Editing Measure for Measure (section)

==Performance history==
[[File:Topham - Isabella.jpg|thumb|right|upright|''Isabella'' (1888) by [[Francis William Topham]]]]The earliest recorded performance of ''Measure for Measure'' took place on St. Stephen's night, 26 December 1604.
During the [[English Restoration|Restoration]], ''Measure'' was one of many Shakespeare plays adapted to the tastes of a new audience. Sir [[William Davenant]] inserted Benedick and Beatrice from ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' into his adaptation, called ''[[The Law Against Lovers]]''. [[Samuel Pepys]] saw the hybrid play on 18 February 1662; he describes it in his Diary as "a good play, and well performed"; he was especially impressed by the singing and dancing of the young actress who played Viola, Beatrice's sister (Davenant's creation). Davenant rehabilitated Angelo, who is now only testing Isabella's chastity; the play ends with a triple marriage. This, among the earliest of Restoration adaptations, appears not to have succeeded on stage. [[Charles Gildon]] returned to Shakespeare's text in a 1699 production at [[Lincoln's Inn Fields]]. Gildon's adaptation, entitled ''Beauty the Best Advocate'', removes all of the low-comic characters. Moreover, by making both Angelo and Mariana, and Claudio and Juliet, secretly married, and by removing the scene in which the Duke propositions Isabella, he eliminates almost all of the illicit sexuality that is so central to Shakespeare's play. In addition, he integrates into the play scenes from [[Henry Purcell]]'s opera ''[[Dido and Aeneas]]'', which Angelo watches sporadically throughout the play. Gildon also offers a partly facetious epilogue, spoken by Shakespeare's ghost, who complains of the constant revisions of his work. Like Davenant's, Gildon's version did not gain currency and was not revived. [[John Rich (producer)|John Rich]] presented a version closer to Shakespeare's original in 1720.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Halliday |first1=F. E. |title=A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964 |date=1964 |pages=273, 309–310 |publisher=Penguin |location=Harmondsworth, England |url=https://archive.org/details/shakespearecompa0000feha_o2m9/page/310/}}</ref>

In late Victorian times, the subject matter of the play was deemed controversial, and there was an outcry when [[Adelaide Neilson]] appeared as Isabella in the 1870s.<ref name="times Feb1906">{{cite news |title='Measure for Measure' at Oxford |newspaper=The Times |number=((37,951)) |date=23 February 1906 |page=14 |id={{Gale|CS235729495}}}}</ref> The [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]] found it necessary to edit it when staging it in February 1906,<ref name="times Feb1906"/> with [[Gervais Rentoul]] as Angelo and Maud Hoffman as Isabella, and the same text was used when [[Oscar Asche]] and [[Lily Brayton]] staged it at the [[Adelphi Theatre]] in the following month.<ref name="times Mar1906">{{cite news |title=Adelphi Theatre |newspaper=The Times |number=((37,973)) |date=21 March 1906 |page=10 |id={{Gale|CS168227445}}}}</ref> [[William Poel]] produced the play in 1893 at the Royalty and in 1908 at the [[Gaiety Theatre, Manchester|Gaiety]] in Manchester, with himself as Angelo. In line with his other Elizabethan performances, these used the uncut text of Shakespeare's original with only minimal alterations. The use of an unlocalised stage lacking scenery, and the swift, musical delivery of dramatic speech set the standard for the rapidity and continuity shown in modern productions. Poel's work also marked the first determined attempt by a producer to give a modern psychological or theological reading of both the characters and the overall message of the play.<ref>S. Nagarajan (1998). ''Measure for Measure'', New York, Penguin, pp. 181–183.</ref>

