review

The Princess Bride
by Ashley Kula

The Princess Bride by William Goldman is the ultimate romance story about true love, torture, and betrayal. For Balboa Academy’s Fall 2007 play, Mrs. Magee and Mrs. Hunt looked no further than this adventure novel turned play that would quicken the heartbeat of audiences as they watched the characters swordfight, fight againt ROUSs (Rodents of Unusual Size), and Westley’s soul being aged by a scary machine created by an even scarier Count.

In this particular adaptation, Princess Buttercup (played by Jacquelyn Weinberg) falls passionately in love with the poor farm boy, Westley (played by Spencer Jackson). The play follows these two characters as they fight to stay together and to stay alive (which proves to be a difficult task as Prince Humperdinck, played by Ashton Garriot, continuously makes rash demands that will inevitably separate the two lovebirds for several scenes).

All character interpretations were amazing. However, there were two actors that particularly caught my eye: Juan Diego de Obarrio’s portrayal of Inigo Montoya was wonderful with his perfectly accented “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” Another well-done performance was Connor Nolan’s, who added a little extra emphasis on quirky side of his character with his flinching that exaggerated the masochistic character of Count Tyrone Rugen.

I grew up reading The Princess Bride and watching the movie over and over and over again, so I naturally became hesitant to watch one of my favorite movies being interpreted on the stage. Nevertheless, The Princess Bride cast and crew totally exceeded my expectations with their exceptional performances and highly artistic scenery and costumes.

Congratulations to Balboa Academy’s theater department on another remarkably well done and enthusiastic production!