I apologize this is a weekend late, it hasn't been a very successful couple of days as of late.
So I will just proceed with the review.
The Language Archive is essentially the tale of learning how to communicate with others, from expressing oneself to another human being or clarifying truths for a self image. The story begins with George and Mary, a married couple soon to separate from each other because Mary feels a lack of love and expression from George, who cannot for the life of him express his love for her. This making it ironic as he is a linguist. In fact his job soon consumes his life as he attempts to retrieve recordings of a dying language from a couple that refuses to speak with one another. Add in the love interest that Emma (George's lab partner) has for her boss and you have yourself a merry dramatic love story.
Honestly, the acting became overshadowed by the technical aspects supported in the play. All the light cues were struck beautifully according to the scenes and monologues, the sound system completely encased the audience with a sense of realism, even the props took a step beyond as bread is literally cooked backstage to allow the theatre to smell exactly like a bread store. An overreaching feature, but such devotion brought tears to my eyes.
The ending was obscure and left me with little satisfaction for any of the characters, so I would only recommend this play to those who appreciate the other elements of the show. Admittedly, it is a nice change to see the technical aspects overrule the actors. It deserves that recognition every once in a while.
That's all from me, so tune in on Friday for my review of Julius Caesar; truly, a unique turn of the play with OSF's production.
Later~
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
OSF Review: The Imaginary Invalid
Hello all, and we're back with another review for the week! I can't believe how much of a talk show host I just sounded like, but there you go.
I guess to start off, school has been pretty hectic if not slow (oxymoron, right?). I found out recently that SOU's production of "You Can't Take It With You" is indeed using a live cat as part of their crew and I have been entitled to be their "cat wrangler", as it were.
So that's about all the exciting news I have, really. Now, to the review!
In an attempt to reach out to the issue of the public health option, OSF decided to put on The Imaginary Invalid, a french play by Moliere and adapted by the genius' who brought OSF The Servant of Two Masters about two years ago (for those who have no idea what it is, just know it was brilliant and hilarious). The story is about a hypochondriac man who tries to wed his youngest daughter off to a doctor's nephew, when really she is in love with another man. His servant constantly tries to convince the hypochondriac that he is not really sick at all, and that he must see his family is more important than his health. It's full of antic loop holes and improvisational fun that it just keeps you keen on your ears throughout the entire story. At first I was excited to see this production because:
a) David Kelly is the lead actor (a man of genius, just keep this in mind)
b) It was by the adapters who brought us said-previous play. Which I loved.
. . . To say the least and in all fairness to OSF's hard work, I would recommend this play to anyone looking for a comedy. There are not a whole lot this season so if you'd like to give yourself a laugh, then this is the play for you. It's interactive, flashy, gaudy (in the good sense), and will pinpoint memories that you didn't think you could have picked out beforehand. Oh, and the ending leaves you for thinking, as well.
Now, here's MY personal view of the show.
I didn't really like it. I didn't really enjoy it minus a few actors I had known through SOU. It also doesn't help that the play is set in 1960s France. When I read the script for this show before I had a completely different vision for this show, and the way OSF portrayed it did not work for me at all to feel for the cast, minus one character.
The costumes were fantastic and enveloped the characters perfectly based on the material used for said costuming. But really...it was hard for me to focus on the show since the play was solely prodding fun at the era of 1960s sitcoms. Not to mention they blended the pop cultural references of pushing for the most recent debate of public health care (intentionally set for a Democratic stance), and I've recently discovered that I just don't enjoy excessive pop cultural references in a given medium (books, movies, games, etc.)
So, go if you'd like a good laugh. Don't go if you're anal about design like I am.
And that's my two cents! So next week will be a review of one of my personal favorite pieces by OSF so far this season, so that should be exciting! Anyway I hope y'all have a good weekend and a good week following after that! Later~
I guess to start off, school has been pretty hectic if not slow (oxymoron, right?). I found out recently that SOU's production of "You Can't Take It With You" is indeed using a live cat as part of their crew and I have been entitled to be their "cat wrangler", as it were.
So that's about all the exciting news I have, really. Now, to the review!
In an attempt to reach out to the issue of the public health option, OSF decided to put on The Imaginary Invalid, a french play by Moliere and adapted by the genius' who brought OSF The Servant of Two Masters about two years ago (for those who have no idea what it is, just know it was brilliant and hilarious). The story is about a hypochondriac man who tries to wed his youngest daughter off to a doctor's nephew, when really she is in love with another man. His servant constantly tries to convince the hypochondriac that he is not really sick at all, and that he must see his family is more important than his health. It's full of antic loop holes and improvisational fun that it just keeps you keen on your ears throughout the entire story. At first I was excited to see this production because:
a) David Kelly is the lead actor (a man of genius, just keep this in mind)
b) It was by the adapters who brought us said-previous play. Which I loved.
