‘Robin’ stands and delivers

It goes to show, the best theatre is live theatre.

Sherwood Forest nearly burned to the ground Saturday night when a flaming arrow lit up some shrubbery around a majestic oak in the middle of “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” A heroic audience member slapped out the flames with his hat and the rest of the Friday Harbor High School Drama Group’s production went off without a hitch.

The wacky play got plenty of laughs, marking another successful year for the drama crew and adding yet another version to the colorful legend of Robin Hood.

This whimsical play is exactly what students were looking forward to after last year’s well-performed but deep and sometimes confusing production of Thorton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

The audience was introduced to the whacked-out but funny Much the Miller (Jenni Mason) and the modernized, power-walking Maid Marian (Bridget Hudson). The zany parts took some getting used to but were well performed. Instead of one sinister Guy of Gisbourne, the Sheriff of Nottingham contracted two “Guys of Gisbourne” (Forrest Emery and Elliot Thomsen” to assassinate Robin Hood. The guys, who lived in a dumpster, were strange and nasty punks modeled after characters from the movie “Road Warrior.”

To top it all off, Yockers included two secret agents dressed in black who patrolled the forest and interrogated audience members.

The staple role of Robin Hood was played by Zac Williams who gave a performance that put Kevin Costner to shame. The quick-tongued but bumbling hero somehow managed to accomplish all of his historic duties, even killing the evil sheriff in the end in a less than honorable duel. Robin’s drunken sidekick Will Scarlet was given an interesting turn by Sam Barnhart.

Seniors Tim Bair and Reuben Silverman helped to lead the cast. Tim played the beastly and growling Little John and Reuben wreaked evil in the part of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Possibly the best performance was given by sophomore Scott Anderson who played the pompous King John. Scott performed his eloquent, sarcastic speeches with a impeccable English accent.

“Robin Hood” truly was an extravaganza worthy of the legend. Thirty-four actors were listed in the program, including a very young Xiao Fei Cooper, who cartwheeled across the set to begin an opening rap musical. The story came to life in a fantastical (and flammable) forest set, and in colorful costume creations by students Leah Evans and Ayanna Mancuso.

The action was nonstop with intense, precisely choreographed sword fights that were so realistic it made the audience cringe with every blow.

Most importantly the younger cast members gave a performance that proved there was plenty of talent to carry on into future years.

— Tad Sooter is an Intern for sanjuanjournal.com and The Journal of the San Juan Islands, sister publications of islandsweekly.net and The Islands’ Weekly. He can be reached at (360) 378-4191. or email.

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