‘The Duchess of Malfi’: Royal blood, and lots of it
Tuesday, March 2nd 2010, 12:03 PM
Through March 14. Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 W. 46th St.
Tickets: $30-$80
(212) 352-3101
Crimson fabric shrouds every inch of the set, even the floor, at the begin of the new Off-Broadway production of “The Duchess of Malfi.”
Eventually, that draping is ripped away to reveal the skeletal scaffolding underneath. When it happens, it’s not hard to imagine flesh being torn away to expose bare bones.
Not when it’s this macabre, rarely performed play.
John Webster’s 1612 drama begins as a romance and turns into a gory horror show caked with corpses of men, women and babies.
Although the Red Bull Theater company’s revival seldom matches the power of that striking scenic transformation, director Jesse Berger’s staging is always cohesive and boasts a few bold flashes of inspiration.
The action unfolds in early-1500s Italy, where the duchess of Malfi (Christina Rouner) defies her station and her brothers’ commands and, cougar-style, weds her young steward Antonio (Matthew Greer).
Her siblings, Ferdinand (Gareth Saxe) and the cardinal of Aragon (Patrick Page), enlist the duplicitous Daniel de Bosola (Matthew Rauch) to exact revenge on their wilful sister.
And he delivers. Act II spins into torture, mayhem and murder, with one fatality via a Bible – even the Good Book goes bad.
Rouner strikes the right regal presence, even as she is suffering. She’s terrific in a hallucinatory musical moment that comes out of left field.
Page is expertly icy as the corrupt man of the cloth, while Saxe finds shadings of oily, sinister and full-tilt loony as the duchess’ evil twin.
As Bosola, who eventually regrets his actions, Rauch succeeds in making Webster’s text sound like each day conversation.
Of course, seeing the light doesn’t stop Bosola from busting a cap in Ferdinand’s mouth. This dark “Duchess” is not that kind of story.
jdziemianowicz@nydailynews.com
source : www.nydailynews.com
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Submited at Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 1:00 pm on arts by Shelton
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