Review: SOFONISBA at Washington Stage Guild

How do you define yourself in a society where everyone seems to have already accepted their place and purpose? Based on a true story, Washington Stage Guild’s SOFONISBA is both a deserved biography of an overlooked artist and a comedic drama of self-determination.

After sailing from Italy, the gifted and skilled painter Sofonisba Anguisola (Amanda Tudor) arrives in the Spanish Court of Philip II. There, being the only female court painter, she finds herself an oddity among the strictly hierarchical Court. As a court painter, her time spent painting Queen Isabel (O’Malley Steuerman) leads to a close connection. Queen Isabel is deeply in love with King Philip II (Gabriel Alejandro) and longs to have a son for him. Being in such a happy marriage, the Queen conspires with the Bishop (Peter Boyer) to arrange Sofonisba with the noble, but easily manipulated, Don Francisco (also Peter Boyer). This brews conflict with Sofonisba as she considers herself “a bride of [her] work.”

Amanda Tudor (Sofonisba Anguisola) allows her character to grow and change over time and reflect the changing nature of navigating a world on her terms. O’Malley Steuerman (Queen Isabel) skillfully and animatedly portrays the queen as both a humorous and lively young adult and a wise but stubborn consort. Peter Boyer (Bishop/Don Francisco/Fool) plays many parts ranging from solemn to boisterous and demonstrates serious range. Gabriel Alejandro (King Philip II/Orazio) mixes emotions to display a character deeply bound by regal tradition but equally loving when not constrained.

It’s intriguing to see the characters so set in their ways, acknowledging both the joy it brings them and the challenges that they muddle through in their everyday life that they see as predetermined. This is most evident after Sofonisba has gradually gained her acceptance, or at very least the respect, of the Spanish Court. However, after an unexpected death, we see the dark side of this as characters’ opinions harden and she is pushed unwillingly towards a marriage under the guise of respectability.

This is not to say Sofonisba lacks joys and sorrows of her own (present throughout the entire play), but strives to be free and choose her path. In fact, in her pursuit to define herself, she reveals the limitations that everyone, from the Fool to the Queen, are confined by in their roles. That is, everyone except Sofonisba. By beginning with her departure from Italy and covering Sofonisba’s time in the Spanish Court, the play cleanly bookends the gain, loss, and eventual reclamation of her autonomy.

An area premiere written by Callie Kimball and directed by Dierdra LaWan Starnes, SOFONISBA is a clever critique on the gender and class roles that attempted to bind Sofonisba in Renaissance Europe and remain persistent today. Both writer and director paint a picture of the life of a woman who charted her own course, became privy to the personal lives of rulers and servants, and ultimately earned her well-deserved respect in her field.

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