SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Attended tonight the opening night of Shakespeare in Love presented by Theater South Carolina at Drayton Hall on the university campus. And what a delightful performance it was, far more professionally delivered than one would commonly expect from a company of students. What a marvelous and enjoyable show full of action and humor, and the only tragedy was that not more students and others attended (although there was a pretty good showing). I hope that the word goes out and many more are enticed to give the show a try. They will not be disappointed.

I am no theater critic, but I do love musicals and plays, and I would argue that if these actors were being graded on their performances not a single one would receive a poor grade from me. They were just wonder, the slips few and the deliveries most often well done. John Romanski did a masterful job as Shakespeare, and he was well matched with Olivia Hensley as Viola. I was impressed by Riley Lucas's Marlowe, Kayla Crumley's Queen Elizabeth (her part was way too little), and Sam Edelson's Ned Alleyn. I could actually include every performer (who often had multiple roles) and would fight a duel with anyone who claimed a single one of the cast fell short of the mark. The costumes were great, the set choreography amazing (I was surprised there were no major collisions), and the set perfect for what could have been a cumbersome mess. I have seen community theater that was not up to the standard these young actors and stage support delivered. It was my first experience at Drayton (as I have been several times to Longstreet and the Lab sites), and I hope to catch many more shows there.

HAMMETT

Tonight the University of South Carolina Rare Books and Special Collection celebrated Dashiell Hammett's birthday with the announcement at an invitation-only gathering of the uniting and donation of two remarkable collections of papers, books, and other materials from the Hammett family and Dr. Richard Layman, who is also my boss. Letters, posters, artwork, momentos, pictures, even the hatbox in which was discovered the earliest-known letters from Hammett to his wife in 1921. USC has been building a wonderful collection of papers of detective and crime fiction writers, including James Ellroy, George Higgins, Elmore Leonard, and now Hammett. And my sources tell me there will soon be more. This is in addition to impressive collection of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Burns and other important authors. It was very interesting to meet and introduce myself to Hammett's daughter and two of his grandchildren. Dr. Layman gave a nice overview of Hammett and his importance, and family members built on that introduction by talking about Hammett's political activism, the personal items collected and donated, and some remembrances of the man himself. It was a nice ceremony, including the proclamation by the City of Columbia of Dashiell Hammett Day. If you get a chance to visit USC soon, slip into Cooper Library and back to the Special collections at the rear and check out the exhibits. The preservation of historical and literary sources to academics and the general public is one of the most important duties of university libraries, and USC has been in the forefront both locally and nationwide. Kudos to all who helped bring the collection here.

It was also nice because I got to spend some time with Dr. Jessica Kross, as well as meet the son of Augusta Baker.

FLIGHT

Attended tonight at Longstreet Theater an interesting play that blended elements of drama, dance, music, acrobatics, and model building. What, you say? Well, read on. The University of South Carolina's Department of Theater and Dance (cosponsored with Pacific Performance Project/East) presented Robyn Hunt's Flight, directed by Steven Pearson. Standing in for all heroic women aviators who struggled to touch the skies during the infancy of flight are two turn-of-the-century actresses who also are pilots, temporarily on leave from their day jobs as Paris actresses, as they assemble a plane that has been gifted by a generous benefactress so that they might make a long-distance flight to challenge male-dominated skies. They are part of an emerging feminist movement that seeks equality in suffrage, education, professional opportunity and to shed the restraints (such as clothing restrictions) that hold them back from acheivement, and that denies them their place in the historical record when they do great things. This strain is represented by the filmmaker Alisse, determined to capture the beauty and danger of the two female pilots' efforts. Rounding out the cast is Jean Luc, narrator and guide, and a fellow actor and friend, best known for his role as Peter Pan, Gerard. The playwright blended in elements from historical theater as the actors worked through their frustrations and fears. As the play unfolds the cast literally constructs a half-scale model of a plane on stage. Cudos to whomever made the airplane; it was simply beautiful and elegantly constructed in a  manner that allowed the actors to fit it together with style and grace. The plane is almost another character. The play was an interesting study in motion, almost oriental in its precision, and an amazing amount of practice must have been involved to choreograph the intricate dance of construction and storytelling.

The actors were all very good and the presentation smooth. The production could have benefitted from a better sound system or individual mikes. Often words and lines were lost or confusing, even out of the mouths of the senior actors Eric Bultman (Jean Luc) and Robyn Hunt (Alisse). Clearly these two had a positive chemistry. Lenne Klingaman (Madeline) was strong in her role, and most often was the most-clear speaker. Jessi Noel (Sophie) was good, but a bit soft spoken, and I struggled at times to understand what she was saying. Will Shuler (Gerard) rounded out the cast and did a nice job, especially with the piano and accordian. Sadly these plays have so few performances, which seems unfortunate in light of the tremendous work that went into crafting the props and preparing the actors. I especially liked the hanging chari used to represent flight simulation. I bet Bultman and Klingaman never got as great a workout ever in a production. I don't know how many young actors got to participate and learn from this performance, but the actors and crew were a credit to the university.

CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY

Attended tonight at the University of South Carolina a lecture by Bancroft-winning legal historian Tomiko Brown-Nagin as part of her promtional tour, I guess, of her book Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement (2011). As she described it, the work is a corrective to the common view of looking only at the big cases and lawyers (such as Brown and Marshall) and exploring the work of many lawyers in both fighting on a local level and contesting the focus of the struggle, as seen through the advocacy of Atlanta's CR lawyers. Sponsored by the Institue for African American Research and held at Cooper Library, Dr. Brown-Nagin sketched out the three major waves of legal involvement as it morphed from emphasis on voting rights and limited inclusion, to more radical push for complete equal rights, to an emphasis on making sure advances addressed poverty, housing, and other economic ills. I was dismayed somewhat by the low attendance, both from within the department and generally, especially by undergraduates (who seemed completely absent).

And this is only a light criticism, but someone needs to do a better job editing the IAAR newsletter.

THEATER TIME

Took the boys tonight to see 12 Angry Jurors, a laboratory play presented by the University of South Carolina Theater Department. Based upon the Reginald Rose teleplay, the performers did a very good job and the crowd seemd pleased with the effort. Both boys were well entertained and enjoyed it; they said they would be interested in seeing more plays. Presented in the cozy Benson Theater (in a former public school purchased by the university) that I never knew existed---with perhaps seventy-five seats, the showing was sold out. Glad someone at work suggested that I show up right at 730 to get tickets. We were lucky and had seats in the front row; I could easily have touched the actors. Overall they performed well, with the expected small gaffes and less-than-smooth pacing of amateurs, but the missteps were tiny and easily overlooked when considering the entire production. The set was simple, but perfect. The only thing rang wrong to me was their calling a swithblade a "switch knife," though that may have been more common during the 40's or 50s. I was told that the department puts on a lot of plays, many of them for free. I will be checking out their website more often. Bravo!