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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Measure for Measure Also see Susan's reviews of Wish You Were Here, Some Like It Hot, The Score and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Rather than setting this production in the European capital city of Vienna during the Renaissance, director Psalmayene 24 and his design team are working within an intriguing and more recent historical moment: the Jim Crow era in the American South, which constrained the rights of Black residents and faced no legal pushback until the 1950s and '60s. The main driver of the plot (Nathan Darrow) is still referred to as "The Duke," but he's an elected official of his town (pronounced "Vy-enna" by the locals) with strong support from co-workers, including the utterly capable Escalus, played by Holly Twyford. In the play, the Duke announces that he needs to take some time away to think over some of the issues he's noticing in town: beyond the racial concerns, he's also seeing many young men basically devoting their lives to sex and liquor. Angelo (Lee Osorio), whom the Duke places in control during his absence, is a hard-nosed fellow with no patience for such frivolity: one of his first actions is to legally punish an engaged couple, Claudio (JaBen Early) and Juliet (Maryanne Henderson), for her premarital pregnancy. That's when Isabella (Renea S. Brown), Claudio's sister and a novice nun, gets involved. She certainly doesn't approve of her brother's shenanigans or Juliet's condition, but she tries to convince Angelo to just let them marry and not punish them. Her presence brings out an unfamiliar side of Angelo, and it takes the efforts of the Duke (disguised as a traveling friar) to bring the pieces together for a satisfactory conclusion. Darrow is properly upright as the Duke and taps into his goofier side as the visiting friar. Brown captures the stage whenever she appears, Osorio plays Angelo as in over his head rather than strictly punitive, and Renee Elizabeth Wilson demonstrates great dignity as a woman from Angelo's past. Chinai Routté and Ahmad Kamal play up the racier side as, respectively, a brothel keeper and a tapster, and Jonathan Feuer amuses as the cynical Lucio. The physical production is equally striking. Debra Booth's scenic design looks austere at first but takes on many settings, and Mika Eubanks has designed costumes ranging from business suits and clerical robes to vivid everyday wear for the town's residents. Measure for Measure runs through November 1, 2026, at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Elizabethan Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE, Washington DC. For tickets and information, please call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu. By William Shakespeare Cast: |
