Broadway World
by James Lindhorst /
October 7, 2023
Greed, jealousy, and discontent drive the competing ambitions of a royal family inJames Goldman's play THE LION IN WINTER. Goldman's play tells a fictional tale of King Henry II of England, his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their children during the Christmas season in 1183 at the King's residence in Chinon, France. Henry frees Eleanor for the holiday while his three sons all vie to be the next to ascend the throne. THE LION IN WINTER is the current offering from Midnight Company and is a quality production thanks to the work of a strong cast.
Director Tom Kopp’s sharp and brisk direction keeps things moving on the small stage at the .Zack Theater. He smartly uses Brad Slavik’s static set design to ensure the limited space never seems overcrowded with four or five actors in a scene. His collaboration with his team of actors and technicians creates an effective palate for storytelling.
Lavonne Byers leads this cast as Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her skilled performance includes impeccable delivery of the script complimented by terrific physical acting. When she contorts her body as she crumbles to the stage in the second act, she says more with a physical acting choice than a paragraph of dialogue could convey. She is magnificent as Eleanor.
Byers’ character is surrounded by the men who play King Henry II (Joe Hanrahan) and their three sons Richard (Joel Moses), Geoffrey (John Wolbers) and John (Ryan Lawson-Maeske.) All four actors completely disappear into their roles and deliver strong performances. Hanrahan expresses the King’s dialogue with royal authority. His disdain for Eleanor and his love for the young Alais is believable and authentic. Moses has the fieriest performance of the three sons. As the eldest surviving son, he is adamant that he is entitled to the throne and his rage is palpable. He has real opportunity to chew scenery in this production and he doesn’t miss. Wolbers conveys Geoffrey’s angst as he realizes he is stuck in the middle between his parents two other favored children and has no real shot at ascending to the throne. Then there is the always dynamic Ryan Lawson-Maeske as the pimpled face youngest son John. Lawson-Maeske can make a statement and convey emotion simply through his physical presence on the stage with his facial expressions. He inhabits the character of John and projects the conflicting optimism and pessimism with regard to his character’s likelihood of becoming the next King of England. All four actors work together to establish ominous tension among a father and his three sons. Each will stop at nothing to have their way and take control as the next crowned head of state.
The cast is rounded out by Shannon Campbell, playing Henry’s love interest Alais, and Michael Pierce as King Philip of France. Both deliver fine performances that compliment and equal the strong performances of the rest of the cast. Campbell conveys Alais’ young love for the King, a much elder man, conflicted by the uneasiness that she is betrothed the King’s eldest son, a man she does not love. The handsome Pierce is stately as the young King of France and clearly communicates his intentions to stir-the-pot to increase the discontent among the English Royal Family.
KDHX
by Michelle Kenyon / October, 2023
“The Lion in Winter” is a show that's often associated with its two leading roles--and they are great ones. Still, as The Midnight Company is showing in its current production at the .ZACK Theatre, as directed by Tom Kopp, this is an ensemble piece with great roles for all of its players. With its mixture of drama, suspense, intrigue, and humor, this show provides an ideal showcase for a strong collection of first-rate local performers, who are all at the top of their game.
This play is also one that's often more associated with the screen than the stage, considering the high-profile, award-winning 1968 film and 2003 television adaptation. It's a fascinating play, however, and one that has strong roles for its ensemble. It's essentially a fictionalization of history--an imagination of real historical characters in situations that make for an intriguing study of character, as well as an exploration of the scheming machinations that can come with royalty and royal ambition. The story centers on English King Henry II and his estranged, imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine--who has been temporarily let out of prison for Christmas--along with their sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John. The well-crafted script by James Goldman explores the various ways Henry and Eleanor use to manipulate one another to get what they want, as well as the schemes, ambitions, and disappointments of the sons. There's also the new, young King of France, Philip, who also figures into the various schemes to attain and maintain power, land, and influence; as well as Philip's sister Alais, who was brought up by Eleanor and now, as a young woman, is Henry's mistress as well as a promised fiancée for whichever son becomes King, as Henry favors the young, immature John and Eleanor favors the soldierly Richard, with the shrewd Geoffrey often treated as an afterthought. Through the course of the story, schemes are made, secrets are revealed, and much emotional manipulation ensues, as the characters jockey for position and struggle to secure their ambitions, future security, and in the case of Henry and Eleanor, their legacies.
