Thu 1 Jul, 2010
Shakespeare’s King Phycus – REVIEW
Comments (0) Filed under: REVIEWS OF SHOWS 'Now Playing'Tags: 3 1/2 STARS, Shakespeare’s King Phycus, The Building Stage, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, The Strange Tree Group
By J. Scott Hill
For thou what thinks the Bard as but a fraud,
a nom de plume of Francis Bacon’s smith,
The Strange Tree Group and The Lord Chamb’lain’s Men
provide a play that just might prove you right.
King Phycus was the first of Shakespeare’s plays,
lost to the centuries for reasons sound,
until ostensibly recovered from
a trunk in Boise, Idaho, no less.
‘Tis all but playwright Tom Willmorth’s deft ruse
to cage this campy venture to amuse.
It took several hours of burning out my retinas on the unforgiving albedo of the empty page just to write eight lines of blank verse and a couplet in iambic pentameter. Tom Willmorth has the knack; his script for Shakespeare’s King Phycus is two-and-a-half hours of great fun, five ba-DUMs to a line. Willmorth has culled together iconic characters and plot elements from some of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, with additional dialog from classic vaudeville, popular song, and David Mamet.
The production’s commitment to the verisimilitude of the fish story about the authenticity of this lost Shakespeare begins in the lobby of The Building Stage, where museum-quality displays of the recently rediscovered manuscript of King Phycus figure prominently. Scenic Designer Jay Neander and his team manage to create an antiqued, distressed simulacrum so convincing that it might even dupe the Keno twins from Antiques Roadshow. Inside the theatre, the set is at first glance a fairly traditional Shakespearean plaza. A closer inspection reveals that some of the set is cleverly composed of modern trash: a semicircle of upturned beer bottles becomes a wall sconce, Starbucks lids become decorative molding. I hope that old property tax bills were recycled to fashion the papier-mâché Abraham Lincoln seated in one of the box seats house right.
The cast of Shakespeare’s King Phycus consists of only six actors, yet that humble cast stands in for thousands; even discounting the 20,000 Roman soldiers represented by a single performer, there are still a couple of dozen characters being performed by the sextet.
Among his several roles, Stuart Ritter discovers two completely distinct flavors of brooding as both Hamlet and Romeo. Delia Baseman shines brightest when she is Juliet, betrothed against her will to the beastly and deformed Richard (as in the Third) of Gloucester. The monstrous Gloucester is the best trick among many theatrical treats here from actor Bob Kruse. Although called upon to portray more characters than any other player, Scott Cupper’s best performance comes as the Chorus, skillfully guiding the audience to fill in the show’s shortcomings with high-end special effects out of their own imaginations.
Carolyn Klein proves herself to be a marvelous utility player in roles as varied as Lady MacBetty, the ghost of Gertrude, Juliet’s Nurse, and Hamlet’s old improviser friend Rosensteen. Her MacBetty is as vicious as her Rosensteen is goofy. She is especially good at damage control with the ill-conceived character of the Nurse, written in the style of Mammy from Gone With the Wind; Klein carefully, adeptly played just enough of that archetype to make it identifiable, without falling into the trap of playing a racist stereotype.
Michael T. Downey is new to the Chicago stage, and may have a bright future here. As Caesar, Downey is perfectly imperious and rapturously funny. As King Phycus, he displays moments of pure comic genius, particularly when Phycus is half-mad and blind.
Director Ira Amyx masterfully leads this exuberant troupe of cunning character actors through this intricately woven text. The pacing and the comic timing are impeccable.
You do not need to be a dramaturg nor a member of The Society for Creative Anachronism to enjoy this show. There are a few minor problems, such as the Nurse character and the overall length (this script could have had thirty minutes of exposition cherry-picked out of it to its benefit). Still, this is a wonderful production of a fabulous new show, a show destined to become an audience favorite at Shakespeare houses around the world.
Methinks Chicago Shakes should offer space
to Strange Tree Group and The Lord Chamb’lain’s Men
to bring King Phycus out to Navy Pier
to sanguine make but one midsummer’s night,
or two, or three, perhaps a matinee –
King Phycus let to rule another day.
3 ½ STARS
(“Shakespeare’s King Phycus” presented by The Strange Tree Group and The Lord Chamberlain’s Men runs through July 31 at The Building Stage, 412 N. Carpenter Street, Chicago. (312)491-1369)
The Strange Tree Group | A Wickedly Whimsical, Delightfully Devious Chicago Theatre Company
Shakespeare’s King Phycus production images by Tyler Core.
* Visit Theatre In Chicago for more information on this show. Shakespeare’s King Phycus- Play Detail- Theatre In Chicago
