Measure
for Measure -- Spring 2009
The setting is Vienna; the 20s are Roaring
and the City is OUT of control. Lenient years have passed without
redress for crimes and the populace has drifted deeper into debauch.
Thus it stands that Duke Vincentio, loath to unleash the terrible
Justice required to bring the city to order, decides to take a sabbatical,
investing his powers temporarily in his secondaries, the puritannical
Deputy, Angelo and the wise old Escalus.
Angelo wastes no time exercising his
new clout to enforce long-neglected Blue Laws, condemning a young
nobleman, Claudio, to death for out-of-wedlock fornication as an
example to the people. Urgently, Claudio sends his ne'er-do-well
friend Lucio to enlist his sister Isabella (a novice nun about to
enter the cloister) to plead his case before the strict deputy.
Isabella goes, and eloquently persuades so, that Angelo finds himself
besotted with her! Momentarily befuddled by her purity and idealism,
he quickly recovers and when she returns for his decision, he makes
her an indecent proposal: her brother’s head for her maidenhead!
Whatever will Isabella do? Where's a deus ex machina when you desperately
need one??
Meanwhile, the disguised Duke mingles
with the lowbrow denizens of Vienna's seedy underbelly! Ministering
to the condemned in the prison and machinating events, he attracts
the odious companionship of Lucio and his fantastical tales! As
the Duke works feverishly to contract a favorable outcome to Claudio's
fate, Angelo's newly awakened Justice nets a rotating cast of colorful
characters, including a Mae West madam and her zoot-suited pimp-tapster.
Despite the Duke's best efforts, events conspire to complicate his
best-laid plots and much contrivance and a few fait accomplis are
ultimately required to achieve the best good for all involved.
SEE
the songstress Mariana and her Marian-ettes tap dance a ditty!
GASP as the devilish Angelo threatens the pious Isabella!
THRILL to the suspense: will Claudio be saved in
time?? Will
Isabella be forced into a compromising position?
LAUGH at the bawdy Lucio and Pompey Bum!
WONDER what will become of all these convoluted plots!
Shakespeare's
disguise and plot-devising craft at its finest!
