Ahhhh! Late summer has arrived in Mill Valley’s fairy-tale forest of majestic redwoods in Old Mill Park. While children play in the creek below the grove, picnics are spread on nearby tables, and renaissance music wafts through the stage area.
This is the Curtain Theatre, showcasing award-winning plays complete with music, dancing, and many lovely costumes. The final weekend of this year’s stunning production is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playing weekend afternoons and closing Labor Day Monday.
The large cast dances and dashes in and out of the forest-in-a-forest set, designed by Steve Coleman, in lovely period costumes designed by Jody Branham. The grove fills with the sounds of flute, concertina, mandolin, and more under the direction of Don Clark. Even the band is in costume!
“… Life is a dream…Love flutters like a butterfly …”
Director Michele Delattre, ably assisted by Kim Bromley, has molded Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and lust into a fun-to-follow story. Rebellious couples want different mates than the ones chosen by their elders. The fairies – always mischievous and led by Puck – are keen to demonstrate their powers to induce love. But something goes seriously amiss. The Queen of the Fairies (a marvelous Heather Cherry) gets the worst of the bargain when she awakes in the enchanted forest in love with an ass.
Fear not, for it all ends well.
A remarkable aspect of this production of Midsummer is that the performances are … free! Donations, of course, are welcome. The shows are well-cast and polished, with talented locals giving their all to a delightful afternoon of Shakespeare. Donations are critically needed if the Curtain Theatre is to continue, given the costs of each presentation.
All ages are welcome to attend these open-air and open-seating shows. Parents bring young ones for their first exposure to Shakespeare; the pageantry enthralls most. Picnics abound, with a few tables not far from the stage area. A small snack bar is available. The company sets up plastic chairs on a first-come basis. Bring your own for lounging behind the Mill Valley Library. Dogs on leash are encouraged to watch the show.
Playing at 2:00 PM on Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day (Monday, September 1st). The hottest summer afternoons can become cool in the grove, so bring layers.
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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: pace-koch@comcast.net
Production
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Written by
William Shakespeare
Directed by
Michele Delattre
Producing Company
Curtain Theatre
Production Dates
Saturdays/Sundays and Labor Day Monday at 2 PM through September 1st
Production Address
Old Mill Park Amphitheater.
375 Throckmorton Avenue (behind the library), Mill Valley
Shakespeare in Mill Valley’s Old Mill Park means late summer has truly arrived.
Hidden in this majestic redwood grove is The Curtain Theatre, showcasing award-winning plays complete with renaissance music, dancing, and lots of swordfights. You won’t want to let another weekend go by without seeing Romeo and Juliet, this year’s stunning production.
Actors surround the audience, dashing on and off the impressive set by Steve Coleman, in dazzling period costumes by Jody Branham. The grove fills with the sounds of flute, concertina, mandolin, and more under the direction of Don Clark. Even the band is in costume!
“Verona, a city on the verge of anarchy…”
Director Steve Beecroft, the talented impresario of The Curtain Theatre, has been at the company’s helm since 2009. In addition to doing the choreography and swordfight scenes, and lending his acting chops, Beecroft spent nine months dissecting and reconnecting Shakespeare’s classic. He was intrigued by the interrelationships between the characters in Verona, a city he portrays as on the verge of anarchy.
“Hatred and violence between the two houses of Montague and Capulet created a toxic cloud that overshadowed all good,” Beecroft noted.
Into this pressure cooker step the lovely Juliet, brought to life by Dale Leonheart, and handsome Romeo, portrayed by Nic Moore. Their passion is real. Juliet’s balcony is real. The swords are also real.
In his day, Shakespeare was required to cast males in female roles. In an ironic twist, this Romeo and Juliet has several females in male roles. Heather Cherry, a versatile actor and company member, is royally powerful as Prince Escalus. Alexandra Fry plays sidekick Balthasar, with Grace Kent as Benvolio/Benvolia.
Also well-cast is popular local Kim Bromley in the demanding role of Juliet’s nurse, played with just the right touch of humor. Nelson Brown, another local favorite, gives Mercutio, one of Romeo’s closest friends and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris, a lovable, albeit brief, appearance.
