LCC presents Shakespeare play outside

By Mallory Stiles
Editor in Chief

Even though Shakespeare plays are full of laughter, love and loss, the Elizabethan English can be more than enough to turn people off.

LCC’s production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” presented June 21 through 25, was directed by LCC teacher Mary Job and performed five times in the LCC outdoor amphitheater. The show was free of charge to students and community members alike.

Job said she understands that for most, anything by Shakespeare is a different language, and that the cast would have to act as a translator for the evening. So she was sure to pick a cast that would rise to the occasion.

The production was two hours long, with a 10-minute intermission as promised. Each minute was filled with tons of energetic interpretation.  

For those who did not get a chance to look over a summary, this play’s plot centers around a king and three of his men who take a vow of sobriety, somberness and, most importantly, celibacy.

Shortly after the men made the final agreement, a princess and three ladies show up. Their arrival, of course, have the men rethinking their recent decisions.

Love wins out and the king and his men decide to court the women to the best of their abilities. The women know there is a difference between love and lust, but decide to “play along” for the sake of a good laugh.

The LCC actors and actresses who played these four men and women did a phenomenal job at conveying whatever emotion their character was going through in the moment and projected their voices far past the furthest row.

From left, Freddie Henretty, Chris Howe, Christopher Pongracz and Heath Sartorius perform a scene from LCC’s production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost."

The crowd was absolutely in love, and proof was in the smiles. One man, Jesse Depre, was thoroughly enjoying himself and clapping often.  

“My father is actually in the play,” Depre said during intermission. “He plays Boyet and so I have been helping him out with his script a bit. It is just really fun to watch him up there and on stage. To see him actually do it is quite entertaining. It’s going amazing. I am really enjoying it.”

Another crowd member, Carmen Zavala-Kelly, said she has been to the show a few times because every performance somehow seems new.

“This is my third night seeing it,” Zavala-Kelly said. “I love it, I think it’s a lot of fun. I think having a very minimalist set is really cool and really allows the actors to express themselves.

“Every night has been a different show.”

Every open or close to a scene kept the audience’s attention and all the lines were delivered with intent and passion.  

Another member of the audience, James Curtis, said he was grateful for such a great show to be so close.

“I think it is lovely to be able to do this in a city park,” Curtis said. “Not a lot of communities have the opportunity to have such a talented group performing in a beautiful city like this.”

 

Pictured below are actors T.J. Kelly and Olivia Hines, who are shown between scenes from the play.