Reviewed by Judy Richter
After the resounding success of Part One of David Edgar's adaptation of Charles Dickens' "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby," California Shakespeare Theater is back with Part Two of the epic undertaking. And once again, it has a success on its hands.
As co-directed by Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone and Associate Artistic Director Sean Daniels, Part Two is played in three acts with two intermissions and runs about 3 1/2 hours. To help those who didn't see Part One and to refresh the memory of those who did, the first 10 minutes or so is devoted to a quick summary by the 23-member cast. Act 1 just zips along, following the story of Nicholas Nickleby (Stephen Barker Turner) and his unfortunate friend Smike (Clifton Guterman), who have found their way into a theatrical troupe run by Mr. and Mrs. Crummles (L. Peter Callender and Domenique Lozano) outside of London. However, when Nicholas learns that his sister, Kate (Susannah Schulman), is still being tormented by unwelcome advances from Sir Mulberry Hawk (Andy Murray), he decides that he and Smike must return to London immediately. The disappointed actors give them a rousing sendoff with music by Stephen Oliver and choreography by cast member Danny Scheie to end Act 1.
Act 2 gets into plots by Nicholas and Kate's heartless but rich uncle, Ralph Nickleby (James Carpenter), with the likes of cruel schoolmaster Mr. Squeers (Murray) and an old man, Arthur Gride (Joan Mankin), who wants to marry a pretty young woman, Madeline Bray (Delia MacDougall), whose ailing father owes them a lot of money. The plot twists in this act aren't as easy to follow, and the pace isn't quite as brisk as in the other acts of both parts.
In the meantime, Nicholas has met Charles Cheeryble (Andrew Hurteau), who hires him to work in the company run by himself and his twin brother, Ned (Anthony Nemirovsky). Mirroring each other in looks and physical mannerisms, the good-hearted brothers also provide for Kate and Mrs. Nickleby (Nancy Carlin). Love also enters the picture as Nicholas is smitten by Madeline Bray and Kate is entranced by the Cheeryble twins' nephew, Frank (Nicholas Pelczar). Eventually everything works out to a happy ending.
The ensemble cast is absolutely first rate with many of the actors assuming multiple roles. The principals are terrific, especially Turner and Schulman, whose characters grow so much, along with Carpenter and Guterman, Sbut everyone etches clearly defined characters. Some others who deserve special mention are Dan Hiatt as Newman Noggs, Ralph Nickleby's put-upon clerk, and Jud Williford as John Browdie, the Yorkshire man who befriends and helps Nicholas. The staging is sharp, aided by Neil Patel's simple, easy-to-change sets, Anna R. Oliver's Victorian costumes, Alexander V. Nichols' lighting and Jake Rodriguez's sound.
Staging "Nicholas Nickleby" is a gargantuan task, so daunting that this is the first professional production in the United States in some 20 years. Moscone and company deserve the highest praise for their artistic and theatrical accomplishment.