Richard III

By William Shakespeare
The Genesis Repertory Ensemble
Directed by Jay Michaels
Midtown International Theatre Festival
New 42nd Street Theatre
348 W. 42nd Street, 2nd floor (279-4200)
Equity showcase (Festival closes Aug. 5; call for schedule)
Review by Steve Gold for OOBR

Richard III has the nastiness of Rudolph Guiliani and the megalomania of Donald Trump. In the end, however, he resembles no one so much as Uncle Joe Stalin. In a cozy theater on 42nd street, the Genesis Rep cooked up an eccentric, swiftly paced rendition of Shakespeare’s dark tale of bloodshed and treachery.

It might be easier to list the people who Richard does not murder, as opposed to the ones he does. Brothers, nephews, friends – you name ‘em, he kills ‘em. His lust for power borders on the erotic. Anyone who blocks his way is simply eliminated, like an annoying housefly, and all because he wants to succeed his ailing brother King Edward IV. This does not occur until Act IV. By this time, Richard has killed his other brother, Clarence (Derek Devereaux); Edward IV’s sons the Prince of Wales (Travis Taylor) and the Duke of York (Andrew Leibowitz); and several of Richard’s cronies. Then there is Lady Anne (boldly played by Sharita Storm Sage), whose husband and father-in-law were previously murdered by Richard, but who ends up marrying him after one of the weirdest courtship scenes ever written (he later kills her). It falls to the Earl of Richmond (David Erick Austin) – later to become Henry VII – to lead a revolt against Richard that leads to his profoundly well deserved death.

Jay Michaels’s production was something of an odd bird: the first two-thirds or so was characterized by an insouciant, almost joky quality. There was a charming and funny puppet show (staged by Vit Horejs) that opened the play and served as a prolog; and the two murderers later employed by Richard (Michael D’Antoni and Matthew Klein) were more comical than sinister. But things become tense when Richard realizes that Richmond is serious about getting rid of him. This transition, from the vaguely lighthearted to gritty drama, could have been awkward. Thanks to Michaels’s cast, it wasn’t. Paul Nicholas as Richard was first seen as a chatty, avuncular scoundrel; he ended up a frightened shell of a man, unsure of what to do next. Mary Elizabeth McCari was initially haughty and Wagnerian as Edward IV’s wife, though this too was softened somewhat as her performance progressed, in keeping with the changing tone of the play. The hollow-cheeked Michael Kearney Wright was eerily sepulchral as the dying Edward IV. Josh Blumenfeld gave to Buckingham, Richard’s chief henchman, an effectively weasel-like quality. Austin made credible that Richmond is in fact tough enough to take on Richard. Sheila Mart, as Richard’s mother the Duchess of York, offered a goodly supply of sarcastic wit when she tells her darling boy what she really thinks of him. Travis Taylor‘s Prince of Wales nimbly brought out the precocious cleverness of the Prince of Wales; whereas the relative obtuseness of Devereaux’s Clarence was well-displayed.

The smaller roles of Lord Rivers, Hastings, and Catesby (Robert F. Saunders, David Arthur Bacharach and the sonorous-voiced Andrew Westney) were capably filled. Andrew Leibowitz‘s York was difficult to hear above the rumble of the air conditioner (and someone should have told him beforehand not to chew gum during the curtain call; Edward IV would have been mortified). The evening’s piece de resistance, however, was Irma St. Paule‘s hilariously hell-raising Queen Margaret, widow of Henry VI (predecessor of Edward IV, and yet another of Richard’s victims). When Richard goes up against Margaret, we nearly feel sorry for him.

Margo La Zaro‘s eclectic costumes – shawls, hooded robes, evening gowns – were fine. The lighting (uncredited) was at its most atmospheric when employing shadowy reds and blues to bathe a set consisting of a chair, a semi-rectangular bench, and, resting on the bench, a lonely book.

Theatre Review by Matthew Murray (talkinbroadway.com)

Most productions of William Shakespeare’s Richard III begin with the famous line, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York.” This is not so with the Genesis Repertory production which is currently playing at the Midtown International Theatre Festival.

Rest assured that Shakespeare’s dramatic, intense text detailing the bloody lengths to which one man will go to be king, has not been at all desecrated. That speech remains the first dialogue spoken in character, but it is preceded by a show that summarizes the action detailed in the earlier plays in Shakespeare’s series of histories told entirely with miniature marionettes (provided by Vit Horejs and the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre). While downright hilarious in places (watching marionette versions of warring houses bloodily murder each other is an indescribable experience) the show is always informative and sets the stage, literally, for what is to come. The show ends with one lone marionette appearing onstage, just as the lights come up on the start of Richard’s speech.

The marionettes are used in other ways throughout the evening as well, always brilliantly. They provide an extension to the production’s already fairly sizeable ensemble, as well as make some fascinating stage effects possible. For some reason, the use of the marionettes to demonstrate a beheading just seems right. When the ghosts of those Richard has murdered reappear later bearing their own marionettes, the moment is chilling and highly effective.

