The general perception of "Antony and Cleopatra", one of Wm. Shakespeare's mature plays, written in 1607 four years after the death of Elizabeth the First, is still influenced by the Burton and Taylor's cinematic extravaganza--and liz-n-dick's tabloid exploits--rather than the play's political implications or its glorious verse. Its stage tradition, since Dryden's rewrite in 17??, has been equally excessive, seeming to demand a large cast, extensive costuming, and complicated stagecraft for the shows two dozen or so locations contrasting Egypt and Rome, using intimate interiors and battlefields. Doing the play with 14 performers (including a wandering cello player) in the round on a stage barely larger than two living room rugs might seem like a studio exercise appropriate for graduate school, not for public presentation in the heart of the theatre district. However, Boston Theatre Works rises to the occasion this time with a fast-paced production edited down to two and one/half hours.
Director Jason Slavik and dramaturg Bridget Frey have emphasized the volatile relationship of the title characters while reducing the political conflicts among the triumvirate to the essentials and more or less sidelining Plutarchian details of the complex civil strife of the time. The play works, even though given the amount of doubling, the identity of various speakers is sometimes at question. Five characters, Robert Pemberton as Antony, Anne Gottlieb as Cleopatra, her two ladies, and Ted Hewlett, sometimes seen in Asian roles, as Caesar do not double. James Barton plays only Enobarbus until that character's death from shame, then returns as the countryman with the asps just before the climax.
Acting teacher Mara Sidmore, seen this summer as one of the Witches in the Scottish play on the Common, takes the multi-role laurels playing Octavius Caesar's sister, Octavia, plus the breeches parts of Eros, Antony's squire, who kills himself rather than his master, and Procelius, Caesar's administrator in a Chaplinesque bowler. Shelley Bolman is efficient as Caesar's aide, Maecenas, covering several such roles, and has a fine comic moment as the messenger Cleopatra abuses when he tells of Antony's political marriage to Octavia. Christopher Crowley plays various Egyptians, including Mardian and the nameless Soothsayer, then toughens up to become Menas the pirate, Pompey the Younger's bloodthirsty ally. Michael F. Walker makes Pompey a straightforward opportunist, more unwilling to chance greatness than noble. Brian Abscal shifts from Cleopatra's major domo Alexas to Caesar's envoy who Antony beats. Dev Luthra is mostly Caesar's enforcer Agrippa but appears in the opening of the play as one of Antony's disaffected officers, for example, while Bill Molnar plays a definitely over-the-hill Lepidus and various undistinguished military types. As Cleopatra's women, Charmian and Iras, tall blond Elizabeth A. Wightman and short brunette Elizabeth Hayes move a lot of cushions and fabric, perform water rituals, and provide a context for Gottlieb's glamorous performance.
The play revolves around its title characters, and while its original Elizabethan audience might have been as interested in the power politics from Plutarch's "Lives...", today's audiences come for Cleopatra. Pemberton's Antony is a solid performance with strong verse-readings and energetic acting, but the failure of another military hero/playboy just isn't that interesting. Gottlieb's eternal feminine is, if only to see a good local actress rise to the occasion. That the role, originally written for a boy after all, may require more is hard to overcome. She might want to try the part again in a few years. The chemistry between the two leads is believable, but in this age of romantic hype seems a bit ordinary. The action doesn't quite rise to the level of the gorgeous verse.
This production, which emphasizes a strong ensemble of experienced actors, is a step up from Slavik's take on the Scottish play two seasons ago, when Gottlieb played the Lady. The modern dress costumery by Rachel Padula Shufelt is acceptable, in keeping with Elizabethan tradition after all. The unique live music produced by cellist Peter Walden who moves in and out with the action sets the tone for many scenes. If BTW continues to develop its classical offerings in this direction, the company could become a major player in that area, as well as notable producers of new and contemporary works. This their sixth season may be an important step forward. Tackling this difficult play from the canon and not going overboard is heading in the right direction.