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The “Shakespeare in the Park” event began last weekend at the Levitt Pavilion in Memorial Park in downtown Pasadena.This is the third year the Crown City Theatre Company has performed free events. It’s work was a delight to behold. The company is presenting an abbreviated version of “Henry V,” directed by Gary Lamb, playing until this weekend at 7:30 p.m. Lamb has sought to bring all the nobility and the bawdiness of the Elizabethan Era to the stage as he has drawn out the humanity of even the inconsequential characters in the play. He emphasized the comic as much as the heroic in this production. That approach has worked well for both audience and director alike.

Henry V, the English King from the 14th century, is skillfully played by the dashing Matthew J. Williamson, who earned his Masters of Fine Arts in theater from UCLA. It certainly shows as he pours his heart into this role.

Jim Bray stands out in the role of Pistol, a common soldier with a loud mouth and a short temper.

Each of the 10-member cast play multiple roles. All of them managed to create distinct characters for their multiple personalities in this performance. Part of the fun when watching a production like this is trying to figure out which character each actor was portraying the last time he or she was on stage.

Another great device the actors employed was that each character adopted different dialects from the various regions of England and Scotland in order to represent the true nature of that country. Just as not everyone in America has the same dialect even if born here, not everyone in England speaks the same. It was a nice bit of detail work from the actors.

The running time for this production is about 2 1/2 hours with a short intermission between acts. The director’s chose to trim the length of the play was ideal given the limitations of the Levitt Pavilion.

The only complaint some may have about this production are the technical limitations of the pavilion. These are something the theater company has little control over since everything electrical had to be trucked in for this outdoor venue.

King Henry V was wearing a body microphone so it was easy to hear his every line. However, the rest of the cast depended on microphones that seemed to be either on the floor or perhaps suspended above them in the scenery. The amplification system wasn’t consistent, and key lines of dialogue would often be lost in the air. This was frustrating for the audience.

The only lighting used were provided by footlights. While they did cast some ghostly-tall shadows that added to the suspense of some scenes, overhead lighting would have helped these performances much more.

“Shakespeare in the Park” is a wonderful venture for the city of Pasadena.

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