07-28-2016, 09:16 AM
Hamlet. One of Willy's plays that I know really well. Who doesn't? It's chock full of pull quotes, mostly misquotes, but so many common sayings have been poached from this play that it's almost distracting to watch it.
For a switcheroo, there were some sex changes. Hamlet, Polonius, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern were played by women. Ophelia, one of my fav Shakespearean characters, was played by a woman, for a big lesbian kiss. I didn't care for this Ophelia, not that I have anything against lesbian snogging, it's just she came off too strong and Ophelia is such a frail creature to my way of thinking. Hamlet somewhat worked. The actress, Kate Eastwood Norris, was a serviceable Hamlet. She's talented, and played his/her madness for comedic effect, which didn't quite work for me but I was amused by the fresh approach. Polonius as a daffy doting mom worked remarkably well. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern were uniformed school girls, and that kind of worked too.
The new venue is chilly and a little buggy. Not biting bugs, just annoying ones. DeLaveaga park is lofty and so close to my bungalow, and yet this was my first time to the park. Getting in and out was easy. Stacy and Tara went for A Midsummer's Night Dream last week, and it was really cold. They said they could see the fog roll in across stage. It wasn't so bad for me and Tara, but even though we both brought several layers, we wished we brought more. The concessions weren't going and we regretted that we forget to bring a thermos of hot tea. The new venue is in a youngish eucalyptus grove, but it's no match for the lovely redwood grove at UCSC. But still, the setting sun worked as the rising sun in the ghost scenes. And right after Polonius' death scene, there was a spectacular shooting star that crossed right over stage slowly and auspiciously, leaving a mystical contrail in its wake.
For a switcheroo, there were some sex changes. Hamlet, Polonius, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern were played by women. Ophelia, one of my fav Shakespearean characters, was played by a woman, for a big lesbian kiss. I didn't care for this Ophelia, not that I have anything against lesbian snogging, it's just she came off too strong and Ophelia is such a frail creature to my way of thinking. Hamlet somewhat worked. The actress, Kate Eastwood Norris, was a serviceable Hamlet. She's talented, and played his/her madness for comedic effect, which didn't quite work for me but I was amused by the fresh approach. Polonius as a daffy doting mom worked remarkably well. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern were uniformed school girls, and that kind of worked too.
The new venue is chilly and a little buggy. Not biting bugs, just annoying ones. DeLaveaga park is lofty and so close to my bungalow, and yet this was my first time to the park. Getting in and out was easy. Stacy and Tara went for A Midsummer's Night Dream last week, and it was really cold. They said they could see the fog roll in across stage. It wasn't so bad for me and Tara, but even though we both brought several layers, we wished we brought more. The concessions weren't going and we regretted that we forget to bring a thermos of hot tea. The new venue is in a youngish eucalyptus grove, but it's no match for the lovely redwood grove at UCSC. But still, the setting sun worked as the rising sun in the ghost scenes. And right after Polonius' death scene, there was a spectacular shooting star that crossed right over stage slowly and auspiciously, leaving a mystical contrail in its wake.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse