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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Reviews Anne of the Thousand Days Directed by Alan Weller
Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Keith Waits. All rights reserved. Yet another troupe of players has set up shop to produce theatre, driven by a simple desire to bring to life a favorite script with little more than the dedication of their labor. The Players Theatre begins life with a production of Maxwell Anderson's 1948 historical drama that details the relationship and eventual marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. It is a story often told, but with a wide variance of quality in the telling. This classic text, told in blank verse and feeling slightly dated today, stands alongside the magnificent, A Man for All Seasons, as well as more modern renditions such as the novel and film, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the explicit and more expansive television series, The Tudors. The story of how Henry, eager to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he may legitimately marry Anne Boleyn, comes into conflict with the Pope and eventually breaks with the Catholic Church, is indeed powerful material. Whatever the passion of the company members, this production remains earnest but unimaginative in its staging. Overly formal and stiffly paced, it fails to build sufficient energy with which to soar. The well-meaning cast, swathed in rich costumes that belie the humble nature of the production, are led by two problematic performances. Christina Biller as Anne and Robert Florio as Henry are both magnetic presences onstage, but her performance seemed stuck in one-note during the first act, while Mr. Florio's work delivered some appropriate swagger and authority, but never quite achieves the expansive arrogance the script demands. For opening night, Mr. Florio struggled to maintain energy and focus during scene five of the first act, allowing the play to lose momentum. Both leads improved their game somewhat in the second act, particularly Ms. Biller, who introduced different colors into her characterization as tragedy nears. Among the remainder of the yeoman cast, I felt there was especially nice work from Madison Hamman as Mark Smeaton, Brad Lambert as Sir Henry Norris (although saddled with a questionable wig), Rita Hight as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, and director Alan Weller brought proper ecclesiastical demeanor to Cardinal Woolsey, although I think he missed the more Machiavellian aspects that made the historical figure so powerful. Kevin Temple, Gary Crockett and James Butterfield also delivered solid efforts in supporting roles. The settings were limited but very effective, and the lighting design brought some nice mood and dramatic, chiaroscuro effects to a several scenes. My hat is off to all who enter the arena to stage intelligent and challenging classic theatre for a contemporary audience, and I only wish that this particular group had found the spark with which to light the stage with their passion, because there is clearly hard work and devotion on display, even if the mark is, sadly, missed.
NOTE: Added performances: Thursday night (9/24) and Friday night (9/25), both starting at 8PM
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