Liberty Theater Department Presents A Shakespeare Play

A guy in a studded black leather jacket, plaid pants and slicked hair walks into a Shakespeare play. 

This may sound like the beginning of a “man walks into a bar” joke, but it is actually how the Liberty Theater Department’s production of Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” begins. 

Throughout the show, the costumes of each character are not what’s expected of a Shakespeare play. Generally speaking, the crazier the costume, the crazier the character, as shown by Lucio (played by Caleb M. Gould) sporting a pirate’s coat, gothic buckle shoes and a kilt while Pompey (played by Kiser Shelton) wears black and gold puffy pants with a fringed western jacket. 

These comedic relief characters rule the subplots of the story, balancing the impending tragedy with laughs and specifically calling out sex as one of the main focuses of the story. They joke about the brothels, the prostitutes, the customers and their own sexual exploits. However crude the joke, Shakespeare certainly had a way with words, and the audience could not stop laughing. 

The show starts with the Duke of Vienna (played by Logan Polson), dressed in medieval clothing, calling on his deputy, Angelo (played by Ian Cripe), the man with the studded leather jacket, and leaving him in charge of Vienna while the duke travels. What Angelo doesn’t know is that the duke will disguise himself and linger to see what happens in his town while Angelo rules. 

Once left in charge, Angelo declares that all laws shall be followed and all punishments shall be served in full. 

“’Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall,” Angelo says as he insists on the stringent enforcement of the law. 

Some, such as Mistress Overdone (played by Lauren Ansara), clothed in a red saloon girl dress, worry about the end to their less-than-legal businesses: brothels. Others may lose their lives, such as Claudio (played by Caleb Ojeda), imprisoned and sentenced to death for impregnating his fiancé Juliet (played by Charity Turley). 

While in prison, Claudio despairs but does not give up completely. 

“The miserable have no other medicine than hope,” he says. 

Desperate to save his life, Claudio calls for his sister, Isabella (Abby Mann), to beg on his behalf. She asks for an audience with Angelo and pleads for Claudio’s life. Angelo refuses at first, but he eventually offers her a trade: her brother’s life for her virginity. 

Isabella and Claudio debate whether the price for Claudio’s life is too high. 

“Condemn the fault and not the actor?” Angelo says in response to Isabella begging for her brother’s life. 

The duke, disguised as a friar, then takes Isabella aside and tells her of Mariana (played by Ashley Banker), Angelo’s former lover and fiancée whom he refused to marry because her dowry was lost at sea. The two plan for Isabella to accept Angelo’s offer and send Mariana in her place, thus forcing Angelo to pardon Claudio and marry Mariana by law. 

Mariana agrees to help, and all goes according to plan until Angelo orders Claudio to be executed anyway, asking for Claudio’s head to be delivered to him. The duke then conspires with the provost — the jailer — to send another prisoner’s head instead, saving Claudio. 

Isabella, believing that her brother is dead, issues a complaint to the newly-returned duke. He pretends not to believe her at first and leaves Angelo in charge of dealing with
the complaint.

“I love the duke as I love myself,” the duke quips, still dressed as the friar. 

He appears as the friar to validate Isabella’s story. However, in a struggle, the duke’s hood is thrown back, and a myriad of emotions plays out on the faces of his subjects. 

“Death for death … and measure still for measure,” the duke says as the story comes to a climax. 

For Ian Cripe, the story as a whole provoked him to think more deeply about the meaning of mercy and justice. 

“There are a lot of really real moments, things that make you think,” he said. 

Ashley Banker found that through acting the story, she grew more in her faith and love for God. 

“It has strengthened my faith, being in this production,” she said.

Hetzel is a feature reporter.