The human actors in the show don’t do poorly by any stretch of the imagination, but none of the performers is capable of rising above their marionette counterparts. Paul Nicholas, as Richard, commands the language well, and infuses Richard with an earthy sex appeal that works for the character as conceived here, but never really takes command of the stage the way it seems he should. He doesn’t seem to possess the fire necessary to orchestrate the deeds he must to become ruler. Josh Blumenfeld as Buckingham, one of Richard’s compatriots, does better in his role, but is still never entirely convincing.

The women, as a whole, fare better. Sharita Storm Sage‘s Lady Anne, Richard’s love interest, is fiery, while the more regal women, including Queen Elizabeth herself (Mary Elizabeth MiCari), The Duchess of York (Sheila Mart), and Queen Margaret (Irma St. Paule) turn in pointed, detailed performances. The rest of the cast, though possessing few standouts, does admirably and carries the story along on their capable shoulders.

Director Jay Michaels does a lot with the material, and presents it quite well, always keeping the story in prime focus, and Margo La Zaro‘s costumes, though mostly suggestive, evoke the flavor of the play and the setting well.

However, it’s the marionettes that both make and steal the show. Michaels and the cast managed to use the marionettes in the best way possible and, through no fault of their own, lost some of their own thunder. Their idea, it seems, was too good, making a production of Richard III going further still with the marionette idea an intriguing prospect. The show as a whole is good, but it is the marionettes and their masterful use that make this production of Richard III a must-see.

Genesis Repertory
Richard III
By William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Jay Michaels
The Midtown International Theatre Festival
The New 42nd Street Theatre
348 West 42nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues
Tickets $15 per show / Festival Pass $99

The Merchant of Venice

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jay Michaels
Genesis Repertory Ensemble
Jan Hus Playhouse
Equity showcase (closed)
Review by Julie Halpern for OOBR

Themes of anti-Semitism in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice take on a new urgency in Genesis Repertory’s powerful new production, set in 1938 Nazi Germany. Opening with Yom Kippur prayers, and culminating with Kristallnacht a few months later, anti-Semitism, Jewish self-loathing, confusion, and skewed loyalties reach fever pitch. Unfortunately, Shakespeare’s language and aspects of the play not dealing with anti-Semitism, such as the casket scene and the sensuality of daily life on the Rialto, were diminished, with Jewish or Nazi themes taking precedence throughout the evening. Director Jay Michaels and his talented cast are to be commended for taking on such an emotionally wrenching project, which made effective use of Yiddish, Hebrew and German for immediacy but created a clash of Venetian and German sensibilities, never fully realizing either.

Most of the characters were Nazis or Nazi sympathizers. The opening scene — revealing Germans Bassanio (David Look) and Antonio (Travis Taylor) planning Bassanio’s wooing strategy to win the wealthy Portia — was chilling in juxtaposition to the gentle Yom Kippur prayers of Shylock and his fellow congregants, at the other end of the stage. Portia was a decadent German vamp, game for any adventure, but Nell Gwynn‘s powerfully seductive portrayal failed to capture the gentle, thoughtful side of Portia’s nature, playing her more as a madcap heiress than a respected noblewoman. Her confidant, Nerissa (Milda De Voe) was also a glamorous, fun-loving adventuress. De Voe and Michael Fortunato‘s ardent Gratiano set off erotic fireworks whenever they were on stage together. Shylock’s self-hating daughter, Jessica (Heidi Hecker) went as far as marrying a Nazi Lorenzo (an intensely appealing Kevin Colbert), and Hecker’s portrayal created a riveting evolution from a shy Jewish girl to a Nazi hausfrau, particularly telling in her coldness at Shylock’s trial.

Josh Blumenfeld‘s Shylock beautifully captured the tortured, abused, and often maddening Shylock, in an exquisitely balanced performance – painfully fragile in the courtroom scene, yet perpetuating the most repugnant Jewish stereotype when fretting over his ducats. Shylock’s servant, Launcelot, was disturbingly embodied as an ignorant, lower-class thug, in a stunning performance by Brian M. Brewer.

Travis Taylor was a handsome, sensual, vaguely disquieting Antonio. David Look radiated leading-man charm and chemistry with Gwynn as Bassanio. Tim Browning as the Prince of Morocco and Robert Saunders as The Baron of Arrogon were uproarious as Portia’s Hitleresque suitors in the casket scene.

Sid Hammond and Sky Walters‘s set conveyed the cold desperation of Nazi German streetlife, with jarring lighting designed by Adam Bair. Popular German songs of the period like “The Happy Wanderer” and “Lili Marlene,” and the national anthem, “Deutschland Uber Alles,” were provided by sound designer Michael Fortunato. The uncredited costumes were very striking, particularly the luxurious women’s gowns. With Neil Kleid, Ian Tomashik, and Paul James Bowen.