CYMBELINE

I'm not sure if Trapezia could stand another day without my blogging about Lincoln Center's respectable production of Cymbeline, so I will break from my bad Blog About Town habit of procrastinating on reviews until a production is just about to close and encourage you, here and now, to consider attending this arguably underrated and certainly worthwhile play, which won't close until next year (January 6, 2008).

Before seeing the play myself, I had imagined that Cymbeline was a Hans Christian Andersen story about a little girl who emerges from a zil, but it turns out that it is actually Shakespeare drama of skulduggery during the reign of the English king Cymbeline. One of the last plays credited to Bacon...er, Shakespeare, Cymbeline has a lot in common with its more popular chronological counterparts The Tempest and, especially, the quirky The Winter's Tale. Directed by Mark Lamos and starring Michael Cerveris and Martha Plimpton, the play kicks off with crystal-clear explication, then gradually meanders along various plot threads, with some comic and grotesque surprises along the way, until reaching a memorable denouement that can make you wonder whether Shakespeare has been pulling your leg all along.

It turns out, in fact, that the character Cymbeline is not even one of the major roles in the play, but I concur with Roma Torre in admiring the versatile John Cullum's performance as the King as well as the widely liked John (Mad About You) Pankow's widely praised supporting turn as Pisanio. Playing Iachimo, Jonathan "Beef" Cake also qualifies as a contender for the Best Supporting Torso Tony of 2008.

Trapezia and I both noticed the eclectic production elements for the play, including some very strong suggestions of Star Trek, of all things. And it turns out we weren't alone, as per the likes of Newsday's Linda Winer, who wasn't won over as much as we were.