. . . To say the least and in all fairness to OSF's hard work, I would recommend this play to anyone looking for a comedy. There are not a whole lot this season so if you'd like to give yourself a laugh, then this is the play for you. It's interactive, flashy, gaudy (in the good sense), and will pinpoint memories that you didn't think you could have picked out beforehand. Oh, and the ending leaves you for thinking, as well.
Now, here's MY personal view of the show.
I didn't really like it. I didn't really enjoy it minus a few actors I had known through SOU. It also doesn't help that the play is set in 1960s France. When I read the script for this show before I had a completely different vision for this show, and the way OSF portrayed it did not work for me at all to feel for the cast, minus one character.
The costumes were fantastic and enveloped the characters perfectly based on the material used for said costuming. But really...it was hard for me to focus on the show since the play was solely prodding fun at the era of 1960s sitcoms. Not to mention they blended the pop cultural references of pushing for the most recent debate of public health care (intentionally set for a Democratic stance), and I've recently discovered that I just don't enjoy excessive pop cultural references in a given medium (books, movies, games, etc.)
So, go if you'd like a good laugh. Don't go if you're anal about design like I am.
And that's my two cents! So next week will be a review of one of my personal favorite pieces by OSF so far this season, so that should be exciting! Anyway I hope y'all have a good weekend and a good week following after that! Later~
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Play of the week: Measure for Measure
Okay, so perhaps it'll be easier to remember that between Friday and Sunday this blog will be updated. I apologize to everyone, but times are getting busier by the minute.
Anyway, instead of just keeping updates about my life, I think for this term's set of blogs will revolve around the plays going on at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It might be good for you guys to hear how the productions are doing down here in Ashland, and this way it makes for a good exercise since I need to write analysis papers on the plays.
So here we go!
William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a rather lesser known play, is essentially about a Duke entrusting a deputy position to one of his trusted men, who in turns is corrupt with power by shutting down all brothels, sentencing a man to death for "stealing his wife" and then bribing this man's sister to give up her virginity for the life of her brother (which wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't just starting her nunnery business). I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this play, seeing as I read very little of the script before seeing the show (...I'm a horrible theatre major, heh). But I thought it was a very enticing choice to set the play in the 1970s, which addressed a lot of issues (state vs sexuality, state vs religion, state vs immigration, etc.). The set is essentially one generic color, and it opens up late at night in a business office, which would consist of grey walls, white floors and geometric shapes. Thanks to the lighting, I genuinely believed I was transported to the ten other locations this play took place in. There is also the pleasure of latin-american music played during certain scenes, which added a little nice spice to the static nature of some of the performances.
Not...that the performances were bad. Just intense sometimes.
Overall, if you did want to see an OSF show, Measure for Measure is the one you should be seeing. At least that way you can acclaim your smart rights to your friends by telling them about a play they've probably never heard of. Hurrah!
Anyway, I hope y'all are doing well! I'm so sorry for the delayed post, but at least next week you'll get a treat for one of the comedies shown this year at OSF! Please let me know if you think these reviews are a good idea or not!
Have a good rest of your week, guys!
Later~
Anyway, instead of just keeping updates about my life, I think for this term's set of blogs will revolve around the plays going on at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It might be good for you guys to hear how the productions are doing down here in Ashland, and this way it makes for a good exercise since I need to write analysis papers on the plays.
So here we go!
William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a rather lesser known play, is essentially about a Duke entrusting a deputy position to one of his trusted men, who in turns is corrupt with power by shutting down all brothels, sentencing a man to death for "stealing his wife" and then bribing this man's sister to give up her virginity for the life of her brother (which wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't just starting her nunnery business). I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this play, seeing as I read very little of the script before seeing the show (...I'm a horrible theatre major, heh). But I thought it was a very enticing choice to set the play in the 1970s, which addressed a lot of issues (state vs sexuality, state vs religion, state vs immigration, etc.). The set is essentially one generic color, and it opens up late at night in a business office, which would consist of grey walls, white floors and geometric shapes. Thanks to the lighting, I genuinely believed I was transported to the ten other locations this play took place in. There is also the pleasure of latin-american music played during certain scenes, which added a little nice spice to the static nature of some of the performances.
Not...that the performances were bad. Just intense sometimes.
Overall, if you did want to see an OSF show, Measure for Measure is the one you should be seeing. At least that way you can acclaim your smart rights to your friends by telling them about a play they've probably never heard of. Hurrah!
Anyway, I hope y'all are doing well! I'm so sorry for the delayed post, but at least next week you'll get a treat for one of the comedies shown this year at OSF! Please let me know if you think these reviews are a good idea or not!
Have a good rest of your week, guys!
Later~
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