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Into the breeches wearing britches
ARTS COMMENTARY
February16,2022 Nancy STETSON nstetson@oridaweekly.com
“Into the Breeches!” plays through March 5 at the Historic Arcade Theatre. COURTESY PHOTO / JOE DAFELDECKER / FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE
The other night, I was reminded of a classmate of mine from junior high — Glenn Zarr.
I haven’t seen Glenn in decades, as we wound up attending different high schools.
But I remember Glenn acting in our school’s production of “A Thousand Clowns”
What struck me back then was how competent Glenn was onstage, how he changed. Not only that, but he transformed off the stage too. He was a young teen, but more condent, just … fuller, rounder, somehow, as a person.
(Years later, he appeared on Broadway in a production of “A View From the Bridge.”)
And something similar happens to the characters in George Brant’s “Into the Breeches!,” playing at Florida Repertory Theatre through March 5.
The stage changes them, transforms them.
“I feel alive for the rst time,” one of them says about acting.
It’s World War II, and Maggie Dalton (a determined Amy Hutchins) is left in charge of the Providence, Rhode Island, theater she and her husband run. She decides not to close down for the season but instead put on a performance to draw the community together and give them an uplifting experience.
She wants to put on Shakespeare’s Henriad plays, which include “Richard II” and “Henry IV (Part I and Part II).”
But women will have to play the traditionally male roles.
(In Shakespeare’s time, men played all the roles, even the women’s. So turnabout should be fair play, she reasons.)
Doing such a thing is unheard of in 1942.
But men are in short supply, as almost all have gone off to war overseas.
It’s a timely show that resonates, as venues closed during the pandemic or found new ways to present theater, whether outside or on Zoom.
Maggie speaks of “the Linger Effect” — the way a show can stay with you for days, months or longer after you’ve seen it. She wants to provide that for her audience, to help shore them up during the dicult days of World War II.
One is the prima donna actress Celeste (a ery Carol Halstead), who sees Maggie as her husband’s puppet and insists on doing everything her own way.
Another is Ellsworth Snow (V Craig Heidenreich), who holds the purse strings. When Maggie asks that the women get paid for acting, just as the men are, he brushes it away as “a frivolous question.”
Mr. Heidenreich plays him as a taciturn naysayer who does a slow burn internally when he’s bested by a woman, which is enjoyable to watch.
Another major problem for Maggie is getting talent.
She winds up with a ragtag group of unlikely suspects: June (Emma Badger), who is young and naïve and channeling her anxieties into supporting the war effort with crazed activity; Grace (Jackie Schram), a walking bundle of insecurity and self-doubt; and Winifred (Jan Neuberger), who’s married to Ellsworth and acted in school decades ago.
Shannon Harris, as Ida, the seamstress, and Kevin Loreque as Stuart, the stage manager, round out the cast of this smart, funny, offbeat show. Ida and Stuart are outsiders, even in a business that welcomes outsiders. Yet Maggie draws the circle wider and includes them in the family.
Director Eleanor Holdridge does some creative staging here, on a set (by Dennis C. Maulden) made to look like an old theater. Between scenes, props are moved around by stagehands dressed as moving men; on occasion, tiny sets are rolled in from the wings. The stage itself, as well as the characters, undergoes a transformation. (Though it’s distracting to see some of the stagehands moving about in the rear of the stage while some of the action was still going on.)
Costume designer Charlene Gross had great fun with dressing these characters: the overly dramatic Celeste makes a grand entrance, wearing red gloves, carrying a red purse, with a red feather in her hat and red detailing on her shoes. She also has a leopard skin pattern in the lining of her coat.
And Winifred is, for the most part, found in oral print dresses and pearl necklaces.
As an audience, we get to see behind the scenes: how a play comes together, how the actors, initially strangers to each other, grow to be one unit.
Ms. Schram, as the insecure Grace, is great fun to watch as she puts on other personas and transforms.
But it is Ms. Neuberger who steals the show as the ditzy and thoroughly loopy Winifred. Maggie casts her purely as a means of bribing Winfred’s husband to loosen the purse strings and get funding but winds up getting much more than she’d literally bargained for.
You don’t have to know Shakespeare to enjoy “Into the Breeches!,” though it certainly enhances the experience.
Just come ready to laugh, and you won’t be disappointed.
For me, “Into the Breeches!” denitely has the Linger Effect. ¦
In the KNOW
“Into the Breeches!”
» When: Through March 5
» Where: Historic Arcade Theatre on
Bay Street, between Jackson and
Hendry, in downtown Fort Myers
» Cost: Tickets start at $55
» Information: 239-332-4488
or www.oridarep.org
Into the Breeches
Rating
Photo courtesy of The Florida Rep
Swingin’ big band music from the 1940s sets the mood as we peruse a theater space filled with props and costumes. This space was quiet, after all, as most of the men who performed here were overseas. It’s 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island, and the war is raging in Europe, the Pacific, and North Africa.
