William Shakespeare's most popular tragedy (with a knock-out performance by Martin Kildare), a sumptuous production of one of the all-time great comedies and a light-as-souffle musical are part of the all-British lineup at the USF's Randall L. Jones Theatre.
- THE BOY FRIEND fits perfectly into the festival's Shakespearean lineup, with its underlying themes of deceit, entangled romances, intrigue and passion.Not the least bit serious, of course, but they're all there.
For deceit (in the "little white lies" category), you have wealthy young finishing school pupil Polly Browne telling her newly found beau that she's as poor as a church mouse and merely a secretary for Madame Dubonnet. Tony, the messenger boy who delivers her a costume for that evening's Carnival Ball, claims that he, too, has not one penny to his name. Both, of course, are the offspring of fabulously wealthy parents, but they're also gun-shy when it comes to potential gold diggers.
For intrigue and entangled romances, there are at least six - if you're counting. Will the girls all answer "yes" to the guys' proposals at the stroke of midnight? You don't need one of Fred Adams' preshow orientations to figure this out.
For passion, there's a sensuous tango at the stylish Capricorn Club.
Your first clue that this is not a particularly deep, serious drama is George Maxwell's whimisical, brightly fluorescent set. It's remeniscent of the stylistic UPA cartoons in the mid-1950s. From the hot pink French telephone to the oversized bird cage (containing a colorfully plumed creature of unknown origin - it's hard to tell at a distance), patrons walking into the Randall L. Jones Theatre can tell instantly they're in for a real treat.
The central characters are Polly and Tony, played with exhuberance by Victoria Adams (returning for her third UFS season) and Steven Fales, a BYU graduate who's performed throughout the Wasatch Front.
Other standouts include Don Burroughs (in a complete switch from his title role in Shakespeare's "Henry V") as fleet-footed and energetic Bobby Van Husen, a wealthy and handsome young American head-over-heels in love with flirtatious Maisie, played by Carol Johnson.
Also leading this merry Riviera romp are Theodore Swetz as Percival Browne, Polly's father; Heidi Ewart as Madame Dubonnet, headmistress of a prestigious finishing school for proper young ladies on the outskirts of Nice, France (who had a brief wartime fling with Percy years before); Molly Bell as Hortense, a playful maid at the school, and Brooke Behmke and Joan Cook as Lord and Lady Brockhurst, Tony's parents (he's a frisky old gent; she's matronly and stuffy).
Lolita and Pepe's steamy tango was performed with relentless passion by Susanna Morrow and Tom Parker.
Under Kathleen E. Conlin's superb direction, the show clips right along, with delightful production numbers, splashy dancing and great comedic touches. This was the show that, in the mid- 1950s, brought young Julie Andrews her first American acclaim. Those are big tap shoes to fill, but Victoria Adams does a swell job.
Kudos, too, to conductor Brian William Baker and his seven-piece pit orchestra.
If you're seeing several shows this season at the festival, make this one your last. Then you can drive home humming and singing the sprightly 1920s- style tunes. Full of sweetness and light, this makes the perfect "dessert" to the festival's other fare.
- HAMLET, which ranks as Shakespeare's most-produced work, is being given an intriguing new spin this year by director Howard Jensen - who performed the title role himself 36 years ago during the festival's very first season (that was directed by USF Founder/Executive Producer Fred C. Adams).
The festival has come a long way from the folding chairs in 1962 to the Jones Theatre's plush red seats.
And Jensen's stark, dramatic setting (a "moderne" pre-World War I era backdrop designed by Pioneer Theatre Company's resident designer, George Maxwell) is perfect for this intense tragedy. Maxwell's unobtrusive backdrop invites audiences to focus on Shakespeare's dialogue as his relentless tale of murder and madness evolves and escalates out of control in the Danish royal family's castle at Elsinore.
It is Martin Kildare's riveting performance as the son of the late King Hamlet (and nephew of the present king, Claudius) that is the heart and soul of this mesmerising production. Kildare came close to replicating the same kind of theatrical electricity William Leach did in 1991's "The Death of a Salesman."
There are other performances to savor as well: Fredi Olster as Gertrude, Prince Hamlet's malevolent mother (she and her late husband's brother, Claudius, orchestrated King Hamlet's assassination while they were involved in an incestuous relationship); Michael Kevin as Claudius, Robert G. Anderson as Hamlet's friend, Horatio; Victoria Adams as Ophelia, a young girl in love with Prince Hamlet; Brian Vaughn as Laertes, her brother; Theodore Swetz as Lord Chamberlain Polonius (Laertes and Ophelia's father), and Jason Chanos and Aaron Davidman as two of Shakespeare's most famous minor characters, courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
The modern military dress detracts not one iota from Shakespeare's familiar, classic drama.
