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| The company in Henry V (Photo by Dan Norman) |
After nearly 40 years of theater going, I experienced something new Saturday evening at the Guthrie Theater.
On Saturday, the Guthrie presented a trio of Shakespeare's History Plays (Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V). The marathon started at 10 a.m. and took us through the tumultuous years around the turn of the 14th century.
At the top of Henry V at 8:30 that evening, as the company took the stage for the prologue, and the audience would not let them continue. Instead, they gave the cast a standing ovation for the incredible work already done in the day's first two shows.
Was it earned? Oh, hell yes.
While not perfect, the History Plays offered a tremendous taste of what theater can do. Over the span of eight hours, we saw men and women, mighty and low, navigate through treachery, conflict, friendship, and love. It's the culmination of years of work by Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Haj to bring these massive works into a streamlined, thrilling experience. It's aided by a terrific backstage crew and a company of 22 hard working actors who have put in months of rehearsal to get the shows on their feet.
The production is drawn from four Shakespeare works (often called the Henriad). For the Guthrie's production, two of those works -- Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, were compressed into a single show. We start amid the reign of Richard II, run through the arrival of the usurper Henry IV, see his troubled reign through various rebellions and the wayward youthful adventures of his son, Prince Henry, who then reigns as Henry V, and invades France to bring lands he believes are English under his thumb.
That's a lot of story, and there are a lot of characters crossing Jan Chambers' clever set. Yet the course of the story is always clear, the conflicts are sharp, and the motivations --simple or complex -- are always earned.
The only bump in the road comes during the latter parts of Henry IV, made up of a truncated Part 2. The way they are joined means that the death of the traitor Hotspur at the hands of Prince Henry overshadows much of the remaining action. Some of that is due to John Cantron, whose floppy-haired Hotspur tops the Prince, King, and even Falstaff.
Jimmy Kieffer's Falstaff is great, and there are strong performances throughout the company, including Erin Mackey's charming portrayal of Princess Katherine and Charity Jones' terrific moments as John of Gaunt, offering up the famous "this sceptered isle" speech with all the gnawing fear of what is to come of his England.
Still, this is all about the kings. Three actors bring wildly different energy to their wildly different monarchs. Taylor Michaels King commands the stage as the doomed Richard II, with the King's madness lying just below the surface. It's a magnetic, mesmerizing performance.
William Sturdivant expertly plays against that as the to-be-Henry IV, giving us a character with more straightforward motivations -- he's angry about being banished and having his property seized by the crown -- that evolves into a deeper more thoughtful person once the crown is on his head.
That evolution is also present in Daniel Jose Molina's performance, moving the wild, vagabond Prince Henry -- only interested in hanging out with his Falstaff and his lowlife friends -- to a stern and driven friend. Some of the most affecting moments of Henry IV and Henry V come as the now King comes face-to-face with his friends, and can show no mercy now that he is the monarch.
If you can manage it, there is another marathon three-show day on May 10. All three shows can be seen over weekends in April and May. And for individual shows? Well, they all have their unique charms. King gives you probably the best single performance of the trio in Richard II, Henry IV gives you Cantron's Hotspur, the joy of Falstaff and the growth of Prince Harry. And Henry V has Shakespeare in full command of his skills, and provides thrilling, crowd-pleasing ride.
The History Plays run through May 25 at the Guthrie Theater.
