WHAT YOU WILL an Evening with Roger Rees

WHAT YOU WILL: Roger Rees One-Man Show. American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org . Through August 9, 2008.

NOT TO GO IS OUT OF THE QUESTION

Roger Rees is not a household name in the United States but his fame is well established in England and in the theatrical world. He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for 22 years achieving his greatest fame for his role of Nicholas Nickleby, winning in 1980 an Olivier and Tony award in the RSC epic, two-part play The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.” He also holds the record for the number of times he has played Hamlet at Stratford on Avon. Other work includes playwrighting, directing, movies roles and stints on TV’s The West Wing & Grey’s Anatomy. Somewhere in his colorful, eclectic career, he has blossomed into a delightful raconteur/humorist creating a 90-minute solo show that whets your appetite for more.

Those acquainted with Shakespeare’s plays and theatrical names such as David Garrick and Edmund Keane will have greater appreciation for the hilarious anecdotes, interspersed with autobiographical vignettes and passages from Charles Dickens, James Thurber and others. His rendition of James Thurber’s “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” will have you scurrying back to the library for a re-read after your sides stop aching from laughter. He tells the story, with a straight face, of actor/manager David Garrett going on the road his wife who insisted playing opposite him. One night, when he was announcing the next week’s program, he mentioned his wife would be playing Desdemona. From the audience, “But she’s an old whore.” With a slight bit of hesitation, “Never-the less. . .”

The fun begins when he appears on the stage decorated with a regal red drapery, a padded “throne”, music stand, books strewn about and a heraldic shield propped against a table covered with paraphernalia. He throws out comments gleaned from the internet and schoolbooks, many uncomplimentary to The Bard. Did you know one-student claims he wrote in “Islamic pentameter?”

The quips come in torrents but Rees is a master at pacing as well as timing. The To be or not to be.. . . speech is brilliant, his Romeo a treat, his demeanor as Juliet’s nurse a gem. His change for one character to another is flawless, as is the switch from comedy to drama. He suggests that his “incisive” nature was learned when he played a surgeon on Grey’s Anatomy.

With apologies to Shakespeare, “To go or not to go is out of the question. . .” What You Will is an evening not to be missed.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of TheatreWorld Internet Magazine.