ELIZABETH REX

11 MINUTES THEATRE COMPANY: APRIL 27 – MAY 15

 

                Margaret Casart and Verl Hite

Written by Paul Thompson and Timothy Findley, and directed by Tiya Trent and Janine Ann Kehlenbach,” Elizabeth Rex” is currently playing at the People’s Building on East Colfax.

    What a treat to get to see Margaret  Casart as Elizabeth the First. Frequently seen in the classics presented by Ed Baierlein and Sallie Diamond over at Germinal Stage Denver, one is overjoyed to see her treading the boards once again.   Ms. Casart is a truly great actor, and costumed in gold and ivory, she commands the stage beautifully as Queen Elizabeth I. 

     Matthew Schultz turns in a passionate performance as Ned Lowenscraft, a male actor who performs the female roles in Shakespeare’s plays. This time, it’s Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing.” 

     Visiting the Bard and cast after the performance, Elizabeth is distraught. It’s the evening before her one-time lover, The Earl of Essex’s execution.

     The Queen has required herself to take on a ‘manly’ disposition as regent to protect her England. Ned has been required by custom-and sexuality-to conform with the tradition of taking on a womanly disposition playing the Bard’s female characters.

    The catch-line for the play, which is spoken by the queen is, “If you will teach me how to be a woman, I will teach you how to be a man." 

     This compelling puzzle that Elizabeth creates as a distraction from the inevitable, is muddied by some of the other characters' lack of understanding of protocols required in the presence of a monarch. The treatment of this sovereign by the characters in this play is on several occasions less than deferential.

     One must lay this at the feet of the playwright(s). 

     One would not argue, dispute her opinion, or raise one’s voice to her. The punishment for this would have been immediate “towering” and execution.

     That said, there is much good to be said  about the performances. 

     Joseph Graves Jr. is an amiable and articulate Shakespeare.     

     Shashauna Staton, is a very funny Mistress Kate Tardwell.

     Alison Talvacchio is appropriately proper and sober as Lord Cecil.

           Verl Hite is outrageously hilarious as Percy, a fool who’s remembered by the queen for his “exquisite falling down.”

     Julie Williamson delivers a Lady Anne Henslowe who is appropriately sour and barely ambulatory.

     First produced in 2000 at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, it won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award.

Go and support the 11 Minutes Theatre Company at The People’s Building located at 9995 E. Colfax

 

For tickets call: 720-333-3499