Romeo’s parents portrayed by Marianne Shine and Tom Reilly fill their roles well. Amy Dietz, a true talent, brought tears to my eyes as a distraught Lady Capulet mourning her nephew Tybalt (Ramon Villa). Many other actors admirably fill out this full-stage production.
Grace Kent (Benvolia); Nelson Brown (Mercutio); Nic Moore (Romeo). Photo by Russell Johnson.
The remarkable aspect to this professional production is the performances are FREE of charge. Donations, of course, are welcome. And — to be perfectly candid — necessary, if The Curtain Theatre is to continue despite the costs of each presentation.
All ages are welcome to attend these open-air and open-seating shows. Parents bring young ones for their first exposure to Shakespeare, and most are enthralled by the pageantry and swordfights. Picnics abound, with a few tables not far from the stage area. A small snack bar is available. Plastic chairs are set up by the company on a first-come basis. Bring your own for lounging behind the Mill Valley Library. Dogs on leash are encouraged to watch the show.
Romeo and Juliet plays at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and on Labor Day, Monday September 4th, 2023. The hottest summer afternoons can become quite cool in the grove, so bring layers.
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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: pace-koch@comcast.net
Production
Romeo and Juliet
Written by
William Shakespeare
Directed by
Steve Beecroft
Producing Company
Curtain Theatre
Production Dates
Saturdays/Sundays and Labor Day Monday at 2 PM through September 4th
Production Address
Old Mill Park Amphitheater.
375 Throckmorton Avenue (behind the library), Mill Valley
If Shakespeare’s plays have sometimes seemed confusing, with multiple characters speaking patois poetry and cross dressing, fear not. “Two Gentlemen of Verona” is one of the Bard’s early plays and has a believable plot, with only one actor disguising herself as a male.
Director Steve Beecroft worked for over a year on the play, writing in lines to bolster the motivation and beef up the characters’ actions. He did a solid job, as this play is both emotional and amusing, dark and light, with jealousy and forgiveness. And swordplay. Lots of swordplay.
The outdoor Curtain Theatre has returned post-pandemic, with a large talented cast creating splendid afternoon performances. They cleverly merge a smoothly flowing story to original Elizabethan-era music (thanks to Don Clark), proper dancing, the aforementioned swordplay (impressively done by Beecroft), and exquisite costumes by Jody Branham. The final result does Shakespeare proud.
“Two Gentlemen of Verona” opens as two friends joke and joust as young men in 1593 were wont to do. Proteus (handsome and confident Nelson Brown) has a lady, Julia (expertly acted by Isabelle Grimm), to whom he has sworn his love, and she to him. His buddy Valentine has no girlfriend, so he bids them “ciao” and sets out to neighboring Milan. It doesn’t take long for Valentine, enacted by a dashing and charming Nic Moore, to hook up with lovely Sylvia, an aristocratic and clever young lady regally played by Gillian Eichenberger. They plight (pledge) their troth, which is to say they really dig each other.
“They plight their troth, which is to say they really dig each other.”
Back in Verona, Proteus’s exasperated dad (channeled by Mark Shepard) boots Proteus off the couch and out of the family villa and shuttles him off to Milan. He meets up with Valentine, spots Sylvia, and suddenly he’s in love and forgets about Julia. Dramaturg Peter Bradbury succinctly points out “Proteus is named after the shape-shifting god of change.”
Sylvia will have none of Proteus, as she is true to Valentine. After all, she plighted her troth with Valentine. Spurned Proteus learns about his buddy’s plan to elope with Sylvia. He rats on Valentine to Sylvia’s daddy the Duke (a regal Glenn Havlan). Valentine is banished. Sylvia is mightily peeved, particularly when Proteus keeps pestering her, professing his love. Julia, smelling a rat, heads to Milan and disguises herself to watch her paramour’s antics in the forest. She gets the drift. The rest, as they say, shall be revealed in Act II.
No review of “Two Gentlemen” would be complete without commenting on the scene-stealing antics of Grey Wolf as Launce, a forest wanderer, and his dog. This particular dog is the hilarious Jamin Jollo; he plays the part on all fours and scratches and slobbers at will. The giggling of the children in the audience when he appears is the true testimonial of this actor’s over-the-top performance.
