A Lively and Ambitious ‘Henry’

The Pasadena Shakespeare Company and director Gillian Bagwell have made the daring decision to produce back-to-back productions of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part One” and “Henry IV, Part Two.” “Part One” is currently running; “Part Two” will open the company’s 2001 season.

Essaying one or the other of these sweeping histories would be challenging enough. Mounting both is a hugely ambitious undertaking, for which Bagwell and company should be commended. Part One is not an unalloyed success by any means, but Bagwell and company keep the action lively and satisfyingly coherent--no mean feat, considering the convoluted machinations of Shakespeare’s plot, which requires panoramic battle sequences and towering performances in a number of essential roles.

Fortunately, with few exceptions, Bagwell has assembled a noteworthy cast that keeps the action hopping. The boyishly winning Marcus Dean Fuller plays Prince Hal with a swashbuckling aplomb that is almost cinematic; Sam Ross finds the humor in the intemperate Hotspur without undermining his character’s innate nobility and pathos. Sean Connery look-alike Franc A. Ross is an authoritative King Henry, and Lary Ohlson bides his time as Worcester, content to hover in the background until the final scenes, which he proceeds to steal.

Amateurish elements are, however, mingled into the whole. Awkward technical components include flat lighting, costumes that range from the attractive to the ragtag and blaring bugles that sound more like a dying elephant’s last gasps than appropriately martial music. And although Falstaff (David Fruechting) opts for a rather standard interpretation of the role, his competent buffoon is undermined by a truly dreadful wig and beard that would not pass muster in an elementary school pageant.

* “Henry IV, Part One,” Fremont Theatre, 1000 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Sunday. $18. (626) 564-8564. Running time: 3 hours.