STAGE REVIEW : High Jinks Amid Heroics in ‘Henry V’

With its handsome Elizabethan stage and period look, Orange Coast College’s “Henry V” seems to promise at the outset a respectable and authentic approach to Shakespeare.

But things get prickly soon enough. By the time Nym, Bardolph and Pistol show up, director Alex Golson has let the high jinks out of the bag. His young actors (Peter Roche as Nym, William C. Meadows as Bardolph and Karl A. Person as Pistol) goof off--silly swordplay, face-making, that sort of thing--and it does the production little good.

To be fair, there is much parody in these braggart servants-cum-reluctant soldiers--and the 17th-Century English stage was known for its fits of ribaldry--but turning the trio into the Three Stooges with a Bard’s-eye-view is too much. Further, it disrupts the tone that is so crucial to the drama: a telling of heroics and the savagery of war.

Golson does get back to basics, but even then he can’t resist the occasional flippancy. Still, this production features a nicely turned collegiate performance by Mike Thompson as King Henry in his most masterful moments as leader, manipulator and even flirt.

Thompson may not find the notes of romantic fatalism and regret in the glorious “St. Crispian’s Day” speech (“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”) on the eve of battle with the French, but he makes it a rousing call to arms. And his wooing of Princess Katharine (played attractively as the height of coyness by Glynna Goff) has awkward charm. To be sure, he seems more like a youthful Prince Hal than the more mature King, but in that respect, Thompson’s own age plays against him.

On the technical side, David Scaglione’s set, with its tall archways, balcony and entrance paths, is a fine-looking representation of the stage during Shakespeare’s day. Jane Hobson’s lighting is rudimentary but gets the job done, and Dawna Oak’s costumes are a mixed bag, some being rich and elegant, others more economical and pedestrian.

‘HENRY V’

An Orange Coast College production of Shakespeare’s historical drama. Directed by Alex Golson. With Mike Thompson, John S. Baumgartner, Debbie Grattan, Quintin Spencer Powell, Theusus Currie, Brian Johnston, Sean J. O’Neil, Christopher Uhl, Anthony Ramirez, Michael Hebler, Fryan Brittwhittle, Kelly Flynn, Thomas S. Hensley, Ponzer Berkman, Karl A. Person, Peter Roche, William C. Meadows, Trace Kirkpatrick, David Scaglione, Gregory Alan Harris, Mark Coyan, Michael Sladek, Peter James Marshall, Robert Williams Jr., Eric Person, Eric Larkin, J.E. Bender, David Henshaw, Russell Dunn, Lee Ruggles, Glynna Goff, Anna Fitzwater, Jane Hobson and Adam S. Greenfield. Set by David Scaglione. Lighting by Jane Hobson. Costumes by Dawna Oak. Music by Mike Patrick. Plays tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Drama Lab, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Tickets: $5 and $6. (714) 432-5880.