SOURCE: Klein, Alvin. Review of Antony and Cleopatra. New York Times (24 September 2000): NJ21.

In the following review, Klein asserts the essential failure of director Bonnie J. Monte's comic staging of Antony and Cleopatra at the 2000 New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, noting its lack of drive and passion.

In April this year, when Shakespeare turned 436, words of reflection and awe poured forth.

In consideration of the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival's current staging of Antony and Cleopatra here, it is useful to mull the comment by Adrian Noble about “the challenge of bringing his words to life.”

After seeing Bonnie J. Monte's staging of what may be Shakespeare's most unplayable play, one cannot help wondering about the sheer monumentality of the task. In a program note, Ms. Monte explains her calling to have a go at this daunting work. But seeing is not believing. One comes away still wondering—not what...