KING LEAR Previews — Page 6

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

 

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

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...