Celebrating its \u201cfour-and-twentieth\u201d season, Marin Shakespeare Company has reached even farther into theatrical history and come up with a pre-Shakespearean hit, Thomas Kyd\u2019s \u201cThe Spanish Tragedy.\u201d
\nKyd\u2019s play was packing playhouses by the time Shakespeare arrived in London, and \u201cSpanish Tragedy\u201d was revived over and over, even after The Bard began producing his own work. He certainly would have seen it at least once, and dramatic evidence suggests he borrowed from it here and there.
\nShakespeare\u2019s \u201cHamlet,\u201d for instance, is rooted in the young prince\u2019s vow to avenge his father\u2019s death, a vow inspired by the father\u2019s angry ghost. In \u201cThe \u201cSpanish Tragedy,\u201d it is the father who\u2019s bent on getting revenge for his murdered son. Revenge is a character that lingers onstage in company with the ghost of another murder victim. (Revenge looks and sounds not at all as you might expect.)
\nThe ghost\u2019s former love — now a bereaved young woman — could almost stand in for Ophelia, and \u201cTragedy\u2019s\u201d smarmy, sneaky young nobleman could double for Iago, the villain in \u201cOthello.\u201d To top off the resemblances, Kyd even scripted a play-within-a-play as payback for the guilty parties, and as in Shakespearean plays to follow, the bodies begin to pile up.
\nDirector Leslie Schisgall Currier has revived this gory old favorite, set it in a multi-level castle and cut it down to a manageable two hours and forty minutes\u2019 playing time. The action begins with a tolling bell and a long funeral march of white-masked mourners. The deceased follows the march, describing the foul deeds that have made him a ghost. Ghost stays visible throughout the play, accompanied by Revenge.
\nThe Duke of Castille, the King\u2019s brother, describes the battle and shows off its most famous prisoner, Balthazar, Prince of Portugal. Horatio has helped apprehend him, though the Duke\u2019s son, Lorenzo, claims that he was the real nabber. Lorenzo\u2019s sister, Bellimperia, captures Balthazar\u2019s attention, and in no time, speculations begin that a marriage between the two would cement peace between their nations. The young lady, however, had been the sweetheart of Don Andrea, now the Ghost pacing the battlements. She is not available, though her servant vows that the lady\u2019s affections have recently turned to Horatio. This information enrages Balthazar; Horatio\u2019s too much in his way.
\nBut despite all the royalty represented onstage, the most complex character in \u201cThe Spanish Tragedy\u201d is the judge, Hieronimo. When he finds his beloved son murdered, Hieronomo\u2019s reaction is similar to King Lear\u2019s over the corpse of his daughter, Cordelia. Justice now equals revenge.
\nIn this large, outdoor performance space, trained voices enhance the show. Julian Lopez-Morillas is superb as Hieronomo, commanding the stage with a big voice and big emotions. Scott Coopwood, as the Duke of Castille has a similar presence, as does Jack Powell as the Viceroy of Portugal. Both Elena Wright in the role of Bellimperia and Jessica Powell as Hieronimo\u2019s wife, Isabella, have roles with heavy vocal demands. Erik Johnson plays the ill-fated Horatio, and in three widely varying roles, Steve Price, who grew up on the Peninsula, portrays a Portuguese nobleman, a petitioner and a hangman. In a last-minute substitution on opening night, Liam Hughes took over the role of Balthazar. Twenty-five additional cast members round out this generously-sized production.
\n\u201cThe Spanish Tragedy\u201d will play at the Forest Meadows Amphitheatre on the Dominican University campus until August 11 and in repertory with \u201cA Comedy of Errors\u201d after July 27. Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening performances are at 8 PM, with Sunday matinees at 4 PM. For tickets, directions and more information, call 499-4488.
\nAs with all outdoor performances, dress for the weather and bring extra layers as the theatre gets cooler after dark. Picnics are welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Celebrating its \u201cfour-and-twentieth\u201d season, Marin Shakespeare Company has reached even farther into theatrical history and come up with a pre-Shakespearean hit, Thomas Kyd\u2019s \u201cThe Spanish Tragedy.\u201d Kyd\u2019s play was packing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[837],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joe-cillo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"