In repertory with Friedrich Schiller’s Wallenstein, the Shakespeare Theater Company is presenting Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, both productions being focused on powerful military men who are both heroes and traitors. In Coriolanus, the title character’s heroism, treason, and ultimate tragedy are played out in the context of a stark conflict between his patrician class, anxious to maintain control of the Roman polity, and the plebians, demanding a voice in affairs of state and attention to what nowadays would be called food security.

As Coriolanus, Patrick Page, wielding a rough-edged, resonant, commanding baritone voice and dominating physicality, demonstrates first a superb “follow me” style of military leadership, caring more for the morale of his men than his own physical safety. Returning home after a successful war, he has a far weaker grasp on the subtleties of political power. He is firmly convinced of the rightness — indeed, inevitability — of upper class rule, and equally, unthinkingly, convinced of the unfitness of the common people and their politicians for any significant role in government. No hypocrite, he makes no attempt to disguise his negative view of the lower orders, in terms that make Mitt Romney’s disdain for the 47 percent seem mild by comparison. His patriotism and contempt are reminiscent of the charge opponents made against Charles DeGaulle — that he loved France and hated Frenchmen.

One of the strengths of Page’s portrayal is that his Coriolanus is not simply arrogant. Indeed, at least part of his inability to relate to people outside his own circle is pure discomfort. Watching Page shrink into his plain white costume as Coriolanus seeks approval from the people for his appointment as Consul is to see a man whose character includes a kind of shyness and naïvety as well as pride. His anger at the plebes and their leaders stems, at least in part, from resentment that he is being forced to do things he’s not good at.

Another key to Coriolanus’ character is his uncomfortably close tie to his overpowering mother, Volumnia, played by the dynamic Diane D’Aquila. Coriolanus cannot say no to her, at least to her face, even when acceding to her wishes is contrary to his nature or his interests. He becomes almost submissive in her interactions with her, his posture sometimes being that of a boy giving in to his mother’s more powerful voice and spirit. With her bloodthirsty, militaristic “old Roman” virtues that she passes on to her young grandson (Hunter Zane, who has few lines but a stunning bit of business near the end of the show), and a commanding voice every bit equal to her son’s, D’Aquila’s Volumnia is one of Shakespeare’s most frightening female characters, beside whom Lady Macbeth seems relatively peaceful. In one of the Shakespeare Theater’s typically excellent dramaturgical articles, Kenneth Adelman draws parallels to powerful mothers in American politics, notably FDR’s mother Sara.

Coriolanus’ proper Roman wife (Aaryn Kopp) is far less bellicose than her husband and mother-in-law and no emotional match for either. His mother aside, Coriolanus finds the closest thing to a kindred spirit in his enemy and sometime ally, the Volscian General Aufidius (Reginald Andre Jackson). Having engaged Aufidius in hand-to-hand combat, Coriolanus feels a deeper emotional tie to him — even though one of hatred — than to any other character, a feeling returned by Aufidius, particularly in an explicitly homoerotic greeting he gives Coriolanus when the exiled Roman turns up in the Volscian camp. The relationship between the two doesn’t quite take off, however, Jackson’s performance being flatter and less passionate than one might hope for.

The plebians are represented by a versatile ensemble who, in addition to portraying soldiers and hungry, rebellious citizens, act as on-stage stage hands, moving set dressing pieces, drums, and lights. They are the working class, functionally in the production as well as for purposes of the script. Their leaders are the tribunes Junius Brutus and Sicinius Velutus (Phillip Goodwin and Derrick Lee Weeden), a pair of manipulative politicians of a type recognizable in any age. At times comic in their conspiratorial maneuvers, they are ultimately sinister and dangerous to the Roman state. Director David Muse effectively arranges to have a lighting change and reverb-enhanced sound reinforcement for their scenes of plotting.

Muse contends that his production isn’t intended to take sides between the patricians and the plebians, but the play can’t help itself. While some members of the ensemble have individual lines — it isn’t a chorus — the emotional weight of the production, and of the script, is with the patricians. They are the people whose struggles, virtues, faults, and tragedies are the play’s focus. The common people act collectively as a foil of the patrician characters, but they do not occupy the play’s central territory. Coriolanus and other patricians may have large, even ultimately fatal, flaws, but they are not fools or gullible followers like the play’s plebians.

