Saint Joan on Broadway

Last weekend, I saw Condola Rashad as the title role in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan on Broadway. And yes, this Manhattan Theatre Club production definitely highlights the star power of Rashad, whose face adorns playbills, advertisements, and the theatre's marquee.

That doesn't mean that the supporting cast is anything to sniff at, though. This is one of the best ensemble casts you'll see doing a Shaw play. The show opens with Patrick Page as the irrepressible Robert de Baudricourt. Page is probably best known for his turn as the lord of the dead in the off-Broadway musical Hadestown. It should come as no surprise, then, when he returns in the second act as the chilling Inquisitor and dominates Joan's trial scene.

John Glover similarly dominates the second scene of the play as the Archbishop of Rheims, one of several advisors who bullies about the young Dauphin. Adam Chanler-Berat (the original Peter in Peter and the Starcatcher) plays the Dauphin with a goofy but lovable immaturity. Joan's miraculous picking out of the blood royal in a room full of nobles is hardly miraculous, given how much Chanler-Berat's Dauphin sticks out from the rest of the crowd, but as the Archbishop says, a miracle is simply an event which creates faith.

Daniel Sunjata shines as Dunois in the third scene, when the wind miraculously changes direction after Joan's arrival. The wind effect was achieved with projections across the set, which resembled a set of massive chimes hanging from the fly space of the theatre. Set designer Scott Pask (who also designed the sets for Something Rotten) managed to create an evocative abstract set that still conjured up the feel of the middle ages without looking explicitly medieval. Costume designer Jane Greenwood, on the other hand, strove to create period costumes, which I appreciated, as other productions I've seen of Saint Joan have all been in modern dress.

The fourth scene of the play came right before intermission, which was also the case with the production I saw last summer at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Though the scene is essentially just a conversation between the Earl of Warwick (played here by Jack Davenport) and Cauchon (Broadway director Walter Bobbie returning to acting for the role), it can produce fireworks when you have two great performers. That was the case here, where the characters' anachronistic discussion of Protest-ant-ism and Nation-al-ism drew howls of laughter from the audience.

In the scene that follows the Dauphin's coronation as King of France, a bitter pessimism set in, preparing the audience for the most famous scene in the play, Joan's trial. In Dark Night of the Soul, my own treatment of the Joan of Arc story, the trial takes up the entirety of the play, and Shaw understood that this must be the crux of any drama about the Maid. It is here that the actor playing Joan really has a chance to showcase her talent.

And what about Rashad, whose face adorns all of the publicity for the show? She's a rather unconventional Joan. Gone is the young innocence we typically associate with Joan, as Rashad gives us a much more cunning saint. In the first scene, as she fingers a chair in Baudricourt's quarters, we almost think she might be mad, but as Baudricourt's perception of her changes, so does ours. This is a woman who knows what she's doing and has no illusions about the dangers she is facing.

Rashad also isn't afraid to show the weakness of her character. She is battered down by the trial scene, and seems defeated when she declares that "only a fool will walk into a fire." Her freedom is more important to her than her life, though, and her embrace of martyrdom is paradoxically life-affirming in this production.

Director Daniel Sullivan also opts to keep the play's epilogue, which is perhaps the highlight of the show. It's delightful to see all the characters from the play scoot their way into the bedchamber of the sleeping king. When Glover returns, this time as a gentleman from the 1920s, his incongruous clothing makes an excellent contrast with the rest of the cast in their medieval garb, a joke of Shaw's that is lost in modern-dress productions.

Broadway's revival of Saint Joan, aided by Rashad's star power, will help to introduce a lot of playgoers to Shaw who might not generally see his work. Though this version is not as innovative as Bedlam's production of the play a few years ago, it does competently showcase Shaw's writing and will hopefully renew interest in Joan of Arc as we approach the 100th anniversary of her canonization.

Summer Shakespeare

Tomorrow is the solstice, marking the official beginning of summer, which means lots of open-air productions of Shakespeare!

I've already seen The Public Theater's all-female production of The Taming of the Shrew, which honestly, I found rather disappointing. After building up Katherina as a really interesting character capable of change and adaptation, the production cops out, going for gags at the end instead of finding some sort of emotional core.

Still, I remain hopeful for the Public's second production in Central Park, Troilus and Cressida, which opens July 19th. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the company's go-to director for classy productions of classics, it promises less gimmick and more substance. Sullivan directed the Public's joyous production of Cymbeline last year as well as their superb King Lear two years ago.

The Public isn't the only game in town, and Hudson Warehouse is currently performing Much Ado About Nothing at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Riverside Park. I haven't seen this production yet, but hope to get to it sometime this week. Hudson Warehouse will also be doing Othello starting July 28th, also at the Soldier's and Sailors' Monument.

Unfortunately, this looks like the last year for free Shakespeare in Inwood Park, as outdoor grilling seems to take precedence over outdoor theatre. A farewell production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona (complete with canine performers) closes June 25th.

