Cessy Newmon
Calling a play a “problem play” truly does a script a disservice. It makes one think that doing or seeing it might be a waste of time. In actuality, all that it means is that the play does not neatly fit into a category such as comedy or tragedy. Instead, it often involves moral or political values with no clear good or bad ending that leaves one thinking about the topic.
DESPERATE MEASURES is based on one of William Shakespeare’s “problem plays”, Measure by Measure (by some accounts, even Hamlet is a problem play). There are both religious and political connotations in this piece, and author William Kellogg has done an impressive job of keeping the basic intent and iambic pentameter (poetic style) of the original story while setting it in the 1800’s Midwest and substantially reducing the number of characters.
Johnny Blood (Brennan Moritz) has been condemned and sits in a prison cell awaiting execution. Sheriff Martin Green (Chris Robertson) does not believe the hanging is warranted, and asks Johnny’s sister, who is a nun, to plead for mercy to the governor. Sister Mary Jo/Susanna (Morgan Perry) does go to the Governor (Alec Hadden), but to grant a reprieve, the Governor tells the Sister she must sleep with him.
Of course this notion is appalling to Sister Mary Jo, but the Sherriff comes up with a plan. Johnny’s girlfriend is a prostitute, Bella Rose (Aly Blakewell), so they devise for her to sleep with the Governor instead. The plan winds up backfiring, because the Governor falls in love and changes the terms for reprieve to requiring Sister Mary Jo to marry him. Once again they have to figure out a way for Bella Rose to impersonate Sister Mary Jo.
There is one final character amongst the madness. A drunk priest (Neal Thorburn) is thrown into the cell with Johnny, and he has quippy interjections that add to the story.
Director Daniel Austin has teamed a wonderful cast. Both the acting and vocals were spot on throughout the show. Timing is everything, and working in rhyme, they neither skipped beat nor measure. It’s easy to say that Ms. Blakewell steals scenes, but her character is written to be one of the more controversial, and her costumes and songs gave her more opportunity. Ms. Perry’s vocals soared in her songs, which leaned conservative given the nature of her character. Mr. Hadden was the character you love to hate, while Mr. Robertson was the more loveable character. Mr. Moritz was the cause of all the mayhem as the guy who can never seem to keep out of trouble, and Mr. Thorburn didn’t help, as he couldn’t keep himself out of trouble, either.
Music Director Erin Barnes had both vocal and musical instruments in perfect harmony. It always adds to a show to have live musicians to accompany the onstage talent.
For a lovely evening out, I do recommend this bit of culture. It’s a nice take on Shakespeare, written a way that’s more relatable than the original text with fun, upbeat songs and multiple twists and turns. It runs approximately 2-1/2 hours with intermission.
DESPERATE MEASURES is at Theatre Jacksonville, 2032 San Marco Boulevard, Jun 6 – 22, 2024. For reservations, go to theatrejax.com or call (904) 396-4425.
By Cessy Newmon
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