A Look at Lear

Today guest writer Eric has sent in his review of the current production of "King Lear" at the Shakespeare Theater:

I’ve been going to the Shakespeare Theatre regularly for several years now, and lately I’ve come to realize that I prefer their non-Shakespeare plays. Although Shakespeare’s work is filled with beautiful language (and sometimes you can even understand it), the purported universality of his stories rarely pertains to my life: I’ve never plotted against the king, nor disguised myself to win a lover’s heart. Despite these challenges, once in a while the Shakespeare Theatre hits a home run with one of Willie’s plays. The current production of “King Lear” is definitely a home run.

The play is written as if set in England during some unidentified era. This production didn’t change that in the dialog, but the costumes and props put the action in some contemporary despotic Slavic country. Usually, when Shakespeare is reset in different eras, the audience is left wondering why. In this production of “King Lear,” it worked beautifully. The violence in the play was presented with imagery familiar to all of us from movies about organized crime and drugs. War’s destruction was depicted by body bags and rubble. Even wealth and poverty were tied to the audience’s life experiences.

Stacy Keach does a convincing job both as a dictatorial king and an unbalanced old man. The rest of the cast is strong enough to keep their parts from being overshadowed. All of their characters are intriguing and well-played.

Several of my normal criticisms of Shakespeare Theater productions were thwarted by this play: 1) The king’s manipulative daughters are not merely passive love interests, but are provided with strong roles that move the plot and the action and 2) There was nudity, but for a change it did not seem like an affected attempt to shock the audience.

The set and the props were on par with everything else about the play. They were visually interesting without being so overblown as to distract. The opening set has you staring at a set of men’s room urinals, complete with rust stains and an old lady collecting tips. (For any of you who have not experienced a public rest room in Eastern Europe, this is what you’ve missed.) There were several subtle things that I particularly enjoyed. In the sound track during an evening scene, there were crickets quietly chirping in the background. Also, the storm was very realistic. I briefly wondered whether it was a real drizzle falling on the stage. The music, not so subtle, was interesting and catchy enough I wanted to hear more.

So what about the weak points? There were a few. There were places where the dialog was hard to follow. I recommend giving yourself a few minutes before the curtain to read the plot synopsis twice. Also, the king’s decent into madness was a little abrupt, and interrupted by a brief dance that seemed to come from and go nowhere. But these are minor flaws when taken as part of the whole experience.

Here is one historical note that helps explains the play’s conflict. During the days of European feudalism, the king would travel from one lord’s house to the next, so that he could inspect his lands and handle local administrative duties. Of course he traveled with an entourage, and whichever lord he was visiting was expected to feed them all in an appropriate manner. Thus, the king’s visits were expensive, burdensome, and not always appreciated.

"King Lear" runs until July 26 at the Sidney Harman Hall, http://www.shakespearetheatre.org.

Folklife Festival Opens Wednesday

This year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival opens on Wednesday and, as usual, focuses on three regions or traditions. This year we have

• Giving Voice - the Power of Words in African American Culture

• Las Americas - Music in Latino Culture

• Wales

I enjoy travel and learning about other countries, so my favorite part of the festival has always been learning about the traditions, listening to the music, and talking to people from Bhutan, Mali, Oman, or some other places I may never get to visit. Oddly, Latino music now pops up almost every year at Folklife (actually it's been featured in 4 of the past 6 festivals; 5 if you count some of the music from Texas last year.) I love Latino music, but I'd also like to hear a bit more music from Asia, Eastern Europe, or the Middle East. Still, no matter what the subject matter, Folklife always offers an interesting afternoon, at the very least.

Tip: if you work downtown and can take a long lunch, or if you can take a day off, try to get to the festival on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. It's an entirely different experience from what you'll find on a hot, packed Saturday or Sunday. The weekdays have a fraction of the crowds, allowing you time to talk casually with some of the musicians, artists, and presenters. I've learned more in two hours on a Wednesday than an entire Saturday afternoon.

