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Like so many New Yorkers, the Eno River Players is a transplant, having relocated from Durham, NC just two years ago. Founder Leo Eggert writes in the program for the company’s current production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure that “despite a a vibrant theater scene, there remains [in New York] a dearth of spirited, culturally relevant classical theater.” I might quibble with that characterization. His is the third New York City production of this very Shakespeare play that I’ve seen in the past five years.
But newbie opinions aside, this one is a distinctive and enormously entertaining take on one of the Bard’s most problematic plays – a version both funny and heartfelt, directed with sparkle and vibrancy and superbly acted.
Shakespeare in the ICU
The setting is a Vienna superimposed upon a hospital in what appears to be the pre-internet 20th century. Extraneous to Shakespeare’s script, the hospital scenes are a kind of frame and a kind of reality-fantasy screen. There is meta-action and much breaking of the fourth wall. But more remarkable is how all three of the principal characters are portrayed in almost dizzyingly original ways – and that it all still makes sense.
Angelo (Alex Roe) is a cruel, self-centered schemer and sexual predator, as Shakespeare wrote him. But Roe’s portrayal is neither smarmy nor prideful as one might expect, but rather fawning and abject, getting his way – and eventually his comeuppance – through false avuncular humility and passive-aggressive manipulation.
The Duke (Brian Linden) – in the hospital a blood-mopping custodian – is a kind of antic master of ceremonies, both as himself and in the Friar disguise in which he directs his own scheming.
As for Isabella (Natasha Partno, in a multiple-fire-emoji performance), she maintains a startlingly cool head and even temper through much of the emotional horror her male oppressors puts her through. Until she doesn’t. And then watch out.
The other cast members deliver strong performances too, notably Felix Teich as a hyperactive stoner version of Lucio. Isaiah Joseph as Claudio and Annie Saenger as Juliet, the lovers at the plot’s center, occupy little stage time but convey fully rounded characters.
Theater Games
Meta-theatrical devices pervade the production. Bells ring to start scenes. The Duke/Custodian explicitly references set changes as they occur. Actors speak selected lines into a microphone. Background choreography erupts as Mariana (a powerful small-role performance by Chani Reese) sings the story toward its conclusion. While familiar, these tricks seem fresh and help to keep us engaged.
That’s important when some of the language may be lost on the listener because of the actors’ quick delivery of Shakespeare’s complex and often archaic phrasing and poetry. The story’s outlines emerge clearly whether you’re familiar with the play or not.
As for the hospital setting, while it’s not a mental hospital, the craziness that erupts within it called to my mind One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The Custodian’s assuming the role of the Duke and directing the other hospital denizens to embody Shakespeare’s characters also recalls the musical Man of La Mancha, with its framing story of Cervantes acting out the adventures of his fictional antihero aided by his fellow prisoners.
Whatever director Egger had in mind, it somehow works. And the last thing we want is a grim and lugubrious Measure for Measure. The story is devastating enough – happy ending notwithstanding – without dwelling too heavily on its nastiest aspects. The touch of this production feels just right: deep enough, with just enough shiny surface atop undercurrents of evil and insanity.
Measure for Measure from the Eno River Players runs through March 1 at Target Margin Theater in Brooklyn.
