BY RIC WELLWOOD
The Stratford Festival transition from the Monette Era to the
Cimolino Era appears to be happening with strength and
confidence.
To begin with, the festival has lured theatre star Colm
Feore back from a solid film career to play three huge roles
for the 2006 season.
He played the first with resounding confidence and skill as
the title character in Shakespeare's Coriolanus. The
story of a successful soldier turned failed politician is not
often performed at Stratford because of its implausibility, but
Feore touches a few nerves that haven't been seriously
considered before.
Antoni Cimolino, now up to his neck in festival
administration, directs a powerful piece of theatre with a
stellar cast.
Among the standouts is theatre legend Martha Henry, who plays the hero's mother with calculation and ambition.
Cimolino paints his production upon a larger canvas than
usual, and is reminiscent of the days when Jean Gascon would
flood the stage with brilliant costumes and lively action.
The festival website lists a number of reasons why you
should see Coriolanus. I will give you just one: It's a
damned good show!
Feore does quite a turnaround in his performance of Fagin in
the popular musical Oliver.
Traces of Fagin's heritage creep through in the music, but
for the most part, he portrays the old thief as a caring and
even lovable rogue who employs homeless little boys to steal
for him. If you throw in Blythe Wilson as a stunning Nancy, you
get the true musical dimension of this production. She
sings with a rare power that can send tingles up your spine and
her acting performance is nearly as good.
One of my festival favorites, Brad Rudy, delivers an edgy
Bill Sykes, which is good when you consider how one-dimensional
the character appears to be in other productions.
Donna Feore's debut as director/choreographer is a strong
one, though some of the male dancers were hard put to stay in
step. She obviously has a great way with kids, since the
young performers all but stole the show, particularly Tyler
Pearse in the title role.
You will want to adopt this little boy when you see
his performance.
I shouldn't forget the comic genius and fine tenor voice of
Bruce Dow as Mr. Bumble and Mary-Ellen Mahoney as the pursued
widow who runs and runs until she catches her pursuer.
I am a great believer that Stratford should do musicals, not
only as money-makers but as one of the best forms of stage
entertainment. Oliver should be a very hard ticket to get this
summer.
The opening show at the Patterson Theatre is Richard
Monette's production of Henry IV, Part One, which looks very
good thanks to rich design and some tight direction.
Alas, Monette still can't help trying to milk every possible
laugh out of a show, even in the scenes that are supposed to be
serious. I was uncomfortable watching the admirable Hotspur
doing manic deeds a la Jim Carrey, completely belying King
Henry's admiring descriptions of the young soldier.
Ordinarily, I make a special point of catching anything I
can that features James Blendick, and I would have thought that
he was ideal for the role of Falstaff. Even with performances
from VanBridge, Campbell and Hutt in my recent memories, I have
to admit that I never could have believed the role could be
overdone, but Blendick succeeds admirably. I blame Monette for
this.
The opening production at the Avon Theatre was Tennessee
Williams' The Glass Menagerie, which I believe to be his best
play.
It was strikingly well done, with a performance from Seana
McKenna that could be classed as perhaps her greatest, though
her portrayal of Amanda is verging on hysteria and makes me a
little jumpy.
Whenever McKenna works under the direction of Miles Potter,
good things happen on stage, but I would be happy if she cut
back a little, even though I know it takes great skill to play
the role with machine gun persistence.
Sara Topham gives a beautiful and understated performance as
Laura, a painfully-shy girl who is swamped by her domineering
mother.
Steven Sutcliffe is simply wonderful in the actor-narrator role as Tom Wingfield, and his narration is truly poetic.
Matthew MacFadzean brings a new sincerity to the role of the
Gentleman Caller that is very compelling.
To see Menagerie is to truly understand the demons that sent Thomas Lanier Williams to the typewriter. It is memorable theatre in one of Stratford's strongest seasons yet.
