Tag: Shakespeare

Preview: All’s well that ends well

krithika

You can never get enough of Shakespeare. I caught a part of a soap the other day at the airport and suddenly it struck me as to how many of the twists were taken straight out of a Shakespearen play. We owe so much to the Bard of Avon- for his immense contributions to the English language, his insight into human nature, his amusing and wise quotes and so much more!

This week, University of Michigan’s Musical Theater Department, presents “All’s well that ends well“. Much as I adore Shakespeare, the play “All’s well that ends well” leaves me a bit unhappy as there are parts of it that I just don’t get.

“All’s well that ends well” is about a lowborn beauty Helena who falls in love with a foppish count, Bertram. Due to a set of circumstances,  Bertram ends up marrying Helena but he “hates” her.  Bertram lays down certain conditions that need to be fulfilled for Helena to become his true wife and goes out to the battlefield. The rest of the play is about how Helena tricks Bertram into accepting her after fulfilling all his ridiculous conditions.

Well, what I can’t get about this play is why a smart woman would go behind an apparently foolish guy who doesn’t see the value in her? Maybe it was so in Shakespearen times!

Ok, so if I don’t like the play that much, why am I going? Well, on paper, it is very tough to understand why Bertram would refuse Helena or why Helena would still want Bertram. But on stage, this confusion can be sorted out by the acting of the performers (which I will tell you in my review!). Will director Malcolm Tulip help smooth the hate-to-love transition convincingly and make it believable? That is what I am looking forward to!

On a certain level, it does show a smarter woman who knows what she wants (why is not ours to question) and gets it and I do love that part. As is typical of Shakespearen comedies, there is a lot of laughs and double entendres in this play. So, do come to the play and may it all end well!

What: Play “All’s well that ends well”

Where: Arthur Miller Theatre at U-M’s Walgreen Drama Center, 1226 Murfin Avenue

When:

Friday-Saturday, February 19-20, at 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 21 at 2 p.m.

Tickets at the League Office or online at the U-M Musical Theatre web site.

Yours truly,

Krithika, for [art]seen

Preview: The story of Macbeth’s power lust unfolds @ the Power Center

krithika 1 Comment

‘Macbeth’ is Shakespeare’s most intriguing and bloody tragedies ever. It has all the elements for a perfect thriller. We have sinister witches with their equivocal prophecies, a power- hungry wife who eggs her husband on to get a crown that doesn’t rightfully belong to him, a war-hardened man who kills his way to the throne, visits from ghosts,  lots of bloodshed (like in Tarantino’s “Inglorious basterds’- this one’s not for the queasy too!), cunning plots and then of course, the tragic  and dramatic climax. Though it was Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, it was one that left the readers/viewers with shudders. No one can forget Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and lamenting thus- “Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!”

The U of M production of ‘Macbeth’ by the Department of Theatre & Drama and directed by Philip Kerr, is set in a military hospital during the early 20th century. ‘Macbeth’ is about the erosion of the soul by guilt and how one’s deeds will catch up with them eventually. War also ravages the soul quite a bit, often leaving everybody involved with a question as to its point  (if not convinced, see  “Saving Private Ryan”, my personal favorite among war movies) .  All things are fair in love and war – and in politics and in gaining power! So it will be extremely interesting to see how Philip Kerr’s production is staged and how they portray the story as this play has so much of potential for the actors to really bring out their talents.

They say that Shakespeare had used real witch spells and that “the Bard’s play” brings  bad luck to actors and the theatres, so much so that actors and other theatre people often consider it bad luck to mention Macbeth by name while inside a theatre. So people, don’t mention “Macbeth” inside th Power Center and bring a horseshoe for some extra good luck, ok?

Show times:

Dec 10th @ 7.30 pm; Dec 11th & 12th @ 8 pm; Dec 13th @ 2 pm- Power Center

Tickets @ the Michigan League Ticket Office (Students $9)

Yours truly,

Krithika  for [art]seen

P.S. Hmmm… did the weather in Ann Arbor get so bad because ‘Macbeth’ is playing and there was “Double, double toil and trouble;fire burn and cauldron bubble”?