Artistic Director Jared Sakren knows how to run a Shakespeare repertory company. In fact, he's running two in the Copper State, and we should all be glad he's been given that chance. His productions typically make daring choices, are imbued with a deep understanding of the text, and he finds great performers with whom to work. While he didn't direct this production of Shakespeare Sedona's All's Well That Ends Well, instead giving the opportunity to Jesse Berger, his imprint is everywhere on the production, and he's fast turning me into a fan. He and Mr. Berger have managed to take one of the scripts that I've never found too funny by Shakespeare and kept me interested and entertained throughout the entire show.
Recently orphaned widow Helena, daughter of a famed doctor, is living in the court of the beneficent Countess of Rossillion, herself a recent widow. Helena is hopelessly in love with the Countess' cold son, Bertram, someone far out of her social realm. After one of her father's medicines cures the King of France, she is given the chance to marry anyone in his court. She chooses the unwilling Bertram who flees to war-torn Florence to escape his commitment. Through clever trickery, she seeks to ensnare Bertram while he's pursuing his next intended. Rarely in a Shakespeare script have two lovers been less deserving: Bertram is a snob, while Helena is a kind of Elizabethan stalker. There are clever lines, enjoyable moments, and buffoonish characters, but the central conceit is apologized for in the title; yes, the lovers are questionable, but it's all right if they wind up together in the end.
Mr. Berger has paced the show perfectly, utilizing the meter when apropos, and discarding it both in character and in sequence when necessary for the betterment of the show. His staging is inventive, and he draws the perfect intensity from his well-cast performers.
Featured in the show is Michael Learned as the Countess. She handles the character very well, making her the one moral base in a show of courtly intrigue. She is strong of voice and of choice, brimming with elegance and genuine emotion. As forlorn Helena, Toi Perkins is both sprightly and serious, allowing the audience to ignore the textually questionable ways in which she goes about catching her man. Joel David Maurice is a dark, brooding Bertram, impressively making the transition to gadabout and eventual fool. His only slight misstep is the lack of believability of the transition in his views of Helena on final return to the court, but this is the kind of unsubstantiated switch that can give gifted actors fits.
The supporting group is lead by hilarious performances from Bradley P. Jones as the braggart Parolles and Hamilton Mitchell as Lavatch the court clown. Mr. Jones is a hoot as he verbally spars with Helena and when tricked by his regiment into unbelievable confessions. Mr. Mitchell offers such a different take on his clown character that nearly every word out of his mouth, most of which aren't quite as clever as many of Shakespeare's other fools, are impossible not to laugh at. Ken Love is a little stiff as the imperious King, though he greatly improves during the final sequence. Solid performances also come from Michael Sherwin, Pati Davis Suarez, Matthew Proschuld, and Sandra Shallcross.
Jeff Thomson's set is very cleverly conceived, and having the audience put onto the large stage to create a more intimate space is a welcome choice. Claude Pensis' lighting is impressive, as is Richard Jennings' original score. While Lois K. Myers' costumes are generally period, some are unflattering, and others were so wrinkled, they looked as though they had been slept in.
Southwest Shakespeare is offering another great reason to head north out of the Valley for theatre. If they can make an enjoyable evening out of one of Shakespeare's lesser comedies, I eagerly await their offering of one of his greatest tragedies, Othello. Make it a weekend, and plan to see two Shakespeare plays while visiting the Red Rocks.
Note: All's Well is being performed in repertory with Othello, which will be reviewed next week.
Production Details:
All's Well That Ends Well by
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare Sedona
The Georgia Frontiere Performing Arts Pavilion - Sedona Cultural
Park
(800) 780-ARTS
July 20th - August 5th, 2001 (In repertory with Othello.
Call for performance dates)