Tiago Santos, Time Winters, Sean Faye (Photo by Jesse Saler)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
The Broadwater Black Box
Through December 3
RECOMMENDED
Many of William Shakespeare’s works demand the suspension of belief as a prerequisite for enjoying their convoluted and farfetched plots. For this play, on a suspension scale of one to ten, you will need to turn your dial to eleven.
Helena (Cindy Nguyen), the daughter of a poor physician, is enamored of Bertram (Daniel Kim), the son of the Countess of Rousillion (Dawn Alden), who took Helena in as her ward when the girl’s father died. Helena’s passions, however, are unrequited due to the haughty Bertram’s belief that she is too low in class status to merit his attention. Despite this solid rejection, Helena spends the rest of the play concocting elaborate schemes to win the love of the indifferent count, while Bertram — a character so disagreeable that at intermission a young female audience member opined he needed a smack in the face —would rather risk death in combat than acquiesce to Helena’s desire.
Despite that cloud, the silver lining is a production nimbly directed by Will Block with minimalist aesthetics, abundant imagination, and a worthy ensemble. Save for a few chairs and curtains at the four corners of the small stage, there is no set, but Block compensates for that with thoughtful staging and a World War I setting. The actors crisscrossing about move like pieces on a chessboard, performing crucial lines from strategic points of the stage. Matt Richter’s lighting makes almost imperceptible changes in key moments and, in later battle scenes — and bolstered by Nick Neldorf’s sound plot and music — lends a suitably warlike feel to the show. Jessica Pasternak’s period costumes also add an elegant and authentic touch .
Backed by a conflict that mechanized death to a horrendous scale, the production reminds us that, much like today, the follies of the older generation, represented by the mercurial King of France (Time Winters), begets torment for the younger one, embodied by the sacrifices made by Lord Dumaine (Sean Faye) and his brother, the Second Lord Dumaine (Tiago Santos.) And, with its allusions to the River Jordan, does the haunting delivery of “The Wayfaring Stranger” — delivered by the Countess’ servant Levatch’s (Thomas Bigley) — serve as a lament on the latest Middle East conflagration?
Nguyen and Kim proffer admirable performances individually and tenuous chemistry when together, which complements their characters’ tricky dynamics. Adding comic relief is Jono Eiland as Parolles, an opportunistic associate of Bertram, whose foppish demeanor and outsized bragging results in his just comeuppance and the lesson that, in all triumphant relationships, trust is paramount.
The Porters of Hellsgate, The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; check website for schedule; thru Dec. 3. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alls-well-that-ends-welltickets-720587746347
