Saturday, October 26, 2024

Folger Shakespeare Theatre: Romeo and Juliet

 My quest for the perfect Romeo and Juliet continues, alas.  I had high hopes for this one.  Some important signs were there; by all accounts a very strong cast, actors in the title rolls that could actually pass for teenagers, and the imprimatur of the Folger Shakespeare Library over it all.  

In the constantly evolving obsession with placing Shakespeare's plays into odd and challenging circumstances, this production was full on into it; however, I felt like they misread the room.  As we entered the theater we were grilled with a multi-screen presentation of faux political Champaign commercials in which Lord Capulet was facing off against Lady Montague for the role of leader of Verona.  These were projected in various portioned sizes, on multiple surfaces across the stage broadcasting the same (or details of the same) pre-recorded images full of contemporary references to current historical events and present day political issues (although I did notice that abortion was blatantly omitted).  These screens (and groups of screens) were subdivided by vertical and horizontal bright light bars whose colors could be changed at will.  How do I say this?  It was overwhelming and off-putting--especially given how sick and tired I am of campaigning and campaign ads coupled with the fact that this little display had NOTHING to do with the rest of production!

Likewise, about half of the first scene was projected from a recording of the action until it spilled over onto the stage.  Again multiple screens of various sizes flashing the same images simultaneously.  This led, in my opinion to an awkward "out of the gate" for the actors and the audience alike.  At various points throughout, many times while actors were on stage, video images of them were also projected for no apparent or sensible reason.  Other than to create a distraction or show off the new toy.  

The cast was multiracial, gender fluid (for example, both Mercutio and Tybalt were played by women, AND three of the actors were bi-lingual, (Lady Capulet, Juliet, and the Nurse).  All of this is to push the boundaries of inclusion and open the theatre up to more diverse audiences like BIPOC, women, non-English speakers and folks who project multiple images of streaming services of various sizes on the walls of their homes.  Partially because I know this and understand its place in the ABAR (Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist) ethos of most contemporary theatre, I tend to take it in stride.  What this production taught me was that there can be too much of a good thing.  You know what I think of the techno-stuff, now I will complain about the Spanish characters.  I know some Spanish, enough to know that what the nurse was saying most of the time was not what Shakespeare had written.  And most of her lines were delivered in Spanish.  As an actor, Luz Nicolas, was one of the best, most compelling people in the production; sub-titles deflated what she was doing.  And if it wasn't just a gimmick, why weren't their Spanish subtitles for all of the English lines?  There were not.  So you entice Spanish speakers to your show so they can understand about 12% of the entirety of what's being said?  It wasn't inclusive, it was condescending.

So who in the cast held up in the midst of all of the flashing lights and mediocre translations, confusing choreography and half-assed ABAR components?  A surprising number!  First out of the gate, Cole Taylor, as Romeo.  He was fresh and sincere at times vulnerable and at other times adolescently headstrong.  I really enjoyed his performance.  Juliet was a little more inconsistent--but then I forgot to mention that Romeo had a drinking problem, as did Lord Capulet, and Juliet was a bit of a coke fiend...loved the nose candy.  (See what I mean?  So much shit flopped on top of it, I can't even recall it all in a single thought!  And if anything was superfluous, the drug and alcohol use was.)  Deep breath... ah; continue: Giovanna Alcantara Drummond and Alina Collins Maldonado as Mercutio and Tybalt respectively.  They were full of sexy swagger, tossed in a little Lesbian innuendo (When Mercurtio stuck his knife in Tybalt's face, she stuck out her tongue and licked it!  OMG, brilliant move!  100% love it!)  Together they pulled off one the most believable knife fight scenes I have ever seen.  I've already mentioned Luz Nicolas, but she was so good, I don't mind saying it twice.  We often see the nurse as a cackling, comic, half-wit tragically co-opted to assist the doomed young lovers.  Luz spun that on its head transforming the nurse into the powerful mother figure that Juliet couldn't find in her own mother, and we saw so much more of the profound love and sorrow.  She's amazing.  Taking a closer look at Caro Reyes Rivera's Juliet, she had a rough start.  Her portrayal was flat and then girlishly manic through most of the first half, snorting coke every time Romeo or the Nurse turned their backs on her.  Again, why?  In the second act, she finally had her moments, especially the confused soliloquy after learning that Romeo had killed her cousin, Tybalt.  She also knew how to dye mercifully quickly.

There's another actor who gets cast a lot in Shakespeare plays around town, and honestly I don't know why.  John Floyd is a slight, Black man who plays every part with an effeminate flair.  Whether he's a Senator in "Timon of Athens," or Mardian in "Anthony and Cleopatra;" Donalbain in "Macbeth" or Flute in a "Midsummer Night's Dream," he's positively feline.  As Benvolio, notwithstanding the 3-inch pumps, bell-bottoms, form fitting T-shirt and earring bouncing off of his right shoulder, he was actually more robust, ev even subdued.  I felt like he'd put more effort into discovering something more dimensional in the character.  I overheard the women sitting next to me ask her younger male companion if Shakespeare wrote Benvolio as a gay man.  And I thought, "Oh, Honey, if you think Benvolio is gay, you should have seen his Mandian! Unfortunately, in the second act, he had his recitation of the fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt and it all unraveled as he just became subtly more histrionic the further into the description he got.  At one point I picture Vicki Lawrence in that "Gone with the Breeze" sketch from Carole Burnett screaming "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!"  Sigh. 

The role of the Prince was played by Deidra LaWan Starnes a fine actress whom I loved in her performance in 1st Stage's production of Lynn Nottage's "Milma's Tale".  Unfortunately, she was upstaged by her costume--a sort of cross between Captain White America and Elvis in Las Vegas (the fat years) that made it impossible to take her seriously, and once she pulled out the air-horn?  O Lordy, I cringed for her.  Todd Scofield played Lord Capulet like "Bid Daddy" from "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof".  That didn't really work, either.  

What the production needs is a "Less is More" makeover.  And honestly, when you look at all the talent on the stage, then at all the ways in which choices about the presentation and the ways in which the talent was used spun confusion, you have to just blame the Director.  Raymond O. Caldwell has an impressive resume all across the DMV, that includes both awards and nominations for awards.  But this was his first foray into Shakespeare.  I feel like he traded away the power of the story for a chance at staging a spectacle...a circus.  Maybe a comedy would have been a better place for him to begin. 

Lady Capulet [Fran Tapia], Juliet [Caro Rivera Reyes] and the Nurse [Luz Nicolas]

The Ball at the Capulet's Home.  At this point, my brain was having mini-seizures from all the screen time overload, and the pace of this scene was so painfully SLOW, I literally dozed off... I caught myself, and then over-compensated.  Or, at least that's how it felt.

The set was like if Richard Serra had a love-child with Nam June Paik.  Look 'em up, Angels--that's what Google is for!

Romeo [Cole Taylor] and Juliet

Mercutio [Giovanna Alcantara Drummond] and Tybalt [Alina Collins Maldonado] the chemistry was spot on!

L-R: Tybalt (dying), Lady Capulet, Lord Capulet [Todd Scofield], the Nurse, the Prince [Deidra LaWan Starnes], Benvolio [John Floyd], Lady Montague [Renee Elizabeth Wilson] and Lord Montague [Tony Nam]

Juliet and Romeo, their first and last liaison.

Friar Lawrence [Brandon Carter] with Juliet and Romeo in the tomb.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Sunday Volunteering at the Maryland Zoo

Some photos of Tuffy, our 41-year-old Bull male African Elephant schmoozing with guests and a volunteer deer during Breakfast with the Elephants.  A great opportunity for Guests to get a closer and more in-depth experience with one of our many species at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.













 

Seasonal Move: There's a Chill in the Air

 Time to transfer all of my tropical plants inside.  Step 1 - prep my little Sun Room.


Step two move the children inside!





Saturday, October 12, 2024

Signature Theatre: Primary Trust

 My faith in contemporary American theatre has been completely restored by Eboni Booth's, 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning play, "Primary Trust."  The heart of the play is Kenneth.  A man whose childhood was so traumatic that he created an imaginary friend named Bert.  For 20 years, since aging out of the child protective services boys home, he's worked in a little bookstore run by a curmudgeonly old man, Sam.  One day Sam tells him he's selling the store and moving to Arizona.  The last day is in two weeks and he gives Kenneth three months worth of pay to help him until he can find a new job.  Besides the bookstore, 6 to 7 days a week, Kenneth spends his evenings at Wally's--a local Tiki Bar--drinking Mai Tai's with "Bert" until the bar-tender cuts him off.  

