Gloria

Glory be to "Gloria" (Carrie Brewer), a beautiful sword-wielding princess who, thanks to her now deceased father, is well schooled in the art of dueling and sundry martial arts. It's lucky for Gloria that she has maintained her form and technique in daily workouts with Carmella (Judi Lewis), her close friend since childhood and soon to become a nun. Also keeping close watch over Gloria is her trusted nurse (Barbara J. Spence), who promised the dying king that she would keep the secret of Gloria's birth and the true identity of her mother. Now, it seems that Gloria's wicked witch of a stepmother (Kittson O'Neill) and Maladie (Bevin Kaye), her sinister stepsister, who is equally adept at swordplay, conspire to dispose of Gloria before she can take assume her rightful place upon the throne. Pitted against the dark forces of her stepmother's sorcery and the persistent and violent physical assaults upon by her stepsister, Gloria is thrust into a life-threatening adventure.

The swish and swash of rapiers, quarterstaves, daggers and a kangaroo-hide bullwhip are soon as important as the twists and turns of plot. No need for masculine muscle here, as the New York-trained troupe known as the Lady Cavaliers take full command of the weaponry and the words.

In Peter Hilton's deliriously frenetic and frisky all-women five-act verse fantasy, the viewer is whisked into a rarified and legendary time and place, where the chivalry at hand comes distinctively from the ladies who lunge. Gloria must fight for survival and her virginity when thrown into a raucous brothel run by a ruthless madam (Denise Alessandria Hurd), where fist fighting is as much a practiced art as fellatio. Surviving the brutality of head dominatrix (Alexandra Ornitz), Gloria flees and finds a temporary haven in a forest where magical trees are in playful combat. It is here in the forest that she finds the wistful and melancholy -- well, enough of the plot.

Refreshingly original and ingenious, Gloria's fantastical postures and feminist conceits are also wittily commemorative to both Shakespeare and Christopher Fry.

Hilton's broadly classical yet accessible verse drives the plot, but it's Alexandra Ornitz's direction that keeps our attention riveted on the mystical and mercurial mise-en-scene. This is a show that cries out for a bigger budget, not to outdo the cleverness of what is already there, but for enhancement. As it is, the costuming is effective, as is the manipulation of props and set pieces. To the director's added credit, the performers all appear to be taking their work and their multiple tongue-lashing, weapon-slashing roles seriously. This adds to the fun and to the excitement, as does the pulsating musical score. Let's keep this show going.

An aside: It seems shocking to me that the Equity actors in this production appear without benefit of contract or salary. How long has this practice been going on? Is this really the only way?