Richard III: Loud and Glib at the Theatricum

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.

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Chad Jason Scheppner and Abby Craden

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. Although his ability to project his voice is impressive – I’m willing to bet he could make himself heard in the Hollywood Bowl’s higher altitudes without assistance from the sound system – and he is an expressive actor, his performance is so poorly calibrated to the part that his Richard never exerts any kind of gravitational pull. From this, one might conclude that the play escaped Ellen Geer’s direction, an impression reinforced by the awful post-intermission sections of the play in which the cast doesn’t so much as emote but explode on the stage in an unseemly display of volume. That even Aaron Hendry’s fight choreography fails to generate a hint of bloodlust, owing primarily to poor blocking and hesitant actors, only contributes to the production’s general lack of impact.

Crucially, the production lacks the nuance and psychological complexity that gives the play its appeal and standing among the greats of theatre. Structured, in a sense, like a revenge drama of the kind still in use today – villain does evil deeds and gets his comeuppance, usually death – Richard III transcends its structure instead of exploits it, Hollywood-style, for audience manipulation and cheap visceral thrills. From the beginning, the play establishes a moral backbone relative to Richard’s machinations, murders and depravity. Queen Margaret’s curses on Richard and the nobles who idly enabled him, the ghosts of his victims who later appear to cheer on his eventual defeat – there is no doubting the play’s moral sensibilities. Compare this to modern horror films in which entire catalogs of atrocities are lovingly documented, even celebrated, and villains (how quaint a word to use to describe evil characters!) are rewarded with sequels. Without any doubt as to Richard’s moral status in the grand scheme of things, and equally no doubt as to his encounter with justice, Shakespeare frees himself from the constraints of plot to accomplish what he is best at: provide insight into a character’s psyche.

Already, in the opening soliloquy, Shakespeare has Richard expose his underlying motive force after bemoaning his physical deformities and the scorn it has earned him from society:

And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover 
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain

Relevant even today, given that the United States, with over 2.3 million prisoners, exceeds all other nations in terms of incarceration, the notion remains controversial and on point: To what extent does society manufacture criminals by labeling them as such and processing them through the prison system? Without condoning Richard’s actions, Shakespeare opens the door to, if not sympathy, then at least understanding. To what extent did Richard’s deformity prompt others to label him a villain and prevent him from enjoying a different, happier social identity? As a character, Richard is not only disturbingly charming, such as when he incredulously confides to the audience about his success at seducing a woman whose family he murdered, but also pitiable, repulsive, tragic, defiant. Of all the range of emotions necessary to drive home the tragedy, the Theatricum’s production succeeds in evoking few other than weird amusement or, through explicit characters like Queen Margaret, outrage.

Of the cast, Christopher W. Jones (as Richard’s conspirator, the Duke of Buckinham), William Dennis Hunt (as King Edward IV and, later, Cardinal Bourchier), and Melora Marshall (as Richard’s mother, the Duchess of York), escape unscathed with humane performances, although some of the performers in lesser roles, such as Maurice Shaw, are certainly fine. In particular, Marshall’s turn suggests she could make a very fine Richard indeed – hence the 50/50 chance. However, for those of us who endured Scheppner’s turn, there should be no compulsion to sit through the overall weak production again to find out.

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 Sunday, Oct. 2. For tickets and information, call 310.455.3723 or visit online at www.theatricum.com.


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