It is another scene-stealing surprise when Jollo shows up as Sir Thurio, one of Sylvia’s swishy suitors and a definite swipe left on Tinder. They are backed up by a talented cast of servants and outlaws, in a grove of stately redwoods reaching high above the fun.
…backed up by a talented cast of servants and outlaws, in a grove of stately redwoods reaching high above the fun.
The Curtain Theatre has no curtain, and their theatre is the Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Library on Throckmorton. Their productions are open to all at no charge, donations are most welcome, and chairs are set out in the glen, first come first served. The audience is filled with families, blankets, chairs, and picnics. It’s endearing to see the children enraptured by Shakespeare’s legacy. They get it!
Playing at 2 PM Saturdays and Sundays and through Labor Day Monday September 5th. Admission is FREE and donations are happily appreciated. Open seating, picnics welcome, cookies and coffee available for purchase, and chairs are provided on a first-come basis, or bring your own. Dress in layers as this redwood grove is always much cooler than the street level.
And, psssst..…If you’d like a sneak peek at this amazing work, try this video on You Tube: https://youtu.be/JBCCpfpd368
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ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.
Production
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Written by
William Shakespeare
Directed by
Steve Beecroft
Producing Company
Curtain Theatre
Production Dates
Saturdays/Sundays and Labor Day Monday at 2 p.m. through September 5th
Production Address
Old Mill Park Amphitheater.
375 Throckmorton Avenue (behind the library), Mill Valley
AisleSeat Review begins a new series of question-and-answer interviews with prominent Bay Area theater people.
Our goal is not to subject you the reader to extended portentous sermons of the guest’s views on Russian translations of lesser-known Mamet flash drama (is there such a thing?)
Too often the people who guide and make theater in the Bay Area are behind the scenes — fast-moving denizens of the curtain lines who mumble into microphones while invariably (always excepting Carl Jordan’s beret collection…) dressed head-to-toe in black. These interviews allow you, the reader, to get to know these amazingly talented people a bit more, as…people. Offering some personal and professional insights: with a heavy dash of humor.
***
Steve Beecroft
Steve Beecroft is an actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and producer as well as a pillar of the Curtain Theater in Mill Valley CA. Besides his vocal talent, Beecroft is noted for his extraordinary skill as an athletic fight choreographer. If you’ve ever seen him jumping, leaping, and swinging a sword onstage, be sure to duck.
ASR: How did you get started in theater?
SB: It was really by accident. I have always been a singer, and still do concerts for fund-raising today, but I’d never planned to act. In my senior year of high school, I somehow got roped in to play the lead in the musical “The Boyfriend”. I was hooked and never turned back. It was a real switch from athletics for me. I remember that my football coach would avert his eyes when he saw me in the school corridors after that.
ASR: How many theater companies have you been involved with?
SB: I have never counted them all, but between Canada, England and the USA, quite a few.
… We had a blast mixing Shakespeare, Star Trek and rock ‘n roll!
ASR: When was your present company formed?
SB: The Curtain Theatre was formed twenty years ago to bring Shakespeare to the outdoor stage in Old Mill Park in Mill Valley. I joined the company 10 years ago. We are blessed to have two of the original founders still in the company. Michele Delattre is Artistic Director and will direct this summer’s show “Twelfth Night”, while also playing in the band. Don Clark has been our music director throughout all the years the company has been in existence. They are both brilliant!
ASR: Did you anticipate that it would become as successful as it has?
SB: It was already pretty special with its free performances in our outdoor setting. We have grown the company further over the years and are proud of the awards and loyal audiences we continue to gather.
ASR: What’s Curtain Theatre’s focus?
SB: The Curtain Theatre is primarily a Shakespeare company, adjusted to be fun and family-friendly. Many kids come and sit at the foot of the stage. We’re delighted to see they’re totally into it, which makes it super for us. We keep the plays light with topical music and authentic costumes. We might introduce props that were not available in the Bard’s era, like the chain saw we used in “The Taming of the Shrew.” That got everyone’s attention!
We switch out of Shakespeare too, performing other classic plays such as Moliere’s “The Miser” in 2017. Back in 2013, we went completely off the Bard’s rails when I joined with Carl Jordan and Gary Gonser to put on “Return to the Forbidden Planet.” It was such a hit at Tam High that we staged it the following year at Novato Theatre. We had a blast mixing Shakespeare, Star Trek and rock ‘n roll! It was outrageous and won a batch of SFBATCC awards.
