Do You Want To PARTY with Oregon Shakespeare Festival? – by Lee Greene

I went to a party the other night, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s (OSF) Allen Elizabethan Theatre. It was advertised and seats to it were sold like the rest of the plays in repertory at OSF, as the world premiere of a new musical, Head Over Heels. But it was nothing like any of the other OSF plays, and probably nothing like anything you’ve ever seen before. Director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar is on record (in a pre-opening video discussion of his plans for the show: Head Over Heels: The Party, see https://youtu.be/hTNFmBOf_1s) as saying, “I think all shows should be parties” and then talks about how he intends to make Head Over Heels a party. Mr. Iskandar specializes in a particular style of theater, commonly labeled “immersive theater”, which is theater that breaks down the “Fourth Wall” separating the actors from the audience and has the actors interacting with and much more intimate with the audience than in traditional theater. Mr. Iskandar is very good at that, and he has succeeded in throwing quite a party with Head Over Heels, but that doesn’t even begin to describe the novelty and distinctiveness of Head Over Heels.

To begin to get a good handle on Head Over Heels, we have to back up, and consider the playwright, Jeff Whitty, and what he’s done here, which is very original, clever, witty, highly amusing, and just plain fun – in other words, good party fare. Mr. Whitty has taken the plot from a 16^th century Elizabethan era story (The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney), originally told in a series of five (5) books, and re-worked it into a musical that utilizes songs from the 1980’s hit all girl rock band, The Go Go’s. The story is a classic, which has been borrowed and stolen from before, by Shakespeare for parts of King Lear, Hamlet and The Winter’s Tale, by Samuel Daniel for The Queen’s Arcadia, John Day for The Isle of Gulls, and a variety of other playwrights in a clutch of other derivative works. But nothing like Head Over Heels. Whitty is some kind of mad genius. I counted at least 17 musical numbers from The Go Go’s catalog, all seamlessly, logically and smoothly woven into the complex plot of the 16^th century story. How does one DO that? How does one even conceive of that? Of course, it WORKS; if one didn’t know better, you might think The Go Go’s composed these songs in the first place for the score of this show. But even that doesn’t do justice to just how well constructed this play is, and how entertaining. Mr. Whitty has a way with words, and an exquisite sense of humor. The dialogue is loaded with clever, funny lines that keep the audience laughing from start to finish. At one point, a character declares “Hail the drama critics! Without them life would go on pretty much the same.” True enough. Guess I should end the review here then. (It’s a laugh line, and I can enjoy the joke, laugh along, and continue with the review.)

A little overview of the plot: Basilius, the Duke of Arcadia, goes to visit the Oracle, hoping to hear nothing but good prophecies for himself and his family. Instead, he is told that his oldest daughter will never have a relationship with a man, his youngest daughter will defy him and marry beneath her station, he will commit adultery with his own wife, and within a year another man will be Duke instead of him. He finds all of that hard to believe, and makes a wager with the Oracle that her prophecies will not be fulfilled. The rest of the plot unfolds the events that follow in the lives of the characters as they and the audience get to see what happens with respect to each of the prophecies. No need for spoilers telling you what happens. Go see the show to find out. What you do need to know is that the scenarios, taken from the original 16^th century story are filled with clever, Elizabethan era twists and turns (cross-dressing characters, sexual identity confusion and ambiguity, mistaken identities and failure to recognize well known familiars, ambivalence by a ruler with power, while others compete to obtain power, etc.) Mr. Whitty has spiced it all up, into a high energy, enthusiastic, artfully presented tale.

There’s a bawdy aspect to the 16^th Century story – Mr. Whitty uses clever dialogue to make it even bawdier. At one point, there is a series of references to a list of intimate body parts, without ever actually speaking any of them – it’s all innuendo, a series of poetic lines in rhyme, with the rhyming body parts left unsaid. Most adults and sentient teenagers will understand and appreciate the humor. Smaller children and non-sentient adults, not so much. Even the prop crew get in on the action – when a giant log and two large shrubs work their way across the theater, it is reminiscent of films in the era of the motion picture production code that used to cut to shots of missile launches and fireworks. But it’s hilarious! (To borrow a phrase in common usage by my brethren in the drama criticism business, “This show does not contain any profanity, nudity, or strong violence, but it does have adult themes and strong sexual content. Were it a movie, it would likely be rated PG-13.” Life goes on pretty much the same?)

Woven into the story are a full complement of songs by The Go Go’s. If you were around in the 80’s you’ll recognize and appreciate them. They are all perfectly fitted into the story, expressing the feelings and thoughts of the various characters as the plot develops: Beautiful, Good Girl, Mad About You, Our Lips Are Sealed, Automatic Rainy Day, Vision of Nowness, This Old Feeling, My Traveling Heart, How Much More, Our Lips Are Sealed, Head Over Heels, I Get Weak, Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Unforgiven, Lust To Love, Apology, The Beat. The songs are well sung, by all the cast throughout the show, and well accompanied by the show’s band, a complement of 8 musicians, including piano, strings, guitars, woodwinds, and drums, seated on stage in the set’s second level, where they’re visible to the audience much of the time. The songs were catchy numbers in the era when they were released, and they’re still catchy now, but add context, emotion and energy to the story. Music, after all, is the universal language. And what’s a party without music? Of course, for many of the numbers, the cast aren’t standing still, but in lively motion – well choreographed, especially the large ensemble (i.e., chorus) numbers.

