Theatre Three closes out the year with James Goldman’s 1966 historical Christmas drama, The Lion in Winter. Initially, this prestige piece may present like a weighty relic of theater, but director Matthew Gray and his T3 team delivered it with a fresh, sumptuous and energetic sheen that was propelled by an incendiary fervor. ‘Tis the season for family drama, only this one puts the FU in dysfunctional family for “fuuuucked up.”
TLIW is set in 1183, King Henry II has temporarily released his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitane, from her imprisonment and both tend to their three sons all hellbent to be named successor. Happy holidays? Eh. Richard, Geoffrey and John bicker, plot and argue during the Christmas holiday; Eleanor calmly indulges the trio amid her own scheming; Henry distracts himself with his relationship to the young Alais. And then her brother Philip is the new king of France who proves to be a challenging rival to Henry with a spicy secret of his own.
Goldman’s story is layered with deep complexities surrounding each of the characters that build up to an intensely dramatic climax. The cast of seven as a whole were a dynamic unit and each pulled more than their weight as the story unfolded.
Beginning with the princes, Drew Wall portrayed the eldest living son Richard, who seemed the likely choice as successor given both his birthright and his military prowess. Wall’s intensity worked well for the stoic character who was a ticking timebomb. But when he’s confronted with an emotional reality, Wall peeled Richard back to a deep and enlightening vulnerability.
Like any middle child, Geoffrey skates through in hopes of simply being given the kingdom and Carson Wright honed in on that gray area of his character. Geoffrey will simply do whatever he can to gain an advantage. Wright navigated those motivations with ease. He was conniving but also weak; dangerous but nonthreatening. That straddling also gave room for Wright to inject some well-timed comedy as well without distraction.
Not surprisingly, the youngest teenage John is the brat of the bunch and Dustin Parsons had the luxury of being the most colorful of the trio. John was a walking temper tantrum and often the comic foil for the story. Parsons edged near into caricature, but he withheld enough to be annoyingly petulant which served the character strongly.
The core of this play’s success though really was found in the titanic performances of Jeffrey Schmidt and Christie Vela as Henry and Eleanor. Their verbal sparring was a tapestry of wit and poison underlined by a reluctant love for each other. Where Schmidt was volcanic, Vela was a glacier. Every word, glance or gesture landed with devastating force as they battled for control. Schmidt and Vela are also T3’s Artistic and Associate Artistic Directors respectively. So seeing them in action is both a rarity and a joy.
Schmidt exuded charisma here as Henry. Blending self-centered madness, regal gravitas and silver fox sex appeal, Henry felt fully realized through Schmidt’s choices. The character was unpredictable and flawed but wielded power with ease and Schmidt put all that into a riveting performance.
Vela’s presence held distinguished weight. Eleanor’s power was in her proud demeanor which Vela portrayed with notable stillness. She never wasted her part with unnecessary posturing or physicality. Regardless of her blocking, Vela’s presence was always centered and commanding as Eleanor.
As Alais, a family outsider but lover to Henry, Kristen Lazarchick’s performance was rock solid. She gave her character a power all her own despite really having none. A remarkable T3 debut for Lazarchick although she’s no stranger to Dallas stages. Benjamin Stegmair’s Philip was always a fascinating catalyst to the drama and the actor’s scenes with Schmidt as both kings vied for dominance were thrilling theater. Stegmair was ruthless as the new, younger king but still gave his character a greenness to Philip’s royal demands.
Mason Bowling serves as the show’s understudy.
Like Lazarchick, Matthew Gray made his T3 debut but has worked across many other DFW stages. He also served as TLIW‘s sound designer. He and Assistant Director Katie Ibrahim crafted a production that was both epic and intimate. Clever blocking and a relentless pace kept the show fluid and alive. Cody Stockstill’s set design conveyed the king’s interior castle framing the action with expansive space and Aaron Johansen’s lighting would bring intimacy and repression to the stage. The costumes added an opulent layer with rich colors and fabric skillfully conceived by Amy Pedigo-Otto.
On socials, someone posted that the show was hilarious. I thought this was funny because they weren’t wrong. There is quite a bit of unexpected humor. Whether by design or not, Theatre Three certainly excavated those funny moments into some of the show’s gems to balance Goldman’s austere dialogue.
T3’s production proves the The Lion in Winter is a brilliant piece of theater. This deep exploration of power and family was just that. One can look for deeper meanings and motifs but sometimes a simple family Christmas story is all we need.
The show runs through Dec. 28.
–Rich Lopez
Related