Nicole Ari Parker and Esau Pritchett in Antony & Cleopatra (photo: nj.com)

Last week we saw McCarter Theatre’s production of Antony & Cleopatra, directed by Emily Mann. It stars Esau Pritchett (who gave such a moving performance last year in August Wilson’s Fences), Nicole Ari Parker (Showtime’s Soul Food), and a strong supporting cast. Their performances, combined with a single stripped-down set for fast scene changes, gorgeous Cleopatra-wear, and an unexpected percussion accompaniment perfect in every beat add up to a whole greater than the parts.

This is the play about which some say, if all Shakespeare’s plays but one were lost, save this one, because it has passionate love (and a Romeo and Juliet-style ending), war, betrayal, tragedy, and Romans. Even some humor. It’s hard to judge the play itself, as its four-hour run-time was substantially cut, as so often happens, but the resulting production is fast-paced and emotionally rich. And this play is not often produced, so here’s your chance! Through October 5.

Erin Partin, Anthony Marble, and Jordan Coughtry in Wittenberg (photo: STNJ)

There’s only one more week to catch The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s production of Wittenberg by David Davalos. Directed by Joseph Discher, this highly entertaining play set in 1517 at the eponymous university and town stars Jordan Coughtry as Prince Hamlet, a student, Mark Dold and Anthony Marble as Hamlet’s professors, the ideologically opposed Martin Luther and John Faustus, and wonderful Erin Partin as whatever lady is needed onstage at the moment.

Witty and fast-moving—great body language from Marble (Faustus), who is a would-be 16th c. rock star—it has modern touches that aren’t intrusive and numerous Hamlet references and puns. Faust’s office—Room 2B. If you’ve never seen a tennis match on stage, this is how it’s done, a nice metaphor for the lobbing back and forth of Hamlet’s budding worldview by Luther (God’s will) and Faustus (a man decides his own fate). Again, perfect set and costumes. We admired Erin Partin’s recent performance as Ariel in The Tempest, and a local review correctly noted about this performance that she plays each of her characters “with such veracity” that it seems multiple women are in the cast.