Something Stratford

This season (2024) The Stratford Festival is presenting 12 plays, three of which were written by the Bard.  Stratford’s offerings are a true mix of classic theater, Shakespeare, musicals, new plays, modern classics and children’s theater.   

With lectures, tours, gourmet meals and picnics by the river, a trip to Stratford hits all the buttons for a great culture- laden get-away.  The season normally runs from April to the end of October, but this year the two musicals (La Cage Aux Folles and Something Rotten!) are extended to the middle of November.

On a recent visit, I saw five plays: Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, La Cage Aux Folles, Something Rotten! and Romeo and Juliet.

Choosing which plays to see is the first challenge of planning a visit to Stratford (45 minutes northeast of London Ontario). I had my sights set on Twelfth Night partially because I remember so vividly from several years when I saw a raucous and colorful production with Hollywood’s Brain Dennehy.  

I see Twelfth Night as the closest that Shakespeare came to writing a musical.  The play is not actually written with music, but it lends itself to the playing of songs and dancing and many memorable productions created original music for the action.

So, I was a bit disappointed that director (and long-time Stratford acting star) Seana McKenna, chose to present the play in the traditional way; a stage with absolutely no scenery but with beautiful and evocative costumes. I was expecting a PRODUCTION!

What I found was that when you don’t have a stage filled with a lavish set and props, you must concentrate on Shakespeare’s monumental words. 

McKenna relied on her first-rate actors (especially Jessica B Hill as Viola and Andre Sills as Orsino) to deliver the goods, which they did. They took the bard’s words and seasoned them with added nuance, subtle expression and beauty. 

It was a well-done play, but I still would have preferred more music and delight. 

Stratford’s musicals have become consistently well done and highly popular. This season is no different.  When I saw La Cage Aux Folles, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.  The play runs at the Avon Theater, a traditional Broadway-looking theater. 

The play began as a French movie, evolved to this Tony award winning musical and later landed as a blockbuster movie called “Birdcage”, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

Although La Cage opened on Broadway in 1983, it is still current and edgy.  It begins with a chorus of leggy dancers dolled up with sparkles, boas, in high heels. It turns out that these dancers are guys, not gals. We’re watching a drag show.

The production, directed by Thom Allison and Choregraphed by Cameron Carver, is over-the-top color, music and outrageous dancing – maybe too over-the-top.  Featured as the diva chorus girl is long-time Stratford character actor Steve Ross.  Here, Ross displays great acting and dancing but also wows the audience by creating a character with nuance and pathos. 

I wasn’t as impressed with his partner, Sean Arbuckle.  He was very good, but he didn’t give his character the depth that Ross found in his character. 

The big dancing numbers (and there were many) however were outstanding, and the energy of the performers could not be contained. And the dozens of gowns, sequins, wigs and various paddings was astounding – David Boechler, costume designer. 

La Cage is filled with great humor, a good script and OK songs. The audience was ecstatic.

Hedda Gabler is a classic, turn-of-the (20th) century play by Henrik Ibsen, and I had never seen it before. Stratford produced it on their almost new Tom Patterson Theater.  Patterson’s unusual elongated thrust stage provides the audience with a fresh perspective in viewing theater. 

This new version of the play by Patrick Marber was a stunning production. Directed by Molly Atkinson, it is sparse but surprisingly effective. The set only included a chaise, a few couches and a fireplace. 

The play is about social mores and with mental illness.  The lead role of Hedda is played from Sara Topham, who was just on Broadway.  She was both sinister and regal, as she paraded around in elegant gowns. 

Women are usually not portrayed as evil, narcissistic people which gives this play the bite it has. Topham dominates the stage with this character.  She commands your attention as she overpowers the men and women in her life. 

The play is short, concise and laser focused.  The excellent period costumes added greatly to the play and the excellent acting by Hedda’s new husband played by Gordon S. Miller and Tom Camus playing the interesting character of Judge Brack. 

Hedda Gabler was a surprising home run for me.

The strongest buzz of the season surrounds the musical Something Rotten! Even the guard at Canada’s border asked me if I’d seen the show, when I told her I had visited Stratford.

Something Rotten! might be the perfect musical to be produced by the Stratford Festival, It takes place during the time of Shakespeare and tells the story of two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are obsessed with jealously at the success of Shakespeare. Nick sings the song,  I Hate Shakespeare.

They are looking for a way to up end Shakespeare by trying to find out what his next play will be and then steal it. One of the brothers visits a relative of Nostradamus who is a famous soothsayer.  What then ensues, halfway through the first act, is one of the longest and funniest and most complex production numbers ever to appear in a musical. 

The song is simply called A Musical and features Nostradamus explaining that the next big Shakespeare hit will be a musical.  The fortune teller proceeds to explain what a musical is, to his non-believing friend (“You mean, people will pay to see a thing like this?). 

The more you know about musicals, the more you will appreciate this zany number.  The song goes through snippets and jokes of so many musicals - Chorus Line, Annie, Les Misérables, Music Man, Oklahoma and many more - that it will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Costume changes abound and the dancers are not only dancing, but they are acting their characters and are totally engrossed in what they are doing. 

Directed by the queen of Stratford musicals, Donna Feore, Rotten! is at the Festival Stage, a wonderful theater space which is nearly in-the-round, so during the play the audience gets to look at one another enjoying the show.  In this case, everyone was spellbound and entertained by this number.  And when it was done (don’t forget, this was the middle of the first act), the audience jumped to its feet giving the company a standing ovation. 

The play continues with non-stop jokes, gags, and songs and a violently funny script. Donna Feore has been away from the Stratford stage for a few years, but she is now back with the best production she has ever directed.  Rotten! is filled with Feore’s creative touches and her actors are having simply too much fun to be paid for their efforts. 

Without question, if you go to Stratford this season, you must not miss Something Rotten!. 

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular works of theater of all time. It’s been transformed into a musical (West Side Story), several movies, and is taught in public schools throughout the world. 

Maybe because it is so ubiquitous, I had misgivings about seeing it yet again. 

In the end, I felt compelled to view it once more because Detroit director, Sam White, was doing the honors and I loved her “Wedding Band” that was on the Stratford schedule last year. Also there has been a lot of excitement concerning Venessa Sears who plays Juliet.

I was so gratified that I made the choice to see R&J again.  It was a revelation.  Despite that 16th century language, it felt real, current and urgent. 

Again, the decision was made to present the play on a bare Festival Theater stage.  After all, if the actors are connecting with the audiences as well as the script, why clutter the story with sets, scenery and props?

The one person who was the spark that ignited the play was, as expected, Venessa Sears as Juliet.  She was young, vibrant and full of excitement with a huge sparkle in her eyes.  Her naïve love for Romeo was believable. 

This very talented actress has a breadth of talent.  She appeared in. a major role in Twelfth Night and is also a singer, igniting the Avon Theater stage a few years ago in Little Shop of Horrors.  I’m sure we’ll see more of her at Stratford.  

Of course, the play would not have succeeded if Romeo was not the right match for Juliet and Jonathon Mason was all of that. In the iconic balcony scene, Mason was jumping for joy and for love, and at the end, used his athleticism to pull himself up to Festival Stage’s very high balcony to embrace Juliet. 

It’s always difficult to direct a scene that is so familiar to audiences, but Sam White did it beautifully. 

The fight scenes were realistic and violent, but the determination of the supporting actors gave R&J its power, especially Glynis Ranney as the nurse and Scott Wentworth as Friar Laurence