Theater Henry V Conquers Accents Not Audiences

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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018 THEATER: "HENRY V" CONQUERS ACCENTS, NOT AUDIENCES HENRY V * 1/2 out of **** PUBLIC THEATER Shakespeare doesn't need any help. Knowing this, the Public Theater has a Mobile Unit, a touring production company that brings theaterto the people that can't always come to it: elderly facilities, homelessshelters, schools, prisons and the like. They bring a square carpet, a few modest props and a devoted cast. As everyone from Cheek By Jowl to Joseph Papp have repeatedly demonstrated, theater-goers willeagerly bring the imagination. Instead of being a bare-bones hint atwhat theater can do, these spare productions can and should betheater at its inventive best. But Shakespeare does need you to support the play. That rarely happens here. Henry V like most (all?) of Shakespeare is filled with enough wit, pathos, insight and contradictions to allow endlessinterpretations. But once an interpretation is chosen, every element, every performance should support that idea. You'd be hard-pressed here to know what they had in mind. And if it was to present the storyas simply and powerfully as possible, they failed. Henry V is of course the feckless Prince Hal of Henry IV, now ready to prove his lion-like nature and fitness to rule. His advisers urge war on France and an insult by the Dauphin (tennis balls! the nerve!) isenough to rouse his warrior's blood. Henry sets off to war, uncovers anassassination plot, wins his first major victory, faces daunting odds atAgincourt but proves victorious again and soon wins all of France and the hand of Princess Katherine in the bargain. While you can turn the play on its head and reveal a deep distrust of our eagerness to justifywar, it's just as often used to boost morale. Here, I fear, they doneither. Newcomers will get the gist but be bored; veteran theater-goers will shrug.MICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK Michael Giltz is a freelance writer based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com FAVORITE LINKS Americablog Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN Radio Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl Chin's Blog Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce Greenspan's Blog BLOG ARCHIVE ▼ 2018 (18) ► June (1) ► May (6) ▼ April (6)Photo ©2018 Joan Marcus The general in charge here is the director Robert O'Hara, who has done innovative, stellar work on shows like The Brother/Sister Plays (Part 2) and his own uproarious BootyCandy. But this time his flashy maneuvers serve no purpose, like marching soldiers here and therewithout any regard for the enemy of audience indifference. Forexample, I suppose the cast littering the stage at the beginning and end suggests the price of war, but the idea falls flat. The moment of peak clarity for me came at a moment of peak directorial confusion, when Harry goes among the troops before the battle of Agincourt. Various cast-members repeat lines of text in creepy chorus, moving this way and that, leaning on each other andintoning their words to very odd effect. All the moment need do is setthe scene: it's night and the French and English are camped so close toeach other that the fires of one army can light the faces of the other. They are tense and nervous before the big battle to come, though presumably the English are more nervous since they are so frightfullyoutnumbered. That's it. It's a simple description but O'Hara stages themoment in such a weird, unnecessary manner that it takes even those familiar with the show a moment to get their bearings. More defensible is the flurry of outrageous accents, from the Monty Python-esque banter of the French to the Caribbean accents whenHarry argues with a common soldier who has no idea he's tradinginsults with the king. (Never has "me thinks" sounded so natural and I wouldn't have minded if "I" had become "I and I".) Still, the accents are so broad it becomes difficult to understand what they're saying.The haughty demeanor of Patrice Johnson's Montjoy told us all weneeded to know; did we need an accent so impenetrable it was hard to grasp his actual dialogue? Ditto every scene with the French King (Joe Tapper) and the Dauphin (the appealing Michael Bradley Cohen, oftenseen in dramas and so eager to goof off here one feels like telling him"get thee to a comedy"). But it's not just the French. Zenzi Williams as Henry has so many scenes that she has the chance to land a few of them. But her two bigTHEATER: "HENRY V" CONQUERS ACCENTS, NOT AUDIENCES... THEATER: METROMANIACS, DISCO-MANIACS ANDDYPSOMANI... THEATER: "SANCHO: AN ACT OF REMEMBRANCE" THEATER: "MLIMA'S TALE" OF SHAME; "CHILDREN OFA L... THEATER: "MEAN GIRLS" PLAY NICE; O, HARRY CONNICK,... THEATER: WRESTLING WITH "ANGELS IN AMERICA" ► March (4) ► February (1) ► 2017 (6) ► 2016 (2) ► 2015 (14) ► 2014 (2) ► 2013 (5) ► 2012 (18) ► 2011 (15) ► 2010 (10) ► 2009 (43) ► 2008 (86) ► 2007 (781) ► 2006 (2412) ► 2005 (5)battle speeches range from loud to louder and too often her dialogue is delivered as poetry instead of prose, losing their meaning altogether. Happy exceptions in the show include a rock solid David Ryan Smithas Exeter, et al and Ariel Shafir as Constable, et al. Surely it's tellingthat the best scene in the play took place between Katharine and Alice(Kim Wong). The darn thing is in French! But while Carolyn Kettig as the princess takes her cue from O'Hara and goes broad, it is simply and clearly staged and the audience immediately knows precisely whatis going on. That leads to one other moment that's quite effective. At the finale, Henry woos Katharine, a scene often presented as a romantic dessertafter the rest of the play. Here however, the warlike Henry tires ofKatharine's coy refusals to be wooed and nearly chokes her while demanding -- quite sweetly -- that she kiss him. It's unnerving...and would have been even better if the rest of the play had allowed us tosee that brutal side of Harry present or growing all along. Instead, it'sout of left field and soon passes. Still, for a moment we think, "Oh!That was interesting." A pity the rest of this production didn't build onthat idea or simply get out of the way of the story. THEATER OF 2018 Homelife/The Zoo Story (at Signature) *** out of **** Escape To Margaritaville ** Broadway By The Year: 1947 and 1966 *** Lobby Hero *** Frozen ** Rocktopia * Angels in America ** 1/2 Mean Girls ** 1/2 The Sting ** Mlima's Tale ** 1/2 Children Of A Lesser God ** 1/2 Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance ** 1/2 The Metromaniacs *** Summer: The Donna Summer Musical * The Seafarer ** Henry V (Public Mobile Unit w Zenzi Williams) * 1/2 Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book lover’s to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter? Wondering w categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It’s a w you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases e personal recommendations every step of the way. It’s like a fall book preview category. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podc of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s avail website. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also iTunes. Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understan are in New York City unless otherwise indicated. POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 12:47 AM NO COMMENTS: Post a Comment Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)Newer Post Older Post Home

Theater Henry V Conquers Accents Not Audiences

📄 Theater Henry V Conquers Accents Not Audiences

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