Shakespeare Festival not to be missed

It’s impossible to sit through the Maine Shakespeare Festival, taking place through Aug. 12 on the Bangor waterfront, without having mixed responses.

On the one hand, this is Shakespeare and hooray for us that we get it performed in our own back yard. This year’s presentations of “Hamlet” and “Comedy of Errors” – as well as Tom Stoppard’s contemporary comedy “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (hereafter “R&G) – are, respectively, haunting, harebrained and hilarious. You really don’t want to miss any of them largely because, well, it’s Shakespeare and, also, because of a handful of confidently talented actors who really make the shows dance.

Take Erik Gratton, for instance. Last year, he showed up and stole the show as Prince Hal. He is unquestionably up to the same type of thievery this year. This time, he’s playing Hamlet in the two plays that require that role, and, in “Comedy of Errors,” he hops in as one of two nimble and knocked-around servants called Dromio.

Gratton is a lanky fellow who can both contort and contain his movements to fit the job. Most admirably and thankfully, however, he knows how to use his voice. He’s the only actor whose every line makes it into the cheap-seat section (without shouting), and, unlike some of his less experienced cohorts onstage, he doesn’t seem inclined to be bested by blunders. If he misspeaks a line or gets his robe stuck in a door, you can forgive him because he recovers so gracefully that you’re charmed into going with him as he sallies forth to the next thought.

Patrick Zeller has a similar comfortable – if not comforting – presence. He plays Rosencrantz in the same two plays, and then shows up as one of two masters named Antipholous in “Comedy of Errors.” He has a pleasant onstage presence, one that never has to underscore or overstate a line to make it work. And his comic timing is the real thing rather than cheap tricks.

Several other capable actors – Sharon Zolper (Gertrude), Michael Weiselberg (Guildenstern and the second Dromio), Francis John Vogt (Horatio), Celia Madeoy (Lead Player and an abbess), and Kenny Volock (the other Antipholous). In “Comedy of Errors,” Jenna Ware, as Adriana, and Rachel Jablin, as her sister, are the power-wielding standouts for the women performers in the festival.

The other dogged cast members bring varying degrees of skill to the stage, and you’ll quickly be able to figure out who has had Acting 101, who hasn’t, and who should think about going into bookkeeping. But you’ll find absolutely no gaps in the community spirit of the festival. This is the seventh summer Shakespeare has shown up on our fair shores, and it’s no longer necessary to stand agog in wonder at its presence. The trial period is over: The Maine Shakespeare Festival is solidly and sportively a part of central Maine’s summer life. From Zachary Field’s convivial preshow juggling, to the final bows of “Hamlet,” “R&G” and “Comedy of Errors,” this is a winning event.

That happily said, it’s only fair to mention the other hand, which has to do with pushing the production values to a more tenacious level. The whole shebang is the brainchild of Mark Torres, artistic director of Penobscot Theatre and producing artistic director of the festival. Each year, he has tenderly prodded the festival toward another accomplishment. This year’s addition is a souvenir program ($2 each) which offers program notes and extended biographies of the company. Next year, a new amphitheater financed by the heftily generous Hutchins family will be built on the site.

But there are still annoyances. Because the mikes are in the floor, footfalls come across with perfect clarity and volume, as does the occasional piped-in musical accompaniment. Yet many lines get lost when actors step beyond the amplification machinery or because they are being overly nuanced to the point of whispering. Sometimes you might want the pace to pick up, or a scene to move more smoothly, or the helicopter or siren to go away. Understandable. But you won’t be able to overlook a line of poetry tossed off into space without passing intelligibly by your ears. You may find yourself wishing you were back to Shakespearean times when it would have been acceptable, if not incumbent upon audience members, to shout: “Speak up!”

The stage itself is freshly painted in bold colors with bright banners. Adding to that, costumes by Ginger Phelps and Jim Day are showy classical finery or peasant robery. And lighting designer Karen Hornberger throws a smart and sometimes subtle mood into the mix.

Of the three productions, “Comedy of Errors” is the most expertly directed. That’s Mark Torres’ hand at work, pirating antics from the Three Stooges and Saturday morning cartoons to get a show that goes for the gusto. As the plot moves from goofy to goofier to goofiest, you can almost hear Torres laughing in the background, and it’s a pleasure to watch the tomfoolery.

Matthew Arbour’s “Hamlet” has vigor and suspense, and despite an uneven cast, you’ll feel Hamlet’s pain. Jenna Ware’s “R&G,” a word-lover’s farce about two minor characters in “Hamlet” frolics along nicely, with a particular caught-on-the run spinniness. Though each play stands on its own, it’s great to see them back-to-back on consecutive nights (best to see “Hamlet” first) because they share characters, actors and angst (both real and unreal). In each case, the directors have pulled together ensemble casts that tap into the spirit of these plays.

If there were a third hand available for this review, it would break into applause, with a fourth hand no doubt, to cheer on both the professional and community efforts and talents that go into making the Maine Shakespeare Festival such a zealous and accessible event – even to the point of changing a word here or there. If the question is to go or not to go, the answer is easy. Grab your bug spray, snatch a comfy pillow off the couch (the seats are killers after the first hour), bring along a jacket to guard against the cool night air, and go, go, go.

The Maine Shakespeare Festival will take place through Aug. 12 on the Bangor waterfront. Tickets range in price from $5 to $15. For information, call 942-3333.