Liz Lauren
Tracy Michelle Arnold (right) lets her evil side shine as the King of Antioch.
American Players Theatre’s production of William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre can be summed up in two words: weird and wonderful.
In this epic adventure, which runs through Sept. 29 in the Hill Theatre, we follow Pericles (played by both Juan Rivera Lebron and James Ridge) as he runs for his life, crisscrosses the ocean, falls in love, gets married, loses his wife and tries to connect with his daughter, who’s been left in another family’s care.
Under the direction of Eric Tucker, this production uses just 10 actors to fill dozens of roles. The small cast is a tremendous team, seamlessly transitioning between characters while keeping them distinct. Tracy Michelle Arnold lets her evil side shine both as the no-good King of Antioch and as Dionyza. As perky Thasia, Andrea San Miguel is simply charming. As she pantomimes watching knights compete for her affection, her reactions are melodramatic, almost cartoon-like, and wonderful to watch.
Cristina Panfilio expertly portrays Pericles’ daughter Marina. Panfilio performs Shakespeare with perfect diction and delivery. One of the play’s highlights is when Marina reunites with her father, played by James Ridge, who thinks she has died. I fought back tears as the two embraced.
This production jumps through place and time. These leaps sometimes feel abrupt, but they work. The hardscrabble city of Tarsus looks like it could be depression-era Oklahoma with a clapboard house and costumes pulled from The Grapes of Wrath. A scene inside a brothel in Mytilene fast-forwards to the 1970s. Gavin Lawrence is a riot as a pimp in a long fur coat. Marcus Truschinski delights the crowd, strutting the stage with an unbuttoned shirt, tight-fitting pants and a whole lot of swagger. Daniel Tyler Mathews’ costumes and Andrew Boyce’s scenic design work well to shape each place.
Many Shakespeare scholars subscribe to the theory that Pericles wasn’t written by Shakespeare alone; the beginning is often attributed to pub owner and pamphleteer George Wilkins. This theory rings true for me. At moments in the first half, I felt a bit like Pericles myself, disoriented and tossed at sea. However, after intermission the action slows and the story becomes more character-driven.
In the final scenes, some surprises worthy of a telenovela are revealed and, on opening night, a thrilled audience cheered and leapt to an immediate standing ovation.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre disarms and delights. Its messages about life’s unpredictable journeys are sure to linger in audience’s minds for a long time after curtain call.