While the story is fascinating and the dialogue is incisive, the biggest attraction of this show is the sheer strength of its characters. For The Midnight Company, the casting is ideal, with excellent ensemble chemistry, exquisite performances, and no weak links. Byers and Hanrahan are superb in the leads, with Byers especially shining as the determined, often disappointed Eleanor. The scenes these two share crackle with energy and a mix of conflicting emotions, serving as the centerpiece of the plot. The sons are also ideally cast, with Joel Moses as the warlike Richard showing an inner vulnerability, John Wolbers as the scheming Geoffrey displaying a scheming intelligence, and Ryan Lawson-Maeske excellent as the petulant, entitled John. Shannon Campbell as Alais develops the character with believable strength as the story unfolds, and Michael Pierce plays Philip with credible regal bearing and assertiveness.
Technically, the production impresses with a suitably Medieval look and atmosphere, aided by Brad Slavik's well-appointed unit set and Liz Henning's impeccably detailed costumes. There's also good use of period-styled Christmas music in the scene transitions and original music by Susan Kopp, and appropriate atmospheric lighting by Tony Anselmo. The production utilizes the sometimes difficult space at the .ZACK Theatre especially well.
“The Lion in Winter” has proved to be an excellent choice for The Midnight Company. With its well-chosen cast and effective staging, this is a show that plays all the intrigue with just the right pitch, not overdoing it but not underplaying it either. It's a marvelous showcase for a great cast.
Riverfront Times
The Midnight Company's The Lion in Winter is a Tense, Suspenseful Drama
by Tina Farmer /
October 10,2023
The Midnight Company, and its artistic director, producer, frequent playwright and performer Joe Hanrahan, is quite possibly the busiest theater company in town. The fact the company has managed to add a full-length, full-scale production of The Lion in Winter to its season is remarkable. That the production is a riveting, mesmerizing drama with exceptional performances is profound.
It is Christmas 1183 and, after quelling an uprising that resulted in the death of his firstborn son and presumed heir, King Henry rules in relative peace. With an eye to preserving his legacy and averting war between his remaining sons Richard, Geoffrey and John, he has invited them and the queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine (who he’s imprisoned for her part in the uprising), home for Christmas and some spirited gamesmanship. Which prince will claim the crown and the hand of the French Princess Alais — and will Philip, Alais’ younger brother and newly crowned king of France, accept Henry’s choice? There’s also the question of Henry’s own deep infatuation with Alais and his passionate quarrels with his queen. Which woman will he choose if he can’t have both?
As Henry, Hanrahan is a wizened warrior king familiar with battles on and off the field and accustomed to getting his way. When relaxed and confident, Hanrahan’s Henry is pleasant; when pricked, he expands with imperious certainty and punitive reactions. Lavonne Byers is his perfect foil as Eleanor, playing her husband and sons against each other with cavalier cruelty and an effectively poisonous tongue. Whether the aggressor or deflecting attacks, she thinks she holds the upper hand though she unwittingly exposes herself to the sting of Henry’s brutal blow.
Joel Moses, as Richard, threatens any peace that doesn’t place him on the throne with fire, anger and the capacity to inflict lethal damage at any moment, at the tiniest provocation. Everyone recognizes and fears his militaristic enthusiasm and destructive prowess. As Geoffrey, John Wolbers may be the most successfully manipulative villain ever penned. His is a constantly calculating mind with the ability to pivot in the moment, keeping all paths open, and Wolbers shows each machination with barely concealed disdain. As youngest son John, Ryan Lawson-Maeske is pampered, pimple-faced and petulant with a boundless sense of entitlement. For self-preservation, Shannon Campbell’s Alais is smarter than she reveals and most acutely aware of her role as pawn, even to her upstart brother Philip, played with measured confidence and a vengeful edge by Michael Pierce.
A single set enables quick transitions and period-appropriate music keeps the story moving, while the armor, richly textured costumes and moody lighting enhance both the suspense and period. Director Tom Kopp guides the impeccable cast through the rising familial tensions and increasing stakes with a sure hand and an eye for highlighting conflict. Imagine the rapid-fire arguments of Succession set in medieval England, with more weapons and near-absolute power. If you are intrigued by sharp-tongued, quick paced suspense and scandalous drama, you don’t want to miss this electrifying production of The Lion in Winter.
