Burbage’s ‘Love’ is a strong one
‘Shakespeare in Love’ is a great season opener
PAWTUCKET – The Burbage Theatre Company opens its eighth season – its first full season in Pawtucket – with the entertaining escapism of “Shakespeare in Love.”
Adapted from the Academy Award-winning film of the same title, this is not a play by Shakespeare but an imaginative one about him that begins with an unimaginable predicament. The Bard has a bad case of writer’s block, and it’s no help that competing theater owners, financial backers and narcissistic actors all are pressuring him to hurry up with a script. Working title, “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter.”
Auditions, moreover, attract a discouragingly untalented lot until Mr. Kent shows up and nails a reading. This young “man,” however, is Viola, an admirer of Shakespeare’s work who has disguised herself as a boy so she can appear in his plays. In Elizabethan times women weren’t allowed on stage; female roles were played by men in drag.
Once Shakespeare discovers the ruse, the lovely Viola becomes his muse, and his writer’s block crumbles. The plot gets re-written as only Shakespeare could, with complications, comedy, mistaken identities and elaborate machinations, particularly as Viola’s protective nurse works to thwart the attention of Wessex, a nobleman with no money who wants to marry Viola for hers.
But as “Romeo and Ethel” evolves into “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare and Viola’s relationship becomes nearly as star-crossed as that of the characters in the new play.
The success of Burbage’s pro- duction lies on the shoulders of Dillon Medina, a most credible Shakespeare, and Alison Russo as the lovely Viola. They handle the comedy well, then switch gears to bring sincere sentiment to their own relationship and to their roles as Romeo and Juliet, when they appear as those characters for a play-withinthe-play.
They’re matched by a large and talented supporting cast, including the pompous Wessex, well played by James Lucey; Cassidy McCartan as the loyal nurse; and Patrick Keeffe as the confident, matinee-idol actor Ned Alleyn.
Director Jeff Church wisely gives Rae Mancini full rein to portray an imperious Queen Elizabeth, a relatively small part that Mancini plays with perfect amounts of levity and, ultimately, wisdom, as she notes, in sympathy with the cross-dressing Viola, “I know something of a woman in a man’s profession.” Church himself is notable as playwright Christopher Marlowe, a small role made large by Church’s undeniable stage presence.
This production also looks great. Designer Trevor Elliot’s interesting stage connects an octagonal platform in the foreground with a ramp to a raised area that serves multiple purposes while evoking the balcony of “Romeo and Juliet.” Costumes, coordinated by Morgan Clark, are appropriately Elizabethan-ish, with some standout ensembles for Viola and Queen Elizabeth.
Burbage Theatre’s production of “Shakespeare in Love” is a winner. If you haven’t yet seen a Burbage performance, this is a fine introduction. If you’re already a Burbage fan, you know what to expect: a well-acted, artfully-staged production.
Performances of “Shakespeare in Love” continue Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Sept. 16, in Burbage Theatre Company’s space at TEN31 Productions, 249 Roosevelt Ave. Tickets are $25 general admission, $15 for students; buy online at www.burbagetheatre.org or leave a message at (401) 484-0355.