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FOOLS FOR LOVE
Y Fickle Flights of Fancy: A Midsummer Night's Dream is the
most frequently staged Shakespearean comedy and for good
reason. Shakespeare's exploration of the inconstancy of love
is an accessible, surefire crowd-pleaser that never fails to
elicit laughs. UGA Theatre brings a fresh perspective to the
classic comedy with the costume design of Ivan Ingermann.
Ingermann went under the sea for inspiration for his fairy
designs, and the costumes showcase a more mysterious version
of the "shadows" than is tradition
ally conjured. The pieces produce f|
abstract resemblances to oceanic
creatures with vibrant colors, inter- £
esting materials and eye-catching §
silhouettes. The production, directed §
by Kristin Kundert-Gibbs, opens
with dramatic sound effects that
immediately set the stage for a
dream with a slightly nightmar
ish overtone, as Puck (Jacqueline
Carey) delivers a somewhat spooky
invitation to the audience to enter
into a state of reverie after bound
ing across the stage with sprightly
zest. Norman Ferguson as fairy
king Oberon is particularly effec
tive at evoking an ominous air as
he delivers his orders to his bouncy
sidekick, and Amy Roeder offers
up her queenly pronouncements as
Titania with fitting nobility. Caught
up in the maneuverings of the forest
netherworld, the quartet of lovesick
Athenians are played with spirited
aplomb by Harry Valentine, Jeff
Morris, Eleanor Carter and Kelli
Harrington, and they seem to rel
ish the opportunity to unleash a
healthy dose of physical humor during the show's comedic
climax. Though performances are consistent top-to-bottom in
the cast, Bottom and his band of "rude mechanicals" threaten
to steal the show with their play-within-a-play performance
of Pyramus and Thisbe. One of Shakespeare's most memorable
comic characters, Bottom is a precursor to modern-day buf
foons like David Brent in his mix of earnestness and inepti
tude, and Brandon Wentz skillfully performs every pratfall
and malapropism. Nick Abelein, Jake Young, Jake Cooper
and Adam Bloodworth all give noteworthy turns as Bottom's
hapless cohorts. Witness the effects of the frantic imagination
that unites lunatics, lovers and poets Apr. 16-19 at 8 p.m. and
Apr. 20 at 2:30 in the Fine Arts Theatre in the UGA Fine Arts
Building. Admission is $12 for students and $15 for others.
You Could Drive a Person Crazy: Producing Christopher
Du^ang's plays can be a dicey proposition. His plays' absurd
situations and over-the-top characters can easily veer into car-
toonish territory without a deft guiding hand that recognizes
the serious concerns that underlie
the silliness and understands how
to approach his signature style.
Steven Carroll gets the balance
right as the director for Town and
Gown's production of Durang's
Beyond Therapy. The show involves
two Manhattanites, Bruce (Derek
Adams) and Prudence (Joanna
Eldredge), who meet for a blind
date through a personal ad. Right
away we can see they're hopelessly
mismatched. He's a bisexual with a
live-in boyfriend, a self-confessed
"partial crackpot," and wears his
emotions on his sleeve. She prefers
uncomplicated, "strong" men who
subscribe to traditional gender roles.
The incompatible couple desperately
attempts to forge a connection,
with Bruce trying to bond over a
mutual affection for bran cereal, but
the date ends with the pair throwing
water on each other's faces. Further
complicating the duo's search for
love are their therapists. Charlotte
(Marisa Castengera) counsels Bruce
with a unique brand of psychobabble
light on psychology and chock full
of babble. Afflicted with an extreme short-term memory and
always at a loss for words, Charlotte infantilizes her patients,
or "porpoises," in her toy-strewn office and uses a Snoopy doll
to channel barks of encouragement to them. Prudence, mean
while, sees Stuart (John Ginn), a hyper-macho sleaze who hits
on Prudence instead of helping her. The densely packed farce
rotates (quite literally via a revolving stage) from date night
to the therapists' offices and back again, and campy interludes
intersperse the action in a series of lip-synched drag perfor
mances. In a play with an abundance of outrageous characters
and situations, it would be easy for the actors to fall into the
trap of hamming it up. Here, however, the cast show consider
able restraint. The naturalistic performances ground the farce
and in so doing make it all the more effective. The produc
tion has a strong ensemble that works well together, and they
shine the most during the various combinations of one-on-one
interplay. Eldredge as Prudence, the straight man in a group of
stooges, centers the production. Amongst all the mayhem, she
communicates genuine emotion. When the audience sees her
begin to unravel, it's easy to feel her frustration and despera
tion. Rounding out the cast is Eric Kumsomboone, who brings
flamboyant flair when he pops up as Bruce's boyfriend. Beyond
Therapy finishes up its run at Athens Community Theatre Apr.
17-19 at 8 p.m. and Apr. 20 at 2 p.m. Student tickets are $15
and regular admission is $18, though tickets to the Thursday
show are $5 for everyone.
Clique-Crossed Lovers: The central characters in the third show
lighting up the Athens stage this week. High School Musical.
aren't outrageously silly or lovesick fools in the vein of those
that populate A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Beyond Therapy.
Instead, they'd be more accurately characterized as dopey
cheeseballs. Nothing demonstrates the marketing might of the
Disney machine like the phenomenal success of High School
Musical. Despite taking the tween nation by storm, as a simple
story filled with two-dimensional characters and modestly
melodic, lyrically simple pop confections, High School Musical
will never join the pantheon of musical theatre masterpieces. It
does, however, have the potential to join the ranks of another
stable of musicals that though perhaps not as esteemed are
cherished nonetheless. Like Xanadu and Grease 2 before it,
High School Musical has the makings of a camp classic. It
can be oddly engrossing even for those outside of the Disney
demographic in a peculiar way. If you don't think Zac Efron is
dreamy and rock out to Hannah Montana, you can still enjoy
the show if you approach it with the right sensibility. Though
it's cavity-inducing, could rot your brain, and perhaps make
you a little queasy, you might sort of like it. After brushing up
on your Shakespeare with Midsummer, you can indulge in some
cotton candy. Take along your favorite tween and discover your
inner 12-year-old in the process. Oconee Youth Playhouse will
undoubtedly bring solid performances and stagecraft to the
material. See the squeaky-clean, feel-good fun at the Oconee
Civic Center Apr. 18 & 20 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for kids,
$15 for students and seniors, and $18 for everyone else.
Familial Affection: Town and Gown will tackle another kind
of love with their Second Stage production of Jack Heifneris
Patio/Porch, a pair of one-act plays set in small-town Texas,
directed by and starring Patsy Benson and Kathleen Phipps.
Patio deals with the dreams and disappointments of two sis
ters as one prepares to leave for the city, while a mother and
daughter come to terms with a different type of departure in
Porch. Performances will be Apr. 25 and 26 at 8 p.m. and Apr.
27 at 2 p.m. at Athens Community Theatre. Tickets are only
$5 at the door.
Jennifer Bryant
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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