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Epiphanies
"Luminous
. . . a tour de force," "A gem!" - Robert
Hurwitt, SF
Chronicle, Monday, January 24, 2005
"Things left unsaid have eloquent consequences in the short
stories the Word for Word company is performing in "Epiphanies"
at the Magic Theatre. Words unspoken lead to a decade of drudgery
for a woman and her husband in Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace."
A tacit understanding may spare the life of a woman who killed her
spouse in Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers." The
essence of each story is in the revelation of what has not been
said."
" That turns out to be a perfect setup for Word, the impressive
small company that stages works of literature uncut and unaltered.
Word excels not just at bringing to life the characters and situations
on the printed page, but at embodying what lies between the lines
as well. "Necklace" and "Jury" offer enough
such opportunities to make the program that opened Friday a minor
gem."
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the full review
3
1/2 STARS. "Magic . . . an intensely wonderful theatrical experience."
- Chad Jones, Oakland
Tribune
"WHEN a Word for Word show is really good — and they
usually are — the satisfaction is multi-layered. First, there's
the purely literary pleasure of having experienced a terrific piece
of writing. The particular Word for Word alchemy involves the literal
translation of short works of fiction from page to stage without
altering a word of the original text. Along with the great writing
comes an intensely wonderful theatrical experience that allows you
to brag to your friends: "I just read a good story and saw
a good play at the same time."
" Such is the case with "Epiphanies," a banner title
given to a show comprising two short stories: "The Necklace,"
by 19th-century French writer Guy de Maupassant, and "A Jury
of Her Peers," by early-20th-century writer Susan Glaspell.
Both works, on stage at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, are quite
different in tone and subject matter, but they're examples of the
short story in top form. They provide rich material for the actors
and for director David Dower to flesh out and to shape."
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the full review
"Haunting
. . . seamless . . . riveting." - Anna Mantzaris,
SFGate
"If you've seen their work before, you know that Word for
Word follows the book -- literally -- performing short stories and
novel excerpts as they appear on the page. The clever company's
latest endeavor, "Epiphanies," includes productions of
short stories "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant, and
"A Jury of her Peers," by Susan Glaspell, both directed
by David Dower. In "The Necklace," Mathilde Loisel (Delia
MacDougall) is a woman desperate to escape her class, if only for
a night; a party with the upper echelon of society changes her and
her husband's (Andrew Hurteau) lives in ways they never imagined.
An apartment that grows smaller by the minute, men who become a
clothesline and a human armoire bring the brilliant story to life
and leaves you pondering a never ending "What if?" The
second act is Glaspell's haunting tale of a wife accused of murdering
her husband, which brings two unlikely women together at the scene
of the crime. Insight, empathy and gender issues come into play
as the riveting story carefully unfolds. What seems at first like
an unlikely pairing of tales comes together in a seamless and well-thought-out
production."
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the full review
"David
Dower's imaginative direction -- together with seamless performances
from the acting ensemble -- brings both stories vividly to life."
- Chloe Veltman, SF
Weekly Wednesday, February 2, 2005.
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the full review
"Excellent
. . . charming" - Lee Brady, Pacific Sun
" Word for Word is a company with excellent actors who read
good short stories in their entirety and have a devoted –
maybe even evangelistic – audience. Epiphanies: A performance
of two short stories (The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant and A Jury
of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell) shows off the acting talent as the
group interprets these classic stories of women both foolish and
wise. In the first, Delia MacDougall is a charming and vain young
woman who borrows an expensive necklace from a friend, loses it,
and grows older and wiser as she scrubs floors to pay for it. In
the second, the women (Patricia Silver and Stephanie Hunt) are wise
from the moment they walk into the farmhouse crime scene. Their
husbands, sheriff (Brian Keith Russell), neighbor (Howard Swain),
and district attorney (Andrew Hurteau) can’t figure out what
the women know from the beginning – that Minnie Wright (MacDougall)
is both guilty as sin and blameless as a new day."
"Una
magnifica elección!" - Mario A. Echevarría,
SF Tribune
"El grupo Word for Word se enfatiza en la representación
verbatum de los textos. No abría ni un ápice en la
representación exacta del libreto, no adapta el texto por
ninguna razón. Esta característica hace que la realización
de sus presentaciones sea mas complicada, pero gracias a la magnifica
dirección de David Dower, la realización de estas
dos obras de un solo acto, son perfectas, secuenciales, fáciles
de digerir a pesar de lo difícil de los temas y muy bien
balanceadas… ¡impresionante!"
Lea
el articulo
"Taut
. . . first-rate!" - Richard Connema, TalkinBroadway.com
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the full review
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