Cuts Hurt, Music Helps Love’s Labour’s Lost

Shakespeare by the Sea has made an art of fitting their namesake’s plays into a runtime of almost exactly two hours. They’re so consistent on this score that if they did Hamlet I’d fully expect it to come in at that length, despite meaning they’d be reducing it by literally half.

While that would be way too little of Hamlet (to my mind the Bard’s best, with nary a wasted word), on the whole I’ve been relatively content with their truncated takes, on occasion even finding these to be improvements.

Unfortunately, Love’s Labour’s Lost is an exception, with cuts to the subplot leaving the overall action a bit lacking.

Taken as a whole, there isn’t much to LLL’s plot. The King of Navarre (Mateo Mpinduzi-Mott) and a three of his most scholarly buds have sworn to lock themselves away from the world — and women in particular (quite a distraction to young men, you know) — for three years, during which time they’ll dedicate themselves to academics. Bad timing, though, because the Princess of France (Angel Dumapias) and her comely BFFs are due in court any minute now on a diplomatic mission to sort out a financial dispute (the details of which are inconsequential). Naturally, each guy falls for a gal, a fact they all try to hide from their fellows. Standard Shakespearean hijinks ensues, including mistaken identity and the haughty being brought low.

There are two problems with Shakespeare by the Sea adapting this one for the park. First, while Shakespeare’s plays are always steeped in archaic language, LLL’s got more than its fair share — and a liberal sprinkling of Latin, to boot — despite being a farce, meaning that a lot of jokes are lost in translation.

Perhaps more problematic, though, is where they’ve focused their edits: the Don Armado subplot. Armado (Cylan Brown) is one of the Bard’s standard comedy tropes: a holier-than-thou pedant who’s the butt of many jests and ultimately gets his comeuppance. Although he’s not as developed as, say, Twelfth Night’s Malvolio, Don Armado is important enough to the story arc for Shakespeare to make him the star of the play’s final scene, literally giving him the last word.

Shakespeare by the Sea has gutted this from the final scene, along with otherwise reducing his and his companions’ roles, allowing the main plot to plod along without all of its intended diversions; and defanging the funny from the finale.

For all that, Shakespeare by the Sea has added an element that pays off handsomely. Don Armado’s page, Moth, is another standard trope: the servant who’s cleverer than his boss. But Moth also sings for his supper, a role that is greatly expanded in this production, with Mickey Tron and her ukulele performing about a half-dozen numbers, including “Holding Out for a Hero” and “La Vie En Rose”. They may not have much to do with the plot, but they break up the action nicely.

Most impressive is her closer, “A Year and a Day”, which directly references LLL’s plot and whose melody is so well crafted I would not believe Tron penned it exclusively for this production were I not assured otherwise. I can’t locate the song online — including on Tron’s own website — so as of now your only chance to hear it is to go to Point Fermin Park this weekend.

Outside of that, this is standard-issue Shakespeare by the Sea: straightforward, minimalist production (though informed by a Roaring ‘20s sensibility, for some inscrutable but harmless reason); a competent cast top to bottom; and the silly turned up to 11. Not all of Love’s Labour’s Lost is here, and you won’t understand everything that is, but it’s a lovely atmosphere in a lovely setting. And you’ll be humming “A Year and a Day” all the way home.

Shakespeare by the Sea does Love’s Labour’s Lost at Point Fermin Park (807 W. Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro) only thrice more: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. Cost is free (donations gratefully accepted). For more details, visit shakespearebythesea.org or call (310) 217-7596.