Compleat Female Stage Beauty Is a Winner

Epic Theatre Company has gotten off to a smashing start for its 2014-2015 season with a highly entertaining production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty.

The setting is 1661 when it was routine for male actors to play the female characters in Shakespeare productions. Jonathan Fisher stars as vain actor Edward Kynaston, famous for playing roles like Desdemona in Othello. Kynaston’s world is rocked and ego bruised when an actress named Margaret Hughes (Kerry Giorgi) plays Desdemona at a competing theater before huge audiences. She becomes a threat to not only his career, but his identity. “A woman playing a woman?,” Kynaston asks. “Where’s the trick in that?”

Meanwhile, Charles II’s (Kyle DeMartino) companion Nell Gwynn (Elaine Letaio) has aspirations of making a name for herself on the stage. When Betterton (Kevin Broccoli), the theatre owner, wants to allow women to appear on stage, Kynaston is appalled. His life goes into a downward spiral of shame and desperation. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has crafted a compelling and witty exploration of gender roles in English society.

Fisher, who previously appeared in Epic’s productions of Hurlyburly and Assistance, gives a brilliant performance. He has the ability to convey the simmering hostility underneath the surface while maintaining an upbeat disposition. The supporting performances are equally strong. Giorgi is an attractive performer who brings a lot of vulnerability to Margaret. Broccoli is a master of comic timing and brings a wry wit to the proceedings. Letaio and Christine Pavao, as Sir Sharles Sedley, were also standouts. They brought a lot of charisma to their characters.

The show’s technical qualities were also superb. The period clothing worn by the actors was marvelous to look at.

Director Jill D. Jones deserves a lot of credit for the crisp staging of Compleat Female Stage Beauty. The production is bare bones, but the illusion of a medieval world is conveyed quite convincingly by the actors and the technicians. Compleat Female Stage Beauty is a masterpiece and a major triumph for Epic Theatre Company.

Compleat Female Stage Beauty will be performed through September 20 at Theatre 82, 82 Rolfe Square, Cranston. Recommended for mature audiences. Tickets available at EpicTheatreRI.org.