By Robert W. Bethune
Shakespeare's "Henry V" rests squarely on the actor who plays Henry. In the Michigan Shakespeare Festival's production, Paul Molnar does a good job. One's first impression is of a person who is not especially royal, but royalty is as royalty does, and Ed Simone directs the play as a sequence of tests of Henry's kingship. The king must turn away old friends, order the execution of old friends turned traitor or turned pillager, threaten the city of Harfleur with an orgy of rape and murder, and be willing to carry it out. He has to find ways to give heart and courage to his men while he faces battle on enemy ground against a force five times larger than his own. Molnar shows us a man who grows with each test, and finally woos and wins a queen and a kingdom – temporarily.
Tommy Gomez as Chorus makes a major contribution. "Chorus" in this play refers to a single actor; his eloquently expository speeches can either drive energy into the production or drain it right out, and Gomez gives them excellent verve and interest.
Director Simone and the cast keep the stakes and the energy up pretty well. The battle sequences hold up quite well, with lots of energy, smoke, big flashes of light and noise. Sometimes there is too much noise; certain scenes are drowned out in it. Someone really needs to show the cast how soldiers handle weapons. The play is in modern dress; the soldiers are in camouflage battle dress uniforms: forest for the French, desert for the English, trim khakis with medals for the king. Simone fears no anachronism; the negotiation to settle the war takes place beneath the English flag, the French tricolor – the flag of the French revolution – and the flag of the United Nations.
'Henry V'
Michigan Shakespeare Festival at Jackson Community College's Potter Center, Jackson. Plays in repertory through Aug. 5. Tickets: $23-$26. For information: 517-796-8600 or http://www.michshakefest.org.
