"Pericles," University Players, CSULB, Long Beach, CA
If you told me that Mel Gibson and not William Shakespeare wrote and directed Pericles, directed by Anne Justine D’Zmura for The University Players at the Studio Theatre, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash.
It’s a whopper of a story, complex, not a little convoluted, and improbable, that D’Zmura pulls off with murderous aplomb.
It features an odyssey of an exiled prince who saves a country from starvation, who marries a princess, and gives birth to a daughter. The mother dies during birth - the newborn miraculously survives exposure- and, as per custom, is buried at sea in a chest. She not only washes up on shore of a distant land but, surprise!, she springs back to life.
Meanwhile, The prince leaves his daughter in the safe hands of the governor and wife of the land he rescued from starvation. Safe hands my foot. The guv’s daughter, jealous at the interloper’s beauty, contrives to kill her. Daughter escapes with her life because, natch, pirates kidnap and sell her to a brothel. She won’t consort with the customers and, in fact, converts not a few of them into upstanding citizens, including a governor, about which more later.
In an improbable but satisfying conclusion, Mel Gibson, I mean William Shakespeare, pieces the puzzle together.
The mother (a nun), the father (unshaved a la Forrest Gump), and the daughter (tutor to noble tots) – reunite, the daughter becomes affianced (governor), and all ends in a scene that was so touching, so incredibly sweet, that you forget that you’ve just sat through two intermission-less hours of marvels dramatic and entertaining.
How did I love this, let me count the ways.
First, Danila Korogodsky’s enchanting set. Using pulleys to raise and lower bolts of cloth, she populates the stage with trees that tower, waves that crash, and sails that billow. And those aren't Hershey's Kisses hanging from the rafters.
Second, Leah Austin’s marvelous lighting. She uses stark light, the kind that the nice policeman shines in your rearview mirror when he pulls you over for that illegal u-turn, for the dramatic bits. She floods the stage with soulful warmth in those twittery séances of love. And, my favorite, she made me nauseous – in a good way - with the strobed storm at sea effect.
Third, Pamela Shaw’s costumes. Pirates as gangsters. Governors as Devo-clones. Maidens as Stepford Wives. Brilliant!
Fourth, a slew of really good performances. Ali Sohaili’s Pericles. The embodiment of All Options Stink (AOS). He was convincing when bummed out, credible when devastated, and charming – and then some - when reunited with his family.
Elisabeth Roche’s Marina, daughter of Pericles. Ostensibly a flibbertigibbet of a flapper but really a radiant Mother Theresa. Wow.
Samantha Richert’s Thaisa, wife of Pericles. Love-struck. Very funny. Coming back to life. Very dramatic. Reuniting with her family. Priceless.
But my favorite in a chariot of favorites was Stevie Taken’s Gower. Sweller of action, commentator on events; not a scene-stealer but a refrigerator light that beams when the door’s open.
The play ran until May 28. For information on future productions call 985-5526 or visit www.csulb.edu/depts/theatre/
