Measures Of Mercy: Shakespeare Play Comes To Liberty’s Black Box theater

Think back to high school English class. One of the first facts you most likely learned about Shakespeare was that almost everything he wrote falls into one of two categories: comedy or tragedy. 

The comedies have tragic moments, and the tragedies have a few laughable ones, but each play falls definitively into one category or the other.  

“Measure for Measure” breaks that trend, balancing comedy with tragedy. 

“It’s a great show to come see if you want a little of both,” Ian Cripe, a junior accounting major, said. “It makes you think and laugh. … You don’t know how it’ll end.”

Those involved in the production of “Measure for Measure” have worked tirelessly to ensure that the spring semester of shows has a strong and meaningful start. The words have come to life for them, revealing the beauty and emotion of Shakespearean language. 

Many of the actors had character meetings with the director Neal Brasher  to perfect how they portrayed their characters. The unity of the story under Brasher’s vision has helped the fluidity of the scenes and interactions between characters become realistic. 

Cripe, who portrays Angelo in the upcoming production, said that, while all of the characters are multi-faceted, Angelo is essentially the villain. Despite playing the villain, Cripe found that he can still relate to the character.  

“He’s a guy presented with temptation, and he falls to that temptation,” Cripe said. “It happens to everyone.”

While preparing for the role, Cripe worked with Brasher to refine how he portrayed Angelo. They focused on making the performance as realistic as possible and letting the creepy qualities of that realism shine subtly. 

On the other hand, Cripe added, there are many moments of chemistry between Angelo and Isabella, played by Abby Mann, that show the humanity underneath the villain. For instance, the two will speak without looking at each other and then suddenly hold intense eye contact, revealing the struggle of the two souls. Angelo is a man who becomes power hungry, makes mistakes but receives a second chance. 

“It is a good reminder that there is redemption,” Cripe said. 

Ashley Banker, a senior acting major playing Mariana, noted that one of the major themes is “forgiving those who have wronged you.” The characters are all multi-sided, meaning that no one is completely evil throughout the entirety of the production, but each person makes mistakes. These mistakes allow for redemption and forgiveness to shine through as the central themes. 

“When you come and see this play, you’ll leave with a deep understanding of God’s love and mercy for you, and you’ll want to lavish that on others,” Banker said. “The most difficult thing we can do as Christians is lavish mercy.”  

Both Cripe and Banker said that working in this show has revealed man’s shortcomings and God’s mercy to   them in new and personal ways. They hope that the audience can experience it as well. 

“You’ll leave inspired,” Banker said. “It is something I can’t wait to share with others.”

“Measure for Measure” will be showing in the Black Box Theater at various times from Feb. 4 to Feb. 13. Ticket information and specific dates and times can be found at the liberty.edu/arts/theater website.  

Hetzel is a feature reporter.