Henry V
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Christopher Luscombe
at Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier (map)
thru June 15 | tickets: $48-$88 | more info
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This ‘Henry’ tries a bit too hard
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents
Henry V
Review by Lauren Whalen
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Henry V tries really hard. It wants you to like it very, very much. It tries to make you laugh, make you cry, make you think. To be sure, director Christopher Luscombe makes the most valiant of efforts to entertain with Shakespeare’s history play that had yet to be performed on CST’s Courtyard Stage. Any opportunity for sweeping music, big set changes or down-home empathy was not only taken, but embraced without abandon. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work. Though this Henry V has several strong elements, the slow pace and air of trying too hard made it less than stellar.
After viewing Henry V, I discussed the production with a Shakespeare scholar friend. She verbalized what had been bothering me for over two and a half hours: every chance he could, Luscombe tried his very best to make Henry empathetic and thoughtful. Henry’s wooing of the French princess Katherine (Laura Rook) is a bit too earnest, as if he was lovesick teenager Romeo rather than a brash, somewhat calculating conqueror. Henry isn’t as inhumane as Richard III, but he’s not always likable either. As an actor, Judge is utterly magnetic: he doesn’t just chew scenery, he masticates it and spits it out, relishing each power trip with glee. In short, I would have liked Henry a whole lot more if Luscombe hadn’t wanted me to like him quite so much.
Other parts were faulty as well, such as comic bits that feel long, drawn-out and overdone. Additionally, the show’s slow pace turns what should have been exciting battle scenes into drawn-out sequences, with a heavy-handed score that feels too cinematic for live theater. Ditto the huge dramatic set transitions – the audience doesn’t need big changes to recognize an important moment.
Despite its shortcomings, Henry V possesses a fair amount of strengths. Mariann S. Verheyen’s costume design is superb, with lots of rich jewel tones, heavy silks, tapestries and leather – I wanted to reach out and touch everything. Though they don’t have much to do throughout, the two women in the cast, Rook and Sally Wingert (the latter in a dual role of jolly English barfly and proper French court lady), deliver lovely, clear performances – quite a feat considering their wordplay-heavy scene is almost entirely in French. Rook’s Katherine displays a quiet confidence and resolve that only grows stronger as the play progresses, even when she finally succumbs to Henry’s charms. And high school junior Kevin Quinn shows excellent promise, holding his own with established and gifted adult actors, aided by his boyish energy and youthful cheer.
Even Shakespeare’s less popular, less performed plays have a magnetism, an intelligent energy pulsing through every iambic pentameter syllable. The most successful directors recognize this, and let the beautiful language speak for itself, guiding the audience to places of humor, empathy and inspiration. If Luscombe had let go a bit, and trusted Shakespeare’s language, Henry V may have been a far more successful production. Instead, it is a well-acted but dragging testosterone-fest of a battle.
Rating: ★★★
Henry V continues through June 15th at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand (map), with performances Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Wendesdays 1pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays and Fridays 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 2pm. Tickets are $48-$88 (with “CST for $20” tickets for patrons under 35), and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More info at ChicagoShakes.com. (Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes, includes an intermission)
Photos by Liz Lauren
artists
cast
Harry Judge (Henry), Laura Rook (Katherine), Kevin Gudahl (Duke of Exeter), Greg Vinkler (King of France, Pistol), Sally Wingert (Mistress Quickly, Alice), Patrick Clear (Ely, Erpingham, Burgundy), David Lively (Canterbury), Larry Neumann Jr. (Nimm, Duke of Orleans), James Newcomb (Fluellen), Caleb Probst (Duke of York), Samuel Taylor (Dauphin, Macmorris), Demetrios Troy (Scroop, Montjoy), Bret Tuomi (Bardolph, Williams), Joe Flynn (Jamy, Gloucester), Steve O’Connell (Westmoreland, Gower), Cody Proctor (Grey, Bates), Kevin Quinn (Boy)
behind the scenes
Christopher Luscombe (director), Kevin Depinet (scenic design), Mariann S. Verheyen (costume design), Phillip S. Rosenberg (lighting design), Lindsay Jones (sound design), Melissa Veal (wig and make-up design), Matt Hawkins (fight choreographer), Ross Lehman (verse coach), Eva Breneman (dialect coach), Deborah Acker (production stage manager), David Caparelliotis (New York casting), Bob Mason (casting), Liz Lauren (photos)
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