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By Roberta Kent June 14. 2015 12:29PM Oregon Shakespeare Theatre review: 'Antony and Cleopatra' — All for love From left, Brooke Parks, Christiana Clark and Joseph Anthony Foronda in Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Antony and Cleopatra." Courtesy of Jenny Graham “All for love.” That’s what the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Antony and Cleopatra” should have been subtitled. The first play of OSF’s summer season opened Friday night in the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre.  This is Shakespeare-as-reality show with Antony and Cleopatra as the first “celebrity couple.” It is compelling, almost breathtaking in its intimacy. He is the darling of Rome, a military hero, the charismatic one in the triumvirate that rules the empire after Julius Caesar’s assassination. She is the beautiful and seductive queen of Egypt, rich beyond belief. Both of them are arrogant, self-centered and totally heedless of others. They are the ultimate power couple. What could possibly go wrong? From the play’s beginning, director Bill Rauch’s staging makes the physical passion between Antony and Cleopatra visually explicit. Derrick Lee Weeden and Mariam A. Laube simply cannot take their hands off one another. They fall into clinches at even the most inappropriate times. The downward spiraling, self-destructive decisions made by each of these characters during the course of the play become totally logical when seen through the prism of this white-hot passion. Rauch goes to great lengths to make these characters fallibly human. We learn exactly how besotted Antony is from the first moments of the play, as two of his friends discuss his disquieting conversion from fighter to lover. They are at the front of the stage. At the back of the stage is an immense bed with figures roiling under the covers. From that moment, it is clear that everything Antony does — his wars, his political marriage to Octavia and his poor military judgment — is propelled by this passion. This isn’t just devotion; this is pure unheeding lust. Laube’s Cleopatra is a spitfire, accustomed to using her sexuality to dominate the politically dangerous world around her. For Cleopatra, every situation can be resolved through seduction. Rauch then gives Cleopatra a deeper dimension. He has Cleopatra visibly pregnant by Antony when the messenger brings her news of Antony’s marriage to Octavia, making her outsized emotional reaction to the news consistent with more than a political betrayal. We are reminded of her earlier affair with Julius Caesar not only through the play’s dialogue but also by the presence of Caesarion, their son. The problem, however, with having two such physically compelling characters is that “Antony and Cleopatra” deflates when the two lovers are not on stage together. Octavius Caesar (Raffi Barsoumian) is young, imperious and calculating. Lepidus (Rex Young) is charming and a definite lightweight. Antony’s loyal friend, Enobarbus (Jeffrey King) is rough hewn and forthright. These characters carry the scenes when they are onstage and their actions are not insignificant — they are fighting for control of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, the audience is breathlessly awaiting the next chapter in the personal drama between Antony and Cleopatra. Rauch has emphasized the timelessness of this story by giving it a stark contemporary staging. Richard Hay’s set utilizes two Corinthian columns flanking a three-dimensional outline of a pyramid on an otherwise empty stage utilizing few props. The columns or the pyramid are dramatically lit to indicate a scene in Rome or Alexandria, and an opulent bed dominates the scenes between the lovers. David C. Woolard’s costumes are lush and vaguely oriental for the Egyptians, sleek and military for the Romans. “Antony and Cleopatra” is, of course, ultimately about its title characters and this production breathtakingly fulfills that promise. If it seems a less than regal portrayal of the love affair that irrevocably reshaped the political structure of Roman Empire, it may be exactly what Shakespeare intended. After all, the Elizabethans were no strangers to less than regal lust and physical passion. Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at [email protected]. ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ Performances start at 8 p.m. one to three times per week on varying nights through Oct. 9 in the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Tickets are $30-105. 800-219-8161, www.osfashland.org.  http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20150614/NEWS/150619872 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->