Review Excerpts

“’’OEDIPUS’ POWERFUL WILLIAMSTOWN SEASON OPENER’…British author Kenneth Cavander compiled, adapted and revised sections from the works of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides into an epic script; WTF artistic director Nikos Psacharopoulos gave it an epic production…. In two parts (each of which stands totally on its own, but together make a more complete theatrical experience), ‘The Legend of Oedipus’ probes the age-old question of individual destiny….This first part of the two-part drama is marked by skillful staging, technical prowess and powerful performance…. The second part in particular is a masterpiece of writing as it weaves together several plays and includes exposition that advances the plot as it sets the scene. Much of this material falls to Randall Duk Kim who makes the narration as much as integral a part of the performance as the most dramatic scene.”
               –Eleanor Koblenz, SCHENECTADY GAZETTE (6/28/1988)

“’’LEGEND OF OEDIPUS’ PROVIDES A LANDMARK THEATER EXPERIENCE’…Distilling a broad selection of ancient Greek drama into two driving performances might seem an act of hubris, or fatal pride, given the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s relatively short rehearsal time. But the world premiere of Kenneth Cavander’s ‘The Legend of Oedipus’ triumphs again affirming that Williamstown towers over New England’s summer theaters like Mount Olympus…. With a cast of nearly 70, this is a tremendous undertaking for a summer theater, and ‘The Legend of Oedipus’ does not always live up to its high ambitions…. The best performance in the production, however, comes from Randall Duk Kim, in what could be the relatively unimportant part of the Storyteller. His understated, thoughtful performance imparts meaning to the sensitively blocked but vocally blockish choral speeches. And his final description of Oedipus’ ascendance to another world reveals in a blinding blaze why ‘Oedipus at Colonus’ is considered Sophocles’ greatest play and a holy treasure of Western culture…. Michael Cumpsty and Rob Knepper play powerfully with and against one another as Oedipus’s warring sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, and their duel to the death surrounded by a circle that opens and closes rivals Duk Kim’s speech as the production’s theatrical high point.”
               –Malcolm L. Johnson, THE HARTFORD COURANT (6/28/1988)

“…Again, Randall Duk Kim brings his usual unmannered savvy to the role of the storyteller.…”
               –Don Nelsen, DAILY NEWS