Word: staging
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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Down on the Hudson stage, however, the protagonists were engaged not so much in truth seeking as in attempted murder. Kasparov, who calls Karpov "a creature of darkness," had declared his intent not just to defeat Karpov but to destroy him. Accordingly, Kasparov played the opening games with the confident, reckless belligerence of a young Ali. Karpov, though, was fully Frazier's equal. The result was mayhem rarely seen at that level of play. It was like a title fight with 10 knockdowns by Round 3 or, for the more delicate, like a ballet performed not on a stage...
...neurotic Queen, actress Nell benjamin carries the show. Her dramatic instincts are unerring. Benjamin displays an impressive mastery of her monologues; her voice is alternately cajoling, strident and self-mocking. Her striking stage movement assures her dramatic dominance...
Chris Hull, as Stanislas, effectively expresses silent anguish in the first act, but the trouble starts when he opens his mouth. He cannot rival Benjamin's stage presence. This is partly due to his poor elocution--he has a tendency to rush or mumble his words. Director Jonathan Hamel only exacerbates the problem by having Hull deliver many lines while facing upstage. To be fair, Hull's performance is not awful, but it is not as compelling as his outlandish character demands...
Hamel's direction is skillful. Aside from occasionally awkward and distracting blocking, his staging is fluid. He trusts the script enough to allow actors to remain still on stage, letting the power of Cocteau's ideas hold our interest. Hamel should also receive the credit for an inspired set design, which beautifully highlights what Cocteau called the "false classicism" of this play set in the 19th century...
With a play as inarguably spectacular and colorful as The Tempest, the failure of the Loeb Mainstage production is as deplorable as it is inexplicable. Then again, it is not all that inexplicable--under MOLLY bishop's direction the text is as the stage is poorly lit. Shakespeare's fanciful tale of The Temest Directed by Molly Bishop At the Loeb Mainstage Through November 17 a shipwreck on a magical islands undergoes needless and destructive editing that butches the plot. And Matthew Buchman's set is as monochromatic as the performance itself, leaving the considerable the play's theatrical potential...