Tag Archives: Shakespeare In Love

This Play’s The Thing To Bring You An Early Spring

Shakespeare In Love
At The SpeakEasy Stage Company

Reviewed by Bobby Franklin

We are in the midst of one of our cold and snowy Boston winters, but you don’t have to travel far to have your heart warmed and a smile brought to your face. The New England Premiere of Shakespeare In Love presented by the SpeakEasy Stage Company and playing at the Calderwood Pavillon in Boston’s South End is delightful.

George Olecky and Jennifer Ellis
Photo Credit:Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots.

The Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard screenplay from their Academy Award winning best picture has been adapted to the stage by Lee Hall who has kept much of the original script while adding additional dialog including Shakespeare lines. With a cast of eighteen actors plus a dog it is remarkable how smoothly this work flows. Everyone is in synch and the dialog and action never miss a beat. This had to be a challenge for director Scott Edmiston who was clearly up to the task.

The SpeakEasy design team has done a masterful job of transforming the Wimberly Theatre at the Calderwood into The Rose Theater from Shakespeare’s era. The actors move into the aisles at times and the lights are turned up periodically to truly make the audience feel they a part of the performance. It is a wonderful touch that adds to the fun that is enjoyed by those in attendance. We are groundlings all.

Of course, what would a play be without the players? And the SpeakEasy has assembled a very talented cast to take the stage. With so many who deserve recognition I hate having to leave some out but space doesn’t allow for a full rundown. Just know they were all terrific.

Eddie Shields and George Olecky
Photo Credit:Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots.

George Olesky plays the young Will Shakespeare who, at the beginning of the play, is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block,”Shall I compare thee to a …something…”. Kit Marlowe (Eddie Shields) helps him  get his mojo back and even coaches him in finding the words with which to woo Viola (Jennifer Ellis) who has been masquerading as a male in order to gain a part in the upcoming production of Romeo and Ethel, The Pirate’s Daughter. Fortunately, Kit is able to convince Will there is a better title for the work.

Many audience members will be familiar with the direction this all takes from having seen the movie. If not, it is fun to experience it for the first time. And, if you are, you will find this treatment of it to be fresh and  enjoyable.

Olesky and Shields, who I at first thought were going to be too corny, settle into wonderful exchanges of banter that display the wit you would expect from these two poets. Their back and forth captures their rivalry, respect, and friendship. By the time of Marlowe’s murder you can empathize with Shakespeare’s pain and guilt at the loss of his friend.

Nancy E. Carroll as Queen Elizabeth has the gift of delivering very funny lines without cracking a smile. However, there is a twinkle in her eye that belies her stern countenance.

Ken Baltin
Photo Credit: Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots.

Ken Baltin takes on the role of the beleaguered theatre owner Henslowe who is struggling to stay one step ahead of losing an ear for falling behind in his payments to the loan shark Fennyman played by the very funny Remo Airaldi. Baltin’s expressions as he looks pleadingly to the audience are priceless.

As readers of this column know by now I consider Jennifer Ellis a remarkably gifted performer. In Shakespeare In Love she did not disappoint me. I have seen Ms Ellis performing going back to Urinetown at the Lyric Stage in 2005 and more recently in She Loves Me at the Greater Boston Stage Company as well as The Bridges of Madison County at the SpeakEasy. In a city that is so filled with talent (you get to see much it in this current production) Jennifer Ellis stands out as one who is destined for great things. My only concern is that one day we may lose her to the bright lights of Broadway, so I would strongly urge you to get to the Calderwood Pavillon and see for yourself what I am talking about before she moves on.

Ms Ellis radiates in the role of Viola. Her voice and her presence fill the stage.

Ms Ellis radiates in the role of Viola. Her voice and her presence fill the stage. There is also something very unique about the way lighting touches her face. I don’t know how to properly describe it, but it is amazing to see. Jennifer Ellis also carries a subtlety into her performances that allows her to always appear at ease and very natural.

So, forget about the cold weather and head over to the SpeakEasy stage for this delightful production. Oh, I forgot to mention one very important cast member, Spot the dog. As Nancy E. Carroll’s Queen Elizabeth says when encouraging Will on writing his next play “Remember, we very much like dogs”. You’ll very much like Spot. And yes, “Out damn Spot’ does make it into the dialog.

Shakespeare In Love
Through February 10th
The SpeakEasy Stage
Calderwood Pavillon
Boston’s South End
www.speakeasystage.com
617.933.8600

Shakespeare In Love Opens At The Speakeasy January 12th

Jennifer Ellis and George Olesky Lead Cast For New England Premiere

From January 12 to February 10, 2018, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the New England premiere of the hit London comedy SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.

Based on the Academy Award-winning film, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE tells the story of young Will Shakespeare, who is suffering a severe case of writer’s block as the deadline fast approaches to deliver his new play, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. Enter Viola, a headstrong noblewoman and admirer of Will’s, who disguises herself as a boy so she can skirt the law and appear (as a girl) in his play. But when the playwright and his muse fall in love, the plot undergoes some surprising rewrites. Mistaken identities, courtly intrigue, and backstage bickering are all part of the fun in this raucous romantic comedy of errors that reminds us that all the world’s a stage and love is unrehearsed.

Norton & IRNE Award-winner Scott Edmiston will direct the SpeakEasy Stage production of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Mr. Edmiston’s previous SpeakEasy credits include Casa Valentina (2016 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director), The History Boys, The Light in the Piazza, and Five by Tenn.

George Olesky and Jennifer Ellis

Newton native George Olesky and Norton Award-winner Jennifer Ellis headline a truly all-star Boston cast for the production, which includes Remo Airaldi, Ken Baltin, Nancy E. Carroll, Jesse Hinson, Omar Robinson, Carolyn Saxon, Eddie Shields, and Lewis D. Wheeler. Also in the cast are Paul Alperin, Steve Auger, Cameron Beaty Gosselin, Jade Guerra, Jeff Marcus, Zaven Ovian, Edward Rubenacker, and Damon Singletary.

SHAKESPEAERE IN LOVE will run for five weeks, from January 12 through February 10, 2018, in the Virginia Wimberly Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.

617.933.8600 www.SpeakEasyStage.com .