Silly and smart, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) a satisfying Shakespearean mash-up

Perhaps you, like many, have often thought that Shakespeare would be way better with more '80s tunes, dance breaks and messages of female empowerment.

If so, Theatre Projects Manitoba has a show for you.

As part of ShakespeareFest — the 20th, and final, edition of the Royal MTC-sponsored Master Playwright Festival — the Winnipeg theatre company has revived Ann-Marie MacDonald's Governor General's Award-winning 1988 play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).

It's a welcome return to the Winnipeg stage for the seminal Canadian play, which hasn't been performed professionally on a Winnipeg stage since 1991.

Michelle Boulet's funny and frenetic production embraces both the wit and the silliness of MacDonald's script — but also gets tripped up by some of its flaws in a production that's entertaining, but unfortunately runs out of steam before its 130 minutes (with intermission) on the stage are up.

The play tells the story of Constance Ledbelly (Robyn Slade), a sweetly gawkish academic who is convinced a mysterious, centuries-old manuscript holds deep secrets about two of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies — Romeo and Juliet and Othello.

Her theories are dismissed by others in the world of academia in which she is trapped, particularly by pompous professor Claude Night (Ryan James Miller), with whom Constance is hopelessly smitten, but who treats her like a doormat.

This all changes when Constance magically stumbles into the worlds of Shakespeare's characters, where she's convinced that if she can solve the mystery of the manuscript's authorship, she can turn the tragedy of Shakespeare's heroes — and more importantly, his heroines — into comedy.

The weird plot is positively Shakespearean in its labyrinthine twists and turns, and MacDonald plays that all for a lot of fun. Familiarity with Shakespeare isn't required, but it doesn't hurt — there are plenty of comedic riffs on various Shakespeare plays for those in the know.

But even those who don't know their Tybalt from their Cassio will enjoy what's going on here. MacDonald's play is smart — it riffs on everything from alchemy to Jungian psychology to feminism. But it's equally prepared to be ridiculous, embracing the raunchiness of Shakespearean comedy and adding in a layer of farce.

Slade, a seasoned comedian (as part of the local musical improv troupe Outside Joke), heads up a cast that capitalizes on that comic potential. Her turn as Constance is a delight.

She's charmingly awkward, but also believable as the smartest person in the room — but someone who's used to being unrecognized as the smartest person in the room. She brings terrific energy and charisma, as well as impeccable comic timing, to the role.

The supporting cast also embraces Boulet's big and bold direction. They play many of the Shakespearean scenes with a satisfyingly oversized hamminess. Miller (another comedy veteran, as part of the sketch comedy group Hot Thespian Action) does a great turn as both the pompous Professor Night and an equally self-satisfied Othello.

Laura Olfason more than holds her own with his Othello as Desdemona, played here to great comic effect not as a hapless victim but as a bloodthirsty equal to her warrior husband. She also shows off great comedic chops as an impulsive Mercutio.

Tom Keenan brings a youthful energy to a selfish and fickle Romeo, and is suitably scheming as Othello's frenemy Iago.

And though stage management too rarely gets a shoutout, a special nod is due apprentice stage manager Quinn Greene, who brings a surprisingly comedic flair to the show's set changes (I won't spoil how).

For the play's first half — focused on the characters from Othello — Boulet and her cast keep things moving at a fantastic clip.

The second half, which moves into the world of Romeo and Juliet, is less successful. MacDonald's script starts to spin its wheels, as its conceit starts to wear thin and its themes become somewhat repetitive.

The production's energy flags here too, and as Juliet, Joanne Roberts has plenty of good comedic moments, but sometimes needs to ramp up the energy to match the performances of the rest of the cast.

Boulet's production does lift at the end though, with a joyously goofy conclusion — and a reminder that it's possible to be silly and smart at the same time.

Theatre Projects Manitoba's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) runs at the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Colin Jackson Theatre until Feb. 15.