WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Is Keegan Theatre on a roll these days or what?

Right on the heels of its triumphant restaging of “The Hostage,” the company has reached back to its past repertoire and come up with another superb ensemble piece, Irish playwright Brian Friel’s 1980 drama “Translations.” And it’s safe to say that no other local company does ensemble pieces better than Keegan does.

Indeed, under Mark A. Rhea’s direction, the entire cast — Kevin Adams, Erin Buchanan, Peter Finnegan, Mathew Keenan, Daniel Lyons, Susan Marie Rhea, Samantha Sheahan, Stan Shulman, Colin Smith and Jon Townson — gives performances that mesh so beautifully together, it is impossible to single out any one of them.

Set during the summer of 1833, the play takes place in the fictional village of Baile Beag, where the inhabitants only speak Gaelic. British officers Captain Lancey (Lyons) and his son Lieutenant Yolland (Finnegan) have been assigned to the province for three purposes: No. 1: to encourage the teaching of English; No. 2: to create a map of the area; and No. 3: while they’re at it, to Anglicize the names of the various locations from the original Irish. They are assisted in these tasks by Owen (Townson), son of the local schoolmaster, Hugh (Adams), who is determined to resist these changes for as long as possible.

The above synopsis doesn’t begin to do justice to the lyricism of Friel’s writing. His script also benefits from the even-handedness of the way he portrays the conflict between the two cultures. (Yolland, who quickly becomes taken with the locals and their language, is one of the play’s most sympathetic characters.)

As usual with Keegan’s shows, “Translations” is a textbook example of how to achieve first-rate production values on a modest budget. George Lucas’ set, a dilapidated barn where Hugh holds his classes, is a wonder to behold. Tony Angelini’s haunting sound designs are an equally crucial element of this presentation, which represents yet another artistic triumph for Keegan. This is live theater at its most inspiring and exhilarating.

Comments from Examiner Readers

9:07 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 25, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

Former Examiner Reader said:
My wife and I saw Cymbeline this past weekend and really enjoyed it.

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10:02 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

theatergoer in DC said:
Wow. I saw Cymbeline last week and wouldn't have recognized it from this review. It's always a pity when theater reviewers haven't the attention span to follow, say, theater. You know Cymbeline is Shakespeare from the start of the first act -- who else so perfectly weaves exiled lovers, mistaken identities, and of course, murder and poison -- and far from another staid production enjoyed only by closed-minded fuddy-duddies, I thought the dog and pony production took what admittedly isn't Shakespeare's best work and jazzed it up -- it was a funny and high-energy performance when I was there, and instead of spacing out at a stiff production with overdramatized lines, I was - forbid! - engaged with the storyline and the characters throughout. I hope this review doesn't keep anyone away -- it's definitely not a traditional staging of a Shakespeare play, but given the production I saw, I think that was a selling point.

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1:54 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

Examiner Reader said:
Yeah, it's hard to take seriously a critic who can't even be bothered to look at his program to confirm the spelling of the title of the play. And Shakespeare, no less! No reader in their right mind should voluntarily subject themselves to such shoddy "journalism."

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1:46 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

Examiner Reader said:
Wow...he mispelled it 4 times...if he can't spell, how can he be taken seriously?

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1:37 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

Examiner Reader said:
Wow...I haven't seen this show yet, but have serious doubts about the review when the critic cannot spell the name of the play correctly. Hey! Doug Krentzlin! The play is called Cymbeline! With an E in the middle! Let as many people post on this as possible!

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6:02 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "�Cymbaline� crashes"

Examiner Reader said:
The play is actually spelled...Cymbeline...there is no A (assuming we're talking about the one Shakespeare wrote)

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