While in Staunton (pronounced stanton by the locals), we were walking around town on Friday night after dinner. I wanted to see the new Blackfriars Playhouse, "an authentic indoor Elizabethan playhouse modeled after Shakespeare's Blackfriars". We weren't allowed to check it out, so we decided to see the night's production. While it wasn't a Shakespeare play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, was very entertaining although a bit confusing at times. Somehow I've avoided learning anything about the popular play and movie before now.

The playhouse is beautiful, with polished wooden bench seats with exposed wooden beams and a very simple stage. The audience is close to the action, which makes for a very intimate setting. I hope the theater can survive in this small (about 25,000 pop.) Virginia town.
posted by Bruce Wright at 6:02 PM #