Cortez’s Brilliancy Seen In “Measure for Measure”
Justice, morality, love, power, and forgiveness, “Measure for Measure” tackles them all. William Shakespeare brings us to explore a vicious, yet tender and intense world through his play.
Dulaang UP, the campus-based theater company, decides to try its hand at one of the Bard of Avon’s problem plays in celebration of their 39th season and Shakespeare's 450th birth anniversary. Does its production of "Measure for Measure," under the direction of Alexander Cortez, measure up?
The ones that get most of the attention are Jeremy Domingo as Vincentio, the Duke, who also appears disguised as Friar Lodowick to observe the goings-on in his absence. As a Duke, he turned his kingdom into another peep show, building his own pleasure as he gazes on behind his shabby friar’s disguise. As it gives more sinister, Duke, Domingo solves the notorious problem in the second half of the play, during the unclear part on why he lets things drift for so long before using his power. He acts as a dues ex machina to turn the play from tragedy to comedy.
The excellent Tarek El Tayech portrays Angelo, the piously self-assured and moralistic deputy, who rules in the Duke's absence. He is the creepiest Angelo you are likely to encounter. In fact, he is a predator who feels free to unbuckle his instincts after the Duke transfers power to this unfit aide and did take moral temperature of his city. You couldn’t hope to find better acting and direction in the scene in which Angelo faces the novice nun Isabella (Cindy Lopez), who come to plead for the life of her brother, and finds himself, for the first time in his life, falling in lust. Tarek El Tayech gives a magnificent searching performance of a man who is obviously obsessed with law and morality. He’s most seemingly righteous figure, slowly collapse violently into a new kind of behavior, desire, and self-hatred mixed all together.
Also, Cindy Lopez acts as Isabella, a woman of magnificent purity. She is a rigid nun-to-be who is not giving up her virtue, even for a fact of saving the life of her brother, a demure heroine of hers. More of it involves a young Isabella who begs Angelo to pardon her condemned brother, Claudio. Her side did show her being naive, pious but also a passionate one. At the same time, she did fire Angelo’s lust with her intensifying scenes with him without even realizing it in any way.
Despite the brilliant performance, the play production introduce too many characters that make me not understand the first part of the play because it confuses the first-timer audience of a Shakespearean play, which I think they can revise into a simpler form that is leveled to the audience knowledge. As I recall, there’s this character, Escalus (Mitoy Sta. Ana), who often tends to forget his lines that disappointed me at some point but it didn't actually affect my appreciation of the play. Also, the supporting characters are not able to have their stand and outshine as the lead roles.
Nevertheless, it didn't make me focus more on to it because of the overall impact it brings to the audience. One of the reasons is the most genuine part they emphasize at the ending when Isabella did not respond when the Duke asked her for marriage. It seems like the silence is deafening that it leaves the audience an open ending, whether she responded yes or no. It did show that she stands for her image as a pure woman because she remains silent but still follows the favor of the Duke to be able to save her sibling. It is yet a brilliant cliff hanger ending, which made the audience think and wonder.
The performance of the actors is very commendable. Their presences are real, their dictions are impressive, and their facial expressions and actions are very convincing as it could ever be. The actors' flawless articulation - paired with their accurate facial expressions - is unhurried, yet, it left the audience at the edge of their seats. It is exactly that same reason why they earn a standing ovation and applause for each scene is meticulously practiced, as evidence by their natural movements across the stage.