But Harry, Harry - Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2

Photo by Ivy Augustus
Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2

Gallery Theater
Barnsdall Art Park

(4800 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood 90028)

By William Shakespeare

A production of the Independent Shakespeare Co.

Date of reviewed performance: August 22, 2008

Cast
North Umberland/Bullcalf - Scott Bailey

Gadshill/Wart/Clarence/Messenger - Jozben Barrett

Glendower/Pistol/Mouldy - J. Paul Boehmer

Falstaff - Danny Campbell

King Henry - Joseph Culliton

Shadow/Servant/Gloucester - Nicholas Ehas

Bardolph/Monk - Thomas Ehas

Mortimer/Warrick - Ahmad Enani

Blunt/Hastings/Francis - Darrel Guilbeau

Lady Mortimer/Doll Tearsheet - Mary Guilliams

Peto/Mowbray - Matt Hurley

Colville - Ruben Lhasa

Prince Hal - David Melville

Westmoreland/Douglas - Erik Mathew

Poines/Silence/Monk - Bobby Plasencia

Hotspur/Archbishop - Sean Pritchett

Lady Percy - Aubrey Saverino

Worcester/Justice Shallow - David Nathan Schwartz

Lady Northumberland/Wench - Madison Shepard

Mistress Quickly - Bernadette Sullivan

Prince John - Erwin Tuazon

Sheriff/Feeble - Jon Zuber

Who knew that Henry IV was a comedy?? Well...it's not, actually - it's one of Shakespeare's most famous history pieces. But don't try telling that to the folks at Independent Shakespeare Co. Their interpretation of Henry IV is tweaked for more laughs than a grab bag of Neil Simon pieces. Granted, this review is of the closing performance of this show, so there is a chance that the cast was more punchy and hammy than usual on this, their last show. I know from my own theatre experience that there is a tendancy to go for broke to the ubsurdist extreme on the closing night of a show, if for no other reason than because it's THE LAST TIME. Or perhaps I'm wrong and the show has been just as gregarious for its whole run - in which case I don't know whether to admire them for refusing to take Shakespeare at his most stuffiness or roll my eyes at them for being one note. I say that because the last performance I reviewed was Twelfth Night, also a production of ISC (see below), and these two shows had far more in common than they had differences.
This production puts both Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 together (often they are done as separate, stand alone works). Seeing them back to back makes me realize how completely unnecessary Part 2 is. The ISC production of Part 2 runs at an hour and ten minutes (or about an hour too long) and, starting at near 10:00pm, was an awful lot to ask of a weary audience. It is not ISC's fault that Part 2 is a forgotten appendage of a play. I'm sure they decided to do it because it gives closure to Prince Hal's character and his relationship with Falstaff. It is not ISC's fault that most of Part 2 is filler with no substance, save the last scene or two. I have heard that Shakespeare never meant to write a Part 2, that the popularity of the Falstaff character created pressure to bring him back in some way. I don't know if this is true (does anybody?). If it is, then perhaps Henry IV Part 2 is the world's first flop of a sequel that couldn't live up to its predecessor. The world should have taken note - we could have saved ourselves a world of further disappointments by learning from this very valuable example.
David Melville, a talented actor who is able to roll Shakespearean monologue off his tongue with the comfort akin to slipping on an old t-shirt, portrays (heir to the throne) Henry V - the real core of this somewhat misnamed play. He's a party boy with a crew of ne'er-do-well friends. He avoids his father and all of the expectations that are implied therein. Then comes the moment when he MUST draw a line in the sand and choose one lifestyle over the other. Overall, Mr. Melville does a just-decent job with his character, and I wonder if doing three simultaneous productions gets to him a bit where characterization is involved. There is a whole lot of Sir Toby Belch (From Twelfth Night) in Prince Hal, which is as dissappointing as it is inappropriate. I know that Mr. Melville is capable of more than that.
Danny Campbell, who portrays Falstaff, is loud and fun and really brings to the forefront all of the reasons why Falstaff is one of Shakespeare's most endearing clowns. Campbell plays a belly-laughs version of Falstaff - we don't get to see a more troubled, layered version of the man until the very end of Part 2. That's sad because Falstaff is a much more tragic character when he's allowed to be human. Part of the unwillingness to let the audience see this side of him is what contributes to this production feeling less like a staging of one of the great history plays and more like an exercise in Elizabethan buffoonery.
Two of the finest characterizations in this production are by actors Erik Mathew and Sean Pritchett. Each of them give their characters the respect and gravitas worthy of the roles. Mr. Pritchett's Hotspur is charming and sympathetic (far more so than Prince Hal). Mr. Mathew's interpretion of Douglas is bold and standout - particularly so given the brevity of time the character appears onstage AND that Mr. Mathew played multiple characters. By and large, the rest of the acting company was more than competent, performing multi-character responsibilities.
My final comment on the actors consists of an accent issue with Lady Percy, played by Aubrey Saverino. She certainly is trying to do some accent, but it is a muddled mess. Thankfully, Hotspur mentions once or twice that she's Irish, otherwise I fear the audience would leave the hillside believing that Hotspur had married into the gypsies or had taken a lover from Barbados. My feeling about accents is that if you can't do the one required, don't attempt one at all. Bringing "whatever you think you can do" to the table is unacceptable because the result is distracting for the audience and it primarily makes people remember the actor in question as "that one who couldn't do the accent."
As usual for ISC, the set is sparse with one or two large furniture pieces being carted around and rearranged to serve the function of the entire set for each scene. Whether it comes from artistic decision or a lack of funds, I love this minimalist representation. Also, the theater geek in me adores the fact that onstage they use both period-style pewter mugs as well as very contemporary beer cans from which to drink their grog. Also, they have a sort of "whatever we could scrounge together" attitude toward weaponry. There were obvious prop weapons that had been fashioned together on the fly, a couple of actual Starfire blades (RenFaire geeks unite!), some museum replicas and a handful of practice fencing foils. Somehow, even with the non-picky nature of the assortment, they didn't have enough for all the characters... in one scene a line of characters all pull their swords simultaneously and one actor on the end pulled a rolled up sheet of paper. If this was on purpose, I missed why and was perhaps distracted by one of the six helicopters that came by throughout the evening's performance. Anyway, the rolled up paper made me laugh, and forced me to rake my memory of the last time I saw Henry IV (granted it's been several years) for a similar oddity.
As I like to say about Independent Shakespeare Co., it's free Shakespeare in the Park and you can't really go wrong at free. Of course, this show is now closed...so you'll just have to wait until next time if you want to see it. Twelfth Night (reviewed below) closes tonight. Tomorrow is the closing night of Doctor Faustus, which I am going to see. I will post the review on Monday. At some point, I really am going to start reviewing shows at the BEGINNING of their run, as opposed to their end. I promise.
Henry IV Part 1:
Henry IV Part 2: