KING LEAR Previews- Page 6

[bfreak]

Posted: 3/23/19 at 10:58am

I saw the production last night, and overall felt positively about it, but there were definitely some caveats, and some directorial choices that really didn’t work for me.


Glenda Jackson was tremendous as expected, providing a fierce yet vulnerable king that breaks your heart. Houdyshell was great, along with the three actresses playing the daughters (though I did think that Ruth Wilson was a bit stronger in her Cordelia scenes than as the Fool). I also found John Douglas Thompson to be a standout.


I hate to be so negative, but I do not understand how the actor playing Oswald was cast. His speech impediment really affected his scenes, and I also really thought his acting wasn’t very effective (the audience was laughing during his death scene). Also, I’m all for inclusion of deaf actors, but I felt in this case the signing was distracting and affected the pacing of those scenes. I selfishly wish that Michael Arden is only playing that part, since his acting when speaking the lines was very engaging and believable.


The pacing of the performance is very inconsistent. The first act, while interesting and engaging, does drag on way too long, and should have an extra intermission. 2 hours can feel fast for some plays (Network), but you could tell the audience was very restless by the time intermission came around. The second act flew by, which was better, but again the first act was truly way too long.


The orchestra worked at times, but then became distracting. It just made the production feel too busy, and it would’ve helped if they only used the score for incidental tracks in between scenes.


Overall through the problems, I did have a fulfilling experience last night and feel privileged to have seen Glenda Jackson two years in a row, in two powerhouse performances. I appreciated the strong principal cast and enjoyed the set and costumes, but felt the pacing was compromised and really questioned those select casting decisions. I think Glenda Jackson will get nominated (and potentially win), but I’m not sure about the rest.

Updated On: 3/23/19 at 10:58 AM

[teatime2]

Posted: 3/30/19 at 5:38pm

The cast was fine. I loved Ruth Wilson and thought she was the best one. She'll be getting a nom for sure. Jackson was lackluster which was a disappointment, and that was a huge bummer since I loved her in Three Tall Women. Gold really blew it on this one. Nothing special. It was so lifeless, and lacked any sort of excitement or freshness. Just a B level production of King Lear at a Shakespeare Festival. I'm also damn tired of Gold exploiting disabled actors as his gimmicks. Follow suit of Daniel Fish and include disabled actors, but include them and not make it a choice because it is "trendy". Ugh. 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 3/30/19 at 11:03pm

FYI, pretty much the entire balcony is available for the opening night performance this Thursday, 4/4, at 5 p.m.

[playgoer22]

Posted: 3/31/19 at 2:26pm

I am the biggest Glenda Jackson fan, and Three Tall Women was superb.  This really disappointed me, especially for the price I paid for my tickets.  I wanted to be up close, so I paid through the nose. But it was a bit of a slog for me, albeit with some nice moments. I hope they pick up the pace, and find some soul -- the director seems to be doing 6 different productions at the same time. He should choose one! Still, always a thrill to see GJ, and this play, on stage. 

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 4/27/19 at 2:45pm

Is the stage high for this production? Anyone sat in Row BB of the Orchestra?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/25/19 at 1:46am

The fourth play of my trip.  I know this got pretty miserable reviews, but I really enjoyed it (as did the other three people with whom I was traveling), and I don't really even like Shakespeare productions as a sole.

First of all, I was second row center, which I definitely preferred for a show like this...close proximity kept me more engaged than I might have been 10 rows back.  I felt that the show was  happening around me.

What I liked:  The play itself; the performances of most of the key actors, especially Glenda Jackson, Ruth Wilson, the actors who played Edmund and Edgar (Edmund was an understudy and he was outstanding); Jayne Houdishell, and the actor who played Kent.  No playbill handy, else I would have referred to them by name.  I agree with those who said that the approach to the language varied a little too much by actor, but it really did not bother me. I also liked SOME of the music, i.e., when it was not intrusive; and the set, but I admit that I didn't even see the much maligned purple carpet from my seat.  I remembered allusions previously made re TrumpTower and, hating the man more than anyone else in my lifetime, I went with it.

What I disliked:

King Lear is complicated enough without introducing sign-language into the picture.  It was just distracting, although both actors were solid in their shared role.  

And who the hell decided to hire someone with a lisp for Edmund's lackey?  I actually felt sorry for the actor because he was just so wrong in every way possible for his role.  I also found the disaster on stage for all of the pos-intermission scenes a little over the top.  There were certainly times when the music was very intrusive.  I liked the music and the musicians did a great job, but it really was too loud occasionally.  Yet another distraction.

My biggest issue, however, was with two actresses who I have liked in everything in which I have ever seen them: Elizabeth  Marvel and Aisling O'Sullivan.  O'Sullivan in particular overacted pretty much most of the time, she screeched so shrilly that I began to wonder what damage she was doing to her vocal cords, and had a hard time hearing what she was screeching.  I can't quite articulate my issues with Marvel, but I just thought she was a little over the top, if not nearly as much as O'Sullivan.

