I was skeptical when I arrived to watch the OU school of drama’s first play of the semester. I felt uneasy with a college performance of one of my favorite plays.
“Mary Stuart” by Friedrich Schiller is a beautifully crafted script depicting the last days of Mary Queen of Scots and the internal struggle of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, to have her executed.
I sat in a simplistic black box theater fixed in-the-round and adorned with Elizabethan style stained glass. The set was perfect — basic with a subtle suggestion of the time period.
When the first scene began, all my bets were off. I was spellbound.
The mise-en-scene of the entire piece was breathtaking. From the simplistic yet effective set to the ornate and exquisitely handcrafted costumes, it was all gorgeous.
Elizabethan costumes are a tremendous feat, but costumer Lloyd Cracknell executed them with extreme precision and historical accuracy. The costumes alone brought me tears of sheer happiness.
The lighting and sound queues were simple but effective apart from one special effect: rain. While I applaud the attempt to effectively incorporate onstage plumbing, the spigots leaked throughout the play, and until the shower began, I assumed the ceiling needed to be patched.
It was distracting after the rain ceased as well. It left a puddle, which had me worried about the safety of the actors. I believe this scene could have been equally effective with lighting queues and acting to suggest rain.
While there were several standout acting performances in “Mary Stuart,” acting junior Laurel Sein, who played Queen Elizabeth, was by far the most outstanding. Her portrayal of the famous “Virgin Queen” was a knockout. Her physicality and depth of emotion in a character that could easily be heartless was jaw dropping.
Her natural regality and Received Pronunciation was mesmerizing. With every entrance and exit, I felt the need to give her a standing ovation.
Hannah, nurse to Queen Mary, also was made noteworthy by acting sophomore Brynne Frauenhoffer. Although Frauenhoffer is a pretty young girl, her physicality and movement effectively transformed her into a wise, much-older woman.
Although she has fewer lines than the others, she delivered them precisely and with a consistent, accurate dialect of a woman in her class.
Frauenhoffer initiated the most touching, almost tear-jerking moments in “Mary Stuart.”
Every male part in the show was perfectly cast. Their body language was outstanding and brought a differentiation to characters that easily could be confusingly similar.
Drama senior Madison Neiderhauser was a standout in the role of Mortimer. Neiderhauser has a magnetic stage presence and the rare ability to paint images in the minds of the audience with his words that were spoken in consistent and natural-sounding Received Pronunciation.
Kyle Whalen also was fantastic as the Earl of Leicester. His relationship with Queen Elizabeth was entirely uncomfortable, just as it should have been. Through the entirety of the play, his physicality was spot-on and historically accurate. He held himself with the arrogance one would imagine the real Earl Leicester might — with no indication of modern mannerisms, something that was still fairly common amongst the other characters.
Acting freshman Jake Lozano also stood out in his role as Talbot. Lozano a did a fantastic job of aging himself through physicality. His last moment with Elizabeth was touching and the dynamic between the two was beautiful.
When it comes to historical pieces, I’m a tough critic. I have sat in the audiences and stood onstage of some of the countries most renowned Shakespearian venues. With that being said, “Mary Stuart” stands in the ranks of one of the most successfully executed period pieces I have ever seen.
I went in skeptical, and left grinning from ear to ear. If I had been told this was the Folger Theatre, you certainly could have fooled me.
Mariah Webb is a University College freshman and the assistant life & arts editor.
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jaiho 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Mariah. Mariah. You should've mentioned Mary Stuart when reviewing the show Mary Stuart. SMH Hope you got a good grade for this.