Phillyist Reviews... Pericles

There's a reason that nobody really produces Pericles, one of Shakespeare's final plays. And that reason is, to put it bluntly, that Pericles is really stupid. Really stupid. Most directors, producers, and English teachers know this, accept it, and pretend that the play doesn't exist at all. And then there's The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, which decided to revive this forgotten work, using a script developed and adapted by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival that cleaned and clarified Shakespeare's original text in order to "[relate] the story more succinctly."

Even with these tweaks, the play is still stupid—but the Philadelphia Shakespeare Company's production is (largely) thoughtful, mature, and surprisingly good. It may be putting the lipstick of spectacle on the pig that is a really bad play, but in truth, the spectacle alone makes it worth a viewing: eighteen actors onstage playing roles that ranged from Greek Chorus to Roman deity, a personified storm at sea (or two), and—get this—singing and dancing. That's right, folks. This is Pericles: The Musical! We're not talking 42nd Street here, but it's certainly unexpected.

It's also problematic. Philly Shakes' theatre is small enough that microphones aren't required in the space. Unfortunately, eighteen unamplified voices singing over a prerecorded orchestra end up sounding muddled and unclear, and a lot of really important story details (she was sleeping with her father? He was trying to avoid assassination?) get completely lost, recovered partly, but not enough, by the plot synopsis in the program. (As an aside, theatres should really proofread and copy edit their programs. If they can't do it, they should hire me to do it. God knows I'm a nerd for that sort of thing.) The chorus scenes are lovely to look at but ultimately frustrating to sit through and might have been more effective with fewer actors or better sound design involved.

Which isn't to say that there weren't great, perfectly audible performances in the play. Damon Bonetti played a perfectly respectable Pericles in the first half of the show. (It's only when, in the second half, the role of the now-older king is played by Moses played by Charlton Heston played by Bonetti that it ceases to be either believable or sympathetic.) Christie Parker, who had featured roles in both of Philly Shakes' productions last season, is adorably flirty when her character, Thaisa, meets Pericles, and equally tragic (she cries well onstage) when they—through pretty unbelievable circumstances—are separated. Melissa Dunphy, though slightly ineffectual as the incestuous daughter of Antiochus, is appropriately charming as Marina. And Buck Schirner is a total riot both as Simonides, Thaisa's father, and as Boult, the employee of a whoremongering couple. Memorable moments abound when these actors take the stage—impressive, when you've got a play that, overall, is anything but.

In conclusion, is there a reason why Pericles is oft-ignored? Absolutely. But just as it's possible to produce a really bad production of a masterpiece, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival has demonstrated that it's also possible to elevate and make more than bearable Shakespeare's biggest piece of crap.

It's still lipstick on a pig—but the pig sure looks pretty.

Damon Bonetti as Pericles in The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival's Production of Pericles, running through May 18. Photo by Bansemer Photography.