Scenes from A Noise Within's current production of "All's Well That Ends Well". [Images courtesy of A Noise Within]
Scenes from A Noise Within's current production of "All's Well That Ends Well". [Images courtesy of A Noise Within]
Scenes from A Noise Within's current production of "All's Well That Ends Well". [Images courtesy of A Noise Within]
After nearly two years of online production, A Noise Within’s theater company’s ongoing return to live performances showcased a smart and lively production of Shakespeare’s tangled tale of love, “All’s Well that End’s Well,” on opening night Saturday.
The show is the theater company’s second pandemic live performance—masked, vaccinated and distanced.
Directed crisply by Nike Doukas and led by Erika Soto’s emotional performance as Helen, the production moved ably through the busy and sometimes tricky script. As with all of The Bard’s plays, there is fulsome wordplay and expressive, though challenging, dialogue.
The smooth traffic jam of a script goes briefly like this:
Bertram (Mark Jude Sullivan) self-absorbed and newly crowned Count of Rosillion, and son of the Countess (Deborah Strang) is headed to France, as a ward of the ailing King (Bernard K. Addison). Speaking of wards, the Countess herself has a ward, Helen (Erika Soto), the orphaned daughter of a doctor. And of course, she is in love with Bertram, who apparently couldn’t be bothered, as Helen is a commoner.
Helen makes her way to a visit with the king, and offers him a natural cure for his ailing heart, something developed by her late doctor father. When it restores the king, he is only too happy to grant her any wish.
What she wants is Bertram, and the king graciously and gratefully arranges the marriage but again, Bertram is not having it. Thus the plot is set.
Addison is a regal and impressive king, moving ably from the sickly shell we see at his first appearance, to the spry and wise leader he returns to being. Soto plays her character with both innocence and cunning, and moves effortlessly through the drama.
Among other notable characters, Rafael Goldstein is thoroughly convincing as the transparent and unctuous Paroles, one of Bertram’s followers.
All of the casting—as is common with more and more theater works—is diverse, and when possible, roles are opened beyond their traditional portrayals. Thus, the pale-skinned Bertram’s father is African-American, and one of the French lord/soldiers is a female (Gabriela Mendoza.) The Italian widow Capilet (Desireé Mae June) and her daughter, Nicole Javier, are Asian-American.
The dedication to story and character, however, makes the casting work.
Nike Doukas’ direction of the play is smart and well-paced. There is enough movement in the delivery to make Shakespeare’s sometimes convoluted dialogue sound human and real, although more than once, lines are delivered with actors’ backs to the audience, a surprising move that renders the lines indecipherable.
The set design by Frederica Nascimento is smart and simple, highlighted by a grand staircase stage left, where much of the drama begins and ends. The costume design is especially well-done, with perfectly turned outfits for royalty, soldiers and commoners alike, that the actors seem to move in and out of with lighting speed.
A Noise Within’s production hits all the marks, offering quality performances of tricky story lines told well, from the major developments to the tiniest subplots.
And this review will not end with a cute “All’s well that ends well” line.
A Noise Within’s “All’s Well That Ends Well,” runs through March 6, 2022. 3352 East Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena CA. (626) 356-3100.
