inflaming the shrew (at TFPO)

Could the fault, dear reader, be not in our Bard but in ourselves, that we are sensitive? Controversial among Shakespeare’s plays, the Taming of the Shrew could just as easily be called The Making of a Stepford Wife for its misogynistic proclamation of female submission to husbands...While the text is the text, the play’s delivery can achieve some measure of ironic detachment from the material with the right troupe, enough to achieve a satirical rather than literal effect. Despite a promising start, the Theatricum Botanicum is...

Read the rest of my review of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum's staging of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew at The Front Page Online.

Richard III: Loud and Glib at the Theatricum : THE FRONT PAGE ONLINE

Don’t let the program fool you; the casting of two actors in the role of Richard III isn’t a sign that the Theatricum has developed an appetite for the avant-garde or the experimental.

Firmly entrenched in tradition – an endearing quality of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s productions – their staging of Richard III simply features Melora Marshall and Chad Jason Scheppner as the lead in alternating performances. And the creative potential that could emerge from two actors playing the same part within the same performance? That will have to remain the product of imagination.

For now, audiences will have to be satisfied with the 50/50 chance of not being saddled with Scheppner, who struts on the stage, mugs for the audience, and otherwise glibly impersonates one of Shakespeare’s great villains.

Read the rest...Richard III: Loud and Glib at the Theatricum : THE FRONT PAGE ONLINE

Richard III. Written by Shakespeare. Directed by Ellen Geer. Starring Chad Jason Scheppner, Melora Marshall, William Dennis Hunt, Christopher W. Jones, Earnestine Phillips, Maurice Shaw, and Thad Geer. On stage at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum through October 2, 2011. For tickets and information call 310.455.3723 or visit online at www.theatricum.com.

theatre review: the three musketeers

Theatre review at TFPO: All for Dumas and Dumas for All at Theatricum

Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, that is.

theatre review: a midsummer night's dream

From a reviewing standpoint, classics like A Midsummer Night's Dream come with a built-in limitation in the amount of interpretation to be enjoyed. It's a play that has already been endlessly dissected by theatre experts and Shakespeare scholars, and there comes a point whether it really is possible to say anything about the play that hasn't already been said before. Perhaps it would be different if the production itself were done in a wildly unconventional way - setting it in a different time period or going hog-wild with postmodernism, for example - such that the context of the play's events are changed. But this production at the Theatricum Botanicum is very much a traditional one. And there's nothing wrong with that, except that it means evaluating the production's quality rather than delving into uncharted territories.

Having said that, the Theatricum Botanicum is a wonderful venue. The prices aren't cheap-cheap, but for this production of A Midsummer Night's Dream it's worth it. So if you get the chance, head out to Topanga Canyon to experience...

A Magical Summer Dream at the Theatricum Botanicum

new theatre review: cymbeline

Los Angeles continues to surprise me...the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon is something of a revelation. The production of Cymbeline, however...not so much.

Deciding Whether to Toast or Roast Shakespeare in the Canyon