SRO’s current production of “The Lion In
Winter” features an extremely skilled and capable cast, which delivers
Playwright James Goldman’s witty, often acerbic lines with marksmanship
precision, excellent timing and commitment to characters.
The story focuses on a day in the life of
Henry II of England and his troubled family as they squabble about the usual
family things like sibling rivalry and whom mommy or daddy likes best. In addition to the stereotypical family
dysfunction these folks also deal with great national issues about who has, or
can gain power and influence in controlling the great British Kingdom.
It is Christmas at Castle Chinon. Henry, II
(Aaron Sinclair) has released his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Joyce Leahy) from
her imprisonment and brought her to Chinon for the annual family Christmas
gathering with eldest son, Richard the Lionhearted (Justin King), middle son,
Geoffrey (Jordan Shear), youngest son John (Tom Murdock) and guests Princess
Alais (Grace Rinehart) and King Phillip of France (Samuel Bowen
Partridge).
Sinclair is bold, confident and strong in
his portrayal of Henry, though at times, his fierce anger and anguish crescendo
and he doesn’t leave enough room for his passion to grow. Thus, he sometimes ends up screeching.
King experiences similar challenges in his
portrayal of Richard.
Leahy, by contrast, is consistently
measured and nuanced in her delivery.
She has flashes of fervor, but it quickly subsides as she moves back to
cold and calculating, as befits Eleanor’s personality.
Murdock shouts and whines, but his tone and
attitude never seem inconsistent with John’s personality.
Shear’s performance is aptly subtle and
calculating as is Partridge’s. I
especially liked Partridge’s gestures and body language.
Rinehart seems tentative at times, but
that’s partially who Alais, is – a great pawn in the midst of all this family
scheming.
Under the excellent direction of
Kristofer Green, all cast members exhibit good stage presence and successfully
capture most of the savory moments provided by Goldman’s gold mine of great
quotes.
The set consists of a platform placed in
the middle of the Shedd Theatre stage with minimal furnishings and props. Some of the boards in the platform are
uneven, causing cast members to trip a bit as they move back and forth and
circle each other in this elaborate chess match.
Elegant costumes from Dayton Willison seem
appropriate to the period and help fill the otherwise drab space with color.
The music and sound effects that Green has
chosen are appropriately dark and haunting.
The audience is seated on two sides of the
platform. In this kind of arrangement, some part of the audience bank is often
going to be blocked from seeing actors' expressions and some of the action, though the actors and the
director do their best to minimize these problems. This kind of setting also puts the action up
close and personal, which can be intimidating in a piece that is this intense,
resulting in less responsiveness from the audience.
Rosemary Harris, who played Eleanor, in
the original 1966 Broadway production, won a Tony award for her
performance. “The Lion In Winter” has
since received many Broadway revivals and off Broadway performances. It was adapted into a popular 1968 movie,
featuring Peter O’Toole as Henry, Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor and Anthony
Hopkins as Richard.
It is a difficult play for amateur and
community groups, because of the challenging nature of the roles and the
material. Though the piece is well paced,
it is still two and a half hours with the intermission. The first act seems especially long.
SRO’s current production is a worthy and
successful rendering of this great classic work.
Performances continue through February 5th.
