Local theater group presents a tale for confusing times
Valley Players presents ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’
Nearly 60 years ago, playwright Tom Stoppard reimagined Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” through the eyes of a couple of minor characters. The play that resulted from his study, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play in 1966 and has since captivated audiences around the world.
Next week, Valley Players will open a three-weekend run on Oct. 10 of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” at the Yountville Community Center.
Innovative at its premiere and today, Stoppard used the structure of a familiar story to create something new and thought-provoking. A “tragicomedy,” it is a theatrical work that will provoke both thoughts and laughter.
Director Richard Pallaziol explained why the piece has lasted. “First, because it’s funny. Also, because it takes two minor figures from ‘Hamlet,’ barely mentioned in Shakespeare’s text, and gives them center stage. Stoppard turns them into everyman philosophers, comic foils and tragic victims, all at once. The play is witty, theatrical and endlessly inventive. It couldn’t have survived for nearly 60 years unless it continued to speak to new audiences.”
Pallaziol believes that this play is still relevant today because it captures the disorientation of living in uncertain times, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are trapped inside a story they didn’t write, trying to make sense of rules they can’t see. That resonates with audiences today who often feel caught up in forces larger than themselves.”
Having spent five decades working in theater as a director, actor, fight choreographer and stage combat teacher, Pallaziol has found his passion is bringing classic and challenging works to life with clarity, humor and physicality, making them accessible without losing their depth.
Key elements, the director went on to say, include fate, chance, identity, mortality and the nature of performance. “It’s about the line between living and acting, about whether we have real agency or whether our scripts are already written.”
This is the both the first time that Pallaziol has directed and will see “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” He noted that the play isn’t done nearly often enough outside of Shakespeare festivals.
Regarding the lesson that this performance might convey, Pallaziol said it is not so much a single lesson as an invitation to laugh, think and recognize ourselves in these two bewildered men, clarifying that in this production both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are played by women.
“The speaking parts in this play are traditionally cast with 14 men and two women,” Valley Players Artistic Director June Alane Reif explained. “We have discarded gender and age as factors and cast these roles with eight individuals of varying ages and genders.”
This production will it have its own personality and spin, according to Pallaziol. “We’re keeping the language intact, but visually and physically, this will be a production shaped for our cast, with movement, music and staging choices that reflect the wit and absurdity of Stoppard’s world.
Directed by Pallaziol, the production will feature Rhonda Bowen, Linda Howard, Luis Carbajal, Glen Mitchell, Robyn Myers, June Alane Reif, Erin Elizabeth Smith and Patte Quinn.
For the production, the Yountville Community Center will be transformed into an 81-seat black box theater. Pallaziol said it’s appropriate for all ages. “Younger children may miss some of the wordplay. High school age and up will find plenty to enjoy,” said Pallaziol, who added that this play thrives on intimacy. “The audience is right there with them, watching their confusion, hearing their arguments, sharing their jokes. In a small space, the boundary between actor and audience blurs, which is exactly what the play is about.
“If there is a message, it’s that comedy and tragedy are inseparable. Tom Stoppard himself insisted that every production remember that it’s a comedy first and foremost,” Pallaziol concluded. “Expect to laugh, to be surprised, to recognize fragments of Shakespeare alongside modern absurdity and to leave with more questions than answers. You’ll have a smile and a furrowed brow. That’s the joy of Stoppard.”
Valley Players is a Napa-based nonprofit company dedicated to producing high-quality, accessible, live theater that entertains, inspires and connects, with a focus on diverse programming and local talent.
Performances are set for Oct. 10 – 26, at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington St, Yountville. Tickets are $25 in advance and $28 at the door. Purchase tickets at valley-players.com/events or call the box office at (707) 948-6273.
