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Youngstown Playhouse ‘Richard III’ gets fresh vision
By STEPHANIE OTTEY
This weekend, as a special summer event, the Youngstown Playhouse will be presenting an all-new edition of a Shakespearean classic.
An original adaptation of “Richard III” will be seen as never before, with a fresh director, and a new leading man.
Categorized as a history play, “Richard III” is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest works. It follows the story of the murderous Duke of Gloucester, Richard, as he gains the throne through a chain of villainous acts.
Historians believe the script was originally printed in 1597 and first performed sometime around 1600 or 1601. Since then it has been manipulated and trimmed many ways, and the version being presented by The Youngstown Playhouse is newly edited.
Vijay K. Welch-Young, a recent graduate of Youngstown State University, has created this adaptation and also is directing the production.
“Everything in the script that does not serve the drama of the show has been cut completely out, bringing the run time down to just under two hours” Welch-Young explains. “The exception to this is the humor. ‘Richard III’ happens to have a lot of funny moments hidden in otherwise tense scenes, which are made all the more funny by contrast with the murder and intrigue. I’ve kept these moments of dark comedy in the script for just that reason.”
Though this editing was done by choice, it was one of the biggest challenges Welch-Young encountered. “Every scene, I was faced with the duty of cutting some of the most beautiful language Shakespeare had written, simply because it didn’t serve the plot.”
He also made the choice to keep things simple, so the stage will be bare, and the costumes (designed by Liz Nalepa) will be modern — all as a part of the overall concept of the production.
“Shakespeare ran with extremely minimal sets and costumes. His sets usually consisted of a blank stage and his actors would wear their street clothes,” said Welch-Young. “It was Shakespeare’s goal to appeal to everyday people — they were his chief source of income.”
This idea also played a part in his decision to edit the script. “I have similarly decided to appeal to today’s audience by getting rid of almost all of the ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ and modernizing the language somewhat,” he said. “The iambic pentameter that Shakespeare loved is still intact, but modern audiences should have no difficulty at all in understanding it.”
Not only is the script newly molded, but the title character will be played by a brand-new actor as well. Jeremy Young will make his stage debut as Richard. The cast also includes Frank Martin, Victoria Lubonovich, Sheridan Sullivan, Fiona Kelly, Stacie Campbell, Ash Welch, Lynn Lovett, Andrew Brockway, Matthew Schaefer, Liz Nalepa and William Grant.