Retellings

"Ever just the same,
ever a surprise,
ever as before,
ever just as sure..."

-- "Beauty and the Beast," from the Disney movie/musical

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Been watching the four-episode BBC series ShakespeaRe-Told. Four plays (Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Taming of the Shrew) were assigned to different writers, who then updated the settings, but kept true to the story, plot, and even the names of the characters. They adhered to the nuances, as well; for instance, in the Much Ado retelling, the characters are all part of a major British news network, constantly reminded that their social blunders are all painfully (and hilariously) public. Other aspects are genius little tidbits...text messages and photocopied pictures replace the usual conventions of hand-delivered letters and other evidences of love.

Macbeth takes place in an upscale restaurant kitchen in Scotland--in the tradition of Scotland, PA, to be sure--where the restaurateur (Duncan) receives all of the public acclaim while the "real" artists (Joe Macbeth is the head chef) get no mention. When Joe's wife, the head hostess, realizes that her husband will inherit the restaurant in the event of Duncan's untimely death, she seizes the opportunity and urges him to murder the owner.

I learned something new about Macbeth from this adaptation: in a simple way, it's the story of a man who thinks he can run a kingdom but who, in fact, is a soldier at heart--a follower, not a leader. James McAvoy plays Joe, the master head-chef who can't run the kitchen and restaurant all at once. The pressure of being the face of the business is what drives him mad...along with the guilt of killing his boss, of course.

All this goes to say, I found them fascinating and would recommend them to any Shakespeare fans who have been disappointed with other (more popular?) modern renditions of the plays. I just wish they had done more than four.

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The writing of Jack and the Beanstalk continues. Lately, the issue has been tweaking the roles for the actors in the cast, and since some of the roles are still in dispute, it's even more complicated.

It was one thing when we found out a local celebrity had backed out of playing the Giant, and it was another thing when the name of Jack's cow kept changing. But those alterations were relatively quick and easy. Now that the differences between actors is coming into the mix, we find ourselves debating who should play the characters, rather than what the characters do next and why. We just have to remember that a sucky story (or a story suckily told) will offend audiences more than any ill-cast actor doing their best in a role.

You know, suspension of disbelief...and all that. There's a reason Aristotle placed his "elements of drama" in a certain order. Plot and theme trump character, any day, any play.

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No rehearsal tonight--the last time I get that singular luxury until the penultimate week of October. (We always have Fridays and Sundays off, barring the actual weeks of production.) Then it's the hectic rearranging of schedules, quick meals, even quicker naps, backstage photos of people hugging people, clearing the wings, costume changes, light changes, scene changes, make-up touch-ups, first entrances, final bows, and so on, until the last set piece lands in the truck, the last door is locked, the last ticket is tallied, the last drinks are taken, and then...a new show, and an evening full of firsts.

It's the same story. Shows follow patterns, just as actors follow blocking.

But there's always a through-line, isn't there? All roads bend toward one. And that's the real pattern, the overarching story, a monument of moments. The retelling goes on.

(Or something like that.)