Playwright: William Shakespeare. At: Promethean Theatre Ensemble at Edgewater Presbyterian Church, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr. Phone: 773-305-2897; $20. Runs through: June 13
Do you know what is meant by losing “at a game of tick-tack?” Are you unruffled by inverted syntax such as “a garden whose western side is with a vineyard backed?” Are you aware that “plucking down houses in the suburbs” refers to cracking down on brothels? Those who don’t are advised to review the Cliff’s Notes before attending this production, or heed closely the chortles of an audience eager to show teacher that they did their homework. Because if your plan was to rely on the actors to apprise you of the story, you’ll find yourself on your own.
What makes this situation especially unfortunate is that Measure For Measure is less about actions than about issues, with the motives of its personnel taking precedence over their deeds. In a culture of violence, e.g., Macbeth or Titus Andronicus, murder and destruction of property make the plot’s progress easy to follow, but in this case, our universe is a lawful one. The proliferation of vice in the Duke’s domain is what spurs its ruler to embark incognito on a fact-finding tour, leaving the straightlaced Antonio to run the country in his absence. No sooner does this deputy pro tem set about cleaning up the town, however, than he himself succumbs to corruption, ordering the execution of a youthful swain for the crime of knocking up his girlfriend, and then demanding sex from the culprit’s convent-dwelling sister in exchange for a reprieve.
When the topic of dramatic debate is the quality of mercy and humane enforcement thereof, we must consider carefully the different sides of the question. But while the mostly young thespians of the Promethean Theatre Ensemble exhibit impeccable enunciation and phrasing, director June Eubanks has allowed them to wholly ignore character and subtext, making for rote recitations bearing no resemblance to spontaneous utterances of recognizable personalities. (When Isabella chides Antonio, “You blaspheme the good by mocking me,” we think, “So that’s what he was doing!”) And with no verbal cues to assist us in our comprehension, our interest in the arguments quickly flags.
Some of the minor characters succeed in convincing us that they are who Shakespeare says they are, and a provocative opening scene depicting a lascivious masked ball with couples dancing to a heavy-metal rendition of “The Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame” promises an original approach to a problematic classic. But then the principal players start to talk and we’re right back in the classroom.