Rachel Fowler
All’s Well That Ends Well
Shakespeare
Shakespeare Santa Cruz
2008
Photo: r.r. jones
Don Giovanni
Des Moines Metro Opera, 2012
…lusty, absorbing, even a little raw, thanks to stage director Tim Ocel in his company debut. more...
Watch Tim talk about Don Giovanni: http://youtu.be/Y1OX7C7UXHc
The Taming of the Shrew
American Players Theatre, 2011
…as he proved last summer in directing APT's stellar "As You Like It," Tim Ocel is not your usual director, and he once more cuts against the grain in directing "Shrew."… It is Petruchio who…liberates Kate and simultaneously frees himself, having seen in the shrew he first meets what he too has become. With tender eyes and an increasingly gentle demeanor, Ridge consistently conveys respect for a woman who does some taming here of her own, ensuring that she leaves the stage at play's end as a partner rather than a prize. more...
…in the capable hands of director Tim Ocel, we're able to see the relationship evolve in a way that somehow makes sense… an examination of how love can shape and bend you without breaking you… Ocel keeps that action taut, and even a scene change late in Act II becomes an opportunity to amuse the audience. If you've avoided The Taming of the Shrew because of your discomfort with the idea of a strong-willed woman needing to be tamed, APT's production might win you over. more...
Ocel did not remake the play along feminist lines; he did The Taming of the Shrew as we know it. But he, Arnold and Ridge found something generous and progressive in it, and those qualities rises to the top to redeem a speech that is self-negating… Everything that happens in this funny, lively production supports that reading of the finale. more...
Dead Man Walking
Union Avenue Opera, 2011
… director Tim Ocel and everyone else involved really knocked themselves out for this one. It's probably the finest production that UAO has ever done…. Ocel added meaning to every scene with his staging. more...
…a searing and riveting presentation that is simply one of best local opera productions since Opera Theatre’s Glorianna back in 2005… Absolutely every aspect of Union Avenue’s work is spot on. The cast is first-rate both vocally and theatrically—as good a collection of singers and actors (some roles are non-singing) as you will find anywhere. Tim Ocel’s direction is clear and focused… more...
…story-telling at its exhilarating best. With impeccable stage direction by Tim Ocel…Union Avenue Opera’s rendition of this spare, direct work is a stunning artistic achievement that never fails to keep the focus on the sobering story unfolding… Dead Man Walking is receiving its Missouri premiere in a riveting, absorbing production. more...
Tim Ocel's direction finds the heart at the center of this terrible happening… The Union Avenue Opera's production of Dead Man Walking is a must-see event, heavy and searing, but well worth the humanity and the pain of forgiveness, for the sheer joy of seeing masterful performers at work. more...
The acting has the kind of detail and moment-to-moment responsiveness that we’d be lucky to see on any stage, not just in opera. For this we have to give credit to the director Tim Ocel … the most involving production of an opera I’ve ever attended…a landmark of St. Louis theatre.
Watch Video for full review: http://www.hectv.org/video/2479/august-25-2011/
All’s Well That Ends Well
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 2008
…Tim Ocel has given us a taut, dark All’s Well whose characters are cloaked in dour Victorian Black. more...
…Ocel plays up its comic strengths—including one of Shakespeare’s most entertaining rascals—while acknowledging its complexities in an often pensive production enlivened by wit and warmth. more...
Director Tim Ocel lets the wistful cynicism of the play slowly emerge from tender performances and a minimalist staging where the only ornamentation comes from the natural splendor of the glen. … There is a naturalism to the sensitive production that heightens the beauties of the text. A cast anchored by veteran classical actors gives the play a lucid reading that allows us to discover its unexpected riches. more...
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Geva Theatre Center, 2003
Geva Theatre Center’s spiffy new production is beautifully cast and tightly directed by Tim Ocel to preserve the comedy’s balance of touching reality and hilarious wit, without a single false note. … The production is nicely judged. … The whole cast is admirable. more...
Geva Theatre’s production…is a solid one …the impressive set works perfectly with the plays designs …there’s nothing left to hide behind except the truth. more...
Biloxi Blues
Geva Theatre Center, 2003
…a splendid January production of Brighton Beach Memoirs and now topping that with a flawless Biloxi Blues …rich in period flavor, a quality that Tim Ocel has nailed perfectly in the two that he’s directed thus far. Ocel has also softened the hardedge of the original Broadway production of Biloxi Blues to bring it an unsentimental but affectionate nostalgia that is very endearing.… I like everyone in this cast. …topnotch revival. more...
…a satisfying experience. …the story has a fierce struggle at its core, which bristles on stage thanks to finely tuned acting and excellent pacing by director Tim Ocel. … The acting feels trustworthy, with direction that doesn’t try to get flashy or cute. …intelligent, talented production. more...
