Review: RICHARD III at OrangeMite Studio

OrangeMite Shakespeare Company is bringing “Richard III” to the Appell Center for the Performing Arts Capitol Theatre stage on January 18th and January 24th under the direction of Ángel Nuñez.  The performance on Friday January 24th is a reschedule due to inclement weather on January 19th.  “Richard III” was written by William Shakespeare and abridged by Benjamin Waters.  This is final chapter of Shakespeare’s 4-part series about Henry VI which includes Henry VI part 1, 2 and 3.  Shakespeare is said to have writing this tragedy around 1593, and the earliest performance of the play is determined to be in November of 1633.

“Richard III” is one of Shakespeare’s longest plays, but OrangeMite does an excellent job of condensing Shakespeare for the modern audience with a short summary of each scene provided in the playbill.  There is also a family tree to help keep track of who is who.  The actors’ strong grasp of Shakespeare made it easy to follow once your ears became accustom to the Early Modern English of the time.

Daryll Perkins Jr.’s portrayal of Richard was excellent and perfectly evil for this tragic character.  Chris Koslosky’s curses and predictions of downfall as the banished Queen Margaret was fantastic.  The fighting scene between Richard (Daryl Perkins Jr.) and Henry Tudor of Richmond was realistic and tense.  I’m pretty sure I held my breath for most of it.  It was well choreographed, and both actors gave it their all and never missed a mark.

The cast includes Daryl Perkins Jr., Sofia DiMercurio, Liam DiMercurio, Scott Fraser, Ariana Gonzalez, Dan Griffin, Penrose Hoover, Na’San Jamison, Christ Koslosky, Sadie Draft, Dodie Menard, Nash Menard, Jude Michael, Huy Nguyen, Ángel Nuñez, Grace Stover, Katrina Wagner, Gina Wagner, Oliva Wang, Irene Winters, and Billy Wofgang.

I enjoyed “Richard III,” and I recommend you catch the final show on January 24th even if Shakespeare isn’t for you.  The actors brought to life a surprisingly familiar story.  It is amazing how timely Shakespeare can be given the currently political atmosphere, and it proves that history does tend to repeat itself over and over again.  Click the link below for more information or to order tickets.

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