But it can’t be helped, really, and with freeFall Theatre’s latest production, “The Lion in Winter,” it really can’t be helped. Of all the plays I’ll review this year, I was the least excited about this one, for two reasons: One, I’m not a huge fan of period pieces and two, to review both shows opening this past weekend, I had to see two in one day (I attended and loved the matinee of American Stage’s “Silent Sky” Saturday afternoon and “The Lion in Winter” Saturday night). I feared I’d be worn out and unreceptive by the end of the second play.
IF YOU GO
“The Lion in Winter”Through Dec. 22: Wed.-Thurs., 7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; and Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. $25-$50
freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
727-498-5205, freefalltheater.com.
My worries were unfounded. freeFall gives us a play pulsing with life, humor and tragedy. Director Chris Crawford, freeFall’s new Associate Artistic Director, deserves high praise for coaxing every drop of talent from a talented cast.
If you’ve seen another production of this play, or watched either of the two films based on the play, you might wonder why you should bother to see this production. Let me answer that for you: Because freeFall’s production of “The Lion in Winter” offers you some of the best theater in Tampa Bay this season. Every well-made artistic choice pays dividends; this long-ish show maintains a pace that makes you not aware of the time that’s passed, and there’s no scene or instance where I found myself thinking about how hard the seats are (seriously, freeFall, I love you but please launch a seat campaign soon) or going to the bathroom (I love the avenue house configuration because it opens up the “secret” bathroom to the public.)
Clearly, I loved this show. Now let me tell you why.
There’s nothing quite like Eric Davis onstage, and he doesn’t do it nearly enough. Sure, sure, he’s freeFall’s Artistic Director, but couldn’t he act a little more? His Richard the Lionheart gave us layers not found in history books (it’s not a true story, I know, but Richard the Lionheart was a real man.) From his character’s unflinching desire to lead England to his unapologetic passion for Rob Glauz’s delightfully shrewd King Philip, Davis owns this role, and at the same time doesn’t monopolize the stage. His scenes with his two brothers — Joseph Michael-Kennegh as Geoffrey and Robert “Spence” Gabriel as John — come off with the right tone and balance.
That tone and balance are not the only two reasons Michael-Kennegh and Gabriel have characters worth watching; seeing each of them as cautious allies allows us windows to each character’s soul, two character studies made flesh by Crawford’s talent.
But back to Glauz’s Philip: His role has markedly less stage time, but it was a joy to watch him move and speak, dissolving into his character, each time he appeared. That is not to say he has a necessarily likable character, but then, none of these characters are ones you’d want to take out for dinner; they’re all members of a horrifically dysfunctional family (how appropriate for the holidays, too.)
If Glauz’s Philip is not entirely likable, Alicia Thomas’s Alais Capet (King Philip’s half-sister, betrothed to Richard, mistress to Henry) is almost too likable.
Almost. We can’t, at first, help but feel for this poor young woman, in love with the King but betrothed to his son. Throughout the play we see her at his often-cruel mercy, and nowhere is this royal family’s dysfunction more delicious than when Henry wounds Alais, and she runs to his wife, crying “mama!” and sobbing into her lap. By the end of the play, however, Thomas’s character shows us she’s grown more than equal to the challenge of doing what needs doing to assure her future. Whether or not it happens is immaterial; she’s willing to see it through, not an easy choice to make for a young woman with little agency.
Lest you think this is some sort of holiday family movie, “Home for the Holidays” or “The Ref” on the stage, consider the twosome at the head of the story: King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Although the story itself is fiction grounded in reality, the reality of 12th-century English monarchies are, to put it politely, mired in some seriously fucked up bullshit, and “The Lion in Winter” offers audiences a front-row seat to all that delightful carnage.
Most of this carnage comes from Henry and Eleanor’s twisted relationship. Twisted, I’ll note, is a mild descriptive. But if Henry and Eleanor have the sickest relationship, they also have the one most filled with humor, and, for actors Joe D. Lauck and Stephanie Dunham, this translates into the most delicious lines and scenes in the show. They’re disgusting human beings, but they’re disgusting in a poetic, beautiful way, and tortured, too, a product of both their era and their personal demons. This, combined with the two actors themselves, elevates freeFall’s “The Lion in Winter” to perhaps the best reason to see a show in Tampa Bay this month, if not this year.
Had I a passion (as does my husband) for period pieces and not been exhausted by Saturday night, I suppose I would have enjoyed “Lion” even more, but I don’t know how. Any aspects I fail to mention (the cleverly crafted sets, for example, are a study in elegant simplicity, but I’ve not mentioned Tom Hansen’s design even once) are a paucity of space on the page, not a reflection on the magnificent work before audiences. This production simply has no weak links. Believe me; I looked.
As I said, I’m troubled I cannot offer substantial criticism for either of the shows I saw last weekend. It’s an odd place for a critic to find herself.
Nevertheless, here we are. In all, it’s not a bad place to be.
Cathy Salustri is the former arts + entertainment editor for Creative Loafing. Contact her here.
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This article appears in Dec 5-12, 2019.