Stage Review - Love’s Labor’s Lost (Seattle Shakespeare)

Stage Review - Love’s Labor’s Lost
Presented By: Seattle Shakespeare Company - Seattle, WA
Show Run: October 30 - November 17, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, November 01, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

I must admit, I probably spent way too much time contemplating the title of the latest play presented by the Seattle Shakespeare Company, Love’s Labor’s Lost. Now, I’ll never claim to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, but I have been known to be a bit of a grammar “snob”, the first person to point out when the pronouns “me” and “I” are used incorrectly in a sentence (HINT: Way too often!!). So, when I’m faced with something like Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost, my first reaction was to ask whether the apostrophes were possessive or contractual, or did the Bard use one of each? I figured the first was easy, it was more about the Labor part of it, but upon reading up on the plot, since this is one of his works I hadn’t been aware of previously to seeing it on the fall calendar, it became clear that yes, it is about the labor of love being lost, about the work that three men put into wooing three women being moot in the end. As it turns out, the title, and its alliteration and, yes, punctuation, is just part of the comedy of the play, which is characterized by wordplay, puns, and common theatrical tropes of the time. The Seattle Shakespeare Company production, directed by Janet Hayatshahi and part of the company’s Drum and Colours program which aims to foster healthier relationships with underserved populations within the Seattle artistic community, runs on stage at the Seattle Center Armory Center Theatre through November 17.

This is an odd one for me, one of those situations where I don’t love the play, but I really like the production. What I mean by that is, Love’s Labor’s Lost feels like something I’ve seen before, sort of like one of those clip shows in a popular television series, when the writers seem too lazy to write a new episode, but instead play a series of familiar clips tied together with a shallow plot line. Looking at the play holistically, it feels like a combination of other comedies that rely on mistaken identities, both for trickery and for humor, plays within plays where the attendees mock the performers, and wordplay to draw laughs. In addition to this, the ending feels a bit lazy, completely unearned and sudden as if Shakespeare just didn’t know how to wrap this one up. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that I came into Love’s Labor’s Lost late (hey, more alliteration!), meaning that I’ve seen a lot of Shakespeare before this, not knowing that this was actually one of his early comedies. So, while it feels like this play is a rehash of a lot of the “hits”, so to speak, to someone like me, when looking at it through a more realistic lens, I appreciate it more now, knowing that it’s more likely the source for a lot of what we’ve come to love from Shakespeare’s later work. If you have the same feeling as I did watching this, that much of what you’re seeing seems way too familiar, it’s important to understand that while Love’s Labor’s Lost isn’t one of his more popular plays, it’s surely one of Shakespeare’s most important in the context of his catalog as a whole. Hopefully, you’ll come to that realization before I did and you’ll be able to enjoy it with that different perspective.

Regardless of what I mentioned above, there are two truths here. First off, the play is well written, no surprise here, though the fact that it’s early Shakespeare does come across at times (again, I probably confused laziness for lack of experience). It’s extremely funny, yes, but there are a few moments that are just heart wrenchingly beautiful. Secondly, the production value, from both the creative team and the cast of this Seattle Shakespeare production is just so good. The story itself is about three men, King Ferdinand of Navarre (Jesse Calixto) and his court, Berowne (Tyson Prince Jenkins) and Dumaine (Morgan Gwilym Tso), who swear off women for three years to focus on their education. That’s all well and good until the Princess of France (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) and her ladies, Rosaline (Beth Pollack) and Katherine (Pearl Mei Lam), along with attendant Boyet (Donovan Mahannah) come to Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The men do their best to keep the ladies at arm’s length, but that can only work so long, before their attraction becomes too strong. There’s also a parallel storyline that involves Don Armado (Malex Reed), a Spanish fool and his infatuation with a local maid, Jaquenetta (Ana María Campoy), who has also garnered the attention of the clown Costard (Rolando Cardona). Costard is where the stories intersect when he is entrusted with letters from both Armado and Berowne to Jaquenetta and Rosaline respectively, mixes them up, and sets into motion the farcical events of the story that involve Russian dancers, mistaken identity, and broken vow upon broken vow.

