An evening of William Shakespeare can be great. An evening enjoyed under the stars is even better, and that is exactly what the Will Greer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon has to offer. Their production of Richard III provides a fabulous evening of deception, plotting, murder and revenge.
Chad Jason Scheppner does an amazing job in the title role of Richard III (on alternating nights Melora Marshall plays the role of Richard III.) Scheppner is able to switch from a concerned brother and uncle, to a lovestruck wooer, to a humble man at prayer, to a despicable tyrant as easily as most change their clothes. And he is as equally convincing in all guises, with only the audience as his accomplice to the full extent of his duplicitous nature.
But what is a plotting villain without a right-hand man? Christopher W. Jones fills those shoes admirably as the Duke of Buckingham. The true beauty of Jones’ performance comes when Richard asks him to murder the two young princes in the Tower. Until that point, Buckingham walks stride-for-stride with Richard in their quest for power, but it is at that point that Richard crosses a line that Buckingham won’t. Jones does an excellent job playing out that shift in conscious, and the decision to go against Richard and accept the consequences of stepping off the tightrope that he’d been walking all along.
Unlike a lot of Shakespeare’s history plays, Richard III offers some powerful female roles but none as powerful as the cursing, revengeful Queen Margaret, played by Earnestine Phillips. Unfortunately, Phillips’ curses felt more like preaching. Her speeches lacked the nuance and subtlety necessary to convey the embittered heart of a woman that has had everything important in her life torn away from her. She commanded the stage, and even those sitting in the cheap seats could hear every word she said, but the true emotion seemed to be lost in translation.
However, probably most disappointing was the battle at the end, in which Richard cries out those infamous words, “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Aaron Hendry’s fight choreography was repetitive, predictable and slow. The pacing established by director Ellen Geer leading up to the great climax was all but shattered the moment the fighting began. By the time Richmond and Richard finally faced each other, they were fighting an uphill battle to regain the momentum to finish out the play. To a certain degree, they succeed, but the play definitely finishes with more of a blip than a bang.