Miss Julie - Freedom Summer

Friday night I went to see Miss Julie at CanStage with an actor friend. EAP was invited to the fundraiser after party which was really nice, and we got great seats for the show. Unfortunately we agreed that this production was too manic, and that most of the major climatic moments of the original script were lost in the frenetic pace. I didn't think it was as bad as Richard Ouzounian did. But I didn't love it either. I agreed with a lot of what Newstruck said in his review. The original story of Miss Julie was set in Swedan in the late 19th century and tells the story of a wealthy young woman who takes a servant in her family household as her lover. In the Freedom Summer adaption Miss Julie is the daughter of a southern judge in 1964 Mississippi. For me, Kevin Hanchard as the black chauffeur John, who Miss Julie seduces, was the highlight of the show. Hanchard was the only member of the three man cast, which also featured Caroline Cave, of Festen fame, and Raven Dauda, who was able to keep the southern drawl from sounding over-the-top ridiculous. Raven Dauda as Christine the cook and John's intended was uneven at best. At moments she stole the show with her nuances, but I lost a lot of what she was saying to the bizarre staging that had her delivering lines with her back to the audience. Saddest of all though, was Ms. Cave. Although she is a beautiful actress and Justin loved Festen, she was so overdone as Miss Julie. As if her wig and constant costume adjusting weren't bad enough, Cave didn't bring anything close to subtle to this role. In fact her choices were so wrong that I felt that couldn't have been her's. Director Stephen Sachs in my opinion ruined what in many respects would have been a great adaption of Miss Julie. Certainly the script and cast were strong and the setting was ideal, but Sachs let's this production get away from him.