Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theater performs a dramatic reading of All's Well that Ends Well

Enjoy a taste of Bay View’s Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre right here in Mequon when Boulevard actors perform a dramatic reading of William Shakespeare’s comedic play All's Well that Ends Well.  In this short preview (the play will be performed at the Boulevard from February 10- March 14), the performers will showcase two scenes from the play. Stick around for a Q&A with the actors and Boulevard artistic director, Mark Bucher. For one afternoon, all the store’s a stage, and you’re invited!

Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre, located at 2252 South Kinnickinnic, continues its 24th season of producing dynamic, exciting theatre by staging the Milwaukee premiere of a "lost" Shakespeare play titled LOVE'S LABOR'S WON (Wednesday, February 10th through Sunday, March 14th, 2010).

Also known as ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, this rare and wonderfully bittersweet romance tells the tale of a physician's daughter, Helena (Shannon Nettesheim), who is deeply in love with the fickle, aloof Betram (Chad Laudonio). Betram, the son of the Countess of Rossillion (Karen Ambrosh), is far above Helena in social status and is immeasurably beyond her reach romantically. Helena can either accept her restricted social standing (and a life of spinsterhood) or discover a way to simultaneously lift herself from her less than noble status, achieve social mobility, and win Betram's unresponsive heart.

Shakespeare's heroine must accomplish all this while curing the ailing King of France (Charles Hanel) from his mysterious fatal disease, confront the Countess of Rossillion (Betram's mother and Helena's protector and guardian) about loving Betram, and solve the conundrum of Betram's challenge (that he will never consider her as his wife until she can get his late father's bequeathed ring off his finger and carry his child). Bertram's challenge seems impossible to conquer as Betram has sworn to the Countess that he will never remove his late father's ring and has publicly stated that he will never lie with Helena and will never allow himself to have relations with her.

Also included in this romantic entanglement are: Betram's mentor and ne'er-do-well braggart, Parolles (David Flores); the Countess' sly and sarcastic clown Lavatch (Mark Ninneman); the King's counsel, Lord Lafew (Douglas Smedbron), the lovely Italian girl whom the young Betram desires and pursues, Diana (Melissa Keith); the Dumaine brothers who serve the King of France (Paul Madden and Hugh Blewett); and the Countess' handmaiden, Violetta (Jamieson Hawkins). Other local Milwaukee actors round out the large cast.

According to scholars and researchers, writers contemporary with Shakespeare refer to a delightful comedy titled LOVE'S LABOUR'S WON, which has never been found nor discovered. But recent writings and critical conjecture surmise that the title refers to a Shakespeare play already known to the public, and that LOVE'S LABOUR'S WON is an early draft of either MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING or ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. Scholars debate over which script is more likely to be the missing script, but due to the beauty of passages of ALL'S WELL and the complexity of the lyrical poetry, it is judged to be the more likely successor to the title than the earlier MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Viewed from this perspective, ALL'S WELL's disparate story lines (fairy tale romanticism versus Freudian battle of the sexes) and disparate styles (lyricism versus low comedy) no longer "battle" each other but actually complement each other.

Shakespeare's script, then, transitions from the "troubled" script (a title which some scholars have given this diffuse stylistic puzzle) and, like a pointalistic painting viewed from a distance, becomes a lovely, delightful  theatrical "charm bracelet" (many delightful parts which link to an eye-catching -- and often -- stunning whole).