Tom Stoppard's Rosencratz & Guildenstern are Dead
The Southtowns’ best kept secret is hidden no longer. A strong crowd attended Buffalo Laboratory Theatre’s fourth annual Curtain Up! gala on Sept. 14, which featured live music, champagne and hors de oeuvres before BLT’s riveting rendition of Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.” From the first pop of a cork to the final echo of the audience’s applause, it was evident that fine theater could be enjoyed beyond the city limits.
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” was a solid choice for BLT’s first show of the season. The tragicomedy is a retelling of “Hamlet” through the eyes of two of Shakespeare’s minor characters.
As the plot unfolds, it evokes more questions than it does answers about the meaning and randomness of life. Rosencrantz (played by Taylor Doherty) and Guildenstern (Ray Boucher) struggle to comprehend who and where they are, as well as their overall purpose.
While a weighty script may be daunting enough, BLT’s choice of an austere set and limited props create an added challenge for the actors.
“Words. They are all we have to go on,” aptly assesses Guildenstern during the first act. Yet the theater company’s decision is a risk well taken: Boucher and Doherty deliver the verbose wordplay with such skill and emotion that anything else on stage would only distract from the talent at hand.
The leads’ natural chemistry must also be noted. Part Abbott and Costello, part musing philosophers, Boucher and Doherty can make the audience chuckle in one instant, and then collectively hold its breath during the sobering moment that follows. Katie White as The Player also delivers a strong performance, giving meaning to wordy monologues that lesser actors would deliver as a tedious recitation.