The cast is so good here, there’s really not one that stands above the rest, they each have moments of individual excellence, and together they work very well together. Jesse, Tyson, and Morgan as the King, Berowne, and Dumaine feel like a cross between a trio of immature high school boys and a fledging mafia group under the bumbling leadership of Jesse’s King Ferdinand. They’re so funny together, the way they carry themselves, insecure apart but more confident together, each bad idea given more footing in their congregation. The actors each understand the comedy at hand here, and that’s on full display late in Act 1 in a scene when they have a chance to read their own (or each other’s) letters to their prospective romantic partners. The readings of these are so funny, and the acting within the scene is just about as humorous. For my part, this scene is the highlight of the show, each actor’s comedic talent on full display, though on the dramatic side, there’s another moment that is right up there, and that is Tyson’s Berowne’s (double possessive apostrophes!) monologue in Act 1 about falling in love with Rosaline. This piece is so beautifully written and so passionately delivered, it would melt even the most hard of hearts. The ladies are just as good, though there’s not as much of them in Act 1. It’s in Act 2 when the audience gets to see what Claudine, Beth, and Pearl can really do when their characters get wind of the intentions of the King and his men toward them. The plan they devise, and how they execute it is wonderful to watch unfold. And individually, the interactions between Jesse and Claudine, Tyson and Beth, and Morgan and Pearl are funny and sweet, and all the while the women understand the power that they have over the men, which they fully use to their advantage. Meanwhile, Pearl does double-duty as Moth, advisor to Malex’s Don Armado. Pearl has to make some quick changes between the two characters at times, and they’re different enough, her agility is quite impressive. Malex plays Armado wonderfully as the insecure suitor of Jaquenetta while Ana María is very funny as the object of both Armado’s and Costard’s affections. Speaking of Costard, Rolando is good here as well, there’s a Charlie Day quality about his portrayal that is so endearing and humorous, the audience can’t help but root for him, even when he bumbles through this responsibilities. But if there is one actor who does stand out, that would have to be Donovan Mahannah as the Princess’ handler Boyet. Donovan has a fantastic way of modernizing the way he delivers this role, while still staying true to the heart of Shakespeare’s intention. In fact, everyone in this cast feels like a master in the way they deliver their lines, and much of the comedy comes from that delivery and their mannerisms, but Donovan is a true scene stealer. Oh, and extra kudos to movement director Alice Gosti, who choreographed the “secret” handshakes that each of the groups has. Well done!!

As good as the cast is, the creative team is at least as important as they are in making this production as enjoyable as it is. This starts with Parmida Ziaei’s set, a series of steps constructed using branches as supports and flanked by two trees with flower beds at the base of each. Parmida has a real knack for bringing the outdoors inside, and with the addition of a bit of fog, the set feels like it’s in a misty wood. I love how Janet uses the steps for the motion the movement she has in the play, and there is a lot of movement, as well as how the different levels are each purposeful in the storytelling. Jacob Viramontes’ lighting and Sandra Huezo-Menjivar’s sound are subtle, but complementary to the overall design, but it’s Jocelyne Fowler’s costume design that is the real attention grabber here. From the pastels that Ferdinand and his group wear to the coordinated dresses that the Princesses court wear, with each couple individually matched, to the leather appointments worn by Armado and his Spanish contingent, each costume collection has a theme, and each is well appointed and customized for the characters’ personalities. Boyet’s costume, which looks like it’s straight out of a 1980s wedding, is a highlight, and I’ve never seen a collection of such wonderful shoes together on stage, an amazing feat of costuming, and overall a nice design under the auspices of Director Janet Hayatshahi.

Love’s Labor’s Lost is going to seem awfully familiar to any fan of Shakespeare, like bits and pieces of all of his more popular shows stitched together by a plot that might seem thin and with an ending that is abrupt and arguably unsatisfactory. But the plot is not why you should go and see the Seattle Shakespeare production. It’s the combination of a beautiful design, as well as a hilarious, but heartfelt, set of performances by an unforgettable ensemble that should bring you out to this show. Love’s Labor’s Lost may be one of the last times you can see Seattle Shakespeare in this space as they work toward building their partnership with ACT Contemporary Theatre, so come on out and see this group perform this classic Shakespeare comedy in a space where it feels like home.

The Seattle Shakespeare Company production of Love’s Labor’s Lost runs onstage at the Center Theatre at the Seattle Armory through November 17. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.seattleshakespeare.org.

Photo credit: Growing Boy Media