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PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

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#1

PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/2/09 at 11:24pm

Trevor Nunn's staging of KING LEAR starring Ian McKellen in the title role.

Is a "Great Performances" presentation.

No word if they've cut his nude scene.
#5

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/2/09 at 11:49pm

Of course you did. Can we have one thread without mentioning Gypsy?

I have no desire to see Ian McKellen, one of my favorite actors and activists, nude, so no big loss for me.
#6

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:50am

"I have no desire to see Ian McKellen, one of my favorite actors and activists, nude, so no big loss for me."

Well, that nude scene is brief, at best. So you're telling us you don't have any desire to see arguably one of the greatest actors ever tackle one of the greatest roles ever written?

Some fan.
#10

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 8:57am

They already showed it on UK TV - I thought it was really badly filmed. I saw the production twice, and thought it was good, and McKellen's performance very good, but in this filmed version it comes across as lifeless and ugly. It's a shame.
#11

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:24am

I'm not especially interested in seeing him nude, though having missed the production I'd like to see it in its entirety. I don't care for someone choosing to edit out portions for me. Will the full production be on the DVD?
#12

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:45am

*mental image of Sir McKellen dancing around in his birthday suit singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses"... or maybe he's just dancing to Ethel's version... lol.
It's not impossible...
#13

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 12:06pm

Bobby don't be silly. McKellan's nude scene was not about seeing a hot guy naked, and you're smart enough to know that.

It was about Lear being stripped down to nothing, literally and metaphorically. It was a powerful raw emotional experience, and you would have considered yourself lucky to have seen a world-class actor of his stature and integrity play a part like that.

I'm sorry the film seems to have turned out disappointingly. I saw it at BAM and consider it one of a handful of greatest Shakespearean performances I have ever seen. I can't imagine I will ever see a Lear its equal in my lifetime.
#14

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 2:24pm

I haven't seen the film yet, but I saw snippets of it during a documentary about acting Shakespeare (goddamn but that was an aces documentary :3) and was VERY disappointed they went to a studio and filmed it with sets and stuff. The stage set was wonderful, I'd rather they'd just set up a camera and filmed it onstage as was. re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

I do like the euphemism potential. "Oh, I saw Ian McKellen's Lear during its London run, y'know. And I saw his *Lear*, if you get what I mean. *nudge nudge, wink wink*".

I'm seeing Pete Postlethwaite's Lear for my birthday. I hope not to see his Lear though.
Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter
#16

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:53pm

There is actually a very brief, fraction-of-a-second glimpse of the upper area of McKellen's private parts. But he doesn't stomp around completely naked like in the stage version. Instead, somebody pulls Lear's pants back up just a few moments after they've been pulled down.

And as another poster noted, the photography overall is sort of ugly. They've purposely gone for the opposite of bright and colorful.
#18

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:59pm

Regardless if it's edited or not, I still can't wait to watch it! Although I would prefer unedited of course.
If you hide from yourself, be someone else for someone else's sake, that would be the greatest mistake - bare
#19

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:03pm

I do like the euphemism potential. "Oh, I saw Ian McKellen's Lear during its London run, y'know. And I saw his *Lear*, if you get what I mean. *nudge nudge, wink wink*".

My friend saw EQUUS in London and endlessly bragged about seeing Daniel Radcliffe naked. A couple weeks later, I said to him: "You may have seen Harry Potter's wand, but I saw Gandalf's staff."
Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent

"He's a tramp, but I love him."
#20

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 1/8/09 at 2:44pm

It is one of my greatest regrets that I missed the Lear last year when it played BAM. I'm glad, therefore, that I will have the opportunity to see a "somewhat" production on TV. As far as the nudity goes, I couldn't care less, not having any particular desire to see McKellan naked. Cheyenne Jackson, Ethan Hawke, Bobby Steggert, Bobby Canavale, yes. Ian McKellan? NO.
BroadwayEd
#21

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 3/25/09 at 6:19pm

So, who's planning on watching tonight?
"Inside every actor there is a Tiger, a Pig, an Ass, and a Nightingale. You never know which one is going to show up." -John Michael Higgins in FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
#24

re: PBS to air McKellen's LEAR beginning March 25

Posted: 3/25/09 at 9:29pm

It's recording now...
9/10 - Next To Normal, Ensemble Theatre
9/18 - Brian Stokes Mitchell, Cincy Pop's
9/28 - Death Of A Salesman, Wright State

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