On Friday, Feb. 21, I went to Lancaster Shakespeare Theatre’s opening production of “Measure For Measure”- a play by, you guessed it, William Shakespeare. When people think of Shakespeare, many of them recall reading scripts laden with terms only used in the 1600s that prove difficult to digest and understand enough to enjoy the actual plot. The difference between these memories and going to a performance of a Shakespeare play is that you are no longer responsible for playing all of the parts in your head. You get to experience visual effects, music accompaniment and hear the emotions that affect how the plot progresses. In this case, I got to see wonderful actors recounting and playing this story right in front of me, which made the experience of both the theater itself and the story written by Shakespeare a joy.
For those who have not heard of “Measure For Measure,” as it is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, it is a bit of an anomaly in the usual overarching themes of a Shakespearean play. Almost always, his plays can be categorized as being either a tragedy or a comedy. “Measure For Measure,” however, has such pervasive elements of both that it falls under a kind of gray area. At the time of its release, this gray area was a lot less popular, seeing as people preferred to experience a definite ending. However, viewers of contemporary theater often enjoy being able to craft their ideas and themes inside of a more open-ended plot. Lancaster Shakespeare Theatre used this preference in such a beautifully crafted way that made me reassess my view of the characters and the moral implications of the play as a whole long after the bows finished.
Another audience member of “Measure for Measure” was Allure Cao. Cao appreciated many aspects of the performance, including both the acting and the ambiance of the theater.
“My favorite character was Isabella. I think the actor was just so humorous and her exaggerated motions were my favorite… and I feel like she really just owned the show. Every time she was off stage I was still thinking about her presence,” Cao said.
Not only did Cao enjoy the acting, but something else that made them interested in this production was the locality of it.
“…but I also liked that it was a local show, and I could personally relate to the people because they’re performing in a church and it’s just very quaint and homey and I enjoyed that,” Cao said.
The main character of this play, the Duke, is a liberal man who runs his city of Vienna kindly and is loved by his citizens. Eventually, however, he disguises himself as a friar to see how people view him in his absence and to bring more conservative measures to the city through another character, Angelo. The Duke was such a faceted and deeply flawed person to both act as and experience, and was portrayed masterfully by Jeremiah Miller.
The Duke’s aforementioned counterpart who takes over in his absence is Angelo. Played by Justin Hopkins, Angelo is an unrelenting and cruel man who sentences another character, Claudio, to death for fornication and jails other characters in the play. Witnessing Hopkins play Angelo was such an emotional rollercoaster. The subtleties, like minuscule changes in facial expression or eye contact that an actor has to be able to convey to their audience in order to make someone like Angelo as contradictory and upsetting to watch as he was, were displayed noticeably and very well. The shifts in mood and moments of disgust that I felt when watching Hopkins’ performance of Angelo were perfect for the play as a whole.
Another important character in this production was played by our very own Dylan Kranch, who teaches English and Drama at MTHS. Kranch performed as Pompey, a bawdy and outgoing pimp. Throughout the play, Pompey has many hilariously inappropriate moments and advocates for the liberal policies originally established by the Duke. Kranch conveys this humor and sense of justice in a very balanced way, which made watching Pompey interact with and advocate for other characters in the play a really touching scene.
“So, for me, Pompey was really fun because he is totally different than who I am normally. I got to take little aspects of myself and infuse his sarcastic sardonic humor. Like being a teacher, I have to be pretty buttoned up to a certain extent. And what this allowed me to do is it allowed me to release a little bit and be a little bit looser than I normally would be,” Kranch said.
Not only were the performances in this production phenomenal, but the behind-the-scenes work, like special effects, lighting and music augmented the play excellently. The audience sat on two sides of the floor, and both the middle of the floor and the stage were used by the actors. Behind the audience on both sides of the room were props and spaces for the actors to use as well. This configuration made me feel extremely immersed in the story and really blurred the lines between audience and actor. I felt almost as though I was being interacted with and mattered in the telling of the story even though none of the actors directly involved the audience. Throughout the play, different colors of lights were used to convey different emotions, and there were times when the room went completely dark and silent in order to create a stark change of scene. Overall, as an audience member, it was a wonderful experience to feel part of and not just a spectator in.
There were so many other wonderful actors in this production who portrayed their characters beautifully and contributed to my enjoyment of the play enormously. Experiencing a Shakespeare play that can make you laugh at the same jokes that 16th-century viewers would laugh at is a really beautiful thing. The next time you hear of a Shakespeare production near you, especially by the Lancaster Shakespeare Theatre, I encourage you to give it a try. You might end up finding enjoyment in something you never expected to before.
To learn more about Lancaster Shakespeare Theatre’s upcoming performances, check out their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lancastershakespearetheatre?igsh=MTkzN2hzcm1hOHA1OQ==
