Today I got my official first exposure to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The morning was gray and rainy, so I guess I can say I’ve experienced the reputed Oregon rain. The day started with a bounteous breakfast with the two guys who run the B&B and a couple of the other guests. After noon I made my way over to the Angus Bowmer Theatre to see A Streetcar Named Desire. WOW. It was a single basic set, similar to what you might see at CalShakes. The acting was great. The four leads were all quite impressive. The end of the play is very emotional. They got a standing ovation, but I could barely look at the cast while clapping for fear of starting to bawl. A very moving production, and a great way to start the OSF experience.
After a quick dinner of bangers and mash I headed back to my room for a very brief break before heading out for my 2nd play of the day. I went to the outdoor Elizabethan Stage, and saw Cymbeline. The stage of the theater is probably smaller than CalShakes, but the height and the surrounding walls and balcony make the theater feel much bigger. It has twice the seating capacity. It was in the 50s after a rain when the play started, but it never felt as cold as the Bruns does sometimes. They preceed each show by a herald of trumpets, and someone hoisting a flag from the top window of the stage. The set was large and beautiful and was transformed by backing images. The play was solidly done, and very well acted, and the comic bits were very enjoyable. There were several interesting aspects of this production. Two of the cast were faces I remembered from TV: Anthony Heald, who played the smarmy psychiatrist in Silence of the Lambs, and Peter Frechette who played in Profiler.
It also included Robin Goodwin Nordli from past CalShakes seasons. The actor who played King Cymbeline appeared to be hearing impaired, and he signed his dialog which was spoken by Frechette as his interpreter. The other really stunning thing, which I guess is the norm for OSF’s rotating repertory style, was the fact that the actor who played the major role of Mitch in the afternoon’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, Jeffrey King, was 4 hours later playing the major role of the banished Belarius in Cymbeline. He was completely different in each role, and it was very impressive.
I enjoyed the day of plays very much, but I’m glad I’m only doing one two-fer on this trip.