Darryl Maximilian Robinson Recalls His 1995 And 2000 Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago Revival Stagings of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" And Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros"

REMEMBERING TWO EXCALIBER SHAKESPEARE COMPANY OF CHICAGO REVIVALS OF LITERARY CLASSICS NEAR CHINATOWN AND IN OAK PARK!
Your humble servant in The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson recollects a pair of shows which help a theatre artist to remember that it is better to try and fail at staging and performing in a great dramatic and literary masterpiece than to to be a hit in a show ( which after a sold-out, critically-praised run ) no one can remember six months after it closes.
It is better to fail with a work one truly cares about, than to succeed with a work one doesn't give a damn about.
Like the multiple mix of reviews each of them received, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, Founder of The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago, has mixed feelings regarding both his performances and direction of the 1995 ESC revival of William Shakespeare's romantic fantasy "The Tempest," in which he appeared as the Duke and the Wizard Prospero, and staged with a talented multiracial cast at The Hidden Stages Theatre of Chicago near the Chinatown neighborhood of The Windy City, and his 2000 mounting of the absurdist theatre classic Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros," in which he appeared as Jean, and staged with a talented multiracial cast at The Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre of Oak Park, Illinois.
However, out of respect and admiration for the casts and crews of both revivals, your humble servant In The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, will focus solely on the most positive aspects of these shows and leave it to any detractors of these shows to express their views with their own time and energy...elsewhere.
Here is an example of what was best said about the 2000 ESC revival of the play "Rhinoceros" by Eugene Ionesco:
"Oak Park's Harrison Street Studio is a stone's throw from Chicago's culturally poor West Side. Actor-director Darryl Maximilian Robinson's unflinching pursuit of making theatre in that corner of Chicagoland demonstrates that contrary to the absurdist pessimism that influenced Ionescu, someone is making a difference." -- Robert Schultz, The Rhinoceros, Chicago Outlines, June 14, 2000.
Here is what happily occurred in regards to the 1995 ESC revival of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest." at Chicago's Hidden Stages Theatre:
About two months after "The Tempest" closed, longtime local Chicago theatre critic and radio producer Billie D. Lattin of "Critic's Corner" on WKKC Radio Chicago bestowed upon Darryl Maximilian Robinson a Certificate of Recognition For 20 Years of Service To American Theatre.
There were unkind local criticisms of both these productions. But your humble servant is nonetheless pleased and proud to share some scrapbook memories of his more positive experiences with these shows.
And he thanks the talented casts and crews of both of these classic revival productions for their fine and courageous work.

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