The course of true love runs straight as an arrow when the outlaw Robin of Locksley meets Lady Marian in a Fred Crafts' Radio Redux production of "Robin Hood" at the Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St. in Springfield.
The show, a program of Willamalane Park and Recreation District, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 29-30, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1. This is Radio Redux's last production for the 2010-11 season and is suitable for all ages.
Tickets -- at $12 each and $7 for seniors and students -- are available by calling the theater box office at 541-868-0689. Tickets at the door are subject to availability.
Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is celebrated for robbing from the rich to give to the poor, aided by a group of fellow outlaws called his Merry Men.
"Our 'Robin Hood' is a classic story loaded with thrilling swordfights, amazing archery contests, spectacular horseback chases, deceptive disguises, ambushes, narrow escapes, treachery, double-crossings -- you name it," said Producer/Director Fred Crafts. "In addition, the courtship of Robin and Marian is one of the greatest love stories of all time. It steals your heart every time you hear it."
Crafts said the Robin Hood story has been told many times in books, radio and television, and in motion pictures.
"Our version is a tribute to the 1938 swashbuckler film 'The Adventures of Robin Hood,' starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains," Crafts said.
Theatrically, the production will be performed on a skeletal set that has the look and feel of a 1940s radio studio. Its actors will be dressed in vintage attire, speak into microphones and read from scripts, as if they were doing the show "live" before a studio audience.
Creating the role of Robin Hood is Patrick Torelle, with Nancy Hopps as Marian. The cast also features Radio Redux veterans Steve Wehmeier as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Frank Muhr as Sir Guy of Gisbourne. New to the company are Wade Hicks as Friar Tuck, Mark Lewis as Prince John, Carol Phillips as Marian's nurse, Bess, and Rich Scheeland as King Richard. Mike Moskovitz will provide an elaborate musical soundscape, as well as special sound effects. Moskovitz, along with Crafts, will take small roles. Pre-show music will be performed live by pianist Charlotte Anderson.
A Eugene-based repertory theater company keen on cultural heritage preservation, Radio Redux has drawn capacity audiences by performing authentic scripts as well as original works in the manner of a show from the Golden Age of Radio, which spanned 25 years from 1935 to 1960.
In the 1938 film, when King Richard the Lion-Heart, is captured in Austria, his evil brother, Prince John, grabs the throne and rules with a heavy hand. In declaring his opposition to John's oppression, Robert of Locksley's lands and title are taken from him. He becomes an outlaw and seeks refuge in Sherwood Forest with such followers as Little John, Will Scarlett and Friar Tuck. There, they plot ways to thwart the Prince and his henchmen, Sir Guy of Gisbourne and the Sheriff of Nottingham.
At one point, the Sheriff devises a scheme to capture Robin by staging an archery contest. Robin wins, and is given a prize by Lady Marian, with whom he falls in love. At first, she is disdainful of him but gradually is won over by the outlaw's steadfast determination to do the right thing. In the end, King Richard returns to England, ousts Prince John and restores Robin to good standing.
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