I don't usually review plays at university theaters. My reasons are the obvious ones: these are actors, directors and designers in training, and one can't reasonably expect that the work they do will be of professional quality. Further, a review of student work might do unnecessary damage, branding performers or designers as incompetent or worse when the whole point of their schoolwork is the careful development of talent. Have I seen excellent student plays? Yes, on occasion (and I'll have more to say about them in a minute). But more often I've seen college plays where the casting was all wrong, or the director's concept was flimsy, or skill and clumsiness stood side by side in a not-impressive combination. I wouldn't expect a student pianist to shine on Beethoven's Appassionata, or a student artist to produce paintings on the level of a Jackson Pollock, and I shouldn't expect student theater artists to out-Olivier Olivier, or out-Brook Peter Brook.But then I see a show like Finer Noble Gases (at the University of South Florida a couple weeks ago), and I'm reminded that college theater can be as good as — or better than — professional. And there's something more about college offerings: on occasion, they're literally the only chance for local audiences to experience certain authors. Consider Gases author Adam Rapp: this was the first appearance of one of his plays in the Tampa Bay area, and might, for all I know, be the only one for the next decade. The only local production of Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-nominated Collected Stories was at Eckerd College Theatre a couple of years ago (featuring, impressively, faculty members Mimi Rice and Cindy Totten), and the only area production of Howard Korder's acerbic Boys' Life was another USF offering many seasons ago, deftly directed by faculty member C. David Frankel. So maybe a general audience has reason to notice college productions after all; maybe these shows are a gamble that a theater lover — starved for ambitious, unusual projects — just has to take.
No, this doesn't lead up to a decision to review college productions in this space. What it leads to is something much less judgmental: a catalog of the shows that three major local colleges — USF, University of Tampa and Eckerd College — are offering in the coming months. I can't guarantee that each (or any) will be a success, but I can predict that in some cases (Beckett one-acts at USF, for example), your choice is probably college version or none at all. So, if you don't mind taking a risk:
Eckerd College
As You Like It, March 10-13, 2005. This romantic comedy takes place in the Forest of Arden, a mythical Eden where characters find love and freedom after fleeing the constraints of the court. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: As every local Bardophile knows, we just don't get enough Shakespeare in this area. One Shakespeare-in-the-Park per year (thanks to American Stage) means that a generation will pass before we see the whole oeuvre. So if you'd like to reacquaint yourself with Orlando and Rosalind (not to mention the melancholy Jaques), and you don't feel like waiting a lifetime, this might be your production. The Laramie Project, May 5-8. Moises Kaufman's documentary-style play chronicles life in the town of Laramie, Wyo., at the time of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: Tampa Stageworks presented a luminous version of this fine play a few seasons ago, but if you missed that one, you might now want to meet the inhabitants of Laramie: gay and straight, cold and compassionate, human and all-too-human. If you want to know America better, or you simply want to be reminded of the urgency of tolerance, this show'll do it. (Tickets: 727-864-8279.)
University of South Florida
The Golden Ass, Feb. 25-27 and March 3-6. This comedy, based on the work of Apuleius and written by Peter Oswald for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, tells the story of a man-changed-to-donkey and his encounters, in beastly form, with the chaos of human desire. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: USF's BRIT Program every year brings several top British theater professionals to work with talented students. For The Golden Ass, the pros are two directors, a choreographer and a designer. The hybrid of professional and student effort can sometimes be exhilarating. And this may be your one chance to see the play on this continent. Samuel Beckett One Acts, March 24—27. The plays produced in this offering will probably be Not I, Act Without Words Two, and, possibly, Rockaby. Why They Might Be Worth Your Time: Beckett is one of those artist/prophets who seems to have something crucial to tell us, if only we can understand him. These difficult plays are about a cruel eternity, alternate approaches to life and the very limits of consciousness. Expect to be more challenged than entertained — and, just possibly, to have an incomparable experience. Cuban Bread, April 7-17. Professor Denis Calandra's tale is about a 1930s anarchist lector in Tampa's Ybor City who has to face up to his romantic past and his demons. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: Calandra is a scholar and teacher of distinction, and his take on Ybor City should include a crucial element lacking from Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics: the politicization of just about everyone. Add fantasy and music, and the results could be both illuminating and enchanting. (Tickets: 813-974-2323.)
University of Tampa
The Importance of Being Earnest, March 23-25. Oscar Wilde's classic comedy is about two marriage-minded young men and the hoops they have to jump through to acquire their loopy ladies. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: This exquisite comedy hasn't had a good production locally in years; the American Stage version a few seasons ago was decidedly second-rate. So if you're still waiting to hear the delightfully stuffy Lady Bracknell declare that "The line is immaterial" in just the right imperious way, here's your opportunity. Schoolhouse Rock, April 14-16. The popular children's television show is turned into an upbeat musical. Why It Might Be Worth Your Time: Because you've got to get your kids interested in theater early. (Information: 813-258-7495.)
And that's the lineup. I intend to slip into the audience for a few of these myself, though I'm not saying which. And if anything really thrilling ensues, I'll mention it in this column.
See you at the quad.
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2004.