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| Cast(in order of Appearance) Henry II, King of England ............. Jan Dalton Alais, A French Princess; half sister to Philip .... Sarna Salzman John, the youngest son ............... David Graves Geoffrey, the middle son .......... T.J. Ewing Richard Lionheart, the oldest son ............ Ed Girrbach Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's wife ......... Nan Worthington Philip, King of France ............ Dom Ramazetti |
Production Staff Director
............ Margaret Schaal |
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'Lion in Winter's' sharp wit heats up stage
by Rick Gould
Special sections Editor
TRAVERSE CITY -- "The Lion in Winter," now playing at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City, is a caustic look at British royalty and the power struggle behind the throne.
There are attempts at back-stabbing (both figurative and literal), power plays, arranged marriages, sibling rivalry and manipulative parental monarchs.
No, it's not about the current royal family. It's about King Henry II of England and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Plantagenets who rules from 1154-1485. Their bilious love/hate relationship with each other spilled onto their three sons, who were pawns in their powerplays with one another: Richard (the Lionhearted), Geoffrey and John, who was later king. Deciding which of the three would succeed Henry as king became a battle of wills between Henry and Eleanor. the ongoing struggle included Henry imprisoning his wife and his sons conspiring against him, with the occasional help of Eleanor or a French king of two.
"Lion" captures Henry and Eleanor's medieval world, circa Christmas 1183 at the Castle of Chinon, during the winter of Henry's 50th year. The acclaimed play is by James Goldman, who manages to make Henry roar like a lion and Eleanor as sly as a fox. From Goldman's pen, the royal pair play like a cross between two of theater's most famous bickering couples: the snarling George and Martha from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the zingy Eliot and Amanda of "Private Lives." No matter. This isn't a dry history lesson, but a splashy take on what might have transpired between the rowdy royals.
The play, later a successful film in 1968 starring Hollywood heavy-weights Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn, was recently revived on Broadway with acting powerhouses Laurence Fishburne and Stockard Channing. So it's fitting -- and fortunate -- that OTP has a royal pair of actors up to the challenge of witty sparring in Jan Dalton as King Henry and Nan Worthington as Eleanor.
Dalton is both physically and vocally imposing as Henry. He has a field day with the monarch's volatile emotions, reacting to the maneuvers of everyone around him. Worthington makes a clever counterpart as the temporarily freed queen. Eleanor is more the active manipulator, trying to change the future of the monarchy, so the audience is never quite sure when she is being genuine. And Worthington makes the most of the Machiavellian monarch who insinuates, vamps, emotes, rages and uses every other trick up her royal sleeve.
As the unfortunate sons, Ed Gribbeau as Richard, T. J. Ewing as Geoffrey and David Graves as John are good, though as the characters are written, they are either straight men or buffoons to the parents' royal machinations.
Samna Salzman plays the French princess Alais. She was raised by Eleanor, is currently Henry's lover and may possibly be a bride for a future king, and give an appealing, natural performance. Dominic Ramazetti is slyly arch as her half-brother, Philip of France -- an amused onlooker to the British royal shenanigans.
Since this is a highly dialogue and plot-driven play, the sets, music and lighting are straight-forward, simple and effective. The skillful costumes by Kathy Verstraete also add to the medieval atmosphere. And director Margaret Schaal does a fine job of creating an ebb and flow to the proceedings so that the escalating rounds of fighting for the royal crown energize rather than irritate the audience.
"The Lion in Winter" runs at 8 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays through Feb. 15,with a matinee at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb 9. Tickets are $14. Thursday performances feature student and senior rate tickets for $12 and hearing equipment by the Traverse city Quota Club. Reservations can be made by calling 947-2443 or visiting the box office at East Eighth and Cass. Orders may also be placed online at www.oltownplayhouse.com.
A BATTLE OF WILLS, WIT AND WORDS
OTP to open 'Lion in Winter' on mainstate
Special to the Record-Eagle: Nancy Sundstrom
The term "dysfunctional family" is common in today's society, but there's a good case to be made for the Plantagenet clan causing it to be introduced in the first place.