Despite the flaws, I really did enjoy it a lot, remarkable given that I seriously considered wasting the tickets and seeing something else.

[forgetmenotnyc]

Posted: 5/29/19 at 11:17am

Jarethan, you missed the "disability-blind" aspect to the casting of Matthew Maher who doesn't merely have a lisp but speech probs impacted by hearing loss - or am I completely flummoxed in my perception here? (I would imagine an actor with a voice like that having a hard time getting cast in anything professional enough to warrant Obie attention as his bio. mentions, or am I being unkind?)

Frankly, all the blind casting of late is as tiring to me as the trite scenic choice to display a deteriorating kingdom with set wreakage. Broadway seems to be undermining itself with choices that ask for BLINDNESS from an audience already in the choir, so to speak, yet also with refined senses able to really value beauty & well-done artistry?

This prod. not only doesn't deliver the greatness it promises, it becomes the "Springtime for Lear" in its sabotage or misguided leadership. Everyone seems to be scrounging for their own games. I liked Glenda Jackson's seething & the way she threw her head back with huge black cavernous open mouth resembling "The Scream", but like Houdyshell's portrayal of male roles - there seems to be little to no effort made there? Mrs. Jackson even appears flirtily coquettish in Act II. Are we supposed to be blind here because of Lear's madness?

Tweaking of plot points was so cavalierly brandished about, the path supposed to have been carefully worked out to a collective tragedy of our frail & fallible ccondition - is simply not working here, IMHO. I used to believe one could attend less than ideal theatre & still be able to get through it appreciating the authors intentions. Not anymore after this one.

Updated On: 5/29/19 at 11:17 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/30/19 at 10:43am

Well written observations.  I agree with some of your points, not others.  

I have seen 'alternative casting' work in a number of cases, but I think it does not work for someone with vocal issues performing Shakespeare, which is so hard to understand in the first place, at least for me.  I had no issues with the ladies playing men, and did not notice any coquettishness, but I may have missed it.

I suspect that there are three key reasons why I enjoyed this performance, given all the dismissals it received: (1) I had nothing to compare it to, since I had never seen it before, although I have read it twice; (1) I purchased the ticket (even splurged) specifically to see Glenda Jackson, and I was not disappointed (speaking of nothing to compare to, I have to acknowledge that I wondered once or twice if Lear is always played as 'intensely' as Jackson did...I plan to see a version of the play on Amazon or Netflix tin which Lear is played by Anthony Hopkins just to be able to compare her performance to another great performer); (3) my seats was for me so good that it brought me close to the action, in a way that would  not have been the case even 5 rows back.  

Leaving the theatre, I reminded my wife of something that happened 40 years or so ago.  The BAM was presenting LDJIN with Jason Robards and Zoe Caldwell.  I had never seen it and, although I lived in NJ and was working ridiculous hours, I decided to go for it...in the cheap seats, no less.  Well, when it opened months later, the thing was crucified by the critics; and the day of the performance, I said I didn't want to go.  My wife, who has never wasted a dime in her life, said to  suck it up and go.  We went and we loved it.  In my party offer, I must concede that I was the only one who enjoyed it a lot, but the three others also liked it (and none had seen it performed live before).  So, lack of familiarity may help seeing mediocre to bad production of a mega-classic for the first time.

 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 5/30/19 at 10:56am

Matthew Maher is one of my all-time favorite actors. I have not seen him in "King Lear", but he was wonderful in "Mr. Burns" and "Othello". He has given some of the most intelligent and hilarious performances I have seen on stage in the past decade. To my knowledge, he is very well-respected in the theater community. And for what it's worth, my husband is also a very big fan of Mr. Maher's work.

While he may have a lisp, I do not believe he is disabled, but I do believe some of what is being said about him in the previous posts is unkind - and that's putting it mildly.

***I do not know him or his family personally, nor do I have any financial investment in his career.***

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/30/19 at 3:58pm

Jarethan said: "
My wife, who has never wasted a dime in her life"


Jarethan, This made me laugh.  That is so me.

Updated On: 5/30/19 at 03:58 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/30/19 at 7:01pm

theatregoer3 said: "Matthew Maher is one of my all-time favorite actors. I have not seen him in "King Lear", but he was wonderful in "Mr. Burns" and "Othello".He has given some of the most intelligent and hilarious performances I have seen on stage in the past decade. To my knowledge, he is very well-respected in the theater community. And for what it's worth, my husband is also a very big fan of Mr. Maher's work.

While he may have a lisp,I do not believe he is disabled, butI do believe some of what is being said about him in the previous posts is unkind - and that's putting it mildly.

***I do not know him or his family personally,nor do I have any financial investment in his career.***"

I have nothing against the actor...I just felt that Shakespeare is hard enough to understand without having the distraction of a lisp (and I seem to recall a high pitched voice, but it was the lisp that bothered me).  

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/30/19 at 7:02pm

ArtMan said: "Jarethan said: "
My wife, who has never wasted a dime in her life"

Jarethan, This made me laugh. That is so me."

Hey, it has saved me a lot of money over the years...