All's Well That Ends Well (Bakersfield College 2025)

My first date with the incredible woman who is now my wife of 24 years was to a Shakespeare play. But even before that, we had an “unofficial” date where we accompanied one of my siblings to a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Bakersfield College. 

 

BC has had a Shakespeare Festival every fall since 1983, when now-retired professor Randall Messick founded the event. Typically, BC will perform two contrasting Shakespeare plays (and sometimes an additional play by another author) in September and October. 

 

Over the years, my wife and I have seen many of these, both alone and with our kids. She also took some Shakespeare classes while at BC. 

 

Our attendance has been spotty, I confess, in no small part because the festival tends to line up with the opening concerts for the orchestras I play with. That is what happened this year. I had hoped to catch Much Ado About Nothing because Brian and Ellie Sivesind were starring in the lead roles - Brian was in the production for our first date, and both of them are always excellent. Alas, too many rehearsals. 

 

I was, however, able to catch the last performance of All’s Well That Ends Well, one of the less-performed “problem plays.” I last saw this play over a decade ago at Theatricum Botanicum, but not since. 

 

The BC production was a bit different than the typical one. For one thing, there were a lot of cuts. The number of characters was greatly reduced, lines combined, the subplots largely excised, and the dialogue significantly simplified. 

 

Cuts are, of course, universal to modern Shakespeare performances, except possibly Macbeth, which we only have in an already cut version. Otherwise, they would stretch many hours, and contain a lot of repetition. 

 

So, the cuts are always a matter of judgment, at any performance. 

 

In this case, the entire play was performed in the small indoor box theater, without intermission, lasting about an hour and forty-five minutes. Despite the length, the play moved quickly, with great pacing, and the time flew by. 

 

I want to mention some of the artistic decisions. Because of the reduced length, entire sections were performed in pantomime, rather than with extended exposition. Notably, the play opens by showing the childhood love of Helena and Bertram in an extended wordless sequence. The pair perform a blood pact, slicing their palms, and drinking the mixed blood along with an elixir of herbs prepared by Helena. 

 

The production also leans in heavily to the “French” location of the play, using French pop songs from various eras in key moments, including the opening. 

 

I find the play notable for two things. First is the difficulty all of the “problem plays” have with making the transformation of the villain at the end believable. And, on a related note, explaining why the heroine in each case manages to love the unlikable, horrible man she desires. Why on earth does Mariana love Angelo? He’s horrible! At least least Leontes has to spend over a decade in penance before Herminone takes him back. 

 

In All’s Well That Ends Well, Bertram is nearly as horrible as Angelo. Not quite as bad, because being a snob and a rake and a tomcat isn’t at the level of abuse of power, sexual assault, blackmail, and rank hypocrisy. 

 

But still, what does Helena see in Bertram? I guess the best explanation is the childhood romance. Bertram used to be a good guy, but he started hanging out with Paroles and his bunch of cowardly bullies, and started adopting their views of women and social status. 

 

In this case, this was assisted by casting Jesse Magdaleno as Bertram. He’s a guy you really want to like - he’s soft spoken, can cry on demand, and just carries himself like a nice guy on stage. So, it took more conjuring for him to play the snob than to show he came to his senses and realized he was a cad. Props to Magdaleno for making it work. He has grown as an actor over the years I have seen him on stage. 

 

Playing opposite him was Leslie Art, who I do not think I have seen in a major role before. She was convincing both as the strong, confident healer and as the vulnerable, devastated, unloved girl. 

 Helena (Leslie Art) and Bertram (Jesse Magdaleno)

 

The other thing the play is notable for is that it has multiple strong, feminist roles. Helena may be lower class, but she is no helpless waif. She has badass skills she learned from her late father, who told her she was the equal of any man. She argues her way into an audience with the king of France, then proceeds to convince him to let her attempt a cure. On peril of her life - but also with the promise that she can have her choice of husbands if she succeeds. That’s serious huevos. 

 

And then, thwarted in her quest to win the heart of Bertram, she goes out and schemes how she will manage to fuck him and bear his child. She is audacious in getting what she has earned every bit as much as Magdalene in No Name. 

 

But Helena isn’t the only strong woman in the play. Bertram’s mother, the Countess, is also strong and unconventional. She turns on its head the usual trope of the parent who tries to prevent her son from marrying “beneath” him. No, she is all in on Helena marrying Bertram, and gives her son holy hell for being a cad. 

 

In this performance, Jess Boles-Lohmann played that role to perfection. She owned every scene, not just with speaking, but with the physical acting. I enjoyed every minute she was on stage. 

 The Countess (Jess Boles-Lohmann)

 

Because I missed last year’s festival altogether, many of those in the cast in this one were new faces for me. So many young people. (Shakes cane…) It is fun to see young actors learning the ropes in smaller roles, and they did well. 

 

I will note a few of the more significant parts with actors I have seen before, who also were great. Gary Enns as the aged king made both the illness and the recovery look real. He also brought his usual quiet dignity to the role. John Bollinger was excellent as Paroles, as thoroughly loathsome and simpering as the role demands. Kevin Ganger, who is always good in everything didn’t have a lot of lines as the Duke, but he did bring an epic moustache to the role, which is always fun. 

 

It was a good production, and the cuts and simplification worked well, I thought. I am always impressed at what BC does as a junior college, making Shakespeare fresh and compelling for each new generation. 

 

Alas, I went to closing night, so no more plays until November. And of course, next year. BC’s productions are always a great value, and I love to see the next generation of thespians on stage.