Review: ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD at FARGO DAVIES

For this show we have another one I had never heard of. After doing some research and finding out it's connected to Hamlet, I wasn't sure if I wanted to attend. I have never been a big Shakespeare fan. I am glad I decided to go, as the kids at Davies put on a fun and interesting show.

I have been told by many that the more you understand Hamlet, the more the show makes sense (I have never seen/read Hamlet). The Playbill even lists many Hamlet Plot Points to help people follow along.

From the Director's notes: "This play by Tom Stoppard tells a twisted story about two background characters from Hamlet. It questions perception, reality, and Shakespeare's concept of "All the World's A Stage And The Men and Women Merely Players"".

The set was nice and simple and the costumes were beautifully done.

I do have to admit that I was confused at times as to what exactly was going on, but I still really enjoyed the show. A huge reason for that was the two main characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as portrayed by Ethan Blesie and Brooklyn Hannig. These two are on stage for probably 99% of the show, and that is definitely a good thing. They had such amazing stage presence and their chemistry together was great. They were both wonderful and play off of each others talents perfectly. After watching this I really want to see Ethan in a full on comedy.

Two more that really stood out were Sadie Gompf and Lauren Diers as the Lead Players. These two were so great in their roles. They had the perfect blend of funny and a little eerie.

Although not a musical, we were treated to many musical numbers by Macy Wanzek as Queen Fortinbras.

This was a fun show with a very talented cast. Davies Theatre continues it's run of putting out great shows every year.

As always director Rebecca Saari and her crew do such a wonderful job. I should mention her crew of Brian Lynch (Technical Director & Production Designer), Assistant Director (Katie Hanson), Sandy Thiel (Costume Designer), Emily Onstad (Make-up/Hair Designer) and Emily Tiedman & Peoghtan Thomsen (Student Asst. Directors).

The Davie's Theatre Department should be extremely proud of the work they have done here. The whole cast was wonderful.

Coming from Davies Theatre in March 2023... Chicago!

*** Photo Credit to Renegade Photography

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