Adventurous Staging of ‘Pericles’

“Pericles” doesn’t get as much literary respect as most of Shakespeare’s other work. But if it lacks introspection and depth, it’s nonetheless action-packed and audience-friendly.

Art Manke’s staging at A Noise Within whips through the early chapters of this adventure yarn with sufficient speed and energy to prevent any feelings of expository overdose, yet also with enough clarity to keep the story straight. Then the pace finally relaxes for the more meditative and miraculously happy ending, which has a heartfelt quality that transcends its contrivances.

With theatergoers emerging from the theater barely two hours after curtain time, and with all but one of the actors playing at least two roles, this is lean, stripped-down Shakespeare. But it never feels rushed or emaciated. Beautifully if simply designed, it’s a brisk workout for the audience members’ imaginations, as well as for the cast.

The title prince (Robertson Dean) gets into a pickle while wooing in a nearby kingdom and flees for his life. His flight soon propels him on a wild journey that involves two shipwrecks, attempted murder, pirates, a brothel, the joy of marriage and fatherhood followed by his apparent loss of both--in other words, enough incident to fill a miniseries that would be three times as long.

Dean’s extraordinary vitality transmutes into stark woe and then back again. But the other actors may have even more fun. They get to try on many different faces in one play, and they wear most of them with panache.

Certainly this applies to Michael Nehring, who moves from the kindly but weak Cleon to an amusing drag turn as the bawdy operator of the brothel. Anna C. Miller turns a man’s role as a beneficent healer into a sterling noblewoman--when she isn’t busy with her other role as a callous and jealous foster parent who serves as a precursor to the recent Texas cheerleader-murdering mom.

Mark Bramhall wins the blue ribbon for versatility by playing four cleanly delineated roles that cover the spectrum from good to bad, smart to stupid. Richard Soto and Mitchell McLean are runners-up with three roles apiece.

By contrast, the actors in the primary women’s roles are allowed the luxury of concentration, with only very minor secondary roles. Emily Heebner is the princess who perceptively chooses the right suitor but then loses him for a couple of decades, while Julia Coffey is her kidnapped daughter who bravely talks her way out of enforced debauchery.

The foundation of the design is white, but the accessories in Alex Jaeger’s vaguely oriental costumes and elements of Michael C. Smith’s set are color-coordinated to help distinguish the locales and the characters. The look is clean enough to avoid the burden of time-consuming set changes, but the stage is also elegant in its sparseness. Norman L. Berman’s score helps humanize the proceedings.

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“Pericles,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Wednesday, Thursday, Nov. 4, 9, 10, 18, 28-30, 8 p.m. Also Nov. 4 and 18, 2 p.m. Ends Nov. 30. (818) 240-0910. $22-$38. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.

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Robertson Dean: Pericles

Emily Heebner: Thaisa, Diana

Julia Coffey: Marina, Daughter of Antiochus

Mark Bramhall: Helicanus, Simonides, Leonine, Pander

Richard Soto: Antiochus, Boult, Fisherman

Michael Nehring: Cleon, Bawd

Anna C. Miller: Dionyza, Cerimon

Mitchell McLean: Thaliard, Fisherman, Lysimachus

Denise Tarr: Escanus, Fisheman, Lychorida *

Directed and choreographed by Art Manke. Set by Michael C. Smith. Costumes by Alex Jaeger. Lighting by Don Guy. Music by Norman L. Berman. Wigs/hair by Joyce Ann Littrell. Stage manager Melissa Teoh.