One thing I really like about DC is its totally accessible theater scene. The reputable theaters can nearly be counted on one hand, and I live a block away from one of them. Many theaters here gladly offer discount tickets for those of us under 30 or 35, which makes the theater extremely affordable as well. But of course, this all comes with a huge downside: DC is no New York. Shows arrive here long after their debuts. Good revivals are often bought up well in advance, as in the case of Cate Blanchett's Streetcar Named Desire. Nonetheless, the affordability meant that I was able to see two interesting productions recently: As You Like It at the Shakespeare Theatre, and the Arena Stage's The Fantasticks at the Lincoln Theatre.
Both of these productions featured new twists on class stories, but only one of them pulls it off. This production of As You Like It takes place over the course of three hundred years. That’s right – three hundred. The movie begins in Shakespearean time in England, where Rosalind decides to follow a main she loves, Orlando, into the forest of Arden. The next scene quickly moves to 18th century America, and then America during the Civil War, and then the American West, before concluding in jazz age America. This is because the forest of Arden equals “Classic American cinema” in this production. This staging not only makes the play incredibly confusing in the first half, it also makes the characterization completely inconsistent. In one scene they have British accents, in the next they have Southern antebellum accents. It’s difficult to believe in the character when the character changes basic traits like this every twenty minutes.
The Arena Stage’s production of The Fantasticks is a more successful rendering. The Fantasticks, which ran off Broadway from1960 to 2002 straight is about the importance of nostalgia. Essentially, two young lovers experience a fall from innocence when the narrator of the play separates them and exposes them to
the real world. In the original version, the narrator, El Gallo, is a mysterious bandit. The new version at the Lincoln Theatre portrays El Gallo as more of a friendly magician. As the BF pointed out, this change is effectively made because it is consistent, even if it makes the show more child-like than one might prefer.
Needless to say, As You Like It with its myriad sets and costume changes was more elaborate than The Fantasticks. But at the same time, the Shakespeare production defined trying too hard.
Both of these productions featured new twists on class stories, but only one of them pulls it off. This production of As You Like It takes place over the course of three hundred years. That’s right – three hundred. The movie begins in Shakespearean time in England, where Rosalind decides to follow a main she loves, Orlando, into the forest of Arden. The next scene quickly moves to 18th century America, and then America during the Civil War, and then the American West, before concluding in jazz age America. This is because the forest of Arden equals “Classic American cinema” in this production. This staging not only makes the play incredibly confusing in the first half, it also makes the characterization completely inconsistent. In one scene they have British accents, in the next they have Southern antebellum accents. It’s difficult to believe in the character when the character changes basic traits like this every twenty minutes.
The Arena Stage’s production of The Fantasticks is a more successful rendering. The Fantasticks, which ran off Broadway from1960 to 2002 straight is about the importance of nostalgia. Essentially, two young lovers experience a fall from innocence when the narrator of the play separates them and exposes them to
the real world. In the original version, the narrator, El Gallo, is a mysterious bandit. The new version at the Lincoln Theatre portrays El Gallo as more of a friendly magician. As the BF pointed out, this change is effectively made because it is consistent, even if it makes the show more child-like than one might prefer.Needless to say, As You Like It with its myriad sets and costume changes was more elaborate than The Fantasticks. But at the same time, the Shakespeare production defined trying too hard.