Broadway Bound
Geva Theatre Center, 2004
Geva has treated Neil Simon awfully well in its now-complete trilogy… The last is the best… Director Tim Ocel doesn’t lose an iota of the play’s warm comedy, but his approach to this decidedly darker play is more realistically rueful than earlier versions I remember. … That all this remains funny and heartwarming is a measure of Simon’s deepening talent in this play; and Geva’s production is more than worthy of it. All the designers and supporting artists work at top level. …a must-see theatrical experience. more...
…it has been a treat to experience Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy over three seasons…the only real complaint is that the project is over. …this production generates plenty of laughter… Director Tim Ocel creates a wonderful study of contrasts. … In a heart-melting scene, Eugene and his mother re-enact her finest hour… you feel that these actors have truly created a family—one we’ll definitely miss. more...
Ghosts
Geva Theatre Cetner, 2002
…Ghosts still packs an emotional wallop, as Geva Theatre’s excellent revival demonstrates. A first-rate cast…is playing the old shocker with sufficient integrity to show how timeless, true, and powerful this modern classic can be. … Tim Ocel’s beautifully blocked, tightly directed production is smartly gauged to achieve maximum honesty with understated dramatic force. more...
…taut, solid theatre that never sags. Geva Theatre’s sleek adaptation of Ghosts…is well suited to a contemporary audience and extremely well executed. …Ocel and the cast get it right, and it makes all the difference. It makes Ghosts a truly haunting experience. more...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 2001
…Ocel’s version of A Midsummer Night's Dream blends ancient myth with modern aesthetics, and 18th-and 19th-century set elements with other worldly costumes and distinctly 21st century sensibilities. By doing so Ocel skillfully captures the play’s own blend of multiple realities and layers of mythic history. Balance is the theme behind Ocel’s vision…reconciling the differences and conflicts between the natural world of magic and love and the man-made world of law and war. … Ocel’s imaginative manipulation of Nature’s destructive and creative forces steals the show. more...
…simple yet spirited, imaginative take on one of the most beloved comedies is intent on smashing the stodginess of reality. Director Tim Ocel’s lively rendering accentuates the endless possibilities of Midsummer Eve…Ocel and crew have brought fresh energy to the familiar setting…SSC’s new version not only uses the space in inventive ways but imaginatively suggests a willingness to dream. That openness to possibilities, so inherent in the play, makes the production all the more enchanting. more...
…a madcap version…Staged at a rollicking comic clip…a vivid re-imagining … Director Tim Ocel, a veteran of innovative SSC comedies, makes Dream both accessible to people who haven’t seen a lot of Shakespeare and exciting fun for people who have. …under Ocel’s direction, the complications remain fluid and risingly funny… Ocel and scenic designer Dipu Gupta have some amusing surprises for the audience…and makes effective use of both the stage’s intimacy and the redwood glen’s sense of size and power. more...
La Boheme
Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 2001
…a winning production of Giacomo Puccini’s deservedly beloved La Boheme captivated the audience. Conductor Federico Cortese and director Tim Ocel led a talented cast of youthful singers in a musically lovely and dramatically inspired production. …more than its share of fine performers, from the small parts to large, and, for once, the boyish hijinks were entirely believable. … Ocel’s direction was a delight. He drew beautifully nuanced performances from his singers, and demonstrated an eye for the small detail and movements dictated by the music. He made the Act II crowd scene come alive with plenty to see in all corners of the stage, and proved himself much more than a traffic cop. more...
When they were actually doing Puccini, however, Opera Theatre came into its own. The traditional production of La Boheme, directed by Tim Ocel and designed by Erhard Rom (sets) and Robert Perdziola (costumes), flowed smoothly, and the singers knew what they were doing. … The production even improved as it went along: the fourth act, which can seem like a musical anticlimax after the heartbreak of the third, was the tightest and most moving of all. more...
La Boheme received a near-ideal performance (June 23), sensitive, beautifully scaled and more than the sum of its parts. … Tim Ocel’s production in Erhard Rom’s sets—the most elaborate of the season, but still simple and apt—captured the freshness of Puccini’s masterpiece, not as easy as is often thought. Even in this most traditional corner of the repertory, Opera Theatre showed what makes it one of the most special opera companies in America. more...
L’Elisir d’Amore
Lyric Opera of Kansas City, 2003
The hardest part about putting on a comic opera is finding a mood that treads a delicate middle ground where mirth abounds but serious human themes are never shirked. When it clicks, you can feel it. …[Elixir] succeeded because director Tim Ocel and musical director Ward Holmquist had worked really hard to find that tone. The cast completed the process with high-octane singing and sophisticated character development. The sanguine staging and conducting and the vigorous acting made this dramatically one of the most satisfying productions of recent Lyric history. The attention to staging detail was so natural that you hardly noticed it... more...