- CHARLEY'S AUNT is a 105-year-old comedy classic that's been a favorite on school and community theater stages for decadess. But you may never get another chance, in least around here, to see it professionally mounted in all of its Victorian oppulence.
USF founder Fred C. Adams told a preview audience last week that "we hope this is a comedy and not another `Hamlet.' "
Not to worry. With festival favorite Brian Vaughn storming his way through one of the funniest roles ever written for the stage, and with Sacramento Theatre Company Artistic Director Stephen Rothman's fast-paced direction (plus George Maxwell's spectacular, attention-to-detail scenery), this will surely stand for years to come as the definitive production of Brandon Thomas's merry, madcap farce.
The plot, as most theatergoers already know, revolves around an Oxford student coerced into masquerading as a friend's matronly aunt. The title role has always been something of a romp.
And romping - considering his past USF roles as Hysterium in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and Dromio of Ephesus in last season's "The Comedy of Error" - is something Brian Vaughn excells in, much to the delight of festival audiences.
While this has the smallest cast of any of this season's six mainstage productions - only 10 actors (none of them playing multiple roles) - the comedy is fast and furious. The acting is flawless throughout (something USF audiences have come to expect).
The cast includes David Ivers and Wayne Pyle as two distraught Oxford students, Jack Chesney and Charles Wykeham, both madly in love with two beautiful young ladies (Kitty Verdun and Amy Spettigue, played by Susanna Morrow and Kelly King Simpson).
This is the Victorian period, however, so the guys must have an appropriate chaperone in attendance while they woo Kitty and Amy. Charley's aunt - Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez, a wealthy widow soon to arrive from Brazil (nicely played by Fredi Olster) - can surely fill this bill.
But when the girls show up - and Aunt Donna's visit is suddenly postponed - Jack and Charlie wheedle Lord Fancourt Babberly (Vaughn) into dressing up in his newly acquired theatrical costume and taking the missing aunt's place.
It's a setup that's fraught with one hilarious calamity after another.
Rounding out the cast are John Oswald as Col. Sir Francis Chesney, Jack's impoverished father; George Judy as Stephen Spittigue, Amy's lusty father; Camille Diamond as orphan Ela Delahay, d'Alvadorez's traveling companion, and Ross Dippel as Brassett, the tippling butler.
Under Rothman's skillful direction, this is a grand and lovingly mounted comic escapade.
THE ARTISTIC STAFF, as usual, handles the creative side of things with Broadway-caliber professionalism. Helen Q. Huang designed the costumes for "Hamlet," with costume designer Bill Black (who'll be doing Pioneer Theatre Company's upcoming "The Miracle Worker") contributing wonderful Victorian attire for "Charley's Aunt" and vivid "flapper" fashions for "The Boy Friend."
Brian William Baker's musical direction, Christine Frezza's original background music ("Hamlet"and "Charley's Aunt"), Kennedy's make-up and hair designs, Michael Philippi's lighting and Thomas W. Utterback's sound were also impeccable, as were Randy Kovitz's fighting sequences (in "Hamlet") and the dialect coaching by Joan Cook.
*****
Additional Information
1997 Utah Shakespearean Festival
Weekly schedule through Aug. 30
TOURS & ADAMS RANDALL JONES
DAY TIME FEASTES THEATRE THEATRE
Monday 2:00 p.m. Charley
8:30 p.m. Twelfth
11:00 a.m. Tour
2 p.m. Tuesday 11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Boy Friend
5:30 p.m. Feaste
8:30 p.m. Henry V Charley
Wednesday 11:00 a.m. Tour
2:00 p.m. Twelfth Hamlet
5:30 p.m. Feaste
8:30 p.m. Pericles Boy Friend
Thursday 11:00 a.m. Tour
2:00 p.m. Charley
8:30 p.m. Twelfth Hamlet
Friday 11:00 a.m. Tour
2:00 p.m. Boy Friend
5:30 p.m. Feaste
8:30 p.m. Henry V Charley
Saturday 11:00 a.m. Tour
2:00 p.m. Twelfth Hamlet
5:30 p.m. Feaste
8:30 p.m. Pericles Boy Friend
Note: "Twelfth Night" matinees are in the Auditorium Theatre, directly east of the Adams Shakespearean Theatre. Good seating is still available throughout the season. Best choices are on weekdays. For reservations, call (801) 586-7878 or 1-800-752-9849. Tickets range from $10 to $35.