ASR: On a somber note, it will likely be several months until theaters reopen due to COVID-19. How is your company coping?
SB: Our 2020 summer show has been cast and the artistic team are hard at work planning music, choreography, sets, costumes, etc. We start rehearsals after the July 4th weekend and we are hoping to have the go ahead then.
ASR: How has the crisis affected your planning for coming seasons?
SB: Given social distancing rules, we obviously cannot meet for character work and design sessions, so we use ZOOM a lot.
ASR: How do you envision the future for your company?
SB: The Curtain Theatre has been an integral part of the cultural life of Mill Valley and Marin for a long time. Shakespeare aficionados and neophytes alike love to come to see our plays. Families come to be entertained with their children getting their first impression of the Bard at our shows. They keep coming back. So will we.
It is worth remembering that Shakespeare and his company often saw the theatres closed by the plague. But creativity continued, plays were written and rehearsed, and when the air cleared, new plays surged into the light to entertain a people much in need of it. We at the Curtain Theatre hope to do the same in these troubled times. We think it vital that we carry on, whatever the difficulties.
ASR: Has Assembly Bill 5, requiring theatre folks to be employees, affected your company’s plans?
SB: If the law were to be enforced, it would kill almost all amateur theatre companies including us.
ASR: Life in the theater: What are some personal favorites?
SB: For dramas: “Equivocation”, “Cyrano de Bergerac”, and “Shakespeare in Love.”
Musicals I like include “Les Miserables”, “West Side Story”, “Return to the Forbidden Planet”, “Mamma Mia”, and “Guys & Dolls.”
My favorite comedies include “Noises Off”, “Lend me a Tenor”, and “Much Ado About Nothing”.
ASR: What are three all-time favorites from The Curtain Theatre?
SB: Tough choice. Top of the list is “Return to the Forbidden Planet” of course, plus “Henry IV” part one, and “The Taming of the Shrew.”
ASR: What is Shakespeare’s most underrated play?
SB: “Two Gentlemen of Verona.” It has great comedy and some excellent poetry and prose. It has a problem at the end but I think that can be worked around effectively. I hope to direct the play in the future.
ASR: Shakespeare’s most over-performed play?
SB: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”…though it is still great fun!!
ASR: If you had to do a whole season performing technical work—sets, lights, projections, sound, props, costumes—which would it be and why?
SB: I am afraid I am hopelessly untalented when it comes to tech areas. I could probably manage props.
ASR: How do you warm up before a performance? How do you relax after?
SB: Lots of stretching and singing beforehand, and a beer with my cast mates and the Curtain team afterward.
ASR: If someone asked to be your apprentice and learn all that you know, what three things would you tell them are essential?
SB: Hmmm… I guess,
1. Only do plays and roles that you are passionate about.
2. Seek to work with the most creative people you can.
3. Have fun!!
ASR: What is the funniest screw-up you’ve seen on stage in a live performance?
SB: When playing Curly in “Oklahoma”, I was supposed to shoot Jud, but the gun cap didn’t go off. I spent about 3 minutes ad-libbing and having lots of fun with the audience.
ASR: The most excruciating screw-up?
SB: I tore my hamstring doing a split-leap on stage. Not fun.
ASR: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen a guest do at the theater?
SB: When I was rehearsing for a John Denver concert, an elderly lady came in to listen and watch. When I finished one particular song, she proceeded to remind me that I had gotten one word wrong and that I really shouldn’t do that again.
ASR: Do you have a “day job?”
SB: I work for a multi-national investment bank.
ASR: What are your interests outside of theater?
SB: Hiking, the gym, singing both choral and in concerts, traveling, kayaking, and environmental economics.
ASR: Favorite quote from a movie or stage play?
SB:This one…
“How will it work?”
“I don’t know, it’s a mystery.”
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ASR Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.
Summer and Shakespeare go together like fudge sauce on ice cream. To put the cherry on top, make it an outdoor presentation reminiscent of the London Globe Theatre’s open-air venue. The Curtain Theatre, performing in the Old Mill Park Amphitheatre in downtown Mill Valley, does exactly that. Now in their 20th year, this award-winning troupe presents Merry Wives of Windsor among towering redwoods through Sunday, September 8th.
