Can I say that of all of the Shakespearean tragedies that I've seen, setting aside Romeo & Juliet because it's just in a league of its own. I like King Lear best (or second best) of all! (I've scene all of the major ones now with the exception of Othello.) I came expecting a play about the betrayal of scheming daughters and the unraveling of a foolish old king--and I got that; but what I also got which was just as powerful is the betrayal of one brother over another! The story line of the relationship between Edgar and Edmund and their father, Gloucester was just as compelling. In fact, I was surprised by the lack of stage time given to the daughters. None of them really have roles that are anything but predictable and, well, flat. The juicy stuff goes to King Lear, Edgar and Gloucester, and to a lesser extent Edmund.
The cast was made up of many fine actors and a few mediocre ones. I wasn't overly impressed with any of the actors playing the daughters, but all where fine, none detracted from the production. Of the women in the cast, one did stand out, Shirine Babb in the role of Kent. Banish in the first moments, only to return in disguise and do her best to protect her beloved king. She was quick and embodied the character invisibly. Craig Wallace, a member of the regional theatre community royalty, played a wonderful Gloucester, and Matthew J. Harris' take on his estranged son, Edgar, was nothing short of compelling. The final scene of the first half has Edgar in the guise of Tom leading his blinded father off toward the cliff's of Dover to commit suicide having had his eyes gouged out by Cornwall and Regan, and realizing that he had placed his faith in the wrong son. It was such an overwhelmingly tender moment that I cried--and I was NOT alone.
All of this aside, the show ultimately belonged to Patrick Page. Most recently having played Hades in the musical Hadestown to universal acclaim, he brought his A-game to the role of Lear. There was never a moment when he wasn't the epitome of the tragic king. I don't know what words I can use to extol his portrayal of this iconic role. He was funny and fierce, flamboyant in his esprit de corps, and fragile in his growing feeble-mindedness. I'm still feeling something electric inside my chest just thinking about it. As my first Lear, it's hard to imagine that I'll ever discover a better Lear.
The stage started out in the hanger of an airport. A versatile set of flats that move in and out and back and forth to transform along with quickly switched in and out furniture pieces into a hand full of other settings. At one point a downed wingless four passenger plane slid onto stage to form the place of shelter King Lear and his comrades sought shelter in from the stormy night of betrayal by Goneril, Regan and Cornwall. Lighting and projections were used to great effect throughout. The costumes were fine. I don't know who to give credit to for Gloucester's "eyes," but whoever made them and whatever they were made of--bravo! Torn from Gloucester's face in a blood bath and then thrown upon the ground only to be stomp upon by Cornwall obliterating them into gooey-looking drop-sized projectiles flung all across the stage--Shakespeare would have been delighted by the realism and gore.
King Lear continues through April 8th, plenty of time to see it before it's gone. It's being performed at STC's smaller venue, the Klein Theater (formerly the Landsburg); and today's matinee performance was sold out--SRO.
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