Cymbeline
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jon Ciccarelli
Fight Choreography by Katherine Harte
For the final play of the 2004 Shakespeare Festival, HSC turns to one of the Bard's lesser known shows but a twisted take on the standard fairy tale.With elements that would feel right at home in an adventure romp like the, The Princess Bride, "Cymbeline" weaves a tale of the beautiful princess Imogen and her new husband, Posthumus, parted by circumstances invoked by her wicked step mother and her distant father, the King Cymbeline. Imogen is plagued by a wicked, but idiotic step brother who wants to marry her, the memory of two kidnapped brothers (in our production sisters) who reappear unexpectedly, people who want to kill her and buffoons who question her chastity. Disguises, misidentifications, convenient plot twists and comedy abound is this ode to the fairy tale world. With this play, Shakespeare continued a new type of drama that he had first experimented with in the play Pericles, the Romance. Though, not a term used in his own time, the Romance came to embody a group of works by Shakespeare and his contemporaries that strove to mesh both comic and tragic elements in their stories, usually with a supernatural twist thrown in for good measure.
Click links below to view Cymbeline Articles and Photo Layouts
Performance Dates
Monday, August 2, 7:00 PM, Shipyard Park Hoboken, NJ
Tuesday, August 3, 7:30 PM, Kenilworth Borough Hall, Kenilworth, NJ
Wednesday, August 4, 7:30 PM, Staib Park, Hackensack, NJ
Thursday, August 5, 7:00 PM, Hamilton Park, Jersey City, NJ
Saturday, August 7, 5:00 PM, Long Pond Iron Works Park,
West Milford, NJ
Monday, August 9, 7:00 PM, Pier A Park, Hoboken, NJ
Tuesday, August 10, 7:30 PM, Meadowland Park, South Orange, NJ
Wednesday, August 11, 7:00 PM, Hackensack Cultural Arts Center, Hackensack, NJ
Thursday, August 12, 8:00 PM, Ellsworth Park, Union City, NJ
Saturday, August 14 1:00 PM, Stratford Library Amphitheater,
Stratford, CT
Monday, August 16 7:00 PM, Sinatra Park, Hoboken, NJ
Thursday, August 19 7:00 PM, Van Vorst Park, Jersey City, NJ
Monday, August 23 7:30 PM, Secaucus Amphitheater, Secaucus, NJ
Cast
Tammy Dalton Queen/Roman Captain
Cedric Hill Cloten/Dr. Corneilius
L. Robert Johnson Philario/Lucius
Tiffany Clementi First Lord/Guiderius
Hannah Wolfe Second Lord/Arviragus
Clark Williams French Lord/Belarius
Synopsis
Imogen, the daughter of the British king Cymbeline, goes against her father's wishes and marries a lowborn gentleman, Posthumus, instead of his oafish stepson, Cloten. Cloten is the son of Cymbeline's new Queen, a villainous woman who has made the king her puppet. Cymbeline sends Posthumus into exile in Italy, where he encounters a smooth-tongued Italian named Iachimo. Iachimo argues that all women are naturally unchaste, and he makes a wager with Posthumus that he will be able to seduce Imogen. He goes to the British court and, failing in his initial attempt to convince the princess to sleep with him, resorts to trickery: He hides in a large chest and has it sent to her room; that night he slips out, observes her sleeping, and steals a bracelet that Posthumus once gave to her.
Cloten, meanwhile, continues to pursue Imogen, but she rebuffs him harshly. He becomes furious and vows revenge, while she worries over the loss of her bracelet. In the meantime, Iachimo has returned to Italy, and, displaying the stolen bracelet and an intimate knowledge of the details of Imogen's bedchamber, convinces Posthumus that he won the bet. Posthumus, furious at being betrayed by his wife, sends a letter to Britain ordering his servant, Pisanio, to murder Imogen. But Pisanio believes in Imogen's innocence, and he convinces her to disguise herself as a boy and go search for her husband, while he reports to Posthumus that he has killed her.
Imogen, however, soon becomes lost in the wilds of Wales, and she comes upon a cave where Belarius, an unjustly banished nobleman, lives with his two sons, Guiderius and Arviragus. In fact, the two young men are not his sons but Cymbeline's; Belarius has kidnapped them to avenge his banishment, though they themselves are ignorant of their true parentage. They welcome Imogen, who is still dressed as a boy. Meanwhile, Cloten appears, having come in pursuit of Imogen; he fights a duel with Guiderius, who kills him. Imogen, feeling ill, drinks a potion the queen has given her. Although the queen told her it was medicinal, the queen herself believed it to be a poison. However, the draught merely induces a deep sleep that resembles death. Belarius and his adoptive sons come upon Imogen and, heart-broken, lay her body beside that of the slain Cloten. Awaking after they have left the scene, she mistakes the body of Cloten for that of Posthumus, and she sinks into despair. A Roman army has invaded Britain, seeking the restoration of a certain tribute Britain has ceased to pay. (A "tribute" here is a payment given to one nation by another in return for a promise of non-aggression.) The disguised Imogen hires herself out to them as a page.
Posthumus and Iachimo are traveling with the Roman army, but Posthumus switches to the garb of a British peasant and fights valiantly for Britain. Indeed, in his combat he actively seeks death: He believes his servant to have carried out his orders and killed Imogen, and he regrets his actions. The Romans are defeated, thanks to the intervention of Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus, and Posthumus, still trying to punish himself, switches back to Roman garb and allows himself to be taken prisoner. That night, the god Jupiter promises the spirits of Posthumus's dead ancestors that he will care for their descendant. The next day, Cymbeline calls the prisoners before him, and the confusion is sorted out. Posthumus and Imogen are reunited, and they forgive a contrite Iachimo, who confesses his deception. The identity of Guiderius and Arviragus is revealed, Belarius is forgiven, and the Queen dies, leaving the king free of her evil influence. As a final gesture, Cymbeline frees the Roman prisoners and even agrees to resume paying the tribute.
To see other 2004 Show Pages:
