'The Adventures of Pericles' - A Review

Shelton - Valley Shakespeare Festival is presenting Free Shakespeare in the Park with a fun production of “The Adventures of Pericles” at two Valley locations.

Many patrons brought lawn chairs and blankets to the opening night at the lovely Veterans Memorial Park in Shelton to enjoy this trimmed version of “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” attributed to William Shakespeare. The Bard even earns a cheeky bio in the printed program, which ends with “And yes, contrary to what others may have said, he really did write all those plays. Love to Anne.” There is also a helpful and very contemporary synopsis included in the program.

“I like to think that, like Pericles, we have gone through a terrible and strange journey together these past few months. And like Pericles’ journey, I like to think we met some fun, quirky characters who became a serious part of our lives along the way: our families with whom we quarantined, the teachers who taught our students from their living rooms to ours, and the entire cast of Netflix’s Tiger King.” - Tom Simonetti, Founder & Executive Director, member of Actor’s Equity Association

The five members of Actor’s Equity work extremely hard, covering the 40 characters in the play. Eric Bermudez returns to this company to cover the role of the younger Pericles, Leonine, Lysimachus and more. Andie Lerner, a New York based actor and a Marymount Manhattan College graduate, covers Hesperides, the younger Thaisa, Marina and more. Matt Mancuso returns to the company to play Simonides, Cerimon, Pander, Helicanus, et/al.

Kendall Segovia masters multiple voices and has wonderful comedic timing in her portrayal of Thaliard, Dionyza, St. Diane, the Older Thasia, Boult, et/al. Zak Risinger, who holds a BFA in Musical Theatre and recently completed a Masters in Museum Studies, returns to Valley Shakespeare to cover lots of roles. He accepts the crown onstage to take over as the older Pericles, as well as playing Antiochus, Cleon, et/al. He is hysterical as Bawd.

Zemi the dog, an adorable New York resident in her furever home, makes her theatrical debut in the role of the Princess of Tharsus. In her bio, she shares that she aspires to play Bruiser Woods in a gender-blind production of “Legally Blonde.”

I enjoyed the trimming of the script to accent Pericles’ adventures, while still making the plot understandable. I loved the cheeky comments like “He’s probably from Derby” referring to one of the characters and the inclusion of songs like “Mr. Sandman” and “You’re Just Too Good to be True.” Even the program synopsis is punctuated with modern references like “Reunited (....and it feels so good!) The music before the show includes sea shanties and “A Pirate’s Life for Me.”

This fun concept was designed and directed by Tom Simonetti, who admitted in his curtain speech that he was responsible for “jazzing up” the title. Simonetti also jazzed up other elements of the play with often silly contemporary touches. While Simonetti has worked in literary departments at theatres across the nation, he recently became the Director of Drama to the lucky students at Masuk High School in Monroe, CT.

Lighting that came on for the end of the show was designed by Robert Primorac. Anthony Simonetti was the technical director with very good sound by Horizon Sound. Joe Landry designed the logo and graphic for the production.

The costumes designed by Ivy Swinski, a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a degree in Theater Arts with concentrations in Writing for the Stage and Costume Design, are a mix of the traditional and contemporary. They are numerous, flattering, easy to get into quickly (in the tent behind the set) and charmingly silly. I loved the long yellow plastic ponchos and the traditional birthday party pirate hats. “Enter pirates!”

“The Adventures of Pericles” marks the ninth consecutive year of Free Shakespeare in the Park for Valley Shakespeare Festival. This production will move to Quarry Rock in Oxford, with performances Thurs.- Sun. at 7:00 p.m. The venue will open at 6:00 p.m. The show runs approximately 80 minutes without intermission. Donations are gratefully accepted at the information tent.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.