Growing up is hard to do. But there's no doubt in the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival's production of Henry V that the young king has put adolescent excess and callousness forever behind him. Jim Helsinger, OSF's artistic director, hits all the right notes in the lead role. It's Helsinger's first appearance on the main stage since his much-heralded role as Hamlet in OSF's 1994 production. Five years is a long time to deprive Orlando theater-goers of Helsinger's very real ability to breathe life into Shakespeare's characters. Let's hope we won't need to wait another five years to see him again on the boards at the Walt Disney Amphitheater in Lake Eola Park. Helsinger's Henry is wise beyond his years - a clever and disarming diplomat, an even-handed judge, a master motivator of men, a scrappy street fighter, an awkward but affecting suitor, a king with the common touch, a man among men. And that's as it should be, because that's the part as Shakespeare wrote it. The trappings of OSF's staging are conceptual - as they are in Twelfth Night, which will run in repertory with Henry V through May 9. But for this play, the concept works well because it's not allowed to overtake the story. From the opening air-raid siren, to the closing all-clear, the World War II setting clicks. It's completely believable that a random bunch of English citizens seeking shelter from German bombs in an abandoned theater during the Blitz would decide to pass the anxious hours acting out the Bard's inspiring version of another of England's finest hours, when a small band of warriors triumphed over terrible odds. From the moment the ensemble cast picks up the play scripts and makes do with whatever costumes and props are at hand, the results are dramatic, but also symbolic. Unlike OSF's Twelfth Night, the company's conceptual staging of Henry V actually enhances the message of Shakespeare's fine history play. We see in the rapidly acquired or doffed costumes and the hodgepodge of weaponry (swords of many eras, but also umbrellas, rifles, badminton racquets and bayonets) that war is universal, despite our hopes for peace. The sounds of dive bombers and exploding ordnance and the mostly percussive rhythms of the music - interspersed with the voice of a BBC announcer or the strains of period '40s music - underline the action without diminishing its import. Ann Anderson's sound design and Daniel Levy's original music deserve praise. Kudos, too, for fight director Mark Rector and fight captain Eric Hissom, | who choreograph the warriors quite convincingly. A small cast comes to suggest hundreds, even thousands of combatants. And the stylistic yet energetic precision of the battle scenes is worthy of a parade-day general or even a ballet master. The actors give their best. Helsinger brings us nearly to tears at times, yet lets us laugh with him when the action allows. Around Helsinger's star revolves an constellation of lesser but no less excellent actors. No laggards here - and no missed opportunities to bring the audience along emotionally. For this exceptional evenness, this uniformly high-quality performance, director Michael Carleton deserves praise. The blocking, the movement - especially during the famous St. Crispin's Day speech - is riveting. Best of all, we are spared those all-too-common theatrical experiences of scene stealing or jarringly off-key performances. The cast becomes one well-oiled dramatic dynamo that wins our allegiance and our hearts as overwhelmingly as the English won the victory at Agincour. Supporting roles are just that. They augment the action and enhance the lead's finest moments, even when they are silent. One almost hesitates to single out individuals, although it's hard to resist a word in praise of Paul Kiernan's masterful Fluellen, a fellow we'd all like on our side when the fight starts. His accent, his carriage, his interpretation are all on target. In a small but affecting role, Ritchie Vadnie is a believable John Bates, English foot soldier - a kind of English Everyman. We are sorry to hear his is one of England's few casualties in its lopsided battlefield triumph. Mark Rector carries conviction to both his roles - as narrator and as Montjoy, the French herald who grows to admire and honor the English king. Also pleasing are Jeannie Naughton as Katherine, the French princess, and Denise Alessandria Hurd as her lady-in-waiting Alice. Both women prove themselves versatile actors, too, when called upon to double up in men's roles as the Irish captain Mac Morris (Naughton) and the English captain Gower (Hurd). Don't miss OSF's Henry V, even if you saw the recent movie version. Cinematic Shakespeare is a different, if often rewarding, experience. His works were written for the joys and limitations of live theatrical performances - for "the wooden O." Nothing serves the Bard better than Shakespeare live, especially when his work is given a spirited and intelligent presentation like that of OSF's Henry V. |
