Emerald Coast Theatre Consultant

This play is Shaw at his absolute best.   Well, Ok, then, it is “A True History That Never Happened”, but what the hell, it is not only a feast to the eyes, but the mind as well.

Beautifully directed by Eda Holmes with Set Design by Canellia Koo, Costumes by Michael Gianfrancesco and Lighting by Bonnie Beecher, the spectacle is most satisfying, drawing you not only to the time but also the place.     Bravo.

I have seen this play the previous two outings at the Shaw, and each time I never come away bored or saying I don’t want to see this again.   It is full of thought provoking comments clearly delivered.   A real feather in the Shaw Festivals hat this year.

Go see it!   You will be enriched greatly.

You are probably wondering why iun the world I would put Jackie Maxwell’s name after a play that she directed but didn’t write.    There is a very good reason.

I am only going to focus on one play “Still Life.”    Director Maxwell’s handling of the characters who inhabit this refreshment room of the Milford Junction Railway Sation is a treasure trove for anyone interested in staging theatre.   If you are watching with a critical eye, you can see the thought process and the detailed work involved in staging the piece.   Almost like doing a watercolor, Ms. Maxwell builds the bustle and sighs of this play with such care and an obvious sense of pace and timing that you are immediately drawn into the play.

If I recall correctly, when you read these one acts by Coward, they are complete in words but something seems lacking.   It is to The Shaw’s benefit that the directress creates such an inviting and loving place for his play to unfold.    Seeing the entrances and exits of a host of participants, each one with their own goals and drive and wants and haste, is like watching life, Still Life.   

This production begs the question:   Have I ever done this, been like this, felt this in my own life?  Did I miss something that I should have recognized and identified with?   Is my life a quilt of unrelated incidences that somehow in the end will make a solid fabric.

Theatre that gets us to think about our lives and our contributions is theatre worth seeing.   This play and it’s very personal affect on me is the reason for attending the Shaw.    Great work from a very talented festival.

Born Yesterday directed by Gina Wilkinson is an absolute smash hit with Deborah Hay (Billie Dawn) and Thom Marriot (Harry Brock) in the leads.   It is, for anyone interested in directing, an absolutely perfect example of how a director can focus audience moment by monent.    I was just floored by Wilkinson’s talent.   A real joy to behold.   Clean and clear directing.  (We are coming back in September to see the late opening plays.   We will be sure to see this one again!)

One moment was particulary telling:   Brock hits Ed Devery (Patrick Galligan) the less than ethical lawyer, and the stage freezes.    Galligan hardly moves but you can see he is seeing himself hit the bottom by doing nothing.    Exceptional directing that focuses the entire audience on the inner thoughts and conditions of  man hitting the bottom. 

I really don’t care if you have seen this old play a dozen times, this one is like brand new.   A perfect example of how to do a play with a crystal clear vision.    Ms. Wilkinson and The Shaw are to be congratulated.

Under the umbrella of Play, Orchestra, Play, Director Christopher Newton (The first Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival) chose Red Peppers, Fumed Oak, and Shadow play to present.   And wonderfully presented they were.

Deftly directed by Newton and executed beautifully by the company, this was Noel at his very finest.

I am partial to Fumed Oak.   I have seen it many times before but never as well developed as at the Shaw.   Steven Sutcliffe (Henry Gow) gains his chops, his harem self destructs and it is a joy to watch the change in positions as he prepares to sail away.    He performs with strength and intelligence and a tremendous amount of glee.   And with each chop to the old family tree, the women in his life slowly disintegrate, to the absolute joy of the audience.   The projections worked very well in this setting, especially when the daughter sits on a bench playing a spinet projected on a screen.  

The projections were, however, distracting to me in the two other plays.  It seems to me that the technology of the day did not do service to a play set way before the now of today.   But maybe it’s just me!  

At anyrate, this is first rate directing and performing well worth the time to enjoy if you are a patron and learn from if you are a student of superb theatre.

When I see the names Patricia Hamilton, Wendy Thatcher and Mary Haney, I always know that I am in for a treat.  Veterans all, they are the best of the Shaw actresses.

From the title, the layout of the play is easy to guess.  Five women, reliving five “times” of their one life, onstage, seated.  Hamilton C, Haney and Thatcher DR and DL and the other actresses UR and UL. 

Patricia Hamilton with her rich, engaging voice and stalwart, matriarch look starts the play with such a relaxed quality that you are immediately engaged.

Wendy Thatcher is nothing short of amazing with her incredible focus that held not only through the play but even through the curtain calls.  After calls as the hous lights brightened, the man sitting next to me said:  She is very sick, isn’t she?  I siad:  She’s acting.  He said:  No, I think she’s really sick?  I declined to go further.  He just didnt realize he was seeing some of the finest acting anywhere.  

Mary Haney, who did a brilliant Mrs. Warren last year, has been one of my Shaw Festival favorites since I saw her in This Happy Breed.  She nailed her character, as did all the other actresses, and wielded a firm hand in this production. 

That being said about the three veterans, the other three, though new to me, were all of them very experienced and engaged in their roles to the max.  What a great production! 

Also deserving of great credit are Jackie Maxwell for choosing the play and Micheline Chevner for her superb directing.  Both women really excel for the Shaw in choosing a quality script and directing it with such care.  It begs the comment:   Simplicity is the key in any art!

Any actor, amateur or professional, male or female, would learn a lot from experiencing both the acting and directing excellence of this production.

Another feather in the Shaw Festival’s cap!

This play is brilliantly written (James Lapine), produced, directed, acted. I just don’t like the score. So I’ll shut up.