"All's Well That Ends Well" at Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Oregon Shakespeare Festival photo by Jenny Graham

We're up to our third play of the weekend, and we finally get some Shakespeare! All's Well that Ends Well is not one of my favorites. Indeed, it was long categorized as one of Shakespeare's "problem plays," in part because it has elements that don't fit well with the standard definitions of comedy and tragedy. But it is most definitely a comedy, if not one of the best.

I had only seen this play once before, here in Ashland in 2009. And truthfully, that's about all I remember of it. Nothing about that production sticks in my mind. This one was better.

The Play

Thematically this play is pretty interesting. Helen (Royer Bockus), the orphaned daughter of a poor physician, has been adopted into the household of the widowed Countess of Rossillion (Vilma Silva), where she has become smitten with the Countess's son, Bertram (Daisuke Tsuji). But Bertram has nothing but loathing for the low-born Helen, and when Helen uses potions inherited from her father to save the life of the dying king of France (Kevin Kenerly), the king grants her the choice of husbands, and she chooses Bertram.

So they are wed, but Bertram refuses to consummate the marriage, choosing instead to run off to Italy to fight for the Duke of Florence (Tyrone Wilson), accompanied by his servant, the unreliable liar and coward Parolles (Al Espinosa). Helen pursues Bertram and eventually uses tricks to win him back. One of Shakespeare's trademark mega-happy, mass wedding endings ensues, although this production plays it a bit differently than usual.

The Production

Given the limitations of the material, this production is excellent. The cast is terrific, the set design (by Mariana Sanchez) and lighting (by Carolina Ortiz-Herrera) are wonderful, and the music (composed by sound designer Amy Altadonna, with live scoring and performance by Jane Lui) adds a lot. We all felt thoroughly engaged throughout, and visually and aurally the whole production was really excellent.

What really sets the production apart, though, is the depiction of Helen. From the time she appears in her t-shirt proclaiming "MISFIT" and her multi-colored hair, you know this is not the classic Shakespearean woman. And indeed, Helen is fairly unique among Shakespeare's heroines in the way she takes control of her own destiny, and under the direction of Tracy Young, our Helen will buck expectations and while "winning" back the hand of her husband, she will steer her own course once they are reunited.

Bottom Line

I was very pleasantly surprised by this production. I really enjoyed it throughout. I appreciated the unconventional approach to Helen and Bertram's relationship, and just the overall quality of the whole thing. It's never going to be one of my favorite plays, but this might be the best production of it you could want to see. I highly recommend it, and it runs through mid-October in the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre.