A measured ‘Measure’

Few plays in William Shakespeare’s canon carry the ambiguities of “Measure for Measure,” now opening A Noise Within’s spring repertory season in Glendale. Although the Folio listings identify this 1623 study of political and sexual hypocrisy as a comedy, tragedy lurks behind every stanza.

It takes place in Vienna, where Duke Vincentio (Joel Swetow) initiates the narrative by handing over governing duties to deputy Angelo (Michael Sean McGuinness). The duke continues to observe his civic reformation experiment in friar’s guise.

The outwardly pristine Angelo proves an exemplar of corrupted power, ordering the execution of young Claudio (J. Todd Adams) for impregnating his beloved Juliet (Danya Solomon). The sentence spurs Claudio’s sister, the chaste novitiate Isabella (Lisa Morrison), to seek a reprieve.

Here is the play’s equivocal heart. Angelo offers clemency in exchange for Isabella’s favors. She rebuffs him: “Better it were a brother died at once, than that a sister, by redeeming him, should die for ever.” Her conviction leads to a counter-plot involving Angelo’s abandoned lover, Mariana (Brooke Parks), ending with justice tempered by provisional mercy.

The themes of individual responsibility and governmental misconduct are acutely trenchant, and director Jessica Kubzansky goes for a contemporary-feeling, near-Brechtian approach. Thomas Buderwitz’s stark set places a revolving scaffold before a collage of representations of the body. Dana Rebecca Woods’ costumes merge Renaissance outlines with Pleasure Chest textures, and James Taylor’s lighting is densely atmospheric.

However, Kubzansky is less successful at maintaining tension, setting too measured a pace to knit the contradictions. The play’s catalytic key is its juxtaposition of conflicted emotions from the protagonist, villain and heroine. This was in scant evidence at the opening performance, with all three actors admirable but lacking chemistry.

Swetow correctly suggests a deep-dish Bradford Dillman, but his muted responses seem circumscribed by the verse. Despite McGuinness’ notable intensity, his pivotal scene with Isabella doesn’t really unsettle.

Morrison’s uninflected attack is partly responsible, missing the urgency dictated by the stakes.

These are henceforth inverted, with visceral weight falling upon the functionary characters by default. Foremost among them are Apollo Dukakis’ spot-on Constable Elbow, Richard Soto’s fractured Froth and Bo Foxworth’s show-stealing Pompey. Maury Sterling’s Lucio is electrifying, justifying the character’s description as a fantastic. Parks’ discarded fiancee is remarkably vivid, and both Adams and Solomon are solid. William Dennis Hunt’s sage Escalus recalls the late Morris Carnovsky, and Marnie Crossen is amusing as the aptly named Mistress Overdone.

These disparate forces will likely develop more cohesive layers in continued performance; such is the nature of repertory theater.

However, scholar F.S. Boas famously described “Measure for Measure” as Shakespeare’s “problem play,” and this respectable but inconclusive revival supports that contention.

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‘Measure for Measure’

Where: A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale

When: March 23, 2 and 7 p.m.; March 26-27, 8 p.m.; April 19, 2 and 8 p.m.; April 20, 2 and 7 p.m.; April 23-24, 8 p.m.; May 4, 2 and 7 p.m.; May 7-10, 8 p.m.

Ends: May 10

Price: $18-$38

Contact: (818) 240-0910

Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes