O, what fortune that a man is writing this review! For never before has a performance represented all that is Woman and all that is the game she plays like the Shakespeare Theatre Company's "The Dog in the Manger."
That isn't to say that the production is sexist in any way. If anything, it puts women in a position of power.
The story, written by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega, tells of the countess Diana and her secretary Teodoro whom she falls in love with. Diana wins over the love of Teodoro, then refuses him time and time again because of their difference in social status.
De Vega crafted this play during Spain's Golden Age in the early 17th century, under the rule of King Phillip III. He was one of the first playwrights to be able to sustain himself on the income from his writing.
Despite such rapid output, de Vega still produced some of history's most timeless tales, earning him the nickname "the Spanish Shakespeare." That timelessness is on full display in "The Dog in the Manger."
The Shakespeare Theatre Company's production opens with a screen-printing of a European queen filling the entire proscenium, her eyes highlighted as she watches patrons fill the auditorium. As the giant fa?ade lifts, a singer is revealed, wearing the same face of the queen on her dress. The singer appears on the set throughout the performance, making the omnipresence of the queen's mug inescapable, as though it is she, not her husband, who really rules.
The diector Jonathan Munby explores how women derive power from their complexity. Teodoro, the poor protagonist, turns to the audience after being turned down yet again by Diana and so much as screams, "What the hell is going on?"
The complexity is also represented in Alexander Dodge's wonderfully deep set design, which features a rich, wooden latticework, both overbearing and light, with any number of hidden doors and double-doors.
Perhaps women derive power from domination. Costume designer Linda Cho seems to have taken this angle, decorating all the costumes of Diana's house with the silver emblem of a spider. Darkness is accentuated. Diana's dress is an imperfect purple-black of elegant designs, while her host of servants sport pure black, with only the spider emblem breaking the uniformity.
Finally, and most obviously, perhaps it's women's beauty that gives them power. Such beauty is personified by actress Michelle Hurd, who brings Diana to the stage, gorgeous in form and voice, complex and commanding. Hurd is all that makes a woman powerful, and she delivers an equally powerful performance.
And what of men? Teodoro, played by Michael Hayden, is portrayed as an ever-swooning mutt, in blind pursuit of love's fruit. It's his servant Tristan, hilariously enlivened by David Turner, who helps to lead his master and friend through Diana's labyrinth.
Diana's two noble suitors, Marquess Ricardo and Count Federico (played by Jonathan Hammond and John Livingston Rolle respectively) both contribute greatly to the comedic male chest-poundings that identify the sex. Cho's costumes for these poor men also reflect their comedy. Together, the pair looks like a watermelon.
Credit Shakespeare Theatre for juicing "The Dog in the Manger" for all it's worth.
The play runs through March 29. Shakespeare Theatre offers discounted tickets to students and a limited number of $10 tickets per week. Details can be found at www.shakespearetheatre.org.
You can reach this staff writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
