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Shravan Amin charms as Christopher “Kit” Marlowe, trusted counselor to Will in matters both literary and romantic. These performances make for much broad hilarity, yet some of the play’s best moments are less flashy ones. Bromfield is both hilarious and malevolent as the foppish Wessex, and Susan Sanford matches Judi Dench with her regal, slyly insightful take on Queen Elizabeth. Matthew Radford Davies and Scott Wichmann play rival leading actors of the day, each reveling in the prime opportunity to vehemently chew the scenery. Will has found his muse, however, and his star-crossed love for Viola inspires him to ultimately create the masterpiece “Romeo and Juliet.”īut before the curtain falls, hijinks aplenty unfold. Unfortunately, it happens to be a betrothal party during which Viola agrees to marry snotty noble Lord Wessex (Joseph Bromfield). Will follows the young “actor” home, sneaking into a party where he spies Viola in courtly dress and is instantly smitten. The play is set in the competitive theater world of 16th century England where an implausibly dashing Will Shakespeare (played by Brandon Carter) is suffering from debilitating writer’s block while trying to craft a comedy tentatively titled “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter.” His strapped financier, Henslowe (Keith Richards), starts assembling a cast for rehearsals before nary a page is written and Viola De Lesseps (Betsy Struxness), the theater-obsessed daughter of a wealthy merchant, wins a part as Romeo by dressing as a man. Sure, it takes a while for the momentum to kick in and there is at least one major misstep, but the preponderance of winning scenes ultimately makes the show impossible to resist.
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SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE PLAY REVIEW FULL
In the stage adaptation currently running at Virginia Repertory Theatre, that story gets a satisfying restoration in an elegantly staged production, full of humor alternately broad and pithy with fine performances by both leading and supporting players.
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE PLAY REVIEW MOVIE
In the years since “Shakespeare in Love” hit movie theaters in 1998, the controversies generated by the Oscars that followed - the film beating “Saving Private Ryan” for best picture, Judi Dench winning best supporting actress for only eight minutes of screen time – made it easy to forget the delightful, complex story the movie tells.