Epic’s ‘Compleat Female Stage Beauty’ a winner

Posted 9/11/14

Prolific playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has a wild imagination, plus a witty, thought-provoking writing style that can be a bit racy at times, while poking fun at conventional manners.

“Compleat …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Epic’s ‘Compleat Female Stage Beauty’ a winner

Posted

Prolific playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has a wild imagination, plus a witty, thought-provoking writing style that can be a bit racy at times, while poking fun at conventional manners.

“Compleat Female Stage Beauty” takes us back to 1661, when women were not allowed on stage and men played all the female roles.

Enter Edward Kynaston (Jonathon Fisher), an ego-centered actor who takes pride in his portrayal of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s “Othello,” especially the “dying scene,” which the audience is treated to more than once.

Everything is going along quite fine until the king changes the law, allowing women to play women’s roles.

Margaret Hughes (Kerry Giorgi) becomes Kynaston’s acting rival, playing Desdemona at a competing theatre. She becomes an instant “star,” even though her acting is terrible.

What follows is a hilarious battle of the sexes and a more hilarious examination of sexual identity and gender bending. Throw in some gay and straight sex, a barrage of double entendres, and some clever pokes at actors and the theatre in general, and you have one funny, satirical, risqué night of theatre.

Hatcher’s play has been performed by many college and community groups and was turned into a movie, but I don’t recall it ever being performed in Rhode Island.

Epic Theatre Co. does a great job taking the sprawling two-act play, with its multitude of scene changes, and making it work in its small Theatre 82 space.

Fisher, who we have seen in a number of roles at Epic, is at his best as the conflicted man who plays a woman while struggling with his own sexual identity.

Giorgi is also very good playing an actress who can’t act, a difficult part to play convincingly.

The rest of the cast is fine, some playing a variety of roles. Kevin Broccoli steals the show, especially when he is opposite Fisher playing Othello.

Director Jill D. Jones sets the pace very fast, keeping the action and the actors moving from one quick scene to the next, taking advantage of every nook and cranny in the small, up-close space.

Marilyn Salvatore, who has probably been involved behind the scenes in more plays than anyone else in Rhode Island, served as Costume Consultant, making the costumes and wigs an outrageously important aspect of the production.

Lots of laughs, a chance to relive the dying scene in “Othello,” some risqué moments, a bit of theatre history, and a close look at our own sexual identities all add up to make Epic’s “Compleat Female Stage Beauty” a winner.

Performances will be held this coming Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Theatre 82, located at 82 Rolfe St. in Cranston. The play is recommended for mature audiences only. General admission tickets are $15, while tickets for students and seniors are $12. For more information, visit www.epictheatreri.org.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here