The Taming of the Shrew
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 2004
Sharply paced and played with impeccable comic timing, it draws most of its humor from the script, making use of its modern-dress format for occasional inventive flourishes and fleeting pop references. Ocel’s primary focus is on re-imagining the Kate-Petruchio relationship—and the result is intriguing. … Ocel makes the taming less monstrous by having Petruchio suffer as much as Kate… The result, in Chandler's knowing recital of Kate's big submission speech, and Dean's overwhelmed reaction, is unusually satisfying and touching. more...
…a classy new vision of Shrew…that manages to sharpen the cutting battle-of-the-sexes wordplay while blunting some of the objectionable Elizabethan ideas about a wife’s duty to her husband. … Ocel’s shrewd direction smooth out many of the rocky ideas about the subjugation of women to male dominance… This Shrew looks and plays like a screwball comedy… Ocel creates a beautiful moment even when the play has concluded. more...
…a marvelously funny Shrew. Ocel’s direction is well paced and visually pleasing, and the characters evolve with fine definition. … The production is a splendid one, and even after all these years, Kate and Petruchio never fail to play games with your imagination. more...
Taming transforms what many would consider an archaic story of females “submitting” to their husbands, into a contemporary analysis of gender roles and marriage. Blending equal amounts of comedy with wit, intellect, stellar acting, vivid costumes and perfect direction, this show is a new SSC favorite. …wickedly and deliciously funny. more...
Carmen
Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 2004
Tim Ocel’s vivid, traditional staging and Dean Williamson’s sure command from the pit highlighted the ensemble aspect of this production, with sharp characterizations from the entire cast. more...
Director Tim Ocel…tastefully cranks the musk up to maximum in a satisfying, libidinous, entertaining and carefully thought-out production of this timeless classic. …eschews the usual histrionic acting style associated with opera. …the entire cast forgoes, for the most part, grand vocal gestures… an exceptional supporting cast… A fine balance is struck between colloquial dialogue and the slightly more formal language in which the songs are couched. Again the result is an element of realism rarely achieved—or, for that matter,attempted—in opera. The staging eloquently restates this aesthetic. …exceptional production… more...
Evie’s Waltz
Geva Theatre Center, 2009
Carter W. Lewis…rivets the audience to their seats for 80 minutes of gripping suspense. But it's the actors who truly give Evie's Waltz credence under the sensitive direction of Tim Ocel. more...
The Two Gentleman of Verona
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 1999
…Tim Ocel’s vigorous California-look Two Gentlemen, by far the better of the two Shakespeare shows… The plot's abrupt swerves make a kind of blunt sense here. …telling small touches… more...
…a swift and entertaining show. Director Tim Ocel…has turned one of Shakespeare's most maligned plays into a limber, refreshingly waggish contemporary retelling of the story… Ocel festoons the whole affair with amped-up characters and colorfully reworked scenes. …full of wonderful moments… more...
Considered one of Shakespeare's lesser plays, the romantic comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona gets a production worthy of a classic… Credit Tim Ocel, fast becoming one of the festival's most reliable directors, who demonstrated his understanding of how Shakespearean comedy and romance work in his delightful past productions of Twelfth Night and As You Like It. … Ocel circumvents the problematic plot with an engaging and spirited cast and a straightforward production that achieves its effects within ventive subtlety rather than frantic brio. more...
Shakespeare Santa Cruz stages a smart, modernized production of the play that's plenty of fun but that also fully exposes the uneasiness of its final accord. more...
Le Nozze di Figaro
Opera Pacific, 2000
…this Figaro was so lithe and airy, so swift and funny, so wonderfully sung that only an incurable curmudgeon could complain about its length. … Perhaps it was thanks to the influence of stage director Tim Ocel (replacing an ailing Colin Graham) that Bernstein's comic persona never stooped to easy slapstick. Humanity counted more than shtick. ...soprano Christine Brandes too avoided superfluous comedy …scenes blended into one another like lightning, and although the show was not overtly played for laughs, the opening night audience was in stitches through-out. more...
…we have all behaved as the characters in Figaro do. That is the beauty of Opera Pacific's production. It trusts us to get it. One could call the production, which originated at the Banff Festival and is directed here by Tim Ocel, straightforward, even plain, but that wouldn't do it justice. Call it elegantly simple and quietly understanding. … Judgment isn’t passed. Lubitsch could have directed this. …this approach…never obscures Mozart's music, which just happens to be pretty good. … The excellent cast—perhaps taking cue—forge a true ensemble and stay within their roles. The principals are characterized by freshness of voice, confident acting and unselfish singing. more...
