Schiller’s ” Mary Stuart”

Highly Recommended **** Chicago Shakespeare Theater to many is for viewing the works of Shakespeare himself, but for the true theater-lover, it is more. Their current production, a new adaptation ( cleverly penned by Peter Oswald) of Friedrich Schiller’s “Mary Stuart” is indeed a new look at an old story. One of a clash of women in what could or could be termed as a “battle of the Titans” as to which will be the one with the right to rule. Queen Elizabeth I ( a powerful performance by  Kellie Overbey) and that of her imprisoned cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots ( a solid performance by  K.K. Moggie). Both of these dynamic leading ladies is making their CST debut with this production, and I for one, was very impressed with the development of their characters and  the power that they both brought to the story.

Elizabeth must decide the fate of her cousin, who has been accused of treason. While the fates of the women and the power struggle between them is a major part of the play, there is also the fate of their two countries as well. Seduction, greed and of course deception abounds as these two women, Queens open their hearts and souls to each other in an effort to be the “Queen of the Hill”, so to speak. While the story is one of true history, with slight changes as “poetic license” it can clearly be a depiction of political power as seen in today’s world.

Both Elizabeth and Mary claimed to be the true owner of the crown as Queen. The friction between the cousins is what brought about the power struggle that history has related to us over the centuries, and in this adaptation, Oswald brings us nearer to the two ladies and their inner power struggles and yet affection for each other and their personalities. Smoothly directed by Jenn Thompson on a set designed by  Andromache Chalfant, this is almost three hours of captivating theater. On opening night, the intermission was a bit longer than normal, so I would think the actual running time will be closer to two-hours-forty-five minutes total.

As always, the technical aspects of the production sparkle. The costumes (Linda Cho) are perfect, the lighting (Greg Hofmann and Philip Rosenberg) and sound (Mikhail Fiksel and Miles Polaski who also designed the incidental music) dynamic and the fight choreography (David Woolley) flawless.

One of the shining lights of Chicago Shakespeare Theater is the ensemble members, old and new, who can be counted on for expert interpretations of the characters they are playing. Actors such as Kevin Gudahl, Barbara Robertson, Andrew Chown, Patrick Clear, Tim Decker, Robert Jason Jackson, Michael Joseph Mitchell, Kai Alexander Ealy, and David Studwell. Once again, CST shows that Chicago has the right talent to bring productions such as this one to the  brilliant audiences of Chicago.

There are other versions of this story, but Shiller’s is the one that Chicagoans are very familiar with and Oswald’s adaptation doesn’t stray from the point of the story and the historical facts. If you are a true history buff, you will want to dig deeper into the history of the women involved as well as take a look at the Protestant versus Catholic underlying story.

Schiller’s ” Mary Stuart” will continue at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, located at 800 Eats Grand Avenue, thru April 15th with performances as follows:

Price: $48-$88

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 312-595-5600

Running Time: 2hrs, 35mins; one intermission

www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/marystuart

Discounted parking is available-bring your ticket to the theater

Special Programs

open-captioning  3/29 at 1 p.m. and  7:30 p.m.

ASL-Duo-Interpretation  4/6  7:30 p.m.

Audio Description  3/18 at 2 p.m. touch -tour available at noon

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“Mary Stuart”