Playwright: "devised" by the DSC ensemble. At: Devised Shakespeare Company at Gorilla Tango, 1919 N. Milwaukee . Phone: 773-598-4549; $10 Runs through: July 28
The plays of William Shakespeare are ingrained into the culture of English-speaking countries the world over. Americans professing total ignorance of 17th-century drama recognize "To be, or not to be", and children recount the surprise twist that thwarts Shylock's revenge ( "Flesh, but no blood" ) as they do the plots of television series. A season in which the Bard of Avon is not abundantly represented ( as was recently proposed by a hopelessly-misguided scholar ) is unthinkable. So is it any wonder that theater students should speculate on the choices that Shakespeare's familiar personalities might encounter in our own society?
Our setting is a graduation party for the seniors of Avondale High School. The host, Henry "Hal" Monmouth, plans to enlist in the marines following commencement, but fears the distress of his devoted GF, Olivia. Gay Proteus—"Preston" to his intimates—also chafes under an unspoken affection for the manly Hal—a secret known only to the former's gruff girl-pal, Viola. During the course of the revels, Beatrice and Berowne squabble and reconcile ( as we are given to understand is their custom ) , prim Cordelia and nerdy Edgar discover a mutual attraction, while flighty Miranda and terminally perky Robin Goodfellow ( waiting for the latter to vacate the bathroom, one of her comrades grumbles, "She's probably using the toilet paper to make origami animal friends" ) escalate the confusion at every opportunity—until a game of truth-or-dare forces the friends to reveal all.
The conceit employed in this hour-long romp is that its banter occasionally lapses into speeches lifted from the Elizabethan texts, as when Beatrice and Berowne swap repartee from—surprise!—The Taming of the Shrew. Or when Olivia adopts Romeo's arguments to entreat Hal to divest her of her maidenhood, only to have the reluctant swain demur, invoking Juliet's logic. And when Miranda is "dared" to drink a noxious concoction, don't you just know its recipe will be that of the Weird Sisters' brew?
As with any group-generated text, the story's progress at its premiere performance was somewhat uneven. Launching the play with Cordie's valedictorian speech postpones the action for too long, and the characters' reluctance to address each other by name makes for time wasted in puzzling over who's who. Under Nicole Keating's capable direction, however, the ensemble keeps a firm grip on their respective personae ( even when Preston and Hal are forced to duel with comically-mismatched swords ) to finish up more smartly than expected.
