Theatre Three is billing its production of the 12th century-set The Lion in Winter as equally relevant as the popular if overrated HBO series Succession. The 1980s prime-time soap opera Dynasty might also come to mind as the internecine warfare begins. But those comparisons sell the show short.
The sleeping around, the unceasing battle for power, the double- and triple-crosses are juicier than any made-for-TV household squabble, thanks in large part to James Goldman’s brutally funny script, written almost 60 years ago during a fruitful era for theater. The rest of the credit belongs to the compelling performances in Theatre Three’s mounting of this nearly forgotten play.
Rather than contemporary fare or even Shakespeare, who covered some of the same historical ground, The Lion in Winter is reminiscent of other midcentury-written familial struggles like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
It’s no coincidence that Theatre Three honchos Jeffrey Schmidt and Christie Vela, who star as King Henry II of England and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, also played George and Martha three years ago on this same stage. The writing is similarly sharp, creating the kind of opportunity for bravura acting that’s on display. It helps that the stakes are so high, bringing out the worst in human nature. It proves hard to be powerful and nice at the same time.
All three of Henry’s sons want to succeed him and are willing to do just about anything to get their way. He also has his estranged, imprisoned wife, a young mistress who’s betrothed to his eldest, and her brother, the ruler of France with whom he’s fighting for territory, to deal with.
When he took the role in Virginia Woolf, Schmidt hadn’t been on stage in six years. He returned a couple of months ago to give a brilliant performance as a sad and monstrous kidnapper in Second Thought Theatre’s premiere of their executive director Parker Gray’s sci-fi/horror drama Incarnate.
In The Lion in Winter, Schmidt is a force to be reckoned with in an even trickier role as Henry has to navigate his family’s outsized ambitions amid his own. He manages to be sympathetic at times, with real feelings for the people around him, even as he wants what he wants and is in the best position to get it.
Schmidt is again opposite Kristen Lazarchick, who played the victim in Incarnate and appears as Henry’s mistress Alais, at 23 no longer the teenage girl he first took up with. Lazarchick is so good you don’t question Alais’ loyalty to Henry, despite any real clues. The first scene is between them and establishes the landscape of enemies he faces. His namesake oldest is dead, and he’s in the Lear-like situation of having three ambitious children to choose among.
He favors the youngest, comically dumb and bratty John (Dustin Parsons), while Eleanor, whom he has allowed to come to court for the Christmas holiday, wants the crown to go to the eldest, the scowling, accomplished warrior Richard (Drew Wall). She’s also trying to hold onto the French region Aquitaine for herself, at least until the horse trading begins.
Vela, as usual, is a revelation, giving a nuanced performance as the most grounded character. Because of her sincerity (some of the time), you feel for Eleanor even as she plots like everyone else in the Plantagenet family.
Meanwhile, Carson Wright as Geoffrey, the middle son who’s at first content to be chancellor to either brother, and Benjamin Stegmair as the petulant French King Philip give perfectly calibrated performances.
These are cold, wicked if occasionally lovable people so clever, they sometimes outfox themselves and show their humanity. One of the most interesting features of The Lion in Winter is that everyone talks so frankly, giving the appearance they always speak the truth even when they’re lying.
There was a real Henry II in the 1100s as well as the other characters depicted. Both John and Richard (the Lionhearted) went on to become king. But Goldman takes only what he needs from history to create a fictionalized account that audiences can relate to nearly a millennium later.
Theatre Three gathers some of the finest talent in town, including director Matthew Gray, who together with the actors deftly locates the fun, the tragedy and the relevance in this after-all not-so-ancient tale.
Details
Through Dec. 28 at 2688 Laclede St. $20-$40. theatre3dallas.com.
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