Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood Brings Theatre in the Round Players Season to a Rousing Conclusion.

Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) has the ball at the 10 yard line, it’s 4th and goal and there are seconds left on the clock. If they score here they’ll close out the season with a perfect record. The curtains close to the arena and Jeffrey Nolan has the ball, it looks like he’s stumbling though (gasp!), but wait, it isn’t a stumble, it’s comedic genius! TRP using the Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood Play has scored!!!! The crowd goes wild with laughter! TRP has done it! A perfect theater season! Not only that but they seemed to gather steam and up their game in every area of production as the season wore on. Culminating in the most elaborate and immersive production design I’ve ever seen in this venue. Every season TRP, which is the oldest community theater in the Twin Cities, has some really good shows. So when they started with a strong production of Doubt, I wasn’t surprised. Then their annual Agatha Christie play, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, turned out to be their best Christie production ever. And then, play after play they didn’t take a single misstep, including their guest production of Wit. At $25 a ticket with a $5 discount for Seniors and students, or less than $19 a ticket if you go the season ticket route, which I highly recommend (checkout their upcoming season here https://bit.ly/TRP23-24Season), it’s quality to dollar the best ticket in town.

This production confirms the suspicion that Nolan is a major comedic talent.

But enough about TRP, let’s get into this production of Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Maybe you saw the Yellow Tree Theatre’s production in 2021, I missed that one, partly due to scheduling and partly because frankly I couldn’t see how you do a Robin Hood Play on their stage. There were two things that really changed my expectations for this play. First, was seeing Ludwig’s Murder on the Orient Express adaptation recently at the Guthrie Theater, clearly this was a gifted playwright who knew how to successfully adapt a well known story. Secondly, the fact that after being produced in 2021, another theater was mounting a production so soon, that spoke volumes to the potential theatre companies were seeing in the play. When I think Robin Hood I think of Errol Flynn, swashbuckling action filled with archery and swordfights. I sort of forget about Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which is a more apt comparison to Ludwig’s play. I imagine Ludwig watching the Brooks film and saying to himself, “I can do better than that”. If that was the case, he was correct, he does. But don’t let me mislead you, it isn’t all silly jokes, there is a fair share of well designed swashbuckling as well. The script is filled with knowing winks including direct addresses to the audience.

Ludwig follows the general Robin Hood legend, if you’ve seen either of the films mentioned above or the Walt Disney animated feature from 1973, you’ll know the basics of the legend. King Richard of England has gone off to fight the crusades. In his absence his brother, Prince John along with his accomplices Sir Guy of Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham, are bleeding the country dry by raising taxes to fill their own pockets. With the people of England starving, Robin of Locksley becomes the outlaw Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. He and his band of merry men and women make their home in Sherwood Forest carrying out their good deeds while thwarting and alluding Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin’s love interest is Maid Marian, who is not a damsel in distress in this version, but just as resourceful and skilled a fighter as Robin hood. The core group of of Robin’s crew are filled out by Friar Tuck, Little John, and Deorwynn. Deorwynn is a young woman whose father is killed by Gisbourne and who initially opens Robin’s eyes to what is happening to the people of England under Prince John’s rule.

Shafer’s strong suit is the confidence and intelligence she brings to the role. Something in her eyes and smirk...

The entire cast does a great job, from the leads to the ensemble, everyone understands the tone and knows when to be silly and when to be sincere. There are two absolutely brilliant performances that raise everything from “so good” to “Fantastic!”. Those are Jeffrey Nolan who plays the Sheriff of Nottingham and Lisa Shafer who narrates the play as Friar Tuck. I saw Nolan once before in Noises Off as Tim at the Lakeshore Players this past winter. I noted his unique take on the character and brilliant physical comedic bits, particularly during the intermissions, where at one point he spent several minutes somehow entangled with an end table. This production confirms the suspicion that Nolan is a major comedic talent. My only concern is that the theater community won’t know what to do with him as his vibe is so unique. If we don’t see him regularly going forward, it’ll be a disservice on the part of theater companies towards the theatergoing public. Shafer’s strong suit is the confidence and intelligence she brings to the role. Something in her eyes and smirk tells you she understands every letter of every line she speaks, not just the surface content, but every possible nuance, double meaning, and subtext. As the narrator we feel we are in good hands with Shafer. Lance Krohn and Madeline Achen play Robin Hood and Maid Marian with Michael Bloom as Gisbourne, Haley Dale as Deorwynn and Aaron Ruder as Little John. Finally, a broad but wickedly funny turn from Michael Bak as Prince John draws some hysterical laughs from the audience.

Director Stephanie Long pulls out all the stops to realize the various needs of the play. I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises in store, but you’ll witness the scaling of tower walls, death defying leaps from castles into moats, and arrows shot from bows during battles. Working in as immersive a set as I’ve ever seen in this space, and with the challenges of staging in the round, there are a few things that will be missed by a handful of audience members depending on where you are seated. My best advice when booking seats is avoid sections B and C and I think you’ll be able to fully appreciate everything. I want to draw attention to Sadie Ward’s set design which extends beyond the stage itself by crawling up every railing and wall and taking over the ceiling and lobby as well. there must be thousands of artificial leaves used in this production, as borne out by the the listing in the program of dozens of names as the Leaf Crew. The costumes by Colleen O’Dell and Carolann Winther are wonderful Renaissance Festival style garbs, I particularly like the Sheriff of Nottingham’s costume which looked like a second skin on Nolan and completed a perfect realization of the character. Also, top marks for Robert Hoffman’s sound design, if for nothing more than the sound of the arrows at the archery contest, and Mason Tyer’s Violence direction for thrilling and well executed sword fights.

Filled with laughs, action, and romance Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood is uproariously entertaining. The type of show that makes for a great family trip to the theater, appropriate and entertaining for anyone from the age of 8 to 85 (above 85 use your best judgement, it may be too funny for those with weak hearts or who have trouble catching their breath from laughing). The show runs through July 2nd at Theatre in the Round, for more information and to purchase tickets click here https://www.theatreintheround.org/home/season-placeholder/current_season/sherwood/.

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