Chicago is My Home

19
Sep

Theater: ‘Cymbeline’ a Priceless Stallion Amid Field of Praiseworthy Equestrians

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Theater

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CHICAGO – If you frequent Chicago performances with a typical ticket price between $10 and $30, “Cymbeline” at Chicago Shakes on Navy Pier is nothing short of a priceless stallion amid a field of praiseworthy equestrians.

For $54 to $70 per head, you’re instead deluged with an ocular and audible affair you won’t quickly convert into a “been there, done that” gig.

“Its adventurous nature and epic sweep capture the entirety of the human experience,” said Chicago Shakespeare Theater founder and “Cymbeline” artistic director Barbara Gaines.

The dark fairy tale of love, fidelity, deception, magic potions, second chances and unbridled jealousy packs an apt dosage of humor with a titular king, a defiant daughter, woodsy scenes and, of course, impersonating the opposite sex. It’s all tragically typical Bill.

One of Shakespeare’s late romances, what might be tagged a tragedy in actuality most certainly is a comedy. Said more modernly, “Cymbeline” is a “tragi-comedy”.

Those immersed in his legend are already well aware of the language that is entirely his own. Those unfamiliar might take until halfway through this 160-minute performance for Shakespearean words like “’twixt” to naturally translate into “between”.

Also, if it weren’t for exquisite vocal articulation, the beanstalk-tall stage would have surely posed much more of a problem in understanding the dialogue.

While a god descending from the heavens with a bolt of lightning certainly wouldn’t have been possible without such a stage’s grandeur, the king-size space comes at the cost of a loss of eye-locking intimacy.

Speckled from tip to toe with an elaborate sound, lighting and fly system, though, even from the back you’d be remiss to miss all the emotion-packed spitting.

With seven Chicago Shakespeare Theater performances between 2007 and 2008 and an approximate budget of $13 million, “Cymbeline” is a multimillion-dollar production delivering a first-rate performance of one of Shakespeare’s more predictable scripts.

While it was once deemed exceptionally laudable, the esteem for “Cymbeline” has floundered over the past century.

Some maintain that the play is an “instance of Shakespeare amusing himself and spinning absurd tales with no serious intent”. Be that or the contrary, Gaines and her crew deliver superlatively.

“Cymbeline” runs through Nov. 11 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at various times every day but Monday. Tickets cost $54 to $70.

By Adam Fendelman
Publisher
HollywoodChicago.com

© 2007 Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com