Page C4 THE DAiLY HERAUX Provo, Utah, Friday, September 24, 1999 Shakespearean Festival Iffie 'Compleat Works' perfectly silly and immature By ERIC D. SNIDER The Daily HralJ CEDAR CITY It's good to know the Utah Shakespearean Festival has a sense of humor high-faluti- about its patron saint. The Compleat Works of Wllm. Shkspr (Abridged)," part of the festi- val's inauguTHEATER ral fall seauses son, REVEW three actors to perform, summarize and skewer all of r the Bard's plays in one two-hou- show. The production is giddy and but not rushed. Much of the humor assumes the audience has at least basic knowledge of Shakespeare's works, especially "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet," on which the most time is spent. The gory "Titus Andronicus," a play, is made into a macabre cooking show funny, but much, much funnier if you've actually read the play, which most audiences probably have not. Which makes it an odd choice. But fast-pace- lesser-know- improvising and adapting to their hearts' content and involving the audience as much as possible. Michael Fitzpatrick is the reliable Brian Vaughn straight-man- ; is the erudite, Shakespeare scholar; and Gregory Ivan Smith is the simpleton who plays most of the female roles and who is convinced that no heroine dies without vomiting on the audience first. All 16 of Shakespeare's comedies are condensed into one brief sketch; the play's authors (Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield) wisely realized that it is much easier to do a parody of a tragedy than of a comedy, so they get those comedies out of the way quickly. That leaves time for a rap version of "Othello" (to Othello, in regards to his suffocating of Desdemona: "She was pure, she was clean, she was viriginal, tooSo why'd you have to go and make her face turn blue?"), an "Macbeth," and a football game condensing all of the historyking plays into n oh, well. Even for a Shakespeare novice, there is entertainment, as long as you don't A lot of want it too high-bro- the jokes are just gleefully immature. Romeo says, "Call me but love and I'll be new baptized," so Juliet calls him "Butt Love" thereafter; one cast member refuses to do "Coriolanus" because "I don't like the 'anus' part"; the brief history of Shakespeare's life somehow turns into a biography of Hitler CShakespeare invaded Poland on Oct. 1, 1939..."). The three performers are a talented, vibrant bunch, ed by Jered "Rollerboy" Tanner, who rides inline skates and acts as a stage hand. He also wears signs on his back promoting the fact that he appears much more prominently in the festival's other fall show, "Forever n' Plaid." In fact, "Compleat Works" is full of small, subtle jokes like that. Watch the costumes, listen to the music, pay attention to what each performer is doing at all times, because there's lots to see. There are even references to the roles the actors played in this summer's main festival shows ("You were terrible as Edgar!" Smith hollers at Vaughn in reference to the latter's performance in "King Lear.") The show pays homage to well-meanin- g one. The three actors are assist When: Wednesdays through Saturdays through Oct. 16 Where: The Randall Jones theater in downtown Cedar City. with discounts Cost: $16-$3available. For more information: Call or visit the Web site at www.bard.org. Running time: "Compleat Shakespeare as much as it mocks him; this may actually be a fair introduction to the But Bard for a never mind the show's educational value, which is dubious anyway. The point here is to dance, act, whine and soliloquize through Shakespeare's works, raucously and without regard to political correctness. And to that end, the show succeeds marvelously. first-time- miw r V. i intermission. Objectionable material: "Compleat Works": Some bawdy a jokes and vulgar language lot like a Shakespearean comedy, in other words. "Forever Plaid": Pretty clean, innocent stuff. - A Courtesy phoio 'Forever Plaid' a funny, nostalgic show for all time By ERJC D. SNIDER The Daily Herald rt CEDAR CITY Question: When are four guys who are dressed in matching dinner jackets and using tall plungers as microphones NOT funny? Answer: Never! That's the secret behind the success of "Forever Plaid": The humor is .,,,- understated THEATER and simple, f DiriS tay KwlBlw whimsical and childlike, harmonizing perfectly with the nostalgic songs being sung. Some productions of this show poke gentle fun at that era; the one at the Utah Shakespearean Festival's fall season genuinely celebrates it, while having a hilarious good time. In case you haven't seen any of the numerous Utah productions of this show in the last of which this couple years and your four guys gotta be likable. This production has one is just about the best, by here's the deal. In the way four-paa 1964, group called the Plaids were on their way to their first big gig when their car collided with a bus and killed them. Now, 35 years later, they are permitted to come back and do the one big show they never and got to do in life "Forever Plaid" is that 6how. We're treated to renditions of Three Coins in the Fountain," "Heart and Soul," version of and a three-minut- e "The Ed Sullivan Show" while "Lady of Spain" is performed on accordion. Much of the humor lies in both. y Jinx (Jered Tanner) is the timid one with nose bleeds; he and Sparky (Gregory Ivan Smith) are the lovable, boyish characters that win an audience over immediately. (Sparky has a lisp that is fairly annoying, though, and it should be dropped altogether especially since it keeps coming and going anyway.) Smudge (Brian Vaughn), who sings bass, gets asthma attacks when nervous, and the group's leader Frankie (Michael Fitzpatrick) generally keeps things together. Each of the four gets a solo at some point, and all four work together marvelously as an ensemble. This is a charismatic, endearing show full of silly humor and exuberant show, optimism. It's a but without the cheesiness or normally associated with step-broth- the amusingly quaint choreography of the Plaids. A'thing done in unison by four guys dressed identically is almost automatically funny; when one of them forgets a step or comes in to early (it's been 35 years, after all), it's even funnier. Two things make "Forever Plaid" either succeed or fail: You gotta have good singers, feel-goo- d "feel-goo- d shows." Provo Towne Centre Amatuer Photography Contest Sept. 28 - Oct 2 Steve Peterson Interiors ASSOCIATES Categories r O 18 AREA RUG LIQUIDATION Beautiful nags at a gneat price and Under Black Rules J 1 &Whit People Landscape Stanting at Wildlife i -- v HAND MADe XMOOL RUGS! This contest is for amatuers only. The deadline for entering your photo(s) is 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 27th. All enteries must be mounted on foam core, be at least 4"X6" in size, and no larger than WXIW. Judging will take place Thursday Sept. 0th. See entry forms for all other details. For other questions call 852-240- 1 Michael 2 Other 0 v . Plaidly, truly deeply: From left, Jered Tanner, Brian Vaughn, Michael Fitzpatrick and Gregory Ivan Smith harmonize and crack wise in "Forever Plaid." r. Works": 2 hours, including one intermission; "Forever Plaid": 1 hour, 45 minutes, including one &Hk 1 Prizes Free Film Processing Free Film J Ait- ' " Free Photography Equipment AND MORE! 1 Steve Peterson Interiors 1 kfc ffrmti emlL Murray 264 E.640OS.' ASSOCIATES i caertMAX 1174 Fkarieg Oder-foo- ded a F TabLKhmCawfnksak Mrabcrs. 1 fctuft OriucKwa & often kD6mi to ASID IDS T Hwtevepetersoaiatcsni IU; Sat 10-- 5 261-420- irittt. 0 Entry forms can be found at the following locations: Provo Towne Centre Customer Service Booth, Inkley's (upper level, Provo Towne Centre), and Snelson Photography in Springville. For more information call our Shopper Hodine 852-2400. PleoSQittGrow Stale Rosd 285 Et ESjP Realty, Inc. 785-305- 5 Fatartag A MoL-F- ri for Set M flwr torn DtftrtmoL mm (IIMiKG anil ctefea Qgsrftig J