San Diego Reader

A comedy by Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince? Yes, and for young, horny Callimacho, the end justifies the means. He's loopy over Lucrezia, wife of Nicia, the wealthiest man of Florence, and she's fidelity personified. Aided by Ligurio, a nogoodnick, Callimacho devises a scheme to convince the husband that his wife should make love to another man. And in the end, the duped and dupers live happily ever after. At UCSD, director Isis Saratial Misdary has bold visual ideas (and satiric references to local and university economics, not to mention playing "Amazing Grace" on an amplified kazoo). It begins on a loading dock and uses huge crates to good effect, especially the one that becomes Lucrezia's bedchamber. On opening night, however, the execution of these ideas left much to be desired. With few exceptions - among them Spencer Howard's wry Ligurio and Lee Montgomery's Siro - the acting was many rehearsals away from precision, and in some instances, from clarity.