HEC TV
by Bob Wilcox /
October, 2023
Relations within families can be intense. They go back for years. They can be loving, they can be the opposite of loving. Drama thrives on such naturally dramatic situations when relations within a family come to the boil. Playwrights love such situations.
Playwright James Goldman found just such a situation in the family of King Henry II of England. It’s Christmas 1183 in the castle in Chinon, a part of France that currently belongs to Henry. He’s let Queen Eleanor out of the castle in England where he’s imprisoned her since she led an unsuccessful revolt against him. Their sons have joined them, eldest surviving son Richard Lionheart, second son Geoffrey, and youngest son John, still a teenager and currently Henry’s favorite, which matters, because primogeniture apparently does not function in Henry’s choice of a successor, and the sons curry that favor.
Also at the party are the young king of France, Philip, and his sister Alais. Alais is currently Henry’s mistress, though she had grown up under the care often of Eleanor. Henry had promised her father, the late French king, that he will marry her to Richard, and Henry will as her dowry receive another French province he covets.
This happy holiday is taken up with plots and counterplots, alliances made and broken and made again as the sons scheme to be Henry’s successor. The play is rich in ideas, words, and emotions, though the plots and counterplots eventually become a little repetitious, and the text can be wordy when playwright Goldman is not at his wittiest.
Director Tom Kopp has a strong cast for the Midnight Theatre Company production of The Lion in Winter, and he plays to their strengths, orchestrating this rich text well. A midwestern Irish source is buried somewhere deep in any Joe Hanrahan performance, but he gives us here a wily, commanding, and wide-ranging Henry. We have been wanting to see Lavonne Byers play Eleanor of Aquitaine; sharp and moving, she does not disappoint. Clearly a military man and the oldest surviving son of the three, Richard the Lionheart can defeat anyone in the room in battle, if not always with words, though Joel Moses makes clear that Richard is always carefully plotting. Also plotting is John Wolbers' Geoffrey, who knows that he lacks certain royal leadership qualities but will use his intelligence to maneuver his way to be the adviser and manipulator of whoever is king. Ever the odd man out. Ryan Lawson-Maeske evokes amused sympathy with young John's immature awkwardness and uncertainty and admiration for his determination. Described as a "pimply-faced adolescent", Lawson-Maeske bravely pimpled his face with makeup. Michael Pierce's young King Philip of France is also often uncertain, but he's trying hard to be a king, and usually succeeding, even with Henry as his slippery opponent. Shannon Campbell glows in Henry's love as Princess Alais, who is painfully aware that she can hardly avoid being little more than a pawn in games royalty are playing.
Brad Slavik's set convincingly creates the stone walls of a room in the palace in Dijon, used with minor variations to quickly serve as various spaces within the castle. Tony Anselmo lights it effectively and subtly affectingly. Liz Henning, the Production Manager, also designed the handsome aristocratic costumes. Mariam Whatley designed and manages props. Michael Pierce (King Philip) is Fight Choreographer, Armorer, and Leather Work. Karen Pierce is the Stage Manager. Susan Kopp composed music to enrich moments of the production.
At the end, the family, still immersed in uncertainty and rivalry, gathers to decorate for Christmas.
Ladoue News
Strong Performances Mark Midnight Company’s Rendition of ‘The Lion in Winter’
by Mark Bretz /
October, 2023
Story:
It’s Christmas Eve, and King Henry II of England is feeling magnanimous. He’s decided to temporarily free his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, from her decade-long imprisonment in his castle’s dungeon in Chinon, France to help celebrate Christmas with their three surviving sons, namely Richard the Lionheart, Geoffrey and John, in chronological order. Also invited to the revelry are Henry’s mistress, Alais Capet, and her half-brother, Philip II, the king of France.
What a guy is King Henry II! He’s jovial and, at age 50, considers himself robust even if he’s the oldest man he knows personally. He still gets along with Eleanor, who is 11 years his senior, a woman with a healthy dose of self-respect who was thrown into the dungeon for conspiring to have her sons rebel against Henry a decade earlier.
