’Tis Pity She’s a Whore: Theater review by Helen Shaw
Magnificently tasteless (and thoroughly enjoyable), Red Bull’s production of John Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore is popcorn entertainment dressed in iambic pentameter. Ford multiplied the dirty revenges, undeserved eye-gougings and star-crossed-lover motifs of his predecessors; Jesse Berger’s production boasts the same Jacobean more-is-more ethos, with actors vying to be the biggest, most beautifully spoken ham.
That said, the incestuous pair at the play’s center—Annabella (Amelia Pedlow) and brother Giovanni (Matthew Amendt)—do keep faith with reality, but their exquisite sincerity lets the rest go hog-wild. Franchelle Stewart Dorn’s bad-chaperone act is hilarious; assassin-valet Vasques (Derek Smith) slithers like a Bond villain; secondary plotter Richardetto (Marc Vietor) snatches off his smoked glasses to give us the “vamp direct.” Berger turbo-boosts Ford with nudity and broad comedy, and Sara Jean Tosetti’s silly, glitzy costumes (17th-century glam by way of your grandmother’s cast-offs) capture the piece’s spirit: the vicarious fun of watching adults play dress-up.—Helen Shaw
Duke on 42nd Street (Off Broadway). By John Ford. Directed by Jesse Berger. With ensemble cast. Running time: 2hrs 30mins. One intermission.