ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Montford Park Players continue their 53rd season, “A Season of Lunatics, Lovers, & Poets,” with “The Tragedy of King Lear,” written by William Shakespeare and directed by Jason Williams and assistant director Quinn Terry. “King Lear” will be staged at 7:30 p.m., Friday to Saturday, Sept. 5-27, at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St.
“King Lear” review
Out of everything in the Shakespearean pantheon, “King Lear” is in the running for his bleakest, replete with betrayal, madness and gore galore. The tragedy is damp with decay, exuding the pangs of aging and festering of family in its depiction of an old king going insane after dividing his kingdom between his three daughters.
From the outset, the MPP stage evoked the despair inherent to the drama. The pre-show soundtrack was set to the strains of late period Johnny Cash, culminating with an opening dance performance to the country icon’s cover of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. The set, designed by Gina Puri and painted by Milo Marlow with additional painting by Dana Gillihan, was similarly grey-bearded, austere in decor and coated with dark, swirling brush strokes. In the center of the set, two doors featured a pair of bleeding, scarlet eyes. Lear, cast gender-blind as MPP alum Paula O’Brien, reflected the set in Emily Dake’s costumes, an array of dark robes and doublets for the mad king.
Yet as the show went on, rather than doubling down on darkness, cracks of color began to seep onto the stage. This was once again literalized by the set itself: hidden flaps on the grey backdrop were surreptitiously opened one at a time, revealing harsh red gashes evoking Lear’s encroaching insanity.
However, more colorful than the metaphoric set dressing were the performances themselves. O’Brien, of course, evolved act by act, ultimately bringing a dreamy, flowery energy to the king’s madness, as though the ghost of Titania, O’Brien’s fairy queen character from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” had possessed him.
The actors who most kept the show – lengthy for MPP, wrapping up past 10 p.m. – from sinking beneath the weighty material, however, were Elizabeth DeVault as the sparkle-booted, snack-munching Fool and Joël Ganz as Edgar, who hit the stage like a lightning bolt when his “Mad Tom” persona was revealed in the show’s third act. DeVault was a lively addition to the stage, flouncing from scene to scene and peppering her lines with ab-libs, miniature reprieves from the dour proceedings, though perhaps a mite too frequently employed. Ganz, meanwhile, carried his electric introduction into an energetic, expressive performance, ranting, raving and gesticulating with glee. He was a joy to watch.
The rest of the cast were rock solid, every actor finding their own colorful additions in the dark. Through their dedication, the MPP carried the weight of the Greek tragedy-tinged “Lear” like Atlas and lifted it like Hercules.
Without spoiling it, there was one terrific special effects sequence in the running for my favorite MPP moment of the season. For those familiar with their Shakespeare, it featured Emilie Soffe’s Regan, Josh Kerber’s Cornwall and a very convincing Darren Marshall as Gloucester.
As the nights come earlier and the days get darker, with “King Lear,” the Montford Park Players remain a bright spot in local Asheville theater.
