Pericles

Abstract

First, [James Sandoe] knows how to use the Festival stages; gardens of nooks and parapets, platforms and steps, tress and an open sky—almost no scenery. Next, he knows how to teach actors to read a text intelligently and speak it well. Finally, he cares more about Shakespeare, the author, than he does about Sandoe, the director. That is not to say that this excellent presentation of careless play is all delight. There are moments of maddening confusion and exasperating exaggeration… There were many skilled performances. Bruce A. Maza was sharp as a pandaric Simonides… Gus Kaikkonens versatility resulted in a gallant Lysimachus. Ed Sampson brought a Pinch-like quality to Cerimon. The brothel crew (Deidre Kelly, Bill Steis, and Horace Moone) managed low comedy with more cheap extravagance—in both acting and costume—than may have been necessary. (However, when alone with Marina, Moone was deft and exact). William McLaughlin, the suffering Pericles, blessed with a good voice and a robust physique, found emotional sincerity in the haystack of extravagance through which he searched. In fact, there was a genuine, almost Lear-Cordelia pathos in the reconciliation of Pericles and his daughter Marina. Anne L. Sandoe, who has been with the Festival since she was a child, had the grace and wit to believe in this unbelievable sea nymph. Finally, J.D. Shuchter read Gower, the story teller, with authority, finesse and a sure sense of “once upon a time.” He was a boon to this young cast. The costumes… were handsome, but (except for the brothel crew) rather austere for fantasy. (J. H. Crouch, Shakespeare Quarterly 24 [1973]: 418)