Marquette University Theatre dives into a script written partially by William Shakespeare with the uneven adventure Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The first half centers on the titular hero; the second focuses on his daughter. Michael Nicholas conjures a weighty charisma as the lost prince Pericles who finds himself shipwrecked on foreign soil, eventually winning the heart of Thaisa, daughter of King Simonides of Pentapolis.
Rene Leech passionately tackles one of the greatest challenges in the play. She believably falls in love with the main character in a reasonably complex romantic exchange that also has to set-up the entire second half of the play—all the while smiling, swooning and making a sparklingly appealing appearance in a role that is given a limited amount of time onstage. It would be immensely enjoyable to spend the rest of the play with her, but the script favors her daughter.
Fate does not deal Thaisa’s daughter easy fortune. Lindsay Webster is sharply graceful as a woman cast out of nobility and into a place where her overwhelming beauty is used as a cheap commodity by a madame played with tender menace by Margaret Tomasiewicz. Webster is inspiring as a strong and resourceful hero in the half of the play that Shakespeare is thought to have written in the last decade of his life. There are a lot of potent performances in the ensemble, but Webster graciously handles much of the weight of the second half of the drama.
Through April 22 at Helfaer Theatre, 525 N. 13th St. For tickets call 414-288-7504 or visit marquettetheatre.showclix.com.
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