HoodedHawk

 

 
Saturday night – Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Wonderful production of Titus Andronicus in the new indoor venue for Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore.  They had a live rock band play before the show and during intermission, as well as doing the music during the play.  The were great!  

This was my first time seeing Titus Andronicus, and they did a wonderful job.  I took my teenage son- ‘yeah, Dad, it didn’t suck’.  High praise!  

I saw Much Ado About Nothing here with my younger son last month, and we already have tickets to Macbeth in the spring.  

Last Saturday Kirsten and I went to see Mrs. Kemble’s Tempest, a play by Tom Ziegler and directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner. We absolutely loved it! This coming weekend is the final weekend. Grab tickets and go, you won’t be disappointed. It is basically a one-woman play (Kimberly Schraf plays Mrs. Kemble).

The Fascinating story of Fanny Kemble; one of the most famous actresses to grace the 19th century American stage, an early feminist, and abolitionists. This evening is her farewell tour, as her extraordinary solo performance of the Tempest interweaves with episodes from her own tempestuous life. –(from www.baltimoreshakespeare.org)

Kimberly Schraf as Mrs. Kemble in Mrs Kemble's Tempest

There is another actor (no speaking role, but very good) who plays the part of Mrs. Kemble’s onstage pianist. Ms. Schraf was just wonderful; I’m always amazed when an actor can pull off a single-person play like this. How do they ever memorize the whole shebang? Anyway, I was mesmerized by the story and the acting.

The venue itself is great – an old church (St. Mary’s in Baltimore) with good acoustics and seating.

Mrs Kemble's Tempest at the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival