Theatre Review: Measure For Measure Is Shakespeare’s #MeToo Play
Watching Measure for Measure, I felt Shakespeare would be in awe of his longevity. He would be floored to see his words revamped and re-stylized to feel eternally relevant. The 100 minute play, with no intermission, has been marketed for its #MeToo themes, which just goes to show you that even a young man from a small town in 1584 England could notice and speak up for the sexual assaulting of women. So what’s the excuse now?
Directed by Janet Zarish, the play feels like a constantly moving piece. It is a wheel of action spinning to make you fear that its heroine, Rebekah Brockman as Isabella, will stay in place forever. She is a devout nun shocked that her brother, Lorenzo Jackson as Claudio, has been sentenced to death for consensually having sex but accidentally impregnating his beloved before marriage: Katherine Turner as Juliet .Consent and power are important in analyzing sexual dynamics between partners but also between onlookers. Claudio and Juliet are economically poorer citizens than the politicians sentencing them. In addition, having them played by the only two black actors in the cast, and thus having their characters locked away, felt poignantly and tragically pertinent. They did nothing but love each other and they got sentenced to death, which is in contrast to the salacious, seedy Sam Lilja as Angelo.
Harvey Weinstein Alert! Harvey Weinstein Alert! Lilja captures the signature move of every successful predator: look good. Wear a fine suit! Walk with perfect posture! Annunciate every word and sprinkle in complex ones that would make even Jesus look up an encyclopedia! Act like you have lived in a moral high-ground all your life with NO SINS! Lilja makes you love to hate him, which is perfect because, even today, we still doubt women and defend a predators’ honor because we cannot believe power is corrupt thought its all we talk about at the dinner table. Hence, Anthony Bowden as Lucio, who has his own predatory behavior, manages to get the biggest laughs by also being honestly horrible. He playfully calls out everyone for their misdeeds while having a very distorted, moral take on The Duke (Keshav Moodliar). His “charm” is that, in truth, he is cruel, which makes for hilarious interactions with Moofliar’s intelligent, regal Duke.
Whilst surrounded by men that fawn for her grace, plotting to either take or seduce it, Brockman’s Isabella comes off as strong, elegant, and resilient. She stands firm in protecting her virtue and her dignity, even when it means her own brother’s shame. No man is protecting her, even though she is trying to protect them from a spiritually sullying mistake. She stands by herself, literally and figuratively, which makes the stunningly minimal set by Neil Patel and lighting by Alan Edwards further how alone she is as her own protector. Playing until August 24 at The Duke Theatre, 229 W 42nd St, Measure For Measure is a sophisticatedly eloquent reminder that woman are always screwed by society. Click Here To Buy Tickets.
