The fencing sabres slashed through the air stopping within inches of audience members and actors alike. The actors raised the sabres again and continued in screeching battle accompanied by the sound of an impressed audience.

The fast pace and fluidity of the fencing scenes were characteristic of Syracuse University Department of Drama’s production of “Measure for Measure,” by William Shakespeare. The play opened to a responsive audience Saturday night at the Loft Theater in the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex.

The Shakespearean comedy is one of false virtue, secrets, hidden identities and hypocrisy. Director Celia Madeoy put a slightly modern twist on the show, bringing it forward to the 1880s using intricate costumes and stage design to carry the themes of sex, deceit and spirituality. Soulful songs were inserted into some of the scene breaks as a vehicle for transition.

“I love fencing — the fights are always fun in Shakespeare. We had a lot of training and we had a great teacher,” said Daniel Chavarriaga, a junior acting major who played the role of Duke Vincentio, the duke of Vienna — one of the central figures in the play — who decides to fake a vacation in order to disguise himself as a friar and watch what happens in his town.

Junior acting major Brady Richards said he liked the modern musical twist.

“I thought the songs were very well implemented,” Richards said. He said the show as a whole played well to each actor’s individual strengths.

Delphi Borich, a junior musical theater major, said her favorite moment of the show was a dramatic scene between the character Claudio, who was arrested for getting his lover pregnant before marriage, and his sister, Isabella. When Claudio is sentenced to death, Isabella, who is a virtuous woman, is presented with a difficult situation — Claudio will be granted pardon, but only if she sleeps with Angelo, the play’s main antagonist.

“I think the scene between Pascal Portney, who played Claudio, and Lydia Stinson, who was Isabella, was very powerful when she presents the dilemma to him. I thought that it was beautifully acted and I thought Pascal did a wonderful job of being caught in that dilemma,” Borich said.

The crowd was more or less seated on the stage with the actors, whose large skirts frequently brushed up against the front row. The stage was laid out in levels with scenes frequently overlapping on different sides and height levels of the stage.

Audience members were kept very engaged through a variety of interactions. In the last scene, the Duke reveals his identity following a quick change. The actor, Chavarriaga, still disguised as the Friar, handed off part of his costume, several ornate rings, to an audience member — a gesture met by a number of giggles from the audience, none of whom were sure whether it was a deliberate action.

“The rings were planned. I did it during a rehearsal and I was just like, I freaking love it, I’m keeping it,” Chavarriaga said, laughing. He continued to say that opening night of a three hour show there is always bound to be a couple of mistakes.

The intimate staging had the audience laughing, gasping and engaged for nearly three hours.

“It felt great to have an audience and it seemed like they were with us the whole time, laughter and gasps,” said Alen Ghavami, sophomore acting major.

The many dramatic moments were punctuated by small bursts of comic relief provided by a number of characters often played by the same actors. Ghavami played three roles in the play, two of which received some of the biggest laughs of the evening.

“I love playing the drunkard. He’s my favorite,” Ghavami said. “I’m in a straitjacket but I feel there’s no limits with him. He’s definitely my favorite.”

Published on March 29, 2015 at 9:52 pm

Contact Rachel: rcgilber@syr.edu