Reviews are in for R.A. Long High School’s production of The Love of Three Oranges

The Love of Three Oranges opened this weekend at R.A. Long High School in Longview, WA (it also runs May 16-17, with a matinee at 2 p.m. May 17 if you’re in the area but busy this weekend) and two reviews of their production have already gone to press. I wanted to share them here. First up is this review from Tom Paulu of Washington’s TDN aka The Daily News. Needless to say, the first sentence is my favorite part.

Student cast brings silly characters to life on set of ‘Love of Three Oranges’

As if the jester beating the hypochondriac prince with a rubber chicken weren’t enough of a clue, “The Love of Three Oranges” is pretty silly.

“It’s pretty crazy because it’s out of the commedia tradition,” said Susan Donahue, who’s directing a Mainstage Theatre student cast. Commedia dell’arte was a slapstick-heavy form of theater in the 1700s.

The purpose of the show is “let loose and have fun,” said Zach Arledge, a Mark Morris sophomore who plays the chicken-wielding jester.

The original “Love of Three Oranges” was written in 1761 by Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi as a parody of commedia. In 2003, Hillary DePiano updated the play to make it more understandable for modern audiences.

Donahue, who did the show in 2009, said this version concentrates less on the stock characters and poses of commedia. “We’ve kept it physical but we haven’t kept it as true to the style as a purist would have,” she said.

The “Oranges” plot revolves around Prince Tartaglia (R.A. Long senior Wyatt Hazel), whose life is filled with misery until an evil witch (Mark Morris senior Carlie Arledge) and her loyal henchwoman concoct a plan to kill him by sending him on a quest for three giant oranges.

“I do a lot of trouble-making,” Carlie Arledge said, such as fighting and putting curses on people.

The prince leaves the sheltered world of the castle and eventually finds love in an orange — but not before many cast members fall to the stage floor.

Then there’s the king, played by Zach Christin, an RAL senior. “I’m the fool,” Christin said. “I just happen to be in a place of royalty.

“I spend most of my stage time either being confused or weeping violently,” Christin said.

Of course, the king’s sadness is part of the fun. If the show has a message, “it’s probably just don’t take it too seriously,” Christin said.

Next up we’ve got a review from by Gregory E. Zschomler at the SW WA Stage & Theater Arts Review. It’s too long to reprint the whole thing so I’m just going to pull some of the parts I like.

Suffice it to say that what I experienced last night may have been a form of archaic theater, but it was also advent garde, experimental and…downright goofy. Think of it as throwing equal amounts of Carol Burnett, Monty Python, Shakespearean comedy, Fractured Fairy Tales, Who’s Line is it Anyway?, a melodrama, and one of those snarky-over-acted-Disney-channel kid shows (with a bit of Benny Hill tossed in for good measure) into a big blender and whirling it around on stage for a couple hours. Voila!

Honestly, I had never seen anything like the production I saw last night. I have no singular experience with which to compare it. So, how can I be qualified to comment on if it was done well or right? I do think it was creative and a very good exercise for the students. I would throw in the word bizarre, too. I would also note that it would be a challenge to direct and that I think, perhaps, that it might be a lot like herding cats. So, with that said, I conclude in all my sophistication that director Susan Donahue did a fine job. Did I always laugh at the extremely broad, often bawdy, and brash comedy? No. Did I, for the most part, enjoy the show? Yes. And here’s why: Students were challenged, stretched and basically, “thrown to the wolves.” And they ran with it. (I guess I’m kind of mixing metaphors there, but hodgepodge is in here.) The acting was broad, often melodramatic and inventive. Much appeared to be off-the-cuff, but, unless the students are very brave and brilliantly imaginative, must have been well rehearsed.

So, yes, it was the weirdest form of theater that I’ve seen.

Hillary DePiano’s The Love of Three Oranges: giving people a confusing evening at the theatre since 2002! 😉 Congratulations to everyone involved in the production!