By Emma O’Donnal
In Provo, Renaissance Now Theatre & Film‘s 2022 season includes a festival in repertory of two beloved William Shakespeare plays at the Castle Amphitheatre in Macbeth and M*A*A*N. Thecastle-like structure, with turrets of stone and timber, provides the mythical setting for this festival. The performances play in repertory, essentially every other night. Macbeth plays June 7, 9,10 and 11th, while Much Ado About Nothing plays June 3, 6, and 8th. Since the mythical setting is a stone Greek-style amphitheater, we advise that you bring blankets or chairs.
A feature of the repertory this summer is a shared cast of players. The plays also share themes in their war-time setting, resonating contemporarily with our relevant underlying concerns. As we seek entertainment, as well as comedic diversion, these plays also explore human nature under the pressures of conflict. In Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare sets the play as war-time heroes return to the ones they love. This sparks new romance as well as kindling old flames, and while the comedic romance suddenly takes a wrong turn, it is an ultimately a celebration of love and life. Director M. Chase Grant takes a brilliant creative leap by setting this classic comedy in a more contemporary setting, placing the action “somewhere in Korea” during the Korean War, with characters experiencing the ups and downs of daily life in the 1623rd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or M*A*S*H. The adaptation features Liz Golden as Beatrice, Jeff Denison as Benedick, Adam Argyle as the Don, M. Chase Grant as Leonato, Olympia Pead as Hero, and Anton Moss as Claudio. Comics include Stephano Puertas, Mason Tarwater, Michael Hess, Zach Ballard, Casey Copier, Amy Carlin, Seven Harrison, and Lucy Golden.
A wonderfully memorable performance is Liz Golden’s Major Beatrice. She starts, in her military dress with a realistic and casual air, moving with ease through the complex Shakespearean rhetoric and sharp wit befitting this well-loved character. As the play rises in complexity, her scenes with Benedick, played by Jeff Denison, show the seasoned actress at her best in revealing depth and specificity of the human moments.
Jeff Denison is, at first, an unlikely Benedick, could be typecast perhaps more easily in the role of Dogberry, the comic. But Denison quickly wins you over as he delivers such a richly human and vulnerable performance, that he is perhaps my favorite portrayal of Benedick to date.
Other stand-outs certainly include the passionate and believable Claudio, played by Anton Moss. Claudio is ever a troublesome role as he must believe the woman he loves is disloyal on a slight circumstance, hence “much ado about nothing.” Moss plays the passion of a man who wants to believe in pure and true love and his rage bespeaks the crushing effect of disillusionment.
Inspiring also is Chase Grant who picks up the betrayed daughter’s father offering a touching balance between his devotion and the rage of the betrayed.
Adam Argyle’s Brigadier General Pedro lends authority to the show, with intelligence and style.
Supporting characters include comics Mason Tarwater as Dogberry,who dons a dress (like the M*A*S*H character Klinger), and Stephano Puertas (referencing Radar) are hilarious, in timing and embrace of the character in this adaptation has hit the adaptation on the head.
Mysterious and love-inspiring is Olympia Pead’s portrayal of the beloved Hero.
Other supporting characters of Michael Hess, as the priest, Lucy Golden, and Amy Carlin as a Nurse (playing Margaret) are outstanding. The dark and brooding Zach Ballard as Don John and Casey Copier as Borachio add mischief and malice to the show.
The star of this production, along with its leads, is clearly Director M. Chase Grant, who made creative leap in adapting the show to the M*A*S*H concept. The references are not intended to be exact, but to lend a contemporary relevance to the classic text. The amazing detail in the setting is genius and the characters use this playground very well, developing the adaptation into a wonder. Grant’s opening triage takes us into the heart of the medical emergency unit. Brooke Grant brings to life his vision through excellent propping and costumes.
