'Henry IV' in Barnsdall Park

In its fifth season of free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park, the Independent Shakespeare Company presents both parts of "Henry IV," picking up the historical cycle that began last year with "Richard II." This avid compression of the Bard's sprawling War of the Roses centrifuge is in many ways a representative, articulate reading. Where it stumbles, well, it's hard to decry either intent or admission price.

Certainly, the company's emphasis on adherence to Shakespearean conditions is on display. A history cheat sheet comes with the program, but director Joseph Culliton generally keeps us abreast of who deposed whom and where everyone is rebelling and/or carousing. Relying mainly on a multipurpose table and a few chairs to evoke locales, Culliton also plays the title role, most creditably. David Melville does his usual bravura work as Hal. Danny Campbell dares a naturalistic Falstaff who owns the house from entrance on, while Sean Pritchett powers through Hotspur with immediacy.

Everyone contributes, notably Aubrey Saverino's vivid Lady Percy, Erik Mathew's fine-tuned Westmoreland and J. Paul Boehmer's triple-whammy Glendower, Pistol and Mouldy. However, the staging is still gelling stylistically. The monk processions that begin each act lend formal precision; Culliton's abstract treatment of the climactic Part 1 rebellion is striking.

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FOR THE RECORD: This review misspells the first name of the actress who plays Lady Percy. It should be Aubrey Saverino.

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