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A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review
A Wither's Tale
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Oh, honey, it won't be funny, 'cause we're going to Shakespeare land.
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Chelsea Sutton of Monica Schneider (Hermione), Matt Walker (Leontes)
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Fans of the Troubadour Theater Company &mdash and as 10 year partners at the Falcon Theatre, the company has many &mdash have seen dashes of this before. The titles may be madcap (Fleetwood Macbeth, Hamlet the Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Denmark, anyone?), but Shakespeare's dialogue does seem to find its way into the zaniness with increasing frequency. This is especially true of the gloomy Wither's Tale where the always energetic Troubie dance numbers and Bill Withers' music seem almost to be intruding upon Shakespeare rather than blending with it.
A quick and dirty 90 minutes though it is, Wither's Tale feels like two different shows crammed together. There's the Toluca Lake part where the (unfounded) suspicions of jealous King Leontes of his queen Hermione lead to tragedy followed by the pastoral romping (and clowning to match) in the kingdom of North Hollywood where Perdita and Florizel come together and help make things right. Those first oh, 45 minutes or so are pretty darned somber, so much so that people leaving the theater were commenting on how uncharacteristically grim the Troubies were making things.
Give actor/director Matt Walker his due. He knows funny, but he can also summon up an appropriately tormented Leontes, and Monica Schneider, his Hermione, is no lightweight herself. The introduction of Withers' songs slot easily enough into place. Hermione sings "I Wish You Well" to Polixenes (Matt Merchant), and a suspcious Leontes, spurred on in his distrust by a spandex clad Green-Eyed Monster (Joseph Keane) wonders "Who is He and What is He To You?"
The songs and the bits feel a bit more like interruptions than inspirations. When a high-haired Beth Kennedy comes on as Hermione's faithful servant Paulina to reprove Leontes, the scene is played comedy free, something Kennedy and Walker don't usually play at. Lisa Valenzuela cuts an impressive sight as a mournful singing Oracle with some rather impressive headgear (Costumes by Sharon McGunigle).
Once Wither's Tale goes into pastoral NoHo, however, all bets are off and the Troubies feel like they're racing to make up for elapsed comic time. Kennedy returns as the Shepherd who finds the infant Perdita, and spends an eternity riffing on the abilities of a toy sheep (Walker trying to kick flip his hat onto his head also smacks of a time burn).
Katherine Malak's quite frisky Perdita and Brandon Bereault's flower child Florizel get their groove on during an energetic shepherds dance. Back in Toluca Lake, King Leontes pines for his dead Queen and for the infant daughter he sent away. Hey, they do have to incorporate "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" and "Just the Two of Us" into the action, right? And why the Troubies skipped the opportunity to lampoon the statue comes back to life re-introduction of Hermione is a question for the ages.
It's entirely possible that Walker and Co. spread themselves too thin. Coming off the summer show, CHIPS: The Musical and with the Troubie holiday show The First Jo-El due in December, the Shakespeare may simply have been given short shrift. Or maybe the company will some day take the reverse plunge and do a straight Shakespeare, perhaps even in rep with a corresponding mash-up show. Stranger things could happen. Ever encouraging is the list of titles the group still intends to work through: by all means, bring on Measure Foreigner Measure, and Duran Duran Antony and Cleopatra> and please remember to keep them crazy.
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A Wither's Tale By The Troubadour Theater Company Directed by Matt Walker Cast: Brandon Breault (Cleomenes/Florizel), Heidi Brucker (Dorcas), Travis Clark (Antigonus), Marissa Ingasci (Mopsa), Jabberwocky (Bear), Joseph Keane (Dion, Green Eyed Monster, Shepherd), Beth Kennedy (Paulina/Shepherd), Katherine Malak (Perdita), Erin Matthews (Emilia), Matt Merchant (Polixenes), Moncia Schneider (Hermione), Mike Sulprizio (Camillo/Gaoler), Lisa Valenzuela (Mamillus/Oracle), Matt Walker (Leontes/Clown) Stage Manager: Corey Womack Costume Design: Sharon McGunigle Lighting Design: Jeremy Pivnick Sound Designer: Robert Arturo Ramirez Musical Director: Eric Heinly Choreographer: Ameenah Kaplan Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes with no intermission Falcon Theatre 4252 Riverside Dr., Burbank. (818) 955-8101, www.FalconTheatre.com. From August 11 to September 26 Wed.-Sat. @ 8pm, Sun @ 4pm. Reviewed by Evan Henerson, based on August 21 performance |
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