArts + Scene
Raised Stakes at The Prom
As giggling teens heckled, “You’re GAY. We’re all GAY,” from an open second-story window, echoing off the buildings of downtown Ferndale, and an unfortunate side street detour led us to a church marquee reading, “Ferndale Reps The Prom is Anti Christ and Pro LGBTQ,” the importance of playing stakes in theater productions was solidified. Stakes […]
Posted inArts + Scene
By the Horns
Friday night at Redwood Curtain Theatre, we had our first glimpse of the fiery passion between Professor Wooley and her student Jeanette Marks as played by Natasha White and Caroline Needham in Bull in a China Shop. The lovers exited the stage in perfect synchronicity with a complete blackout. The anticipation built in the audience […]
Posted inArts + Scene
A Shakespearean Tragedy-Comedy Cocktail
The Winter’s Tale The canon of William Shakespeare is mostly discussed by superfans and laypeople alike as split between dramas — be they blood-soaked epics of kings or more intimate affairs — and comic frolics. There are a few that can’t be filed away so neatly. The Winter’s Tale, now onstage at North Coast Repertory […]
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NCRT’s The Tenth Muse Reminds Us to Take Nothing for Granted
In the late 17th century in what is now Mexico City, the convent of San Jeronimo was home to one of the most extensive libraries in the New World, presided over by Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz. She was a prolific and adventurous writer of poetry and plays, much beloved by the people of […]
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Tangled Tales of Love
What happens when King Ferdinand of Navarre and his three companions decide to improve themselves by dedicating three years to study and fasting, forswearing women by forbidding any member of the fair sex from coming within a mile of the court? A challenging prospect in the best of circumstances, but when the Princess of France […]