Blythe R.D. Quinlan’s set is a tall, enveloping structure made to look like concrete, inspired, Muse notes, by brutalist architecture (a type of building design popular in the 1970s, locally exemplified by the FBI building), only too appropriate given the brutality of the story. Panels move to uncover upper level niches that sometimes are used for upper class characters looking down on the plebians; at another point members of the ensemble hold follow spots used to illuminate characters in the main playing area. There is a wide back entrance that, when opened, is sometimes filled with the fog of war when, for example, Coriolanus leads an attack on an enemy city in the first act. The overall effect is both functional and consistent with the emotional tone of the story.

Murell Horton’s costume design is not set in any one period. Muse describes the look as “swords and suits.” Upper class characters typically wear suits with sashes or vaguely modern-style military uniforms; lower class characters, when not appearing in armor as soldiers, are typically draped in simple, generic outfits suggestive of their working class status. For the most part, the color palate is subdued. This is not a production that feasts on bright primary colors.

The cast beats the drums of war, quite literally, as ensemble members bring drums frequently onto stage to herald the latest military venture. The pervasive percussion makes its point, though it becomes annoyingly repetitious after a while. In other respects, Mark Bennett’s sound design is relatively minimalist.

This is a play having a number of interesting characters none of whom, despite, in some cases, admirable characteristics (e.g., Coriolanus’ honesty and physical courage), can be said to be truly likeable. It is, on the other hand, a play of ideas to a greater extent than many other Shakespeare scripts, particularly political ideas concerning how a society deals with stratification and inequality. In the first act, for example, Menenius (Robert Sicular), a senator/elder statesman who has been a mentor to Coriolanus, offers an organic analogy to how Roman society is structured. The upper class, he says, is the belly that takes in resources and distributes them to the periphery of the body, such as a plebian who is like a toe. As patently obvious an ideological justification of the position of the patricians as trickle-down economics is of the position of the modern upper class, Menenius’ speech sets the stage for the implicit debate that follows throughout the play. While full of strong acting and good technical theater, the production gives the audience ample opportunity to think about issues that continue to trouble modern societies.

(Editor’s Note: For more about Coriolanus, see the STC’s web site articles at Asides)

Photo Gallery

The cast	Patrick Page as Coriolanus
Aaryn Kopp as Virgilia and Diane D’Aquila as Volumnia	Patrick Page as Coriolanus, Robert Sicular as Menenius and Steve Pickering as Cominius

Photos by Scott Suchman

Cast

• Ensemble: John Bambery
• Ensemble: Jeffrey Baumgartner
• Roman Senator/Valeria: Lise Bruneau
• Ensemble: Andrew Criss
• Volumnia: Diane D’Aquila
• Ensemble: Philip Dickerson
• Lartius/Volscian: Nick Dillenburg
• Ensemble: Avery Glymph
• Brutus: Philip Goodwin
• Ensemble: Chris Hietikko
• Aufidius/Roman Senator: Reginald Andre Jackson
• Ensemble: Jacqui Jarrold
• Virgilia: Aaryn Kopp
• Ensemble: Michael Leicht
• Ensemble: Joe Mallon
• Coriolanus: Patrick Page
• Ensemble: Glen Pannell
• Cominius/Volscian Lord: Steve Pickering
• Ensemble: Max Reinhardsen
• Ensemble: Brian Russell
• Roman Senator/Volscian Lord: Michael Santo
• Menenius: Robert Sicular
• Ensemble: Jjana Valentiner
• Sicinius: Derrick Lee Weeden
• Ensemble: Jaysen Wright
• Young Martius: Hunter Zane

