University of Virginia Library

STAGE

Virginia Players Give Life To 'R And G'

By Steve Wells
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo By Rick Smith

Alaimo And Oglesby: Anything But Dead

In the centuries which have elapsed
since Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet,"
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
have been the subjects of a minor
controversy. Shakespearean scholars
and critics have charged that
they are nonentities within the
play, inasmuch as their only function
is to spy on the melancholy
Dane and later to convey him to
England after Polonius' murder. In
short, the question seems to be
whether or not these undeveloped
characters are necessary.

It took another Englishman,
Tom Stoppard by name, to tell us
more about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
a feat which he accomplished
by giving them their own
play. And part of the play's wonder
is that they are still nonentities.
They are still unnecessary. Not only
in the Danish court, not only in
Hamlet's tragedy, but in
life. Shakespeare unknowingly supplied
the lead, and Mr. Stoppard,
three and a half centuries later, did
some extending, philosophizing,
and shifting of emphasis, and
wound up with an existentialist
tragi-comedy which can only be
described as a masterpiece of modern
theater.

It is this masterpiece of modern
theater, entitled "Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead." with
which the Virginia Players opened
their season Wednesday evening.
And the production they have
mounted is of a degree of excellence
which I did not think was
within their range of capability. It
is a success in which the entire
drama department can take glowing
pride.

Exemplary Fashion

Director David Weiss has performed
his duties in an exemplary
fashion and, to begin with, should
be commended for doing the production
in the Cabell Hall Auditorium
instead of in Minor Hall. On
the whole, his staging is (and this is
one bell of a high compliment)
comparable, and in some respects
superior, to that of the 1967 Broadway
production, which was beautifully
handled by Derek Goldby. Mr.
Weiss, with the assistance of an
exceptionally able cast, has somehow
extracted more humor from
the play than Mr. Goldby did. This
production seems to have a greater
amount of laughs than the New
York one had. The word games the
protagonists play have a sharper
edge to them, more of a bounce. In
fact, there is an unusually amplified
verve to all of the scenes-Mr. Weiss
capitalizes on the potential laughs
without ever straining for them;
they come naturally, as they
should. And never do they interfere
with or jeopardize the play's serious
nature.

In the event you are not familiar
with the play (a condition which I
suggest you soon remedy), Mr.
Stoppard really gets down to some
of the nitty-gritty of human existence.
For example, Ros and Guil
discuss the horror of the moment
when a child first becomes aware
that there is an end to life and,
since that moment can't be remembered,
conclude that humans must
be born with an instinct of their
own mortality. The two spend
much time talking about death, talk
which often has an ambiguous effect,
such as when Ros says, "Eternity
is a terrible thought. I mean,
where is it going to end?" This
blend of serious insight and humor,
often ever so subtle, give the play
more dimensions than most plays
ever achieve

More Laughs

One reason that this production
receives more laughs than its Broadway
predecessor has nothing whatsoever
to do with Mr. Weiss or the
Players. The fact is that the audience
here is about 150% more
sophisticated than Broadway audiences.
So much of this play went
right over the heads of most of the
matinee matrons from Scarsdale
and their tired hubbies, who only
went in the first place because it
was, well, the theatrical thing to do
that year.

I have but two complaints against
Mr. Weiss' treatment of the
play. One is his staging of the
eloquent final scene. Horatio's closing
speech (which Mr. Stoppard
took directly from "Hamlet," as he
did several other scenes throughout)
is anti-climactic, and a better
theatrical effect is achieved when it
is delivered upstage with music
swelling, immediately after Ros
and Guil disappear. Mr. Weiss has
about a ten to fifteen second blackout
before the finale of "Hamlet"
begins and I think this detracts
considerable power from the ending.

My other objection has to do
with Mark Pilkinton's gross caricature
of Polonius, which seems
blatant and entirely out of place, an
interpretation for which Mr. Weiss,
not Mr. Pilkinton, is primarily responsible.
This, however, is relatively
insignificant given that Polonius
has little to do in the play and that
the rest of the performances are all
splendid.

Our Two Friends

Thomas Oglesby and Lawrence
Alaimo play our two friends who
"feel like spectators" (because they
are), toss coins, throw non sequiturs
into the air, try to comprehend
what's going on around them and,
ultimately, accept their fate with
no tears but with distinct traces of
regret ("Perhaps we'll know better
next time"). Mr. Oglesby's Rosencrantz
dim-witted and slightly
buffoonish could hardly be improved
upon. Mr. Alaimo's Guildenstern
trying to overcome his unimportance
and more the straight
man might be, on occasions, a
trifle too authoritative, but, in the
main, he too offers a fine characterization.
Together, they are quite
wonderful and are a good evening's
company.

The most polished performance,
as one might expect, comes from
Arthur Greene, who has been ingeniously
cast as The Player. Leading
his tragedians through their paces
and extolling phony deaths, he evolves
a distinguished portrayal
which is at once effervescent and
thoroughly refined. In the play's
only other sizeable role, W. Simpers
makes an appropriately brooding
Hamlet, while the rest handle their
chores efficiently.

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Are Dead" represents contemporary
playwriting at its best, and,
with it, the Virginia Players have
given their six-play season a triumphant
start. Hail to all!

("Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Are Dead" will be presented for the
final times tonight and tomorrow
night in Cabell Hall Auditorium.
Phone 924-3051 for reservations.
Ed.)