Should you want to cross the Hudson into New Jersey (no passport needed), The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is doing a production of Coriolanus starring my old classmate Greg Derelian in the title role. This one, however, is indoors.

New York Classical Theatre is currently performing A Midsummer Night's Dream at the north end of Central Park, but I'm more interested in their production of The Winter's Tale opening in Battery Park on July 18th.

Why? Because I already have a ticket to see Midsummer at Shakespeare's Globe in London in August! Before I go, though, I'll have to see Shakespeare in the Parking Lot's new steampunk production of As You Like It.

Hip to Hip will be doing a rival production of As You Like It, as well as a production of Julius Caesar. I loved their version of The Merchant of Venice last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

So if you're looking for Shakespeare this summer, you're in luck! Just remember to bring the bug spray.

Shakespeare's Cymbeline in Central Park

Last night I attended the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Cymbeline starring Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe. Make your plans to see it now. This is a production you're not going to want to miss.

The Public's summer offerings at the Delacorte Theater can be hit or miss. I was mostly disappointed by The Tempest earlier this year, though last summer's King Lear was amazing. Daniel Sullivan, who also directed Lear, helmed this production, which boded well.

Earlier this week, going up to Belvedere Castle, I spied down into the Delacorte to see if I could get an idea of what the set looked like. I couldn't, which meant that walking into the theater yesterday was a bit of a surprise. Set designer Riccardo Hernandez has constructed a circular faux-grass stage on top of the regular stage at the Delacorte. The green circle is literally framed by a golden proscenium decorated with a golden eagle and sun, and surrounded by various bric-a-brac of Western civilization, including reproductions of some of the paintings you can see at the Metropolitan Museum of Art not far from the theater.

On either side of the stage-within-a-stage are rows of green seats with audience members. Yes, if you go to this production, you might be seated right up there with the actors. Here's what it says of the show's website:

Due to the intimate nature of this production of CYMBELINE, there will be a limited number of seats on The Delacorte stage. Guests in these seats will be required to adhere to a certain set of rules in order to ensure the safety of both the actors and the audience. These tickets may not be requested, however, some guests may be solicited by staff to fill those seats on the day of the performance at The Delacorte Theater.

It looked like the Public staff selected these audience members from the back and side of the audience, where there were some empty seats during the show. But beware! You might also be given lines. During the opening sequence, as actors David Furr and Jacob Ming-Trent set up the story, some of these audience members read questions assigned to the "two gentlemen" in the first scene of Shakespeare's text.

Furr and Ming-Trent constantly reappear in the show as various lords, soldiers, courtiers, and eventually as Guiderius and Arviragus, lost sons of the king. In fact, there is so much doubling the entire cast of characters is portrayed by only nine actors. Linklater plays both Posthumus and his rival, Cloten, a pairing I've also seen used by the British company Cheek by Jowl. Kate Burton is crazy sexy as the evil queen, and then later a perfectly believable old man as Belarius. Perhaps the most fun piece of double casting is Teagle F. Bougere as both the Roman general Lucius and the physician Cornelius, leading to some quick-change antics in the final scene.

That last scene, in which wonder upon wonder is revealed, is the heart of the play, and the production does it all brilliantly. We see ever-increasing joy bestowed upon King Cymbeline, played lovingly by Patrick Page. Lily Rabe, in the cross-dressing role of Imogen, strikes a balance between forgiveness and chastisement, and Steven Skybell warms our hearts as Pisanio, the put-upon servant of Posthumus.

Perhaps the most lasting element of the production, however, will be the original music composed by Tom Kitt of Next to Normal fame. Kitt provides a delightful lounge-lizard number for the villainous Iachimo, played by Raul Esparza with such sleaze you expect a trail of slime everywhere he goes. The funniest song, however, is Cloten's:

      Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings,
        And Phoebus 'gins arise,
      His steeds to water at those springs
        On chalic'd flow'rs that lies;
      And winking Mary-buds begin
        To ope their golden eyes.
      With everything that pretty bin,
        My lady sweet, arise;
          Arise, arise!

When read on its own, this might just seem like bad poetry, but Shakespeare, perhaps the greatest poet of all time, put it into the mouth of Cloten, one of his densest idiots. This is intentionally bad poetry, and Kitt gives it a fun, playful melody. The cast, too, is game in singing the silly words.

The most famous song in the play comes in Act IV:

             Fear no more the heat o' th' sun
               Nor the furious winter's rages;
             Thou thy worldly task hast done,
               Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.
             Golden lads and girls all must,
             As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

  

             Fear no more the frown o' th' great;
               Thou art past the tyrant's stroke.
             Care no more to clothe and eat;
               To thee the reed is as the oak.
             The sceptre, learning, physic, must
             All follow this and come to dust.

