Live Oak Theatre (Berkeley, CA)
Actors Ensemble of Berkeley presents Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe's grand tragedy about a scholar who makes a deal with the Devil for ultimate knowledge and power. His dilemma highlights the rise of the Renaissance and its science in England, and the play boasts one of the most powerful conclusions in English literature.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The last date listed for Doctor Faustus was Thursday November 20, 2008 / 8:00pm. (view all dates)
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fun different than inspected good time
Expected a somewhat traditional staging of Dr. Faustus but got a bawdy, inspired rendition instead. A good time at the theater.
The direction of Jeremy Cole on this production was outstanding. It was fun, modern and yet got into Marlowe's spirit, I think, much of the times, which was to mix wild slapstick comedy to relieve heavy drama. The director did an outstanding job on the visuals, the blocking, the whole conception of the piece!
BUT
The acting was gawd-awful community theatre over-the-top bad, bad, bad! That may and may not be Cole's problem. But I think he probably had to worth with what he had at that theatre.Only the actor playing Mephistopheles, Stanley Spenger, was good and he played a very layered, conflicted, interesting devil.Harold Pierce, playing Faust, was terrible beyond the speaking of it, which sorta puts the whole production behind the 8-ball. But the staging, pace and puppets were so well done that the production worked anyway.
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Berkeley's Live Oak Theatre at 1301 Shattuck Ave. (at Berryman), owned by the city and managed by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, is available for rentals to theater groups, dance troupes, choirs and other performing and non-performing organizations.
Website: http://aeofberkeley.org/
<p> A man sells his soul to the devil - a tale that's been around so long that even in his day Cotton Mather would call it creaky (and then he'd still denounce it - loudly - as blasphemous). In the right hands though, that plot has the power to shake modern audiences to their core. You couldn't ask for better hands than Christopher Marlowe's, and Doctor Faustus is his masterpiece. Faustus is a scholar who has pursued all the fields of knowledge to their ends and casts about for ultimate knowledge. His deal with Lucifer highlights clashes between the medieval age and the coming renaissance as well as the battle (ongoing) between Christian and secular worlds. </p> <p> Interestingly, two versions of the play exist, one published in 1604 and the other in 1616 (both years after Marlowe's death), but you'll have to come see the production to discover which version they're using... Either way, it's Mephistophilis, the 7 Deadly Sins and the Supernatural. Great theatre! </p>
Actors Ensemble is the longest running theater organization in Berkeley-- going strong since 1957. All of productions are made possible through the efforts of volunteers, who provide the actors, the designers, the builders, the publicity, the behind-the-scenes production, and all the other things necessary to put on a first rate show.