Richard III in Denver

I'm largely in agreement with Lisa Bornstein's review of Richard III in today's Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/12/comedy-upstages-villainy/), although I think she is far roughter on Andrew Long in the title role than is warranted. I saw the show on Tuesday, and I walked away thinking, as Bornstein notes, that the show very much belonged to the women. The strongest moment of the production was the scene between the three queens in the second act; and although it's been at least a decade since I've read or seen this play, I tend to think its power comes more from the lines as written by Shakespeare than from the relative weakness of the remainder of this particular staging.

If nothing else, I was once again struck by the wonder of Shakespeare's dialogue, even when character development is somewhat absent. (Actors playing the two murderers may have more to work with than those playing Hastings.) The man could, indisputably, write; it's impossible to imagine a better way of phrasing what his characters have to say. Every time I lay out hard-earned cash for a Shakespeare play, I wonder if it's worth the expense. Every time, I walk away knowing it was.

One last note for those intimidated by Elizabethan English: at a performance, one is never confused as to what the words and lines mean; instead, one's understanding and appreciation for the possibilities of our language is only increased. Yet another reason Shakespeare is immortal.