Direction and Design

• Director (Coriolanus): David Muse
• Set Designer: Blythe R.D. Quinlan
• Costume Designer: Murell Horton
• Lighting Designer: Mark McCullough
• Composer/Sound Designer): Mark Bennett
• New York Casting: Binder Casting; Jay Binder, CSA/Jack Bowdan, CSA
• Resident Casting Director: Daniel Neville-Rehbehn
• Fight Director: Rick Sordelet
• Voice and Text Coach: Ellen O’Brien
• Literary Associate: Drew Lichtenberg
• Assistant Director (Coriolanus): Jenny Lord
• Directorial Assistant: Robert Lutfy
• Production Stage Manager: Bret Torbeck
• Stage Manager: Joseph Smelser
• Assistant Stage Manager: Hannah R. O’Neil

Disclaimer: Shakespeare Theater Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

It’s fair to think of Eugene O’Neill’s one-act play Hughie as portraying the dark side of Damon Runyon’s New York, the world of gamblers and dolls and outlandish Broadway characters Frank Loesser later made delightful in Guys and Dolls. Set in 1928 – the year before the Great Depression — in the lobby of a third-rate hotel, Hughie looks unflinchingly at the utter loneliness of Erie Smith (Richard Schiff) as he tries to establish a degree of human contact with the only available person, the hotel’s night clerk (Randall Newsome).

The former night clerk, Hughie, has recently died. In long monologues, Erie spins the tall tales he told Hughie about his luck and prowess with the ponies, dice, and blondes. The stories are exaggerations and lies, but to Hughie – a married man with two kids, a bleak apartment in Brooklyn, and a humdrum life – they provide a touch of color in an otherwise monochrome life. Hughie’s willingness to listen to the stories, beyond giving Erie companionship otherwise lacking in his life, lets Erie believe, at least fleetingly, that he is or could be the person his stories depict. Now that Hughie has died, Erie feels his luck has run out.

Schiff’s performance is a clinic in how an actor can give a character profound emotional and dramatic force without ever resorting to histrionics. Schiff’s characterization is long on quiet, understated storytelling, with exquisite use of silences and only occasional crescendos that then quickly subside. He walks slowly and rises wearily from chairs, his body showing Erie’s spiritual as well as physical exhaustion.

An intriguing feature of the production is director Doug Hughes’ decision to have an offstage voice read excerpts from O’Neill’s stage directions at several points during the play. These stage directions are not the common “exit stage left” sort. Rather, they are detailed descriptions of the characters’ thoughts and states of mind, somewhat similar to the “asides” in Strange Interlude. The stage directions are particularly important in creating the interior world of the night clerk. Newsome delivers his relatively few lines with the studied indifference that the stage directions describe as the clerk’s common defense against garrulous guests, and his physicality through most of the show is equally unwelcoming to Erie’s attempts at drawing him into conversation. His voice and body then make a marked transition at the end of the show when the clerk becomes excited at Erie’s stories of association with a local celebrity gangster.

David Van Tieghem creates an urban soundscape – an El train, garbage can lids, ambulance siren, etc. – closely keyed to specific points in the script. The set (designed by Neil Patel) is a very detailed, naturalistic rendition of a down-at-the-heels hotel lobby, except that a picture on the wall, a door, a mirror, and several dirty windows transform on occasion into screens showing Darrel Maloney’s black-and-white video images of Erie or things in his imagination. Sometimes having a surrealistic look, the images underline Erie’s interior life without drawing focus from the acting. The hotel clock tells the slow passage of time from 3-4 a.m. In “My Time of Day” from Guys and Dolls, Loesser writes of his (and Sky Masterson’s) love for this the beauty of this dark time; in Hughie, it is the time of dead souls.

Besides mounting excellent productions like this one, something that the Shakespeare Theatre Company does extraordinarily well is to provide dramaturgical information in its Asides publication. The issue concerning Hughie includes an interview with Schiff and Hughes, a map of O’Neill’s New York, background on gangster Arnold Rothstein (who is frequently mentioned in the script), a piece on the influence of a hotel setting on stage storytelling, and articles discussing the history of the play and O’Neill’s stage directions. Some, but not all, of this material is online at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Asides Online.