The Curtain Theatre experience envelopes their audience in the late 1500’s. Absent the plastic chairs and jet streams visible overhead, the scene in this majestic redwood grove transforms time. A quartet of musicians in period garb quietly plays original songs written by Music Director Don Clark and Hal Hughes. The air fills with sounds of a fiddle, tin whistle, concertina, and other quaint instruments. Children scamper about the soft ground while adults pour their libations and chat. Costumed and bewigged actors, (authentically designed by Kathy Kingman-Solum and Hope Carrillo) beckon patrons to available seats.
…Grey Wolf is ridiculously perfect as Falstaff, charming and powerful and capable of stealing any scene on the stage…
The Curtain Theatre has no curtain, so Producer/Choreographer (and duo-role actor) Steve Beecroft grandly welcomes all from the front of the stage. Merry Wives of Windsor’s multi-layered plot focuses on a young maiden, Mistress Anne Page (lovely Lilly Jackson), who has attracted the eye of several suitors. Each suitor has his personal champion, including Anne’s parents who advocate differing preferences for their daughter’s match. As with much of Shakespeare’s plays, it takes a while to catch on to all the characters and their relationships.
Gray Wolf and friends at work for Curtain Theatre
Enter lustful Sir John Falstaff, who boasts of his intentions to seduce not merely one, but two of his acquaintances’ wives, one of whom is Anne’s mother. Grey Wolf is ridiculously perfect as Falstaff, charming and powerful and capable of stealing any scene on the stage. When the wives get wind of his plans, they team up to plot their amusing revenge. Heather Cherry and Marianne Shine make a formidable duo, outmaneuvering Falstaff and even exacting better behavior from their clueless husbands.
Director Kim Bromley notes “The central theme of this play is power, who wields it, who wants it, and who gets it.” Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor is lengthy and uneven in spots, yet ultimately allows women to gain the upper hand in a period of time when such was certainly not the norm.
The City of Mill Valley was recently under pressure from several nearby neighbors to curtail The Curtain Theatre and other public noise-producing events in Old Mill Park, site of the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival and the Dipsea Race. Happily, Steve Beecroft reports that performances have been adjusted to mollify neighbors yet continue with these free weekend performances. To that end, all may shout “Huzzah!” Not too loudly, please.
Playing at 2 PM through September 8th on Saturdays and Sundays and Labor Day Monday. Admission is FREE. For more information surf the web over to: www.curtaintheatre.org.
Open seating, picnics welcome, cookies and coffee available for purchase, and chairs are provided on a first-come basis, or bring your own. Dress in layers as this redwood grove is always much cooler than the street level.
ASR Reviewer Cari Lynn Pace is a member of SFBATCC and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County.
Production
Merry Wives of Windsor
Written by
William Shakespeare
Directed by
Kim Bromley
Producing Company
Curtain Theatre
Production Dates
Through Sept. 8th
Production Address
Old Mill Park Amphitheater.
375 Throckmorton Avenue (behind the library), Mill Valley
Ahhhh! Late summer has arrived in Mill Valley’s fairy-tale forest of majestic redwoods in Old Mill Park. While children play in the creek below the grove, picnics are spread on nearby tables, and renaissance music wafts through the stage area.
The large cast dances and dashes in and out of the forest-in-a-forest set, designed by Steve Coleman, in lovely period costumes designed by Jody Branham. The grove fills with the sounds of flute, concertina, mandolin, and more under the direction of Don Clark. Even the band is in costume!
All ages are welcome to attend these open-air and open-seating shows. Parents bring young ones for their first exposure to Shakespeare; the pageantry enthralls most. Picnics abound, with a few tables not far from the stage area. A small snack bar is available. The company sets up plastic chairs on a first-come basis. Bring your own for lounging behind the Mill Valley Library. Dogs on leash are encouraged to watch the show.
ASR Writer & Editor Cari Lynn Pace is a voting member of SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and writes theatre and lifestyle reviews for the Marinscope Community Newspapers throughout Marin County. Contact: pace-koch@comcast.net