Of course, all of this wouldn’t work so well, if it weren’t for the large, exceptional, very talented cast. So many great performances, all contributing to present an unforgettable show. The party begins with Basilius, the King (Michael Sharon), walking out into the audience and interacting with audience members, chatting and shaking hands, before the play actually begins – such a good party host! Mr. Sharon succeeded in providing weight and gravitas to his character’s part, which was essential for making the story work.

Fool (John Tufts) and Ensemble in Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s “Head Over Heels”. Photo by Jenny Graham.

The proceedings begin for real with Philanax, the Royal Fool (John Tufts), who narrates the show, presenting a verse monologue reminding audience members they are not permitted to make any recordings of the show, that there’s a 30% chance it might not rain (it did, but was just a short light drizzle) and that they could leave in the first hour and get a rain check (but everyone would see them walking out and “we have a good memory for faces!”) The Fool got some of the best lines and made the most of them – very entertaining, even outside the plot. For instance, he introduced Intermission with the exclamation “Now who among us has to pee?” Also delivering some of the best lines with panache (including the aforementioned anatomy rhyme innuendos) and doing a memorable job singing some of those Go Go’s songs was Bonnie Milligan, as the King’s older daughter, Pamela. She was matched by younger sister, Philoclea (Tala Ashe), who also provided some deft singing, and, as the story approached its denouement, commanded the stage, superbly delivering some serious dialogue.

King’s older daughter Pamela (Bonnie Milligan), younger daughter Philoclea (Tala Ashe) and their Lady in Waiting, Mopsa (Britney Simpson) in Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s “Head Over Heels”. Photo by Jenny Graham.

Miriam A. Laube as Gynecia, the wife of the King, more than held her own in singing some of the Go Go’s tunes and won the audience over as a concerned mother and put-upon wife. She and Mr. Sharon navigated the peculiar, difficult, and challenging double adultery scene in an effective and credible way. Dylan Paul was exemplary in the complex role of young shepherd Musidorus, who becomes a cross-dressing Zelmane, an “Amazonian lady”, rendering a very believable portrayal of those widely different characterizations – and of course he too contributed some fine singing on some Go Go’s songs. Britney Simpson did a fine job as Mopsa, Lady in Waiting to the King’s daughters, who not only had a share in quite a few Go Go’s songs, but also provides a credible love interest for daughter Pamela (yep, adult themes again). The ever present David Kelley (Can OSF mount a show in the Elizabethan Theatre without finding a role on the stage for him?) renders his usually fine performance as Dametas, the King’s valet and father of Mopsa. And I certainly cannot overlook Michele Mais, who delivers an unforgettable performance as The Oracle – she provided some of the best Go Go’s song vocals, and riveted the audience’s attention with her gravelly voice delivery of the prophecies and the follow up pronouncements.

Like you’d expect at a great party, Head Over Heels was a feast for the eyes. The costumes were fanciful, colorful, and in some cases, absolutely eye catching. Pay attention to the Oracle’s volcano inspired costume (more on that in an OSF video clip: Snapshot: The Oracle and Volcanic Inspiration, https://youtu.be/sg1pk2oHQhw). Several of the costumes incorporated lighting in the costume itself – watch for Pamela’s huge Pulsing Heart light cape when she sing’s Beautiful. The show is loaded with creative props (not just the log and shrubs – too many to mention them all, but do catch the colorful interesting luggage the Royal Party travels with). Of course, the set is fantastic – that’s an OSF specialty, and there are some great special effects too – if the Oracle’s costume and Ms. Mais’s voice weren’t attention grabbing enough, at the conclusion of her prophesy sequence, she explodes like a volcano with a shower of sparkles.

King’s older daughter Pamela (Bonnie Milligan) wearing heart of lights, surrounded by Ensemble in Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s “Head Over Heels”. Photo by Jenny Graham.

Head Over Heels is more like a party than a traditional theater show. Credit Mr. Iskandar for successfully realizing his vision. If you want to party with OSF in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, Head Over Heels will be running in repertory in the theater through October 10, 2015. OSF is also currently running eight additional plays in repertory with Head Over Heels: The Count of Monte Cristo and Antony and Cleopatra also in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre; Guys and Dolls, Much Ado About Nothing, and Secret Love In Peach Blossom Land in the Angus Bowmer Theatre and Pericles , The Happiest Song Plays Last and Long Day’s Journey Into Night in the Thomas Theatre. For tickets, call the OSF box office at 800-219-8161 or order online at http://bit.ly/1yqvboU.