BWW Reviews: Rediscover the Brilliance and Cunning of WALLENSTEIN at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Add another feather in the very decorated cap of Michael Kahn and the Shakespeare Theatre Company now that Wallenstein is running at Sidney Harman Hall. Robert Pinsky's free adaptation of an 18th century epic is one more rediscovery of a near-forgotten classic to the company's production.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company has paired Shakespeare's Coriolanus with another play about a complex warrior who must face a fickle world for the Hero/Traitor Repertory series now running through June 2, 2013.

Wallenstein boasts a masterful performance by Steve Pickering in the title role and a swift moving production directed with precision by Kahn, STC's artistic director. For my money, the true star of the show is Pinsky's script, distilled from the original trilogy by Germany's answer to Shakespeare, Friedrich Schiller. Bending time and incorporating echoes of Bertold Brecht, Pinky's text for Wallenstein belongs on the stages of any theatre dedicated to large scale theatre - for size and scope and for the large themes that it examines.

First we see a group of soldiers and officers take the stage in a glow of anti-viridity, green but not with the freshness of life. These old warriors are dead and wander somewhere between heaven and hell. One man emerges to address the audience, a no-nonsense talker ready to engage in repartee as he was ready to engage in battle so many years ago. The man is Wallenstein, the former general of the vast armies of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War which spanned portions of the 1600s. This is his story, as he looks back at his own downfall in the year 1634.

Breaking the imaginary fourth wall between the actors and the audience has been a staple of theatre since ancient times. In Wallenstein, Pinsky has only the general himself - when he is seen as dead - turn to the audience. Duke Wallenstein talks to the audience as if he were in a play by Brecht: a detached commentary on not only his own state but the nature of war, loyalty, our current time period, and how easily people change aspects of themselves for self-preservation.

The Brechtian convention of breaking the imaginary barrier works brilliantly.

When Wallenstein steps into his own time, the story is tightly drawn, focusing on the final days of Wallenstein as he plans to leave the thumb of the Holy Roman Empire and place himself as a ruler of his own doman.

Pinsky's text maintains a sharp focus on General Wallenstein and a phalanx of key figures prominent during the time leading to his assassination. The play zeros in on Wallenstein's trusted generals and family members and the small group who worked to end his supreme command.

As befits the hero-traitor theme, Wallenstein possessed qualities that celebrate him as a heroic leader who protected the empire for many years, but who was also driven by an insatiable ambition that was ultimately lead to his demise. After discovering his plans to make a deal with Swedish, the faithful imperialists began working against Wallenstein to divide his forces and ultimately assassinate him.

As Wallenstein, Pickering is charming, direct, and philosophical. His performance highlights the mercurial nature of on of the world's most cunning military strategists. Sitting with the emperor's envoy - a smarmy Philip Goodwin - Wallenstein turns from controlled calm to volcanic rage in within one breathe. Pickering's stage presence and bearing is well-matched to the demands of the enormous role.

Along with Goodwin, the ensemble surrounding Pickering is up to the task of taking on the various generals and Wallenstein family members. Standouts include Robert Sicular as Octavio Palladini. Sicular shows the nuanced conflict of Wallenstein's oldest friends and advisors, but is torn by his loyalty to the empire.

As his son, Max, Nick Dillenburg, strikes a handsome figure who displays a firm commitment in Wallenstein's vision of leadership, and a budding romance with Thekla, Wallenstein's daughter - played with grace by Aaryn Kopp.

Kahn's visually arresting production is aided by the keen design work of Blythe R. D. Quinlan who has provided the same massive unit set for both Wallenstein and Coriolanus. The shifting walls and stark lighting - designed by Mark McCullough - work well for both productions. The armored military apparel and fashions of the mid-17th century are designed with lavish detail by Murell Horton.

The ambitious Hero/Traitor Repertory series is a perfect example of the kind of theatre at which the Shakespeare Theatre Company can excel - epic scale, fine acting, and superb production values. Other re-discovered classics - The Liar, The Beaux' Stratagem, The Government Inspector - join the famous titles of the Shakespeare canon to astound us and allow audiences to revel in language and spectacle.

And Wallenstein deserves to be considered a regular visitor to classical theatres throughout the world.

Pictured: Steve Pickering as Wallenstein in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Wallenstein, directed by Michael Kahn.

PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Suchman/Shakespeare Theatre Company

Friedrich Schiller's WALLENSTEIN

Adapted and freely translated by Robert Pinsky. Directed by Michael Kahn.

Runtime: Two hours, 15 minutes, one intermission

Wallenstein plays in repertory with Coriolanus

March 28-June 2, 2013, in the Sidney Harman Hall

For more information, click here or call 202.547.1122