Jeffrey Hatcher’s play is the saga of Edward “Ned” Kynaston, famed for his stage portrayal of Desdemona and other female roles in a Puritan theatrical age when boys were boys and girls were boys in girl’s clothing--until King Charles II permits women to act. Alexander Price excels as Kynaston, tackling the part’s comic and tragic elements with equal aplomb. He is solidly supported by Nakisa Aschtiani as his dresser, Maria (their sexually confused love scene is one of the play’s highlights); Michael Dale Brown as a Shakespearean hack; Laura Lindahl as the king’s impish mistress, Nell Gwynn; David A. Blair as diarist Samuel Pepys; and others.
The cast is uneven, but Hatcher is partly to blame: there are too many characters, not to mention too many scenes; the play itself is too long. It is seldom if ever boring though, and bawdier than you may bargain for. Jason Holland’s attentive direction is accented by some clever touches. The costuming, an impressive joint effort, does much to convey the era and helps to make up for the bare bones set. South Coast Repertory this isn’t, but the Playhouse’s 44-year history attests to its stature as a pillar of the community.