The season repertory also includes Macbeth, directed by Kathy Curtiss. Between the shows, there is a “merry war” of wit in Much Ado, and a war for souls as power and honor contend in Shakespeare’s historically based Macbeth. The versatile setting, designed by Janice Chan, supporting both the contemporary M*A*S*H unit and the Scottish play’s ancient ruins, heightens contemplation of the resonance of war in our time. I laughed freely in both productions, as well as feeling the passion in the performances.
The adaptation of this classic tale includes modern language scenes and bits that illumine (like a Greek chorus) the plight of the common man against the war- torn Scottish struggle to maintain their identity and independence. Macbeth is played with tremendous passion by Zachary Ballard. His authority with the language makes the play vivid, as he steps from the most beloved of leaders in his kingdom, into the dark web of deceit caused by his passion for his beloved country and people. As character is fate, we see the delusion unfold as ambition and ego blur his love of his people.
Lady Macbeth, played by Mira Kocherans is likewise clear and demonstrates a beautiful passion in their relationship. This production offers a twist to the typical Lady Macbeth, as we see her fight as a warrior in the field. It also is unusual as the backstory reaches into the actual history of that character as a woman who had a child from another husband, as she and her current lord (Macbeth) deal with the pain of being childless in a time where heritage and lineage is everything. Her complexity with the rhetoric is clear.
Marvin Payne delivers pure majesty as the noble King Duncan. His portrayal evokes sympathy and compassion, as well as demonstrating the goals to unify and reward the thanes.
Casey Copier and Seven Harrison play the doomed King’s son’s, Malcolm and Donalbain. Copier is elegant and vulnerable, making his journey toward a worthy king fine work, as mentored by Adam Argyle’s MacDuff.
Argyle delivers a stunning performance of depth and clarity, connected profoundly to the loyalty of the Scots and their trails to ascend with a Scottish identity in tact.
Seven Harrison plays both Donalbain and Witch 3, and is wonderfully compelling in both.
An exceptional feature to this production is the integration of the witches into the royal court, as Zel Bromley McAllister and Olympia Pead move about the court with their hand in the character’s collective fate as it unfolds through their choices.
Zel Bromley McAllister brilliantly plays Hecate/Witch 1 and the gentlewoman, with power and a deep connection to the wild, unbounded nature of the supernatural. Olympia Pead plays Witch 2 and Lady MacDuff, which are individual characters, but are beautifully played with sharply contrasting intensity and mischief.
The contemporary scenes, as Renaissance Now is known for, are played with style and believability by the supporting lords, Mason Tarwater, Stephano Puertas, and Gavin Henry. The banter adds a rich humor, with the feel of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead feel as the characters go off text with to expose their plight. A darker underbelly of secret deeds performed by Gavin Henry’s Seyton is haunting.
A dynanic feature throughout is the daring fight direction of Matthew Carlin with double-handed broadsword battles and individual contests. Anton Moss, Adam Argyle , Mason Tarwater, and Zach Ballard exceed. The Sound by Rych Curtiss adds a powerful dimension of atmosphere in the echoing stone amphitheater that brings both rousing loyalty with bagpipe ballads and chilling effects that add to the haunting of the main characters. Celtic dance by Keely Conrad, also adds dimension to the show.
The set design by Janice Chan unifies the worlds of the two plays, as it is a base camp for the tents and medical emergency tents for the M*A*A*N Much Ado set, and ancient ruins for the Scottish highlands. Stage Management is by Christofer Olsen, who runs a tight ship on the shifting world of the MASH unit. Special thanks go to the UVU Department of Theatrical Arts for the Stage and Screen.
This is the one of the first productions, following two years of COVID-19 restrictions.. The shows play nightly, in repertory June 1-June 11, and the theater is DARK on June 4, so no performance will be held that night. Screw your courage to the sticking place and get tickets before Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.
Renaissance Now Theatre & Film Presents Macbeth and M*A*A*N; By William Shakespeare
Castle Amphitheatre, 1300 E Center St, Provo, UT 84606
Jun 1-11, 2022, 8:00 PM; see website for individual show listings.
Tickets: $5-10
www.renaissancenow.com
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