TRAGIC KINGDOM // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "KING LEAR"

BY MATEO MORENO

Through the thunder and the lightening, through the madness and the text (OHHHH, the text) the title character in Shakespeare’s KING LEAR usually rants and raves, screams and shouts, all to our delight.  However, in “Theatre for a New Audience’s” latest production, which runs through May 4^th at their luscious new Brooklyn location, this King Lear believes “less is more.”  That is, he still is a fire-raging bit of emotion, banishing his youngest daughter for daring to not compliment him, but it’s a quiet rage, and one he regrets (a subtle stroke that gleams British actor Michael Pennington’s eyes).  Pennington doesn’t attempt any past Lear here, instead chooses to interpret it completely different.  He’s a sadder Lear, one that is quietly crumbling in front of us instead of sinking quickly into Lava.  After Lear banishes his youngest daughter Cordelia (a quietly affective Lilly Englert), the pieces all through the land start to fall apart.  His other two daughters Goneril and Regan (Rachel Pickup & Bianca Amato) begin their own scheming, against each other, and being to doom each other in the process.  The Earl of Gloucester (Christopher McCann) has his own giant problems forming within his family; his son Edmund (Chandler Williams) is scheming against his own brother Edgar (Jacob Fishel).  Once the scheme has begun, much darker consequences come into play, as anyone who has read or seen Lear before knows.  Edgar must become a different man to seek justice and the Earl himself is about to get a literal blinding revelation thrust upon him.  And all of the madness and misfortune that comes has to do with an incredibly selfish family decision.  Oh, how we say the things we don’t always mean…

Director Arin Arbus (the Associate Artistic Director at TFANA) has again crafted a beautiful adaptation of a Shakespeare classic, much like she has done recently with Much Ado About Nothing & The Taming of the Shew.  The stage is mostly bare but intensely effective lighting and a slowly descending drawbridge door compel you just as any flashy set would (the ending sequence is especially effective).  The story of Lear is a tragic one, one that traces King Lear wanting to retire and then banishing his daughter, the Earl of Kent, and slowly tears apart everything that he once held dear.  Michael Pennington relishes each scene, from his slow walk into the theatre to his plunge to death in the final tragic scene.  It’s a beautifully layered performance, and Pennington truly strikes a new Lear that feels fresh and original.  As his three daughters, Lilly Englert, Rachel Pickup, & Bianca Amato each impress; Amato is especially delicious with her self-serving sister.  Even her smallest facial expressions garnered laughs within the audience.  Also a major highlight is Jacob Fishel, who delights in both his roles of Edgar and his madman disguise.  Not everything works, however, as there are a few flat performances or in the case of Jake Horowitz’s Fool, full of odd and peculiar choices.  His Fool seems like a bratty teenager with less wit than he thinks instead of a classic Shakespeare Fool who relishes mocking those around him.  However, even with a few missteps like that, this King Lear is a beautifully spare piece of theatre.  One that showcases what a powerhouse this play truly is.

MATEO’S GRADE: B+

Directed by: Arin Arbus  Written By: William Shakespeare Starring: Michael Pennington, Lilly Englert, Rachel Pickup, Bianca Amato, Jacob Fishel, Chandler Williams, Christopher McCann, Timothy D. Stickney

Content Advisory: Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity 

BOTTOM LINE:  Spare and powerful, Theatre for a New Audience adds yet another winner in their impressive history of memorable Shakespeare.

A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM"

BY MATEO MORENO

Throughout all of Shakespeare’s comedies, certain themes always run through them: Love and loss, forced humility, the fool, the lovers, mistaken identities.  Yet one has always shined a brighter magic.  That one is, of course, A MIDSUMMER  NIGHT’S DREAM and over the years directors have aimed their respective creative lights onto it.  More than any other, Midsummer always called upon a unique creative approach.  The text calls for magic, and directors are tasked with creating it right in front of our eyes.  I can think of only a handful of directors that could truly show me a vision I have not yet seen with this show.  At the top of that list is Julie Taymor who, as luck would have it, has now tackled the classic ethereal romance in Brooklyn, kicking off Theatre for a New Audience’s new permanent home at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center.  Some theatregoers I know were fearing (and even the more vicious among them hoping) another hazard filled production.  However, they will be sadly disappointed after seeing this glorious production.  To quote The Bard himself: “What fools these mortals be.”

