The King of Navarre pressures his three closest friends into the agreement, sure his proposal will enlarge the minds and spirits of all. Only Berowne (David Ivers, gloriously well cast) holds back - certain the vow is unreasonable. But, after some comic deliberations, he signs, too. Thereafter, Berowne is the play's conscience and the center of its comedy, and Ivers is up to the task.
Berowne and his friends needed only to glance about at Bill Forrester's lovely stage scenery to know romance was in store for them; the idyllic outdoor setting amid crumbling Roman ruins assures it.
Opportunity presents itself quickly when the beautiful Princess of France makes a state visit accompanied by three lovely ladies. And wouldn't you know it? Each woman is dressed in opulent court dress color-coded to the clothing of the young man who soon will catch her eye. (The delicious costumes are by Bill Black.)
Melinda Pfundstein portrays the princess as a young woman of good sense - who has more of it than any of the men can muster. Her lady Rosaline (Corliss Preston), the love of Berowne, is saucy and smart, too.
A romantic farce follows, of course, with the expected mistaken identities, letters gone awry and comic set pieces. The funniest of these has the young men disguised as Russians to woo the women, who are having none of it. By the time a goofy Cossack dance ensues, the audience is reduced to helpless laughter.
"Love's Labour's Lost's" challenge to modern audiences is in its subtheme, a parody on the social and intellectual pretensions of a segment of Elizabethan society. A second group of characters, drawn from stock figures of Italian "commedia," pokes fun at the overblown language of the day - which means that a good deal of it must be spoken.
The delight of this production, skillfully directed by Timothy Douglas, is in its ability to present indecipherable verbiage and make it funny anyway. The talent of the actors in the stock character roles helps greatly.
Ben Livingston is hilariously inept as a pompous Spanish soldier and Ryan Stabach elevates the type of the clownish rustic with his manic physical comedy and warm humanity.
A verbose schoolmaster, Holofernes, is transformed in this production into a voluble schoolmistress, Holofernia - well-played by Leslie Brott. In the words of the servant, Moth, these people "have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps."
The frivolity of the play takes a sharp turn near the end, when a messenger arrives with news that the Princess' father has died. The expected happy ending is postponed beyond the time frame of the play, leaving Berowne to complain that "Jack hath not Jill."
The conclusion Shakespeare devises sets the play above the standard farces of the day, though it does not rise to the quality of his later comedies and romances. The characters are made to grow in maturity before achieving their wishes, and this nod toward realism brings a deeper sense of satisfaction than a quick quadruple wedding would.
Review
WHAT: "Love's Labour's Lost," one of the Utah Shakespearean Festival's six professionally produced plays. The productions open this week and run through Sept. 3. Backstage tours and free seminars, orientations and Greenshows are available.
WHERE: The outdoor Adams Shakespearean Theatre on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City.
WHEN: Plays are Monday through Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. After July 6, it is possible to see six plays in a three-day visit.
RUNNING TIME: "Love's Labour's Lost" runs two hours, 40 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.
TICKETS: $12 to $46 with various discounts. For tickets, exact dates and times, background information and trip-planning, call 800-PLAYTIX or visit http://www.bard.org.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The gist of this early Shakespearean comedy is that love will win out over a disciplined, ascetic life. The play pokes jolly fun at social and intellectual pretensions - especially overblown language. A stellar cast and opulent production values make it a winner.
