July 8, 2002

Shakespeare Santa Cruz launches season with preview on July 10

By Ann M. Gibb

The 2002 Shakespeare Santa Cruz Summer Festival promises that "The Egos Have Landed"--and what intriguing egos they are. Take Sir John Falstaff, the first in the ego lineup when Merry Wives of Windsor opens the season with a preview performance on Wednesday, July 10, at 2 p.m. in the Festival Glen.

Noel True is Nina and Thomas Jay Ryan is Trigorin in Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull, translated by Jean-Claude Van Italie. Photo: r.r. jones

John Preston, left, plays Coriolanus and Aldo Billingslea is Aufidius in William Shakespeare's political thriller Coriolanus. Photo by Steve DiBartolomeo

Theodore Swetz stars as Falstaff in the Shakespeare comedy Merry Wives of Windsor. Photo: r.r. jones

"The gusto of Falstaff," said play director Sari Ketter, "his lust for life and his way with words, is what really provides part of the conspicuous sexual tension throughout the play."

Add that gusto to his desire for money, and the result is a comedic matching of wits between Falstaff and a quartet of strong women, as he tries to improve his finances by wooing the ladies of wealthy families.

The namesake character of Coriolanus struggles with a different ego issue: power.

"One of the great questions of modern man's existence lies at the core of Coriolanus," said play director Kent Gash. "Can the will of the individual, the will of the authentic self, co-exist with the will of the masses?"

Presented in the Mainstage Theater, this political thriller about a fierce and brilliant soldier has a disturbing relevance for contemporary audiences.

The 10 egos and characters inhabiting the tragicomic world of Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull are on different paths in search of the same goal: permanence.

According to Risa Branin, who doubles as artistic director for the festival and play director for The Sea Gull, "This play explores how we look for permanence in life. But sometimes in an effort to find permanence, we miss the obvious and can't see the great things that lie right in front of us."

Branin decided to do the play the first time she walked into the Festival Glen. "It struck me like a bolt of lightning that The Sea Gull needed to come to life in this space," said Branin. This production marks the first time Chekhov has been performed at Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

The 21st festival season is full of firsts, including the debut of Branin as artistic director and Ketter and Gash as Festival play directors; a collaboration with the local Mount Madonna Choir for incidental music in The Sea Gull; first Festval performances of actors culled from national and local auditions; the first production of Coriolanus in festival history; original work in each play by nationally recognized designers new to the Festival; and a new website.

Tickets are one sale now, and a UCSC staff discount is available. For more information call the UCSC Ticket Office at (831) 459-2159 or visit the Shakespeare Santa Cruz website.

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