This is hard to write because I love live theater. I mean, we came to Oregon for the first time to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. We've made the pilgrimage to Broadway and to London's West End several times. University productions. Touring companies. Local theater in several cities. I'm always on the lookout for theater, wherever it grows.
And while this is a great venue -- terrific atmosphere -- good location and adequate parking....
The truth is, we left after the first 15 minutes because we either couldn't hear the performers, or just couldn't understand them. Part of it was the acoustics of the house, but most of it was the actors. They talked down toward the stage, the furniture, and their own chests. They didn't use sufficiently loud stage voices. Their hollow stage pieces were like drums when they walked from one side of their elevated set to the other. Lines that should have been laugh-lines went past and nobody seemed to notice that they were meant to to be funny. What should have been a dark comedy, was just grim.
I really wanted to love this place, but I think it was a lost cause before they even began because the script was so weak. It talked and talked -- but didn't go any where. And if, after 15 minutes, the play isn't up and running, then it probably never will be. I assume positive reviews of this play from other cities means that it is this production, and not the play itself which is the culprit.
I will say there were a lot of people in the audience who seemed to be having a good time. Laughter bubbled through the crowd from time to time. Maybe they knew the performers (which I admit we do not.) Maybe if we knew them, we'd have been able to understand what they were saying. read more
