The Malcontent
The Antaeus Theater Company (winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Outstanding Season for 2010) opens its second season of classics in Los Angeles with the Jacobean tragicomedy, The Malcontent, by John Marston (1603). The Anataeus is known for providing quality theatre productions, readings, workshops, arts education programs to schools in the area and acting training classes. It’s mission statement: “To keep classical theater vibrantly alive in ourselves and in our community”. This is the companies twentieth anniversary and audiences may well have seen or read about their most recent productions of King Lear, Cousin Bette and The Autumn Garden.
Although I had never attended Antaeus, it was with high hopes that I ventured to see a production of this most difficult of plays, The Malcontent. The language alone is a tremendous barrier. The character development lacks the dignity and depth that typifies the Shakespearean personality. The Jacobean plot is known for shallowness and ineptness more suited to masque and farce. I did, however, find the play witty, and it seemed relevant enough; it’s about the corruption of the mighty, outrageous intrigue and betrayal, revenge, and even forgiveness. The set is by Tom Buderwitz, costumes by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, and lights by Elizabeth Harper. The scenic painters (Andrew Hammer & Annette Hassell), the master electrician (Nina Klousia), and the assistant costume designer (Jessica Olson) are all delightful and professional. But the production as a whole left me rather cold.
It has always been my opinion that today’s actors should be equally at home in classical theatre and ‘kitchen sink’ drama; that they should not hide in one school because they are unable to accomplish the other, but combine the best of both techniques to contribute to the development of a well rounded, versatile, in depth actor. I am not saying this is easy to accomplish, but that it is a worthy goal and perhaps a necessity in our modern theatre world with its unique demands. It is readily acknowledged that the English are masters in both vocal and physical preparedness for performing the classics. I believe a classically trained English actor would overshadow not only most everyone in this production, but in most productions in America. What America has to offer is it’s superb ‘naturalism’’. No one can beat us at that. I kept waiting to see a marriage between trained body and vocal work and real, sincere emotion. I doubt we are ever going to outdo the English in being ‘to the manor born’, but our simple straightforwardness is the magic Americans have to offer the classics.
Although generally satisfactory, I found fault with all the performances except for those of Ramond DeOcampo as Mendoza, (an ambitious Machiavel), and Saundra McClain as Maquerelle, (a former courtesan, now a pandress). Ramond DeOcampo’s physicality is beautiful, elegant, spontaneous, and humorous. He hit just the right note of irony, slipping in and out of open and dissembled villainy. Sandra McClain seemed to be herself in the part. With perfect articulation and physical competence she was down to earth, real, and a pleasure to watch. Bo Foxworth as Altofront, (the usurped Duke of Genoa, in disguise as Malevole the Malcontent) was totally compelling at those moments when he was revealing his true identity; centered and honest. But when pretending to be the mad malcontent, he slipped into phony, forced, overdone behavior. A more imaginative and real character might have been created without the continuous shouting intended, I suppose, to telegraph to us that he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t. His shouting made much of what he said difficult to comprehend. Jules Willcox as Aurelia, (a Medici and Duchess to the usurping duke) has one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. What, however, prevented her lamentation of guilt and grief from a more relaxed, less stagy believability? Here was the perfect opportunity for that marriage I spoke of earlier between tongue in cheek, Jacobean style and modern sensibilities. It didn’t happen.
The staging and choreography were excellent. The pacing was too much like a metronome without enough slow tempo and modulation of sound and mood. Regrettably I believe more work has to be done on this production, and I am, most unfortunately, ‘malcontent’.
The Antaeus Company @ Deaf West Theatre
5112 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, ca. 91601
(one block south of Magnolia; free parking available in the uncovered Citibank lot on Lankershim Blvd. south of Otsega St.)
May 5-June 19
818-506-1983 or www.Antaeus.org