Eugene weekly., November 15, 2012, Page 37, Image 37

TH EATER
BY ANNA GRACE
ANDREW NGUYEN AS ‘FESTE’
THE BRAND NEW BARD
University Theatre sets the sonnets on stage with Love.Will.Shake.
“G
rief is the price we pay for love,” an
actress concludes, and I can almost see
the words as they drift from the somber
stage. You can hear the assembled
audience of college students nodding their
heads in solidarity with the characters.
Grief, love, sex and gross over-dramatization are hallmarks
of many people’s freshman year at university and of
Shakespeare’s sonnets.
UO theatre professor/director John Schmor leads his
cast in an experimental journey to dramatize William
Shakespeare’s sonnets. According to his director’s notes,
it’s an idea that had been haunting him for some time.
When a space in UT’s fall line up opened, Schmor
knocked out a skeletal rough draft in two weeks, then
spent the rehearsal period rewriting and refining Love.Will.
Shake. with the help of his cast.
And that’s just cool.
How does it work? The sonnets are lovely, but you can
find that even among the most die-hard Bard-o-philes,
many have only a passing acquaintance with them. The
play then seeks to educate as well as entertain, and it is
obvious that it is born out of love and scholarship.
There is a lot going on. Shakespeare is portrayed by
two people, William M (Andrew Krivoshein) and William
W (Olivia Walton.) In extraordinary costumes that are part
dress, part pumpkin pant, William M has a larger role as
the lover of both a beautiful young man (Evan Marshall as
W.H.) and a dark lady (Tatianna Young) who has,
remarkably, come to London from Africa to study
shipbuilding and navigation. William W spends a lot of
time laughing at her male counterpart, while having an
affair with a female Hamlet (Brianna Kirschner).
But that’s just the primary plot. There are innumerable
other plot-lets, and many of your favorite characters, like
Helena (Shannon McInally) and Hotspur (Nathan Urbach)
rolling through the show. Stealing the limelight are
Rebecca Nachison and Steve Wehmeier as a feisty Queen
Elizabeth and King James. Presiding over all the chaos of
love and angst is Andrew Nguyen, a Feste in hipster
glasses with a ukulele. It’s wild.
There were moments in this energetic, emotive show
where I was reminded of last fall’s Batboy, such as an
impromptu orgy, this one featuring boots and shoes rather
than fantastical creatures, and “willful cross-dressing.”
There were other times I was reminded of Shakespeare in
Love, as we see William M working on scenes for Romeo
and Juliet, only this time Juliet is played by a man.
Ultimately Schmor is an entertainer: he knows the
value of a well-timed joke and breathtaking visuals. The
design crew at the UO turns out remarkable costumes by
Alexandra Bonds and truly beautiful lighting design by
Janet Rose.
Lusting, sighing, laughing, fighting; the cast of Love. Will.
Shake. bare it all with heart in this unique production, calling
us to give ourselves over to the glories and grief of love. ■
Love.Will.Shake runs at the Robinson Theatre Nov. 2-17.
The Actor’s Table of Eugene explores ‘faith’ through readings
T
he Actors’ Table of Eugene (TATE) will flood Tsunami Books once more with
Leaps of Faith. It’s an evening of the trials and triumphs of trust, whether in
ourselves or the divine.
TATE is on fire, as literally every theater person I ran into this month was planning
a reading. Founder Judy McKenzie has expanded her production team, enlisting the
help of Emily Hart and Carol Massahos.
The Actors’ Table is an evening of readings from
the favorite scenes of local theater artists, so the fare
will run from classic to contemporary, and all of it
will be deeply personal. Greg Foote and Carol Denis
will be reading from their own work.
I checked in with Paul Calandrino, who will be
performing the Raymond Carver poem “You Don’t
Know What Love Is (an evening with Charles
Bukowski).”
“When the producers first announced the theme of the show as ‘faith’ I thought that
might rule me out because I’m not a person of faith,” Calandrino says, explaining his
inspiration. Then he hit on the perfect idea. “I thought of the Carver poem, which I’ve loved
for years … It’s about that secular faith of my generation, love. He’s 51 years old, he says,
and he’s in love with this 25-year-old ‘broad.’ It’s a huge leap of faith for the dissolute poet,
famous for a long string of disastrous love affairs. I find the
poem to be hilarious, grotesque and moving, just like
Bukowski and Carver themselves.”
Hilarious, grotesque and moving sounds like good
theater to me, and this is just one of the many pieces to be
read at TATE. Seating is tight so show up early. Suggested
donation is $5-$10. Pay it if you got it, and if not, come
anyway. ■
It’s an evening of the trials and
triumphs of trust, whether in
ourselves or the divine
TATE runs one night only, 8 pm Saturday, Nov. 17, at Tsunami Books.
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