  

             Fear no more the lightning flash,
               Nor th' all-dreaded thunder-stone;
             Fear not slander, censure rash;
               Thou hast finish'd joy and moan.
             All lovers young, all lovers must
             Consign to thee and come to dust.

  

             No exorciser harm thee!
             Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
             Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
             Nothing ill come near thee!
             Quiet consummation have,
             And renowned be thy grave!

For me, Loreena McKennitt's mournful version will always be the gold standard for this song, but Kitt gives it a very different feel, reminding us all that death is just another part of life.

In his own day, Shakespeare's plays were always followed with a jig, and in keeping with that tradition, the cast ends the performance with a lively dance number, which even incorporates a few period steps.

My only regret about this production is that it cut the dream sequence in which:

       JUPITER descends in thunder and lightning, sitting
       upon an eagle.

We miss that classic Shakespearean line: "Thanks, Jupiter!"

Ah, well. The Public more often errs on the side of too few cuts to the text, so I'm glad they kept this production from being excessively long, though it was still quite a bit more than the "two hours' traffic" Shakespearean audiences would have enjoyed.

For tickets, you can wait in line in Central Park, sign up for the virtual line, or do what I did, get in the cancelation line starting around 6 pm and try your luck. Whichever method you use, seeing Cymbeline will definitely be worth your while.

Lear in the Park

Last night, I had the good fortune of seeing The Public Theater's production of King Lear at the Delacorte in Central Park.

Watching the play, I was struck by how the politics of King Lear oddly parallel post-Bush America. Lear, like the American people, was taken in by a couple of smooth talkers, and then proceeded to turn on anyone who tried to offer sound advice. His disowning of Cordelia is no more irrational than the ire poured out on politicians who didn't wear flag lapel pins, or the venom unleashed on France (whose king also makes an appearance in Lear) when that country declined to endorse a fool-hardy invasion of Iraq.

Kent is banished for his sound advice, accused of not just of being un-patriotic, but of committing treason (one of Ann Coulter's favorite terms). The only person allowed to speak the truth is the fool, an entertainer who--like Janeane Garofalo--must stand up and state the plain simple facts, because if he doesn't, no one else will.

Could the plethora of Lear productions of late come from a new, more sympathetic understanding of the title character? Perhaps, have rushed headlong into a disaster many people warned us against, after having thrown off our friends with irrational hatred (Freedom Fries?), we are more likely to feel for an old fool who did the same thing.

But enough with political musings. How was the show?

Great. As I sat down and looked at the bizarrely textured back wall of the set, designed by John Lee Beatty, I had my doubts. However, the way that wall was lit by lighting designer Jeff Croiter, with projections by video designer Tal Yarden, was nothing less than amazing. Moving bridges, live torches, and huge, sheet-like percussion instruments also come together to create a performance space that is perfect for director Daniel Sullivan's production.

John Lithgow is wonderful as Lear, convincingly appearing frail and infirm, in spite of a marathon performance that proves the actor to be far from either. And yes, this is a marathon. Clocking in at nearly three and a half hours, the production is considerably longer than the "two hours' traffic" the play would have been in Shakespeare's time. (For some reasons why modern productions tend to be longer, see my previous post on the construction of composite texts.)

Lithgow is at his best when he portrays Lear's slow recovery from madness. He plays the king as if he were someone we might know and love, but who is suffering from dementia. He knows he isn't in his right mind, and that he has wronged those who loved him most, but there is now nothing he can do other than to apologize for his state and to beg for forgiveness, something the king does pitifully.

Annette Bening, in reality only twelve years younger than Lithgow, plays Goneril with youth and vigor. I preferred Jessica Hecht, as Regan, though. Every move her body makes, every tremble of her voice, conveys a personality that's just a little unbalanced. She doesn't appear crazy, but just a little off--enough, however that when she starts screaming sadistically for men to be put into stocks or for eyes to be gouged out, we aren't at all surprised she's capable of such things.

Christopher Innvar gives a surprisingly good performance as Regan's husband Albany. For the nerds out there who care about such things, this production tends to follow the quarto text, which gives Albany considerably more emphasis than the folio text does. (Again, you can go here if you're interested in the differences.) Albany even gets the last lines of the play, though almost every director tends to follow the folio in giving them to Edgar.

Chukwudi Iwuji is the actor who plays Edgar, and he is quite compelling when he feigns madness, taking on the disguise of Tom o' Bedlam. His scenes with his father, played by Clarke Peters, are also affecting, and Sullivan manages to stage the Dover cliff scene so it's actually believable. Public regular Jay O. Sanders is delightful as the honest Kent, and Steven Boyer is both disturbing and funny as the fool.

In spite of its excessive length, this production is definitely worth seeing, so grab a sleeping bag and wait in line, or try your luck at the with the Virtual Ticketing Lottery. Go soon, though, as more and more people will be trying to see it as word spreads.