Okay. So, I saw the Tahoe Shakespeare Festival's production of Richard III last night. It was kind of a weird show - it was the first day of the performance, and it was billed as "preview night" even though there was no actual official advertisement of such. Tickets were cheaper for a mysterious, unknown reason, and there was no notification anywhere that it would be an abnormal performance.
The abnormality was that this was basically an extra early day that a few very charitable contributions made possible, and what we were seeing was a not-really-for-the-public dress rehearsal. They were missing some of the audio cues because their sound equipment wasn't 100% ready yet, all the fights were at half speed because they were still getting used to the stage, and... it was a dress rehearsal.
That being said, it was an awesome show. I'd never seen Richard III before, and the guy who played the lead (IMDB here) was outstanding. Not only did he perform the role extremely well; he handled the few mishaps during the show extremely well. At one point he finished delivering a short monologue, after which the scene was supposed to keep going with the addition of other actors, except... nobody showed up. So after a few moments of silence, he turned around and in his very Shakespearean voice said, "Welcome to dress rehearsal everyone." It was the perfect way to break the ice and handle the situation. He showed that same professionalism and personality all through the production, from when a dude's wig fell off when he was beheaded, to when his opponent in one of the pivotal fight scenes pretty much forgot all the choreography. I don't want to cheat the rest of the cast, though - almost without exception they were all top notch.
Despite these minor mishaps, the production was overall very tight and well done. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. This is all without factoring in the fact that the stage is literally on the shore (like, 40 feet off the water) of beautiful Lake Tahoe, with the play beginning right around sunset and going through until darkness. That, alone, is pretty awesome. Anyone who's going to be in the Reno/Tahoe area now through August should definitely go see it.
The abnormality was that this was basically an extra early day that a few very charitable contributions made possible, and what we were seeing was a not-really-for-the-public dress rehearsal. They were missing some of the audio cues because their sound equipment wasn't 100% ready yet, all the fights were at half speed because they were still getting used to the stage, and... it was a dress rehearsal.
That being said, it was an awesome show. I'd never seen Richard III before, and the guy who played the lead (IMDB here) was outstanding. Not only did he perform the role extremely well; he handled the few mishaps during the show extremely well. At one point he finished delivering a short monologue, after which the scene was supposed to keep going with the addition of other actors, except... nobody showed up. So after a few moments of silence, he turned around and in his very Shakespearean voice said, "Welcome to dress rehearsal everyone." It was the perfect way to break the ice and handle the situation. He showed that same professionalism and personality all through the production, from when a dude's wig fell off when he was beheaded, to when his opponent in one of the pivotal fight scenes pretty much forgot all the choreography. I don't want to cheat the rest of the cast, though - almost without exception they were all top notch.
Despite these minor mishaps, the production was overall very tight and well done. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. This is all without factoring in the fact that the stage is literally on the shore (like, 40 feet off the water) of beautiful Lake Tahoe, with the play beginning right around sunset and going through until darkness. That, alone, is pretty awesome. Anyone who's going to be in the Reno/Tahoe area now through August should definitely go see it.
bob:
My favorite line is when he looks at the map after being asked where they were by Sheedy and says, "Texaco!"