All's well as Shakespeare fest ends well

This is the last weekend to catch a strong ensemble cast in As You Like It and Othello at the sixth annual Shakespeare in the Hills Festival in Hernando.

By JORGE SANCHEZ

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 10, 2001

HERNANDO -- Two strong performances of William Shakespeare's plays will have their final curtain calls this weekend at the Citrus County Art League.

[Times photo: Brian Tietz] Lauren Purden, a 16-year-old Citrus High School junior, gets ready to perform in the Citrus County Art League’s Othello.

After six seasons of Shakespeare productions, director Pat Lewkowicz has built a strong ensemble cast. Many cast members are three and four-year veterans.

"It's surprising, since most of our actors are high school or junior college students," she said.

In Othello, 12-year-old Autumn Siegel handles the role of Othello's bride, Desdemona, with maturity beyond her years. Her most moving moment comes after she's slapped in the face by the out of control Othello, and her feelings change from love to betrayal.

Bruce Bellamy, one of the few adults in the cast, portrays Othello convincingly, allowing the mighty Moor general to succumb to temper and jealousy leading to doom.

Micheil McElvey, a four-year veteran of the Shakespeare festival, dominates Othello. As Iago, Othello's chief aide, McElvey handles a variety of story plots, from ordinary mischief to murder.

McElvey's role is the character with the most lines of any Shakespearan play, and he delivers every line with a tremendous sense of content, style and nuance. McElvey was awarded Best Actor at last year's high school state level drama competition.

In As You Like It, Andrew Kennedy, portraying Duke Fredrick and The Clown, and Erica Hulbert as Rosalind deliver meaningful and seasoned performances. Kennedy has acted in three Shakespeare Festivals, and Hulbert has been in the past four.

The plays are performed in three-quarters round, which greatly expands the acting area. Which is fine, because the sets and lighting are very dramatic.

"After all these years, we've got about 50 costumes, many of them sewn by me, and that really adds to the magic of the shows," Lewkowicz said.

At a glance

The sixth annual Shakespeare in the Hills Festival at the Citrus County Art League, 2644 N Annapolis Ave., Hernando, off County Road 486. Performances are As You Like It at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Othello at 7:30 p.m. today and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

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