Don’t let the program fool you; the casting of two actors in the role of Richard III isn’t a sign that the Theatricum has developed an appetite for the avant-garde or the experimental.
Firmly entrenched in tradition – an endearing quality of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s productions – their staging of Richard III simply features Melora Marshall and Chad Jason Scheppner as the lead in alternating performances. And the creative potential that could emerge from two actors playing the same part within the same performance? That will have to remain the product of imagination.
For now, audiences will have to be satisfied with the 50/50 chance of not being saddled with Scheppner, who struts on the stage, mugs for the audience, and otherwise glibly impersonates one of Shakespeare’s great villains.
Richard III. Written by Shakespeare. Directed by Ellen Geer. Starring Chad Jason Scheppner, Melora Marshall, William Dennis Hunt, Christopher W. Jones, Earnestine Phillips, Maurice Shaw, and Thad Geer. On stage at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum through October 2, 2011. For tickets and information call 310.455.3723 or visit online at www.theatricum.com.
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