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Coriolanus
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Oh, mother, mother! What have you done?
--- Coriolanus |
Christian Camargo as Coriolanus
(Photo: Gerry Goodstein ) |
Coonrod is no newcomer to Shakespeare and her conflated versions of the three Henry VI plays at the Public Theater was excitingly and memorably staged. (The Edged Sword & Black Sword). What she has not done is to make this all gray production -- set, costumes, action and, alas, even most of the acting -- exciting and accessible. Coonrood is certainly not the first to put the characters for this or other Shakespeare plays into modern, semi-military costumes of an uncertain period but there's a particularly unappealing look to the outfits seen here and the other directorial ideas don't fare any better. The result is an over-stylized, overly long three hours that's doubly disappointing in the light of the expectations set up by TFANA's enthralling season opener, Svjek. (my review)
Coriolanus is, not Shakespeare's easiest and poetic play and it needs the colorful sturm and drang battles that have here been more or less relegated to the viewer's imagination. Ideally, a director will capture the divergent views of George Bernard Shaw who called Coriolanus Shakespeare's greatest comedy and T. S. Eliot who called it his favorite tragedy. Difficult? Sure. But it can be and was done five years ago by Shakespeare & Company's visionary artistic director, Tina Packer -- first in a converted old stable and a year later to initiate the Berkshire company's new Founders Theater in Lenox. Following the bare bones casting common in Shakespeare's day (just nine actors), Ms. Packer and her troupe evoked the disgruntled masses, staged vivid battles and created striking images and the actor playing the title character fully captured the youthful stubbornness and defiance of the ferocious warrior. (See links below).
The TFANA Coriolanus is also fairly bare bones (15 instead of 9 actors) but in the high-ceilinged stage of John Jay College's Gerald W. Lynch Theater, the cast seems more skeletal than historically authentic bare bones. Set designer John Conklin would have been well advised to enclose the playing area in a less massive frame of gray walls. The graffiti scrawled on these walls during the first act come off as a gimmick and instead of summarizing the Roman citizens' discontent underscores the overall lack of psychological depth. The intra-scene movement of the silvery tables and chairs is dangerously distracting in a production that has such a weak grip on the viewer's emotions.
Perhaps all my quibbles with this staging would collapse if the main role were played with the required fire. Having seen Christian Camargo bring another complex character, Christopher Marlowe, to fully realized life (Kit Marlowe), I expected him to evoke the characteristics of the warrior's physical derring-do, the patrician's stubborn pride and mama's boy's inability to stand up to his formidable mother. Unfortunately, while he fits the part well physically, he has capitulated to the cool modernity of this production and thus created a competent but emotionally uninvolving portrait.
Roberta Maxwell as the formidable Volumnia delivers Shakespeare's line with the clarity one expects from this excellent actress, but she too is not quite what Lizzie Loveridge in one of CurtainUp's three Coriolanus reviews called "the definitive mother with balls." The best performances come from Jonathan Fried as the young warrior's friend Menenius and Simeon Moore as Sicinius.
Those unfamiliar with the plot are advised to read the text or at least arrive early enough to read the excellent synopsis supplied in the program. Advance preparation is unlikely to be needed for TFANA's third and last offerings of the season, the more light-hearted Souls of Naples by Eduard DeFilippo which will be directed by Roman Pasko and star John Turturro.
LINKS TO REVIEWS OF OTHER CORIOLANUS PRODUCTIONS:
Coriolanus at London's Old Vic
Ralph Fiennes as Coriolanus-- in Londonn. . .and at BAM
Coriolanus at Shakespeare & Company
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Coriolanus 2/12/05 to 3/05/05; opening 2/16/05. www.tfana.org/coriolanus.html for a compete performance schedule. Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Karin Coonrod Cast: Christian Camargo (Coriolanus), Jonathan Fried (Menenius Agrippa), Jennifer Ikeda (Soldier, etc), Ezra Knight (Cominius), Paul Niebanck (Titus Lartius), Roberta Maxwell (Volumnia), Patrice Johnson (Virgilia), Anne Louise Zachry (Valeria), Simeon Moore (Sicinius Velutus), Michael Rogers (Junius Brutus), Teagle F. Bougere (Tullus Aufidius), Michael Ray Escamilla, Mathew Maher and Charles Tuthill (Conspirators). Set Design: John Conklin Costume Design: Anita Yavich Lighting Design: Scott Zielinski Music and Sound Design: Ben Neill Vocal Coaches, Cicely Berry and Kate Maré Fight Director: J. Steven White Running time: 3 hours with one intermission. Theatre for a New Audience at The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue (between 58th/59th Streets)www.tfana.org/coriolanus.html. From 2/12/05 to 3/08/05; opening 2/17/05 Reviewed by Elyse Sommer based on 2/17/05. |
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
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Our Review
Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
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