Entering the space (which harkens a Shakespearean Globe like feel) it seems all but empty except for a bed.  Taymor’s vision of Puck (played here by Kathryn Hunter) is a whisp like creature, part contortionist, part circus ringleader, armed with a bowler hat and face painted in white.  She is the first to arrive on stage and moves to the bed, laying down on it as it slowly rises into the air.  Tree roots appear below, pushing the bed up, up, up.  A group of men come onto the stage, cutting the bed from the roots as a giant draped fabric wisps Puck and the bed away to revel a projection towering above us: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  There is nothing small about this production and that’s just how Taymor wants it.  Yes, we are definitely in her world and she embraces the magic within the play at every corner turned.

For those not familiar with the story, Midsummer tells a tale of human and fairy, lovers at odds, and a lover fighting to be noticed by her one true affection.  It tells the tale of a man named Nick Bottom and a group of ham-boned actors putting on a not exactly great play within the play.  It tells the tale of the King Oberon, his magical bride Titania, and a…donkey.  It’s all silly, frothy, and light hearted fun and Taymor excels with nearly every moment, presenting a world that Shakespeare only dreamt about.  Yes, this is a match made in heaven, with the Bards classic words showcased with Taymor’s truly powerful vision (if you’re not floored by Puck and Titania’s entrance, Bottom’s Puppet Donkey head, or the radiant ending to the first Act, you may not have a pulse).  Constance Hoffman’s glorious costume designs are a sight to behold (especially the striking Oberon and Titania) and Es Devlin’s scenic designs are wondrous (as is the Aerial and flight designs by Airealistic).  The lighting (by Donald Holder) is spooky, romantic, and sexy (sometimes making characters seemingly “glow”) and Matt Tierney’s sound design matched with Elliot Goldenthal’s original score is simply marvelous.

Enough with the stunning visuals and onto the actors!  Kathryn Hunter is simply unearthly as the most unique and original Puck I dare say I’ve ever seen.  Gone are any and all preconceived notions of the character; here Hunter plays Puck as a circus ringleader, contorting her body every which way imaginable while crawling, skipping, and flying through the air.  She nails every bit of humor and adds a mystical revelry to each moment.  David Harewood is a powerful Oberon, both in his appearance and in his mighty performance.  His painted skin shimmers in the lighting and his golden accessories stun.  Tina Benko (so good recently in Women’s Project’s Jackie) is incandescent as Titania.  Her look is that of Tilda Swinton mixed with The Snow Queen, decked in all white with blue lights shining upon her body.  She’s so incredibly beautiful to look at you might be distracted and not pay attention to her sultry and sexy performance, but that would be a mistake.  She turns The Fairy Queen into a marvelous wonder.  In a role almost always played as a “fool,” Max Casella portrays Bottom as a slightly inept but well-meaning man (much younger than most incarnations) and flavors him with a New York spirit (and accent) and a spirited soul.  Though not nearly as memorable as one would hope such a great role would be, he does often shine, as do the rest of his acting troupe.  Also worthy of note is Roger Clark’s regal and powerful performance as Duke Theseus, Zach Appelman’s razor sharp turn as Demetrius, and Mandi Masden’s fully realized Helena.  There are a few hiccups (an elongated pillow fight doesn’t quite work as well and the other two lovers lack the more distinct lovers power) but overall, it is a shimmering example of originality.

As I was being mesmerized by this newest interpretation, I was momentarily distracted by a patron behind me griping, “THIS is not how Shakespeare would have done it,” as if one, he knew Shakespeare, and two, there is one and only one way to do it.  Perhaps he would like to see the EXACT same production of the exact same play over and over, but for the rest of us, we can bask in the beauty of the new meeting the old, the imagination meeting the wit, the master meeting the master.

Written By William Shakespeare Directed By Julie Taymor Starring Kathryn Hunter, David Harewood, Tina Benko, Max Casella, Zach Appelman, Lilly Englert, Jake Horwitz, Mandi Masden, Roger Clark, Okwui Okpokwasili  Closes on  Janurary 12th at Theatre for the New Audience's Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place (Brooklyn, NY)

Mateo’s Grade: A-

Bottom Line: A glorious, transcendent production that is truly a "must see."