#1
Posted: 11/4/07 at 12:27pm
So - I saw last nights preview performance of "Cymbeline" at LCT and thought I should post a review.
First I should note - I am VERY familiar with this show. It's been one of my favorites from a very young age, and I actually played Imogen in an off-Broadway production a couple of years ago. So I know this show backwards and forwards.
Overall I had a great time. The two things that really impressed me about this production were its ability to find the humour, and its solid presentation of the various foils (such as Clotton/Posthumous, Rome/Britain, etc.)
The set was lovely, as were the costumes and lighting. Though I have to say, I'm not sure everyone on the production staff reached a concensus about when they had decided to set the story. Towards the beginning of the play Imogen appears in a BEATUTIFUL white/pink/and turqouoise dress worthy of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" and later we see some sort of soothsayer who looks like he just stepped out of the stone age even though he's a high official from Rome. In terms of lighting - there was one stunning moment right before intermission when Imogen (in her white dress) is bathed in stars. Lovely.
Now for the cast. And I have to say it's rather mixed. First the bad. Phylicia Rashad was terrible. I say this with extreme reticence as I'm a big fan of hers, and have actually had the opportunity to meet her in person. She is a beautiful person, and a beautiful actress, but this just isn't her role. She's just not wicked. At all. I wouldn't mind this if the wickedness was replaced by a fully fleshed out three dimensional person, but it seems (and if this is the case, it's certainly not her fault) as though her entire direction consisted of the phrase "So, your son Clotton's an idiot. We need to see where he gets that from." For me this story has a lot in common with "Snow White" and if you don't believe that the Queen is a threat, there's a problem. The audience was laughing at her soloquies about how she was going to kill Imogen and Pisanio. Not good. However I did like her screams at the end when she was dying.
Actually this brings up another issue. I could barely hear the actors! Ms. Rashad was probably the worst offendor - but none of the actors were miked and (while I'm all for unmiked performances) LCT is not designed for it, and the actors didn't seem to be making much of an effort to project. Enunciate - yes. Project - no.
Ms. Plimpton - I like her very much as an actress. But to be honest, she was just too old for the role. Imogen is supposed to be in her late teens/early twenties. Ms. Plimpton while certainly beautiful, and attractive, actually looked older than Ms. Rashad. The blonde Alice in Wonderlandesque wig didn't help. And (as someone who's played the role) she skipped a lot of lines. I know that it's common to cast someone older in such a famous role. But for me, this one didn't work. (By the way - check out Helen Mirren's performance as Imogen in the BBC filmed production.)
Michael Cerveris - again I think he was miscast. I actually liked him much better in the second act. He was doing his best, but I just didn't think it was the right role for him. Again, the wig didn't help - he looked like Legolas's long lost (brunette) brother.
John Pankow as Pasanio was forgettable - which made me very angry as he is one of my favorite characters in the show.
Oh - and Cymbeline kept forgetting his lines.
Now to the good. Jonathan Cake as Iacamo was BRILLIANT! Perfect in the role. And I could understand everything he said. He went from being a Rupert Everetesque braggart in his "wager" scene, to being a nervous schoolboy in his scene with Imogen. I couldn't wait for him to come back on stage.
The two brothers were also wonderful. Their commitment and deadpan humor brought much of the humor into the show with out sacrificing the depth and heart.
With that said - there was something that greatly irked me.
I know it's common in shows to have private onstage jokes, or gags. Believe me I understand. But I found it EXTREMELY inappropriate when those gags are being done 1.) In a dramatic Shakespearian scene 2.) When you're only on your THIRD PREVIEW (I find these gags more common, and a little easier to forgive when the cast has been doing a show for a very long run, and 3.) When there is no attempt to hide them from the audience. One of the brothers (I believe David Furr) while carrying the supposed dead Imogen to her grave was fondling her breasts, and tickling her both on her breasts and on other parts of her body. Later in the last scene when Imogen's back is to the audience and David Furr was facing her, he burst out laughing at a (not totally hidden) face she made at him. NOT COOL. Come on people. We're not five.
Cloten did a good job - and though I didn't think he was totally right for the role, in this production he was the perfect foil for Posthumous.
Herb Foster was hysterical as Cornelius. He decided to make the character slightly senile and added much humor, and many a belly laugh to the proceedings while still making us believe that he cared about the events taking place.
I also loved the two "Gentlemen" who served as narrators.
The suprise performance of the evening was Ezra Knight at a minor, and often forgettable role - that of Caius Lucious - the Roman officer. He was in turns strong and imposing, and gentle and loving and gave the entire play new meaning by identifing said characteristics with the Roman army. This is the first time seeing the show when I actually wouldn't have minded the Romans winning.
Except for the odd direction of the Queen, I found the direction to be pretty solid. Mark Lamos seemed to conclude that "Cymbeline" is about the danger of following your passions to their ultimate end - and it was clear in every choice made (something that can't often be said for theater in general, let alone Shakespeare. The plot was made very clear by having action take place in slower time, or tableaus while characters spoke their asides directly to the audience in their own light. Actually I think this production took full advantage of using the audience in asides, and I was very thankful. Everyone and everything was a foil for something else - right down to Imogen and Posthumous being foils for Britain and Rome. They were really able to unify both parts to the show - including the "Jupiter" section.
My only other problem was I'm not sure if they intended everything that was funny to be funny. There were several dramatic moments where the audience would burst out laughing and the cast would seem genuinely suprised.
All in all it's a very smart production of the play, though perhaps not the BEST. I had a lovely time, and I reccomend it - if for no other reason then to familiarize yourself with this BRILLIANT but lesser known Shakespeare play.
