Close Menu
Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Jump to Category…
    • All Events
    • Club Dates
    • Comedy
    • Exhibits
    • Film
    • Fundraisers
    • Learning
    • Literati
    • Outings
    • Other
    • Specials
    • Sports
    • Stage
    • Trivia
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Demo
    • CNY Events Calendar
      • Add My Event
      • Advertise On Calendar
    • News
      • News
      • Business
      • Sports
    • Arts
      • Art
      • Stage
      • Music
      • Film
      • Television
    • Lifestyle
      • Food
      • Wellness
      • Fashion
      • Travel
    • Opinion & Blogs
      • Things That Matter (Luke Parsnow)
      • New York Skies (Cheryl Costa)
    • Photos
    • Special Editions
      • 2019 Spring Times
      • 2019 Winter Times Edition
      • 2018 Holiday Times
      • 2018 SALT Awards
      • 2018 Best of Syracuse
      • 2018 Autumn Times
      • 2018 SNT Student Survival Guide
      • The 2018 Arts Issue
      • 2018 Summer Times
    • Family Times Magazine
    • CNY Community Guide
    Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Home»Arts»Stage»More Fun From Lesser Bard
    Stage

    More Fun From Lesser Bard

    James MacKillopBy James MacKillopOctober 28, 2015No Comments3 Mins Read0 Views
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    “A gloriously messy shipwreck of play.” Those are director Matt Chiorini’s words to describe William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre, an ironic defense for the Boot and Buskin Theatre Club‘s season opener at Le Moyne College, which runs through Saturday, Oct. 31.

    If you have never heard of Pericles before, don’t chide yourself for negligence. There remains some question just how much of it Shakespeare actually wrote, and if he did, the poetry ranks toward the bottom of the canon.

    Pericles was actually a box-office hit in its day, albeit for all the wrong reasons, grumped Ben Jonson, Shakespeare’s contemporary and rival. The historical Pericles was a statesman of Athens, not a prince of Tyre, in what is now Lebanon. So right off Shakespeare doesn’t know the geography or history of the places he’s depicting; he’s more in the realm of romance or folklore.

    That’s why a narrator named Gower (Noelle Killius), a contemporary of Chaucer, must guide us through these exotic places and the anfractuous story line. Gower uses a light pen to write the names of the places we’re visiting, like Pentapolis, Tarsus and Myteline. We see strangely familiar artifacts upon our arrival, like the chandeliers and wigs of Versailles or the garish neon of Las Vegas.

    Everyman-like Pericles (Drew Gripe) is confronted with a deadly riddle by the autocratic king of Antioch (Orlando Ocampo). If he can’t guess, Pericles dies. But once he realizes the answer reveals a dirty family secret, he can’t answer that, either. Instead, he stalls, promising an answer in 40 days, and flees back to Tyre. Knowing he is not safe, Pericles sets up his pal Helicanus (Fred Pienkoski) as regent, then commences his picaresque voyage around the Mediterranean.

    As a reluctant contestant in a tournament in Pentapolis, he wins the hand of the king’s daughter Thaisa (Jade Miori), who conveniently falls in love with him. Aboard the ship sailing back to Tyre, the young couple endures a savage storm, this production’s most dazzling scene. Thaisa gives birth to a daughter, Marina (Carrie Bates); because she is presumed to have died in childbirth, Thaisa is thrown overboard by the sailors. While shipwreck survivors often do well in Shakespeare, even Hollywood’s golden age could not have contrived a more unlikely or happier finale.

    Chiorini always had a hankering for Pericles, and his collaboration with ace set designer Karel Blakeley, as well as costumer Lindsey Quay Sikes-Voorhees and a large cast of students in multiple roles, provides the means of solving the impossible. Along with the hugely entertaining spectacle, Chiorini pulls showstopping turns from a dozen players; Brittany Fayle as Dionyza, queen of Tarsus, and Carrie Bates as Marina command the scenes in which they appear.

    Header photo: Brittany Fayle and Carrie Bates in Le Moyne College’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    James MacKillop

    Related Posts

    Review | Ditzy and Delightful: Hoof-hearted cheerleader charms in Cortland Repertory’s ‘Legally Blonde’

    June 26, 2019

    Review | CNY Playhouse’s ‘Rumors’ is a labor of love

    June 19, 2019

    Review | Unexpected plot turns fuel Rarely Done’s ‘A New Brain’

    June 19, 2019

    Review | Raunch Dressing: Rousing Restoration-style comedy kicks off Ithaca’s Hangar Theatre summer season

    June 19, 2019

    Passionate Players in Palmyra: Only 2 more summers to see Hill Cumorah Pageant

    June 18, 2019

    Cortland Repertory, Auburn’s Merry-Go-Round Playhouse kick off busy season for summer stages

    June 12, 2019

    Comments are closed.

    • CNY Events Calendar
    • Club Dates
    • Food & Drink
    • Destinations
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • Family Times
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Community Code of Conduct
    • Staff/Contact Us
    • Careers
    • SALT Academy Applications & Awards Process
    • Family Times
    • CNY Tix
    • Spinnaker Custom Products

    Syracuse New Times
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube Dribbble
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.