Pericles (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pericles Jennifer Hartshorn Pericles Presented by Georgia Shakespeare at the Conant Performing Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia. June 28-July 28, 2007. Directed by Richard Garner. Scenic design by Kat Conley. Costume design by Sydney Roberts. Lighting Design by Liz Lee. Music by Klimchak. With Park Krausen (Gower, Thaisa, and Diana), Joe Knezevich (Pericles), Brad Sherrill (Antiochus), Kristen Burke (Antiochus's Daughter, Lychorida), Daniel May (Thaliard, Lysimachus), Rob Cleveland (Helicanus, Philemon), Hudson Adams (Cleon), Carolyn Cook (Dionyza), Chris Kayser (Simonides, Pander), Amelia Hammond (Marina), Crystal Dickinson (Bawd, Cerimon), and others. Pericles was the sole Shakespearian offering from Georgia Shakespeare this summer, though in keeping with tradition they will present another staple of the canon, Richard III, in the fall. While Pericles is unfamiliar to many audience members, this production echoed familiar elements from Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, Merchant of Venice and, of course, The Tempest, [End Page 131] while director Richard Garner's occasional restructuring of scenes helped to unify the action. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Joe Knezevich in the title role of Georgia Shakespeare's 2007 season production of Pericles. Photo by Bill DeLoach. Pericles's myriad settings can prove a challenge to any company that chooses to stage it, but this production in particular embraced the text's lack of "unity of place." Each of the half-dozen locations had a vastly different feel, achieved primarily through costume and music, rather than substantial set changes. The relatively small cast necessitated doubling (in some cases, tripling), making it difficult to develop each character individually, given the limited amount of stage time allowed to each. Garner agreed that this was a challenge, saying in his director's note that he saw this disjointedness as "a call to develop a theatrical storytelling style that will embrace the quixotic nature of the story and make some sense out of it." The production struggled with these two extremes of chaos and continuity, however, some of which were dictated by the text, while others resulted from production choices. It is not uncommon at Georgia Shakespeare, particularly in those plays directed by Richard Garner, to see creative doubling and combining of roles, which frequently results in the expansion of the roles of gods and goddesses to observe, describe, and occasionally become part of the action. In As You Like It (2002), a "Man With No Name" cowboy was a [End Page 132] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. Pericles ( Joe Knezevich) and Thaisa (Park Krausen) in Georgia Shakespeare's 2007 season production of Pericles. Photo by Bill DeLoach. [End Page 133] silent presence throughout the play—eventually speaking as Hymen, who "makes all well" during the wedding scene; in 2005's Winter's Tale, Paulina and Time were conflated to create a single character. Garner's production of Pericles was no different, with the roles of Gower, Diana, and Thaisa being played by a single actor, the talented Park Krausen. While Thaisa stands apart from the other two, it makes sense for the goddess Diana to be the narrator; and combining this role with that of the storyteller, Gower, fit perfectly in this production. The tripling did, however, present a challenge in Garner's restructured version of 3.1, in which Thaisa is cast overboard while Gower describes the scene. In what was perhaps a nod to the staging of Phantom of the Opera, a double for Park Krausen, wearing Thaisa's cloak, stood in for her while she, narrating as Gower, crossed over a suspended walkway above the stage. The cast was among the strongest Garner has assembled in recent years. In her combined role as Gower/Diana/Thaisa, Park Krausen was as much the star of the show as its title character. Daniel May brought a quiet dignity to the comparatively small role of the governor, Lysimachus, while Carolyn Cook's icy Dionyza and Crystal Dickenson's delightfully trashy Bawd were also standouts. Joe Knezevich's Pericles, however, remained a bewildered observer. Garner tied together the various threads of the storyline into a mostly coherent whole, while Knezevich's Pericles wandered from location to location, dazed by the whirl of events around him. Knezevich...