For history buffs and those who grew up in the post-World War II era, the music, costumes, props, and scenes are perhaps more memory jogging and sentimental; however, the themes and struggles presented are universal. While likely hidden from most social discourse in the 1940s, these themes are brought to the forefront in this venue of heroism, patriotism, and collaboration back The Oberon. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus home. In this regard, the entire cast, and particularly Oberon theater stage manager Stuart Lasker (Kevin Loreque) and costume designer Ida Green (Shannon Harris) successfully tug at our hearts. You may recall your elder family members playing their 78 records to hear Bennie Goodman, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, the Dorseys, and more. Lonely girlfriends, wives, and mothers cherished stacks of letters lovingly wrapped in ribbons, written to them by their men battling the Axis powers overseas. Perhaps your parents Lindy Hopped around the living room singing along with Sinatra. I recall my mother working as a book editor in Manhattan during that time and relaying how she and her bobby sox girlfriends commiserated and cried while also delighting in attending concerts performed by Frank Sinatra (their top choice at the time). She also enjoyed seeing Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald performing together. The Providence Oberon theater is quiet and gloomy. Still, Maggie Dalton (Amy Hutchins), encouraged by her actor husband, absent and fighting overseas, believes she can assemble a cast of women to perform Shakespeare, taking the roles of men and delving into the breeches as needed. Although women took on many vocations formerly held by men, like working in factories, resistance towards women dressing as men to play Shakespearean drama was likely expected. Convincing the man in charge, a spirited Ellsworth Show (V. Craig. Heidenreich), that such a production could work wasn’t easy; however, armed with a clever wit and sensibility, Maggie finds a way to bring Snow’s wife Winifred (Jan Neuberger) into the show cast. This effectively garnered Ellsworth’s less than enthusiastic support. There are opportunities employed by the troupe for humor. Celeste Fielding (Carol Halstead) is our prima donna who continually delights as she gleefully capitalizes on her star power and commensurate vanity. Celeste devises props to help teach women to walk like men, and the clever Maggie invents hilarious ways for Winifred to effectively evoke the mannerisms of Groucho Marx.
The Luxor Empire Radiogram
The tensions of life for women left alone at home are sensitively presented. It’s noted that a military man’s pay is insufficient to support a wife, let alone a wife and children at home. Subsequently and unapologetically, women donned pants and take jobs formerly held by men. A blue star was displayed in a front window for each family with members in the military overseas. If that person died, the blue star was replaced with a gold star in a home now inhabited by a gold star wife or mother.
Ingenue June Bennett (Emma Badger), and raw talent Grace Richards (Jackie Schram), who powerfully characterizes Henry the IV and V, round out the cast for a Shakespearean delight with some unforgettable surprises.
Marvelous light and sound by Joel Zishuk and wardrobe by Olivia Sands immerse us in the era, and the musical selections used during scene changes enhance the settings. The only digression from the big band, swing style music was the opening of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (1942), stylishly used to introduce the troupe’s ultimate Shakespearean extravaganza.
Into the Breeches runs through March 5, and you can get your tickets here or at https://tickets.floridarep.org/ or contact the Box Office at 239.332.4488.s
Curtain calls. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus
Edward A Kliszus
Performer, conductor, and educator Edward Kliszus began his musical studies at the age of 5 and has since been deeply involved in the fine, performing, and literary arts. He is a long-time and current member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). He studied trumpet performance and music education while attending the Manhattan School of Music. He was a student of Mel Broiles, principal trumpet of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Lincoln Center. His post-graduate studies at New York University focused on trumpet and piano performance, music composition, and analysis of composer Elliott Carter's 1974 work Brass Quintet. He has performed at Manhattan's West Village venue Monologues and Madness. Currently, he focuses his artistic and creative endeavors in writing, music composition, jazz piano, and reviewing music and theatre venues for The Front Row Center in New York, and OpeningNight.Online, which serves New York and sunny Florida.
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Playing now in the Historic Arcade Theatre!
by Elizabeth James Feb. 17, 2022
INTO THE BREECHES! at Florida Repertory Theatre tells the story of a group of women who band together during World War II to take on and perform Shakespeare plays in a time when the theatre industry was typically only run by men.
Maggie Dalton (Amy Hutchins) is determined to direct the show her husband had planned before he had to leave to fight in the war. She wants to continue the theatrical legacy he has created by doing a female-led Shakespeare "Henriad" (Henry IV and Henry V). The only issue is, this show takes place in a time when this was unprecedented and women did not direct, so as you can imagine, it was a bit of a difficult process for Maggie. But, she truly fought for the production and her cast, and I admired her determination.
