Thursday, 6/5/97 Production measures up with great talent,
stagecraft All-female cast delivers surprisingly entertaining, bold
play
By Alicia Cheak Daily Bruin Contributor The lights dim as
figures clothed in black nuns’ habits make their entrances. A hymn
slowly builds up, only to result in a slow descent as the bodies,
as simply as their voices rose, slither to the floor and the robes
are snapped open to reveal lingerie. The song of veneration remains
resolute. The imagery is vivid and immediately sets up the
contradictory forces of righteousness and human frailty, which are
at odds in Shakespeare’s tragi-comic play, "Measure for Measure."
This daring and finely executed production – the latest from the
Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company (LAWSC) – plays at the
Gascon Theater until June 29. "Measure for Measure" opens with Duke
Vincentio, who after allowing the subjects of Vienna 19 years of
wanton behavior, decides to pass the responsibility of weeding a
city-turned-brothel to Angelo, a man known for "stricture and firm
abstinence." Unbeknownst to the others, the Duke sneaks away,
cloaks himself in the habit of a friar and re-enters the Viennese
society in disguise. With an unswerving sense of justice and now
the power to enforce it, Angelo sentences Claudio to death because
he and Juliet, who is with child, are not legally wed. A trivial
transgression as far as many are concerned, but Angelo is resolute
in his judgments. The virtuous Isabella, Claudio’s sister, is then
solicited. Angelo, despite himself, is smitten with Isabella so
much that he offers her brother’s freedom at the cost of her body.
The rest of the play traces the Duke’s clever tricks, with plot
twists here and there. This culminates in a delicious last scene in
which all the characters are at a loss (except the fortunate
audience) until the Duke conveniently steps in and restores order.
One is tempted to think the Duke had orchestrated the entire thing
from the beginning. The talented cast, especially Lisa Wolpe
(Angelo) prove that Shakespeare can thrive in the hands of women.
Wolpe’s ability to deliver Angelo’s dissonance, especially the
pivotal scenes where she privately struggles with an awareness of
her own passion, provides an intense exploration of the character.
Wolpe speaks the words as if they were her native tongue, and
presents an Angelo which is menacing, vulnerable and intriguing.
Karole Foreman, who plays Isabella, settled into her character with
time to become a virtuous and naive woman (who is unaware and
untouched by Angelo’s sexual innuendoes) equipped with a tongue of
reason and persuasion. Also essential to the cast are the clowns
Pompey and Elbow, who provide comic relief and a different
perspective to the gravity of the larger moral and human issues. So
too, Lucio, played by Susan Kelejian, makes the evening highly
enjoyable, for some justice ought be administered and who but the
presumptuous flatterer is left to get the whipping and hanging? The
production is a wonderful example of stagecraft, using simple
tricks of entrances and exits to facilitate the movement of the
plot, as well as lighting to heighten intense moments. Props are
not excessive, and the three ladders which serve no obvious purpose
in the beginning find value as the play closes. There is a biting
scene where Angelo flagellates himself before a cross for the
passions he discovers in himself. And although his act is the
appropriate punishment for a righteous man, a menacing darkness
encircles him as he continues to wrestle with himself. Again the
play highlights the dichotomy within man, who is house to both
virtue and vice. The comic interludes are also deftly set up; color
versus color, law versus vice, idealism versus necessity. The
Duke’s realm of black and purple garments are partnered to the
circus garb of Pompey. Pompey’s nemesis is the rubber baton-clad
Elbow, a simple constable of the law – although in this realm, the
bawds have the last word and authority is cuckolded. Yet the issues
and conflicts in the primary plot also have a place here, although
they are undermined with such a topsy-turvy kind of rationalization
that the audience members can only shake their heads and laugh.
LAWSC gives a fine and bold production, and is all the more
fascinating since it is delivered by an all-women cast. This
doesn’t compromise the play and although the idea of it might be
disorienting at first, much like the all-male cast of Swan Lake,
you might find yourself genuinely surprised, for in the end, all
the goods are delivered, measure for measure. THEATER: "Measure for
Measure" plays at the Gascon Theater at 8737 Washington Blvd. in
Culver City until June 29. Performances run Wednesday through
Thursday at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students.
For more information, call (310) 578-5511. The production is a
wonderful example of stage craft, using simple tricks … to
facilitate the movement of the plot.