Photo Gallery

Richard Schiff as Erie Smith	Richard Schiff as Erie Smith and Randall Newsome as Night Clerk
Richard Schiff as Erie Smith and Randall Newsome as Night Clerk	Richard Schiff as Erie Smith
Randall Newsome as Night Clerk and Richard Schiff as Erie Smith

Photos by Carol Rosegg

Cast

• Night Clerk: Randall Newsome
• “Erie” Smith: Richard Schiff
• Understudy: Steve Brady

Direction And Design

• Director: Doug Hughes
• Set Designer: Neil Patel
• Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber
• Lighting Designer: Ben Stanton
• Composer/Sound Designer: David Van Tieghem
• Projection Designer: Darrel Maloney
• Wig Designer: Tom Watson
• Jay Binder, CSA/Jack Bowdan, CSA Casting: Binder Casting
• Resident Casting Director: Daniel Neville-Rehbehn
• Literary Associate: Drew Lichtenberg
• Assistant Director: Hunter Bird
• Production Stage Manager: James FitzSimmons
• Assistant Stage Manager: Hannah R. O’Neil

Disclaimer: Shakespeare Theater Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• Much Ado About Nothing, August – September 2013
• Measure for Measure, September – October 2013
• The Importance of Being Earnest, November – December 2013
• Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, March – June 2014
• Private Lives, May – July 2014

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

The Shakespeare Theatre presents The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol and Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher at the Lansburgh Theatre. This is “… the first Russian play to grace the Company’s stages.” And a fabulous production it is too.

This satire of “…corruption and self-deception” is written about at length at the STC Asides blog in Putting Russia On Stage: Gogol’s National Comedy. It is encouraged that you read about the history of the play and times of this play’s origins.

To begin is the direction by Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Michael Kahn. He has cast this show with many STC members and Affiliate Artists. This seasoned cast performs Mr. Kahn’s vision with enormous energy and aplomb. A true joy to listen, watch and laugh.

Costume Designer Murell Horton created costumes that will remind you of the animated home of Dr. Suess’s Whoville in “Horton Hears a Who.” They were brilliant in color and fantastic in aplomb, adding to the satirical play.

This stellar cast will give you the kind of performance we all have become accustomed to here at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, as in most Michael Kahn’s productions they do not disappoint. The comic genius of Derek Smith playing the role of Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov carries the show along with the equally talented acting prowess of Rick Foucheux playing The Mayor, Anton Antonovich. Both are a pleasure to enjoy.

You will also love the enormous talents of Nancy Robinette in the role of Anna Andreyevna, The Mayor’s Wife. Claire Brownell was riveting in her hilarious portrayal of Marya Antonovna, The Mayor’s Daughter. Following in this cast are the usually expert comic talents of Floyd King playing The Postmaster, David Sabin as The Judge, Craig Wallace as The School Principle, Lawrence Redmond as The Hospital Director and Harry A. Winter with Hugh Nees portraying the twin like Dobchinsky & Bobchinsky respectively. Also the very funny Tom Story is The Doctor.

Far from the usual offerings at The Shakespeare Company, Mr. Kahn’s The Government Inspector has given us a very light-hearted and very comical outing. You will love this show.

Photo Gallery

Lawrence Redmond as the Hospital Director and Rick Foucheux as the Mayor	Hugh Nees as Bobchinsky and Harry A. Winter as Dobchinsky
Liam Craig as Osip and Derek Smith as Hlestakov	The cast

Photos by Scott Suchman

Cast

• Pentelaeyev/Imperial Messenger: Travis Blumer
• Marya: Claire Brownell
• Osip: Liam Craig
• Mayor: Rick Foucheux
• Postmaster: Floyd King
• Grusha/Innkeeper’s Wife/Corporal’s Widow: Sarah Marshall
• Bobchinsky: Hugh Nees
• Hospital Director/Chernyaeyev: Lawrence Redmond
• Anna: Nancy Robinette
• Judge: David Sabin
• Hlestakov: Derek Smith
• Doctor: Tom Story
• School Principal/Abdullin: Craig Wallace
• Dobchinsky: Harry A. Winter

