by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays presented by the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival opened last weekend and will continue through March 4th.
The name honors Harriett Lake, a long-time Orlando resident, who sponsored much of this event with a substantial financial gift.
The featured play I saw Friday night was the Southern premiere of Crime and Punishment adapted by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus from Russian writer Dostoyevsky’s well known but rarely read novel. This play was seen as a workshop at PlayFest the previous year, and was so well received it was selected for full production this year. It will run through March l8 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in downtown Orlando.
I am not going into the plot of this famous work. I can say that the playwrights did an amazing job of adapting the weighty book into a one act play of ninety minutes, with just three main characters rather than Dostoyevsky’s twenty. The set design by Bob Phillips was outstanding, with the look of old Russia. The direction by Jim Helsinger was excellent and if you like this period in history and fine acting you may want to take the drive of just over two hours to Orlando.
My first show on Saturday was a workshop production of Mark Brown’s China-The Whole Enchilada. I think you can guess just from the title that it was a comedy. I have been a fan of Brown’s since I saw his Around the World in 80 Days” at Seaside Music Theatre. (Around the World is a play I can certainly recommend that Jacksonville Theatres consider.)
In this musical version of the history of China, Brown has collaborated with song writer and composer Paul Mirkovich to create two of the funniest hours I have spent in a theatre in a couple of years, and the amazing part is that this is a still a work in progress.
In fact, the three outstanding comedians, Brad DePlanche, Philip Nolen, and Eric Hissom, received new pages for this first performance just a few hours before the initial curtain. This fast paced musical provided a fractured look at the rise of China from the beginning of creation through today, and included interesting facts about Chinese attitudes toward women, and how the feet of young girls were bound from an early age so they could not grow.
In view of the major role China now plays in world events, this show will be a big hit, once it has been refined. I predict that this show will be given a full production and be the featured play in next year’s PlayFest.
The second workshop I attended Saturday was Sherry MacDonald’s The Stone Face. This is the story of comedian Buster Keaton’s comeback in film written by absurdist playwright Samuel Beckett (of Waiting for Godot fame). The play takes a very surreal approach but was very interesting. Again, a work in progress and my opinion is that was too long, with an ending is not entirely satisfactory.
The acting was exceptionally good. J.D. Sutton was excellent as the older Keaton and Michael Lane picture perfect in gestures and appearance as the young Keaton. This cast had a special surprise for me, with Jacksonville actress Jan Wikstrom as Keaton’s wife. Ms. Wikstrom lives in Jacksonville and teaches drama at various high schools but loves working at this Orlando theatre and commutes back and forth. She did the leading role in “Wit” earlier this year at this same theatre. Jan was very convincing as Kenton’s former showgirl wife, who has learned to put up with his idiosyncrasies. Jan fans can catch her in this show Friday March 2 at 8PM or Sunday March 4 at noon.
When you attend workshops, you will see the actors carrying the scripts during the performance, but in most cases, they are so well done, you forget the scripts are there.
Saturday night featured a keynote address by playwright Theresa Rebeck, then a reading of her newest play Mauritius. It is an intriguing drama about the seedier side of the world of stamp collecting and will open in New York later this year, and I predict will also be a big hit and a play that community theatres will be clamoring for.
The Lowndes Shakespeare Center is just a great place to enjoy theatre. There are three spaces in the same building, and often plays are going on simultaneously in each. Many of the theatres I attend have little space for patrons to sit if you arrive early, but Lowndes is patron friendly, offering a domed lounge with couches and chairs, and a snack bar area. In addition, the building is in an area near parks and museums, so going early to a matinee gives one many opportunities to do other things.
All performances are at 812 East Rollins Street in Loch Haven Park, in Orlando.
Visit shakespearefest.org for more information and times on all of the events, which include numerous readings and classes. Buy a PlayFest button for $5.00, admission to Readings is $3.00 and to the Workshops are $8.00.
You can become a part of the playwriting, because your opinions are solicited after each workshop, both verbally and in writing.
|
