It’s all hands on deck for Insight Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare in Love. The cast of 24 includes many faces familiar to regular theater-goers; I suspect this may have something to do with the actors’ eagerness to try their hand at the adaptation of the 1998 award-winning film of the same name. Their efforts have paid off very well indeed.
The story plays (sorry – inadvertent pun) off the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher “Kit” Marlowe, his contemporary and fellow writer. There are, of course, arguments about whether Marlowe actually wrote some of the plays attributed to Shakespeare, but the collegial relationship here is an interesting one. Aaron Dodd gives a very fine performance as Shakespeare and Spencer Sickmann charms as Marlowe.
The film’s screenplay was written by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, pretty impressive lineage; this is an adaptation of it by Lee Hall. The story line isn’t as complex as the movie, but that’s fine; it allows for a little goofing around and some swordplay, for instance.
In Shakespeare’s time, theatre was disreputable (as were many now-honorable things – like nursing) and women were not, by law, allowed onstage. Indeed, theaters themselves were held to be somewhat off-color, and while women did attend, many upper-crust ladies wore masks, say some sources, to disguise their being at such a democratic entertainment. So when a well-born young lady, Viola de Lesseps, finds she loves the words and work of young Shakespeare and wants to be a player on the stage, she has to don men’s clothing and audition as “Thomas Kent”. Gwendolyn Wotawa brings plenty of passion to her Viola.
It’s never not fun to watch Whit Reichert and Joneal Joplin, above, play off each other – one prime example of the above-mentioned goofing around was Whit working with his hat, including a split second of his doing Gabby Hayes .It was fun watching Carl Overly, Jr., roaring as Sir Robert de Lesseps and Shane Signorino’s preening Ned Alleyn, a leading actor of the day. And we’ve got the bonus of live music from seven musicians, several of which also appear in roles in the show.
Suki Peters directed Shakespeare in Love, pulling it all together with elan and with interesting details. Elizabethan costumes are always fun to look at, and these from Julian King live up to potential; doubtless wardrobe mistress Emma Hersom had her hands full. Chuck Winning did the set, with much moving-about, probably, one suspects, the sort of thing Elizabethan players had to do as well. The sound at Grandel is always tricky, here the work of sound designer Robin Weatherall and engineer James Blanton were better than what is often found in the venue. In addition, a tip from a long-time theater professional was to sit close to the stage. The ticketing here is general admission and it’s easy to do, happily, giving fine results for both visual and auditory details.
It’s a pleasure. Goeth thou.
Shakespeare in Love
through September 15
Insight Theatre Company
https://insighttheatrecompany.com/
Grandel Theater
3610 Grandel Square