GIP & Lady Windermere's Fan
Jul. 13th, 2005 10:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsThe gratuitious icon is attached; it doesn't have much to do with this post, but I'm fond of it, so I wanted to show it off.
The post is a review of Lady Windermere's Fan, at the DC Shakespeare Theatre. I have highly mixed feelings about this version. I
t's the lightest performance that I've seen yet - and yet, it was still somewhat bombastic. Everyone had a tendancy to bellow their lines, and since Wilde is all about subtlety, that takes the edge off. Nancy Robinette, for example, shouted "WHAT A HORRIBLE MAN I QUITE LIKE HIM" with no inflection or pause, as if she didn't know what the line actually meant. She's better than that.
On the other hand, the bombast worked beautifully for David Sabin, who was perfectly cast as Lord Augustus, a role that suits him. And Tessa Auberjonois, who sparkled in the effervescent The Rivals, started out with an arm-flinging delivery that was too giddy, but settled down into the role as the pompous, naieve young wife nicely after that... although she, like everyone else, shouted. The Shakes isn't that large a venue and The Rivals wasn't so high volume, so I don't know what happened. Bleedover from the Shakespearean productions, which![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stratfordbabe always calls too loud?
Certainly Stratfordbabe was right about Dixie Carter who has, between the stage makeup and the facelift(s?) turned herself into The Joker.
The standout was Tonya Beckman Ross as Lady Agatha. She only ever got to say "Yes, Mama" in a monotone, but she managed to steal most of the scenes she was in simply by the way she moved. The perfect "there are no small parts" example; even as a minor character with one line she was a standout.
And yet after all this quibbling, I liked it. It's almost impossible to do Wilde wrong; even when I disagree with the delivery, the lines remain funny. The stage business the actors (particularly Ross) came up with was lovely. And the sets and costumes were gorgeous.
Despite the icon, I wasn't swept away - but I did have a lovely evening, made moreso by meeting friends at the performance. It's worth a ticket to go see.
The post is a review of Lady Windermere's Fan, at the DC Shakespeare Theatre. I have highly mixed feelings about this version. I
t's the lightest performance that I've seen yet - and yet, it was still somewhat bombastic. Everyone had a tendancy to bellow their lines, and since Wilde is all about subtlety, that takes the edge off. Nancy Robinette, for example, shouted "WHAT A HORRIBLE MAN I QUITE LIKE HIM" with no inflection or pause, as if she didn't know what the line actually meant. She's better than that.
On the other hand, the bombast worked beautifully for David Sabin, who was perfectly cast as Lord Augustus, a role that suits him. And Tessa Auberjonois, who sparkled in the effervescent The Rivals, started out with an arm-flinging delivery that was too giddy, but settled down into the role as the pompous, naieve young wife nicely after that... although she, like everyone else, shouted. The Shakes isn't that large a venue and The Rivals wasn't so high volume, so I don't know what happened. Bleedover from the Shakespearean productions, which
stratfordbabe always calls too loud?Certainly Stratfordbabe was right about Dixie Carter who has, between the stage makeup and the facelift(s?) turned herself into The Joker.
The standout was Tonya Beckman Ross as Lady Agatha. She only ever got to say "Yes, Mama" in a monotone, but she managed to steal most of the scenes she was in simply by the way she moved. The perfect "there are no small parts" example; even as a minor character with one line she was a standout.
And yet after all this quibbling, I liked it. It's almost impossible to do Wilde wrong; even when I disagree with the delivery, the lines remain funny. The stage business the actors (particularly Ross) came up with was lovely. And the sets and costumes were gorgeous.
Despite the icon, I wasn't swept away - but I did have a lovely evening, made moreso by meeting friends at the performance. It's worth a ticket to go see.
