"Yeomen of the Guard" at Oregon Shakespeare Festival

OSF photo by Jenny Graham

Several years ago, when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival was just starting to add musicals to their repertory seasons, they undertook a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." They did it well, and it was that show that convinced me that they could mount a serious musical in rep with all their other material. The next time I saw "Pirates" was last year's production at Berkeley Rep of an adaptation by a Chicago theater called The Hypocrites. Their style is unconventional, to say the least, adapting Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas to other musical styles and settings. It's a lot of fun, and involves part of the audience sitting on the stage, having to move around while the players do.

So I was a little surprised when OSF announced last year that they were doing an original G&S adaptation, directed by Hypocrites Artistic Director Sean Graney. That announcement came before I had seen the Berkeley "Pirates," and frankly, I was more surprised when I realized that OSF was going to attempt something of that ilk.

The Play

"Yeomen" is a lesser-known work by Gilbert and Sullivan, and is known for being a rather dark "comic opera," in that it deals on the fate of a condemned criminal on the eve of his scheduled beheading. It's pretty typical, other than that, with miscommunications and mistaken and hidden identities. The main difference is that instead of being in "The Tower," the action takes place in some town in the Old West, and all the music has been styled as Country & Western. But yeah, other than that, pretty much Gilbert and Sullivan.

The lyrics have been changed a little, and the whole piece is condensed a bit, but all in all, it's a relatively coherent story, the music is infectious, and the acting and singing are a high-quality and a lot of fun. It's always fun to see the serious actors from yesterday's tragedies and histories playing fun parts in a silly show like this. Also, between being staged in the intimate Thomas Theater and using the promenade on-stage seating, there is a lot of interaction between the players and the audience. Today's show was completely sold out, so it was much more crowded than in the picture above. It was fun to overhear the people in front of me making small talk with Anthony Heald (yesterday's Timon), talking about how much fun he was having playing Deputy Dick Chumlee, which involved playing a little guitar, the tambourine, the flute, and spoons.

So the whole play is fun and short and immersive, if somewhat lacking in substance.

So What?

I am, by nature, pretty analytical, and I tend to like plays that make me think. Especially plays that still have me thinking days or even weeks later. This is not that kind of show. But I did enjoy it. It's kind of theatrical candy, accessible to the whole family (and there were plenty of kids there) and a welcome relief amidst all the serious pieces.

I doubt that there will be much lasting takeaway from the show, other than a vague memory of an amusing diversion. But as Jeremy Peter Johnson was singing one of his songs and they got the whole audience waving their arms in unison, he broke character for a moment to say, "I dare you to do this at Hamlet tonight!" I appreciate the self-awareness that this is sort of an amuse-bouche for the larger festival, as well as a chance for actors to expand their horizons, blow off steam, and just have a bit of fun with us. And that's certainly a valid use of theater.

It Was Fun

Bottom line, it was a lot of fun, worth the time to see, and probably nothing I'll remember well or for long. But not every play can be a transcendent, intellectual journey. Sometimes you just need to go for a little joyride. Or maybe a hayride. Whatever...yee-haw!