Actors see themselves in Stoppard characters

The theatrical conceit in Tom Stoppard's "Rough Crossing" resonates with the actors of Shakespeare & Company.

In this clever comedy, which opens the company's 30th anniversary season, a musical-comedy team is sailing from England to New York to open a new show on Broadway. The only problem is that the actors need to come up with a big ending before they land. Their task is made even more challenging by what they have to work with. Their "hit" show is called "The Cruise of the Dodo," which is about debutantes, white slave traders, and a village jewel thief who was "starved for affectation as a child." Their efforts are also hampered by a lovesick piano player, an actress who's got the hots for her costar, a temperamental Russian star, and a cabin steward with hidden talent.

The play within a play is a joy, says actress Elizabeth Aspenlieder. "There's no hidden agenda, no moral meaning, but it means everything to these characters. It's about a group of creative people who've come together for years to make theater. That's exactly who we are."

Aspenlieder, who's been with Shakespeare & Company for 13 seasons, says she can relate easily to the actors in the play. "It's like a group of friends getting together, and there are different levels of friendship, rage, and silliness," she says. "I think Stoppard really understands actors' egos and really gets the actor's life."

"Rough Crossing" is also the rare Stoppard play that includes music, with songs by Andre Previn. Since the show is set in the 1930s, the music is suggestive of the period, with ballads, vaudeville , and songs that might fit a 1920s variety show act, Aspenlieder says. "They're all done tongue-in-cheek," she says. "But in the midst of all the craziness there's a duet about my relationship with [a younger man] that I find so truthful and honest. She's singing about her age, which I find so poignant."

Stoppard's witty wordplay can trip up the best actors, but director Kevin Coleman says Stoppard's structure makes the play "this really beautiful, elegant pocket watch. In rehearsal," he says, "we take it apart and see what makes it run, and then we put it back together."

Coleman, who's been with Shakespeare & Company since its founding, says he's directed Stoppard before, but it's the first time the company has presented one of his plays. "I suppose the connection to what we do is there," says Coleman, "but I also think it's just so funny, it's guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. It balances out some of the heavier plays of the season," which include the contemporary drama "Blue/Orange" and Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra."

In many ways, Coleman says, Stoppard's language reminds him of Shakespeare. "There are so many references that only a few Brits will get," he says. "We're trying to decode it to some degree, with visual jokes, because we want to make it accessible to the largest number of people. As a director, I try to be an advocate for the audience. Many things go by so quickly, the audience will get a full meal, even though some things will fall off the plate."

"Rough Crossing" runs through Sept. 2 at the Founders' Theatre at Shakespeare & Co., Kemble St., Lenox. Tickets: $32-$57. 413-637-1199, shakespeare.org.