THEATER REVIEW

"All's Well That Ends Well"

Grade: B-

Through Aug. 3. In rotating repertory with "As You Like It" and "The Merchant of Venice." $15-$40. Georgia Shakespeare, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-264-0020, gashakespeare.org.

Bottom line: Flawed play gets frolicsome treatment.

Love, as they say, is blind. And as evidenced by Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well," it is also unpredictable, duplicitous, troubling, all-consuming and ultimately triumphant.

In this problematic puzzlement of the heart, the orphaned Helena is willed to marry her playmate Bertram. Yet he's so caddish audiences may have difficulty understanding her singleness of purpose.

In Georgia Shakespeare's new production of this rarely produced comedy, director Dan McCleary attempts to clarify matters by having the actors introduce themselves at the top of show and give a word or two about their character arcs. He also intersperses the material with some psychologically sophisticated dance sequences that showcase the movement skills of Susannah Millonzi (Helena) and Derrick Ledbetter (Bertram). When the actors aren't performing, they sit on the sidelines and watch the story.

It's a noble, playful, if somewhat overdecorated approach to the Bard's conundrum, which seems to lack much conflict in the first act and is overdolloped with machinations in the second.

While this ensemble has smartly pushed its young company to the front of the line in recent years, newcomers Millonzi and Ledbetter can't always hold their own here with such choice veteran wits as Brad Sherrill (Parolles), Chris Ensweiler (Lavatch), Joe Knezevich (the King of France), Chris Kayser (Lord Lafew) and Tess Malis Kincaid (as Bertram's mother, the Countess).

To give you a quick summary of the action: Helena bargains with the mortally ill King to snare Bertram, who promptly abandons her for the war in Italy and other diversions. Helena prevails, but only after engineering a couple of tricks involving Diana (Ally Carey) and Diana's widowed mother (Pat Bell). We'll leave it at that.

Sherrill is terrific as the rascal Parolles, who is a much more interesting character than Bertram. Ensweiler is in superb form as the ridiculous court fool and proves, once again, why he's one of the town's top clowns. The handsome Knezevich reinvents himself fully as an old, jaundiced-looking king. As always, Kincaid and Kayser are solid, assured and a pleasure watch.

Though Ledbetter seems a little too green to give a fully nuanced performance as Bertram, Millonzi, who doubles as choreographer, scores points for her fluid and romantic "Ode on a Grecian Urn"-style dances.

Riffing on the story's feminine mystique and magical contours, set designer Kat Conley nods to Salvador Dali and Georgia O'Keeffe; yet in adding references to the baroque styles of France and Italy, she delivers something of a mishmash of art history. Even less successful, Douglas J. Koertge's Tudor costumes seem out of sync with the director's modern treatment.

Will it end well?

That depends on how you read this strangely concocted trifle of a play, in which a scheming heroine prevails against all reason to win a less than admirable man. With the beautiful "Merchant of Venice" and the bell-bottomed misstep "As You Like It," Georgia Shakespeare's so-called "Summer of Love" has been a mixed bag. "All's Well" straddles a middleground —- not exactly satisfying but definitely worth a look.

By WENDELL BROCK

wbrock@ajc.com

Love, as they say, is blind. And as evidenced by Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well," it is also unpredictable, duplicitous, troubling, all-consuming and ultimately triumphant.

In this problematic puzzlement of the heart, the orphaned Helena is willed to marry her playmate Bertram. Yet he's so caddish audiences may have difficulty understanding her singleness of purpose.

In Georgia Shakespeare's new production of this rarely produced comedy, director Dan McCleary attempts to clarify matters by having the actors introduce themselves at the top of show and give a pithy word or two about their character arcs. He also intersperses the material with some lovely, psychologically sophisticated dance sequences that showcase the movement skills of the youthful Susanah Millonzi (Helena) and Derrick Ledbetter (Bertram). When the actors aren't performing, they sit on the sidelines and watch the story.

It's a noble, playful, if somewhat overdecorated approach to the Bard's conundrum, which seems to lack much conflict in the first act and is overdolloped with machinations in the second.

While this ensemble has smartly pushed its young company to the front of the line in recent years, newcomers Millonzi and Ledbetter can't always hold their own here with such choice veteran wits as Brad Sherrill ( Parolles), Chris Ensweiler (Lavatch), Joe Knezevich (the King of France), Chris Kayser (Lord Lafew) and Tess Malis Kincaid (as Bertram's mother, the Countess).

To give you a quick summary of the action: Helena bargains with the mortally ill King to snare Bertram, who promptly abandons her for the war in Italy and other diversions. Helena prevails, but only after engineering a couple of tricks involving Diana (Ally Carey) and Diana's widowed mother (Pat Bell). We'll leave it at that.

Sherrill is terrific as the rascal Parolles, who is a much more interesting character than Bertram. Ensweiler is in superb form as the ridiculous court fool and proves, once again, why he's one of the town's top clowns. The handsome Knezevich reinvents himself fully as an old, jaundiced-looking king. As always, Kincaid and Kayser are solid, assured and a pleasure watch.

Though Ledbetter seems a little too green to give a fully nuanced performance as Bertram, Millonzi, who doubles as choreographer, scores points for her fluid and romantic "Ode on a Grecian Urn"-style dances.

Riffing on the story's feminine mystique and magical contours, set designer Kat Conley nods to Salvador Dali and Georgia O'Keeffe; yet in adding references to the baroque styles of France and Italy, she ultimately delivers something of a clunky mishmash of art history references. Even less successful, Douglas J. Koertge's Tudor costumes seem out of sync with the director's modern treatment.

Will it end well?

That depends on how you read this strangely concocted trifle of a play, in which a scheming heroine prevails against all reason to win a less than admirable man. With the beautiful "Merchant of Venice" and the bell-bottomed misstep "As You Like It," Georgia Shakespeare's so-called "Summer of Love" has been a mixed bag. "All's Well" straddles a middleground —- not exactly satisfying but definitely worth a look.