Druid Shakespeare: Richard III

Druid Shakespeare: Richard III

Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival

Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College

November 10, 2019

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival

The U.S. Production Premier of Druid Shakespeare: Richard III is mind blowing.  It is part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival.  The company is based in Ireland.  The production is masterfully directed by Gerry Hynes.  Aaron Monaghan brings depth, cunning, and malicious humor to the title role.  He captivates the attention of the audience, dragging them into his murderous rise to power.

Aaron Monaghan as Richard III
Photo courtesy of Druid Shakepeare: Richars III
& Lincoln Center's White Lights Festival

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (played by Aaron Monaghan), plots against his brother, King Edward (played by Bosco Hogan), to gain the throne for himself.  He woos Lady Anne (played by Siobhán Cullen) after brutally murdering her husband and father-in-law.  He then creates a rift between Edward and their other brother, Clarence (played by Marty Rea).  He confines Edward’s heirs to the tower, then arranges for Clarence to be executed.  Once crowned king, Richard must do away with Edward’s heirs and marry his daughter, Elizabeth, to insure his sovereignty.  His bloody reign comes to an end before the marriage can be arranged.

Photo courtesy of Druid Shakepeare: Richars III
& Lincoln Center's White Lights Festival

This company of thirteen phenomenal actors illuminates Shakespeare’s classic with clarity and vigor.  Each character is distinctly drawn, crisply interpreted, and urgently driven.  Every actor portrays their character with stunning conviction, confronting threatening conflict with a myriad of tactics that emotionally engage the audience and enthrall the senses.

Druid Shakespeare: Richard III is playing at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College through November 23.  You MUST see this production.  Get a ticket today!

Domenick Danza

The Underlying Chris

The Underlying Chris

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

November 10, 2019

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Will Eno’s The Underlying Chris is a touching and provocative exploration about the continuity of life.  The Second Stage Theater production is beautifully directed by Kenny Leon.  Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado keeps the action flowing smoothly, connecting scenes that often span a number of years.  The cast changes roles from scene to scene, creating memorable and truthful moments that heighten your interest and propel the action forward.

It starts with a birth.  Chris is laying in his bassinette, while his mother is on the phone making an appointment with the pediatrician.  She is concerned because Chris seemed to have sustained a slight injury while playing with a large stuffed toy.  In the next scene Chris is a young boy, telling his nanny about his swimming lessons and aspirations to learn to dive.  He still feels the twinge in his back from his earlier injury.  The scene that follows finds Chris, a teenage girl, in a hospital being examined by a doctor after a diving accident.  We follow Chris as he/she grows to an adult, then a senior citizen.  In each scene the character is played by a different actor of a different gender and/or race.  Chris’ story continues to build, giving each audience member a specific opportunity to relate and identify.  This life story seems to encompass all of us.

The Full Cast of The Underlying Chris
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Will Eno sets up the structure and device of this journey right away.  Once you buy into it, the connecting messages ring with clarity and truth.  His writing, which seems simple at first, dives deep to the heart of a larger thematic message.  The dialogue is skillfully crafted and his subtle through line is prolifically structured.  The cast does a phenomenal job engaging the audience in this exploration.

The Underlying Chris is playing at the Tony Kiser Theater through December 15.  You’ve got to see it!

Domenick Danza

The Young Man from Atlanta

The Young Man from Atlanta

Signature Theatre

The Pershing Square Signature Center

November 9, 2019

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize winning The Young Man from Atlanta is back at Signature Theatre where it premiered twenty-four years ago.  The production is directed by Michael Wilson, who guides this stellar cast straight to the heart of Mr. Foote’s writing.  Aiden Quinn and Kristine Nielsen deliver rich performances layered with backstory and subtext.  Mr. Foote’s themes ring with vivid clarity as the characters struggle to regain their sense of value in a changing world.

It is 1950 in Houston Texas.  Will Kidder (played by Aiden Quinn) has just been let go from the company where he has worked for thirty-eight years.  He decides right away to start a company of his own, yet realizes it will be difficult to raise the funds because he has just built a new home for himself and his wife, Lily Dale (played by Kristine Nielsen).  They lost their son to a swimming accident six months ago, and are struggling to face the facts involved in the incident.  Their late son’s friend from Atlanta has been calling and visiting.  Lily Dale is comforted by these calls, but Will refuses to see him.  When Lily Dale admits that she gave money to the young man from Atlanta, Will feels betrayed.  They have to be honest with one another if they are to move through the challenges they face. 

Aiden Quinn & Kristin Nielsen
Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Aiden Quinn brings the depth, grounding, and stubbornness required for the role of Will Kidder.  While you feel for him, you also see the changes he needs to undergo in order to survive.  Kristine Nielsen brings humor and charm to the role of Lily Dale.  She delivers genuine moments of heartfelt grief and fear that display the complexity of her character.  Stephen Payne is warm and strong as Pete Davenport, Lily Dale’s stepfather.  Jon Orsini is glib and energetic as Pete’s great nephew, Carson.

The Young Man from Atlanta is playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center through December 15.  It is an excellent production of a riveting play.

Domenick Danza

Hamnet

Hamnet

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Next Wave 2019

November 2, 2019

Photo courtesy of Dead Centre
& BAM Next Wave 2019

The Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival is presenting the Dead Centre production of Hamnet.  Written and directed by Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel, this unique and original work illuminates what little is known about William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, who died at age eleven.  Shakespeare’s grief over this loss is reflected in much of his work, and his most well-known tragic character, Hamlet, is named for him.  This piece beautifully looks at the abandonment and haunting that results from losing a child at a young age.

We meet Hamnet (played by Aran Murphy), an eleven-year-old boy, looking for his father in the crowd.  He recites the well-known “To be or not to be” soliloquy, yet does not fully understand its meaning.  He throws a ball against the wall, hoping it will one day pass through, as quantum physics predicts if can over infinity.  He invites an audience member to come on stage and play the ghost of King Hamlet as he appears to the Prince.  The scene does not go as well as he hopes, then the ghost of his true father, William Shakespeare, appears to him.  Together they face their grief in order to pass through the wall that separates them.

Photo courtesy fo Dead Centre & BAM Next Wave 2019

Aran Murphy is genuine and delivers a provocative performance.  The writing is layered with metaphor that transcends centuries as it answers the main dramatic questions: Is a parent’s grief caused by the haunting of their deceased child, or is the deceased child trapped into haunting because of the parent’s grief?  The action of the play suggests a mutuality.  The grief propels both characters into a state of inaction, much like the fictional character, Hamlet.

The video design by José Miguel Jiménez is brilliant, creating engaging effects that heighten the main theme of this play.  Hamnet ends it’s run at BAM Fisher on November 3.  It is a thought provoking and intelligently developed piece of theatre.

Domenick Danza