The current production of Richard II at the American Theater of Actors (ATA) is a must see for lovers of theater. This Is not because it is the finest acting you have ever seen or the most elaborate production, but because Sam Hardy and James Jennings as co-producers have decided to embrace the full unabridged play. All of the beauty of Shakespeare’s language is on full display in this 3+ hour production.

I saw the show on opening night so it was not as smooth as it probably will be later in the run. But even with its flaws (some of which may not be corrected), this Richard II is vastly superior to the show done at Red Bull with Michael Urie earlier this year. No blame should go to the cast in that production, but director Craig Baldwin made changes in language and scene cuts that destroyed the essence of the tale. And Baldwin’s “love affair” with Urie gave the audience a Richard II that ignored or destroyed many of the plot lines. None of that is a problem in the ATA full production.

In the absolutely perfect move, Jennings chose Sam Cruz to play the title character. Cruz has a deep understanding of Shakespeare that he previously brought to the stage in supporting roles, but here he successfully transfers that brilliance to the title character. Sam Hardy’s Bolingbroke shows the conflict between who the character imagines himself to be and the evil and ambitious person he actually is. Gregory O’Connell’s York shows his character with all of his duplicities where decisions are controlled by ambition, rather than fealty to King or family.

The three significant female characters, Constance Christie as the Duchess or Gloucester, Annie Unger as The Queen and Jane Culley as the Duchess of York all show something that is unusual in Shakespeare’s work. They play women with much higher moral standards than most female Shakespearean characters and without the foolishness of a Cordelia or Ophelia or the childishness of a Juliette. They are very different than most Shakespearean women.

The production, as is common with most off-Broadway or off-off Broadway productions with a cast this large, does have the expected problem of uneven talent levels. Another production problem is that there does not seem to be a lighting director for the show and that may have led to some incorrect lighting color choices. Lighting sometimes fails to convey the proper mood. Lights were the proper color for incandescent lighting, but wrong for LED spots.

The most significant problem with the show is that the cast seems uncomfortable playing off Cruz’s Richard. Cruz understands that more than a tragic figure, Richard’s behavior is meant to be comedic to Shakespeare’s 16th and 17th century audiences. Much of the cast seems to have trouble seeing the comedy and incorrectly play the show as a drama and not the comedy that Shakespeare and Cruz’s performance recognize is the essence of the play.

Still, despite the production’s flaws, this a rare opportunity to see Richard II done in its purest form. It is an opportunity that should not be missed.