Texas Shakespeare Festival
Season 40
Reviewed by Natalie Shaw
If you're new to Texas Shakespeare Festival, you might not know what you're in for. This is not your typical, small town community theater, nor are you pushing your way through the line to a Broadway production. It's something in between. Every actor, crew member and creative involved is expertly trained, but not off limits. You won't wait outside for an autograph, but you will want one. The experience of each show emotionally ropes you in, but watching the stage be transformed during the Open Changeover, from the matinee performance to the evening performance reminds you that, like you, they're all just average people at work. You've become a member of the TSF family, whether you know it or not, and the memories will always bring you back. If you become a regular, the quick hellos are met with hugs and "how are you's?" and a few minutes of catching up with ear-to-ear grins and plenty of laughter.
It's almost mind blowing, in a way, to think that in middle-of-nowhere East Texas, there's a professional repertory theater that pays, houses and feeds their company of actors, crew members and creatives behind each season of shows. Theatre expert Raymond Caldwell, Kilgore College and the small town of Kilgore got together and said, "Let's do something great!" The momentum behind this idea continues to flourish and expand through Artistic Director Meaghan Simpson and Associate Artistic Director/Director of Development Matthew Simpson and returning company members like Micah Gooding, Josh King, Sasha Hildebrand, Jason Richards, Meghan Potter and many others. Newer company members like Kaitlyn Williams, Collin Villacorte, Derrick Batten Jr., Lily Cline, and Joel Cammack bring a fresh face and energy to the company. Regardless of their years onstage at TSF, there's one thing missing from all of them. Pretension.
An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure. --Shelby, Steel Magnolias
Texas Shakespeare Festival isn't just the best Theatre experience in the South, it's where you can hang your hat and become one of the family. Of the four main productions this season, three made it to the stage during my weekend visit. Due to a thunderstorm induced power outage, Kiss Me Kate had to be canceled, the first of any cancelation to take place in twelve years at TSF, but without lights, you kind of can't do the show. Such things happen at times, unfortunately. They did honor the tickets purchases in exchange for another night, or a full refund. I have, however, noticed a pattern in my three years of visiting TSF, completely out of irony: Year One, I reviewed one show, Year Two, I reviewed two shows, Year Three gave three shows to review, so I can only hope that Year Four will lend itself to all four.
In no particular order, here are the reviews for Steel Magnolias, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night! You may take note that these are slightly shorter write-ups about each play, since Julie and I had the immense pleasure of interviewing several of these wonderful people on our Spotlight On! podcast, where you'll find even more thrilling content on these amazing shows!
Steel Magnolias
Time marches on, and eventually you realize it's marching across your face.--Truvy, Steel Magnolias
Audience Rating: PG
Running Time: 2 hours with 20 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Sound Level
Noises or Visuals to Prepare for: dog parking, gunshots in the distance
It goes without saying that this script is one of the most quotable scripts there's likely ever been, especially for women. The quote above hit home for me about six or seven years ago when I noticed an age spot under my right eye in the bathroom while I was at work. Up until this moment, I'd always been complimented on my youthful skin.
Steel Magnolias tells the story of family (conventional and non,) and the ties that bind us. If you're a Southerner, born before the early 2000s, you've likely seen the film version with Sally Field and Dolly Parton (and many more famous names!) Set in the 1980s, Truvy (Alice Wilkinson) supports her husband and ungrateful children by running a salon out of her enclosed garage, with Louisiana newcomer and newly hired stylist, Annelle (Gianna Porfano,) where local ladies go to get their hair washed, trimmed, and teased, while coffee is served over the latest tea! Whether you were born in the 80s or not, Steel Magnolias offers insight to women of all ages in all walks of life. Likewise, Steel Magnolias offers insight to men about the women in their life.
