CEDAR CITY — Three of the Bard's works are playing in the outdoor Adams Shakespearean Theatre at the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
"HAMLET," running time: three hours (one intermission).
If you have time for only one USF play this year, put "Hamlet" at the top of your list. The reason can be summed up in two words: Brian Vaughn.
He's played many leading roles here over the past dozen-plus years — comedies, musicals and dramas — but the role of Prince Hamlet is one of the theater world's most demanding, and Vaughn is more than up to the task.
The intense pain Hamlet feels over the murder of his father and the incestuous relationship between his mother and his uncle is passionate and powerful.
Director J.R. Sullivan takes an interesting approach in this production. Instead of a backdrop of the Danish seaport of Elsinore, "Hamlet" is staged as if it were being performed for a Tudor audience, with the back wall of the stage lined with decaying stucco. It's a stark metaphor for the soon-to-implode Danish monarchy.
Vaughn is backed up by some equally strong performers — Leslie Brott as Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, Ashley Smith as Laertes, Emily Trask as Ophelia and Kieran Connolly as Polonius.
Faring less successfully is Bill Christ as Claudius, Queen Gertrude's lover, who masterminds the murder of his brother, the former king. Christ's Claudius lacks the charisma you'd think would draw Gertrude to him.
But Vaughn delivers a searing, soaring performance that can only be described as unforgettable.
"THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR," running time: two and one-half hours (one intermission).
Shakespeare's only spin-off is a wild romp through the villages and woods around Windsor, England, in 1600, featuring that lovable, portly womanizer Sir John Falstaff, a character first introduced in "Henry IV."
The "merry wives" are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, who are the objects of Falstaff's misguided attention (somehow he thinks that by wooing them he can tap into their husbands' money).
Kate Buckley has directed a marvelous cast of performers adept at comedy, especially those immersed in the hilarious triangle — Leslie Brott as Mistress Ford, Victoria Adams-Zischke as Mistress Page and Kieran Connolly as rapscallion Falstaff.
Ford (who also contends with a jealous husband) and Page (busy with trying to marry off her daughter) put their heads together to come up with one scheme after another in their effort to put Falstaff in his rightful place.
The romantic entanglements of Anne Page provide a subplot — Mom hopes she'll marry French physician Dr. Caius, Dad is pushing for Master Abraham Slender, but Anne prefers a third suitor, Master Fenton.
There are fine performances across the board — A. Bryan Humphrey as the outrageously jealous Master Frank Ford, Michael Light-Orr as Master George Page, Shelly Gaza as Anne, Ashley Smith as Master Fenton, Dan Kremer as Dr. Caius, and Aaron Galligan Stierle as Slender.
Utahn Janet Swenson's costumes capture the look of country folk around Windsor.
"ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA," running time: two hours, 50 minutes (one intermission).
Borrowing a phrase from the prologue of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" referring to "two hours' traffic of our stage," there are times during "Antony and Cleopatra" when you feel like you're stuck in the theatrical equivalent of I-15 gridlock.
Considering this is Shakespeare's spin on one of the most legendary, sizzling love affairs of the ages, you'd expect fiery chemistry between Bill Christ and Jacqueline Antaramian in the title roles. But there aren't enough sparks to ignite a small campfire.
Antony comes off more bland than bold. And instead of regal Roman attire, his costumes make him look more like a model for the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory.
Cleopatra, who shifts between teenage silliness and take-charge leader, is frequently shrill and irritating — but this is probably more the role than the actress.
Maybe the chemistry between Christ and Antaramian will develop as the season moves on, but it sure wasn't present during the festival's opening week. The blame lies squarely with director Nagle Jackson. Both he and the two title-role performers have worked at the Denver Center Theatre, and he reportedly requested them for this year's Cedar City talent pool.
The hottest action is in the political arena and on the battlefields as the ruling Roman triumvirate reconciles, then falls apart, as warfare heats up.
There are strong performances from Dan Kremer as Enobarbus, Antony's guilt-plagued friend; Michael Brusasco as Octavius, who opposes Antony; Dan Frezza as Lepidus, who is packed off into exile on charges of conspiracy; Ashley Smith as a soothsayer; and Corliss Preston as Octavia, sister of Octavius.
Cleopatra's attendants are nicely portrayed by Leslie Brott as Charmian, Afton Quast as Iras, Michael Littig as Alexas and Andrew Lloyd Hunsaker as a eunuch.
The production is fairly spectacular, given the limits of the outdoor Adams Shakespearean Theatre stage. The sumptuous setting for Cleopatra's death scene is shimmering gold.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com