Cymbeline

Given the choice, William Shakespeare, Russell Crowe or Richard Gere, our thoughts turn toward the latter. And there’s a good reason why, the old Bard, to put it bluntly, is up to some cruel things.

Here’s one, in the current production of CYMBELINE at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, Posthumus, the so-called hero makes a wager with his arch rival to seduce his wife, Imogen. Now who would do that? Even Bernard Shaw had a problem with this. "That Imogen is so dutiful that she accepts her husband’s attempt to have her murdered with affectionate docility. I cannot share these infantile joys." George Bernard quipped.

But it’s this event that magnifies our heroine’s chastity and shows us virtue from the root of vice. And this current production by Theatre For A New Audience capitalizes on the profusion of strange improbabilities that are CYMBELINE. For instance, there are Imogen’s long lost brothers, the King’s kidnapped sons, now grown up cowboys who Imogen meets in pursuit of that wonderful bow of hers. She takes up bow and arrow with her older bro, only to be hunted by that asinine fellow Cloten, a Samurai wannabee who seeks marriage to the throne.

As staged by Bartlett Sher, Shakespeare meets the Wild Wild West meets Robert Altman. And alas, all of the strange incongruities that Shakespeare wrote are lucidly portrayed. The plot for once is understandable. And the "infantile joy" of the romance is fully revealed, lovers united, and just rewards dealt out.

The set design alone is a felicitous sight. Lots of red and black with a yellow shower curtain at stage front. And the blend of costumes, a taste of Shakespearean garb, some modern dress and a fair share of spaghetti western trousers…the kind of eye candy one rarely meets.

That’s This Week Off-Broadway. I’m Isa Goldberg.