See this show: All’s Well That Ends Well by Independent Shakespeare Company

OK, this is a rushed entry (will explain in a minute), but one that needs to be said:

If you are within driving distance of Los Angeles, you need to see Independent Shakespeare Company’s All’s Well That Ends Well, in their new Studio theater through April 22.

I’m just going to hit the top three reasons (and these are off the top of my head):

1) Absolutely masterful performances, many by actors who are called upon to play multiple roles (for me, the standouts from the multi-players were Kalean Ung as both Fool and Diana, and Rene Thornton Jr. as both the King of France and an army captain, while both April Fritz and Evan Lewis Smith kill it as the leads).

2) A performing style that pulls the audience into the play, while also putting the action in the audience (kind of hallmark for the ISC).

3) A rocket-fast paced production that brings out the comedy from a problematic play, while not shortchanging those darker elements.

It’s a solid performance. But what I saw on the back of the program just made my freaking year: they’re doing Titus this summer as a part of their Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park.

[Here’s why this is such a short blog entry (and that many of the upcoming ones will be, too): tomorrow morning, I fly out to Indianapolis for the Popular Culture Association conference–to present my Westworld/Shakespeare paper–I’ve got a Mister Roberts rehearsal tonight, and after the conference, I’ll drive from Indy to Ohio to visit Kyle and catch a production of Macbeth in Cleveland.]

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