A.C.T. (San Francisco, CA)
This rarely staged Jacobean tragedy pits the hot-blooded violation of a shocking taboo against the dirty machinations of a corrupt church and state. The result is passionate and poetic, violent and sardonic and a classic that is mordantly fresh. Starring Tony-nominated Michael Hayden and A.C.T.'s René Augesen, winner of a 2007 Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Award, and set to the virtuosic stylings of cellist-singer Bonfire Madigan Shive.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The last date listed for 'Tis Pity She's a Whore was Sunday July 6, 2008 / 2:00pm. (view all dates)
Currently at A.C.T.:
Fresh from Broadway, Mamet's new comedy November takes a satirical stab at American politics. President Charles Smith, the most corrupt buffoon ever to sit in the Oval Office, is in the final days of his bid for re-election, but the country is a mess and his poll numbers are low. Toss in a lesbian speechwriter longing to marry her sweetheart on TV, Thanksgiving turkeys awaiting pardon, and a ton of shady back-room scheming and you've got Mamet's latest. Learn More
Imagine a middle aged couple playing Romeo and Juliet, and you have an idea of the disappointment in store for you. Fortunately, the cellist/vocalist - Bonfire Madigan Shive - is AMAZING, and greatly helps a production that has little to be proud of. Rene Augesen tries, Michael Hayden tries way too hard (using an embarrassing and amateurish "actor voice" and playing every word and breath at a fever pitch - it's exhausting). The set is interesting, the lighting occasionally beautiful (though the set is lit better than the actors are), but the costumes are a nightmare mixture of textures and colors with no apparent design scheme behind them (except, unfortunately, to make all the actors look their worst - especially Hayden, who is not quite as fat as his costumes make him appear, and Augesen, who is made to waft about the stage in what appears to be a pink and orange parachute). There are at least two winning performances - from Michael Earle Fajardo and Anthony Fusco, but they can't save a piece that's flawed at its core.
I did not find the charactors warm or enjoyable. I found it difficult to develop sympathy for any of them. The production seems (to my mind) to sacrifice warmth for style.
The staging was great, but I didn't like the play. No fault on the part of ACT.
The Geary Theater, built in 1909, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a San Francisco City Landmark. The theater's neo-classical brick and terra cotta facade on Geary Street opens to a monumental 1,500 seat auditorium trimmed with ornamental stenciling and gilded plaster.
This rarely staged Jacobean tragedy pits the hot-blooded violation of a shocking sexual taboo against the dirty machinations of a corrupt church and state. The result is passionate and poetic, violent and sardonic and a classic that is mordantly fresh. Starring Tony Award–nominated Michael Hayden and A.C.T.'s own René Augesen, winner of a 2007 Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Award, and set to the virtuosic, edgy stylings of cellist-singer Bonfire Madigan Shive.