Direction and Design

• Adapter: Jeffrey Hatcher
• Director: Michael Kahn
• Set Designer: James Noone
• Costume Designer: Murell Horton
• Lighting Designer: Philip S. Rosenberg
• Composer: Adam Wernick
• Sound Designer: Veronika Vorel
• Casting: Binder Casting; Jay Binder, CSA/Jack Bowdan, CSA
• Resident Casting Director: Daniel Neville-Rehbehn
• Voice and Text Coach: Ellen O’Brien
• Literary Associate: Drew Lichtenberg
• Associate Director: Gus Heagerty
• Wig Designer: Anne Nesmith
• Production Stage Manager: Joseph Smelser
• Stage Manager: Claire E. Zawa
• Assistant Stage Manager: Elizabeth Clewley

Disclaimer: Shakespeare Theater Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• All’s Well That Ends Well, August – September 2012 Schedule
• The Government Inspector, September – October 2012 Schedule
• Black Watch, September – October 2012 Schedule
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, November – December 2012 Schedule
• The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, November – December 2012 Schedule
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses, December 2012 Schedule
• Man and Superman became Hughie, January – March 2013 Schedule
• Coriolanus, March – June 2013 Schedule
• Wallenstein, March – June 2013 Schedule
• The Winter’s Tale, May – June 2013 Schedule

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.

In recent decades, nothing has been more traditional than updating productions of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Productions have been set in the romantic era, the 1930s, and the 1950s; in the rural countryside, at the villa of a gangland Don, in New York, and in a TV sitcom studio; with music from 1930s, 1950s, and the rock-and-roll era. The Shakespeare Theatre’s lively and entertaining production falls comfortably within this well-established performance tradition, using present-day settings and contemporary music and technology to underline a concept of the play focusing on the impulsiveness of teenagers. The production is, in fact, one that would likely appeal even to Shakespeare-skeptical teenagers.

While the production’s experienced 20- and 30-something actors look even less like real teenagers than the cast of a typical episode of Glee, there are moments when they succeed in catching the spirit of adolescent emotions. At the end of the first half, Andrew Veenstra’s Valentine provides a moment of believable teenage romantic despair after being banished from the love of his life. Miriam Silverman’s Julia is convincingly mercurial in her early scenes with her servant Lucetta (Igna Ballard), who memorably enters singing a rock song while operating a vacuum cleaner. Silverman also is a very convincing disguised as a boy in the second half, even to the point of absorbing a punch in the nose.

The standout performances of the evening belong to the witty servants Speed (Adam Green) and Launce (Euan Morton), who have many of the play’s best lines and whose realism is a bracing counterpoint to the deceptions and over-the-top lovesickness of their masters. No review of the show would be complete without praising Oliver, the well-trained, fuzzy, and totally adorable dog playing Launce’s companion, Crab.

Shakespeare’s script describes Valentine and the male co-lead, Proteus (Nick Dillenburg), as lifelong best friends. Unfortunately, the emotional juice of this friendship never quite establishes itself, taking some of the sting from Proteus’ betrayal of Valentine. This may owe largely to Dillenburg’s frequently flat line readings and bland affect, which make it difficult to feel Proteus’ passions in this friendship, in his love for Julia, or in his pursuit of Sylvia (Natalie Mitchell). Mitchell’s portrayal of Silvia’s constancy and mature judgment make her one of the most admirable characters in the play, though perhaps the one that fits least well into the production’s teenage angst concept. Among the “adult” characters, the Duke (Brent Harris) makes a vivid impression as a Sylvia’s strong-minded, ruthlessly charming father.

The reconciliation scene at the end of the show is famously problematic, first because Valentine’s and Julia’s forgiveness of Proteus seems too quick and easy and second because Valentine appears to offer Sylvia, who he has just regained, back to Proteus. To solve the second problem, the production plays Valentine’s offer as a successful effort to prevent Proteus from shooting himself in a moment of despair, parallel to Proteus’ prevention of a similar suicide attempt by Valentine earlier in the play. The first problem proves a harder nut to crack, given that the depth of feeling between Valentine and Proteus is underdeveloped. As for Proteus and Julia, one might confidently anticipate, given the contemporary sensibility of the production, many future sessions with a couples therapist working out trust issues.

