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by Michael Meigs
Oscar Wilde wrote and proclaimed almost to tedious extent about aestheticism in his early career as writer, lecturer and journalist, and he was so well known for his extravagance and opinions that Gilbert & Sullivan had caricatured him in their 1881 operetta Patience. Wilde wrote a couple of dramatic tragedies in the 1880s that came to nothing, and in 1891 he wrote Salomé, in French. The Lord Chamberlain put a stop to Sara Bernhardt's plan to stage in London on the grounds that Biblical characters should not be depicted onstage.
In summer of 1891 on holiday in the north country Wilde sat down and produced the first of four society plays that were produced in London in the first half of the 1890's. Lady Windermere's Fan was the first of these, and it was a huge success, almost certainly because he endowed his characters with the wit, epigrams and repartee for which he himself was famous. These are scenes and domestic dilemmas of the idle rich, most of whom produce nothing but words. Wilde gleefully undermines the very society that lionized him. His stereotypes as are vivid as those who later populated P.G. Wodehouse's novels and they're equally, mindlessly devoted to their status quo as the 1%, but any one of them would serve as a charming dinner companion for a whole evening.
The structure of Lady Windermere's Fan is that of the "well-made play" typical of 19th century drama, in which a a dramatic plot is driven by secrets that are described and gradually brought to light, often through the device of a letter or object that reveals hidden information. This is a plot turn as old as the theatre itself, of course, and no doubt those London audiences in evening clothes were agreeably pleased when the sweet young Lady Windermere's fan, a present from her husband of two years, turns up in the private quarters of the sleekly caddish Lord Darlington.
Wilde artfully turns the discovery into an opportunity for the outsider, Mrs. Erling of dubious past, to intervene and cover for the ingénue. His clever turn is that the play does not end in the expected revelation; instead, there are two mirrored secrets that are successfully covered up and an identity that is revealed to the audience but not to the character most closely concerned by it.
Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
by Michael Meigs
Frank Capra's film It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart captured the yearning, optimism and nostalgia for small-town U.S.A. in 1946, a time when millions of American men were returning from the war. The film made an unpromising start and was considered something of a failure in its first release, but yearly television showings of this black-and-white tale of redemption and grace set it deeply into our collective consciousness.
Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed as his sweetheart, Lionel Barrymore as the wicked, grasping Old Man Potter -- in effect, reprising his role as Scrooge -- well, you've almost certainly seen the film, and if you haven't, then you should.
Stewart had debuted as a naive and gangling youngster in 1930's films but during the War he'd enlisted and eventually flown B-24 missions over Germany; and here he was, in his unassuming way, pretending to be an earnest small town savings-and-loan manager, 4-F because of a deaf ear.
Republic Pictures failed to renew the copyright on the film in the 1970's and had to struggle to re-establish control over the piece. It's not clear to me whether Joe Landry had to pay royalties when he put together this piece in 1996. If not, that clerical error cost Capra's estate and others dear, for this simple staging of the story has become an adored staple of the holiday season.
Penfold Theatre did it last year at Friar Tuck's cafe in downtown Round Rock, and this year they've secured the charming but faux Rice's Crossing Country Store at the Old Settler's Association, a perfectly appropriate setting for this time trip. The Gaslight Baker Theatre also did it for the 2011 holidays, the Bastrop Opera House performed it in 2009 and Austin Playhouse did it in their Larry L. King Theatre in 2008. San Antonio's Classic Theatre performed the show four times last month, and KSTX Texas Public Radio in San Antonio will play a recording of the Classic Theatre version at 8 p.m. this coming Christmas eve.
I brought a friend from Arizona to Penfold's November 29 opening night, and upon his return he discovered that the show was also playing in Tucson.
Joe Landry's website lists 151 productions playing this year, ten of them -- including this one -- in Texas. He must be a very happy man.
Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com
It's a Wonderful Life
a live radio show
by Joe Landry
directed by Nathan Jerkins
featuring Ryan Crowder, Jenni Finley, Chris Gibson, David R. Jarrott, Claire Ludwig
November 29 – December 23
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm. Sundays at 6:00pm.
Opening night party following the show on Thursday, November 29
$25 Opening night, $20 Regular, $18 Student/senior
Rice’s Crossing Store (3300 Palm Valley Blvd, Round Rock, TX 78665) (click for map)
More information available at www.penfoldtheatre.org
Penfold Theatre Company presents It's a Wonderful Life: a live radio show at Rice’s Crossing Store in Round Rock from November 29 to December 23.
It's Christmas Eve 1946, and members of the KPNF radio station are coming together for a live radio performance of It’s a Wonderful Life. As the live studio audience, guests step back in time while five actors bring the entire story to life with dozens of characterizations and live foley sound effects. In this imaginative re-incarnation of a cherished holiday tradition, audiences of all ages will fall in love with George Bailey and his timeless tale of despair, redemption and hope all over again.
The show takes place at Rice’s Crossing Store, named for Texas war hero James O. Rice and one of the oldest structures in Williamson County. Fully restored and relocated to the historic village at the Old Settlers’ Association, the store is the perfect yesteryear backdrop for a story that spans the first half of the twentieth century.
Guests can enjoy holiday treats as they watch the show, which features mock radio commercials of local businesses and a nightly cameo role for a selected member of the audience. The show returns after a completely sold out run last holiday season, so guests are encouraged to make their reservations early.
ABOUT PENFOLD THEATRE COMPANY Penfold Theatre Company cultivates a love for live theatre in northern Travis and Williamson Counties by offering first-class theatre performances and education programs. 2012-13 is the company’s fifth anniversary season and features a variety of work, from old favorites to regional premieres: Moonlight and Magnolias (October 2012), It’s a Wonderful Life: a live radio show (December 2012), A Minister’s Wife (March 2013) and Shipwrecked! (June 2013).
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