As James Goldman?s epic play, “The Lion in Winter,” draws to a close, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Sherrionne Brown) laments to her husband, Henry II (Phil Gallagher), “We?re jungle creatures, Henry, and the dark is all around us. See them in the corners? You can see the eyes.”
Eleanor might have been speaking of the audience, quietly watching as a talented group of seven actors transformed the stage at Spotlighters theater into Chinon Castle at Yuletide in 12th-century England.
The characters divined by Goldman are indeed “jungle creatures,” making intrigue, fueled by ambition, desire and good old-fashioned family dysfunction. As Eleanor matter-a-factly observes, “It?s 1183, and we are barbarians.”
Yet never did barbarians speak so eloquently, with a wit sharper than any prince?s dagger or king?s broadsword. Both are drawn ? in fact, three daggers to one sword ? before the curtain falls, though the only harm that is done is by word alone.
The star of the show is Goldman?s magic pen, from which flows a glittering dialogue. The verbal fencing is among Henry, Eleanor and their three sons, Richard Lionheart (Michael Leicht), Geoffrey (Shane Logue) and John (Zack Hornberger).
Henry wants John, who “has pimples and smells of compost,” to succeed him. Eleanor wants Richard, the constant soldier, to prevail.
“What?s the nothing Geoffrey gets,” Geoffrey asks, as it seems no one wants him for anything more than chancellor, though Geoffrey?s “metal” mind, all “wheels and gears,” is blazing a trail to the throne.
John allies with Geoffrey, Geoffrey with Eleanor, Richard with Eleanor, Geoffrey with John and Philip, while Henry, believing he will win out, finds himself “sick of war” and content to “to write a law, or make a tax more fair or sit in judgment to decide which peasant gets a cow.”
“The Lion in Winter” is really a play about a messed up family at Christmas ? only in this family, when a son comes out of the closet, it?s not merely about a man seeking acceptance, it?s about political leverage between nations. A boy who feels unloved might take a swing at Pop over the holiday punch. In this family, the “boy” could throw Europe into war, making bloody history.
IF YOU GO:
“The Lion in Winter”
VENUE: Spotlighters Theater, 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore
WHEN: Now through Dec. 16, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
TICKETS: $18 for adults, $15 for students, seniors and BTA members
INFO: 410-752-1225
