TrulyGrace

Measure for Measure- Royal Shakespeare Company in Pittsburgh

This Wednesday my friend from college, Debbie, and I went out to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant for some yellow tofu curry and pad thai, then to see Measure for Measure performed by the Royal Shakespeare company at the O'Reilly Theater. As suggested by my friend Kelly, we arrived a half hour before the performance to observe the actors getting dressed and putting on their makeup. We had ideal, front-row balcony seats. The costumes, instruments, music, and young male actors as women made it a true Shakespearean period piece. The play is usually performed as a dark work, whereas this production has a lighter tone; provided by intonation, phrasing, and nonverbal cues. The part of the Friar was acted particularly comedically. By the end of the play, the audience was howling with laughter at some of the lines, and there was even audience participation as the actors called out to some audience members. As the play closed, the musicians performed while the actors leapt, shouting joyously, while exchanging looks of camaraderie. It was an absolutely brilliant evening of this Shakespearean work!

As we departed, we ran into some friends from FAAP, who asked after mom and dad. It was simply a wonderful, enjoyable evening!

posted by Grace @ 12/18/2005 09:58:00 PM