26
Jan
2016
While waiting for the Prenzie Players' Thursday-night dress rehearsal of the William Shakespeare comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost to begin, I realized it had been a long time since I had seen one of the Bard of Avon’s plays performed live. I pondered whether I would be able to follow the plot and comprehend the dialogue. I worried that the show might be too stuffy for my unrefined sense of theatre. “Holy crap, I'm supposed to write a review – what if I don’t get it?” Yet as the show began, the Prenzies put my neuroses to rest very quickly.
Much of Friday's performance of the Prenzie Players' Antony & Cleopatra played almost like a romantic comedy. Director Kate Farence's staging of William Shakespeare's tragedy feels lighter and funnier than perhaps the material calls for, with the titular couple enjoying their post-Julius Caesar relationship - and ultimately dealing with Rome's political power plays and battles - amidst a den of hedonism, with hippie-esque attendants engaging in swinging orgies and drug use. Matt Moody's set design even has the lovers reclining on a tiered platform covered in colorful pillows and blankets, a seeming nod to the pair's interest in each other over the power of a throne. And the personality in Farence's production proves titillating - and should make the show more palatable for those who might not enjoy a stuffier version.
The local theatre troupe the Prenzie Players is most commonly known for stylistically bold, occasionally gender-bending takes on classical dramas and comedies, principally the works of William Shakespeare. But the company is about to embark on a particularly challenging experiment with its forthcoming production of the debuting Bear Girl - and the play's author, Prenzie co-founder J.C. Luxton, could hardly be accused of aiming too low.
There are moments of magic in the Prenzie Players' Romeo & Juliet, beginning with the first words heard in the prologue: "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene." These lines are delivered in the midst of a sword fight that spreads across the acting space - the fighters freeze, ethereal music wafts in from above, and Adam Overberg delivers Shakespeare's well-known introduction, setting the stage for this tale of ill-fated, star-crossed lovers. The moment is stunningly executed, and sets in motion an excitement for what's to come.
Roughly 10 minutes before the Prenzie Players' presentation of The Winter's Tale gets underway, there's a brief, improvisational scene between the Bohemian king Polixenes (David Furness) and Prince Mamillius (Stephanie Moeller), the young son of the king and queen of Sicily.
