recap of Jan. 24 King Lear

I consider myself fairly well-versed in Shakespeare's body of work -- more so than the average American, but perhaps less so than a lot of English majors. In school we read the basics: Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade, Macbeth in 10th, and Hamlet in 12th. I know enough to know that Sting took the line "...nothing like the sun" from a Shakespeare sonnet. Because of my family's involvement in theater, I've seen As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing multiple times, and my Kenneth Branagh phase of the early 90s made me fall in love with Henry V (or "Hank Cinq" as I've heard it referred to).

I've seen mixed-bag productions in small theaters where the actors rush through their lines, I've seen surprisingly effective takes on what had become pedestrian, and I've seen top-knotch performances where every word and intention were crystal clear.

But somehow, with all of this education and exposure to theater, I had never seen nor read King Lear . I had tried once in junior high when our English teacher recommended we watch a made-for-TV version starring Laurence Olivier that was being broadcast. I made it as far as Cordelia's banishment before I bailed -- I may have been a 12-year-old geek, but even I had my limits.

The King Lear currently running at the Denver Center is probably as good as regional Shakespeare gets. As I mentioned above, I've seen some great productions, mostly at A Noise Within in Los Angeles, and I use that company as my benchmark. "Could the ANW crew have done that better?" When it comes to the actor playing Lear, Philip Pleasants, my answer is No. As well as -- perhaps. But better? It's hard to imagine that anyone could inhabit that role more fully than he does. His transformation made perfect sense, tragic and beautiful all at once, and I was surprised by what a witty fellow Lear could be through it all. Lear's death, coming as it does on the heels of his finally becoming fully alive for the first time, was moving without becoming maudlin. Pleasants also has played Scrooge here, and I told the guitarhero that we'll have to make a point of seeing any A Christmas Carol that he is in, if only to see him in a happy ending.

As for the rest of the production, I can say that it was very good overall, but I did feel myself at a loss because of not knowing the play going in. With Shakespeare, you sometimes don't know something is meant as a joke or a quip unless you already know the joke or quip. There were a few times when some of the audience (which filled over 80% of the house) reacted to a line that I completely missed. And I hate not knowing what's going on -- I'm smart and cultured after all, right?

Even so, there were other performances that I particularly liked, such as Mike Hartman as Gloucester, Markus Potter as Edgar (who lists an A Noise Within credit in his bio), John Hutton as Kent, and Remi Sandri as Cornwall. Rodney Hicks as Edmund was sexy and showy, but his musical theater background (ensemble in the original cast of Rent ) seemed a little too evident for this production.

As for the sisters -- those are tough roles, all three of them. I think that poor Cordelia can only pale next to her duplicitous siblings no matter who's playing her. Because most of the intrigue and plot twists depend on Regan and Goneril, I think my lack of familiarity with the play most impacts my view of those two performances. Sharon Washington as Goneril and Kathleen McCall as Regan were evil and scheming as required, but I'm just sorry that I don't know the roles better to have appreciated their performances more.

There were a few National Conservatory students in the cast, and their main duties seemed to consist of holding flaming torches while other cast members spoke. The two or three who did have lines, despite being talented and experienced students, still came off as novices among pros. A few women were cast as (male) soldiers, costumed in capes with their hair pulled back in manly ponytails. Even with their backs to my section of the audience, I was struck by how much the angle of one's head can betray femininity at the same time one is adopting a wide-shouldered, square-hipped stance. And after all is said and done, that's what I've learned from the great Shakespearean performances that I've seen -- don't ignore the details, for they are what transform the Bard's text into stories for a 21st century audience.