items tagged with Joe DePauw

I quite like the tone of the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's More Than Meets the Eye, as director Joseph R. DePauw’s production brings a natural feel, and a welcome lack of affectation, to a play that kind of screams for affectation. Instead of overplaying the plot’s cross-dressing humor, Friday night’s performance offered a softer, more realistic approach to its comedy that rendered the jokes more subtle, but still laugh-out-loud funny. Unfortunately, the laughs in author Fred Carmichael’s play are, if not few, fairly far between (though when the jokes do hit, they’re good ones), and it doesn’t help that DePauw’s pacing is a bit on the slow side, lengthening the wait between punchlines.

About two minutes into Thursday night’s performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, I panicked, knowing there were still two more hours of what had so far been – and seemed likely to continue to be – a flat, humorless presentation of playwright Oscar Wilde’s work. Fortunately, though, my fears were mostly unfounded, as the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre’s production improved as it progressed, and greatly improved with the arrival of the play’s female characters.

One of Joe DePauw's smartest directorial choices for the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's A Turn for the Nurse was to avoid camp. His cast doesn't play the crime farce for laughs and, as a result, may get more of them than they otherwise might've; to be sure, Saturday's audience was offering up laughter aplenty throughout the performance.
Read More About Will And Grace Notes: “A Turn For The Nurse,” At The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre Through July 18...

Five Inspiring Ensembles

Powerful lead performances and scene-stealing supporting turns are always welcome; one- and two-character shows can be a gas. But for my money, nothing quite beats the theatrical pleasure of watching a tightly knit ensemble in action, and the following five productions ensured that this pleasure was a continual one.

To my recollection, I haven't yet been formally introduced to frequent Richmond Hill Barn Theatre performer Jackie Skiles, who plays the lead in the venue's current mystery/comedy Busybody. But it's nice to know that we have something in common. In Skiles' program biography, she lists Lavinia Hubbard in 2005's Another Part of the Forest as her favorite Richmond Hill role to date. That was my favorite Skiles role, too. Until now.