Richard, 26, is an accomplished soldier who wants nothing more than to rule his father’s empire. The cold and calculating Geoffrey, 25, professes to prefer wielding power behind the scenes, whether that’s for Richard or John, or perhaps even Henry? As for John, the petulant 16-year-old is slow-witted, lacking ambition and unpleasantly mired in exceedingly poor hygiene, but insists that he should be the once-and-future ruler since he is his father’s newfound favorite after the premature death of Henry III.
It seems like pretty much everyone at the holiday celebration is conspiring with one or another of the others to be put at the top of the food chain of the sprawling English empire. “God bless us, everyone, but especially me” is their carol of choice.
Highlights: Director Tom Kopp lends a sure, steady hand in guiding his accomplished cast to a spirited interpretation of James Goldman’s historical, if fictional, drama.
Other Info: Goldman’s witty, well written piece had a modest run on Broadway in its debut back in 1966, with Robert Preston as Henry, Rosemary Harris as Eleanor and a young Christopher Walken as Philip. A 1968 film version starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn included Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton among its cast, winning Academy Awards for Hepburn (Best Actress), Goldman (Best Screenplay) and John Barry (Best Score).
The two-act, two-and-a-half-hour play is long on talk and short on action, so a company’s acting better be good. In the case of The Midnight Company, the performances are very, very good. Kopp has assembled a talented ensemble, and he knows how to coax convincing portrayals from his septet of players.
Midnight Company artistic director Joe Hanrahan adeptly captures the dual sides of Henry, one ingratiating and flattering, the other conniving and vainglorious. Henry loves his wife, even if he has her imprisoned, but wants the cake represented by the youthful Alais as well. As for his sons, should he have them killed, coronated or left to their own devices? Henry changes his mind as often as his clothes, and Hanrahan makes the monarch’s unpredictability accessible in his performance.
He’s also in fine form when squaring off, intellectually and otherwise, with Lavonne Byers, who gets to the delicious heart of the lusty, intelligent and supremely confident Eleanor of Aquitaine. This is a woman who has given birth to six daughters and five sons by various men, and it’s doubtful that any of her lovers could match her intellectual prowess or appetite for being at the top of the ruling class. Byers conveys all of that and more in her delicious portrayal.
Joel Moses shows us a Richard who is tense, morally rigid and bitterly resentful of his mother’s lack of maternal nurturing. He’s also emotionally pliable, acceding to Philip’s sexually suggestive ways even as the youthful French king scoffs that Richard’s heart is of minimal concern to him. Michael Pierce gives one of his best performances as the manipulative Philip.
John Wolbers shines in the role of the scheming Geoffrey, convincing no matter with whom he sides, for or against, and keeping the audience unsure if Geoffrey is an accomplished liar, a devious strategist, a quietly ambitious prince, or all of the above.
As John, Ryan Lawson-Maeske excels at making sure that the youngest and dumbest of Henry’s offspring comes across as perpetually clueless, even if daddy loves him best. Shannon Campbell completes the ensemble with a strong portrayal of Alais, a young woman who becomes stronger and more politically adept during this holiday in hell.
Susan Kopp’s musical compositions offer a lovely, soothing soundtrack of Middle Ages-sounding melodies, and Liz Henning’s costumes dress the players in their finest, 12th-century regal splendor. Brad Slavik offers a set design with strategically placed drapes at stage left and stage right, Miriam Whatley furnishes era-appropriate props, and Tony Anselmo lights everything with soft, focused luminescence.
“The Lion in Winter” is an old-fashioned ‘talk’ piece where clever banter and other finely written dialogue are fare at a theatrical feast served by a winning cast. As often is the case, it’s good to be the king.
PopLife STL
by Lynn Venhaus /
October 18, 2023
The rapacious 12th Century Plantagenet Family behaves as badly as the modern-day Roys of Manhattan and The Duttons of Montana, a rogues' gallery of royal connivers in "The Lion in Winter.""
That’s one of the many reasons why The Midnight Company’s bracing production is fun – and riveting – to watch because sparks fly, and flames are fanned in a master class exercise in acting.
Director Tom Kopp has lit a fuse under his finely tuned ensemble so that they burn bright, crackling with big birthright energy while delivering virtuosic performances: Joe Hanrahan, Lavonne Byers, Joel Moses, John Wolbers, Ryan Lawson-Maeske, Michael Pierce and Shannon Campbell.