This year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival runs from Wednesday, June 24 to Sunday, July 5 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). It's open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with some evening events. http://www.festival.si.edu/#

Silverdocs at AFI

By now, anyone with a newspaper in this city (apparently a disappearing demographic) knows that the annual Silverdoc Festival is happening right now at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring. So why mention it? Because it's one of the film festivals in town that actually gets and deserves international attention. With over 100 films from 60 countries, this film festival is huge. Screenings start around 11:00 a.m. each day and run until midnight so this is perfect for film nuts, people on vacation, or anyone taking a break from job-hunting.

I'm glad to see that documentaries are finally getting the publicity they deserve. Whether that's thanks to Michael Moore's films, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," or a greater desire for an honest look at the world around us, doesn't really matter. More and more people are seeing documentaries and more of them are playing in our theaters.

Last night I saw a wonderful film called "Old Partner" at Silverdocs. This Korean film looked at the relationship between an elderly farmer, his wife, and the ox the family has used for the past 40 years to work the family farm. I know . . . on the surface this sounds corny and I was braced for a little schmaltz. But I was surprised - the film gave us a glimpse into the disappearing way of life of farmers who use work animals to support their families. As they say in the film, thanks to the ox, the farmer was able to raise his nine children and put them through college. The film also movingly showed how the aging and aching farmer (age 79), his complaining wife (age 76), and the dying ox continued to work each and every day together, as always. Just watching the farmer and his wife crawling, planting, and harvesting in the rice fields also reminded me how hard some people in this world work. Maybe that is a bit corny, but it's something I'll think about as I get up and groan after a hard day at the keyboard.

Silverdocs runs through next Monday, June 22. If you're thinking about going, order tickets in advance. Most shows sell out. http://silverdocs.com/

'Cause I Sez So!

New York Dolls return to Washington this Friday night, June 19, for a show at the 9:30 Club. Along with their old classics, they'll be playing songs from their new album "Cause I Sez So," produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced their first LP way back in 1973.

If you had asked me five years ago if the New York Dolls would ever get back together, I would have said "no chance." Two original members had died and the other three didn't like each other all that much. Plus singer David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter of "Hot Hot Hot" fame) seemed to be doing just fine on his own, thank you very much. But the surviving members were lured back together by long-time fan Morrissey in 2004 and, wonder of wonders, here they still are.

Much like the return of The Stooges in 2003, and Patti Smith's almost annual trips to town, the New York Dolls reunion has given long-time fans like me a chance to hear songs we grew up listening with. And it gives younger folks a chance to hear some authentic protopunks who can still rock without embarrassing themselves.

Opening the show will be Austin's Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. Check 'em out!

Two chances for Stoppard

Hello again. Well, it's been a while since I've posted. The reason? Oh, something about work and not having enough time. The usual story. But after spending a few months in the 1940s with Josef Stalin (www.pbs.org/ behindcloseddoors) and writing about punks in America (book to be published later this year), I'm happy to write a little about the great things going on in D.C. 

In the past two months, Washington has had two top theater companies produce plays by the great Tom Stoppard. The Folger Theater (201 East Capitol Street, SE) has put on a wonderful version of Stoppard's "Arcadia" while the Studio Theater (501 14th Street, NW ) has been running his more recent "Rock 'n' Roll," the first local production of this play.

I was able to see both shows recently and strongly recommend them to anyone with a sense of humor and a decent dose of intellectual curiosity. No, you don't need to know much about English landscape gardening, Newtonian determinism, Prague Spring, British Communism, or The Plastic People of the Universe, subjects that Stoppard's characters discuss and debate. It's the questions behind these issues that draw us in: What attracts us to study and learn? How do people survive when they can't freely choose their own paths? What happens when people realize they've spent their whole lives believing something that isn't true?  Stoppard looks deeply at these questions while weaving together story lines so tight that even mathematics becomes compelling. Or rather, the study of mathematics becomes compelling. 

His plays generally draw a good crowd in Washington, and both of these plays have been extended. "Arcadia" ends next Sunday, June 21, while "Rock 'n' Roll," which opened in mid-April has been extended until Sunday, June 28.