Playwright Sarah Ruhl adapts Virginia Woolf’s Orlando—once called “the longest and most charming love letter in literature,” written by Woolf for her lover, Vita Sackville-West. Orlando’s adventures begin as a young man, when he serves as courtier to Queen Elizabeth. Through many centuries of living, he becomes a 20th-century woman, trying to sort out her existence. This theatrical, wild, fantastical trip through space, time, and gender features the one and only Taylor Mac in the title role.
Ruhl’s adaptation of Orlando pulls heavily from the source material, which can end up feeling like a distant narration rather than an emotionally involved story. That said, the cast are all endlessly personable. Laughs abound throughout the duration of the show’s 100-minute runtime
Occasionally, Davis's staging, which includes periodic dance breaks (and with assistance from Brendan Aanes's sound design, captures the thrum of a discotheque), overdoes the satirical elements as if to emphasize the relevance of the situations and themes. Yet the cast (which is rounded out by the impressively mutable Jo Lampert and TL Thompson) are adept at reining in their performances as moments veer toward camp excesses.
1988 | London |
Original London Production London |
2022 | West End |
West End |
2024 | Off-Broadway |
Signature Theater Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
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