Friday, November 16, 2001

‘Love’s’ Prevails
TCU production is host to laughs and music
By Ashley Hungerford
Skiff Staff

TCU’s production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost” shows once again the talents of George Brown, associate professor of theatre, to please his audience. Under his direction, a large student ensemble cast came together to perform one of William Shakespeare’s more difficult plays.

SPECIAL TO THE SKIFF Shauna McLean, Melissa Odom, Shanna Riddle and Robin Devoe star in “Love’s Labor’s Lost” which will run in the Hays Theatre through Nov. 18.

The play is about the King of Navarre (LaVar Veale) and three of his attending Lords who take a vow not to speak to, be with or even see a woman for three years. No sooner do they sign the oath, than the Princess of France (Melissa Odom) and three Ladies of her court arrive to ask a favor of the King. Everyone falls in love with everyone and there are of course several cases of mistaken identity. Furthermore, the oath is broken by all of the Lords, and the ending throws a real curve ball. Let’s just say that no one gets married.

In the midst of the dating game there are numerous comedic characters that come to lighten any tense moments. Costard the clown (Jason Lovelady) sacrifices his body for the show, taking fall after comedic fall. Don Adriano de Armado (David Fluitt), the very sensitive and love struck Spaniard, and his servant Moth (Angie Jepson) both give high-energy performances with incredible comedic timing.

This is a long (three hours) and massive play, with 28 cast members. One of the things that continues to amaze me about TCU’s productions is their ability to find so many uniformly talented and appealing performers. There wasn’t anyone on stage that didn’t perform their parts well. It seems a shame to single out just a few names, but I did especially enjoy Joshua Doss as Berowne who was both witty and charming. Veale showed his regal stature and command of the text as the King of Navarre.

dom proved to be regal and elegant and extremely pleasant to watch as the Princess of France. Shanna Riddle, Robin Devoe and Shauna McLean as Rosaline, Maria and Katherine respectively gave incredible performances, proving that once again Shakespeare knew how to write strong women roles and Brown knows how to cast them. Grant Denney and Chris Zuber as Longaville and Dumaine were easy targets for love, and they proved they could make the audience swoon right along with them.

If the acting alone were not reason enough to see the play, the set, costumes, music and pre-show entertainment should be. I can only imagine how much time, research and hard work went into replicating The Globe within the walls of the Hays Theatre, designing very authentic looking Shakespearean costumes, choreographing pre-show sword fights and knife juggling and putting together a group of singers to work on some very difficult music. My hat is off to the TCU theatre department for creating a magical world and allowing us to visit.

“Love’s Labor’s Lost” runs through Nov. 18 at the Hays Theatre. The show runs three hours with one intermission. Call the box office for tickets at 817-257-5770.

— Ashley Hungerford