Carollette Phillips (left) is Lady Anne and Edmund Alyn Jones is Richard III in the Hilberry Theatre production of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” playing in rotating repertory through Feb. 25. For ticket information, call the box office at (313) 577-2972. For more information, go to www.wsushows.com or www.hilberry.com.
By Sue Suchyta
The Players Guild of Dearborn last Wednesday announced the cast for the Philip King farce, “See How They Run.”
The show, which will be directed by Lucinda Chavez and produced by Richard Moore and Scott Rider, will run for three weekends, Jan. 14 to 16, 21 to 23 and 28 to 30. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., with 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees.
The show is set in England shortly after the end of World War II. A vicar, Lionel Toop, has recently married Penelope, a former American actress.
Miss Skillon, a tea-totaling village gossip, objects to Penelope being seen wearing trousers and waving to soldiers.
When Clive Winton, a fellow actor-turned-soldier, arrives unexpectedly from his new job at a prisoner-of-war camp, all it takes is a borrowed suit and one lucky punch to set off a whirlwind series of mistaken identities, slamming doors, drunken escapades and enough vicars to make you think you have double vision.
The cast includes Marc Rosati of Berkley as the Reverend Lionel Toop; Keri Geftos of Southgate as Penelope Toop, Sean Greimel as the Reverend Arthur Humphrey and Lindel Salow of Dearborn as the Bishop of Lax.
Dan Hartley was cast as Corporal Clive Winton, with Kenneth Kilgore of Dearborn playing Sergeant Towers and Alex Gojkov of Redford as the intruder and Russian spy.
Linda Mosley of Allen Park was cast as Miss Skillon, while Katie Suchyta of Dearborn will play Ida.
The Guild theater is at 21730 Madison in Dearborn, south of the intersection of Monroe and Outer Drive. The facility is handicap accessible. For more information, call (313) 561-TKTS or visit the Guild Web site at www.playersguildofdearborn.org.
SHAKESPEARE’S ‘RICHARD III’ shines at the HILBERRY
The Hilberry Theatre has a hit on its hands with Shakespeare’s “Richard III” – at least, for Shakespeare fans and theater devotees.
The sword fights are pretty fun, too.
Understanding Shakespeare can be daunting, but those who get past the intimidation factor soon come to enjoy the magic of what may arguably be the world’s greatest playwright and some of the greatest lines in the English language.
In the hands of the talented Hilberry company the wonders of the Bard’s immortal work are brought to life.
Shakespeare wrote his historical plays to please the current political powers and to find interesting plotlines, much the way people are drawn to American Civil War re-enactments and the History Channel today. The Bard was also wise enough to realize that his shows should project the version of history favored by the current ruling monarch.
“Richard III” is no dry historical play, though. The man killed family members in a futile attempt to insinuate himself on the throne and inflict his poisonous intrigues on late 15th century England.
Edmund Alyn Jones, a first-year graduate actor, makes the most of his opportunity to play Richard III, one of the most notorious murderous hunchbacked monarchs of his age.
Jones, who played a featured role in, “Of Mice and Men” earlier in the season, makes a very impressive Hilberry leading actor debut in this show.
Richard III, whose life was influenced by his own birth defects as well as the thoughtless emotional abuse he endured, subsequently became a power-hungry, stone-cold killer. When Richard’s path to power started to snowball, he helped it along with rumor, innuendo and lies. He killed his own kin – including brothers – and created a hell on earth before he ultimately paid for the lives he took with his own.
The show is an ensemble effort, and highlights many talented Wayne State thespians. Alan Ball as Buckingham is a standout, as is Carollette Phillips as Anne, Samantha Rosentrator as Queen Elizabeth, and Peter Prouty as King Edward and Lord Blunt.
Christa Koerner’s costumes are a rich visual treat, as is Jacee Rohlck’s cathedral-like set design.
Similar kudos go to fight choreographer Michael Brian Ogden for the well-crafted hand-to-hand combat scenes, and the voice and text coaching of Michael J. Barnes who went a long way to make the dialogue understandable without sacrificing emotion.
“Richard III” will play in rotating repertory at the Hilberry Theatre through Feb. 25. For ticket information, call the box office at (313) 577-2972. For more information, go to
www.wsushows.com or www.hilberry.com.
The theater is at 4743 Cass in Detroit.