First I should note - I am VERY familiar with this show. It's been one of my favorites from a very young age, and I actually played Imogen in an off-Broadway production a couple of years ago. So I know this show backwards and forwards.
Overall I had a great time. The two things that really impressed me about this production were its ability to find the humour, and its solid presentation of the various foils (such as Clotton/Posthumous, Rome/Britain, etc.)
The set was lovely, as were the costumes and lighting. Though I have to say, I'm not sure everyone on the production staff reached a concensus about when they had decided to set the story. Towards the beginning of the play Imogen appears in a BEATUTIFUL white/pink/and turqouoise dress worthy of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" and later we see some sort of soothsayer who looks like he just stepped out of the stone age even though he's a high official from Rome. In terms of lighting - there was one stunning moment right before intermission when Imogen (in her white dress) is bathed in stars. Lovely.
Now for the cast. And I have to say it's rather mixed. First the bad. Phylicia Rashad was terrible. I say this with extreme reticence as I'm a big fan of hers, and have actually had the opportunity to meet her in person. She is a beautiful person, and a beautiful actress, but this just isn't her role. She's just not wicked. At all. I wouldn't mind this if the wickedness was replaced by a fully fleshed out three dimensional person, but it seems (and if this is the case, it's certainly not her fault) as though her entire direction consisted of the phrase "So, your son Clotton's an idiot. We need to see where he gets that from." For me this story has a lot in common with "Snow White" and if you don't believe that the Queen is a threat, there's a problem. The audience was laughing at her soloquies about how she was going to kill Imogen and Pisanio. Not good. However I did like her screams at the end when she was dying.
Actually this brings up another issue. I could barely hear the actors! Ms. Rashad was probably the worst offendor - but none of the actors were miked and (while I'm all for unmiked performances) LCT is not designed for it, and the actors didn't seem to be making much of an effort to project. Enunciate - yes. Project - no.
Ms. Plimpton - I like her very much as an actress. But to be honest, she was just too old for the role. Imogen is supposed to be in her late teens/early twenties. Ms. Plimpton while certainly beautiful, and attractive, actually looked older than Ms. Rashad. The blonde Alice in Wonderlandesque wig didn't help. And (as someone who's played the role) she skipped a lot of lines. I know that it's common to cast someone older in such a famous role. But for me, this one didn't work. (By the way - check out Helen Mirren's performance as Imogen in the BBC filmed production.)
Michael Cerveris - again I think he was miscast. I actually liked him much better in the second act. He was doing his best, but I just didn't think it was the right role for him. Again, the wig didn't help - he looked like Legolas's long lost (brunette) brother.
John Pankow as Pasanio was forgettable - which made me very angry as he is one of my favorite characters in the show.
Oh - and Cymbeline kept forgetting his lines.
Now to the good. Jonathan Cake as Iacamo was BRILLIANT! Perfect in the role. And I could understand everything he said. He went from being a Rupert Everetesque braggart in his "wager" scene, to being a nervous schoolboy in his scene with Imogen. I couldn't wait for him to come back on stage.
The two brothers were also wonderful. Their commitment and deadpan humor brought much of the humor into the show with out sacrificing the depth and heart.
With that said - there was something that greatly irked me.
I know it's common in shows to have private onstage jokes, or gags. Believe me I understand. But I found it EXTREMELY inappropriate when those gags are being done 1.) In a dramatic Shakespearian scene 2.) When you're only on your THIRD PREVIEW (I find these gags more common, and a little easier to forgive when the cast has been doing a show for a very long run, and 3.) When there is no attempt to hide them from the audience. One of the brothers (I believe David Furr) while carrying the supposed dead Imogen to her grave was fondling her breasts, and tickling her both on her breasts and on other parts of her body. Later in the last scene when Imogen's back is to the audience and David Furr was facing her, he burst out laughing at a (not totally hidden) face she made at him. NOT COOL. Come on people. We're not five.
Cloten did a good job - and though I didn't think he was totally right for the role, in this production he was the perfect foil for Posthumous.
Herb Foster was hysterical as Cornelius. He decided to make the character slightly senile and added much humor, and many a belly laugh to the proceedings while still making us believe that he cared about the events taking place.
I also loved the two "Gentlemen" who served as narrators.
The suprise performance of the evening was Ezra Knight at a minor, and often forgettable role - that of Caius Lucious - the Roman officer. He was in turns strong and imposing, and gentle and loving and gave the entire play new meaning by identifing said characteristics with the Roman army. This is the first time seeing the show when I actually wouldn't have minded the Romans winning.
Except for the odd direction of the Queen, I found the direction to be pretty solid. Mark Lamos seemed to conclude that "Cymbeline" is about the danger of following your passions to their ultimate end - and it was clear in every choice made (something that can't often be said for theater in general, let alone Shakespeare. The plot was made very clear by having action take place in slower time, or tableaus while characters spoke their asides directly to the audience in their own light. Actually I think this production took full advantage of using the audience in asides, and I was very thankful. Everyone and everything was a foil for something else - right down to Imogen and Posthumous being foils for Britain and Rome. They were really able to unify both parts to the show - including the "Jupiter" section.
My only other problem was I'm not sure if they intended everything that was funny to be funny. There were several dramatic moments where the audience would burst out laughing and the cast would seem genuinely suprised.
All in all it's a very smart production of the play, though perhaps not the BEST. I had a lovely time, and I reccomend it - if for no other reason then to familiarize yourself with this BRILLIANT but lesser known Shakespeare play.
Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken
