King Lear

King Lear

Cort Theatre

April 23, 2019

Photo courtesy of King Lear

I spent Shakespeare’s birthday watching Glenda Jackson perform the role of King Lear on Broadway.  It could not have been a better celebration.  Director Sam Gold brings the text to the forefront as he guides each actor to a deep understanding of what drives their character’s actions.  His casting is impeccable.  His grasp of effective timing is flawless.  The original music by Philip Glass enhances the build of action and calms the conflict, intensifying the emotional impact and pace of the production.  Glenda Jackson is majestic in her complex portrayal of the King. 

King Lear (played by Glenda Jackson) decides to split his kingdom among his three daughters.  Before he does, he asks each one to profess their love for him.  Goneril, the eldest (played by Elizabeth Marvel), is gracious and respectful.  Regan, the second daughter (played by Aisling O’Sullivan), poetically exceeds her sister’s pronouncements.  The youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia (played by Ruth Wilson), is appalled by the insincere performances of her sisters, and answers truthfully and glibly.  This hurts and infuriates the King.  He disowns Cordelia and splits his kingdom in two among his ostensibly loyal and loving daughters.  The Earl of Kent (played by John Douglas Thompson) comes to Cordelia’s defense, and is immediately banished by the King.  Meanwhile, Edgar (played by Sean Carvajal) is planning on betraying his illegitimate brother, Edmond (played by Pedro Pascal) to remove him from the graces of their father, the Earl of Gloucester (played by Jayne Houdyshell).  The power struggle accelerates to full out war within the family, ending in devastating tragedy.

Glenda Jackson as King Lear
Photo courtesy of King Lear

The most dramatic and powerful scene is the blinding of the Earl of Gloucester by the Duke of Cornwall, Regan’s husband.  Aisling O’Sullivan drives this scene with fear and desperation, as her husband, played by Russell Harvard, pushes the action forward.  The scene is brutal and viscerally engaging.

One brilliant decision in double casting is that Ruth Wilson is playing both Cordelia and King Lear’s Fool.  Her vocal and physical characterizations in the contrasting roles are distinct and strong.  At one point she removes the wig she wears as the Fool.  It’s as if Cordelia is there with the King in his time of need when his other two daughters abandon and betray him.  This simple gesture speaks volumes to Shakespeare’s multi-layered theme of complicated family dynamic.

Ruth Wilson & Glenda Jackson
Photo courtesy of King Lear

The love triangle between Regan, Edgar, and Goneril is physically and sexually driven.  It feeds on the hunger for power these characters possess, which propels their action to their devastating downfall.  The battle that takes place between France and Albany as a result is simply and effectively staged.

King Lear is playing at the Cort Theatre through July 7.  Sam Gold has done an amazing job bringing Shakespeare’s themes to significant impact.  The entire cast is brilliant and powerful.  Glenda Jackson is magnificent.  Jayne Houdyshell is outstanding.  Get a ticket and see it for yourself.  

Domenick Danza

I Was Most Alive with You

I Was Most Alive with You

Playwrights Horizons

October 7, 2018

Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Craig Lucas has written a masterpiece in I Was Most Alive with You, now running at Playwrights Horizons.  He parallels this narrative of loss, despair, and letting go with the Old Testament’s Book of Job.  Since one of the main characters is deaf, the production is “shadow cast” and told in American Sign Language.  A portion of the dialogue is projected when the characters communicate solely through signing.  The collaborative efforts of Sabrina Dennison, Director of Artistic Sign Language, and Director Tyne Rafaeli create a seamless and powerful piece of theatre.  The production is a monumental feat, fusing every aspect of design to engage and challenge the audience to join the characters on this brutal and gut-wrenching journey.

Ash (played by Michael Gaston and shadowed by Seth Gore) meets with his close friend and writing partner, Astrid (played by Marianna Bassham and shadowed by Christina Marie), to choose and develop a new writing project after months of hiatus.  Ash and his family have experienced a string of tragic events that have made it difficult for him to work, yet left him in great financial need.  In order to face the hardships head on, Astrid pushes Ash to write the story of the events of the past eighteen months. 

Michael Gaston, Lisa Emery, & Russell Harvard
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

It starts with a car ride to the home of Ash’s mother, Carla (played by Lois Smith and shadowed by Kalen Feeney), for Thanksgiving dinner.  They pick up Ash’s wife, Pleasant (played by Lisa Emery and shadowed by Amelia Hensley), and start to discuss the Bible, particularly the Book of Job, where Job loses everything and is left in total despair.  We meet Ash’s son, Knox (played by Russell Harvard and shadowed by Harold Foxx), getting ready to leave for the same Thanksgiving celebration.  He is deaf and a recovering alcoholic who is convincing his new boyfriend, Farhad (played by Tad Cooley and shadowed by Anthony Natale), to not drink or misbehave when meeting the family for the first time.  Being Thanksgiving, the family’s skeletons emerge.  Tragedy falls on them in three heavy blows, same as in the Book of Job.  It is revealed that Carla is dying of cancer and the family’s finances are in ruin, then Knox is severely injured in a car accident on the way home.  Act II brings more dire hardships.  As a result of the car accident, Knox becomes addicted to opioids and, out of despair, Pleasant leaves her husband and son.  Ash works feverishly to hold on and not relapse to drinking as he helplessly watches his son spiral into a dark place.  Astrid pushes Ash to write an ending to their writing project, thus relinquishing control of the final outcome of his life’s events.

The full cast of I Was Most Alive with You
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

By having the characters write their own story, Craig Lucas chose a highly theatrical mechanism that places the theme directly into the action.  It gives the characters a vehicle for self-examination as events unfold in front of the audience.  All the characters struggle with the need to control.  Ash and Astrid observe every scene, whether they are in the action or not.  The sense of control is always present, no matter how unpredictable and extreme the scenes turn out to be.  It is not until the climax of the play that we see Ash releasing his desperate need for control.  The sense of what he wants to occur is clear, yet his facing the need to accept what he cannot control is painful and cathartic.

Russell Harvard as Knox
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

This play is emotionally absorbing and intellectually riveting.  The full cast (main characters and shadow cast) is riveting.  They are fully present with one another in every moment, creating intense and genuine interaction.  I Was Most Alive with You is running at Playwrights Horizons through October 14.  See it!  You will be challenged on every level.

Domenick Danza