The stage version boasts an all-female cast, where men are mentioned, sometimes talked about and occasionally yelled at, but the women carry the burden. Vibrant, young Shelby (Lily Cline) blissfully prepares for her wedding day, with full hope that her marriage will be so much more romantic than her mother, M'Lynn's. While M'Lynn (Meaghan Simpson) painfully beats her head against a wall, pleading for Shelby (and her husband) to listen to her. Clairee (Dinah Ndu) seeks a new meaning to life, still in her prime, while the eldest, Ouiser (Sasha Hildebrand) has had enough of life and the men in it!
There's no such thing as natural beauty.--Truvy (again)
There may be truth enough to this, since we spend a small fortune on makeup, skin care and hair care products. But, there's a genuine beauty in the humanity and vulnerability that the women of this cast bring to this production. With a script that is widely known like this one, it can be easy to fall into a trap of repeating the lines exactly the way you're used to hearing them. Here, the script to breathes and develops in its natural progression, with each moment given an organic truth, unbleached and unrefined.
Check out Part 1 of Spotlight On! to hear more on Steel Magnolias!
Macbeth
Audience Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours with 20 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Sound Level
Noises or Visuals to Prepare for: depictions of: violence, death, violence to children, visible blood, mental illness
Shakespeare tells a narrative about what's natural versus what's unnatural in his tale of Macbeth. Several natural and unnatural elements are told in the language, and are made clear, as well in this production thoughtfully directed by Matthew Simpson. Without searching too hard, we already see the rough stone walls of the set that have been chipped, sliced and blown away by war and destruction. Scene one opens with the natural fog of Scotland wrapping around the soldiers at battle with their metal swords, shields and weaponry, while flashes of lightning and roaring of thunder dominate overhead.
Following his victory in battle, Macbeth (Sean Dale) is named Thane of Cawdor. While his trusted friend, Banquo (Micah Gooding) stands to his side, a gaggle of Weird Sisters (Destiny Gore, Eliza Pagelle, and Gianno Porfano) appear to them, prophesying Macbeth's kingship. In our modern understanding, these Weird Sisters are typically transposed as "witches," of some kind. Matthew Simpson has placed us in 11th century Scotland, with an interpretation of these characters as "Norns" from Norse Folklore,
who wove the destinies of gods and men beneath the roots of the world tree...the Weird Sisters are as much of the earth and wind as they are of skin and bone-- Matthew Simpson
as he explains in his Director's Note within the production's program. All this to say, these prophecy-tellers are not dressed in black with long, wart-infused noses. Matted hair, muddy faces, torn muslin clothes, and hunched bodies that stay close to the ground --they quite literally look as if they came out of the Earth! Even echoing voices give us a feeling that they are one with the wind, the atmosphere and Time. But, among the many strange things about this situation is the most prominent problem--there's already a king. King Duncan (Josh King) is alive and well!
Upon learning of the Weird Sisters' fortune telling of her husband's future as king, Lady Macbeth (Alice Wilkinson) calls upon the evil spirits to "unsex me here" (as you can see in the quote above,) asking them to stop-up any compassion or tenderness she may have, in order to conspire with her husband, whom she'll convince to kill King Duncan. From this first murder, Macbeth begins to slowly unravel and Lady Macbeth follows suit soon after. Spiritual forces are at war, with visions of those he's murdered, and those who conspire against him. The crown wears his head, much like a noose wears the neck.
Macbeth is hair-raising and spine-tinglingly powerful! Dale and Wilkinson fully embody Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in both their human and possessed states, making exponential character arcs that descend into heartbreaking hysteria, representing the breakdown of the family unit. In contrast, Ptah Garvin as Macduff and Kaitlyn Williams as Lady Macduff, although never shown together onstage, represent a more wholesome family unit that unfortunately ends in tragedy. Rest assured, retribution is on its way.
For more on Macbeth, listen to Spotlight On! Podcast TSF Part 2!
Twelfth Night
Running Time: 2 hours with 20 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Sound Level
Noises or Visuals to Prepare for: Mentions of death, sexual innuendos, indications and behavior
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