Tonight's pick (for me and quite a few of my Huntington theatre cohorts) was Richard III, which wraps up its run with a final show at the Alban Arts and Conference Center in St. Albans, WV, Sunday at 2 p.m.
It tell the story of the wicked and deformed Duke of Gloucester, who dreams of becoming King of England - and will use any method to achieve his goal.
That includes lots of plotting, murders, marriages of convenience, manipulation and political scheming.
Richard is brought to brilliant life by Jeff Bukovinsky, who manages to make Richard more than just an evil monster. He infuses a wicked, black sense of humor, a playfulness that makes him all the more despicable - and entertaining.
The cast is loaded with excellent talent, and there were no weak performances in evidence. Special kudos to the strong female performances (such roles are not always in evidence in Shakespeare's work), especially Melanie Larch, who is a force of nature as Queen Margaret (loved her booming entrance from the back of the theatre), as she delivers the most delightful and forceful Elizabethan curses.
The troupe makes excellent use of the (former) Alban Theatre, once a movie theatre (where I saw many a film while growing up in St. Albans) and now a theatre and conference center. The stage isn't spacious but is carefully utilized in a minimal but effective staging, and the size of the theatre (I'm guessing it seats about 250) makes it easy to hear and understand the lines even from the back row.
Richard III is known as the most performed of Shakespeare's history plays, and it's easy to see why - it's loaded with court intrigue, terrific characters, wicked plots, ghosts, violent battle scenes (I saw shards of one shield fly off the stage), blood and death.
Terrific work by all involved, and highly recommended!
No comments:
Post a Comment