Jane Anger, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Klein Theatre, Washington, DC

 

 

Photo of Michel Urie, Amelia Workman, and Talene Monahon in Jane Anger by DJ Corey Photography.

The current Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) production at the Klein Theatre is Jane Anger, an outrageously funny new play by Talene Monahan, continuing through January 8, 2023.

Jane Anger has chosen an appropriate name for herself, refusing the one bestowed on her by her parents, the basket-maker and shovel-maker. She refuses to divulge it during the monologue in which she introduces herself to the audience. She is, indeed, filled with anger, and appropriately so: the reasons for her anger are numerous, from her humble origins to her encounter with Queen Elizabeth, who gives her a book to prevent her from becoming a prostitute, though she becomes one anyway. She has, however, educated herself enough to write a pamphlet. Primarily, though, she is angry because she is a woman, and therefore treated as a cipher with no worth, no ideas, and no knowledge.

Monahan wrote Jane Anger in 2020 during the pandemic. (One could argue that pandemic is the contemporary equivalent of the word plague in the 17^th century.) As may have been the case for numerous plays written during that time and yet to be performed widely, it was workshopped on Zoom and first produced earlier this year in New York. The play resonates today as the self-determination of and uncertain place of women in society are unfortunately still timely topics in 2022, post-pandemic/plague.

Jane’s pamphlet is “Her Defense of Women,” in which she attacks men who know nothing of women except to attack them in the men’s writing. She wants to publish her work, but the printer refuses to print something written by a woman. He finally agrees to publish it – if she can get Shakespeare to sign off on it. Jane has engaged with Shakespeare previously, so she pursues him to call in a favor.

But there’s a plague going on and Shakespeare is sequestered with an apprentice he calls Francis. Jane can get to Shakespeare only by climbing a drainpipe and tumbling through the window. Since Shakespeare is blocked (in more ways than one), he agrees to sign on the condition that she stay with him clear his blockages and provide him with inspiration until he finishes a play. When he sees that Francis has a copy of a manuscript titled King Leir, he is inspired – to steal the premise, change a few details, and pass off his version as a new play: King Lear, e-a, rather than i-e.

I won’t divulge more of the plot, as most of its twists and turns are unexpected and hilarious. Shakespeare, Francis, and Jane are joined by another character, the unwelcome Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife, who makes her entrance through the window just as Jane did.

The playwright’s note in the program suggests that she has written a “revenge comedy,” but claims the genre does not exist. I would argue that she has created just such a thing.

Monahan takes a few historical facts and figures and creates a farcical world that upends them. She demonstrates a talent for wordplay in many ways, creating a pseudo-Elizabethan style at times, while also delivering puns and parody, adapting each as appropriate. She has created vivid characters and somehow makes the most implausible of outcomes at least somewhat plausible, often breaking the fourth wall as the actors, in character, speak directly to the audience. She is not afraid to insert inside jokes and contemporary references (including to Wordle and Wicked, for example). One of my favorite recurring jokes was having the characters refer to the not-yet-written Henry VIII as Henry vee-eye-eye-eye. Although its running time is around 90 minutes, the play could benefit from some editing, but Monahan is certainly a writer of promise.

The production is directed by Jess Chayes, who keeps things moving sometimes at an almost breakneck pace. Scenic designer Kristen Robinson has created a stage-upon-a-stage that Chayes uses inventively. Designers Andrea Hood (costumes) and Stacey Derosier (lighting) contribute significantly, and flight choreographer Sean Michael Chin and special effects designer Jeremy Chernick are responsible for truly unexpected comic highlights. (When I first read the program, I wondered what kind of special effects might be in store. I never expected what followed.)

The fine cast attacks their work with a ferocious energy. As Jane, Amelia Workman is charming and delivers on the anger promised by her name in a performance that hits all the right notes physically and vocally. (She is even believable arguing with an unseen character represented by a hand puppet she holds.) Playwright Talene Monahan appears as the somewhat-hapless Anne Hathaway, helping us understand just why she is an unwelcome intruder. Ryan Spahn as Francis shows so many different aspects of his character that it is, at first, a bit difficult to pin him down, but that becomes the point. The rather simple apprentice comes into his own as an actor, creating an audience-interaction moment both outrageous and hilarious.

Michael Urie is the “name” performer among the cast, known for television series (most notably Ugly Betty) and television movies (most recently the 2021 Netflix “Single All the Way”), along with numerous Broadway and off-Broadway appearances. He does not rest on his name recognition, but throws himself into the role of Shakespeare, managing to make him simultaneously likable and an arrogant, duplicitous, self-serving narcissist. I have seen Urie in two earlier productions at STC, in the one-man show Buyer and Cellar and in the title role of Hamlet. The “vibes” of his characterizations adapt well in every case. He has an easygoing, natural charm as a performer and his playful gift for comedy is on full display here.

The production is certainly a change of pace from STC’s last offering at the Klein, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Jane Anger is not necessarily the kind of play one might associate with STC, but it provides a nice counterbalance to what comes next: Patrick Page in King Lear (e-a, rather than i-e).