"Hernani: A One-Act in Five Acts"

Theatre review
"Hernani: A One-Act in Five Acts" at Cornell University
Ithaca Times
October 8, 2008
646 words
"'Modern Upheaval"

full text here

Modern Upheaval

By: Mark Tedeschi

Hernani: A One-Act in Five Acts by Victor Hugo, translation by Linda Asher. Edited by Jonah Eisenstock and Katherine Karaus. Directed by Katherine Karaus. Starring Bridget Saracino, Sharisse Taylor, Timothy Fasano, and Marc Hem Lee. With stage manager Ariel Reid, music/sound director Tyler Herman, costume designer Vlada Kaganovskaya, and lighting designer Michael Garrett.

Full disclosure: As I arrived at the Schwartz center to see Hernani I didn't fully understand the "A One-Act in Five Acts" subtitle, nor was I familiar with Cornell's Black Box series. Until I stepped into the Black Box theatre - no, actually, until I opened the program - I was entirely ready to take in all five acts of Victor Hugo's epic romance. Imagine my sigh of relief when I read the portion of the director's statement that called Hernani a "ridiculously long, arduous text."

Sometimes art just doesn't age well, and director/co-editor Katherine Karaus knew that Hernani performed in front of an audience today wouldn't generate even a raindrop of the hurricane that was the reaction to the play's premiere in 1830 France. The passionate, melodramatic language in Romantic plays like Hernani enraged Classicists, but since Hugo anticipated backlash, he made sure that on opening night, his own supporters showed up in droves. The divided crowd booed, applauded, hissed, cheered. They fervently shouted at and dueled with each other.

Today, partially thanks to Hugo's radical stylistic upheavals - again, in Karaus's words - "What was revolutionary is now outmoded." With that truth in mind, Karaus and company have pared down the story to its essential, relatable elements. With slick performances and nifty pieces of anachronism, the cast and crew manage legitimate comedy and tragedy all in under an hour.

The story is accessible enough: Timothy Fasano plays Don Carlos, the snide, power-hungry King of Spain who shows up at the home of his romantic interest, Doña Sol, a lovely noblewoman played by Sharisse Taylor. She, in turn, is in love with Hernani, a keyed-up bandit who arrives shortly after Don Carlos. Hernani is played by Bridget Saracino - a curious casting choice, but easily credible.

Before long, Doña Sol's fiance and uncle, the aging Duke Don Ruy (played by Marc Hem Lee), arrives. We know he is a Duke because there's a shiny letter D is affixed to the front of his regal purple jacket. And, for the less observant (perhaps those who ignore obvious subtitles): the word DUKE plastered across his back becomes visible when he crosses the stage later on.

Funny nuances in costume design like that, from designer Vlada Kaganovskaya, decorate the actors: Doña Sol wears a purple wig and a punkish wedding dress with Converse All-Stars and a single pink-and-white striped fingerless glove; Hernani sports a slack brown vest and a green bandana; and the company (Lee Dallas, Juliana Kleist-Mendéz, Joseph Redondo, and Alex Ruiz) wear all black to match their eye makeup, contrasting the white makeup covering the rest of their face and hands. Decked out that way, they can play anything from one of the King's loyal cronies to a creaky front door.

The few objects that aren't played by humans come from props master Carlos Guerrero and include a piece of thick metal and a rainstick that together, operated by the cast, create a minimalist, ad hoc thunderstorm. Tyler Herman, sound designer, gives other crafty innovations, like using a sounded gong for a cannon, and also as music director, peppers the quick act changes with short choral interludes.

The plot unfolds: after another encounter between Don Carlos and Hernani, Hernani confronts Doña Sol at Don Ruy's home. When Don Carlos arrives, Don Ruy hides Hernani, and in return, Hernani pledges his life to Don Ruy.

The typical fleeting ups and trenched downs of a tragedy follow, but with a genuine heart. Hugo's text is chopped up into pieces and even perhaps made fun of, but the spirit that, way back when, brought Hernani such attention is still there.

Unfortunately, Hernani played for just one weekend at Cornell, but the strength in Karaus's honorable ability to wink at the audience while still proving a canny control of the subject matter is certainly enough to recommend attendance at future Black Box Series productions.


Sharisse Taylor and Timothy Fasano in ‘Hernani,’ which played at Cornell’s Black Box Theatre in the Schwartz Center from Oct. 3-5.