Headed by King Henry II of England and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Plantagenets ruled in the 12th century, from 1154-1485 A.D. The only love/hate relationship stronger than the one they had with each other was the one they had with their three sons: Richard (the Lionhearted), Geoffrey and John, who was later -- as king -- forced to sign the Magna Carta. Deciding which one of the three would succeed Henry on the throne when he died became an amazing and intriguing battle of wills, wit and words between Henry and Eleanor.
That combative struggle, well-documented in history books and notorious for the fact that Henry actually imprisoned his wife, became the basis for an acclaimed play by James Goldman, the brother of writer William Goldman. It was then made into a successful film in 1964 starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn, who tied with Barbra Streisand that year to win the award for Best Actress, the only time that has ever happened in Oscar history.
Locally, the play will open on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City and run through Saturday, Feb. 15. Director Margaret Schaal, who last helmed "My Fair Lady" for Old Town Playhouse, is in charge of taking the audience to Henry and Eleanor's medieval world, circa Christmas 1183 at the Castle of Chinon, in Henry's 50th year.
Schaal said the audience can look forward to seeing family power struggles played out against a backdrop of politics, ambition, revolution, greed and sibling rivalry.
"I love everything about this show, from the medieval time period to the costumes and the characters, who really give anybody a run for their money in terms of being a dysfunctional family", said Schaal, whose credits at this playhouse include serving in virtually every production position possible.
"The tag line we didn't use for promoting the play was 'Greed, power, love, betrayal and other family values,' but that pretty much sums up what's going on here. Still, this is a comedy, and what keeps things interesting is that each character knows what they want and they go after it, even when it keeps changing."
Schaal's cast is headed by Jan Dalton as Henry and Nan Worthington as Eleanor. They are joined by Ed Gribbeau as Richard, T. J. Ewing as Geoffrey, David Graves as John, Sarna Salzman as Alais and Domic Ramazetti as Phillip.
Veteran actor Dalton, who is no strange to playing kings given that he as appeared as Arthur in "Camelot" in addition to a wide range of largely classical roles, echoes Schaal in his appreciation for Goldman's melding of historical fact with dramatic tension and witty comedy.
"This is a terrific play about facinating people,", said Dalton, who was last seen in the original work, "Barta's Path" this past spring at OTP. "It is full of twists and plots, wit and barbs. The audience should come expecting to enjoy a visit with one of England's many dysfunctional familes and laugh at and with them. It's a different kind of reality show, and kind of like a visit with Ozzie and the Osbournes."
Dalton is relishing the opportunity to play the role of Henry II, a ruler who became king after many years of civil war and not only united England but conquered half of France.
"His energy was equaled only by his ambition and intelligence," he said. "He survived wars, rebellion and controversy to successfully rule all of England and half of France. Henry's plans of dividing and ruling his kingdom brought treachery from his sons. His sons rebelled against him, several times, often with King Louis and later with his son Philip of France, as their accomplice. He locked his wife Eleanor in Salisbury Tower for more than 15 years because she aided his sons in one of those rebellions."
To prepare for the part, Dalton has spent a fair amount of time researching the role, something he enjoys doing and has found greatly aids him in developing a character. He has looked into everything from past productions and medieval history to the types of shoes worn, food eaten and living conditions. He has read several books on Henry and Eleanor, as well as having spent some time viewing the film with O'Toole and Hepburn.
If audience members are interested in learning more about the play and its historical basis, they will have several opportunities over and above seeing the work performed on stage. NMC's Extended Education program is conducting a seminar on Feb. 4 entitled "My Kingdom for a Stage" that includes a ticket to the show and a questions and answer period. On Feb. 6, Horizon Books in downtown Traverse City will host a Medieval Luncheon with the show's cast at 1 p.m. "Authentic faire" researched by culinary anthropologist Judith D. Breen will be served for $6.75, and a program about food of the time and the play will follow. For more information, call 947-2210.
"The Lion in Winter" runs at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, with a matinee at 3 pm. Sunday, Feb. 9. Tickets are $14.
Thursday performances feature student and senior rate tickets for $12 and hearing equipment by the Traverse City Quota Club. Reservations can be made by calling 947-2443 or visiting the box office at East Eighth and Cass. Orders may also be placed on-line at www.oldtownplayhouse.com.
