A year without the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival seems only to have whetted the community’s appetites even more. Opening night the streets surrounding Shakespeare’s Glen by the Art Museum were full of cars long before the 8 p.m. curtain, even though there are no formal pre-show activities like the Green Show this year. Nevertheless, familiar faces and new faces all made for serious energy on the hillside.
King Lear is, as most people know, heavy going. Lear, knowing he’s getting old, has decided to divvy up his kingdom among his three daughters, with the biggest part going to the one who loves him most. That, says Lear, will be decided by the one who’s best at proclaiming their love. (As with so much of Shakespeare, this involves a willing suspension of disbelief, but bear with him….) The eldest, Goneril, married to the Duke of Albany, goes first, followed by middle child Regan, spouse of the Duke of Cornwall. They’re both very eloquent. But his youngest, Cordelia, who’s being wooed by the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France (and remember; Burgundy was often richer and more powerful than France in those days), is unable or unwilling to compete with her sisters in their high-flying rhetoric, and goes minimalist in her feelings for him, not denying her love for him but not sounding like she was trying to woo him into the inheritance. It’s not enough for Daddy, even though she was his favorite. In a rage, he denies her anything, tells her swains what he’s done, and watches Burgundy stalk off. France, though, says his affections are for Cordelia, not her worldly goods, and takes her off to marry. Regan and Goneril turn out to be high-ranking hypocrites, and can’t stand their father when he comes to live with them. And we’re off to the shenanigans we’ve come to expect with Shakespearean tragedies.
Our King Lear is Andre De Shields. Watching him absolutely own Lear is worth the trip to Forest Park. He gleams, he glares, he glowers, he shrieks – this is not a subtle role, especially in a venue the size of this one, but he’s towering. Among the supporting roles, J. Samuel Davis, playing the Duke of Kent, is notable, careful and polished, moving from a courtier to banishment to an incognito guy finding the aging king after the daughters have done their dirty work. Another courtier, the Duke of Gloucester, an ally of Kent in the court, is Brian Anthony Wilson, bringing first-rate work as a man with two sons, each born on a different side of the blanket, as was once the term. His speech describing the enthusiasm with which he bedded the woman who bore him the son out of wedlock, is great fun but the first sign that this evening will be Adult Entertainment.
As to the daughters, princesses of the blood, only Nicole King’s Cordelia seems to have the demeanor of a princess. She’s reserved, yea, even dignified, holding herself back until her final appearances when she is reunited with her father. The older sisters, Rayme Cornell’s Goneril and Jacqueline Thompson’s Regan, seem to come from another world entirely, not voicing their filial affection with much warmth, and mostly treating their spouses as manipulable tools. Overall, they generally come across by contemporary standards as lower-middle class.
Good work from Leland Fowler and Daniel Jose Molina as the two sons of Gloucester, as well, plotting and romancing and quasi-hallucinating their way through their difficulties. And a final tip of the crown to Allen Gilmore’s Fool, as usual the voice of reason in the midst of Shakespeare’s work.
Carl Cofield directed the production. Wilson Chin, a past winner of the St. Louis Theatre Circle award, did the scenic design, including the wonderful golden throne that opens the show. The entire score, as well as sound and music design are from the gifted David R. Molina. Mika Eubanks offers us her costume design.
Please go online to reserve a spot. Those reservations are released each Monday at noon online. There is no food being sold this year, only beverages, but picnic baskets or brown bags are, of course, an old tradition here. The social distancing does mean that it’s easier to move around without stepping on someone’s blanket or leaping across legs, so there’s that.
There’s just no downside to this show.
King Lear
through June 27 (dark on Mondays)
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival