The Knight and the Butterfly — HENRY IV.2 by HSF

Oh what a Knight—Sir John Falstaff that is, the biggest character I saw at the preview for Henry IV, Part 2, the third and final offering of this season’s Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. The biggest in girth for sure, but not necessarily in personality, which is to say, there was a lot going on in Hawai‘i’s “Globe” last night.

Goto as Falstaff's Page

This play, as director Tony Pisculli mentioned in the preshow announcements, is a sequel and a history—not necessarily up there on people’s must-see list with, say, Hamlet or Midsummer Night’s Dream. There’s definitely more work for the audience at this show, trying to figure out what the fat knight Falstaff has to do with the war going on, and why there’s a war going on, and who’s on which side of the war. It’s all there in the lines the characters speak, but that doesn’t mean it’s a simple matter of listening, because this is Shakespeare we’re talking about. So, yes, be prepared to pay attention and still be a little (or a lot, depending on your pre-existing familiarity with the play and its characters) confused at times. That said, Pisculli and his team do the load of the work for you. Most importantly, it all comes together in the end. After investing in the parade of scenes, some comic, some dark and chilling, I really felt the pay off—I’m still feeling it the next day even. That’s good theatre.

OK, so here’s the lowdown: Prince Henry, or Harry, or Hal (Alvin Chan), the heir to the throne (soon to be Henry V) hasn’t been very princelike, hanging with the drunks in the whorehouse and such. He’s looked to Falstaff (Dan D. Randerson) as a role model (a gluttonous, lecherous, drunken swindler figure) instead of his honorable father King Henry IV, who’s now sick and dying and still dealing with the wars that started when he took the crown from Richard II. Basically, England is a political mess. Most of the action of the play centers on Falstaff’s exploits and the characters in his circle. Framing all of that are the scenes of plotting and strategy on either side of the war. The Henry side gets ahead in the end with a nice bit of trickery and Prince Harry must finally find out what he’s really made of.

The first half of the show rollicks and rolls, with short trips into dark corners. Though we’re all having fun, there’re constant reminders that danger lurks just out of sight. This feeling is accentuated by an excellent lighting design (which the set matches really well), alternating from red light and long shadows to sunny brightness. There is a choruslike character called Rumor, played by Daniel Doohan, who sets this tone early on, slinking in all slick and slanky, seductive and creepy, saying, don’t believe everything you hear, things are not always as they seem… I would have loved to see this character return eventually such was the caliber of the portrayal, but he was only an opening act.

Randerson’s Falstaff is certainly the physical accomplishment of the evening. One of my favorite bits involves him flat on his back until his trusty page, played by the much, much smaller Kris Goto, comes ingeniously to the rescue. It’s hard work for a skinny young guy to play a fat old man, but, it’s probably hard work to simply be a fat old man, so the work matches the character somehow, which maybe makes it easier than you would originally think… Did that make sense? Anyway, Randerson pulls it off. There’s a rumor that the play Merry Wives of Windsor was written because Queen Elizabeth very much enjoyed watching the character of Falstaff and wanted to see “the fat knight” on stage again. So I’ll say this, Falstaff made me laugh and elicited my sympathy, but I didn’t like him enough to want to see a whole other play about him, and I wanted to like him. But hey, I’m no Queen of England, either.

Doohan as Pistol

The major and final scene of the first “act” is set in the establishment of Mistress Quickly (Elexis Draine) and involves Doll Tearsheet (Danielle Vivarttas-Ahrnsbrak) the prostitute, Falstaff, his boys Bardolf (Brandon Hagio) and Pistol (Doohan again) and Prince Hal himself (in disguise). This scene captures the feel of the first half: comedy edged all around with danger. Is Pistol really going to stab Doll Tearsheet (or vice versa) or is this how they always act at Quickly’s place? Is Prince Harry really pissed that Falstaff’s talking smack about him, or is it all part of the knight’s charm? This is the first time we see the prince and Falstaff together, with the prince revealing himself near the end. It’s the one time in the play where Hal (Falstaff’s name for the prince) confronts this man who is dear to him but also, he knows, a bad influence. These are crucial moments for developing the prince’s storyline, with a subtle point-by-point negotiation of their relationship happening. It’s a very short section in such a long scene, and I wanted the moments to be bigger somehow, more pronounced.

Doohan’s Pistol, unstable and trigger-happy, is as good as his Rumor, and he manages to pull off two totally different characters, up to the hair on their heads, despite a very active tongue in both cases. Vivarttas-Ahrnsbrak is like a big movie star doing a cameo as the two-bit hooker—always a good time. I loved how her stockings matched the lighting: purple!, so high-five to designer synchronicity there. Draine’s Quickly brings a strong presence to her scenes: spunky, loud, and rough in all the right places. Hagio is similarly successful as Bardolf, with the meatlocker face, but in a much quieter, inebriated sort of way.

The second “act” is all about payoff. There’s still some comedy, but greatly subdued in comparison to the first part. There’s a fun scene with a bunch of riffraff soldiers brought for Falstaff’s service, and some other plotting of Falstaff’s, but the rest is war, death, and banishment. If the first half was Falstaff’s, the second belongs to Prince caterpillar–turned–Monarch butterfly. Throughout the play, Chan speaks the language of his character like he was born spitting Shakespearean verse. His transformation is nuanced and very convincing. Henry IV, his father, played by Shen Nissan Sugai, takes center stage for a haunting, beautiful, and powerful scene (the lighting and set combine stunningly here) between father and son. Sugai and Chan’s chemistry in their one scene together, along with the quality of the monologues and staging, captivates and changes the tone of the whole play. The fun and games are officially over, though some don’t realize it yet. Therein lies the tension that comes to a head in a final scene full of menace. Disturbing, that’s how most of the last twenty minutes of the play felt. And I’ll tell you what, I wanted to sit through Henry V right after, so intrigued was I by my last glimpse of Chan’s young king.

Overall, the show was a little heavy on the testosterone, with only five females in a cast of nineteen. Lacey Perrine Chu played male roles, holding her own with the boys as John of Lancaster. She’s another one with a strong command of the language, a real delight, since there are so many great lines that get lost in delivery. I have to quote her here, as an example of four of her lines right at the end of the play that I heard, enjoyed, and most importantly, understood the implication of:

I will lay odds that, ere this year expire,
We bear our civil swords and native fire
As far as France: I heard a bird so sing,
Whose music, to my thinking, pleased the king.

My blood stirred, as it should, since I know all about Henry V in France, having been a part of that Shakesfest production. It may seem simple, four lines, but not just anyone could have said them with such natural clarity as Chu did.

Have I gone on long enough about this show yet? OK, a few last words. There are some other great actors that I haven’t mentioned, mostly all playing multiple roles. The award for best actor/actress not yet mentioned to play multiple characters goes to… No, I’m not gonna do it. Everyone had their moments. Those that were able to really take on different character traits (as opposed to just costumes) were, of course, the most successful. And a big shout out to all the designers: Lights, Set, Costume, Makeup, Sound—all very good.

For a play ostensibly about war, there were very few fight scenes. Who directed this? It couldn’t be Tony Pisculli… Seriously, it’s safe to sit in the front row, which I did so you can trust me. I quick-read the play before going to the show, something I would do with any Shakespeare play if I hadn’t already read it. So I’m not saying you should, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt. Or at least get a synopsis from someone who has, especially if you aren’t all that comfortable with Shakes talk. I neglected to fill in my date, someone who’s performed Shakespeare but has to learn many of his lines as if they were a foreign language in the process, and he admitted that most of the time, he didn’t know what the heck was going on. Disclaimer: He may or may not have had an herbal relaxation session at home before the show.

That’s it. Ready, go see it, tonight if you can! Make your own opinions; let me know if you disagree with mine. Or if you agree. Enjoy.

For more info, visit the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival Website   or visit the Facebook Event Page

The show runs only this weekend and next at Mark's Garage.

Photos stolen from Tony Pisculli's album on Facebook, Henry IV.2 - dress rehearsal