[[File:'Measure for Measure', Act II, Scene 1, the Examination of Froth and Clown by Escalus and Justice (from the Boydell series) Robert Smirke (1753–1845) Royal Shakespeare Theatre.jpg|thumb|left|''"Measure for Measure" Act II, Scene 1, the Examination of Froth and Clown by Escalus and Justice (from the Boydell series)'', [[Robert Smirke (painter)|Robert Smirke]] (n.d.)]]
Notable 20th-century productions of ''Measure for Measure'' include [[Charles Laughton]] as Angelo at the [[Old Vic Theatre]] in 1933, and [[Peter Brook]]'s 1950 staging at the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] with [[John Gielgud]] as Angelo and [[Barbara Jefford]] as Isabella.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archive theatre review: ''Measure for Measure'' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/1950/mar/11/peter-brook-measure-for-measure|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=23 December 2017|date=18 December 2008}}</ref> In 1957 [[John Houseman]] and [[Jack Landau (director)|Jack Landau]] directed a production at the [[Phoenix Theatre (New York City)|Phoenix Theatre]] in New York City that starred [[Nina Foch]] and [[Richard Waring]] ([[Jerry Stiller]] appeared in the minor role of Barnardine).<ref name="IBDB">{{cite web|title=''Measure for Measure'' — Phoenix Theatre, Jan 22, 1957 – Feb 17, 1957 |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/measure-for-measure-482355|website=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> In 1962, the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] staged a production directed by John Blatchley starring [[Marius Goring]] as [[Angelo (Measure for Measure)|Angelo]] and [[Judi Dench]] as Isabella. The play has only once been produced on [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]], in a 1973 production also directed by Houseman that featured [[David Ogden Stiers]] as Vincentio, [[Kevin Kline]] in the small role of Friar Peter, and [[Patti Lupone]] in two small roles.<ref name="IBDB 1973">{{cite web|title=''Measure for Measure'' — Billy Rose Theatre: Opening Date: Dec 26, 1973. Closing Date: Jan 05, 1974|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/measure-for-measure-3668|website=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> In 1976, a [[New York Shakespeare Festival]] production featured [[Sam Waterston]] as the Duke, [[Meryl Streep]] as Isabella, [[John Cazale]] as Angelo, [[Lenny Baker]] as Lucio, [[Jeffrey Tambor]] as Elbow, and [[Judith Light]] as Francisca.<ref>Foote, Timothy. (23 August 1976). "License in the Park", ''Time''. p. 57</ref> In 1981, director [[Michael Rudman]] presented a version with an all-black cast at London's [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=MacMillan|first1=Michael|editor1-last=Jarrett-Macauley|editor1-first=Delia|title=Shakespeare, Race and Performance: The Diverse Bard|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-138-91382-0|page=124|chapter=Conversations with black actors}}</ref> Rudman restaged his concept at the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1993, starring Kevin Kline as the Duke, [[Andre Braugher|André Braugher]] as Angelo, and [[Lisa Gay Hamilton]] as Isabella.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Simon|first1=John|title=As Who Likes it?|journal=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=2 August 1993|page=57}}</ref>

In 2013, [[Robert Falls]] directed a version at Chicago's [[Goodman Theatre]] set in seedy 1970s Times Square, New York.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Chris|title=Falls makes no half ''Measures''|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-ent-0319-measure-review-20130318-column.html|access-date=8 May 2021|work=Chicago Tribune|date=18 March 2013}}</ref> It was available for streaming in April to May 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Measure for Measure'' {{!}} Encore |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/Encore/measure-for-measure |website=Goodman Theatre}}</ref> Between 2013 and 2017, the theatre company [[Cheek by Jowl]] staged a Russian-language version of the play in association with the [[Pushkin Theatre]], Moscow, and the [[Barbican Centre]], London. It was directed by [[Declan Donnellan]] and designed by [[Nick Ormerod]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archive.cheekbyjowl.com/measure-for-measure-2/ | title=Previous Productions: information – ''Measure for Measure'' |website=Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company |location=London |access-date=25 October 2017 |date=10 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Gardner">{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Lyn |work=The Guardian |date=19 April 2015 |title=''Measure for Measure'' review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/apr/19/measure-for-measure-russian-language-declan-donnellan-barbican-london-review |access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> In 2018, [[Josie Rourke]] directed a gender-reversal production at the [[Donmar Warehouse]] in London, in which [[Jack Lowden]] and [[Hayley Atwell]] alternated in the roles of Angelo and Isabella.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=''Measure for Measure'' gender swap may be theatrical first |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/apr/24/measure-for-measure-gender-swap-may-be-theatrical-first |work=The Guardian |date=24 April 2018}}</ref><ref>Snow, Georgia. [https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2018/hayley-atwell-and-jack-lowden-to-swap-roles-in-donmar-warehouse-measure-for-measure/ "Hayley Atwell and Jack Lowden to swap roles in Donmar Warehouse ''Measure for Measure''"]. ''[[The Stage]]''. 24 April 2018.</ref>