Indy Shakes

Indy Shakes’ ‘Errors’ succeeds

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By John Lyle Belden

If one is to genuinely have fun with a work by William Shakespeare, it’s hard to go wrong with “The Comedy of Errors.”

This early work by the Bard is chock full of the kind of confusions that are universal hallmarks of comedy to this day. Therefore – and “wherefore” – Indy Shakes adapted it for their summer outdoor production at Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre in Riverside Park, directed by Rob and Jen Johansen, serious actors who are no strangers to getting goofy on stage.

Taking it perhaps a step further than even crowd-pleaser Shakespeare (who was known to hire clowns), the play also includes members of (and “games” by) Act a Foo Improv Crew, featuring Daniel A. Martin.

The setting is Daytona Beach in 1984. Because reasons to start the plot, interlopers from Venice Beach are not allowed on pain of death. Caught by the police (Martin), Egeon, Merchant of Venice (Zack Neiditch), must either give up 1,000 coins or his head. In a bid for mercy, he tells the ruling Duke (Joshua Owens) his story:

He and his wife had identical twin boys, meanwhile an impoverished woman had such twins of her own, which they took on as companions and servants to their own sons. Later, during a sea voyage, a Tempest split the boat, leaving each parent alone with one each of the pairs of boys. In the process of his long search for his wife, Egeon lost track of his son Antipholous (Andrew Martin) and servant Dromio (Hannah Boswell) in Boca Raton, and thought they may be in Daytona. 

You see where this is going. Conveniently also in Daytona Beach are an Antipholus (Carlos Medina Maldonado) and manservant Dromio (Kelsey VanVoorst). Our young master has a household complete with wife Adriana (Alicia Sims), her sister Luciana (Kelli Thomas), and kitchen maid Luce (Cynthia Collins), who is sweet on Daytona’s Dromio. And remember, thanks to the magic of wearing the same outfit (just go with it), the Antipholuses and Dromios look exactly alike.

It doesn’t take long for this play to live up to its title, with hilarious criss-cross encounters between characters and intrigues that involve others including Ennis Adams as an impatient merchant and Scot Greenwell as Angelo the goldsmith. The gags also take advantage of improvised moments, 80’s and Florida references, and Shakespearean in-jokes like crying “Wherefore art thou, Dromio?!”

Finally, after a botched exorcism and Scooby-Doo-esque chase scenes, sanity is restored by order of the Duke with the aid of a local Abbess (Lynne Perkins).

While this comedy does involve a fairly simple plot for Shakespeare (fine by me, to be honest), I couldn’t help but notice a greater emphasis in the poetic dialogue, of its rhythm and rhyme. Indy Shakes artistic director Ryan Artzberger says this is indicative of Shakespeare exploring the use of verse in his early works, employing rhyming couplets to deliver the punchlines – alongside his famous puns and inuendo.

Performances are first-rate throughout the cast. Martin makes a major contribution with his minor role. I’ve seen Maldonado excel wherever he’s cast – from serious stuff to kids’ shows – and he naturally knocks it out of the park here. Edges of drama here and there, such as Greenwell’s nervousness with Angelo on the hook for a lot of money (a gold chain being on the neck of the wrong Antipholus) or Sims and Thomas as sisters feeling they are being played for fools, enhance the comic stakes for greater hilarity. Boswell and VanVoorst thrive in the absurdity.

Pardon my burying the lead here, but admission to this outdoor spectacle is free! Indy Shakes does need patrons to register their tickets for their headcount, and for a price, VIP tables are available. Remaining performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings, July 31-Aug. 2. For information and to register, visit indyshakes.com.

Where there’s a ‘Will,’ there’s a ‘Play’

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By John Lyle Belden

Indy Shakes, The Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, presents a performer who seems to conjure the spirit of William Shakespeare himself in a way you’ve never seen the Bard before.

“Gender Play, or, What You Will,” is a mostly one-person show by non-binary actor Will Wilhelm, written by Wilhelm with Erin Murray, and directed by Emily Tarquin. The current production is in the black-box Basile Theatre in the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

As we enter, we are asked to get into the spirit of the evening by picking up a Tarot card (yours to keep) and put on a bit of the various pieces of costuming made available to all (return those after). The seating is extremely casual, with comfy chairs around the stage. Wilhelm and his assistants Emily Root, Beks Roen and DJ Senaite Tekle mingle with us a bit before the show, encouraging the costuming and perhaps giving you a little scroll to read aloud at a point during the show.

