ALL'S WELL Goes Very Well at ISU

All's Well That Ends Well is not one of Shakespeare's most beloved or most frequently performed plays. While Midsummers and Macbeths come and go, it's not as easy to find an All's Well. In fact, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival has only done it twice, in 1988 and 1997, and you have to go back to the 1999-2000 season to find it at Chicago Shakes.

The reason why All's Well isn't at the top of the charts is probably because its plot is a bit wobbly and some of its major characters are more than a bit limp. That's especially true of Bertram, who isn't much of a hero as we see him, even if he is in the eyes of heroine Helena, who yearns for him mightily. In contrast, Helena is plucky, smart and virtuous. She may be smitten with Bertram, which is decidedly a weakness, but she also knows what she wants and isn't afraid to get it, and she can travel by herself, even through war-torn areas, come up with a fairly crazy (but successful) plan to nab the man she wants, and cure the King of France from a mystery illness without breaking a sweat. Helena is, in short, a pretty cool girl.

But Bertram... Why is she so enamored of Bertram? He really doesn't like her, he's rude and immature, he comes on strong when he sees a virgin he wants to score with, and he hangs out with (and listens to) a lowlife braggart and coward that everyone else sees through. That would be Parolles, one of Shakespeare's most tiresome characters.

For Illinois State University's School of Theatre and Dance, MFA director Enrico Spada looks to solve some of the problems with Bertram (played by Robert Hunter Bry) and Parolles (played by Daniel Balsamo) by setting the play in mid-18th century France, at a time when fashion was about excessive feathers and frippery and philosophers were spinning new ideas about personal liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That works well to explain why Bertram is a self-absorbed twit -- he is chafing at having to do what people in charge want him to and expressing his idea of freedom, after all -- and makes Parolles' appearance as a painted, powdered popinjay right on the money.

As played by Paige Brantley, Helena is a headstrong, forthright and no one's idea of a girly girl. Because Bertram is snobby and silly, it also makes perfect sense that she does not represent the girl of his dreams. At times, Bry's version of Bertram seems distant and oblivious to what's going on around him, and that works, too.

Others of note in the cast include Christian Friedan and Jordan Figueroa as a pair of French brothers who conspire against Parolles, and Maggie Joyce, Katie MacLauchlan, Kelly Gross and Rachel Hall as a quartet of Florentine ladies who conspire against Bertram.

There are some lovely stage pictures here, framed and supported by Kim Lartz's elegant scenic design, which makes the most of Westhoff Theatre. Erica Maholmes' lighting design adds texture and mood, while Megan Wood's costume designs are fantastic. Sound designer Aaron Paolucci also makes a strong contribution with music that underscores the play's themes and Spada's choice of setting.

Dances added as a prologue and postscript, choreographed by Madeline Cleveland, are another welcome feature of this production.

Although I'm not sure All's Well That Ends Well will ever end up as anybody's favorite Shakespeare, this production is so pretty and Brantley is so appealing that it certainly makes an argument in its favor.

All's Well That Ends Well runs in repertory through October 28 at ISU's Westhoff Theatre. For more information, click here.

Shakespeare Project's ALL'S WELL Tonight at ISU CPA

Tonight's the night for All's Well That Ends Well.

Last year, the Shakespeare Project of Chicago brought a staged reading of Edward III to the Illinois State University Center for the Performing Arts, with a cast that included Illinois Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Kevin Rich and ISU alum Brynne Barnard. This year, the Shakespeare Project of Chicago brings a staged reading of All's Well That Ends Well to the Illinois State University Center for the Performing Arts, with a cast that includes Illinois Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Kevin Rich and ISU alum Brynne Barnard.

The Shakespeare Project has been around since 1996, with a mission to bring to life the words of William Shakespeare. The staged reading format makes it possible to use some props, some costume pieces and some design elements, but overall the actors focus on the words, as we see them perform book in hand. Or, as Artistic Director Peter Garino puts it on the Shakespeare Project website, "I often explain to people that have not seen our work before that their experience of the play won’t be less, but more because by placing our energy completely on Shakespeare’s text we allow the play to emerge in an unencumbered setting that reveals new insights into the play's characters and themes."

Last year, we saw this treatment of Edward III, a play not traditionally part of the Shakespeare canon, one which has presented authorship debates for some time. In its depiction of Prince Edward and his military and personal campaigns, Edward III was reminiscent of Richard III and especially Henry V. Is that enough evidence that Edward III written by Shakespeare, at least partially? You needed to see it to form your own conclusion. But it's an intriguing notion.

All's Well is more familiar territory for Shakespeare fans, although it also has issues. Here's how the Festival describes All's Well:

Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well has been deemed a "problem play" for several reasons. There are no records of it having been performed in Shakespeare's lifetime. The 1623 First Folio version was based on an uncorrected manuscript draft. Most importantly, the story and its characters can prove to be downright puzzling. Helena, the gifted daughter of a court physician, loves Bertram, a proud young man of noble birth. But is he worthy of her devotion? In an adventure that takes us from France to the Florentine wars of Italy and back again, we can ask ourselves what lengths we would go to for the object of our desires. Associate Artistic Director for The Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Barbara Zahora, directs.

The Shakespeare Project, in collaboration with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, will plumb the murky depths of All's Well That Ends Well and Helena's inexplicable passion for unworthy Bertram tonight at 6 pm in the Kemp Recital Hall at the Center for the Performing Arts on the ISU campus. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the CPA box office either by phone (1-866-ILSHAKE or 309-438-2535) or in person before the show. Note that there are separate tickets for a post-show reception and discussion and you are directed to ask about those at the box office.