Problem Plays and Other Oxymorons.
Measure for Measure opens to rousing success at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Free!
 
In the annals of William Shakespeare’s greatest works there are hidden plays from which the public averts its eyes- Titus Andronicus, that culinary blood-fest of a production, All’s Well That Ends Well, filled to the brim with polygamy and innuendo, and of course, Measure for Measure, in which sex is sold, avoided, covered up, and referenced in every situation possible.  Naturally, when the public must be enticed to a free performance in the park, the problem plays are the most popular.  Coincidentally, all three are either playing or upcoming at Shakespeare in the Park.  Measure for Measure, widely considered to be Shakespeare’s thorniest play, is put on with a flair for the arts, drama, and history alternately with All’s Well under the umbrella of Shakespeare in Bed , courtesy of the Public Theater, creators of A Chorus Line, and, more recently, the considerably  less successful Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

Measure for Measure tells the story of a well-meaning but highly pressured Duke Vincentio of Vienna (Lorenzo Pisoni), who decides to leave his city for a time in the hands of his judicious/tyrannous (depending on one’s viewpoint) associate, Angelo (Michael Hayden), a judge.  Angelo, with much ado, resurrects age-old laws and enforces new and old as overbearingly as he can manage.  This causes problems for one Claudio (Andre Holland), since the new laws prohibit premarital sex.  (Here Shakespeare carefully avoided promoting purposeful premarital sex, even in the smuttiest of environments, to better appeal to his sometimes prudish benefactors.) Claudio’s fiancée (Kristen Connolly) is with child, and Claudio is imprisoned and awaiting beheading.  The Duke, however, has returned in the guise of a friar to oversee Angelo’s doings, and conspires to free Claudio with the help of the young man’s sister, Isabella (Danai Gurira), a novice nun, who Angelo falls for and offers her brother’s freedom for her virginity.  Throughout, an air of comedy and careful and composed naughtiness persists.

The actors, meanwhile, conduct themselves with nothing but the utmost professionalism, sincerity, and, occasionally, comic excellence.  The characters created for comic relief were perhaps the most accessible- Pompey (Carson Elrod), described elegantly by Shakespeare as “a clown, a pimp,” dyes his hair with streaks of pink, wears red leather, and delivers his lines in a stark American accent, warping them to the breaking point to fit into the modern tongue (case in point: “Master Froth did not do his wife any harm,” becomes “Master Froth did not do his wife.  Any harm.”) Lucio (Reg Rogers), a smart-aleck patron of Pompey’s place of establishment, wobbles about the stage as if partially tranquilized and adapts a perfectly portrayed holier-than-thou orientation among his betters, including the Duke.  Lucio bad-mouths the royal to Vincentio himself when the Duke is concealed as a friar.  Barnardine (Lucas Caleb Rooney, who also takes the role of the aforementioned Froth), is a crapulous prisoner who refuses to come for his execution by claiming he’s been drinking all night, and isn’t fit for it, is an audience’s delight, comedic, serious, and slapstick in equal parts.

The non-droll roles, meanwhile, have their place in Shakespeare’s darkest comedy. Pisoni shines as Duke Vincentio, especially in the second act, completing his quest in the most satisfying of ways and coming to his climax as a character.  He, too, delivers an ingenious speech contemplating death and its relationship with life worthy of the best Woody Allen film. Vincentio is the epitome of a knight in shining armor, with his unflinching moral rectitude and quiet pursuance of his dream girl, Isabella, who’s too caught up in her own disaster to care.  In fact, romance is barely addressed at all, except in the case of Angelo, which really concerns lust more than the traditional love described in Shakespearean drama.  Sex is a much more common theme, being the instigator, the conflict, and the resolution of the story.  Gurira as Isabella, meanwhile, steals the show.  Her pure, unadulterated power on the stage is unmatched by any I’ve seen before.  Gurira becomes her character, absorbs her pain, her past, and her problems, and spits out her lines with all the anger she can summon up in the situation.  It’s hard to believe Gurira has not been so wronged by Angelo.  Hell hath no fury like a woman heavily rehearsed.

In staging, however, the show swerves from classic Shakespeare in a way too obvious to ignore.  When the evil thoughts of intercourse flutter in the minds of the characters, deep, dark music blares from the surrounding speakers as if Vincentio is readying himself to face off with Darth Vader, and contortionists in black latex and horns creep from the wings, hideous masks leering at the audience like something out of Maurice Sendak.  I can see that the director, David Esbjornson, wished for his mark to be placed upon the show, but perhaps, Mr. E, next time you can let the play drive itself to success.  It has everything it needs already.

For more information on Measure for Measure and All’s Well that Ends Well in the Park: Click here: My Kind of New York - Grand Times With Your Grandkids - July 2011