As the formidable ensemble tackles each aristocratic character like a predator setting a trap for his prey, they often strike a playful, comedic tone but mainly heighten the drama’s intensity because their massive ambitions collide in a winner-takes-all battle. The prize: inheriting the crown of King Henry II of England.
Multi-hyphenate award winner Joe Hanrahan plays mega-manipulator Henry with a smirk and a gleeful vitality, emphasizing his skills at being a disrupter and poster boy for “It’s Good to Be King.” He met his match with his older ‘bride,’ Eleanor, the richest and shrewdest woman in the world who bore him four sons, but they sure don’t care much for them, except as pawns in their epic face-offs.
James Goldman’s 1966 play is set at a contentious Christmastime in 1183 in a castle in Chinon, France, on land still owned by the British ruler. The classic dysfunctional family is hanging festive holly, but they are far from jolly.
That’s to be expected, with the mom – who tried to overthrow the king awhile back — about to return to prison, where she’s been kept by her husband for 10 years, and then dear old domineering dad put the three bad-tempered sons in the dungeon. His firstborn has died. Sounds – and looks like – a holiday in hell.
With anger and resentment thick in the air and mulled wine flowing, swords are brandished and emotions erupt as conflicts ensue. You can see the wheels turning in their cunning little heads. Kopp has briskly staged the posturing, maneuvering, embracing, and shouting so that we're kept off-guard and suspicious.
The group is tangled in one-upmanship, some more obvious than others - but it's apparent the amount of trust and respect among the actors that allows them to have a field day with the material and each other.
One of the grand dames of St Louis regional theatre, Lavonne Byers ascends to her lofty perch as the crafty and regal queen - and in a savvy display, she doesn't telegraph what she's doing until it's done, so smooth in the takeovers.
The two-time St. Louis Theater Circle winner and frequent nominee devours anyone in her path as the legendary Eleanor of Aquitane, the role that won Katharine Hepburn her third of four Academy Awards in the 1968 movie version.
As the mom-and-pop puppetmasters, Hanrahan and Byers are spirited in doing the Tango Queen as they dance around – and this battling couple actually loves one another. But as to which of their three chips off the old block will take over the kingdom is quite a game of chess.
Richard, the warrior, as in "The Lionhearted," won't be denied, but neither will the pre-Renaissance Machiavellian Geoffrey, bitter about being passed over, and they both are out of favor because the youngest, an immature buffoonish John, is daddy's favorite. (Maybe because they both behave like petulant children.)
The terrific trio of Joel Moses as the steely soldier Richard, John Wolbers as sly schemer Geoffrey, and Ryan Lawson-Maeske as spoiled brat John lock into their characters seamlessly. I'm not concerned about their characters' ages - Richard, 26; Geoffrey, 25; and John, 16, and you don't have to be either - it's called acting, and they're very good at creating full-bodied portrayals. When you have actors not usually known for playing villains in amoral roles, it's delectable. (Also, smart choice to not have English accents).
Then complicating things are those testy French folks staying there, unpleasant attitudes flaring up - the young King Philip, 18, who's been in charge for three years, and his sister, Alais, 23, who besides being a princess is supposed to be engaged to Richard but is Henry's very young mistress. That's another soap opera, but she may be the most ruthless of all.
Alais has been in the castle for a long time, pretty much raised by Eleanor. Strange bedfellows indeed. Shannon Campbell and Michael Pierce are strong in those roles, setting themselves apart from those high-maintenance Plantagenets but still crafty. After all, the new king is itching to go to war with England.
The creative team has delivered a vibrant staging, with stage manager Karen Pierce keeping the action from sagging. With a well-appointed set design by Brad Slavik, well-lit by lighting designer Tony Anselmo, and vintage props collected by Miriam Whatley, the look is a pleasant replica of nooks in a drafty castle. Costume designer Liz Henning demonstrates her considerable gifts outfitting the royals in impressive fabrics, textures, embroidery and finery.
A special touch is original music composed by Susan Elaine Kopp that gives it an authentic cultural "welcome to the almost Renaissance" sound.
If you like diving into history, you may enjoy finding out who succeeded Henry. Spoiler alert: the tall fighting man. But that should be its own sequel.
The Midnight Company's invigorating production makes the past become an absorbing power play by movers and shakers that leaps off dusty pages of an Encyclopedia Brittanica. Long live the kings in a not-to-be-missed show.
Now Playing 
