“Launce” – 1981

Review Excerpts

“‘TROUPE EXELS IN ‘GENTLEMEN’’…Randall Duk Kim takes such complete control of his loutish lackey part that one suspects Shakespeare must have had a premonition Kim might play the role….”
               —Jay Joslyn, MILWAUKEE SENTINEL (8/3/1981)

“‘‘TWO GENTLEMAN,’ AND A DOG’…Most humor comes from the antics of Theodore Swetz as Valentine’s servant, Speed, and Duk Kim as Proteus’ servant, Launce.… Duk Kim—truly the master—played a totally different role in a manner that made the crowd roar.…”
               —Dennis Mullins, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (8/3/1981)

“‘GROWING UP SHAKESPEARE AT SPRING GREEN’…As was often the case Shakespeare seemed to have the most fun with his minor characters, particularly the servants and fools. Launces’ best moments are virtually superfluous to the story, but we are thankful for them anyway—such is Kim’s mastery of the role and command of the stage. He is a pure pleasure to watch as he rails against the thankless dog that is his constant companion or trades jests with fellow servant Speed.…”
                —Mark Saunders, (9/24/1981)

“‘SHAKESPEAREAN TROUPE PLAYS UP TO EXPECTATIONS’…The third production is highlighted by Kim’s hilarious soliloquies to a dog named Crab. ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ is the story of two friends who woo the same woman, but Kim steals the show with his portrayal of Launce, servant to the less honorable of the lovers. Kim disproves the truism that when an actor and an animal share the stage, the animal always gets the best of its. Rather than dominate. The beast, Kim uses the dog’s every unpredictable twitch to throw focus back on himself nad his own speeches, which turn out all the more funny for the interchange. Kim achieves his comedy without detracting from the play’s romantic side….”
               —Scott Fosdick, THE DAILY HERALD (8/7/1981)

“‘‘GENTLEMEN’: NO BAD MOVES’…Proteus’ servant, Launce, is played by Randall Duk Kim and is another consistent show-stopper, especially as he dialogues with his pet Crab, truly a wonder dog who, like the servants, rules his master. Through Kim’s versatility and virtuosity, Launce provides the necessary dose of deadpan sarcasm and relief in a play which borders on the saccharine.…”
               —Jacob Stockinger, THE CAPITAL TIMES (8/8/1981)

“‘DOG MAY BE BARD’S BEST FRIEND’ There is an old saying the theater that the wise actor avoids appearing on stage with dogs and children. At the American Players Theater here, that Brodie is being rewritten to advise actors against sharing a stage with dogs and Randall Duk Kim. Kim and his pet dog Audrey are starring in a pleasing production of ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’—and are stealing the show. The nationally-recognized classical actor who co-founded the American Players group here portrays the bumpkin Launce. Audrey is making her stage debut as Launce’s dog, Crab. (Kim has another dog, Katie, who has toured the state twice with him in various roles.) Together, Kim and Audrey are a scream. APT audiences have come accustomed to seeing Kim mostly in the powerful roles in Shakespeare’s history plays, but he’s a goofy delight as the boorish Launce, an ill-bred hick snorting and grinning and guffawing at his own slow-witted jokes. Kim screws up the left side of his face, acquires the voice and speech pattern of a a true rube, and hikes around the stage with the grace of a galloping turtle. If it is possible for a dog to be poker-faced, Audrey achieves it. While Launce delivers a dogged diatribe about the mutt’s stupidity, Audrey stands next to him looking perfectly bored. Y the entire business. An occasional yawn from the animal gets as many laughs as any line spoken by an actor. It is a marriage made in theatrical heaven….”
               —Damien Jaques, THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL (8/16/1981)

“‘TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA’…it is the lowly servants of these two gents who steal the play. They slice their humble pie with wry wit and ribald banter.…And it is Randall Duk Kim who takes the cake of comedy. He plays a Mortimer Snerd of a serving man, snorting and shuffling, telling us about his life, his family, his dog Crabb. Many fine moments, friends……”
               —Hayward Allen, COMMENT ON THE ARTS, WMTV (9/12/1981)