Ben Donenberg, producing artistic director of Shakespeare Festival / LA, is aware of the irony.
Perched on a couch in a sequestered nook of the historical downtown bastion known as the L.A. Athletic Club, the producer can't help but savor the incongruity. After all, this is hardly the kind of setting in which you'd expect to find one of L.A.'s most successful theatrical populists. Someone who's made a career of bringing the Bard to the people, for the past 16 years producing free Shakespeare (with a donation of canned food) in outdoor locations throughout L.A.
Yet here sits the energetic Donenberg, discussing preparations for this summer's production. Opening Friday at downtown's Union Station, Shakespeare Festival / LA presents "As You Like It," directed by Donenberg and Lance Davis. As he talks, the paradox becomes even more pronounced. For his is not just any "As You Like It," but a lefty one, with Pete Seeger songs laced liberally throughout.
"Shakespeare put more songs into 'As You Like It' than any other play," Donenberg says. "And I looked at it and asked, 'What were these songs and why did he use so many of them?' They were popular ballads of the time.
"This is where Pete Seeger comes in," he continues. "Shakespeare is saying that freedom and liberation lead to harmony. So we are starting our show in an oppressive industry, just like it does in Shakespeare's time in the orchard, [but this time] with 'If I Had A Hammer.' "
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So what's a nice left-of-center guy like Donenberg doing in this once-exclusive place? As it happens, it's where he plays basketball, since the club is near Shakespeare Festival / LA's downtown offices. "I'm probably the only guy in the L.A. Athletic Club wearing a 'Will Power' pin," Donenberg notes ruefully. "But it keeps me sane, playing three times a week. I'm a point guard, a playmaker. That's what they call my position."
Playmaker indeed. Linger with the enterprising Donenberg for a while and it becomes clear just how apt this moniker is--without ever glimpsing him on the court, or near a stage--and basketball may not be the only reason he frequents the club. "Ben! How are you? Great to see you!" says a businessman in a well-tailored suit who happens to walk by. "Hi, how've you been?" responds Donenberg, reaching to shake the man's hand. Once the man has gone, Donenberg explains: The man is a banker who gave the festival a five-figure donation last year. Clearly, Donenberg, 42, has the producer's wiles.
