Your first visit to this relatively new company will definitely not be your
last: not if you make that first visit during the brief run of this
delightful romantic romp. Fresh and energetic performances, clean and
intelligent staging, a strong sense of color and atmosphere, and most of
all, a delight in the material permeates this production and marks the
company as a welcome addition to the Potomac Region's notable collection of
companies specializing in quality classical theater. It is directed by
Isabelle Anderson who is on the faculty of the Shakespeare Theatre's Academy
of Classical Acting in Washington as well as Columbia University, New York
University, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and institutes in France and
Australia.
Storyline: A Countess in 17th Century Naples, despite a bevy of suitors
among the gentry at the court, is irresistibly attracted to her secretary,
at least as long as he is courting her lady in waiting. When he appears to
return the Countess' affection, however, she shuns his attention as unworthy
of her high station. The vacillating state of her affections turns the
entire court into turmoil as she, like the dog in the manger in Aesop's
fable, keeps everyone else from enjoying what she cannot enjoy
herself.
The play is one of hundreds
surviving from the pen of a remarkable Spaniard of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, a man who served in the Armada, wrote poetry as well
as plays, had a fabled series of marriages and romances, joined a religious
order and has come to be known as one of the two greatest playwrights of
Spain. The new translation is the work of local actor, playwright and
scholar Bob Alleman, who is a member of the company. He tackled the
translation because the company wasn't satisfied with others available,
finding them either too formal or too "British." His work is neither.
Instead, it is brisk and energetic with a contemporary feel that doesn't
negate its age but honors it. The occasional modern reference simply keeps
it fresh. Surely Lope de Vaga didn't actually include a reference to prozac,
and the dreams of the secretary for marriage to the countess find a
distinctly modern sound in phrases such as "I'm down for the Count,"
but Alleman resists turning the translation into a display of his own wit,
focusing instead on that of Lope de Vega.
The text works particularly well as delivered by this cast who enunciate with such clarity but without
pretension. The lead lovers, Teresa Castracane as the Countess and Scott
Graham as her secretary, are well matched and give carefully modulated
performances which keeps the high spots from seeming too manic while
providing a good deal of variation and modulation throughout the progress of
the show. Two particularly enjoyable performances come from Jeff Tremper as
the secretary's lackey - the schemer who puts most of the complicating plot
devices into play - and Valerie Fenton as the lady in waiting who
unwittingly becomes her lady's rival.
The simple set design of four golden cloth
banners before a black platform hints at the sumptuousness of a Neapolitan
court efficiently, especially given the nice touch of medallions projected
onto two of them. Most of the feeling of courtly opulence comes from the
costumes ranging from the Countess' sumptuous gowns to the more restrained but
still richly detailed clothes of the servant class.
Written by Lope de Vega. A new translation by
Bob Alleman. Directed by Isabelle Anderson. Design: Dan O'Brien (set and
lights) Kristina Lambdin (costumes) Tara Garwood and Kristina Lambdin
(properties) Nathan Thomas and Ian Gallanar (sound) Nancy Garwood
(photography) Mary Hoffman (stage manager). Cast: Bob Alleman, Michael
Boynton, Teresa Castracane, Rebecca Ellis, Valerie Fenton, Tara Garwood,
Scott Graham, Patrick Kilpatrick, Leslie Malin, Frank B. Moorman,
Christopher Niebling, John Sadowsky, Jeff Tremper, Wayne Willinger. |
