All's Well that Ends Well

All the performances in this production are polished. It's a pure pleasure to hear the lines delivered for their meter still ring with emotion, and Emma Fielding is particularly strong as Helena. She manages to make listeners feel both the vulnerability and the strength of her badly treated character. However, the performance as a whole is not fully satisfying; too many of the play's high points depend upon deception, for example, the display of key items (like Bertram's ring) for the sight of the audience, or upon character reactions. Partially, this is due to the extreme faithfulness with which the stage version is adapted; a more liberal adaptation might have captured key points more successfully. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Having saved the French king's life, Helena is granted Bertrand as husband. But Bertrand is unwilling and flees. The scorned bride must win her husband by a ruse. This dour, uneven "comedy" never gained the popularity of the Bard's better efforts. Still, it has its charms, which the Arkangel cast does its best to emphasize. The pace never lags, the more dramatic moments work well, and the players are uniformly fine. Still, the jokes, such as they are, fall flat, Bertrand remains unredeemable, and Helena comes off whiny. The production is best enjoyed after reading the accompanying printed plot summary, for without it the action is a little muddy. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine