Hip Hop Hamlet

August 15th, 2010

More on the troubled Dane later.

It actually rained today. (Check out P and Shauna with the brollies). First rain we have seen in quite a while. Today is the Wine day and tonight the version of Hamlet that everyone is talking about.

The day started with Paula and Shauna taking some time to check out the regular week-end Artisans Market. P came back with a purple Russian peasant cap looking like Anna from Dr. Zhivago.. but just not a blond, but very cute!

We loaded into the Prius and off we went for a day of some good food and wine tasting.

First stop was the historic town of Jacksonville for lunch. The town has been settled since the mid-1800s with many of its historic building preserved as shops and restaurants. Surrounded by mountains vineyards and orchards it is hard to find a more beautiful place. One historic tid-bit about Jacksonville. It was the site of the first "Chinatown" in Oregon in the 1850s when the area was being mined for gold.

Just outside Jacksonville is the Applegate Valley home to about a dozen vineyards. We made two stops, the first at Longsword for some great sparkling Chardonnay ("Accolade"). A couple of years ago we met the owners, Maria Largaespada ("Longsword" in Spanish) and her husband Matt. At the time Maria had already given up her job as a research chemist and Matt was in the process of transitioning from the corporate life in the Indianapolis to grow grapes in Oregon. I love the term "Transitioning'. Everyone seems to be in some state of transition these days. some for the good, some not. In fact there are even people who specialize as "transitioning coaches"..LOL! I may need a transitioning coach soon if I stay here too much longer.

Fast forward two years and Matt and Marie appear to being doing quite well. Longsword has moved from a tasting room in a tent to a beautiful small building set among the vines. Her brother has even joined the group, happily trading his like for Bud Light for Pinot Gris. We leave Longsword with three bottles of "Accolade" to share with friends and some Longsword Balsamico for Chef Jon in Seattle.

Second wine stop was Woolridge Creek. This vineyard lies above the valley and the views are to die for..see attached pic. Anthony gets a quick tour of the place by the winemaker and a couple of more bottles are purchased.

Southern Oregon is quickly gaining a reputation as a region for fine wine. In the dozen years or so i have been coming here the number of wineries has grown dramatically. Typical of Oregon the people owning these wineries are unpretentious and welcoming. If you are into the wine tour thing, this is a nice change from California.

Now, on to Hamlet.

Would you ever think of spending the money to see the Shakespeare classic with a Deaf Ghost, Rosecrantz and Guildenstern as a pair of lesbians, a hip-hop/rapper play and King who reacts to the Hip-Hop performance by puking his brains out into a toilet on stage? I am not sure one would even go to this kind of performance for free!

Well..I can say without a doubt it works! In fact it is great, as good a Hamlet as I have ever seen.

Dan Donahue plays the troubled Prince of Denmark impeccably. He is a talented actor and has been with the company for many years. We saw him in Phoenix a few years ago playing Van Gogh equally well. Probably the only weak point in the play was casting a very large black woman as Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and recent bride of Hamlet's uncle the new King and murderer of Hamlet's father the former King. (Did i get that right? Sometimes Shakespeare gets way too complicated!)Gertrude is supposed to be a sensual character but there is no way this works. There is absolutely no sexual energy between the King and Gertrude. OSF tries to be racially and physically blind with its casting but sometimes you have to make a "couple" look like a good match. A tall white Danish King with a bride that looks like a very large gospel singer. just does not work for me. in her defense, I will say that "Gertrude" put on an excellent performance, it was just hard getting over the physical incongruity.

Howie Seago plays the apparation of Hamlet's murdered father and former King. It was so different to see the Ghost of King Hamlet played as a deaf man. But it was riveting to watch the signing of the ghost matched with Prince Hamlet's translating and signing on his own. At his lecture last week Howie covered his interpretation of the role as a deaf actor.. it was great to see it come together live.