The 'Ends' Justify Quincy's Means

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, OR so the saying goes. At the end of this Shakespeare play, the girl gets the boy of her dreams, the boy is pardoned by his wealthy mother and patron king, and the ratty scoundrel becomes the dearest friend of his former foe. Sounds quite well, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, it is hard to feel entirely joyous at the turn of events. At the end, the girl is still unloved, the boy still feels threatened by his elders and scoundrel is still a scoundrel. You can't derive much satisfaction from such an ambivalent conclusion.

Director Meredith Wills stages the play against the backdrop of the 1940s; it is a story of love and betrayal, which are relevant in any time period. In this production, the ailing King (Bob Kim '97) seems more like a president than a monarch, and is reminiscent of the well-loved but invalid FDR. Costuming by Holly Maples (a B.U. student) also lends a hand to creating the atmosphere of America 50 years ago: for the wealthy ladies, dresses you'd expect to see on Greta Garbo; for the less affluent girls, simpler, plainer dresses suitable for Betty Crocker. The most charming detail is the plaid suitcases that were the rage in the 1940s, carried by characters costumed as traveling salespeople.

The use of bluesy jazzy music is intended to cement the idea of the 1940s in the minds of the audience. In this respect, though, the Quincy House production might be too enthusiastic. At every stage changeover, the lights are dimmed and the music blares out. This would have provided a perfect transition between the scenes were it not for the sometimes-incongruous mood of the music with the preceding drama--Shakespeare's emotional fireworks are diminished when they are followed by "Makin' Whoopee."

Performed in the Quincy House Dining Hall, the play attempts to make the most of the small space. Three separate stages are placed at the vertices of a triangular formation, with the audiences on the rim of the triangle. While this set-up may have been the best utilization of space under the circumstances, the audience is left praying for more use of the center open stage as relief for necks sore from craning to see the surrounding side platforms. And speaking of sore body parts, the agonizingly long three-hour play does nothing to add to the comfort of the hard metal chairs upon which the audience is seated.

Despite the play's difficulty, several cast members in this Quincy House production took full advantage of their moment in the spotlight. Bob Kim, in the role of the judicial King, does a splendid job, projecting a magnificent aura of power. As the mother of the wayward Count, Natasha Kruger similarly carries herself strongly and proudly, while adding a classy feminine quality to her role. The self-proclaimed fool and knave of the show, Alden Stock '96, provides hilarious comic turns throughout the play--whether he is performing gymnastic stunts or swing-dancing with members of the audience, he is sure to amuse. And in the performance of Tom Brown '99 as Parolles, the haughty coward shines through clearly. The rest of the cast (including Yelitza Colon '98 as Helen and Salvatore Gogliormella '98 as Bertram) hold up their parts tolerably well.

Despite a largely unsatisfying and unnecessarily complicated plot, "All's Well" puts on a good show for those willing to sit through one of Shakespeare's worse plays. The Quincy House production does as best as can be expected with a faulty script and limited resources. At the end of the play, as is typical of Shakespeare, the King states that, as actors, the cast's only desire is to entertain. Although there were some unsatisfactory complications to the play, as far as this desire goes, "All's Well" lives up to its name.