A few years back, we made a mad dash to New York, landing in
a small off-off-Broadway venue—perhaps a former bank lobby turned performance
area. Mike had managed to snag two of
the season’s hottest tickets, Fiasco Theater’s 7-actor production of
Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Because I hadn’t read the reviews, I
expect some sort of corny, madcap confusion closer to Shakespeare, Reduced than serious theater. Instead, we encountered the most lucid and
most moving full-production of the Shakespearean romance we had ever seen.
Fiasco’s newest production, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, originated at Washington D.C.’s Folger
Theater, and it is now at Theater for a New Audience’s Polonsky Center in
Brooklyn. Our expectations were very high, and
Fiasco exceeded them. No exceptions.
From that spectacular production, I will mention a few notable moments: Julia’s tearing up of Proteus’ love letter
and then piecing it back together (her delivery was a pitch perfect blend of
comedy and realism); Zachary Fine’s embodiment of Crab the dog (so much work
done with a black clown nose, his barely parted lips, and lively eyes); Emily
Young’s saucy and justly righteous Sylvia; Valentine's closing forgiveness of Proteus (unironic and deeply plausible); and the 60+ minute talkback wherein
the actors showed themselves to be as thoughtful and articulate as the production itself.
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