Photos by Luis Escobar
Who doesn’t love a Shakespeare play? The brilliant dialogue. The timeless stories. The killer basketball shots.
Well, that last item isn’t always what you get, but it certainly makes for a fun addition when PCPA brings to life Shakespeare’s comedy classic Measure for Measure for a modern audience, playing now through March 15 at the Severson Theatre in Santa Maria.
Placing it in an all-girls Catholic high school, director Emily Trask and her production team fully commit to their concept, even passing out programs from “St. Mary’s Academy” with fictionalized cast credits and business sponsorships. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize that this was not an extremely well-done high school show.
At their best, Shakespearean re-imaginings can amplify the timelessness of the original work, and this is just what this production of Measure for Measure does.
The character tropes that appear in Shakespeare’s work are reinterpreted as familiar modern archetypes. Mistress Overdone (Torilynn Hicks), the cynical brothel-keeper, is portrayed as a teen rebel. Isabella (Isabella Faith Scott), the devout nun, is portrayed as a virtuous schoolgirl.
These changes provide the talented cast, primarily from PCPA’s acting conservatory, a chance to lean into characterizations that will be more recognizable to themselves and to a modern audience. Furthermore, because the text is unaltered, these changes add a layer of familiarity without detracting from Shakespeare’s superb dialogue.
The cast provides spot-on performances. The dialogue feels smooth and natural, reducing the dissonance between the elevated language and the modern setting.
Portraying roles with elevated stations in the original text, Polly Firestone Walker, Kitty Balay, and Molly Dobbs appear as teachers in this production’s Catholic school restaging.
Walker and Balay are perfect voices of reason, keeping this wild ride of a play on its track with ease. Dobbs appears as the villain, Angelo, and performs with an intimidating yet tortured air. This complex characterization gives a performance that you’ll love to hate.
Isabella is the moral center of Measure for Measure. Scott digs into the hardship of Isabella’s moral plight, completely selling the audience on every moment of shock, grief, and outrage.
Dahlia Ridenhour appears as the tragically condemned Claudio and the less-than-bright constable, Elbow. This performance serves as a microcosm for the tone of Measure for Measure: Claudio makes you think about the nature of justice and mercy, while Elbow makes you howl with laughter.
The comic relief characters all shine in this production. Lucio (G So) feels so fully realized in a high-school setting that you feel like you know him: everyone has met that one kid who just can’t keep his mouth shut, and So’s performance makes him the perfect loveable nuisance.
Jamie Collins performs Pompey with scene-stealing confidence in every line. Moments that you would scan over while reading the play sent the audience into an uproar from Collins’ delivery alone.
Finally, the show’s production choices are an absolute blast. Along with the aforementioned basketball game, there are paper airplanes, school riots, and even a choral Lady Gaga cover.
You are never in danger of a dull moment. Measure for Measure is a superlative show that earns “Most Likely to Make You Laugh” in the St. Mary’s yearbook.