STAGE WEST: "All's Well That Ends Well" at Old Globe Theatre

Bertram (Gabriel Brown) wants no part of Helena (Ismenia Mendes) in "All's Well That Ends Well." Photo by Rich Soublet II

            It would be a leap to call William Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” a stroke of proto-feminism – it was written in 1623 – but its female characters rule the day in this, one of The Bard’s supposed “problem plays.” The gentlewoman Helena and Diana of Florence aren’t exactly Thelma and Louise, but the men of “All’s Well,” young aristocrat Bertram in particular, are no match for their strength and acumen.
            Call it a comedy, call it a dramedy, call it a fantasy, “All’s Well That Ends Well” is a hybrid of all three, its defiance of categorization possibly why it’s less often produced and more obscure among Shakespeare’s non-tragedies. Cheers to the Old Globe for staging it as the first of its two summer Shakespeares (the second will be “the Comedy of Errors”). While its plot points are riddled with incongruities (maybe it IS a fantasy after all), this “All’s Well” directed by Peter Francis James is pleasing to the eye and the ear. It’s also much fun.
            It begins with Ismenia Mendes as Helena. She brings both comic lightness, consummate likability and a confident resolve to the woman of humble stature who loves Bertram and is undaunted by his spurning of her. It’s a delightful performance in a cast that enjoys many of them: Mary Lou Rosato as Helena’s doting and domineering guardian the Countess of Roussillion; Angelynne “Ajay” Pawaan as the aforementioned Diana, who schemes with Helena to bring Bertram around; Barzin Akhavan as Bertram’s foppish companion Parolles, focus of the play’s overcooked subplot; Matthew J. Harris as Lavatch, the mischievious and impudent fool in the Countess’ court; Arthur Hanket as the veddy French lord Lafew; and Tom Nelis as the King of France, he whose illness is cured by Helena’s “miracle” potion (for which she is granted her choice of husbands in the House of Roussillion – guess who she picks?).
            Gabriel Brown is Bertram and uses every inch of his dashing charisma to try to make the character one to root for – it’s not his fault that this is not accomplished. It occurred to me throughout that the resourceful Helena could do better.
            The Globe’s outdoor Festival Stage is a gorgeous setting for this tale, taking place both in France and in Italy, where Bertram has fled to escape his unwanted tie to Helena. Lawrence E. Moten III’s set is simple but enchanting. Sherrice Mojgani’s lighting is soft and romantic.
            The varied costume design by Judith Dolan evokes some melding of Italian and French Renaissance; only Brown’s Bertram is dressed in more contemporary looking clothes.
            I found a few of the production’s clever touches endearing, such as having the King’s soldiers riding hobby horses, and having the countess and her stolid, faithful page ascending from below the stage, then descending again. The employment of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” the old chestnut popularized by Bing Crosby, is a cute contemporary nod. (There’s also a Bilbo Baggins reference, Tolkien fans.)
            When compared to Shakespeare’s more popular comedies – “Much Ado About Nothing,” “As You Like It,” “Twelfth Night,” et al – “All’s Well That Ends Well” might seem an oddity. Its title is its best-known line, its lovers never an easy fit, its resolution as I noted before, incredulous. But the pure enjoyment provided by this summertime production in Balboa Park is reason to become acquainted with it, at least once, and reason to just surrender to its charms.
            “All’s Well That Ends Well” runs through July 6 in the Old Globe’s Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.