For the safety of artists and audiences, we have decided to CANCEL all remaining performances of Measure for Measure, Classic Sundays: The Roaring Girl, and to suspend all activities until the end of March.
Sex and hypocrisy abound in William Shakespeare’s dark comedy about the corruption of power and authority, and the true nature of mercy and justice. His world is familiar: sex is a commodity, government is subject to the leader’s moral whimsy, and licentiousness goes head to head with emergency powers to constrain and punish. Feb. 21-April 6; $15-$35; Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 East Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205; (818) 506-1983 or www.antaeus.org.
Even the language of the play — clearly and vividly delivered by the cast — is strictly parallel in structure. Arguments are carefully crafted with a rigid sense of right and wrong. But virtue and vice aren’t as antithetical as these characters think. Directors Elizabeth Swain and Armin Shimerman have double-cast several members of the company to emphasize that goodness and sin live intertwined in each of us.
The direction, credited to Armin Shimerman and Elizabeth Swain is swift and clear, the whole production feels like the theatrical equivalent of an “unplugged” album, with very little to get in the way of the words. - RECOMMENDED
Armin Shimerman & Elizabeth Swain share director duties making this program pit itself itself out from one scene into the next, offering everything one can expect to discover inside of a Shakespearian program as this one from its dramatic effects to its comical interludes. One thing about this play is it features a high conclusion that is left open ended. It showcases that a theater piece some 400 years old can be just as thrilling and captive in this high tech day and age as it was way back then.
Relatively uncomplicated of plot, surprisingly accessible despite its Elizabethan English, and given noteworthy contemporary significance by its directors, Measure For Measure adds up to one exciting evening of classical theater at Antaeus.
I so want to report with joy the work that Antaeus does. Sadly, ten minutes into the show I had the feeling that the best was probably not to come. Duty bound, I made an effort to follow the wonky plot and character challenges.
Antaeus Theatre Company’s excellent new production of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure focuses on how Angelo, newly appointed to serve as Duke in Vincentio’s absence, uses his newfound position to coerce sexual favors from Isabella, a novice nun. This production is directed by Armin Shimerman and Elizabeth Swain, and features some absolutely captivating performances, particularly by Carolyn Ratteray as Isabella, Ramón de Ocampo as Angelo, and Bo Foxworth as Lucio.
Even the language of the play — clearly and vividly delivered by the cast — is strictly parallel in structure. Arguments are carefully crafted with a rigid sense of right and wrong. But virtue and vice aren’t as antithetical as these characters think. Directors Elizabeth Swain and Armin Shimerman have double-cast several members of the company to emphasize that goodness and sin live intertwined in each of us.
The direction, credited to Armin Shimerman and Elizabeth Swain is swift and clear, the whole production feels like the theatrical equivalent of an “unplugged” album, with very little to get in the way of the words. - RECOMMENDED
Armin Shimerman & Elizabeth Swain share director duties making this program pit itself itself out from one scene into the next, offering everything one can expect to discover inside of a Shakespearian program as this one from its dramatic effects to its comical interludes. One thing about this play is it features a high conclusion that is left open ended. It showcases that a theater piece some 400 years old can be just as thrilling and captive in this high tech day and age as it was way back then.
Relatively uncomplicated of plot, surprisingly accessible despite its Elizabethan English, and given noteworthy contemporary significance by its directors, Measure For Measure adds up to one exciting evening of classical theater at Antaeus.
I so want to report with joy the work that Antaeus does. Sadly, ten minutes into the show I had the feeling that the best was probably not to come. Duty bound, I made an effort to follow the wonky plot and character challenges.
Antaeus Theatre Company’s excellent new production of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure focuses on how Angelo, newly appointed to serve as Duke in Vincentio’s absence, uses his newfound position to coerce sexual favors from Isabella, a novice nun. This production is directed by Armin Shimerman and Elizabeth Swain, and features some absolutely captivating performances, particularly by Carolyn Ratteray as Isabella, Ramón de Ocampo as Angelo, and Bo Foxworth as Lucio.
