Isabella (Elizabeth Neal) begs Angelo (David Gallic) for her brother's life, urged on by Lucio (ken Dembo) in the first act of Shakespeare's Measure For Measure.



Pompey the pimp (Aimé Kelly) and Abhorson the executioner (Tiffany Longworth) stand their ground against the non-clowns.



Angelo (David Gallic) is tempted by the devil (Brittney Hancock) in a scene designed around medieval morality plays.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: it’s about sex. The city of Vienna has declined into a never-ending party of sex and binge drinking. The Duke, a quiet man who prefers his books to public policy or public appearances, doesn’t want to look like a rigid dictator if he tries to clean it up himself. So he appoints a nobleman, one Angelo, well known for his strict moral temperament, to rule in his place while he goes off to a European meeting. Angelo begins tearing down whore houses with abandon, but when he sentences a young man to death for “fornication,” his troubles begin. The young man’s sister comes to beg for her brother’s life and Angelo is smitten. Will he fall from grace by committing the same crime that he is now punishing so severely? Will the sister, a novice at a city nunnery, deny her vows to save her brother’s life? Will the Duke intervene? Will the brother be executed? And what’s to happen to all those pimps and prostitutes? It’s Shakespeare, and the answers are never simple. Half comedy, half morality play, Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare’s most interesting works. And it’s all about sex.

Twilight Repertory Theatre took an unusual persepective on Shakespeare's most famous problem play. We combined visual and musical elements from film noir (the fallen hero and the femme fatale, with the major characters in black and white) with elements from medieval morality plays, including dividing up Angelo's soliloquys into dialogues between Angelo and a very palpable, very sexy Devil character. By making the Devil very real, both visually and verbally, director John Duncan hoped to bring Angelo's internal moral conflict to the forefront of the drama, literally forcing the audience to question their own attitude toward lust and sex, sin and forgiveness.

Cast of Measure For Measure

Duke of Vienna -- J.J. Hawkins
Escalus / Mistress Overdone -- Gretchen Icenogle
Angelo -- David Gallic
Lucio -- Ken Dembo
Pompey -- Aimé Kelly
Claudio / Friar Thomas -- Max Blonde
Provost / Froth / Abhorson / 2nd Gentleman -- Tiffany Longworth
Juliet -- Chloe Collins
Isabella -- Elizabeth Neal
Francisca / Mariana / Servant -- Tamara Sorelli
Devil / Provost #2 / Barnardine / 1st Gentleman -- Brittney Hancock
Elbow -- Scott Weidlich

Crew for Measure For Measure

Director -- John Duncan
Stage Manager -- Caesar Romero-Sierra
Set Design -- John Duncan, Max Blonde, Tiffany Longworth
Lighting Design -- Aimé Kelly
Sound Design -- John Duncan, Marc Gilson
Costume Design -- Brittney Hancock, John Duncan
Costuming -- The Company
House Manager -- Chloe Collins
Publicity -- John Duncan
Poster Design -- John Duncan, Tiffany Longworth
Props Design -- Tiffany Longworth
Program Design -- David Gallic