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Thursday, February 13, 2020
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
FROM THE COVER
an inside look at northeast oregon’s
arts and entertainment scene
‘Much Ado About Nothing’
Shakespeare’s comedy presented by the
Hale-Turner Little Theatre in Elgin
By Lisa Britton
For EO Media Group
ELGIN — Grant Turner de-
scribes Shakespeare’s plays as “the
decathlon of acting.”
“It requires the most tools that
an actor has,” Turner said. “Shake-
speare requires you to be on at
all times. I enjoy that — I love
rehearsing.”
Turner is the associate artistic
director for Elgin Opera House and
the Hale-Turner Little Theatre.
This month he directs — and acts
in — Shakespeare’s “Much Ado
About Nothing” at the Hale-Turner,
a block from the Opera House.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21, 22, 28 and 29. Afternoon
matinees at 2:30 p.m. are Feb. 22,
Feb. 29 and March 1.
Tickets are $17 per person and
available online at www.elginop-
erahouse.com and at the door.
At its heart, Turner said, this
play is a comedy about life and
love: “There’s a gathering of friends
and family, there’s a party, and in
the air is an upcoming marriage.”
But there’s also rumor, innuendo
and mistaken identity.
“Sometimes it takes the least
likely gang of rag-tag law enforcers
to set things right again,” Turner
said. “But fear not — all will be
well, and as the title suggests, it
will be much ado about nothing.”
Turner does recognize that
Shakespeare can be intimidating,
especially with such language as
“thee” and “thou.”
“Those throw people,” he said.
Shakespeare’s plays are not mod-
ern English and were written in a
verse structure.
“It’s dense and poetic,” Turner
said, adding that it probably wasn’t
easy for all members of his original
audiences to understand all of it.
“I think he’s always been a
challenge. It was dense and hard
to understand back then,” Turner
said.
When the cast first comes
together, he said they look at the
playwright’s work and ask, “What
am I saying? Why am I saying it?”
Shakespeare’s work is, he said, an
“intellectual argument at heart.”
“The more you play the intel-
lectual argument, the more the
emotion comes out,” he said.
Then they figure out how best
to give that information to a 21st
century audience.
“There’s a lot of pre-work,” he
said.
This hard work combined with
the time-proven verse and story
bring the old language to life, and
“by the time we get to the second
act, we are fully immersed in the
Elizabethan world,” Turner said.
To help out modern playgoers,
each performance will begin with a
10-minute preamble to prepare you
for the play you are about to see
and explain the plot.
The Hale-Turner Little Theatre
is a small space where the audi-
ence surrounds the stage on three
sides.
“I feel it’s closer to what Shake-
speare had in mind,” Turner said.
“It allows you to look someone in
the eye and deliver a speech.”
And the actors have to be aware
of all the eyes on the action.
“Every audience member has to
see somebody’s face at all times,”
Turner said.
The cast includes “a nice eclectic
mix” of familiar faces and actors
new to the Elgin scene, he said.
The comedy features Michael
Cooper as Leonato, host of the
party and owner of the house
where the play is set. Avalon Blood-
good plays his young daughter,
Hero (Anna Buckley as her friend
and handmaiden, Ursula); Russ
Buckley is his brother, Anthony;
and, a newcomer to the Opera
House, Amanda Berry is his feisty
niece, Beatrice.
Joining them on stage will be
Cody Wyld Flower as Pedro, Prince
of Aragon; Zaquarie Mendenhall
as his trusted aide, Claudio; and
Turner as their cynical sidekick,
Benedick.
Cassandra Johnson is the
malcontented sister of Pedro and
she, alongside McKayla Nitz as the
trouble-stirring Borachio, put the
action in motion to interrupt the
nuptials of Hero and Claudio.
Jason Lineback plays the town
constable and resident buffoon,
Dogberry; Megan Duffy is his
better organized deputy Verges;
Andrew Buckley plays the volun-
teer neighborhood watch; and B.J.
Brown is the friar who presides
over the wedding.
Freeze the precious moments...
• Your wedding gown will become your
family heirloom. Keep it for the next
generation of daughters.
• Wedding gowns kept in plastic bags are
exposed to cheimicals in the long run that
effect the gown’s fibers and color.
2020 Auburn Avenue
Baker City, OR 97814
541.523.5369
info@crossroads-arts.org
www.crossroads-arts.org
C & H Cleaning Industries and Dry Cleaning
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
The Elgin Opera House
will present the musical
“Matilda” April 17-18, April
24-25, May 1-2 and May 9-10.
Friday shows will be at
7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the ac-
tors take the stage twice — at
12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The
performance on May 10 will
be at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $17 for the
orchestra level and lower
balcony. The upper balcony
tickets are $8. These are
available now online at www.
elginoperahouse.com.
Gift certificates and season
tickets are available by call-
ing the box office at 541-663-
6324.
Updates and photos of
current productions are also
posted on the theater’s
Facebook page.
To learn more about the
nonprofit Friends of the Elgin
Opera House, visit www.elgi-
noperahouse.com/giving.
BUY
ART
PRESERVE YOUR
WEDDING GOWN.
208 Chestnut, La Grande • 541 963-9210
Coming soon
to the Elgin
Opera House
Open Tues-Thurs 11am-4:30pm
Fri 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-2pm
FRIDAY
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