It quickly becomes obvious that these proceedings are very queer – in all senses of the word!

Wilhelm tells us his personal story of struggling as a “trans, non-binary, genderqueer” actor in a theatre world that, though supportive, still wants to “type” people to roles.  He adores Shakespeare’s work – and that they share a first name – so one night he somehow manages to contact the long-dead playwright, who was, it turns out, “totes queer.”  

This is not an unheard-of assertion. Speculations of his sexuality (possibly bi) and the events of his life outside of Stratford and when not on stage in London are plentiful due to little documentation outside of comments by critics, and (of course) Shakespeare’s published works. Channeling the Bard, Will/Will tells of his relationship with Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton, a rather pretty young man judging by his portrait. Shakespeare did publicly dedicate a couple of romantic poems to him, and it is thought the Earl was secretly the subject of a number of sonnets.

Consider that in the plays there are a number of strong women, gender-fluidity in character disguises is common, and all female roles were played by men – giving us moments in which a man plays a woman who is pretending to be a man while still appearing obviously female to the audience. Taking this thought further, Wilhelm asks, “Could we train our brains to be gender imaginative?”

To this end, he recites passages and examines characters from a number of plays – including “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Macbeth,” “King Lear,” “Hamlet,” and the Chorus Prologue of “Henry V” – yielding fresh perspective from familiar material. In Juliet (of “Romeo &…”) he sees by his perspective of living in a world that gives a person little choice in how they can live and be true to themself how she, and many trans youth, meet her tragic end.

This frank discussion comes wrapped in a fabulous amount of fun, including a Tarot reading, a bit of magic, and an all-audience dance party with bubbles!  The result is like a wild combination of an unforgettable house party, an old-time séance, and a fascinating college lecture by your favorite professor. It’s an event with gay overtones that feels “gay” in the archaic joyful sense.

Aside from extra-dimensional forces, local entertainer Taylor Martin advised on the show’s magic. The comfy yet energizing stage set is by Caitlin Ayer. Shout-out also to Winter Olamina for Will’s perfect costuming.

We try not to overuse “must-see,” but if this seems interesting at all, please get to “Gender Play,” Thursday through Sunday, through April 27. For tickets, go to phoenixtheatre.org; get information at indyshakes.com.

History’s flow through Black communities explored in ‘Riverside’

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By John Lyle Belden

The Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, a/k/a Indy Shakes, understands you don’t have to look across the Atlantic for a compelling timeless story. In fact, their current world premiere, “Riverside” by M.L. Roberts, takes place in part on the very ground where it is being performed.

Executive Artistic Director Ryan Arzberger said Roberts underwent extensive research and numerous interviews with people who have lived in the area for decades in the African-American communities in and around Indianapolis, then created a chronicle of a family whose legacy runs through both Indiana and Black history, a well-informed historical fiction and relatable human epic.

A talented and dedicated ensemble play all the parts, from the eternal River that predates the red, then white and black, people who settled here, up to the cusp of present generations in the 1960s. They are Olamide Asanpaola, Kayla Carter, Terra Chaney, Holiday, Malik James, Akili Ni Mali, Ed Gonzalez Moreno, and Milicent Wright, with Jamaal McCray, Josiah McCruiston, and Clarissa Todd as swings. Rudi Goblen directs.

In 1821, there is a settlement of free African-Americans on the White River, led by church Pastor Simon (Moreno) and Sister Sarah Johnson (Carter), who is knowledgeable of the law and whom in the nearby new city of Indianapolis will uphold it. One day, Jacob (James) happens upon the town; he is technically “free” but his white “Massa” who brought him up from Mississippi to work a new farm near Lafayette has him under an unreasonable contract of servitude. After a dramatic standoff, Jacob gains his physical freedom, but it takes time, and Sarah’s gentle patience, to break the chains in his mind and spirit.

The Johnson family that starts on the River follows it down into the heart of Indianapolis, where we find them on legendary Indiana Avenue in the 1920s. Times seem good, but peace is fragile and short-lived, as are some of the neighborhood residents.

