There is no doubt that Antony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeareʼs most daunting plays. With action that ranges from Rome to Alexandria, land to sea, battle scenes, on stage suicides, confusing plot twists and hard to understand characters, the play is often more honored in theory than in production.
There has not been a professional production in the Bay Area for over 10 years. Happily, the present staging by the Marin Shakespeare Company under the skillful hand of founding Managing Director Lesley Schisgall Currier is one of great clarity and emotional profundity.
Mark Robinsonʼs minimalist set consists of two simple staging areas (a ship and an Egyptian building) to suggest Rome and Alexandria, allowing the actors to move fluidly and convincingly between locations without confusion. Abra Bermannʼs suggestive costumes do not strive for realism, but use simple components (plastic and paper) to convey such elaborate ideas as royal headdresses, gorgeous gowns, and fighting armor. As I saw a matinee performance, I cannot comment on the lighting design but was impressed at how easy it was to understand the action without benefit of light changes. The show is truly Elizabethan in its simplicity.
The intelligent, beautiful and sexy Marcia Pizzo is convincing as Cleopatra, a woman of middle age who is in complete mastery of her sexual power and thoroughly enjoys the game of teasing and pleasing her Antony. In her many mood shifts (Cleopatraʼs famed “infinite variety”) she delights and entrances. Childlike and irritating in some moods, she rises soaringly to heroic dignity in her final death scene as she refuses to be taken captive for display in Rome but dies like a goddess expecting to join her godlike lover. She is captivating.
Ms. Pizzoʼs Cleopatra is well matched by Marvin Greeneʼs Mark Antony. Movie star handsome and with the easy, but aging, graceful physicality of a great athlete and an emotional excitability equal to Ms. Pizzo, Mr. Greene avoids making Mark Antony an object of pity. It could be argued that Mark Antony is a pathetic man, manipulated by a strumpet and his own lust towards a tragic end. Mr. Greene suggests, however, that Antony is vulnerable to Cleopatraʼs charms not simply out of lust, but because he has learned to question the martial values by which he has lived. Tired of war and disgusted by the arrogance of the youthful Caesar, he is seeking an alternative way of life and ventures open-eyed into the arms of Cleopatra. Mr. Greene communicates the subtlety of Mark Antonyʼs thought with a supple vocal instrument and an impressively open face which registers every tweak of emotional and intellectual struggle. This is a memorable performance.
The remainder of the ensemble performs admirably in all respects. Stephen Klumʼs devastatingly effective Enobarbus deserves special mention. His vocal training at The Old Vic School is used well here. In every speech, his clarity of delivery and inner life make Shakespeareʼs complex language completely accessible. The arc of his characterʼs growth from loyalty to treachery to regret and ultimate suicide is a lesson in fine classical acting and thrilling to witness.
It is a commonplace among review editors to insist that nobody should write an entirely uncritical review. I find little to complain about in this production but in the interests of showing my evenhandedness, I suppose I could point out that my cup of Peetʼs coffee, purchased at intermission, was cold before I could drink it because I was too involved in the action. I love Peetʼs and this was a disappointment.”
“Antony and Cleopatra” runs at the Marin Shakespeare Festival through September 25, 2010. For further information click here.
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Rating: ***** (For an explanation of Theatrestorm’s rating scale, click here.)
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“Antony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare. Produced by Marin Shakespeare Company. Director: Lesley Shisgall Currier. Composer/Sound Designer: Billie Cox. Costume Design: Abra Berman. Fight Diretor: Richard Lane. Lighting Design: Ellen Brooks. Props Design: Joel and Toni Eis. Set Design: Mike Robinson.
Cast:
The Egyptians: Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt: Marcia Pizzo. Charmian, her lady: Alexandra Matthew. Iras, her lady: Lori Dorfman. Mardian, her eunuch: Gary Grossman. Her Soothsayer: Darren Bridgett. Euphronius, her schoolmaster: Scott Ragle. Seleucus, her treasurer: Lucas McClure. Ladies: Artemis Bell, Victorial Lee Williams. A rural fellow, bearing figs: Julian Lopez-Morillas.
The Triumvirate, Rulers of the Roman Empire: Mark Antony: Marvin Greene. Octavius Caesar: William Elsman. Lepidus: Julian Lopez-Morillas.
Challengers to the Triumvirate: Pompey, Son of Pompey the Great: Matt Franta. Menas, his sea captain: Scott Ragle. Varrius, his sea captain: Amber Templeton.
Romans: Octaivia, sister to Octavius Caesar: Cat Thompson. Maecenas, loyal to Caesar: Christopher Hammond. Dolabella, loyal to Caesar: Matt Franta. Proculeius, loyal to Caesar: Bennett Fisher. Enobarbua, loyal to Antony: Stephen Klum. Eros, loyal to Antony: Sam Leichter. Scarus, loyal to Antony: Lucas McClure. Alexis, loyal to Antony: Paul Loomis. Soldiers and Servants: Jasper Hirose, Crystal Munoz Tesch. Jessica Orr, Amber Templeton. A singer: Crystal Munoz Tesch.
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