Incompleat: What went wrong at Circuit Playhouse

So many things are left unfinished. This blog, for example.

I'm not at all happy with my review of Compleat Female Stage Beauty in this week's issue of The Flyer. The passage about clown roles doesn't say at all what I intended to say, and its my fault. I'll link it when it comes online.

Then there's the actual Circuit Playhouse production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which feels compleat-ly unfinished and bumpy around its frayed edges.

The set-- a shapeless bridge of platforms--looks like an afterthought.

And in the center of it all there's Jerre Dye and Michael Gravois, two exceptional actors doing some of the best work they've ever done. If you haven't watched this video yet, do. You'll see exactly what I mean.



U of M undergrad Ann Marie Gideon is also doing some exceptional work, and that brings me to the chief source of my disappointment in this week's review.

Of all the Shakespearean clowns in this show, Gideon's Nell is the only one presented in three dimensions, with any real character arc. The rest are broadly acted stooges and stereotypes. That's the point I garbled.

I'm a fan of director Dave Landis' work, usually. But for all of its potential, this very funny and mostly engaging show just isn't one of his better efforts.

Still, well worth checking out.

Fin