The physical production is excellent, beginning with a shiny metallic multi-level set that is used to effectively throughout, never better than in first of two well-conceived and executed fight choreography sequences. The second of these sequences is notable for its close coordination of punches with stage blood – when a fist lands, a bloody nose or mouth follows instantaneously.

Surtitles, often amusingly cheeky in tone, announce each successive scene. The pop/rock between-scene music, which fortunately never becomes overwhelming, fits the mood of the show, and the use of karaoke and open-mic bar scenes adds to the fun. The generally unobtrusive costumes are not firmly tied to any particular period, though they have elements suggestive of Elizabethan and modern dress.

Director’s Notes

By PJ Paparelli

In 2005, I had the unique experience of directing two productions in Washington back to back: Romeo and Juliet at The Folger and columbinus at Round House Theatre. columbinus was an original play that I had developed by interviewing teenagers across the country as well as Littleton, Colorado, the site of the 1999 Columbine Shootings. At the center of both stories were impulsive decisions made by adolescents in the world where adults were on the parameter of their worlds. Shakespeare’s uncanny observations on human behavior rang equally as true as the material pulled from teenagers in the interview process for columbinus. Teenagers then were very much like teenagers are now.

And now, I have come back to STC and Washington with another play about passionate, impulsive teenagers. The Two Gentlemen of Verona is immensely concerned with the transformative power of love, in good ways and bad ways. It’s also immensely concerned with young people, wealthy young people (they are “gentlemen,” after all), young people who are often ignored by adults and left to their teenage caprices. One thing I learned years ago is that teenagers always assume they hold the reigns [sic] in their lives. It comes as a sudden and devastating shock when they discover they are powerless, powerless to control another person’s actions, powerless to make someone love them. The characters make tremendous choices in this play. And there are no adults around to guide them. You may think that sounds like Romeo and Juliet – and it does.

And yet, unlike Romeo and Juliet, this play isn’t a tragedy. It’s unbelievably funny, and it has one of Shakespeare’s most famous comic monologues in it. Launce’s love for his dog, unparalleled in its comedic possibility, is yet another acute study of human behavior. As some of you may know, the relationship between pets and their owners can be mini-dramas played out in real life. Shakespeare, who observes the intensity of the friendship shared by Proteus and Valentine, is doing the same thing here. We see Launce, madly in love with his mangy mutt Crab, immersed in his wandering, whimsical, one-sided conversations. Love makes everyone in this play do crazy things.

Shakespeare’s language expresses all the broiling emotions and driving passions in this play, and so I wanted to live in that world as fully as possible. However, I couldn’t help but see today in this play. Two Gentlemen reminds me of wealthy suburban life, where parents are wrapped up in their worries about the crashing economy and teenagers are left to their own devices. Our challenge is to allow the play to exist in its period while also releasing the energy and the echoes of today’s world.

We have created a hybrid world that is complex, but ultimately timeless. The flavor of the costumes is Elizabethan, as are the class structures. There are servants and masters, rapiers and farthingales. But at the same time, product placement suggests the world that consumes modern teenagers, from McDonald’s to Trojan condoms to Apple. The images that you’ll see in the Lansburgh are fragments of the world we live in: busted up, dangerous, energetic. I want to have the teenagers of today — their recklessness, their abandon, their passions, their fun — echoing through the design and Shakespeare’s words. I am madly in love with this play, and I would love to find a way to celebrate Shakespeare’s incredibly modern and observant feel for the passions and desires of the young. You will be surprised and invigorated.

