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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2019)
and great at yelling “Macbeth!” and only Macbeth in a Scottish accent. The weird sisters, aka witches (Robin Goodrin Nordli, Miriam A. Laube and Erica Sullivan), play a larger role on the stage than in the text; their presence is an earthy, ethereal one. And praises to the Porter (Rex Young) for interrupting this downer with some snarky dick jokes. The costumes (Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko), though stunning, are a bit of a mismatch, like something the witches conjured in a bathtub. Hecate (Michele Mais), backlit by flames, is the moonlit incarnation of the Heat Miser or The Little Mermaid's Ursula — a stunning scene on a cloudless night. Lady Macbeth also sports some pretty fierce digs. But the men alternate between Victorianesque suits, modern leather jackets, ripped jeans, guerilla warfare garb and Black Panther berets — and I think I spotted a kilt in there. From the lighting and set design (Christopher Acebo), which is dark, sinister and raw, to the movement and frenetic energy between the players on stage, most everything you’d want is there. If you happen to read the director’s note, however, you might notice a bit of a hit- and-miss premise. Director Valenzuela, in an effort to make Shakespeare more modern, claims Macbeth’s motivations and ultimately his self-destruction are driven by his fear of the “other.” Now it’s true that most of Macbeth’s counterparts are played by either people of color — or, in the case of Fleance (Will Wilhelm), gay — but their “otherness” compared to Macbeth’s own heteronormative, white privilege seems to be of unimportance, as it should be. Sure, we live and have lived in times in which the “other” is feared, and with great consequences, but it’s a hard sell on the stage. We never see Macbeth as fearing the “other,” but rather fearing anyone who might undermine his power, especially anyone who might be considered an heir to the throne, because he himself cannot father children. I suppose I don’t quite understand the necessity to reinvent Macbeth’s motivation. Power, deceit, love, murder, insanity — these are universal and ageless truths of human affairs, the very reason there is and always will be an annual Shakespeare festival. Human beings are power-hungry shit-bags sometimes. Period. Introductions follow at a funeral. There’s the Countess of Rossillion (Vilma Silva), who is grieving the loss of her husband; her highborn jackass son, Bertram (Daisuke Tsuji); and Helen (Royer Bockus), the quirky, punk-rock admirer of said jackass son, all reminding us that the heart wants what it wants. All’s Well has been dubbed one of Shakespeare’s problematic plays, but that’s only because literary scholars can’t bring themselves to use the word “dramedy.” It’s smart, it’s ugly, it’s funny, it’s — wait a minute, is that…? “We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder…” At the end of the opening scene, Bockus flips her pink hair and belts out the words we were all hoping for, with Pat Benatar reminding us that all is well. Mostly. It’s still a messy story. Girl loves boy, boy prefers running away to war and a lot of terrible decisions are made in the name of desire. All in all, director Tracy Young delivers the most modern of the Elizabethan plays in OSF’s current rotation. Bockus is painfully familiar as the lovesick misfit (who hasn’t marveled at the eyebrows of their beloved?). The Clown (K.T. Vogt) is a saucy lesbian snacking on Cheetos. The newly healed King of France (Kevin Kenerly) busts a move to “Uptown Funk,” and the ladies of Florence (Lauren Modica, Brooke Ishibashi and Jessica Ko) are a finger-snapping comic trio. With the production simultaneously set in the 1600s and present day (interesting choice), costume designer Alex Jaeger plays with the old and the new — a favorite pastime of Shakespeare himself. T-shirts, hoodies, overalls and baseball caps are countered with Elizabethan accordion collars and puffy pants. Though the oversized heart-shaped and gold-plated crotch ornament sported by the rude and then redeemed Parolles (Al Espinosa) is a bit excessive. Spring is in the air, and everything is all really French! Tiffany blue fixtures and bold floral patterns are the focus of the set design by Mariana Sanchez. The Italian landscape is shadowy and dark. A large orange tent reaches the highest tier, providing shelter for the soldiers in green — it’s a little Vietnam-like. Why do most war scenes, no matter the time or place, resemble Vietnam? One source of contention is in the focus itself. All’s Well is full of deeply flawed characters, none more so than Helen, and yet she is the undisputed hero in OSF’s production. Granted, she is repeatedly rejected, and abused by Bertram and Parolles. Helen’s refusal to take Bertram’s “no” for what it is leads her to do awful things, but she’s never held accountable, whereas we have no problem hating on the men. Helen’s rise to cunning and cool in both Bockus’s endearing portrayal and Young’s choice to flip the ending— a recognized surprise — push the problem over the edge. The audience has no choice but to cheer on Helen as she carefully kisses Bertram on the eye. It’s fun, but I have my doubts if there is enough Pat Benatar for that level of sympathy. Young is most successful by simply playing on what is already there. The characters are inherently relatable. Give Helen a diary and Misfits T-shirt and I’m looking at my own experience with rejection. You can make the clown a lesbian, the soldier a woman, the son a fuck boy. All of that works just fine. But you can’t claim it’s not a fairy tale and then give the audience a nice, pink haired bow. The mile long walk back to the hotel is ample time for you to question your devotions. Macbeth All's Well That Ends Well T H R O U G H O C T. 13 I N T H E E L I Z A B E T H A N T H E AT R E The opening scene of Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well features a familiar stop-start synthesized beat. A procession of mournful characters files in through prayerful rhythm. Is that Pat Benatar? 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