King John...off-off-off Broadway.

[skynyc]

I have always been ticking off my Shakespeare plays since my first experience...a pretty interesting R&J that I saw in High School done by a local community group. I loved that there were lots of scantily clad young men of Verona in tights and jerkins, and the Juliet spent most of her time in a rather diaphanous gown, that kept the rest of my class interested.

 

Having lived in NY for a long time, I have been able to tick off thirty-five more of the Bard's thirty-seven...many of them numerous times, but King John has eluded me. Until today.

 

I found it listed on Broadway World, being done by the Frog and Peach Theater Company who perform at the West End Theater in the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew on West 86th.

 

I had guests in this weekend and didn't have time to do my research, so I was a little nervous when I arrived and there was no synopsis in the program. And no family tree...but I did know that John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor and that he ascended the throne after the deaths of his brothers, Henry and Richard. And other being the baddie in all of the Robin Hood movies and signing the Magna Carta, I didn't know the political intrigues of his reign.

 

I have to say I was greatly impressed with this shoestring-budgeted (and that's actually being very generous) production. Several of the performers were just terrific...and the plotting and pandering was completely followable.

 

The gist: King Philip of France stakes a claim on the throne of England in favor of John's nephew Arthur, who is living in France with his mother Constance. John refuses and he and his mother set out for France to kick some butt, but not before knighting a young nobleman (also confusingly named Philip) who is obviously the bastard son of the deceased King Richard.

 

Upon arrival in France there is a great deal of insult-hurling, especially between Elinor and Constance, but Philip the bastard (now renamed Sir Richard) suggests that Philip of France's son, Lewis marry John's niece: Blanch of Spain uniting the two families. The ruler's agree to everyone's satisfaction (except Blanch's) and they are wed.

 

Cardinal Pandulph from Rome shows up and excommunicates John and curses him to burn in Hell for appointing a non-Pope-approved Archbishop. Philip wanting to avoid the same eternal fate, breaks with John and war begins. Arthur is captured by his Uncle John and is ordered to be put to death.

 

Back in France Constance has an awesome lament/mad scene mourning her son's capture.

 

The guard in charge of Arthur's execution has a soft spot for the kid and let's him go, and falsely reports the death to John, but some of John's key supporters in the nobility are appalled by the (false) news of the youth's death and turn to Philip's side...now being led by the French prince Lewis.

 

John gets word that his mother has died and he spends some time whining. Then John discovers that Arthur in fact lives, and sends a messenger to alert the noblemen, but Arthur, trying to escape falls from the castle wall and is killed. The noblemen come upon his body and are pissed and reinstate their fealty to Lewis (and Philip)...until a French nobleman warns them that Lewis intends to kill the English nobles when the war is over.

 

And then, in about three minutes at the end of the play, John dies after being poisoned by a monk...(HUH???) and the Cardinal shows up with a peace treaty and everyone agrees to Henry III (John's son) as King of England.

 

No mention of the Magna Carta!!! And no Robin Hood or Maid Marian in sight.

 

Well, now I see why this show isn't done very often.

 

A lot of action occurs off-stage and is revealed by messenger. The church's meddling basically causes a whole lot of people to go to war, and the wrap-up is ridiculously brief.

 

But frankly, I am so glad to have seen this production. First of all, some of the cast were terrific. Luke Edward Smith who played

Philip the Bastard has a great presence and was very adept with the language. Looking at Elinor I kept thinking..."I know her", and sure enough, I chortled to see that she was Tara on All My Children. (That took me back.)

 

And the highlight of the show for me was David Elyha as Cardinal Pandulph whose over-the-top portrayal would have made Shakespeare himself proud. His commanding voice and grand gestures filled the small theater and were almost unleashed...and it worked wonderfully as he curses John to Hell and wreaks ecclesiastic terror among the masses.

 

The rest of the cast ranged from okay to fine...John himself wasn't defined enough, he seemed pretty strong in Act I, when Elinor was around, but then he fell apart in Act II. And Constance, who really has the best scene in the show, did pretty well, but her long black dress was distractingly wrong. Most of the ensemble were not Equity performers, but they clearly had spent a lot of time rehearsing both the language and the production.

 

There were several sword fights which were better than many I have seen in theater of this level. And the direction of the piece as a whole did a good job moving the story forward. I suspect that director Lynnea Benson, did the adaptation as well, which trimmed the piece to a fast-paced two hours.

 

The logistics...my ticket was $18, General Admission and there were plenty of seats. Running time: 1:55, with a 10 minute intermission. If you want to see a seldom performed production that is certainly worth the price of admission, you have one more week...King John plays through 5/18.

 

Footnote: Upon returning home, I looked up the play and it's performance history in NYC...it's last time appearing on Broadway was in February of 1915...ninety nine years ago. LOL.

 

The Public has done it twice in the Park, first in 1967 with Harris Yulin in the title role, Charles Durning as a French Lord, and David Birney as Lewis the Dauphin. It was done again in 1988...(not sure how I missed this one,) with Kevin Conway as King John, Jane White as Elinor, Mariette Hartley as Constance, with Andre Braugher, and Michael Cumpsty in the company.

 

The Theater for a New Audience did it in 2000, but the only name I immediately recognized was Myra Carter as Elinor.

 

I also discovered that the play is being performed this season at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. Road trip anyone?