San Diego Reader

They're baa-ack! Richard Baird and the always adventuresome Poor Players are back on a local stage, after far too long a hiatus, reprising their stark, funny, well-spoken production of Shakespeare's "comedy." Between a cross and a hangman's noose, the evening unfolds with crisp scenes and adroit nuances. Baird excels as Angelo, the seeming saint gone power-mad with a "little brief authority" and an unexpected love for Isabella, a nun-to-be (played with clarity, astonishment, and hurt - the apt ending, in particular - by Amanda Schaar). San Diego newcomer Eric Schoen is terrific in four roles, but especially as ne'er-do-well Lucio, whose mouth becomes a parking lot for his foot. The eight-person cast doubles and triples roles, many walking offstage as one character then emerging, in a jiff, as another. On opening night only David Loar's Duke wasn't up to snuff. He rushed lines, tripping over some, and made the Duke a one-note interloper, rather than a man known to have "crotchets" (i.e., "strange whims") in him.