BWW Reviews: Epic Theatre Company's COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY - Gender Bending at Its Best

Epic Theatre Company starts off its third season with Jeffrey Hatcher's Compleat Female Stage Beauty, directed by Jill D. Jones. Epic seeks to bring provocative contemporary work to Rhode Island as well as new perspectives on classical theater. Hatcher's play is definitely that.

Hatcher's play, based on the life of Edward Kynaston, was one of the last of the Restoration's "boy players," or young actors who played women's roles. In the 1660s, women were permitted to perform on stage and men were discouraged from playing women's parts.

Kynaston, played by Jonathan Fisher is a successful actor playing women's roles on the English stage. His fame comes to a screeching halt when Margaret Hughes (Kerry Giorgi) is cast at a rival theatre. Kynaston asks Betterton (Kevin Broccoli), his producer, "A woman playing a woman? Where's the trick in that?" When audiences are pleased with seeing an actual woman on stage, King Charles III (Kyle DeMartino) passes a law allowing women to play female roles and simultaneously disallows men. The rest of the play examines Kynaston's fall from stardom, and questions of gender performance.

The costumes, put together by costume consultant Marilyn Salvatore, bring this play to life. The 82 Rolphe Square space is rectangular in shape and difficult to design and to light. The few set pieces added little to the show. The costumes alone would have sufficed.

The acting varies from semi-professional to amateur, which was a distraction. Fisher's Kynaston is excellent, as he struggles to accept the culture changing in front of him, questioning everything he has understood about acting. Kerry Giorgi's Margaret Hughes nails her Desdemona scene, where the audience forgets for a moment they are not actually watching Othello. The supporting characters play multiple roles, some of them strong, others not. I had a hard time understanding Paige Berry who plays Maria, the costume girl, and Elaine Letaio, the King's mistress.

The gender bending, cross-dressing historical story is reason enough to see this play. With two strong leads and gorgeous costumes, Epic's season opener is one you'll want to dress up for.

COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY runs Fridays & Saturdays, September 12,13, 19 and 20 at Theatre 82

Located at 82 Rolfe Square, Cranston RI

General Admission $15, Students and Seniors $12