“All’s Well That Ends Well”

[rating=3] The year was 1964. I was a student at Kendall College in Evanston ( it was not a culinary school at that time) and was on an acting scholarship. Dr. Aufdenberg, knowing that he had the right people decided that it was time to make his dreams come true. First we did “Charlie’s Aunt” and seeing how this worked, figured he could do a work by William Shakespeare. He chose “All’s Well That Ends Well” and cast me as Paroles, a non-hero type who I loved playing. The story is about power and mistakes we all seem to make as we grow in years.

There is much happening in France at this time. Bertram’s (Dante Jemmott) father has just passed away. Helen’s ( Alejandra Escalante plays this role to perfection)  father dies some months ago and they are waiting for the King of France ( brilliantly played by Francis Guinan) to die as well. It is truly a time for mourning. It is a time to look forward to the future and in doing so, the sadness of the recent past should fade away.

This play is about transition. Changes in life as faced by each of Shakespeare’s characters and under the skillful hand of director Shana Cooper, we have some modernization to the original script with some wonderful music added (Paul James Prendergast) and some marching that is more dance than march (Stephanie Martinez). Those who have been attending productions at Chicago Shakes know that they will see more creativity than they might expect. That is the beauty of the work they do. There is even a little bit of magic (designed by Dendy).

What we see in this story is people who make mistakes in life. We also see how the aging process changes our attitudes and desires. Ora Jones, taking on the role of Countess of Rossillion , as always is a powerhouse. No matter what we see he do, we know that she will take her character to a new level, and she always brings it home! Other cast members that grace Chicago stages on a regular basis are William Dick as Lafeu, Christiana Clark (in several roles) and the comic touch of Elizabeth Ledo as Lavatch, a clown who resides in the home of the Countess ( she is a hoot).

The role of Paroles ( my part in college) is handed mightily by Mark Bedard. One must understand that this character comes on strong and needs to be brought down to size. The soldiers manage to do just that and Bedard is amazing in this scene. The ensemble is composed of Patrick Agado, Joseph Aaron Johnson, Pablo David Laucerica, Casey Hoekstra, Jeff Kurysz, Emma Ladji and Tanya Thai McBride,  Many of these performers play several roles and make some very quick changes. The costumes by Raquel Barreto, while more modern in style, are quite fitting for the characters and the story.

While almost every character in this play has flaws, as the story unfolds and the secrets are revealed, we find that each has changed in some way. Helen fights for what she wanted and in the end is victorious. I must say that Escalante captures the character, the man she wanted and I would think most of the audience members fell in love with her strength.

When I told my grandkids what play I was going to they said they knew that this is the one that the adage “All’s well that ends well” must have come from- Shakespeare is responsible for it. The idiomatic expression means that despite situations, problems or chaos, if the desired conclusion , is met and is  positive saying that “the ends justify the means”. Although this line does appear in the play ad it is the title, it is very possible that this saying, worded slightly different, was already in use prior to the play being written. Can’t seem to find another origin, but no matter, it is very accurate and what they have done at Chicago Shakespeare Theater is a delightful 2 1/2 hours of glorious theater.

“All’s Well That Ends Well” will continue in the Courtyard Theater thru May 29th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays  1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Tickets range from $49 and are available by calling box office at 312-595-5600 or online at www.chicagoshakes.com

For more info visit www.chicagoshakes.com/allswell

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES:

Open Captioned Wednesday  May 18th both performances

ASL-Duo May 20th  at 7:30 p.m.

Audio-Described  Sunday, May 22nd 2 pm.

Garage parking at Navy Pier will be discounted if you bring your ticket to the theater for validation.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “All’s Well That Ends Well”.                                                                                                                                    photos by Liz Lauren