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Matt McLean

ITS

10/10/12
Gwendolyn Alker
Performance Review

This past weekend, I went to see the Tisch Drama Departments


production of William Shakespeares Measure for Measure, performed
by upperclassmen from various studios. The show itself is an extremely
dark comedy; set in Vienna, the plot centers around the Duke, who
takes a leave of absence and places his deputy, Angelo, in charge
while he leaves. Meanwhile, he actually disguises himself and sneaks
around Vienna to investigate the bawdy undertakings in the city. The
performance itself began with a dark twist, and the lighting they used
was extremely effective in conveying the setting of various scenes. The
stage was set up as a theatre in the round, with the stage as a
rectangle surrounded by the audience on bleachers. Most of the sets
were established by projections on the floor, as was the prologue. The
dark undertones of the play were accented perfectly by the prologue,
which consisted of famous Italian paintings with the actors faces
photoshopped onto them, circling around the floor of the stage. Most of
the set was represented through light cues and projections; there were
many projections that used the entire set. These cues ranged from
parallel lines representing a jail cell, to a deep blue ocean projected on
the entire floor. Throughout the show, the costumes and props hinted
at the timelessness of the show, remaining ambiguous and indefinable
to any time period. The acting had a slight contemporary feel, to help
the audience understand the complexity of the language.

Matt McLean
ITS

10/10/12
Gwendolyn Alker

Much of what I liked about the show had to do with the


acting. The actress playing Isabella seemed to have such a great grasp
of the language; she knew exactly what she was saying, and it came
across very well. All of her tactic changes were very noticeable and
real; she was acting perfectly naturally. I wasnt thrilled with Claudio or
Lucios performances; Claudio seemed to still be struggling with the
language of Shakespeare and couldnt fully act the part. The actor
playing Lucio seemed to me to be just portraying the flamboyant
homosexual, which looked and felt very phony to me. His character
had no real depth; he was just sassy, which doesnt really work when
youre playing a real person.
Another aspect that I liked was the light cues throughout the
performance. They added a very surreal quality to the show, which
served as an appropriate contrast to the performance, which, since it
was so close to the audience, was very genuine. There was also a bit of
cracking the fourth wall, which included the audience as a part of the
show, especially during one of Lucios monologue in which he pointed
out specific audience members. It was interesting to see some parts
remain so traditional and others be completely left wing and different.
Something that really bothered me about the performance
was the ending. Im not sure whether to blame the director or William
Shakespeare, but something just did not sit right with me as I left the
theatre. In the entire last scene, the Duke turned into such an asshole,

Matt McLean
ITS

10/10/12
Gwendolyn Alker

and he was completely and blatantly abusing his power. I had liked his
character up until this point, but suddenly he began treating everyone
unfairly and breaking promises he had previously made to Isabella and
Mariana. Then, somehow, he magically fixed everything and
appeased/punished everyone as he saw fit, and he proposes to
Isabella. Not to mention, he begins forming a band, so the words are
hardly intelligible anymore over the roar of the cacophony of sounds
coming from the motley group of instruments. Then, to make
everything worse, as everyone is leaving in a happy-go-lucky manner,
Isabella is left standing center stage, where she began the show,
looking up into the sky doubtfully. I would have rather her either said
yes or no to the Duke, not take the ring in her hands and look scared
and confused as the lights dim to black. Generally, I like some form of
resolution at the end of a show, and if not, I like it to have a point, or
serve a purpose. After further research, Isabella is actually not
supposed to accept or deny his proposal, so that must just be
Shakespeare that I have a bone to pick with. This performance in
particular glazed over some important moments, and they brushed
aside some key lines in favor of their raucous band.
The performance itself was very good; I loved all of the
lighting and a good portion of the acting throughout the play. The
show, the actual story is what I have a problem with. I am not a fan of
the entire final scene; none of it makes sense with the rest of the show.

Matt McLean
ITS

10/10/12
Gwendolyn Alker

Especially in this production, the final scene was very happy-go-lucky,


except for the final blackout on Isabella, leaving me slightly more than
confused. Nonetheless, much of the performance did impress me, and I
did enjoy watching it very much.

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