All of this is just the set up.  The play is about how, over the next year, Kenneth discovers an inner resilience supported by occasional acts of kindness and punctuated by his ongoing struggle with mental wellness.  THIS IS THE BEST contemporary play of this type, I've ever seen.  It's better than "Dot," better than "Proof," and, yes, better than "The Waverly Gallery."  It is genuine in a way that was magical.  While not meant to be comic, there are moments that are so funny, so unexpected that I laugh without discretion.  And there are moments when I let the tears run down my cheeks, too.  It was, in short, an authentic experience for me.

The cast is magnificent.  But the star, Julius Thomas III is truly a star.  Fresh off a turn as A. Hamilton on Broadway, his list of credits on the "Great White Way" is long and impressive.  It took him a mere 3 minutes to have me utterly and totally in his pocket.  He commanded the performance and had a supporting cast that was game for the adventure.  Together they transformed a spare little peninsula of stage into a world of grace with imperfect triumphs of hope and joy and resilience.  

Where the story begins, Julius Thomas III as Kenneth

Mai Tai's at Wally's with Bert (Frank Britton)--who isn't there.

Finding a new job at Primary Trust Bank, with a new boss, Clay (Craig Wallace)

Drinks with a new friend, Corrina (Yesenia Iglesias)

Standing unaware on a precipice with Bert who's about to say good-bye.


Where the story is, one year later.

Poem: Haiku - Red Geranium


 

Saturday, October 5, 2024

Maryland Zoo: Aviary

In the heart of the African Water Hole and Grasslands area of the zoo sits the African Aviary.  The Aviary is built around an ancient White Oak.  It's an immersive habitat where guests can enter and walk on boardwalks among the 12 species of birds.


Von Der DECKEN'S HORNBILL
Tockus deckeni
(female)

HADADA IBIS
Bostrychia hagedash

HADADA IBIS mate roosting on their nest

WHITE-BREASTED CORMORANT
Phalacrocorax lucidus

SPUR-WINGED LAPWING
Vallenus spinosus


AFRICAN SPOONBILL
Platalea alba

There were four African Spoonbills in the Aviary and this one was particularly curious about me.  I'm not saying he was "friendly."  There is no evidence to suggest that birds are ever friendly, that's a human emotion.  While some birds can act like friends to humans, they do not possess the intelligence to behave like friends.  Companions, even flock-mates, but friendship isn't an accurate description of avian behavior.  And I was also quite curious about him--a true meeting of the minds.

FULVOUS WHISTLING DUCK
Dendrocygna bicolor

WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCK
Dendrocygna viduata

MARBLED TEAL
Marmaronetta angustirostris

Ford's Theater: Mr. Lincoln

 "Mr. Lincoln" by Herbert Mitgang is a one man show in which the Actor, using a majority of Abraham Lincoln's own words, tells the story of his life.  It's a beautifully conceptualized play whose content (the words of Abraham Lincoln himself) resounds with profound truths for our present day political milieu.  We learn of his days in Illinois as a lawyer and young politician, his courtship and love for Mary Todd, the births and tragic deaths of most of his sons.  The campaign for the presidency, the war, his rocky relationships with his generals, his compassion for troops that deserted...the emancipation of enslaved Africans, right up to premonitions of his death just days before his assassination.  

At 69, Scott Bakula was born to play Lincoln.  From the first words to the final applause, he projected America's tragic "Everyman" President with wit, and pathos, and compassion.  I could not stop my eyes from leaking at his recitation of The Gettysburg Address.  After the standing ovation faded at the end of the performance, Bakula turned to look up upon the very theatre box in which Lincoln was shot, clasped his hands and bowed his head in a moment of silence.  An amazing homage to a brilliant performance.  This is one that I will always cherish.

Speaking of his youth and the first time he understood what it meant that Black Africans were enslaved

Reading a letter from the contemporary journalist Horace Greeley criticizing his presidency--we also hear his witty, acid sharp response

Recreating Lincoln's recitation of the Gettysburg Address

At the end with the actual theater box where Lincoln was shot upper right.  Throughout there was a palpable sense that Lincoln's ghost was hovering, inspiring the performance.  The only kind of magic I believe in, theatre magic!