Premier Stages at Kean presents a live play running four days this week. Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak on It, is slated to run in an specially set up outdoor theater from Oct. 15 through Oct. 18. Accommodations are in place to meet guidelines for safety features for CoVid including the taking of temperatures and social distancing. Face coverings or masks must be worn by all audience members while at the venue.
This production is adapted by Cheryl L. West from her play Fannie. Direction is by Marshall Jones III. Arrangements and Musical Direction comes from Felton Offard.
Rema Webb stars as Fannie Lou Hamer. Kena Anae plays the role of Music Man.
This one woman show is described as follows from press notes:
Part battle cry, part spiritual, this is a timely and poignant play that brings to life civil rights activist Fannie Lou as she leads a rally to fight for voting and racial equality. Her call to action was one that resonated with Americans in the sixties and is equally powerful today. Fannie was originally commissioned and developed by The Goodman Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
Premier Stages
The show is scheduled to be 60 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $20. It runs Oct. 15 – 18, 2020.
For tickets and more information, contact Premier Stages on their website.
Here is some exciting news for those who are starving for live theater. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) will present a new, outdoor, live performance offering this fall. According to Artistic Director, Bonnie J. Monte, three one-act comedies by George Bernard will be presented. The 90-minute production is titled Shaw! Shaw! Shaw!
Press notes describe the show as follows:
Shaw! Shaw! Shaw! includes the plays, Village Wooing, Passion, Poison and Petrification, and Overruled. Shaw’s one-acts are less well known than his full-length masterworks, but just as wickedly funny and socially astute. Village Wooing became quite popular in Great Britain in the mid-twentieth century, culminating in a 1979 television version, starring Judi Dench and Richard Briers.
The production will feature the Theatre’s non-Equity Shrewd Mechanicals company and will be directed by Ms. Monte. The nine members of the Shrewd Mechanicals company are Jeffrey Marc Alkins, Dino Curia, Christian Frost, Ellie Gossage, Isaac Hickox-Young, Skye Pagon, Emily Walton, Billie Wyatt and Katja Yacker.
Outdoor Location
Shaw! Shaw! Shaw! will be presented at The Back Yard Stage venue. This new performance space has been created by the company to accommodate the COVID-19 safety requirements. It is located at their Kean Theatre Factory in Florham Park, NJ. STNJ will be expanding seating capacity and adding some new lighting and sound features.
The production runs October 14 – 25, Wednesday through Sunday, with all performances at 7pm, plus Sunday matinees at 4pm. Tickets start at $30.
The performance will last approximately 90 minutes and all seating is socially distanced, following recommended guidelines. Audience members are required to wear masks. For more information, contact STNJ’s Box Office at (973)408-5600.
Location
The Thomas H. Kean Theatre Factory, The Education, Production, and Administrative Center for The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is at 3 Vreeland Road, Florham Park, NJ 07932.
New York City based theater company The Seeing Place is on to something. They found new ways to use Zoom to present a unique reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. An outstanding cast gave two live presentations on Aug. 29 and 30 to virtual audiences. Performances continue through Sept. 5th on YouTube.
Using a variety of enhanced camera and visual effects, the production was a feast for the eyes and ears. Additionally, a twist on one of the plots provided a link to the LGBTQIA+ community and a benefit fund raiser for the Ali Forney Center.
Outstanding Cast
The story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is made up of 4 subplots which employ a variety of characters. In some instances, several actors played more than one part. Normally on stage, a costume change would be needed to understand what character is in the scene. With this being a live reading with actors located in a many different locations, another very effective method was used. That method used call-out caption with the name of the character posted for each person.
Excellent camera work brought good closeups of the actors on screen and it made the dialog easier than usual to understand. I happened to watch the presentation on a fairly large screen and it seemed like the actors were right in the room with me. It brought a new awareness of all that was being said and done.
The cast themselves were well prepared for this performance. Playing the roles were Brandon Walker, Laura Clare Browne, Jon L Peacock, Ellinor DiLorenzo, Weronika Helena Wozniak, William Ketter, Erin Cronican, and Dan Mack. If scripts were in hand, they certainly did not show on screen. Only 25 hours were allotted to prepare for this show. A huge round of applause needs to go out to this cast for doing such a fabulous along with a creative team including Co-Directors/Digital Design by Brandon Walker and Erin Cronica. Original Music Composition is by Randi Driscoll and Stage Management by Shannon K Formas.
A Remarkable Variety of Visual Effects
To add to the strong acting skills of the cast, a variety of visual effects were used. Rich, colorful backgrounds show the settings of the play. This first one was representative of an ancient building where the love between Lysander and Hermia is first shown. A twist to the traditional plot occurs when this couple is represented as lesbian lover. No changes were made to the script so the love between the two women seems as natural as ever.
One of the most special settings in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the forest where the fairies live. Lovely background scenes featured shades of blue and green with light filtering though. The photo shown below shows the appearance of a fairy. Look closely and you can see the face of one of the actors.
Filters from Snapchat Camera allowed all sorts of decorations to cover the actors’ faces. For example, a donkey’s head might be used as a prop on stage. But here, the filters provided the same effect to to cover the character Bottom’s face.
The variety of visual effects especially the vivid colors added much to the enjoyment of this production.
Final Show
This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream shows a wide range of things that can be done with plays performed on Zoom. The Seeing Place has demonstrated a willingness to experiment and provide a fresh look to a time honored classic.
There is one last opportunity to see the show. This show will run on YouTube at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.
