Theatre Review - She Stoops to Conquer

She Stoops to Conquer
Written by Oliver Goldsmith
Directed by Sanford Robbins and Stephen J. Pelinski
When: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 2pm
Where: Thompson Theater at the Rosell Center for the Arts
(University of Delaware, Newark, DE)
What: Play, Professional Theater, Comedy

Oh, mistaken identity -- such a staple of plays written in the good old days (of 1773)!

I'm going to make this relatively short as, unfortunately, this play has closed already and why get you all excited to go see it when you can't. So, let's just go through a few bullet points:

• Once again, the University of Delaware's professional theater troupe shows that they are a true gem in this small state. No joke, this is probably my favorite play that I've seen in the past couple of years (including anything I've seen play-wise in NYC). Seriously, for $20 (or an $8 student ticket...I'm a student still in my mind, okay?), you can go and see a quality stage production of something that you probably wouldn't even think about going to see normally. I know that a comedy set in 1773 England doesn't exactly sound like a blast, but the vigor of the company of actors really made this work.
• What's neat about UD's Resident Ensemble Players is that for every play over the course of three years, the audience gets to see the same actors and actresses in each of their productions. It's kind of fun to see these folks switch from comedy to drama and back again.
  
• Sets are superb. This was the first time I've seen the REP use multiple sets and an incredibly clever use of a trap door -- Let me just say that there was a well, people fell down it, and hilarity ensued (hey, it took place in 1773 -- people falling down wells was funny then!).
• No expenses are spared on costuming...really great job again.

Anyway, no point in going into any more detail. But, once again, I heap praises on UD for their REP program. It's really opening my eyes up to playwrights that I would've never even thought of reading or seeing productions of their plays on stage.

[I realize completely that this is an incredibly poorly written post, but it is what it is.]