New Sexual Politics of Old English ‘Beauty’

Early on in “Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” which opened Saturday at the Old Globe, Shakespearean actor Edward Kynaston is horrified to learn that King Charles II is about to lift the ban on women appearing on stage.

Kynaston had become a superstar by playing female roles and is in the midst of a triumphant run as Desdemona in “Othello” when his world starts to crumble.

“A woman playing a woman?” he wails. “What’s the trick in that?”

Based--loosely--on real events and real people, “Compleat,” directed by Mark Lamos, catches England and the Restoration stage in the throes of upheaval.

The year is 1660, the Puritans have been routed, and the licentious Charles Stuart is back from his travels and in a mood for some randy fun.

That Kynaston’s career becomes collateral damage in this culture shift is of no mind to the frisky monarch.

“Give the girls a chance!” he roars.

“Compleat” gives us two hours of backstage backstabbing and sexual high jinks, spiced up with an abundance of X-rated language and three brief glimpses of frontal nudity (two female, one male).

There’s also enough sexual politicking--gay, mostly--to fill a convention hall.

Using a Shakespeare play as a framework for one’s own creation is not a new approach.

“Shakespeare in Love” this is not. More like “Shakespeare in Drag.”

The rise and fall of Kynaston (1643-1712) is not the stuff of compelling drama, and “Compleat” cannot seem to decide whether to play him as an artist in crisis or a self-involved theater twit.

Robert Petkoff as Kynaston struggles with the contradictions of his role but never settles on a consistent approach.

One of the best put-downs comes after Petkoff reels off a prolix explanation of why men are better than women at playing female parts.

“You obviously have thought longer on this question than I have,” deadpans Samuel Pepys, played to near perfection by David Cromwell.

Tom Hewitt is a delight as the leering king whose busted syntax seems, well, almost presidential.

David McCann is a wonderfully sarcastic royal retainer who opposes lifting the ban on females, and Steve Hendrickson is suitably reptilian as Sir Charles Sedley.

Although the play has “female” in the title, the women’s roles are the most disappointing.

Krista Hoeppner as Margaret Hughes, the first female Desdemona, never engages, and Kwana Martinez as the strumpet Nell Gwynn chases after a Cockney accent like a butterfly-hunter with a net.

Take away a few speeches from “Othello” and the dirty talk, and “Compleat” has the form of a rather predictable show-biz biography: the difficult upbringing, the hard-won success, the highly publicized flops and finally the heroic attempt at a comeback.

There are no surprises, and the sexual politics are strictly P.C.

“Compleat” was written by Jeffrey Hatcher, who joined the Globe as its first playwright-in-residence under a $1-million grant from patrons Donald and Darlene Shiley.

The Globe will present two more Hatcher productions.

Judging from the hooting and clapping at the four-letter language and the quiet-as-church attention to the simulated sex scenes, staid old San Diego has a pent-up demand for such stuff. Who knew?

“Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego. Through April 27. 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Matinees 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $25 to $50. (619) 239-2255.

Robert Petkoff...Edward Kynaston

Quentin Mare...Duke of Buckingham

Steve Hendrickson...Sir Charles Sedley

Krista Hoeppner...Margaret Hughes

Tom Hewitt...Charles II

Jonathan Fried...Thomas Betterton

David Cromwell...Samuel Pepys

By Jeffrey Hatcher. Directed by Mark Lamos. Set by Michael Yeargan. Costumes by Jess Goldstein. Lighting by York Kennedy. Music by Michael Roth. Fight direction by Steve Rankin.