In addition to their courageous leader, Maggie, the rest of the characters include the fiery veteran actress Celeste Fielding (Carol Halstead), the hilarious and jolly Winifred Snow (Jan Neuberger), the strong and talented costume designer, Ida Green (Shannon Harris), the young and sweet June Bennett (Emma Badger), the shy and nervous Grace Richards (Jackie Schram), the stubborn board president, Ellsworth Snow (V Craig Heidenreich), and the smart and brave stage manager, Stuart Lasker (Kevin Loreque).
I loved this cast. Each one of them played their role so well, and I loved how they really defined the personalities of each of their characters. One of my favorite aspects of the show was seeing how each one of them grew and changed throughout the process of rehearsing for the Henriad. Some of the characters start out a bit rough with their acting skills (unlike this fabulous cast), but they soon break out of their shells, grow confidence, learn to accept certain aspects of themselves, and are ready to take on something that they are not sure will be a success. Beyond the play, this group is dealing with so many other really difficult things. With the war raging and most of their husbands gone, every day
Another part of this story that I really appreciated was the womens' acceptance of both Ida and Stuart into the show. Though the two of them face some different difficulties in this time period than the rest of the group, I was thrilled to see that a place was made for them in this show. Not just because they were needed, but because they were also wanted.
story extra special in this production. The show was directed by Eleanor Holdridge, with set design by Dennis Maulden, costume design by Charlene Gross, lighting design by Rob Siler, sound design by Adam Trummel, and fight choreography by Zeke Bocklage. This team has come together alongside the cast to bring a brilliant piece of theatre to life, and I appreciated each detail put into the show. I especially appreciated Holdridge as the director, as I think it made the context of the
INTO THE BREECHES! is smart, hilarious, impactful, and one of my favorite pieces of theatre I have seen. It really is a show that lingers with you (and we know how important that is). I thoroughly enjoyed this production, and think it holds something special for everyone. It inspired me, made me laugh, and made me think. With a phenomenal cast, an incredibly talented creative team, and a vibrant and triumphant storyline, this is not a show to be missed.
Get your tickets now! For more info and to buy tickets, click here: https://www.floridarep.org/the-
season/into-the-breeches/
Photo Credit: Joe Dafeldecker
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Home » Features » Theater Reviews » 2’s Review: ‘Into The Breeches’
2’s Review: ‘Into The Breeches’
by Dave Elias — 2:45 PM EST, Tue February 15, 2022
AA
Joe Dafeldecker / Florida Repertory Theatre
100%
LEE COUNTY, Fla. – “Into The Breeches” may take us back to 1942 during World War II as American women struggle to redefine themselves.
But it is really much more than that; it’s more of a commentary on gender equality, women’s and civil rights.
For me, it was a glimpse of how far we haven’t come in the last 80 years as we’re still dealing with many of these same issues in 2022.
This show is cute but is not one of my favorites. It is a surprisingly modern comedy but not one that really produces a lot of hardy laughs but rather a few chuckles and smiles while the first act seemed to drag on but thankfully it picks up in the second act.
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Joe Dafeldecker / Florida Repertory Theatre
Despite this, it didn’t keep me from enjoying some wonderful performances. In fact, the talent in the show saved it for me along with the important messages that play out.
George Brant’s “Into The Breeches” centers on a group of women trying to find themselves during a dark time in American history when most of the country’s men are overseas and the women struggle to survive and run the households alone.
When the main character Maggie Dalton, played brilliantly by Amy Hutchins, sees her husband Andrew deployed overseas, she is left to run the Oberan Playhouse without his input and direction.
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Joe Dafeldecker / Florida Repertory Theatre
She decides to make some bold moves and cast an all-female version of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V and is met with resistance until the cast ultimately finds themselves.
Among the characters she cast is Winifred Snow. A prudish older socialite played convincingly by Actress Jan Neuberger who provides most of the laughs for the show as she develops her character into a roly-poly man who behaves a lot like Groucho Marxs, mustache and all.
Actress Carol Halstead magnificently plays Celeste Fielding, an aging actress who demands the lead role despite the fact she’s 20 years too old for the part.
Actress Shannon Harris plays Ida Green, the company’s black seamstress, whose work has always been behind the scenes and never onstage as minorities were forbidden to appear on stage.
Joe Dafeldecker / Florida Repertory Theatre
Harris does a convincing job of fighting for her place in the show along with Stuart Lasker, played by Kevin Loreque, the company’s stage manager and one of the few men not serving in the war because he is homosexual, long before “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
But Stuart does tell and even dresses in drag as a show of solidarity for the all-female cast.
He’s not the only character to dress in drag, veteran actor V Craig Heidenreich who plays Ellsworth Snow, dons a Marlene Dietrich costume on the cast’s opening night.
In closing the show is a journey about inclusion and representation as underrepresented groups see themselves reflected on stage.
Groups that have persevered and are still fighting for inclusion in 2022. It’s a timely play that runs through March 5.
You can buy tickets by calling the box office at 239-332-4488.
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