After the opening performance, one thinks that Macbeth said it better: "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly."

Macbeth is referring to the unpleasant task of murdering King Duncan. While the nearly three-hour performance of "All's Well" is definitely too long and often difficult, it shouldn't call up murderous thoughts. But neither should we be as numbed as we are when emerging from it at nearly 11 p.m.

It does not have a complicated plot.

A grateful king marries Helena to Bertram. It should be a good match. Both their fathers — now dead — were illustrious men.

Doyle hasn't found the key to unlock the story from the words. As a result, the dialogue is unremittingly static and the most action comes from shifting around a bench — the most important stage prop.

There are screens at each side of the stage for projections that help label the characters and the locale, but they add neither wit nor much understanding.

There is a stab at humor when some drunken soldiers toast marshmallows over a campfire, but mostly the actors just talk.

May we have some subtext, please?

Danel Verdugo plays Helena — and while she made a big splash in 17th-century melodrama in a University of Hawai'i production of John Ford's "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" last season, she can't put a dent in this noble heroine.

Michael Burns appears as Bertram, but doesn't make him bad enough for us to gag at their marriage nor good enough for us to rejoice at his eventual character transformation.

Stephen Quinn is more believable as Parolles, Bertram's bad influence — a sleazy type who would be at home in unbuttoned polyester shirts and gold neck chains.

Bulldog plays the clown, and Linda Johnson and Craig Howes are articulate as the countess and the king.

In this production, we find our attention going to Sandra Finney's costumes — a mix of black, brown, and gray colors that look like they stepped out of a painting by one of the old masters.