Playwright: Harlan Didrickson
At: Bailiwick Repertory Theatre,
1229 W. Belmont Ave.
Phone: ( 773 ) 883-1090; $22-$25
Through July 18
Salieri killed Mozart according to Peter Shaffer's drama Amadeus. Richard III was born with teeth according to William Shakespeare. And the secret love of Queen Elizabeth I for playwright Christopher Marlowe ultimately proves fatal, at least according to Chicago playwright Harlan Didrickson in his world premiere drama Marlowe at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre.
Actually, none of the above statements are true. Yet, in the first two cases, the dramatic license taken makes great detail and drama. With Marlowe, all the best intentions are there to celebrate and involve us in the remarkable life of gay playwright Marlowe. But best intentions are not enough, especially with a script that doesn't live up to its subject.
Marlowe's life is certainly ripe for dramatization. He was Shakespeare's contemporary and main competitor, best remembered for his plays Doctor Faustus and Edward II ( notable as one of the earliest English plays with a gay central character ) . Marlowe was a rabble rouser, known for shocking statements like, 'Those who love not tobacco and boys are fools' or 'Protestants are hypocritical asses.' He was even a spy for the British Crown, which probably helped contribute to his untimely death at the age of 29 in a tavern brawl.
The dramatic license Didrickson takes in Marlowe is enough to drive historians batty. Average theatergoers probably won't care, but they'll probably get the feeling that something is wrong.
One problem is aural. The players don't attempt British accents and Didrickson's dialogue sounds far too modern, especially when played alongside excerpts from Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus and Edward II. Anachronistic details also creep in here and there ( Marlowe and bedfellow Sir Francis Walsingham worry about being late to the evening premiere of Edward II, when most public dramas were performed outdoors during the day ) .
Didrickson skimps on giving enough background details of the English totalitarian state and its still contentious religious divides. This lack of context doesn't really help us to see or understand Marlowe's motives for railing against a hypocritical society, making him a swaggering Elizabethan rebel without a cause.
This gives very little for Timothy W. Hull to play as Marlowe, other than to be pretty and witty. His large supporting company doesn't look too comfortable in their Elizabethan guises ( except for Steven Marzolf's endearing and self-deprecating Thomas Kyd, Kevin Mayes' scheming Walsingham and Julie Partyka's petulant Elizabeth ) . The cast's tentativeness extends over to the stilted fight scenes that haven't coalesced into believable violent bouts.
And for some reason, everyone is obsessed with Marlowe's ultimate standing in history and artistic posterity. You wouldn't think Elizabethans would be bothered by such trifling matters.
At the very least, director David Zak and the Bailiwick Repertory have created a visually handsome production rich in physical detail. The lush period costumes by Kerith Wolf are gorgeous and Jared Moore's lighting design evokes the darkened tenebroso of candlelight.
Alas, these production values aren't enough to enliven this ambitious centerpiece of the Bailiwick's 2005 Pride Series. Marlowe's life deserves a better treatment, even with dramatic liberties that reduce Marlowe's downfall into an improbable love triangle.
