Last summer’s production of “Twelfth Night” was such a hit for Fenix Theatre Company, producing artistic director Rob Cameron decided this was the year to present two plays — at the same time.
Beginning tonight, Fenix opens the early Shakespeare comedy, “Love’s Labor’s Lost.” On Friday, Fenix opens the Samuel Beckett absurdist classic, “Waiting for Godot.”
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Both will be presented for free in Deering Oaks Park in Portland. “Love’s Labor’s Lost” will be staged near the wading pool, and “Godot” will be performed at the bridge.
While Fenix has produced two shows in one summer season before, this marks the first time the company has attempted two shows running in repertory, as well as its first non-Shakespeare title.
“This was the first summer we felt we had the bandwidth to do two shows,” Cameron said. “We’ve wanted to explore our capacity for doing two shows, and it seemed like this was the summer to do it.”
At least part of that thinking had to do with the good will that Fenix engendered with last summer’s production of “Twelfth Night.”
To borrow a sports cliche, the company hit that one out of the ballpark.
The production was sharp, funny and decadently nimble, with actors popping out of bushes and from behind rocks and mingling with the audience before making an entrance. The actors seemed to thrive on the outdoors environment, and their embrace of the setting made for a fun night of theater.
The hope is that this summer will be twice the fun. As always, the audience is encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics.
Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” is an inspired choice. Most people are familiar with the title; it was a staple of high school literature classes for many of us growing up. It’s also a good piece of theater, and a fairly easy play to stage with minimal costumes, a single set and a small cast.
“Godot” is one of the most discussed, debated and interpreted plays in the history of theater. Beckett, an Irish-born novelist and playwright, lived most of the 20th century, from 1906 to 1989. He wrote “Godot” in 1948, and described it as a “tragicomedy in two acts.”
Cameron will direct the show, which stars David Butler, Matt Delamater, Daniel Noel, Johnny Speckman and Lucas Cuellar.
In the play, two characters, Estragon and Vladimir, are seated on a country road waiting for their friend Godot. The two men fill the play with conversation. A handful of other characters wander in and out.
Beckett wrote the play vaguely, so it’s open to a range of interpretations that include religious, philosophical and political. The playwright offered little more than cryptic clues about his intentions, and the play remains somewhat of a mystery.
Because it’s so well known and yet widely misunderstood and interpreted, it’s a perfect choice for the non-Shakespeare show in the Fenix season, Cameron said. People know it, but not well. They’re familiar with it, but only vaguely so.
In some ways, Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labor’s Lost” falls into the same category. A lot of folks know the title — though it is frequently misspelled because of the second apostrophe — but few have seen a production of the play.
Shakespeare wrote it at about the same time he wrote “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The play is about the King of Navarre, who pledges, along with a trio of companions, to refrain from the temptations of women in favor of serious study. That pledge lasts only as long as the princess and her three ladies come calling.
Sally Wood directs a cast of 14 for the Fenix production.
In recent summers, the company has produced “The Taming of the Shrew,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Twelfth Night” — classics all, and all comedies.
Producing a comedy in the casual atmosphere of Deering Oaks feels like the right strategy, but Cameron said Fenix must be careful about becoming predictable.
“We don’t want to run through all the masterpieces right away,” he said. “We felt we needed to pump the brakes just a bit. We’re still in the comedy zone while building our audience. But our paradigm will shift in a summer, or two or three.”
Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
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