Topdog/underdog is a remarkable and emotionally striking glimpse into life on the fringe of urban decay, where the shrapnel of broken families from the ‘Hood’ (the decaying and ignored ghettos of our great American cities), struggle in a world bereft of meaning or morality. Topdog/underdog is a brutal but brilliant story by Suzan-Lori Parks which [...]
“The town is dying…and we need her money.” To achieve this imperative goal, the Mayor of Gullen and its desperate population plot ways to extract boodles of money from a former Gullen resident. This becomes the singular motivation for every citizen of this tiny town that has been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle for nearly [...]
Coming up with an original concept for the often produced Comedy of Errors is no sure bet. Many have put their money on the table and walked away without hitting the jackpot. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Director Bill Rauch decide to not hedge their bets and go ‘all in’ for the 2004 production of [...]
The Cavendish clan of lunatics and misfits who cavort in The Royal Family on the stage of the Bowmer Theater is loosely patterned after the great but outlandish theatrical Barrymore Family. It’s unimportant whether you recognize the Barrymore name or not (yes, yes, the parents of the current Barrymore, Drew). The Royal Family was written [...]
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s adapted version of William Shakespeare’s Henry the Sixth, Part One I (subtitled Talbot and Joan) is, not surprisingly, hardly about Henry at all. What it is about is what Henry was not, which was qualified to be a King. Oh, to be sure, he had the proper lineage and all, but [...]
Maria Callas was a soprano so in love with her music and herself that she might literally have killed those who stood between her and stardom. For a decade and a half she was larger than life, both on and off stage. So what did a diva of her stature and accomplishment do when age, [...]
When you dream big and go against both the odds and public opinion, you are asking for problems. But as the old folk saying goes, ‘dream big, win big.’ Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun does exactly that. Originally written in 1957 and produced first in Chicago and Philadelphia, the play eventually opened [...]