As turbulent times follow, Johnsons move upriver to the growing community of Riverside, home of today’s park (and Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre, where this play is presented). In 1962, there is a popular amusement park there, posted Whites Only. Grudgingly accustomed to the culture of segregation, local Blacks take advantage of the singular “Colored Frolic Day” at the park – except for the Johnson children, who at least attempt a protest.

Peppered with humor, music, spirit, and hope, while never afraid to confront the darkness, “Riverside” presents an endearing portrait of a family, a people, and their well-earned place in this American city we call home. The performers help us not just see but feel how the rivers of water and time have brought us to where we are today.

“Riverside” is presented 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, July 25-27, at 2441 N. White River Parkway, Indianapolis. Performances at this beautiful outdoor venue are free, with paid VIP seating available. Either way, reserve a ticket to help with headcount for this not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit IndyShakes.com.

IndyShakes: ‘Caesar’ as seen by CNN or C-SPAN

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By John Lyle Belden

Julius Caesar. If you didn’t sleep through World History or Western Civ in high school or college, you are familiar with his name and his brief reign over the Roman Empire. Thanks mainly to the tragic play by William Shakespeare, his fate is forever part of popular culture – especially in mid-March, when the man becomes a meme on your smartphone.

What if those early 21st century devices were available in the 1st century BC? In the common practice of adapting the Bard to different eras, Indy Shakes and Zach & Zack present Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in a tech-savvy Rome complete with 24-hour social media and news cycle. In the big black box of the Basile stage of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, we get a multimedia blitz of projected talking heads, Tweets on X, and smartphone video streams, with our players front and center enacting the familiar story with the freshness of breaking news. Diverse casting of race and gender, along with modern dress with hints of official robes, help make ancient times feel like today.

Quick refresher: The death of fellow leader Pompey left Caesar (Andy Ahrens) the sole Consul over the Roman Republic. This worries the Senate, who easily surmise that the man will overtake them as a tyrannical dictator. In Shakespeare’s telling, Cassius (Scot Greenwell), who was close to Caesar and feels him both too ambitious and too weak (the stigma of his epilepsy) persuades Brutus (Jen Johansen), another beloved of Caesar, to join a conspiracy to assassinate their Emperor. Despite signs and warnings, Caesar enters the Senate on March 15 and is slaughtered by his countrymen. Antony (Kelly Mills) plays along with the killers, but when given a chance to address Caesar’s funeral, stirs the people of Rome to action.

Other roles include Morgan Morton as Brutus’s spouse Portia, as well as Cinna the Poet; Carlos Medina Maldonado as Cinna the conspirator and others; Chandra Lynch, Daniel Martin and Immanuel Umoren as conspirators Decius Brutus, Trebonius, and Casca; Kelli Thomas as Brutus’s servant Lucius; Tiffany Gilliam as Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia; and Jacob Barnes as the Soothsayer, and later Octavius Caesar (who will eventually become Emperor Augustus).

From top to bottom, the cast have solid resumes and consistently display their dramatic talents throughout. It is in this adaptation, though, that Johansen’s Brutus stands out, doggedly facing both inner and outer conflict, reluctantly justifying extreme acts, then standing up to the consequences. Ahrens plays Caesar as having noble intentions but too driven to see how his larger-than-life personality could inspire his doom. In today’s U.S. Senate, Greenwell’s Cassius would be that devious deal-maker who would go to any length to advance his agenda, a Ted Cruz with knives. Mills’s Antony manages to come off as the rare honest politician, rising to the occasion like our memory of JFK, or Obama at his inauguration. Zack Neiditch is director, with sound and video design by Zach Rosing. Excellent costumes are by Tony Sirk with Caitlin Davey.

Still, the whole of this production is greater than the sum of its well-executed parts, going beyond just putting old speech in a new setting. In a time when tragic events, including wars, unrest, and celebrities performing to ever-present cameras are constantly on our television, computer and phone screens, this makes historical events feel even more “real” than any attempt to tell the story in its own time.

Two weekends remain of “Julius Caesar,” through May 19, at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get information and tickets at indyshakes.com or phoenixtheatre.org.