Windfall Theatre hosts an irrepressibly fun return to the 16th century this autumn with David Davalos’ pop comedy, Wittenberg. Kyle Conner summons great poetic angst as Hamlet, a university student torn between two worlds. Bo Johnson is immensely witty as iconoclastic intellectual rock star and tenured professor of philosophy, Dr. Faustus.
Hamlet is troubled by a new model for the universe he’d learned from a guy named Copernicus that he’d met while studying in Poland. Faustus is fascinated by it, but he’s battling demons all his own. In addition to his own search for truth, he’s tackling the challenge of acting as physician to fellow Wittenberg teacher Martin Luther.
Emmitt Morgans lends surprisingly pious charisma to the stage as a man on the verge of the 95 Theses that would change Christianity forever. Morgans is positively heroic as a man searching for truth in faith as Faustus searches for it in logic. Hamlet is caught between the two of them in the days before the events of William Shakespeare’s tragedy unfold.
The one significant problem with an otherwise enjoyable script is the lack of a strong female character; there are a few women in the script, but none of them seem to emerge beyond narrative stereotypes. It’s a good thing Jocelyn Ridgely is playing them all. Thoughtful characterization is admirable when Ridgely is working with a nun-turned-whore who serves as inadvertent muse for Faustus. When she manages to cast a little personal depth into the role of a casual serving wench, it’s considerably more impressive. Even when the script doesn’t give her much to work with, Ridgely shines considerable light around the edges of the story.
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Through Oct. 14 at Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau Ave. For tickets, visit windfalltheatre.com.
