STAGE WEST
  • Home
  • About David
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Theatre Reviews
  • New Page

Theater reviews

Stage West

This Orphan finds a home in La Jolla

5/21/2017

0 Comments

 
​Luminous and artfully staged, La Jolla Playhouse’s The Orphan of Zhao, presented in association with American Conservatory Theater, is an epic story of sacrifice, revenge and self-reclamation that dates back to 4th Century B.C. China. This adaptation was written by English poet and journalist James Fenton and is directed by Carey Perloff, who is American Conservatory Theater’s artistic director. So thematic weightiness and major professional credentials abound here.
            Yet The Orphan of Zhao is a long and winding story (and a lengthy production as well) that satisfyingly surprises in its technical ingenuity on stage but not so much in its narrative. Most of the play’s turns are predictable, for it is a rather traditional premise: Innocent baby loses his birthright, is spirited away from sure death, and raised not knowing his true identity until the point at which, as a young man, he learns it and takes revenge.
            It is actor BD Wong who is The Orphan of Zhao’s life-giving force on stage. Wong, who previously played the part of the doctor who saves the orphan from execution at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, gives a thoroughly absorbing performance and anchors the play to our emotions like nothing else does – not the bloodless but breathless murders nor the thoughtfully employed live music and percussion. Wong, last seen at the Playhouse five years ago in a production of the musical Herringbone, personalizes a tale of great sweep, giving The Orphan of Zhao an intimacy that might otherwise be lost in all its spectacle.
            Back to music for a moment: There are places in the play where actors break into song, but many of these seem expository rather than lyrical expressions of emotion. This production has operatic tendencies, and they certainly are intentional, but they lack a certain seamlessness.
            The bamboo scenic design by Daniel Ostling and Linda Cho’s elaborate costumes are nothing less than exquisite, and the stage fighting and “sword” play are enthralling time and again. The Orphan of Zhao also boasts what any winning epic tale should: a villain to despise, and Stan Egi’s Tu’an Gu enjoys his fiendish villainy to the absolute max.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    David L. Coddon is a Southern California theater critic.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    August 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    January 2015
    December 2014
    January 2014
    January 2013
    January 2012
    January 2011

    Categories

    All
    Theatre Review

David Coddon

About 
David Coddon Fiction
Theatre Reviews

Support

Contact
FAQ
Terms of Use
© COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About David
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Theatre Reviews
  • New Page