Monday, November 11, 2019

Lakewood’s Lovely Shakespeare in Love

Murri Lazaroff-Babin and Kelsey Glasser



By Tina Arth

Hats off to Lakewood Theatre Company for the sheer variety of their fall offerings – closing Rocky Horror on October 13th and opening Shakespeare in Love on November 1st shows remarkable respect for the resilience of their audience! The overall excellence of both productions is really the only thing they have in common – but isn’t that really all we need? If you loved the Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman movie version (Best Picture, 1998), then you will be equally charmed by Director David Sikking’s presentation of playwright Lee Hall’s stage adaptation. If you have not seen the movie, you’ll be all the more surprised at the wit and originality of the story (and you should still find a way to see the movie – I’m now scheming on locating it online or On Demand for another viewing).

The story is absurd, and rarely attempts historical accuracy, but it is laden with sly hints about Shakespeare’s future as an author, and includes scenes that express a lot of truth about the playwriting and theatrical rivalries of the Elizabethan age. The tale begins with a young William Shakespeare in the throes of crippling writer’s block. His latest play (a comedy with the unlikely title of Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter),is overdue, and the impoverished author has already sold it to two different theaters. He needs a muse, and finds one in the fair (and very wealthy) Viola de Lesseps, destined for an arranged marriage to Lord Wessex.  She nurses a private yen to be an actor, a career path closed to her due to her social station and gender (no women were allowed on stage), so in classic Shakespearean fashion, Viola disguises herself a man; it is in that guise that she wins the lead role in the as-yet-unfinished play.  Will and Viola (as herself, not her male persona) fall madly in love and lust, but the fates interfere – in addition to the utterly brutish Lord Wessex, there is the small matter of Will’s wife. The whole story comes wrapped in romance and humor, accented by a host of wonderful moments with other characters, including playwrights (Burbage, Marlowe), Queen Elizabeth and, even better, an actual dog!

Kelsey Glasser and Murri Lazaroff-Babin are captivating as Viola and Will. Their chemistry grows slowly, but by the end we really feel their pain as they stoically follow their preordained fates.  Other fun performers include Ruth Jenkins (Viola’s Nurse), Michael Streeter (a dignified if somewhat indignant Burbage), Murren Kennedy’s doomed Marlowe, and Alec Lugo’s powerful and powerfully detestable Wessex. Olivia Shimkus is hilariously tight-lipped as the Queen, and equally funny when she gushes over the fair Eliza (appropriately typecast as Dog), and Chris Murphy (in various roles) is not to be missed – watch for a larger-than-average Londoner with a killer glare.

Even by Lakewood’s lofty standards, John Gerth’s scenic design is spectacular - evocative of the grimy back streets of 16th century London yet flexible enough to allow dignified entrances for the Queen, and with levels for both horseplay and swordplay. Margaret Louise Chapman’s costumes are superb – not overdone, but definitely detailed enough to establish the time and place.  For a non-musical, the show has a lot of singing and dancing, and the cast does a fine job with Kemba Shannon’s choreography – at times the activity is so intense that the scene seems on the verge of chaos, but it is all carefully controlled. I was particularly enchanted with Rodolfo Ortega’s musical direction and sound design – at times the music magically infused the whole theater, and the vocal harmonies were so precise and subtle that I had to watch the players’ lips to see that they were actually singing.

Luckily for prospective audience members, Shakespeare in Love has a long run and there are lots of performances still to come. I highly and happily recommend this little jewel as a great way to kick off the holiday theatrical scene!

Shakespeare in Love is playing at the Lake Oswego’s Lakewood Center for the Arts through Sunday, December 8th. Ticket information is available at www.lakewood-center.org

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