Photo Gallery

Nick Dillenburg as Proteus and Andrew Veenstra as Valentine	Euan Morton as Launce, Adam Green as Speed and Oliver, the dog, as Crab
Inga Ballard as Lucetta and Miriam Silverman as Julia	Andrew Veenstra as Valentine and Natalie Mitchell as Silvia
Miriam Silverman as Julia and Nick Dillenburg as Proteus	Nick Dillenburg as Proteus, Andrew Veenstra as Valentine, Miriam Silverman as Julia and Natalie Mitchell as Silvia

Photos by Scott Suchman

Cast

• Lucetta: Inga Ballard
• Ensemble: Aayush Chandan
• Ensemble: Jonathan W. Colby
• Proteus: Nick Dillenburg
• Outlaw: Davis Duffield
• Outlaw: Chris Genebach
• Thurio: Gene Gillette
• Speed: Adam Green
• Ensemble: Michael Gregory
• Duke of Milan: Brent Harris
• Ensemble: Aaryn Kopp
• Panthino/Host: Stephen Patrick Martin
• Ensemble: Matthew McGee
• Antonio: Christopher McHale
• Ensemble: Janel Miley
• Silvia: Natalie Mitchell
• Launce: Euan Morton
• Ensemble: Jacob Perkins
• Eglamour: Todd Scofield
• Julia: Miriam Silverman
• Valentine: Andrew Veenstra
• Ensemble: Jade Wheeler

Production Staff

• Director: PJ Paparelli
• Set Designer: Walt Spangler
• Costume Designer: Paul Spadone
• Lighting Designer: Howell Binkley
• Composer and Sound Designer: Fabian Obispo
• Music Director/Vocal Arranger: Jon Kalbfleisch
• Fight Director: Paul Dennhardt
• Animal Trainer: William Berloni
• Choreographer: Michael J. Bobbitt
• Voice and Text Coach: Ellen O’Brien
• Assistant Director: Gus Heagerty
• Wig Designer: Dave Bova
• New York Casting: McCorkle Casting, Ltd.
• Resident Casting Director: Daniel Neville-Rehbehn
• Literary Associate: Drew Lichtenberg
• Production Stage Manager: James Latus
• Assistant Stage Manger: Elizabeth Clewley

Disclaimer: Shakespeare Theater Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Much Ado About Nothing demonstrates a commendable effort to refresh this well-known comedy; yet, it is not without its faults. William Shakespeare’s “he said/she said” comedy centers on the relationships that form between Hero and Claudio and Beatrice and Benedick. Don Pedro acts as a sort-of human Cupid. He charms Hero on Claudio’s behalf, and he convinces Beatrice’s and Benedick’s friends to scheme together and force the feuding couple into admitting their mutual attraction. All is nearly lost, however, when Don John, the bastard brother of Don Pedro, schemes to ruin the impending marriage between Hero and Claudio.

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Much Ado is set on a sugar plantation in 1930’s Cuba. On an aesthetic level, this works beautifully. The set (Lee Savage) is a wonderfully designed courtyard with ample opportunity for eavesdropping. Clint Ramos’ costumes (particularly the ladies’) capture the vibrant colors of a party atmosphere. The lighting (Tyler Micoleau) is well-suited to scene transitions. The music and choreography (Steven Cahill; Marcos Santana) are well-executed and, generally, a lot of fun. Behind this robust style, however, the substance doesn’t fill it out as well as it could.

Director Ethan McSweeny’s choice to set this production in ’30s Cuba never quite settles as the best choice; yet, it insists upon itself. We know we’re in Cuba because several of the original iambs are broken in order to exchange certain “antiquated” words with “words they have in Cuba.” Instead of the Italian lire, we now have pesos. There is a reference to Hedy Lamarr because it’s the ’30s. (What was particularly strange to me about these changes was the decision to leave in “Messina” instead of swapping for “Cuba.”) Even more perplexing is that only two characters out of the entire cast attempt a Cuban accent. It is almost as if these items are purposefully thrown in to overstate the concept. While this concept of romanticized ’30s Cuba may have worked well in decades past (say, around the same time as Guys and Dolls), one has trouble connecting to the multicultural and militarily volatile 1930s Cuban history as a relevant context today. That is, unless the average audience member has a thorough understanding and connection to the history of Cuba–outside of cigars, the Missile Crisis, Elian Gonzales, and rum-and-Cokes.

