through August 31, 2014
by Jarice Hanson
Adapting any of Shakespeare’s history plays so that today’s
American audience can understand them can be a daunting task, but Jonathan
Epstein has created a lively, energetic version of Henry IV by combining
elements of Part I and Part II that capitalize on the bawdy humor of the Bard’s
most entertaining comedies. Battles are fought with the sound of aircraft and
artillery in the distance; information arrives by cell phone and computer;
acrobatic actors swing on ropes and leap to different playing levels; actors
sing, dance, and the inevitable sword fight is performed with outstanding
vigor.
Epstein has condensed the two plays to focus on Prince Hal,
the heir apparent who negotiates his future duties by relating to Henry IV
(forcefully played by Epstein with appropriate gravitas) and the secondary
father figure of Falstaff who is undoubtedly one of Shakespeare’s most bawdy
creations. Every character in the production is perfectly cast, and Malcolm
Ingram’s portrayal of Falstaff is an unabashed crowd-pleaser. Henry Clark as
Prince Hal physically and intellectually inhabits the son, torn between
fatherly love and parental rejection. Travis George’s set design provides a
dynamic multiple-purpose playing space that complements the story beautifully, and
combines Shakespearean and contemporary stagecraft to best advantage.
For anyone who may think that Henry IV may be too
historically complicated to understand, this production will change their mind.
The adaptation shows the timeliness of Shakespeare and the elements of human
desire, greed, and political will that characterize his work. The words—the
beautiful words—come alive and the characters touch our sense of what it means
to be human. Though Epstein’s adaptation takes some liberties with the original
text (for example, he sometimes gives lines to different actors and emphasizes
different features of the two original plays), he has clearly demonstrated how
Shakespeare’s magic still works, 450 years after the author’s birth. I think
the Bard would approve.
