Photos by Robert Wood
Review Excerpts
“‘RANDALL DUK KIM’S ‘MEMORABLE DRAMA’ KICKS OFF APT DRIVE’ Two things were immediately obvious: first, that in Randall Duk Kim APT has found an artistic director of awesome talent;…Kim, an actor of uncommon skill and intense appeal, was here being featured in ‘What Should Such Fellows As I Do’ an original, one-man show…The play is very much a statement of purpose, a Magma Carta in which Kim and director Anne Occhiogrosso have outlined the meaning and purpose of classical drama on the American stage. At the same time, recognizing that our appreciation of the classics has often been shunted by the unimaginative rituals of formal education, the play sets out to research its audience the inherent beauty of great dramatic art. Kim and Occhiogrosso have structured the script around three playwrights (Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Euripides) representative of APT’s first five-year production schedule….What APT is offering is a chance to truly enjoy the classics, to see them performed with clarity, imagination and skill. For that reason, one sensed that Friday evening’s performance marked the beginning of a new era of American theatre.”
—Rob Fixmer, THE CAPITAL TIMES (6/16/1979)
“‘THEATER PROJECT’S ACT 1 HOLDS PROMISE’ Kim begins in full elderly makeup as a henpecked schoolmaster about tot deliver a lecture ‘On the Harmfulness of Tobacco.’ But Chekhov’s mono drama slyly passes tobacco by to explore the domestic weeds that have strangled the schoolmaster’s life. Kim has captured the role physically, and understands Chekhov’s dry humor, but the balance between laughter and pathos has not yet been fully realized. Then Kim removes his makeup before us, inviting questions from the audience. For the rest of the evening, it is his own boyish face that will be transformed, without makeup, for a number of tributes to the art of acting and the great actors of the past.…Julia Marlowe—19th Century America’s most acclaimed Juliet…‘The Trojan Women’—…Hamlet through the ages—…Kim also becomes a Richard II…Kim’s constant companion—his dog, Kate—joins him onstage for a sequence more cute than clownish: disgruntled Launce’s comic discussion of the dog’s life of a dog owner in ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona.’ The evening closes with two of Shakespeare’s most famous partings—Prospero’s speech from ‘The Tempest’ and Puck’s farewell from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’…I unhesitatingly recommend ‘Fellows’ to you when it comes near your territory…At best, it is a convincing demonstration of what the American Players Theater hopes to be about—and why it deserves the chance.”
—Dominique Paul Noth, THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL (6/17/1979)
“‘DUK KIM’S WIT TRANSFORMS CHEKHOV’ He walked out on the stage of the Gard theatre in Spring Green, a rumpled , unkempt old man with a sour expression on his face, shaggy eyebrows about eyes and bags under his deep-set eyes, untrained sideburns framing his face, French-cuffed shirt over-shooting even the too-long sleeves of a moth-eaten formal coat, and placed himself resolutely behind a small lectern. The humorous, wittily-bitter and compassionate language that poured forth belonged to playwright Anton Chekhov, from his ‘On the Harmfulness of Tobacco,’ but the pathetic, clenched teeth, ruffled-and-resigned delivery was patented by Randall Duk Kim, a young actor recently of the Guthrie Theatre who is something special as an actor, something very special.…Kim is a pleasure to listen to, whether telling an anecdote, shouting desperate words of revenge, whispering the strained tones of the ghost in ‘Hamlet’ or the sweet promises of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ And he becomes truly impressive when this well modulated, liquid voice rises and falls in the poetic nuances of Shakespeare’s lines.”
—Donald K. Davies, THE WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (6/18/1979)
“‘ACTOR KIM’S ONE-MAN SHOW PORTRAYS THEATER AT ITS BEST’ Randall Duk Kim presented a two-hour lesson on what acting—and the theater—is all about,…And if students could grade the teacher, he would get an A+. He gets that high mark not only because of his virtuoso performance, but also because of his fascinating choice of material and the imaginative way in which he presented his tribute to some of the great actors of the past.”
—Gerald Peters, THE SHEBOYGAN PRESS (7/7/1979)
“‘KIM BRINGS DREAM OF FLEDGLING THEATER IN ONE-MAN SHOW’ It is a good show that demonstrates what anybody who saw Kim at the Guthrie last year already knows—Randy Kim is an immensely talented actor who possesses breadth and sensitivity in equal measures.”
—Peter Vaughan, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR (7/27/1979)
“‘KIM COVERS GAMUT FROM COMEDY TO TRAGEDY IN SHOW’ The University of Wisconsin Center’s Lecture and Concert Series for 1979-80 had an auspicious beginning Wednesday night in the person of Randall Duk Kim, who presented his one-man show, ‘What Should Such Fellows As I Do?’ to a near capacity audience.…‘What Should Such Fellows As I Do?’ Is a forthright advertisement and benefit for the American Players Theater, and given the quality of performance and production (with Anne Occhiogrosso as director and Steven Helmke as production manager), it cannot help but weigh the scales toward the success of the ambitious projects….Given Kim’s talent and commitment, one can only hope that one day he will be celebrated as he celebrated others last night. He is a consummate actor, possessed of a fine vocal instrument coupled with intellectual and emotional acuity. And he has a particular gift for commanding attention with a minimum of movement or gesture. I am reminded of another American actor, Fredric March, who, without the crutch of assistance (depending upon one’s attitude_ of personal idiosyncrasy, gifted us wit ha lifetime of acting which served as a probe into the human condition. I wish Kim equal status. Meanwhile, I will find my way to Spring Green.”
—W.B. Johnson, MARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD (9/6/1979)
