You can tell from the title that Love’s Labor’s Lost is not going to end “happily ever after.” But far from being messy or depressing, actor Edmund Lewis finds this early William Shakespeare comedy to be refreshing and realistic.
“I think [Shakespeare] was trying to explore the idea of, sometimes it doesn’t work out,” he says. “Sometimes you wind up with that person you’re in love with. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you have to wait. Sometimes your heart is broken. It’s just a charming exploration of love in its many forms…and of wisdom. And how love can make us do these silly things when we’re…not being completely honest with ourselves, or when we’re following our heart rather than our mind.”
Lewis plays the clownish everyman Costard in what he calls “a really lovely, romantic, silly production” of the show at Folger Theatre. It marks the New York-based actor’s second gig in D.C., after appearing in last season’s St. Joan, also at the Folger. While in recent years the 49-year-old Lewis has been seen in classical productions — most by Shakespeare — none of it has been by design.
“Actually, Shakespeare was not something I have ever aimed to do,” he says. “It really wasn’t something I had trained for or had a huge desire to do. It just kind of happened, and then my love for it developed.” In addition to increasing forays in film and TV, Lewis hopes to stretch himself with more contemporary stage works — and the out actor would be eager to finally get the chance to play a gay character. “I really haven’t [played gay], but I would love to explore that and tell that story.”
For now, however, he’s enjoying treating Folger audiences to the Bard’s early battle-of-the-sexes comedy, directed by Vivienne Benesch. “This one’s always been considered one of his troubled plays, because there are certainly a couple of logic things that are strange,” he says. “And it’s not a terribly plot-heavy comedy. I’ve seen a couple of different productions of it that haven’t quite worked. I think this one gets pretty close to what it should be.
“I think Vivienne has done a really great job with it. And it’s a really great cast, and so it kind of keeps things fun and buoyant. We’ve taken a somewhat difficult play and just made it hugely entertaining.”
Love’s Labor’s Lost runs to June 9 at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $42 to $79. Call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu.
"It was in high school that the theater bug hit me," says Miss Kitty. "I started as a singer before, and then, once I got to college, that's when I really started getting into dance." By the time she graduated from college, she notes with a flourish, "you could say became a triple threat."
The local performer's potential to become a triple threat was intimated early on by key officials in the drama department of her alma mater, Catholic University.
"I remember auditioning for a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance," she says. "They called me back as Ruth, the nursemaid. Many of my classmates and my voice teacher questioned that, I told them, 'No, I'm actually quite elated that they would be willing to call me back to play a female part, because I would feel a lot more comfortable that way."
Stages are alight this Spring with a deluge of exciting productions -- some starry, as in the case of The Shakespeare Theatre's Uncle Vanya featuring Hugh Bonneville, equally beloved in Downton Abbey and the joyous Paddington films.
The beauty of theater -- and in all these inventive, upcoming works -- is that it serves up various points of view with drama, wit, and intellect often concealed under the guise of boisterous entertainment. At its best, theater quenches our thirst for a deeper connection to our fellow human beings. At its worst, it's Cats. Still, theater sometimes gives you a musical moment that makes your spirits soar.
“Of course, of course, some women cruise!” the bisexual comedian known for her show Tinder Live! With Lane Moore laughs. “I don't want to speak for everybody, but I think for me, I respectfully pine. I definitely am on the street just like, ‘Damn, she's extremely hot! I am into it!’ And then I just assume or hope that we will meet if it is destiny.”
Moore’s destiny, as it turns out, lay in Tinder, the ubiquitous, somewhat obnoxious dating app that encourages people to accept -- or reject -- perspective paramours by swiping right or left on their photos.
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