Billy Budd
Lyric Opera of Kansas City, 1999
…a gripping Billy Budd. Stage director Tim Ocel imagined the whole opera through Vere's memory—hence the stylized unit set (by Erhard Rom), with its battered, upturned deck, and the distant, silent confrontations between Vere and Billy ... Ocel played down Claggart's attraction to Billy to focus, instead, on a mysterious magnetism between the young sailor and Vere. Having the hanged Billy swinging in the background, in front of a huge moon, made Vere's final soliloquy almost unbearably poignant. more...
…unquestionably one of the most artistically fulfilling and viscerally exciting productions of any opera I have encountered in a long time. One could almost taste the salt spray in the air …one of those rare productions where every element came together inone perfectly coordinated, combined effort. At times the aura of menace andtension was almost palpable. … Nearly every vocalist demonstrated theatrical training as well, resulting inan evening of great theatre enhanced by the power of Britten's wonderfully evocative score. It was a night to remember and a production worthy of any operatic stage in the world. more...
…superbly cast and provocatively staged… Lyric has a real find in stage director Tim Ocel, who in an opera very much about human ambiguities has plumbed new depths of nuance. more...
The Cherry Orchard Conservatory of Theatre Arts, 1999
Tim Ocel…who has directed this production with the most delicate sensibility, coupled with absolutely breathtaking dramatic acuity, fields a cast of young actors so good that I kept saying to myself that this character or that, in small role or large, was the key to understanding the play. Mr. Ocel’s triumph, ensemble performance…simply doesn’t allow you to notice that a tall, fit young man is acting the part of a 90-year-old servant because you're so interested in what he’s doing that what he is has become merely accidental. …compelling performances …substance as well as theatrical competence …uniformly first-class production. It’s the best Cherry Orchard I’ve ever seen and, in its way, the best production of any play I’ve seen in St. Louis for a couple of years. more...
Measure for Measure Georgia Shakespeare Festival, 1998
In Tim Ocel’s terrific production for the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, even with the crystal clarity of the whole ensemble's acting, the play’s essential mystery remains. This Measure is a dark, uncompromising vision, but as entertaining as any frothy farce in the sense that we care deeply about the characters and for three hours are galvanized by their journey. more...
Director Tim Ocel gives the Bard's work some fresh energy of his own, creating numerous haunting images. What's so resonant is how valid Shakespeare’s work comes across today… The ensemble cast is dead-on, with all the leads connecting. … Even the smaller roles are aces. …it’s three hours long, but it’s time well spent. If you’ve never seen a Georgia Shakespeare Festival production, this is a dandy intro. more...
…Ocel highlight[s] the play's darker aspects, and it’s a very fruitful approach. …moody Measure still brims with excitement at theater’s power to give life to ideas and put symbols into motion.…an ending that’s dissatisfied audiences for centuries and Ocel turns that very unease into an advantage. more...
As You Like It
American Players Theatre, 2010
Whether you're a Shakespeare nut or have never seen a Shakespeare play, this one is a "can't miss,” worthy of a summer pilgrimage. …director Tim Ocel makes clear that pastoral in As You Like It is no picnic. …[a] hilarious send-up of 1930s movies transforms a throwaway scene of just 60 lines into the funniest three minutes I've seen this year on stage. more...
…exceptional style and swagger, resulting in a comedic broth bubbling with both foolishness and wisdom…one highlight after another. Don’t miss this one. more...
…a handful of theater folks occasionally take their work to a higher level of artistry that touches the sublime. They provide moments of marvel. This is what's happening in the American Players Theatre's outdoor production of "As You Like It." Two newcomers to APT, Chicago-based actress Hillary Clemens and veteran theater and opera director Tim Ocel, are responsible for a glorious production that takes its place among the company's all-time best. … The production is vivid and earthy… It all works without undermining the text because Ocel has an incredibly deft touch. The production brilliantly walks a tight rope of modern humor and fidelity to the script, and it never slips into excess. more...
American Players Theatre opened its 2010 season Saturday with William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" and, if that opening night production is indicative of the rest of the season, this is going to be a very good year. …director Tim Ocel—making his first appearance in Spring Green— pulled it off. The production not only works, but the setting makes the plot seem more understandable than it has seemed in more traditional settings. more...
Cloud Nine
University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, 2012
Director Tim Ocel does a terrific job setting just the right tone, which is tricky: You don’t want to be too broad with the comedy, but you don’t want to suck the playful, whimsical sense of fun from the piece, either, while also allowing its more serious moments to land and resonate. (The last moment in particular is a surprisingly emotional knockout.) more...