The other more interesting addition McSweeny brings is the attempt to honestly portray the dramatic elements of Leonato renouncing his daughter, Hero. This occurs after Claudio falsely accuses her of infidelity on their wedding day. There was nothing funny about this scene; it played as a genuine moment of hurt and disgrace. This served as a departure from the comedic eavesdropping scenes earlier in the play. While this contrast was an intriguing idea, it did not fully land within the context of the show as a whole and could have used expansion. Conceptual questions aside, this production makes for an entertaining three hours. The cast is competent. The real standout is Derek Smith, who plays Benedick. Smith’s ease with the language teeters between classical actor and regular guy, which proves a good marriage here.

While it is maybe not the best production of Much Ado, it is certainly more than serviceable. The lush set, the skilled music and choreography, and the genuinely funny moments make for enjoyable viewing.

From the Director

“It’s an interesting challenge to return to STC so close on the heels of The Merchant of Venice and with such a different play as Much Ado. I don’t think anyone would claim that Shakespeare’s Sicily and Cuba in the ’30s are identical, but if you scratch the surface the parallels ring true: including proximal low level conflicts, a society with a strong religious influence, a native sense of machismo, heat, and above all, sexiness. And then there’s that great Cuban music and dancing which we will utilize for its maximum celebratory impact.”

–Director Ethan McSweeny on returning to direct for Shakespeare Theatre Company, from a Shakespeare Theatre Company press release.

Photo Gallery

Kathryn Meisle as Beatrice and Derek Smith as Benedick	Rachel Spencer Hewitt as Margaret and Mark Hairston as Borachio
Floyd King as Verges and Ted van Griethuysen as Dogberry

Photos by Scott Suchman

Cast

• Don Pedro: David Emerson Toney
• Don John: Matthew Saldivar
• Benedick: Derek Smith
• Claudio: Ryan Garbayo
• Balthasar: Matthew McGee
• Conrade: Ashley Smith
• Borachio: Mark Hairston
• Leonato: Adrian Sparks
• Antonio: Bev Appleton
• Hero: Kate Hurster
• Beatrice: Kathryn Meisle
• Margaret: Rachel Spencer Hewitt
• Ursula: Colleen Delany**
• Friar Francis: Lawrence Redmond
• Dogberry: Ted van Griethuysen
• Verges: Floyd King
• Juan Huevos: Phil Hosford
• José Frijoles: Carlos J. Gonzalez
• Villagers, Servants, Soldiers, etc: Aayush Chandan, James Graham, Michael Gregory, Aaryn Kopp, Janel Miley**, Jacob Perkins, Andrew Wassenich

**In the reviewed performance, the role of Ursula usually played by Colleen Delany was played by Janel Miley. The role usually played by Janel Miley was played by Ali Hoxie.

Creative Team

• Director: Ethan McSweeny
• Set Designer: Lee Savage
• Costume Designer: Clint Ramos
• Lighting Designer: Tyler Micoleau
• Composer and Sound Designer: Steven Cahill
• Associate Sound Designer: Elisheba Ittoop
• Choreographer: Marcos Santana
• Associate Choreographer: Alison Solomon
• Casting: McCorkie Casting, Ltd.
• Resident Casting Director: Daniel Neville-Rehbehn
• Voice and Dialect Coach: Ellen O’Brien
• Literary Associate: Drew Lichtenberg
• Assistant Director: Jenny Lord
• Production Stage Manager: Joseph Smelser
• Assistant Stage Manager: Elizabeth Clewley
• Directorial Assistant: Gus Heagerty

Disclaimer: Shakespeare Theater Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• Julius Caesar, August – September 2011 (Free For All)
• The Heir Apparent, September – October 2011
• Much Ado About Nothing, November 2011 – January 2012
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona, January – March 2012
• Strange Interlude, March – April 2012
• The Servant of Two Masters, May – July 2012
• The Merry Wives of Windsor, June – July 2012
• The Boys from Syracuse, November 2011 (The Bard’s Broadway)
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona a rock opera, January 2012 (The Bard’s Broadway)
• Henry VI, Date to be announced. Composed of Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3

Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues.