“Measure for Measure” has always given directors fits.
It falls into a group of Shakespeare’s works traditionally called “problem plays.” Generally, the problem is the mix of serious subject matter with absurd behavior – marking it as a dark comedy in contrast with the broader farces of the earlier canon. It is as if the aging playwright’s shadings of mortality somehow tainted the form.
In the hands of artistic director Kent Thompson, however, the Denver Center Theatre Company’s production is a brilliant satire on permissiveness and religious hypocrisy.
Thompson has kept the setting in Vienna but moved the timeline forward 300 years, to the fin de siècle, when Freud’s theories were emerging. The church still held sway, and its patriarchic attitudes toward women dominated daily life. But there was a groundswell of self-examination and desire for greater personal liberties.
These conditions echo the original setting, where the liberal reign of Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, has created tension between religious and humanistic forces, but they also amplify the parallels with our own heated national debate between the so-called religious right and those who see themselves as the Bill of Rights’ defenders.
John Hutton, whose resonant voice and confident craft previously made him an effective Shylock and Macbeth, here plays the resourceful Duke. Disguised as a priest, Hutton sets the play’s tone by contrasting the regal airs of state with the derring-do of an insurrectionist. Given the creative use of biblical symbolism employed by the playwright, the playful meddling of Hutton’s Duke gives new meaning to contemporary liberation theology.
The foil for the Duke’s plans to shake up the social climate is Angelo, a man who represents himself and is perceived by many as a righteous example of Christian virtue and scholarship. From his introduction, when he accepts the temporary rulership of Vienna in the Duke’s absence, to his demise in the miasma of hypocrisy, Brent Harris’ Angelo is a detailed study of the effect of instinct on ideology.
As Harris unfolds his revelation of Angelo’s growing desire for Isabella, we see the desperation behind his excuses for behavior in himself that he had pronounced a deadly sin in Claudio (whom he has condemned to death for having premarital sex).
It falls to Isabella, novice nun and Claudio’s sister, to uphold true Christ-like compassion. Ruth Eglsaer never wavers in conveying Isabella’s spiritual faith, even when she is led to believe that Angelo has committed the ultimate betrayal.
Two of the most morally compelling moments in the play – when the Duke proposes to Isabella that she accede to the fallen Angelo’s devilish bargain (her virginity in trade for her brother’s life), and when the Duke proposes marriage to her – are deftly directed.
In the former, Thompson has Isabella relieved to accept the Duke’s “bed trick” (where Mariana, once betrothed to Angelo, will substitute for her in the tryst); in the latter, at the final curtain, he has Isabella pause as she considers forgoing her vows of poverty and celibacy to take wedding vows with the Duke.
Leaving Isabella’s final choice ambiguous, Thompson reconciles the play with modern sensibilities while delivering a statement on the marriage of spiritual and humanistic values.
The production’s crafts inform the play’s themes, particularly G.W. Mercier’s costumes and sets. Mercier’s Klimt-inspired motif offers a soulful alternative to the heavy-handed and hollow religiosity.
But it is the comedic elements that ultimately underpin the delivery of the play’s serious message. This is not just a matter of Shakespeare interjecting comic relief to break up the action and keep the groundlings interested, but the creation of a parallel plot that lightens the tragic elements.
Here, among the bawds, clowns, fools and fantastics, the depth of the company shows. Sam Gregory, David Ivers, Bill Christ, Karl Hanover, Philip Pleasants and Kathleen M. Brady provide enough mirth to perfectly balance the script’s challenging issues, measure for measure.
Bob Bows reviews theater for KUVO/89.3 FM, at ColoradoDrama.com and for Variety. He can be reached at BBows@ColoradoDrama.com.
**** | “Measure for Measure”
COMEDY|Denver Center Theatre Company|Written by William Shakespeare|Directed by Kent
Thompson|Starring John Hutton, Brent Harris, Ruth Eglsaer, Sam Gregory and David Ivers|The Stage Theatre; Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets|THROUGH FEB. 25 |Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30
p.m.; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday matinee at 1:30 p.m. $35-$45| 303-893-4100; outside the metro area 800-641-1222; TYY 303-893-9582; denvercenter.org
