It’s Friday morning in the Humanities Building on the UW-Madison campus. Sarah Marty, wearing a leaf-green dress and a faded jean jacket, searches frantically for the work laptop that’s supposed to be in her book bag. “I can’t believe it’s our last day already,” says Marty, a faculty associate from the Division of Continuing Studies and lead instructor for the summer class Hamilton: An American Musical. Then she makes a course-specific joke under her breath, “There’s a million things we haven’t done!”
From the first moment of the play, the audience senses that Cyrano de Bergerac is not like other men. He is spoken of in hushed tones, his entrance much anticipated by a growing crowd of 17th century French fops and socialites, festively adorned. They wonder aloud if Cyrano will appear tonight at the theater, where he has forbidden the overstuffed, hack actor Montfleury (a delightfully hammy Brian Mani) from taking the stage so that he will not once again butcher the poetry he is supposed to perform. When Cyrano, unseen, hurls warnings at the stage from the back of the house, his stature only grows. And when he finally enters, he does not disappoint; Cyrano (an extraordinary James Ridge) is larger than life—as is the delightful production of Rostand’s classic at American Players Theatre, on stage at the Hill Theatre through October 6th. Adapted and directed by APT Core Company member James DeVita, Cyrano de Bergerac is an epic adventure and romance, comedy and tragedy rolled into one.
James DeVita is appearing in only one production this season at American Players Theatre—as Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge. But he’s been plenty busy behind the scenes, spending 18 months creating a new adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, and then directing the play up the hill. At a recent pre-show discussion, DeVita shared his personal connection to the play, his process for creating a new adaptation of the French classic, and why he feels the story continues to captivate audiences.
During the two weeks I spent at the O'Neill as part of the National Critics Institute, we saw a lot of theater. We attended professional productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Goodspeed Opera House, as well as readings of plays and musicals in development at the O'Neill itself.
But if we learned anything in our conversations about the state of professional criticism, it was that theater reviewers would do well to diversify -- to apply our talents to other aspects of culture, including modern dance, food, and film.
What: The public is invited to attend a staged reading of Karen Saari’s new play In a Clearing
When: 7:30 p.m. on July 27 and 28
Where: in the Diane Ballweg Theatre on the Edgewood College campus.
Who: Directed by David Pausch, the play features Madison-based actors Casem AbuLughod, Autumn Shiley, Jamie England, and Jess Schuknecht
How much? Free admission, with a suggested donation of $10 collected at the door
More info: Workshop Stage’s Facebook page
Why go? Be in the room where it happens. Seeing a play in progress is a fascinating experience. As an audience member you play a crucial role in shaping the work. Plus, it features some great actors and a compelling story. You may even get to talk to the playwright about things you liked in the play.
This July, I was one of 14 theater critics from across the country who participated in the 2017 National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. It was a great honor, and an even greater learning experience.
A few years ago Leda Hoffman went to Chicago's Theater Wit to see an edgy new production called Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play. During the second act of Anne Washburn's mash-up of "The Simpsons" and life after the apocalypse, Hoffman had already decided she would direct it in Milwaukee, putting her own spin on the material.
In the summer of 1980 American Players Theatre mounted its first production on a hill in the woods of Spring Green. The fledgling company, led by founders Randall Duk Kim and Anne Occhiogrosso, chose only two plays for the company’s debut season: Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
From its humble beginnings, APT has evolved into a premier regional theater presenting Shakespeare and many other classics in repertory. Now at the beginning of its 37th year, the company has much to celebrate: after an $8 million capital campaign, the outdoor stage has been completely rebuilt, the sightlines and sound improved, the lobby space enhanced, and several rehearsal halls added to the complex. So it seems fitting that American Players should go back to its roots and open this season with the delightful comedy AMidsummer Night’s Dream, complete with actor Jonathan Smoots as Theseus, The Duke of Athens, the part he played in the debut production almost four decades ago. After seeing the company perform opening night, I am convinced there are many additional reasons that Midsummer is the perfect way to kick off the year.
