Written by John Webster in 1612, The White Devil belongs to the early modern genre of revenge tragedy. A crime spurs retaliation that inspires further revenge. The original full title is The White Divel; or, The Tragedy of Paolo Giordano Ursini, Duke of Brachiano With The Life and Death of Vittoria Corombona, the famous Venetian Curtisan. The play is based on a true story involving infidelity, religion and murder.
The Duke of Brachiano (Daniel Oreskes) is lustily obsessed with Vittoria Corombona (Lisa Birnbaum), the daughter of a noble but impoverished Venetian family. Unfortunately both are married. His wife is Isabella of the de Medici clan. The Duke’s secretary and Vittoria’s brother Flamineo (Tommy Schrider) is the social climber type and wants his sister’s fortunes to rise. He arranges for the clever and creative killings of the two unwanted spouses.
Revenge plots emerge and, as might be expected, more murders happen. The juiciest section of this play is when Vittoria is placed on trial. Defiantly proclaiming her innocence, she is dressed head to toe in white, a slap in the face to a society dripping with hypocritical morality. Although there is scant evidence, Cardinal Monticelso (Robert Cuccioli) finds her guilty, sentencing her to a convent for penitent whores.
The character of Vittoria is fascinating as an aggressively feminist, outspoken woman. Her scandalous love affair is not a source of embarrassment. Standing trial before a male dominated church and state, she insists that they speak in her native tongue not in Latin. Courageously, she challenges the powerful and unmasks a double standard. Why are her crimes punished when those committed by men are not?
The Red Bull Theater specializes in reviving the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore was one of my favorite productions of 2015. Unfortunately, this version of The White Devil frequently missed the mark. The set design alternated between cool and too contemporary. The video projections were effective in showing remote scenes such as banishment or murder. However, the sterile and white lounge area (office?) seemed at odds with the dialogue. Manual opening and closing of curtains or blinds felt like busy distractions.
The lighting (Jiyoun Chang) was so bright that any sense of nuance was lost. Director Louisa Proske may have been going for an examination of this play’s themes under a harsh microscope. When a play contains the line “women are more chaste when less restrained of their liberties,” the words speak volumes. I can only guess that the modern décor is meant to underscore a parallel to our current times. I believe I could have easily drawn that line myself.
I enjoyed experiencing the play as a fascinating artifact rather than this particular production. The style of acting seemed to be an odd mishmash of formality and looseness. Ms. Birnbaum’s Vittoria definitely reminded me of my Italian relatives who possessed strong backbones and questionable morals. Robert Cuccoli’s Cardinal dripped with sanctimonious venom while wearing a gorgeous outfit (terrific costumes by Beth Goldenberg). As the slinky cad Flamineo, Mr. Schrider nicely embodied the time period with a modern physicality. Derek Smith as Count Lodovico, another revenge obsessed character, was an ideal blend of crazy and committed with a commanding stage presence.
I must point out that some audience members did not stay for the second half. A gentleman who sat back down to give it a chance awkwardly walked out a few minutes later. I am a big fan of theater companies that mount older works and I enjoyed experiencing this grand tragedy. The overall production was disappointing though. The material came across as flat and clinical rather than hotheaded and passionate like a holiday gathering of my youth.