Cymbeline, Theater for A New Audience, New Victory Theater

A friend of mine couldn't use their ticket, so they gave it to me, and I was very glad to have an opportunity to see some live Shakespeare, as it had been 2 1/2 years since I had last done so.  I wasn't able to see the Lincoln Center production of Cymbeline from three years ago, so I was especially intrigued this particular play.  I thought the show was very good. It was presented by the Fiasco Theatre, composed of MFA graduates from the Brown University/Trinity Repertory program, and features six actors playing fourteen roles, which they more or less do with a straight face until the final sequence. The play was streamlined in terms of scenes and characters, and featured an explanatory prologue, but I don't feel it detracted from the piece, although I would really have to see the play in its' unaltered from to know for sure.  I had never seen Cymbeline before, so this was my first exposure to it. I wish I had seen the Lincoln Center production from 2007 but I wasn't in NYC then.  I thought the cast was very good all-around, but some of them were better than others. I was impressed with how they shift characters.  The actress who plays the Queen/Belaria, Emily Young is especially good and makes her performance seem effortless. Two of the actors, Noah Brody as Posthumus and Ben Steinfeld as Iachimo are also the co-directors, which makes me wonder what the rehearsal process. I think it's also quite amazing how much they cast can do with two crates, a fabulous trunk, and a white sheet as their set along with a few hand props and musical instruments.  I think it's a very accessible production with some great stagecraft.  It's a great way to introduce people to Shakespeare, especially a play which is one of the lesser-known works of the Bard.  The play runs through January 30, so you have one more week to catch this wonderful and intimate production, which is right next door to Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, at the opposite end of the theatrical spectrum and which I will not talk about in this post.