Temple Repertory Theater's "Measure For Measure'

Shakespeare's Measure for Measure was probably first performed in 1604, the same year as the debut of Othello, and represents one of what is commonly, if perhaps mistakenly, referred to as Shakespeare's "problem" plays or "dark comedies." These plays work between tragic and comic sensibilities, address contemporary moral issues, and are constructed in ambiguous if not contradictory ways, so as to challenge the audience to seek an active and critical engagement.

The story line concerns the Duke of Vienna and his departure from that city for a short period. In his absence, he grants full political power to his deputy, Angelo, a seemingly virtuous man. The Duke returns to the city in the disguise of a monk in order to view the results of his experiment, and what he finds is a complicated web of sexual morality, regulation and intrigue.

Angelo cracks down on Vienna's licentious society, closing bordellos and imprisoning pimps and prostitutes. Furthermore, to make it clear that his authority applies to everyone, he arrests and condemns to death a young aristocrat, Claudio, for impregnating his fiancée out of wedlock.

The tables are turned on Angelo when Claudio's sister, Isabella, a novice nun, pleads for his release. Angelo falls head over heels for Isabella and attempts to blackmail her into a sexual tryst. In the end, the Duke swoops in, Deus ex machina-style, in both real and disguised form to sort out all the complications and deliver a bit of reconciliation: Death sentences are commuted, and willingly or unwillingly all the principal characters are coupled with someone else.

Are we Puritan or pornographic?

The above description makes clear why this play remains far down on the list of American Shakespeare productions. It's a complex narrative and tonal piece to maneuver through, and considering the schizophrenic and immature nature of American attitudes toward sexuality— Puritan one moment, pornographic the next— it's a wonder that anyone would take it on.

Yet director Douglas C. Wager and his design team of Dirk Durossette (scenic), Millie Hiibel (costume), John S. Hoey (lighting), and David O'Connor (sound) have navigated this riddle of a play with two major features.

Audience on stage

First, they positioned a paneled wall that contained a series of revolving doors or panels. On one side of the panels was the title of the play written numerous times in various Biblical aphorisms. (The play's title derives from the well-known passage from Matthew 7.1-2: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.") Yet when the panels are turned in, the audience is confronted with a series of mirrors, reflecting and distorting not only the actors onstage, but also the spectators in the audience.

It's a clever and necessary solution to this puzzling play, allowing a wonderfully quick blending of absolutism, ambiguity, hypocrisy and self-reflection. At one moment, we have the textual certainty of religious morality, and in the next moment, we perceive the physical uncertainty involved in carrying out these dictates.

Moreover, this mirrored apparatus creates the illusion of movement and speed— especially important since this production is set onstage with only 100 seats tightly bunched on the stage.

Still, characterizations themselves, although relatively submerged and ambiguous by design, didn't pop as much as the scenic design. Dan Kern, as the Duke, produced the most comfortable and realized role.

The Muslim connection

The second major element of the production design was to costume Angelo and his regime in Islamic garb. Angelo wore a skullcap and even intoned "Allahu akhbar" before eating a meal. This is an understandable choice but also a questionable one, as it can easily lead to an ethnocentric interpretation of a play whose message ought to be universal.

To be sure, the whole notion of imposing the death penalty for the crime of adultery is Scarlet Letter stuff— light years from contemporary American life. That may explain why Wager decided to locate Angelo's moral absolutism in a fundamentalist regime. That's current and relevant but a bit heavy-handed. A Muslim hypocrite doesn't really help the audience recognize its own hypocrisy, which presumably is the production's goal.

Regardless, Wager and his new troupe of Temple Repertory players are to be commended for introducing new ideas to a play that's extremely difficult to perform.

Toby Zinman's Inquirer review of this production would have you believe that theater should be an event like Forrest Gump in a church: emotional, monumental, appealing to some mystical gut instinct. I disagree. Theater is about taking chances and working with concepts— especially if they're big and italicized— and challenging the audience to think and ultimately act. Temple's Measure For Measure provides thought and critical engagement in this production even if it's not always realized.