In a corrupt society, a duplicitous second-in-command attempts to legislate morality as religious convictions are put to the test and justice is a sword often wielded while looking in the other direction. We’re not talking about the latest headlines; this is the world of Shakespeare’s 1603/1604 dramedy MEASURE FOR MEASURE, in an all-new production by Theatre for a New Audience.

For those of us who skipped our Shakespeare 201 class, here’s a quick plot summary: Duke Vincentio (Jefferson Mays) departs Vienna, ostensibly for a diplomatic trip, and leaves his city in the charge of his deputy. The upright Angelo (Rocco Sisto) takes this opportunity to crack down on the city’s rampant vice and has Claudio (LeRoy McClain) arrested and sentenced to death for fornication and the pregnancy of his fiancée. The imprisoned Claudio sends his friend Lucio (Alfredo Narciso) to his sister, Isabella (Elisabeth Waterston), in the hopes that she might gain an audience with the acting ruler. Angelo’s hypocritical proposal: if Isabella, a postulant nun, gives him her virginity, Angelo will spare Claudio. Meanwhile, the Duke has donned a monk’s disguise in order to spy on his city’s affairs, whereby he learns of Angelo’s dastardly plans and attempts to thwart them.

Labeled one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” due to its uneasy juxtaposition of high-stakes drama and bawdy comedy, not to mention its finale in which all the characters are paired off in unhappy arrangements, MEASURE FOR MEASURE is catnip to ambitious directors and actors.

As the Duke, Jefferson Mays, is truly a prince. You may recall Mays from his award-winning turn in the Pulitzer Prize-winning solo play I Am My Own Wife, and his detailed work here is a master class to aspiring actors. Look for the scene in which the Duke, masquerading as a friar, attempts to write in his notebook and can’t get his pen to work, paralleling his character’s reputation as a weak, ineffectual leader. He even finds credible motivation for the play’s bizarre denouement in which the Duke proposes marriage to Isabella.

Alfredo Narciso also gives a fascinating performance as the slimy, opportunistic Lucio, a characterization that would be at home among the lowlifes of The Threepenny Opera. With a cocked eyebrow, his disparaging remarks about Vienna’s leader to the incognito Duke ended in a kiss-off that got a great response, particularly from a group of rapt high school students, who hung on every word director Arin Arbus’s clear-eyed, accessible two-and-a-half hour production.

31-year-old Arbus is a rising star among directors, having made an auspicious Off-Broadway debut with TFANA's 2009 critically-acclaimed production of Othello. That production was the darling of last year’s Lucille Lortel Awards nominations as it picked up six nods, more than any other production, including one for Arbus herself. Her follow-up foray into Shakespeare’s world does not disappoint.

The schedule for MEASURE FOR MEASURE is as follows: Tuesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm; Saturday matinees at 2pm, Sunday performances at 3pm and 7pm. Exceptions:
 no evening show on Sunday 3/7.; added Wed matinee on 3/10.; no performance on 3/2, 3/3. 
Visit www.tfana.org for full performance calendar. Single tickets are $75 and may be purchased via phone at 646-223-3010 or via the web at www.dukeon42.org. For ages 25 and under, $10 New Deal tickets may be purchased in person during box office hours at The Duke on 42nd Street or via the phone at (646) 223-3010. New Deal tickets are available for any performance, any time, one ticket per valid ID, which is required to pick up tickets at the box office.